ePaper Nov 5, 2015

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 15 DESI EXPRESS www.desiexpressonline.com Thursday, November 5, 2015 NASA to recruit astronauts for Mars trip prep Washington — US space agency NASA has said that it will soon recruit new as- tronauts as part of its ongo- ing efforts to prepare for an eventual manned mission to Mars. “This next group of American space explorers will inspire the Mars gen- eration to reach for new heights, and help us real- ize the goal of putting boot prints on the Red Planet,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. NASA said these astro- nauts may fly on any of four different US vessels during their careers: the International Space Sta- tion, two commercial crew spacecraft currently in de- velopment by US compa- nies, and NASA’s Orion deep-space exploration ve- hicle that will take humans to Mars in the 2030s. Only for Americans Those who want to apply must be US citizens “with a wide variety of back- grounds,” including pilots, engineers, scientists and medical doctors. The requirements in- clude a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institu- tion in engineering, bio- logical science, physical science or mathematics. Candidates also must have at least three years of related professional experi- ence, or at least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft. Additional requirements included the ability to pass the NASA long-duration spaceflight physical, which required would-be astro- nauts to have a height be- tween 62 inches (1.57 me- tres) and 75 inches (1.90 metres). The space agency said it will accept applications from December 14 through mid-February. It expects to announce candidates selected in mid- 2017. To date, NASA has se- lected more than 300 astro- nauts to fly space missions. At the moment, there are 47 people in the active as- tronaut corps. Plant to help grow space food Sydney — A team of Aus- tralian scientists has dis- covered a gene in a “magi- cal” plant that will open the door for space-based food production, especially dur- ing deeper human missions, including to Mars. Professor Peter Water- house, a plant geneticist at the Queensland University of Technology, discovered the gene in the ancient Aus- tralian native tobacco plant Nicotiana benthamiana — known as Pitjuri to indig- enous Aboriginal tribes. He made the discovery while tracing the history of the Pitjuri plant which, for decades, has been used by geneticists as a model plant upon which to test viruses and vaccines. “This plant is the ‘labo- ratory rat’ of the molecular plant world. We think of it as a magical plant with amazing properties,” he said in a university statement. “By sequencing its ge- nome and looking through historical records, we have been able to determine that the original plant came from the Granites area near the Western Australia and Northern Territory border, close to where ‘Wolf Creek’ was filmed,” he explained. By using a molecular clock and fossil records, the team found this particu- lar plant has survived in its current form in the wild for around 750,000 years. “Whatwefoundmayhave a big impact on future plant biotech research. We discov- ered it is the plant equivalent of the nude mouse used in medical research,” added lead researcher Julia Bally. Drugs that help‘lazy’ people exercise London — Some psycho- active drugs dubbed as “doping for lazy people” can encourage sedentary people to exercise, experts suggest. Physical exertion, along with excuses like lack of time, are some of the main perceived barriers to ex- ercise. This is not surpris- ing because humans are evolved to be “lazy”. “Reducing the perception ofeffortduringexerciseusing caffeine or other psychoac- tive drugs (methylphenidate and modafinil) could help many people stick to their fitness plans,” said Samuele Marcora, director of research at University of Kent. The perception of effort is one of the main reasons most people choose seden- tary activities for their lei- sure time. Compared to watching television, even moderate- intensity physical activities like walking require con- siderable effort. Similarly, a reduction in perception of effort would be very helpful to the many peoplewhofindexercisedif- ficult as they are overweight and exercise after work in a state of mental fatigue. UStoddlers hookedto tablets, smartphones New York — Almost all children under age four in the US have used a device like a tablet or smartphone, a new study finds. The kids are using them at younger ages, as per the study. Parents surveyed in the study said tablets are the most popular mobile devic- es for children, and kids as young as one-year-old use them more than 20 minutes a day on average, Health- Day.com reported. “Access to, familiarity with and skill using mobile devices are the first steps in