Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors jlms qkw, maggiejean, wader, Oke, rfall, and JML9999. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7 and BentLiberal. The guest editor is annetteboardman.
Our featured story tonight is looking ahead to a rather bleak future:
Sequester Looking Certain: Science Cuts To Come
Tanya Lewis, LiveScience Staff Writer
Date: 01 March 2013
With the deadline for government-wide spending cuts just hours away, attempts to avert the cuts â which would affect medical research, space exploration and defense spending â have all but failed.
President Barack Obama must sign the $85 billion in cuts, known as "the sequester," into law by 11:59 p.m. tonight (March 1). The White House Office of Management and Budget estimates an effective 9 percent cut to nondefense programs, including basic science research, and a 13 percent cut to defense programs. The blow to researchers and government workers will be felt widely, experts say.
The president met this morning with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell(R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), but no action to avert the cuts was taken. Obama supports a long-term budget deal that would include both spending cuts and tax increases.
Follow me below the orange curlicue of doom for more of the Science News of the past week.
SPACE NEWS
NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity in Safe Mode After Computer Glitch
By Clara Moskowitz | SPACE.com Fri, Mar 1, 2013
A computer glitch on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has forced the robot to switch to a backup computer while engineers try to resolve the problem.
In the meantime, Curiosity's science work is on hold, and the spacecraft is in a minimal-activity state known as "safe mode" while its backup computer is updated with the command codes and parameters it needs to take over the rover's full operations.
EU aims to prevent astronomically costly crashes in space
By Teddy Nykiel | Reuters Fri, Mar 1, 2013
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A new EU-wide system to track satellites could help reduce collisions with orbiting space debris, crashes that cost operators millions and could knock out mobile and GPS networks.
The system, proposed by the European Union's executive, aims to help monitor dangerous space junk and alert satellite operators to collision risks ahead of time, the European Commission said on Friday.
The EU could get a "big bang" for its buck, since last-minute course changes to satellites are estimated to cost operators 140 million euros ($183.03 million) each year, with that cost expected to rise over 10 years.
SpaceX cargo capsule cleared for Space Station docking on Sunday
By Irene Klotz | Reuters
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 2 - A cargo capsule owned by Space Exploration Technologies was cleared for a belated docking at the International Space Station on Sunday after engineers resolved a problem with the spacecraft's thruster pods, NASA said on Saturday.
The Dragon spacecraft, built and operated by privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, missed its scheduled arrival on Saturday after problems surfaced with three of its four thruster rocket pods shortly after launch on Friday.
NASA flight rules require at least three pods to be operational before the craft would be cleared to approach the station, a $100 billion, permanently staffed research outpost that circles about 250 miles above the Earth.
Third 'Van Allen Radiation Belt' Makes Appearance around Earth
NASA probes observed the new belt for weeks before a solar shock wave wiped it out
By Ron Cowen and Nature magazine
When NASA scientists launched twin spacecraft to probe the Van Allen radiation belts last summer, they were expecting to study two rings of high-energy particles circling Earth. Instead they found three, overturning a 50-year-old model of the giant rings' structure.
First discovered in 1958, the Van Allen belts have been thought to comprise two reservoirs of high-speed, electrically charged particles, corralled into separate doughnut-shaped rings by Earth's magnetic field. The outer ring orbits at a distance of some 10,000-60,000 kilometers above Earth, and encircles an inner band of even more energetic particles, roughly 100-10,000 kilometers above Earth. That's the configuration the belts were in when James Van Allen first spotted them using satellite data half a century ago, and that's also the structure that NASA's twin Van Allen Probes recorded when they began operation on 1 September 2012.
EARTH SCIENCES: GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY
http://www.livescience.com/...
Ancient 'Micro-Continent' Found Under Indian Ocean
Charles Q. Choi, OurAmazingPlanet Contributor
Date: 25 February 2013
The remains of a micro-continent scientist call Mauritia might be preserved under huge amounts of ancient lava beneath the Indian Ocean, a new analysis of island sands in the area suggests.
