Jodie Foster Joins Alien Hunt

Jodie Foster, Academy Award winning actor, producer and director, was among 2,557 donors helping SETI (Search for extraterrestrial intelligence -- collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life) in its lookout for alien radio signal from outer space.

With no successful alien-spotting to boast of, SETI was going through a severe cash crunch due to dwindling interest of funding agencies and high profile individual donors. However, the latest news from the institute will revive the lost interest, as it has announced raising $223,000, exceeding its $200,000 goal. Setistars.org has a big red bold lettered message on the site, "Thank you for all your support to resume."

"The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) is good to go and we need to return it to the task of searching newly discovered planetary worlds for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence," Foster was quoted by AFP. She said the telescopes "could turn science fiction into science fact, but only if it is actively searching the skies. I support the effort to bring the array out of hibernation."

SETI officials didn't disclose Foster's donation amount.

"We are so grateful to our donors," said Tom Pierson, who co-founded the SETI Institute with Jill Tarter. "We believe we will be back on the air in September."

Bill Anders, Apollo 8 mission astronaut, said: "... it is absolutely irresponsible of the human race not to be searching for evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence."

The failure of the SETI program to announce an alien radio signal had partially dimmed hopes of humans' encounter with life forms outside Earth. The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) went offline in April this year following a SETI announcement about the lack of funding for the institute. The Allen Telescope Array is a facility dedicated to detecting electromagnetic transmission from outer space. 

SETI had announced taking down ATA as the funds from NASA and a number of wealthy donors, including Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, had exhausted and the institute needed an estimated $5 million to operate for the next two years.

Sources:

Jodie Foster Helps Revive SETI ET Search

Jodie Foster Funds Alien Hunt

Novarupta : The Most Powerful Volcanic Eruption of the 20th Century.

Novarupta

The Most Powerful Volcanic Eruption of the 20th Century.
June 6th, 1912
People in Juneau, Alaska, about 750 miles from the volcano, heard the sound of the blast – over one hour after it occurred.
The morning of June 6th arrived on the Alaska peninsula to find the area which is now Katmai National Monument being shaken by numerous strong, shallow earthquakes. The most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th Century was about to begin – but very few people knew about it. The Alaska peninsula has a low population density today, but in 1912 it was even lower. Beyond the land shaken by the earthquake activity, the beginnings of this event were almost unnoticed.
Volcanic Monitoring - 1912 vs. Today


Today the stirring of an important volcano draws enormous global attention. Weeks or even months before most large eruptions, a buzz circulates through an electronically-connected community of volcano scientists as clusters of small earthquakes are detected by a global array of seismographs. Many scientists working at diverse global locations interpret this data and begin to collaborate about an awakening volcano and the eruption that might follow. Reports are posted on the internet and news stories communicate the volcano's activity to millions of people. Often it is a false alarm – the volcano is simply stirring.

If the earthquakes strengthen and begin moving upwards, many of these scientists will travel to the area of potential eruption to make observations and set up a local network of data-gathering instruments.

However, in 1912, Alaska was not a US state, very few scientists were supported to do volcanic studies and a worldwide network of seismic monitoring was not in place. Scientists were just starting to understand the mechanics of volcanic eruptions.
Impact of the Eruption


Forty years after the eruption, investigators finally realized that Novarupta - and not Katmai - was the source of the tremendous blast.
The inhabitants of Kodiak, Alaska, on Kodiak Island, about 100 miles away, were among the first people to realize the severity of this eruption. The noise from the blast would have commanded their attention and the visual impact of seeing an ash cloud rise quickly to an elevation of 20 miles then drift towards them would have been terrifying.

Within just a few hours after the eruption a thick blanket of ash began falling upon the town - and ash continued falling for the next three days, covering the town up to one foot deep. The residents of Kodiak were forced to take shelter indoors. Many buildings collapsed from the weight of heavy ash on their roofs.

