Swiss Scientist:
Search for Life Next
by Bradley S. Klapper, Phys.org
Swiss scientist Michel Mayor, who
heads the European team that announced the discovery of a new
potentially habitable planet, has his sights set on an even bigger
target, detecting signs of extraterrestrial life.
"There's only one
thing we can do. We can do science, we can do experiments. We have
the methodology, the ability to do this simply on science, so let's
do it," the University of Geneva scientist said Wednesday...
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Out-of-This-World Hypothesis: Cosmic Forces Control Life on Earth
by Ker Than, Space.com
The rise and fall of species on Earth might be driven in part by the
undulating motions of our solar system as it travels through the
disk of the Milky Way, scientists say.
Two years ago, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley
found the marine fossil record shows that biodiversity—the number of
different species alive on the planet—increases and decreases on a
62-million-year cycle. At least two of the Earth’s great mass
extinctions—the Permian extinction 250 million years ago and the
Ordovician extinction about 450 million years ago—correspond with
peaks of
this cycle, which can’t be explained by evolutionary theory.
Now, a team of researchers at the University of Kansas (KU) have
come up with an out-of-this-world explanation. Their idea hinges
upon the fact that, appearances aside, stars are not fixed in space.
They move around, sometimes rushing headlong through galaxies, or
approaching close enough to one another for brief cosmic trysts...
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Be More Than You Can
Be
by Noah Shachtman, Wired
The lab is climate-controlled to 104 degrees Fahrenheit and
66 percent humidity. Sitting inside the cramped room, even for a few
minutes, is an unpleasantly moist experience. I’ve spent the last 40
minutes on a treadmill angled at a 9 percent grade. My face is
chili-red, my shirt soaked with sweat. My breath is coming in short,
unsatisfactory gasps. The sushi and sake I had last night are in
full revolt. The tiny speakers on the shelf blasting “Living on a
Prayer” are definitely not helping.
Then Dennis Grahn, a lumpy Stanford University biologist and former
minor-league hockey player, walks into the room. He nods in my
direction and smiles at a technician. “Looks like he’s ready,” Grahn
says...
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Women May Make Their
Own Sperm
by Deborah Smith, Sydney Morning
Herald
THE possibility of men - and women -
growing their own sperm in the laboratory has moved a step closer,
as scientists have converted human bone marrow tissue into immature
sperm cells for the first time.
The research is aimed at overcoming
infertility in men but may eventually allow two women to have their
own biological daughter.
A team led by Karim Nayernia, of the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne in Britain, took bone marrow from
male volunteers and isolated adult stem cells called mesenchymal
stem cells, which can turn into a variety of tissues including
muscles...
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