These findings hint that such micro-continents may have occurred more frequently than previously thought, the scientists who conducted the study, detailed online Feb. 24 in the journal Nature Geoscience, say.
Researchers analyzed sands from the isle of Mauritius in the western Indian Ocean. Mauritius is part of a volcanic chain that, strangely, exists far from the edges of its tectonic plate. In contrast, most volcanoes are found at the borders of the tectonic plates that make up the surface of the Earth.
Crocs Dined on Young Dinos, Scientists Say
By Charles Choi, LiveScience Contributor | LiveScience.com, Wed, Feb 27, 2013
Crocodile-like beasts may have nibbled on young dinosaurs some 75 million years ago, according to scientists who analyzed bite marks on dinosaur bones.
The findings suggest the rivalry between the reptiles started early in life, the researchers say.
Bites from living crocodylians such as alligators and crocodiles are often seen on the bones of their prey and scavenged bodies. Scientists can use these to identify bite marks on fossils from crocodyliforms, the reptiles to which modern crocodylians belong.
EARTH SCIENCE: METEOROLOGY AND CLIMATE
Ice Core Data Help Solve a Global Warming Mystery
By William Ferguson | Scientific American Fri, Mar 1, 2013
Scientists can study Earth's climate as far back as 800,000 years by drilling core samples from deep underneath the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. Detailed information on air temperature and CO2 levels is trapped in these specimens. Current polar records show an intimate connection between atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature in the natural world. In essence, when one goes up, the other one follows.
Extreme Weather Linked to Giant Waves in Atmosphere
By Tanya Lewis, LiveScience Staff Writer | LiveScience.com Mon, Feb 25, 2013
Extreme weather events have been on the rise in the last few decades, and man-made climate change may be causing them by interfering with global air-flow patterns, according to new research.
The Northern Hemisphere has taken a beating from extreme weather in recent years - the 2003 European heat wave, the 2010 Pakistan flood and the 2011 heat wave in the United States, for example. These events, in a general sense, are the result of the global movement of air.
Giant waves of air in the atmosphere normally even out the climate, by bringing warm air north from the tropics and cold air south from the Arctic. But a new study suggests these colossal waves have gotten stuck in place during extreme weather events.
Even Modest Volcanic Eruptions May Mask Global Warming Effects
Megan Gannon, News Editor
Date: 01 March 2013
Volcanic eruptions, even small and moderate ones, might counter some of the effects of global warming, new research suggests.
The planet didn't heat up as much as scientists expected it to from 2000 to 2010 (though it was still the warmest decade on record), and a new study finds that chemical compounds spewed during modest eruptions around the globe could be behind the trend.
When sulfur dioxide emitted by a volcano rises up to the stratospheric aerosol layer of the atmosphere, it undergoes chemical reactions, forming particles that reflect sunlight back into space instead of letting it get to the surface of the planet. This has a cooling effect on Earth that can help mitigate the impacts of heat-trapping greenhouse gasses.
Ocean Acidification Affects Northeastern US Coasts More
Tanya Lewis, LiveScience Staff Writer
Date: 01 March 2013
Coastal regions around the United States respond differently to ocean acidification, a large-scale study finds.
In the new study, scientists from 11 U.S. institutions measured levels of carbon dioxide and other forms of carbon in waters off the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. If the same amount of carbon dioxide entered both the Gulf of Maine and the Gulf of Mexico, it would have a greater effect on the Gulf of Maine's ecosystem, the scientists found.
Australia's Summer Is Hottest on Record
Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer
Date: 01 March
Australia's summer of 2013 is the hottest on record so far, the country's Bureau of Meteorology announced today (March 1).
The country's average temperature this summer has been 83.5 degrees Fahrenheit (28.6 degrees Celsius), 2 degrees F (1 degree C) above normal. That breaks the previous summer temperature record, set in the summer of 1997 to 1998, by 0.18 degree F (0.1 degree C).
Summertime in the Southern hemisphere runs during wintertime in the Northern hemisphere. Australia defines the season based on the meteorological definition, in which summer begins on Dec. 1 and ends on the last day of February.