Outside, the ash made breathing difficult, stuck to moist eyes and completely blocked the light of the sun at midday. Any animal or person who was caught outside probably died from suffocation, blindness or an inability to find food and water.


Pyroclastic Flow


Back on the peninsula, heavy pyroclastic flows swept over 20 kilometers down the valley of Knife Creek and the upper Ukak River. (A pyroclastic flow is a mixture of superheated gas, dust, and ash that is heavier than the surrounding air and flows down the flank of the volcano with great speed and force.)

These flows completely filled the valley of Knife Creek with ash, converting it from a V-shaped valley into a broad flat plain. By the time the eruption was over, the world’s most extensive historic ignimbrite (solidified pyroclastic flow deposit) would be formed. It covered a surface area of over 120 square kilometers to depths of over 200 meters thick near its source. (The satellite image at right shows the original geographic extent of pyroclastic flow deposits as a yellow line.)


Volcanic Ash


Immediately after the June 6th blast, an ash cloud rose to an elevation of about 20 miles. It was then carried by the wind in a westerly direction, dropping ash as it moved. The ash deposits were thickest near the source of the eruption and decreased in thickness downwind. (The satellite image above/right has red contour lines showing the thickness of the ash deposits in the area of the eruption. Measurable thickness of ash fell hundreds of miles beyond the one meter contour line.)

When the eruption stopped on June 9th, the ash cloud had spread across southern Alaska, most of western Canada and several U.S. states. Winds then carried it across North America. It reached Africa on June 17th.

Although the eruption had these far-reaching effects, most people outside of Alaska did not know that a volcano had erupted. More surprising is that no one knew for sure which of the many volcanoes on the Alaska peninsula was responsible. Most assumed that Mount Katmai had erupted but they were wrong.

What Can We Do About It?


People can not prevent this type of eruption. They can assess the potential impact, develop with the possibility of loss in mind, plan a response, educate the public and key decision makers, and monitor the region where it might occur.

The more you know about a natural hazard, the greater your chances of avoiding injury or loss. We are lucky to have this record of the past.

Scientists Invent Oxygen Particle That If Injected, Allows You To Live Without Breathing

Journal Reference:

1. John N. Kheir, Laurie A. Scharp, Mark A. Borden, Edward J. Swanson, Andrew Loxley, James H. Reese, Katherine J. Black, Luis A. Velazquez, Lindsay M. Thomson, Brian K. Walsh, Kathryn E. Mullen, Dionne A. Graham, Michael W. Lawlor, Carlo Brugnara, David C. Bell, and Francis X. McGowan, Jr. Oxygen Gas–Filled Microparticles Provide Intravenous Oxygen Delivery. Science Translational Medicine, 27 June 2012 DOI:10.1126/scitranslmed.3003679
2. Story Source:

   The below story is reprinted from materials provided by Children's Hospital Boston.

Scientists Invent Oxygen Particle That If Injected, Allows You To Live Without Breathing

New Medical Discovery

A team of scientists at the Boston Children’s Hospital have invented what is being considered one the greatest medical breakthroughs in recent years. They have designed a microparticle that can be injected into a person’s bloodstream that can quickly oxygenate their blood. This will even work if the ability to breathe has been restricted, or even cut off entirely.

This finding has the potential to save millions of lives every year. The microparticles can keep an object alive for up to 30 min after respiratory failure. This is accomplished through an injection into the patients’ veins. Once injected, the microparticles can oxygenate the blood to near normal levels. This has countless potential uses as it allows life to continue when oxygen is needed but unavailable. For medical personnel, this is just enough time to avoid risking a heart attack or permanent brain injury when oxygen is restricted or cut off to patients.

