Image: NASA/JHU Applied Physics Lab The New Horizons II (NH II) mission was conceived in mid-2002 as an economical backup for the New Horizons mission to Pluto, its moons, and the Kuiper Belt. The brainchild of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientist Alan Stern, NH II was meant to ensure that NASA could satisfy the desires of the planetary science community. In their 2003 Decadal Survey of future directions for planetary exploration, work on which commenced in 2002, planetary scientists rated Kuiper Belt exploration as their highest priority. NASA had selected SwRI’s New Horizons mission proposal in November 2001. The compact 478-kilogram spacecraft (image at top of post) was scheduled to launch on an Atlas V 551 rocket in January-February 2006. A Jupiter gravity-assist flyby in ... Continue reading →
I don't really have a favorite element, but if I had to choose one, I'd choose fluorine. It's such an interesting atom, especially combined with carbon. Its small size and strong electronegativity provide polymer chemists with interesting physical properties; the strong bond with carbon allows medicinal chemists the ability to block metabolic oxidation and keep their drug compounds in circulation just a little longer. It is quite interesting to note that citrate synthase stereospecifically constructs (2R, 3R)-4 (fluorocitric acid) out of four possible diastereomers and, in spite of the extremely poisonous nature of this isomer, causing convulsions and ventricular fibrillation, the three other stereoisomers are not toxic. Thus, this is expressed as the "lethal synthesis" by citrate synthase. Lethal synthesis! As you can imagine, this ... Continue reading →
Posted by Carl Zimmer The Atavist is no stranger to this site. In fact, we've set up a category for the ebooks that come from this innovative ebook publisher. Yesterday, The New York Times's David Carr broke the news that it has gotten $1.5 million in seed money from some of the biggest names in technology, such as Eric Schmidt of Google. So this afternoon I Skyped Evan Ratliff, the chief executive of the Atavist, to talk about how they do what they do, why they end up publishing so much science, and what lies in the future for their operation. I recorded our Skype conversation on a Macbook that really only good these days as a walkway tile. But for some reason the video ... Continue reading →
image from http://bit.ly/JDgicx You might notice the sting of the injection. Within seconds you’d realize you’re having trouble moving your eyes and fingers, followed by your arms and legs. If you were standing, you’d collapse. In a heap on the floor, you’d realize nearly every muscle in your body was paralyzed. Being fully conscious, your sense of panic would be rising as rapidly as the paralysis was spreading. Swallowing and breathing has become more and more difficult. Slipping into unconsciousness, your last conscious thought may well be “I am going to die.” SUX Statistically speaking, you’re not going to die. Not because what was injected isn’t lethal – it most certainly is. No, you’re probably not going to die because if you’ve been injected with ... Continue reading →
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In the day’s first panel, Stephen Trachtenberg, president emeritus of George Washington University, acknowledged that traditional universities are under threat—and aren’t responding appropriately. Even as for-profit schools, flawed though they may be, demonstrate new models for educating students, the old guard is creating more traditional lecture halls and sticking with a two-semester system. (Faculty members, he quipped, are always in favor of progress but not so fond of change.) A further flaw in the current educational system, moderator Deborah Blum argued, is that science instruction is set up in such a way as to alienate those not interested in a STEM career. This hurts the public’s ability to understand and take part in vital discourse about science, technology, and priorities. One side effect of this, ... Continue reading →
Flowers of Ricinus communis. They generate seeds from which castor oil is produced. Credit: Richard Drew / Dreamstime.com SYDNEY: Scientists have uncovered the molecular mechanism that gives castor oil – one of the world’s oldest drugs – its laxative and labour-inducing properties. Ingesting castor oil has a nauseating effect, which can lead to vomiting and diarrhea. As well as a laxative, it has been used historically to bring on labour for pregnant women at term – but the latter use is not recommended by doctors, because of the risk of weakening or dehydrating the mother. The first known therapeutic use of castor oil – which comes from the seed of the castor plant (Ricinus communis) – was described in ancient Egypt more than 3,500 years ... Continue reading →
