Cosmic Log

DNA barcodes make their mark

Alan Boyle — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:30:00 GMT

	Consortium for the Barcode of Life
	Color-coded genetic sequences serve as "DNA barcodes" for a hermit thrush (far left), an American robin, a bumblebee and a honeybee. The gray bars stand for genetic differences.

DNA fingerprinting isn't just for humans anymore: The "barcodes of life" are being read in other species as well, and they're being used to crack down on smugglers, track down disease carriers and trace the effects of climate change.

About 350 experts from 50 countries will be meeting in Mexico over the next week to discuss the rising number of applications for the technology. One of the major items on the agenda is to seal a global deal to extend the DNA barcode system to plants.

...(read more)

Weekend field trips on the Web

Alan Boyle — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:20:00 GMT

'Nova' on PBS: 'Becoming Human' The New Yorker: Why do we eat animals? The Economist: How nanobiotech can seed the seeds New Scientist: Peter Diamandis on the joy of taking risks ...(read more)

See starbirth up close

Alan Boyle — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:05:00 GMT

NASA / ESA / U. of Va. / STScI / ANU

Click for video: Hubble's new Wide Field Camera 3 captures a detailed view of
starbirth in the spiral galaxy M83. Click on the image to watch a zoom-in video.

The Hubble Space Telescope's new wide-field camera has sent down a picture showing how the "assembly line" of starbirth works in a nearby spiral galaxy.

...(read more)

Your daily dose of science on the Web

Alan Boyle — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

HiRISE: Phoenix Mars Lander spotted amid frost Tech Review: Building a better brain chip Next Big Future: Carnival of Space 127 National Geographic: Animal mummies ...(read more)

Beam me up ... for a prize!

Alan Boyle — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:53:00 GMT

Reed Saxon / AP

  LaserMotive's David Bashford, right,
  prepares a robotic climber for its
  ascent on Wednesday.

Just days after $1.65 million was won in a NASA-backed rocket contest, it looks as if big money will be awarded in the $2 million Power Beaming Challenge as well.

Like the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, the Power Beaming Challenge is part of NASA's Centennial Challenges, a program aimed at encouraging new technologies that could be adopted by the space agency for future exploration. This particular competition could eventually lay the groundwork for future space elevators - but power-beaming technology is likely to be put to work even if those space elevators are never built.

Teams entered in the challenge have been working on robotic transport systems that can be remotely powered by laser beams to climb up a long steel cable. The contest, part of the Space Elevator Games managed by the Spaceward Foundation, started up in 2005 and has been getting progressively harder every year.

...(read more)

Inside the space debate

Alan Boyle — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:35:00 GMT

The countdown is ticking toward some multibillion-dollar decisions on America's future in space, as explained in my big-picture analysis today. When the space shuttle fleet is retired, will NASA stay the course with its Ares rocket development effort, or will it emphasize buying seats on other people's spaceships instead? It's a question that touches upon technical as well as political complexities.

Want to feel like an insider? Here are some Web sites that give you countdown status reports on the space debate:

...(read more)

Must-see science on the Web

Alan Boyle — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:38:00 GMT

Symmetry Breaking: Online videos for science geeks NASA: Artwork celebrates future moon adventures Biblical Archaeological Review: The 'secret' gospel of Mark New Scientist: Why a high IQ doesn't mean you're smart The Guardian: Is there an atheist schism? (via Daily Grail) ...(read more)

Rocketeers win $1.65 million in prizes

Alan Boyle — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:30:00 GMT

NGLLC / X Prize Foundation

Click for video: Masten Space Systems' Xoie rocket rises above the Mojave
Desert during its prize-winning flight. Click on the image to watch a video report on

the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge from msnbc.com's Dara Brown.

California-based Masten Space Systems' Xoie rocket prototype has won a million-dollar prize from NASA, edging out its closest competitor by just a couple of feet.

NASA announced today that the Masten team's "try, try again" effort at California's Mojave Air and Space Port won the top prize in the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge's Level 2 contest. The Xoie rocket's final flight on Friday was good enough to best Texas-based Armadillo Aerospace, which qualified for the prize with its Scorpius rocket in September.

NASA said Armadillo would receive the Level 2 contest's $500,000 second prize.

A different flight by a different rocket, known as Xombie, earned Masten the $150,000 second-place prize in the Lunar Lander Challenge's less ambitious Level 1 contest. Armadillo won the $350,000 top prize in Level 1 last year.

Armadillo and Masten will be awarded a total of $1.65 million at a Washington ceremony on Thursday, NASA said. The ceremony will close out the three-year-old, $2 million Lunar Lander Challenge program.

...(read more)

Fixing bugs in the ballot

Alan Boyle — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:15:00 GMT

msnbc.com

Click for interactive:
Learn more about
voting technologies.

Years after the controversial presidential election in 2000, election activists are still struggling to work the bugs out of balloting systems. The butterfly ballot may be ancient history, but changes in voting practices have brought in a whole new slate of challenges.

"U.S. elections really are a mess," said Arlene Ash, a biostatistician at Boston University who has made a study of statistical issues in elections. She said that was an astounding reality for "a country which has prided itself on industrial quality control and really getting technology right."

Tuesday may be an off-year Election Day, but the occasion serves as a good time to consider how far we've come since the year 2000, and how far we have yet to go.

...(read more)

Your daily dose of science on the Web

Alan Boyle — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:50:00 GMT

CfA: Telescopes solve 100-year-old cosmic ray mystery SLAC: Science begins at world's most powerful X-ray laser Industry Week: Find balloons and win a $40,000 DARPA prize Universe Today: Bacteria could survive in Martian soil ...(read more)