Prevailing Winds Protected Most Residents from Fukushima Fallout
Hotspots of radiation from the nuclear disaster are still likely to cause localized, small increases in cancer risk, according to a new report by the World Health Organization
By Declan Butler and Nature magazine
The World Health Organization this morning released a relatively reassuring report suggesting few health impacts from the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. But the accident is likely to cause small, but significant, increases in cancers in populations in a few hotspots exposed to higher radioactive doses.
These conclusions regarding the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986 could be less comforting than they sound: In fact, Japan dodged a bullet thanks to the weather. The pattern of prevailing winds during the accident meant that most of the radioactive materials released from the plant were blown out to sea. The results therefore say little about the health risks of any future nuclear accidents.
Shipwreck Alley Threatened by Invasive Mussels
Megan Gannon, News Editor
Date: 25 February 2013
Known as Shipwreck Alley, Thunder Bay in northwest Lake Huron presents a forbidding scene for boaters and captains but a wonder for divers and marine archaeologists. Its chilly bottom is dotted with dozens of wrecks, from 19th-century schooners to passenger-carrying steamboats to steel-moving freighters that have fallen prey to the bay's unpredictable weather and dangerous shoals.
More than 50 of these historic hulks are protected by the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which was created in 2000 and covers 448 square miles (1,160 square kilometers) off the northeast coast of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Though most are in relatively good shape, thanks to the wreck-friendly freshwater environment of Lake Huron, a new report released by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) finds the sunken ships might be threatened by a tiny menace: invasive mussels.
ARCHAEOLOGY
Seeking Meaning in the Earliest Female Nudes
by Michael Balter on 27 February 2013, 4:40 PM
LONDON—About 35,000 years ago, prehistoric artists across Europe suddenly discovered the female form—and the art world has never been the same. The explosion of voluptuous female figurines sculpted out of limestone, ivory, and clay directly inspired Picasso and Matisse. Researchers have debated the figurines' meaning for decades. Now, two scientists think they have the answer. Presenting their work here last week at the European Palaeolithic Conference, they claimed that the objects started off as celebrations of the female form, then later became symbols that tied together a growing human society.
The talk, part of a special exhibition on Ice Age art at London's British Museum, surveyed the more than 20,000 year-history of female figurines, which are found at dozens of archaeological sites from Russia to France. The earliest such objects, which include the famous Venus of Willendorf from Austria (see photo) and a statuette recently found in Germany that some have called the "earliest pornography," date from as early as 35,000 years ago and are generally called the "Willendorf style" of prehistoric art.
Dig on Tinian pushes back settlement 3400 years
By RADIO AUSTRALIA PACIFIC BEAT
Wed 27 Feb 2013
SAIPAN, Northern Marianas ------ An Australian team of archaeologists have uncovered evidence of human burials and early human settlement in the Northern Marianas.
The excavation on Tinian Island dates human habitation back 3400 years.
Discoveries of wooden house posts, a cooking hearth, pottery and other artifacts paint a picture of the island's earliest inhabitants.
Peter Bellwood is a Professor of Archaeology at the Australian National University and he says Saipan is important because it was one of the first places to be reached by colonizing human populations.
Geneticists Estimate Publication Date Of The 'Iliad'
Joel N. Shurkin, ISNS Contributor
Date: 26 February 2013
(ISNS) -- Scientists who decode the genetic history of humans by tracking how genes mutate have applied the same technique to one of the Western world's most ancient and celebrated texts to uncover the date it was first written.
The text is Homer's "Iliad," and Homer -- if there was such a person -- probably wrote it in 762 B.C., give or take 50 years, the researchers found. The "Iliad" tells the story of the Trojan War -- if there was such a war -- with Greeks battling Trojans.
Lost and Found: Ancient Shoes Turn Up in Egypt Temple
Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor
Date: 26 February 2013
More than 2,000 years ago, at a time when Egypt was ruled by a dynasty of kings of Greek descent, someone, perhaps a group of people, hid away some of the most valuable possessions they had — their shoes.