achieving digital literacy,” said study co-author Matilde Irigoyen from Einstein Med- ical Centre in Philadelphia. However, she added that actual social engage- ment with parents, along with parental guidance, are “critical” to help kids “in- tegrate digital technology into family life”. One expert familiar with the study findings called the trend “disturbing”, because it suggests some parents might be using technology as a surrogate babysitter. “Parents admitted to using mobile media for their chil- dren to keep them quiet or entertained in public places or in place of the interaction at bedtime,” said one. How their jaws influenced the dinosaurs’diets London — Just how seri- ous was the killer T rex di- nosaur’s bite? Researchers from the University of Bristol have now revealed that the feed- ing style and dietary pref- erences of dinosaurs were closely linked to how wide they could open their jaws. Using digital models and computer analyses, Dr Stephan Lautenschlager studied the muscle strain during jaw opening of three different theropod dinosaurs with different dietary habits. Theropods were a di- verse group of two-legged dinosaurs that included the largest carnivores ever to walk the Earth. “Theropod dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Allosaurus, are often de- picted with widely-opened jaws.Yet, no studies have ac- tually focused on the relation between jaw musculature, feeding style and the maxi- mal possible jaw gape,” said Dr Lautenschlager. The research looked at T rex, a large sized meat- eating theropod with a mas- sively built skull and up to 15 cm long teeth and two other predatory and meat- eating theropods. All muscles, including those used for closing and opening the jaw, can only stretch a certain amount be- fore they tear. “This considerably lim- its how wide an animal can open its jaws and, therefore, howandonwhatitcanfeed,” the researchers noted. The results found that the carnivorous Tyranno- saurus and Allosaurus were capable of a wide gape (up to 90 degrees) while the herbivorous Erlikosaurus was limited to a small gape (around 45 degrees). Between the two carni- vores, Tyrannosaurus could produce a sustained muscle (and, therefore, bite) force for a wide range of jaw an- gles, which would be neces- sary for biting through meat and skin and crushing bone. “We know from living animals that carnivores are usually capable of larger jaw gapes than herbivores, and it is interesting to see that this also appears to be the case in theropod dinosaurs.” Diamond treasure trove hidden deep beneath us? New York — Diamonds may not be as rare as once thought as researchers be- lieve that the precious stone may be more common deep in the earth. “Diamond formation in the deep earth, the very deep earth, may be a more common process than we thought,” said study co- author Dimitri Sverjensky from Johns Hopkins Uni- versity. However, the findings may not lead to a deep dis- counts at your local jewel- lery stores, as it may be impossible to explore these precious stones physically, the researchers said. Moreover, the preva- lence of diamonds near the Earth’s surface — where they can be mined — still depends on relatively rare volcanic magma eruptions that raise them from the depths where they form. The findings are based on a “new quantitative theory of diamond formation”. Using a chemical model, the researchers found that these precious stones could be born in a natural chemi- cal reaction that is simpler than the two main process- es that up to now have been understood to produce dia- monds. Specifically, their model — yet to be tested with ac- tual materials — shows that diamonds can form with an increase in acidity during interaction between water and rock. The common under- standing up to now has been that diamonds are formed in the movement of fluid by the oxidation of methane or the chemical reduction of carbon diox- ide. The new research showed that water could produce diamonds as its pH falls naturally — that is, as it becomes more acidic — while moving from one type of rock to another, Sverjensky said. The researchers pointed out that it is impossible to physically explore the great depths at which diamonds are created: roughly 144 to 193 km below the Earth’s surface at intense pressure and at temperatures about 900 to 1,100 degrees Cel- sius. The deepest drilling ex- ploration ever made was about 13 or 14 km below the surface, Sverjensky pointed out. The study appeared on- line in the journal Nature Communications. Ask for your copy of DESI EXPRESS at your neighbourhood public library Researchers Dr Julia Bally and Professor Peter Waterhouse with the “magical” plant with huge genome properties that can have the potential to be the “laboratory rat” of the molecular plant world.

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