Iron lungs may be the answer. To the problem of nuclear pollution, the demand for new energy sources, the mystery of Earth’s earliest life, and the search for life in space. A family of tiny iron-breathing critters discovered by Derek Lovley, professor of microbiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is redefining what scientists have believed possible in all these areas.
October 20th, 2003
China Space Shot Is a Real-Life Movie
By bringing “taikonaut” Yang Liwei safely home from orbit, China’s communists staged the most compelling production of their 54 years in power. Because the Shenzhou 5 mission, while grounded in science and the military, was at heart pure Hollywood blockbuster. “China’s manned `Star Trek’ signals a brighter future,” the state-controlled newspaper China Daily enthused.
October 8th, 2003
Report: Chinese to Orbit Earth on Oct. 15
After 11 years of planning, China’s first manned space flight could come down to this: one man, a two-pound sack of seeds and a single 90-minute loop around the planet. Giving the firmest signs yet that China is about to blast a “taikonaut” into orbit, news reports Wednesday said it would take place Oct. 15 and be shown live on television. In Indonesia, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the Shenzhou 5 craft would take off with a human crew “soon, very soon.”
August 27th, 2003
The Lure of Mars
The last time Mars passed within 34,646,418 miles from Earth, give or take a few hundred yards, Neanderthals were gazing up at the skies. This time, we’re not just looking. We’re thinking about going there someday. This morning’s close encounter occurred as Mars was at its nearest point to the sun. NASA and the European Space Agency have taken advantage of this proximity by launching rovers due to land on the Red Planet by early 2004. But what about sending people?
August 26th, 2003
Earth to Mars: Come Closer
Jupiter may be king of the mythological gods. But, among the planets, it’s Mars’ time to shine. When it draws closer to Earth than it has in some 60,000 years Wednesday, it will be brighter than any planet except Venus. And, since Venus makes only a fleeting appearance at sundown, it won’t steal the Red Planet’s show. At 5.52 a.m. eastern daylight time Aug. 27, Mars will be a “mere” 34,848,754 miles away. That’s 1,188 miles closer to Earth than Mars came in 1924.
July 9th, 2003
Alien Blood Test
Scientists Hope to Use Horseshoe Crab Blood to Hunt for Life Outside Earth. “One of the reasons the horseshoe crab has survived for so long is its advanced immune system,” said Norman Wainwright, a senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Mass. “This system can be used to find microbial life.”
June 4th, 2003
Super-Hero Tech
Real-life crimefighters could soon be getting high-tech, military-style outfits that would rival anything the caped crusader had in his fabled Bat suit and utility belt. The new gear, dubbed LECTUS for Law Enforcement/Corrections Tactical Uniform System, comes courtesy of researchers at the U.S. Army’s National Protection Center at the Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass., where they have been working for years to modify some of the latest military innovations for use by police on the home front.
June 2nd, 2003
Mars on a Dime
It’s small, lightweight and simple in design. And European scientists hope it will become the little spaceship that could. The European Space Agency launched its first mission to Mars today in the form of a disc-like ship carrying a compact lander named the Beagle 2. The robots’ main mission is to find signs of life
May 12th, 2003
Fickle Planet
When two rovers are launched to Mars this June, one thing NASA engineers hope they’ll never have to confront is silence. It was a painful silence that set in at Mission Control last December as the Columbia made its fateful descent to Earth. Silence also reigned as NASA controllers