Seven shoes were deposited in a jar in an Egyptian temple in Luxor, three pairs and a single one. Two pairs were originally worn by children and were only about 7 inches (18 centimeters) long. Using palm fiber string, the child shoes were tied together within the single shoe (it was larger and meant for an adult) and put in the jar. Another pair of shoes, more than 9 inches (24 cm) long that had been worn by a limping adult, was also inserted in the jar.
Another account can be found here.
Most Ancient Romans Ate Like Animals
Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer
Date: 01 March 2013
Ancient Romans are known for eating well, with mosaics from the empire portraying sumptuous displays of fruits, vegetables, cakes — and, of course, wine. But the 98 percent of Romans who were non-elite and whose feasts weren't preserved in art may have been stuck eating birdseed.
Common people in ancient Rome ate millet, a grain looked down upon by the wealthy as fit only for livestock, according to a new study published in the March issue of the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. And consumption of millet may have been linked to overall social status, with relatively poorer suburbanites eating more of the grain than did wealthier city dwellers.
Remains of Roman Southwark found below London Bridge Station
Tuesday 26 February 2013
James Hatts
Archaeologists working at London Bridge Station have gained new insights into thousands of years of human activity in the Southwark area. As Network Rail begins work on the rebuilding of London Bridge Station, archaeologists have been taking advantage of the opportunity to investigate a chunk of Southwark which has gone unexamined since the construction of the railway more than 150 years ago.
Last summer a joint team from Oxford Archaeology and Pre-Construct Archaeology set to work underneath the railway arches. Their project is just the latest element of a long-running series of archaeological investigations which have been carried out at sites along the route of the Thameslink Programme.
Network Rail archaeology manager Chris Place, who has been involved with the Thameslink Programme since 1999, estimates that 80 per cent of the Thameslink-related archaeological activity has been concentrated on the Borough Viaduct and London Bridge work sites.
Solved: How King Richard's Heart Was Preserved
Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer
Date: 28 February 2013
The heart of Richard the Lionheart was preserved with mercury, mint and frankincense, among other sweet-smelling plants, a new study finds.
The study is the first biochemical look at the heart of Richard I, who died in 1199. As was common practice at the time, the king's heart was removed and mummified separately from the rest of his body. It rested in a reliquary at Notre Dame in Rouen for centuries before its rediscovery in 1838.
Now, for the first time, the chemical composition of the substances used to preserve the heart has been revealed. These substances were directly inspired by Biblical texts, said study leader Philippe Charlier of University Hospital R. Poincaré.
HUMAN HEALTH
Blood's Stretchy Properties
Sophie Bushwick, ISNS Contributor
Date: 01 March 2013 Time: 07:20 PM ET
(ISNS) -- Blood has long been the focus of research -- but it still offers some surprises. A new study reveals that plasma, the fluid in which blood cells travel, behaves a bit like a solid on small scales.
Blood is a suspension of cells inside a liquid. As it flows, it delivers vital oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body. By better understanding blood plasma -- a solution mostly made up of water that transports red and white blood cells, platelets, salts, proteins, and fats -- researchers can more accurately model the motion of blood within the human body and use that information to help develop artificial substitutes.
New Plastic Helps Mend Broken Bones
Rachel Kaufman, TechNewsDaily Contributor
Date: 01 March 2013
A new type of plastic someday could make fixing broken bones a snap.
Richard Oreffo, a professor of Musculoskeletal Science at the University of Southamptonin England, and colleagues have created a blend of three plastics that is tough yet highly porous. This may make it an ideal "scaffold" for a broken bone – a placeholder structure that can be replaced with real bone tissue as the body heals.
The polymer "has this lovely honeycomb structure," Oreffo said. That allows living cells to "crawl all over it. Blood vessels can penetrate it. So it's really nice."
Lice Genes Reveal Human Migration
Tia Ghose, LiveScience Staff Writer
Date: 27 February 2013
Lice genes could offer insights into human migration, according to new research.
The new analysis also suggests that efforts to eradicate the blood-sucking parasites may need to focus on local populations, rather than trying to tackle the creatures globally.
The findings, published today (Feb. 27) in the journal PLOS ONE, could help scientists understand how lice evolve resistance to insecticides.