Dr. John Kheir, who first began the study, works in the Boston Children’s Hospital Department of Cardiology. He found inspiration for the drug in 2006, when he was treating a girl in the ICU who had a sever case of pneumonia. At the time, the girl didn’t have a breathing tube, when at the time she suffered from a pulmonary hemorrhage. This means her lungs had begin to fill up with blood, and she finally went into cardiac arrest. It took doctors about 25 minutes to remove enough blood from her lungs to allow her to breath. Though, the girl’s brain was severely injured due to being deprived of oxygen for that long and she eventually died.

“Phallus” Worm Is Evolutionary Missing Link between two lineages of acorn worms, a new study says.

Posted by Christine Dell'Amore of National Geographic News in Weird & Wild on March 13, 2013

A phallus-shaped worm that lived 505 million years ago is heads above the rest—it’s a “missing link” between two lineages of acorn worms, a new study says.

Dubbed Spartobranchus tenuis, the odd creature is a type of soft-bodied marine animal that’s rarely preserved in the fossil record. The new specimen was first discovered in the early 1900s in an area called the Burgess Shale, a fossil-rich area in Canada‘s Yoho National Park. (Also see“Pictures: New Deep-Sea Worms Found—Have Big ‘Lips.’”)

The new worm species S. tenuis outside their tubes (above) and inside. Illustration by Marianne Collins

But the fossil went mostly unnoticed until a few years ago, when evolutionary biologist Jean-Bernard Caron of the University of Toronto “stumbled on drawers full of these worms” at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

“I said, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I noticed a lot of these worms in bizarre-shaped rings, like mini Michelin tires in the rock,” said Caron, a co-author of the study.

After Caron and colleagues looked more closely at the fossils, they realized the newfound worm “really connects a lot of dots” in the evolution of hemichordates.

Solving an Evolutionary Puzzle

Hemichordates, a group of marine invertebrates that includes S. tenuis, are closely related to modern starfish and sea urchins, as well as to chordates, or animals with backbones—such as primates. (Watch a video of a sea cucumber that fights with its guts.)

Two modern acorn worms, Harrimania planktophilus. The total length of a relaxed and uncoiled animal is approximately 32 millimeters. Photograph courtesy C.B. Cameron

There are two main branches within the hemichordates: enteropneusts and pterobranchs, Caron said. Pterobranchs live in colonies while enteropneusts don’t.

“That has always puzzled evolutionary biologists—what is the common ancestor of the hemichordates?” he said. (See more pictures of marine worms that fire “glowing blobs.”) 

The Burgess Shale region, with Wapta Mountain in the background. Photograph courtesy JB Caron

Now, they’ve found it in S. tenuis, an enteropneust that lived 200 million years before the previous earliest known specimen. 

The giveaway, Caron said, was that S. tenuis fossils were found with tubular structures. Modern-day pterobranchs live in these colonial tubes, but modern-day enteropneusts don’t. Finding the tubes with S. tenuis suggests the tubes were lost as enteropneusts evolved, but were retained over time in the pterobranchs.

These modern pterobranchs live in tubes similar to those preserved in the S. tenuis fossils. Photograph courtesy C.B. Cameron

What’s more, “understanding the origin of chordates can help us understand our own origins,” since we all shared an as yet-unknown worm-like ancestor, noted Caron, whose study was published today in the journal Nature.

Phallic Shape Withstood the Test of Time

S. tenuis lived in a different world—during the Cambrian period, Canada was tropical due to its position near the Equator. Other than that, though, the four-inch-long (10-centimeter-long) creature seems astonishingly similar to modern acorn worms. (See a prehistoric time line.)

“One of the things that blew my mind about this thing is that most animals in the Burgess Shale look nothing like modern-day animals, but this is so clearly an acorn worm,” said study co-author Christopher B. Cameron of the Université de Montréal.

“Except for losing the tube, the animal is virtually unchanged in 505 million years.”

For instance, S. tenuis and modern acorn worms both have flexible bodies with a long, narrow trunk that ends in a bulbous structure, which may serve as an anchor to pull itself backward into its tube quickly if there’s a threat. (See a picture of a mushroom named for its phallic shape.)

