Science Glance
Nasa is facing an extraordinary backlash from US researchers after it emerged that the space agency has banned Chinese scientists, including those working at US institutions, from a conference on grounds of national security.
Nasa officials rejected applications from Chinese nationals who hoped to attend the meeting at the agency's Ames research centre in California next month citing a law, passed in March, which prohibits anyone from China setting foot in a Nasa building.
US scientists boycott Nasa conference over China ban
Nasa prepares to launch 3D printer into space
NASA is preparing to launch a 3D printer into space next year, a toaster-sized game changer that greatly reduces the need for astronauts to load up with every tool, spare part or supply they might ever need.
The printers would serve as a flying factory of infinite designs, creating objects by extruding layer upon layer of plastic from long strands coiled around large spools. Doctors use them to make replacement joints and artists use them to build exquisite jewellery.
New commercial supply ship reaches space station
NASA's newest delivery service made its first-ever shipment to the International Space Station on Sunday, another triumph for the booming commercial space arena that has its sights set on launching astronauts.
Orbital Sciences Corp.'s unmanned cargo ship, the Cygnus, pulled up at the orbiting lab with a half-ton of meals and special treats for the station astronauts who assisted in the high-flying feat.
Harvard and MIT Researchers Invented ‘Lightsaber’ Technology … Sort of
A research team led by Harvard and MIT physics professors has manipulated photons of light to form molecules, a discovery that is very exciting to people with a high level understanding of physics … Of the discovery, Harvard Physics Professor Mikhail Lukin says, “It’s not an in-apt analogy to compare this to lightsabers.”
Ok, now the rest of us are listening.
“When these photons interact with each other,” Lukin says, “they’re pushing against and deflect each other. The physics of what’s happening in these molecules is similar to what we see in the movies.”
Stem cells: Living adult tissue transformed back into embryo state
The living tissue inside an animal has been regressed back into an embryonic state for the first time, Spanish researchers say.
They believe it could lead to new ways of repairing the body, for example after a heart attack. However, the study published in the journal Nature, showed the technique led to tumours forming in mice.
Voyager enters realm between the stars, report says
We've made it to the stars, at last.
For the first time, a human-made object has left the sun's realm behind and ventured into the vast space between the stars, scientists announced Thursday. The record-setting spacecraft is NASA's scrappy Voyager 1, which launched in 1977 and edged into interstellar space on Aug. 25, 2012, according to recent data.
"We are in a new region of space where nothing has been before," says Voyager project scientist Ed Stone of Caltech.
Religious conservatives on Texas textbook review panels criticize proposed science books
Religious conservatives serving on state textbook review panels have criticized several proposed high school biology textbooks for not including arguments against Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
The review panels include several creationists. They urge the State Board of Education to reject the books unless publishers include more disclaimers on key concepts of evolution.
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