SciByte

increase our limited knowledge of how life can sustain itself in these extreme environments on our own planet and beyond.

Lake Vida, the largest of several unique lakes found in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, contains no oxygen, is mostly frozen and possesses the highest nitrous oxide levels of any natural water body on Earth

approximately six times saltier than seawater

average temperature is minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit

the brine harbors a surprisingly diverse and abundant variety of bacteria that survive without a current source of energy from the sun

Previous studies of Lake Vida dating back to 1996 indicate the brine and its inhabitants have been isolated from outside influences for more than 3,000 years.

the best analog we have for possible ecosystems in the subsurface waters of Saturn's moon Enceladus and Jupiter's moon Europa

collaborators

developed stringent protocols and specialized equipment for their 2005 and 2010 field campaigns to sample from the lake brine while avoiding contaminating the pristine ecosystem

expands our knowledge of environmental limits for life and helps define new niches of habitability

To sample unique environments such as this, researchers must work under secure, sterile tents on the lake's surface

The tents kept the site and equipment clean as researchers drilled ice cores, collected samples of the salty brine residing in the lake ice and assessed the chemical qualities of the water and its potential for harboring and sustaining life

analyses suggest chemical reactions between the brine and the underlying iron-rich sediments generate nitrous oxide and molecular hydrogen

may provide the energy needed to support the brine's diverse microbial life.

Additional research is under way to analyze the abiotic, chemical interactions between the Lake Vida brine and its sediment

investigating the microbial community by using different genome sequencing approaches

new study looks at the critical phase during the first 48 hours

At early stages, comatose brains can still distinguish between different sound patterns

this ability progresses over time can predict whether a coma patient will survive and ultimately awaken

very promising tool for prognosis

am led by neuroscientist

of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland studied 30 coma patients who had experienced heart attacks that deprived their brains of oxygen

All the patients underwent therapeutic hypothermia, a standard treatment to minimize brain damage, in which their bodies were cooled to 33° Celsius for 24 hours

played sounds for the patients and recorded their brain activity using scalp electrodes

once in hypothermic conditions during the first 24 hours of coma

again a day later at normal body temperature

sounds were a series of pure tones interspersed with sounds of different pitch, duration or location

brain signals revealed how well patients could discriminate the sounds, compared with five healthy subjects

After three months, the coma patients had either died or awoken

. All the patients whose discrimination improved by the second day of testing survived and awoke from their comas

many of those whose sound discrimination deteriorated by the second day did not survive

all of the patients showed signs of auditory discrimination

suggests that residual auditory function itself does not predict recovery

rather, it’s the progression of function over time that is predictive.

The study couldn’t distinguish whether auditory function initially was preserved due to the hypothermia treatment or was related merely to the early stage of coma

scientists speculate that distracting neural jabber may have been reduced during the hypothermia, making it easier for the patients’ brains to separate sounds

now running a follow-up study with 120 coma patients

whether the results can be replicated in a bigger population

s test could give information about patients who will survive during the first two days of coma

Messenger spacecraft found a mix of frozen water and possible organic materials

Evidence of big pockets of ice is visible from a latitude of 85 degrees north up to the pole

smaller deposits scattered as far away as 65 degrees north.

NASA will direct Messenger's observation toward that area in the coming months — when the angle of the sun allows — to get a better look

Researchers also believe the south pole has ice, but Messenger's orbit has not allowed them to obtain extensive measurements of that region yet

Messenger will spiral closer to the planet in 2014 and 2015 as it runs out of fuel

Speculation about water ice on Mercury dates back more than 20 years

In 1991, Earth-bound astronomers fired radar signals to Mercury and received results showing there could be ice at both poles

reinforced by 1999 measurements using the more powerful Arecibo Observatorymicrowave beam in Puerto Rico

Radar pictures beamed back to New Mexico's Very Large Array showed white areas that researchers suspected was water ice.

The laser is weak — about the strength of a flashlight — but just powerful enough to distinguish bright icy areas from the darker, surrounding Mercury regolith

Messenger's neutron spectrometer spotted hydrogen, which is a large component of water ice. But the temperature profile unexpectedly showed that dark, volatile materials – consistent with climes in which organics survive – are mixing in with the ice

Organic materials are life's ingredients, though they do not necessarily lead to life itself

the presence of organics is also suspected on airless, distant worlds such as Pluto

suspect Mercury's water ice is coated with a 4-inch (10 centimeters) blanket of "thermally insulating material

At this point in the mission, the instruments on the rover have not detected any definitive evidence of Martian organics

The news conference will be an update about first use of the rover's full array of analytical instruments to investigate a drift of sandy soil,

While no huge news is apparently in the offing on Monday, NASA has high hopes for Curiosity and its mission.

