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Sunday, September 11, 2011

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


NASA Launches Mission to Study Moon From Crust to Core

Posted: 10 Sep 2011 02:28 PM PDT

NASA's twin lunar Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 9:08 a.m. EDT (6:08 a.m. PDT) Saturday, Sept. 10, to study the moon in unprecedented detail. GRAIL-A is scheduled to reach the moon on New Year's Eve 2011, while GRAIL-B will arrive New Year's Day 2012. The two solar-powered spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon to measure its gravity field. GRAIL will answer longstanding questions about the moon and give scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed.

Never too soon: Means to reduce violence may start in utero

Posted: 10 Sep 2011 10:52 AM PDT

It's hard to think of a baby being violent or destructive, but the seeds of violence may be planted before a child is born, according to new research. Attention to health factors as early as the prenatal stage could prevent violence in later life, reports researchers.

U.S. experiences second warmest summer on record: Texas has warmest summer on record of any state

Posted: 10 Sep 2011 10:44 AM PDT

The blistering heat experienced by the United States during August, as well as the June through August months, marks the second warmest summer on record, according to scientists. The persistent heat, combined with below-average precipitation across the southern U.S. during August and the three summer months, continued a record-breaking drought across the region.

Gray blobs floating after Hurricane Irene identified as potato sponges

Posted: 10 Sep 2011 10:39 AM PDT

Most of Hurricane Irene's impacts -- heavy rain, high winds, downed trees, coastal erosion, and storm-tide flooding -- are all too familiar to the storm-weary residents of Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern seaboard. But based on post-storm queries to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point, Virginia, one impact remains a mystery -- what are all those "gray blobs" floating atop waterways and strewn along beaches?

Teeny teeth indicate ancient shark nurseries

Posted: 10 Sep 2011 10:33 AM PDT

Fueled by Hollywood and its vision of Jaws, sharks conjure images of fearsome predators patrolling our seas in search of their next unfortunate victim. It is therefore hard to imagine sharks as relatively small, harmless fishes living in lakes and rivers, as many species were more than 200 million years ago. Some scientists have suggested that these ancient sharks bred in the shallows of freshwater lakes, forming nurseries for their hatchlings. Paleontologists now support this claim with spectacular 230 million-year-old fossil egg capsules and tiny teeth from Kyrgyzstan.

Researcher sees spring-like protein as key to muscle behavior

Posted: 10 Sep 2011 10:24 AM PDT

An idea with its origins in ballistic prey catching -- the way toads and chameleons snatch food with their tongues -- may change fundamental views of muscle movement while powering a new approach to prosthetics.

Homeowners, taxpayers pay billions to fight invasive pests

Posted: 09 Sep 2011 04:51 PM PDT

Homeowners and taxpayers are picking up most of the tab for damage caused by invasive tree-feeding insects that hide in packing materials, live plants and other goods imported from countries into the United States every year. Results from a first-of-its-kind economic analysis, which estimates financial damage of importing foreign insects into the nation and trying to eradicate them once they establish, are reported in a new article.

Invasive forest insects cost homeowners, taxpayers billions

Posted: 09 Sep 2011 04:51 PM PDT

Homeowners and taxpayers are picking up most of the tab for damages caused by invasive tree-feeding insects that are inadvertently imported along with packing materials, live plants, and other goods. That's the conclusion of a team of biologists and economists, whose research findings are reported in a new article.

Local government, homeowners paying price for non-native forest insects, U.S. study finds

Posted: 09 Sep 2011 04:51 PM PDT

Non-native, wood-boring insects such as the emerald ash borer and the Asian longhorned beetle are costing an estimated $1.7 billion in local government expenditures in the United States and approximately $830 million in lost residential property values every year, according to a new study.

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