ANIMALS
Rare Sharks Unexpectedly Found in Australian Waters
Tia Ghose, OurAmazingPlanet Staff Writer
Date: 01 March 2013
A rare shark couple found for the first time off the coast of Australia may force a rethink of the species' range.
Two years ago, a sport fisherman caught a pair of rare sharks off Rottnest Island in Western Australia. The duo, a male shark about 3.3 feet (1 meter) long and a pregnant female about 3.9 feet (1.2 m) long, looked different from the sharks that normally prowl the Australian waters. The female was carrying 22 pups.
The fishermen gave the sharks to ocean researchers at the University of Western Australia. After analyzing the sharks' DNA, the team concluded that the sharks were mandarin dogfish sharks, which are normally spotted only in the waters off Indonesia, Japan and New Zealand.
100 Million Sharks Killed Each Year, Study Finds
Megan Gannon, News Editor
Date: 01 March 2013
Aggressive overfishing threatens to push some shark species to extinction, and a new study puts annual shark deaths at 100 million.
"Our analysis shows that about one in 15 sharks gets killed by fisheries every year," study leader Boris Worm, a professor of biology at Canada's Dalhousie University, said in a statement. "With an increasing demand for their fins, sharks are more vulnerable today than ever before."
Based on available data for shark deaths and estimates of unreported illegal catches, the researchers estimated that 100 million sharks were killed in 2000 and 97 million in 2010. But since scientists lack sufficient data on shark catches, they say the real number of annual shark deaths could possibly be between 63 million and 273 million.
New Pacific Species Include Shrimp in a Sponge
Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet Staff Writer
Date: 01 March 2013
A vast array of new species was recently discovered in the world's most spectacular reef you've never heard of, Madang Lagoon in Papua New Guinea.
"It is the most diverse reef in the world," said marine biologist Jim Thomas, a researcher at Nova Southeastern University's National Coral Reef Institute in Hollywood, Fla.
Madang Lagoon is also one of the world's most threatened coral reefs, Thomas added, imperiled by nearby industry. A World Bank-sponsored tuna cannery opened recently, drawing tiger sharks attracted to offal dumped offshore. Another 10 canneries are planned, Thomas said. Along the Ramu River, which drains into the lagoon, a massive nickel mine just started operation. The mining company dumps its sludge a mile offshore, but Thomas is concerned the sediment could contaminate the lagoon.
Elephants Vanish in Congo Reserve
By Megan Gannon, News Editor | LiveScience.com – Fri, Mar 1, 2013
The Okapi Faunal Reserve was thought to be a safe haven for forest elephants in the otherwise conflict-stricken eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. But a new report finds that unabated poaching has sent the population into serious decline. Just 1,700 elephants are left inside the reserve, and that number could be zero within 10 years, conservationists warn.
A lucrative black-market trade in ivory drives the hunt for elephants in the region. In the last 15 years, 75 percent of the Okapi population, or 5,100 animals, have been killed, and in the last five years, the population has declined 37 percent, according to a Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) survey.
Crawl Space: Invasive Ant Armies Clash on U.S. Soil
One of the most aggressive invasive ants in the world seems to have met its match in North Carolina--but if the arthropod challenger prevails, don’t expect it to play nice
By Marissa Fessenden
The Argentine ant has spread to every continent except Antarctica, overwhelming native ants with sheer numbers and fierce battle tactics. But they may have met their match in a recent arrival: the Asian needle ant. The cross-species face-off, a surprise to entomologists, could topple ecosystems where the battle lines are drawn.
Invading ants make up just a handful of the more than 12,4000 described ant species in the world, says Jes Søe Pedersen, an associate professor at the Center for Social Evolution at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. Yet, their impact on ecosystems, human health and the economy far outstrips their Lilliputian size. Red fire ants can endanger the lives of those who unwittingly stumble on a nest. Some invasive species are agricultural pests or “farm” voracious plant-eating aphids to milk them for their sugar-laden excrement.
Invasive ants often kill, eat or outcompete native ant species—the latter of which play key roles in the ecosystems where they make their homes. Many native ants are gardeners—they till the soil and plant seeds. Alien ants that come from a different environment do not pick up the jobs of those they push out.