SpaceView is envisioned as a long-term partnership. This could potentially include time-sharing on telescopes, upgraded hardware at the astronomer’s site or financial compensation

SpaceView hopes to engage amateur astronomers by purchasing remote access to an already in-use telescope or by providing a telescope to selected astronomers

Telescopes used for astrophotography, asteroid hunting or simply high-quality astronomy are well suited for SpaceView’s needs

this new program provides the means to upgrade a skywatcher’s site to a state-of-the-art fully automated obser

in late 2013, the process will start to select the first dozen members of the project

supersymmetry—the proposal that every elementary particle has a heavier, as-yet-unseen cousin

The LHC has yet to find any evidence for supersymmetric particles of any kind

Supersymmetry is not ruled out by our measurement, but it is strongly constrained

only certain flavors of supersymmetry jibe with the new data

Failure to find one variant of a theory is not evidence against other variants,”

If you’re looking for your lost keys, failing to find them in the kitchen, living room and bedroom is not evidence against their being somewhere else in the house

ry rare decay of a strange beauty particle

into two particles called muons. (A muon is a charged particle akin to a heavyweight electron

The rarity of the decay makes it difficult to observe

the reigning theory of subatomic particles and forces, the Standard Model of particle physics, predicts just how often the effect should occur

The LHCb data (pdf) match up well with the Standard Model predictions

findings demonstrate that Mars' atmosphere, though just 1 percent as thick as that of Earth, does provide a significant amount of shielding

lacks a magnetic field, which gives our planet another layer of protection.)

Radiation at the Martian surface is about half as high as the levels Curiosity experienced during its nine-month cruise through deep space

findings are preliminary, as Curiosity is just three months into a planned two-year prime mission

team have not yet put hard numbers on the Martian radiation levels

hoping to release that at the

American Geophysical Union's huge conference in San Francisco

from Dec. 3-7. "

One key to understanding the big picture will be documenting the effects of big solar storms, which can blast huge clouds of charged particles into space

Curiosity flew through one such cloud on its way to Mars but has yet to experience one on the surface

Then Curiosity stowed its arm and drove 83 feet (25.3 meters) eastward toward a target called "Point Lake

this is

first 'touch-and-go' on the same day

good sign that the rover team is getting comfortable with more complex operational planning

During a Thanksgiving break, the team will use Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) from Point Lake to examine possible routes and targets to the east

priority is to choose a rock for the first use of the rover's hammering drill, which will collect samples of powder from rock interiors

the sample-handling mechanism on the rover's arm is still holding some soil from the fifth and final scoop collected at Rocknest

so it can be available for analysis by instruments within the rover if scientists choose that option in coming days.

can include a brief dip in air pressure, a change in wind direction, a change in wind speed, a rise in air temperature or a dip in ultraviolet light reaching the rover

Two of the events included all five characteristics.

dust-devil tracks and shadows have been seen from orbit, but those visual clues have not been seen in Gale Crater

possibility is that vortex whirlwinds arise at Gale without lifting as much dust as they do elsewhere

The rover is just north of a mountain called Mount Sharp

air movement up and down the mountain's slope governed wind direction, dominant winds generally would be north-south

east-west winds appear to predominate. The rim of Gale Crater may be a factor

If we don't see a change in wind patterns as Curiosity heads up the slope of Mount Sharp—that would be a surprise."

may be seeing more of the wind blowing along the depression in between the two slopes, rather than up and down the slope of Mount Sharp

The atmosphere provides a level of shielding, and so charged-particle radiation is less when the atmosphere is thicker. Overall, Mars' atmosphere reduces the radiation dose compared to what we saw during the flight to Mars

This is the first isolated planetary mass object ever identified in a moving group

Looking for planets around their stars is akin to studying a firefly sitting one centimetre away from a distant, powerful car headlight

If CFBDSIR2149 is not associated with the AB Doradus Moving Group, the astronomers say it is trickier to be sure of its nature and properties, and it may instead be characterized as a small brown dwarf

And if the discovery team is right about CFBDSIR2149's age, the body is likely a planet, with an average temperature of 806 degrees Fahrenheit (430 degrees Celsius), researchers said

There's still a slight chance that CFBDSIR2149 is a brown dwarf 

Additional observations should help decide the matter.

With a good distance measurement and a more accurate proper motion, we will be able to increase (or decrease) the probability that it is indeed a planet

One 2011 study, for example, estimated that rogue worlds outnumber "normal" planets with obvious host stars by at least 50 percent throughout the Milky Way

The discovery of a starless alien planet would not be shocking

In the last year or so, astronomers have spotted a number of such orphan worlds

the link between the planet and AB Doradus that enabled us to deduce its age and classify it as a planet

the researchers obtained a series of infrared images

to deduce its mass, its temperature, and of particular note, its age

found to be between 50 and 120 millions years old, with a temperature of approximately 400 degrees celsius, and a mass four to seven times that of Jupiter

Objects more than 13 times the mass of Jupiter are not considered to be planets but rather Brown dwarfs, as it is this is the minimum amount of mass required for the deuterium at the heart of a star to achieve fusion

This object was discovered during a scan that covered the equivalent of 1000 times the surface of the full moon

observed hundreds of millions of stars and planets, but we only found one homeless planet in our neighbourhood

Highlights from the prime mission

confirmed the discovery of the first planetary system with more than one planet transiting the same star

the discovery of the first unquestionably rocky planet outside the solar system

1.4 times the size of Earth

confirmed the existence of a world with a double sunset

discoveries of six additional worlds orbiting double stars further demonstrated planets can form and persist in the environs of a double-star system

first planet in a habitable zone

December 2011

September 2011

February 2012

transiting planet candidates

total of 2,321

Recently

The joint effort of amateur astronomers and scientists led to the first reported case of a planet orbiting a double star