An undescribed species of modern acorn worm. Photograph by C.B. Cameron

The scientists also suspect that, like modern acorn worms, S. tenuis “would have been a recycler of organic material—a bit like earthworms in our gardens,” Caron said.

You probably don’t see acorn worms very often, though they’re widespread worldwide and likely burrow under the sand of your favorite beach.

The telltale signs of their presence are tiny sausage-shaped sand pellets that the animals push up to the surface, essentially the garbage from their work filtering the sand, Caron said.

So the next time you’re taking a long walk on the beach, think about the worm relatives busy at work, just under your feet.

Underlying Architecture of Planetary Systems Based on Kepler Data: Number of Planets and Coplanarit

Source: Julia Fang,1*, J. L. Margot,1,2*
*University of California, Los Angeles.
1 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
2 Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Received 2012 July 22; accepted 2012 October 30; published 2012 November 28

Abstract:
We investigated the underlying architecture of planetary systems by deriving the distribution of planet multiplicity (number of planets) and the distribution of orbital inclinations based on the sample of planet candidates discovered by the Kepler mission. The scope of our study included solar-like stars and planets with orbital periods less than 200 days and with radii between 1.5 and 30 Earth radii, and was based on Kepler planet candidates detected during Quarters 1 through 6. Our analysis improves on previous work by including all available quarters, extending to 200-day periods, and fitting models to observables such as normalized transit duration ratios that contain information on mutual orbital inclinations; these improvements lend to a deeper investigation of the
intrinsic distributions of planetary systems. We created models of planetary systems with different distributions of planet multiplicity and orbital inclinations, simulated observations of these systems by Kepler, and compared the number and properties of the transits of detectable objects to actual Kepler planet detections. Based on the underlying distributions of our best-fit models, 75-80% of planetary systems have 1 or 2 planets with orbital periods less than 200 days. In addition, over 85% of planets have orbital inclinations less than 3 degrees. This high degree of coplanarity is comparable to that seen in our Solar System, with the exception of Mercury. These results provide important constraints and insights into theories of planet formation and evolution.

CONCLUSIONS
We have investigated the underlying distributions of multiplicity and inclination of planetary systems by using the sample of planet candidates discovered by the Kepler mission during Quarters 1–6. Our study included solar-like stars and planets with orbital periods less than 200 days and with radii of 1.5–30R⊕. We created model populations represented by a total of two tunable parameters, and we fitted these models to observed numbers of transiting systems and to normalized transit duration ratios. We did not include any constraints from radial velocity surveys. Below we list the main conclusions of our study.
1. From our best-fit models, 75%–80% of planetary systems have 1 or 2 planets with orbital periods less than 200 days. This represents the unbiased, underlying number of planets per system.

2. From our best-fit models, over 85% of planets have orbital inclinations less than 3◦ (relative to a common reference plane), implying a high degree of coplanarity.
3. Compared to previous work, our results do not suffer from degeneracies between multiplicity and inclination. We break the degeneracy by jointly considering two types of observables that contain information on both number of planets and inclinations.
4. If we extrapolate down to planet radii less than 1.5 Earth radii, the underlying multiplicity distribution is consistent with the number of planets in the solar system with orbital periods less than 200 days. If we also extrapolate to beyond 200 days, we find that the underlying distribution
of inclinations derived here is compatible with inclinations in the solar system.
5. Our results are also consistent with the standard model of planet formation in a disk, followed by an evolution that did not have a significant and lasting impact on orbital inclinations.

Continued observations by the Kepler mission will improve the detectability of new candidate planets covering a larger swath of parameter space, especially to longer orbital periods
and smaller planetary radii. We anticipate that future statistical work will further boost our understanding of the underlying architecture of planetary systems.

We thank Dan Fabrycky for useful discussions, as well as the entire Keplerteam for procuring such an excellent data set of planetary systems. We also thank the reviewer for helpful
comments that improved the paper.

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