Red (well, more like Burnt Orange) Planet

In recent studies, scientists have been inquiring about the nature of the red color that envelops the planet we call Mars (aka the Red Planet). According to reports from a Mars rover, there was once large pools of brackish water (water with a decent amount of salt in it, although not as much as sea water), and a warm and wet environment on Mars. Most scientists believed that the soil became red due to rust caused by oxygen from water and iron oxide from soil.

     However, John Merrison of Aarhus University disagrees. He claims that Mars should look black because most of the rock on Mars is basalt, which is black. To test his theory, he filled flasks with sand and sealed them to ensure that they stay dry. Then, he put them in a tumbler to mimic the erosion the rocks on Mars faced. In months, the sand changed to a red hue. His theory is that the chemical composition of the dust was changed due to friction, becoming rich with iron oxide (hematite). This may prove that there was never a lot or any water on Mars.

     I found this article interesting because it is an acceptable explanation of Mars' red color. Although his experiment isn't perfect in proof, it actually seemed very likely to me. This experiment also changes a lot about what we believed about Mars. The fact that he didn't need water to create the reddish color that we see when we look up at the Red Planet may in fact prove that there really wasn't any water on Mars. This could affect any future discoveries or theories about the history of Mars.

RT
source http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/2009/09/red-mars-black-mars.html

Robots Replace Scientists

Have you ever heard of a robot that can do complicated experiments on its own without human intervention?

Well, this is exactly what a British science team lead by Ross King uncovered at Aberystwyth University in Wales. Adam the robot lab whiz has perfected the whole scientific process. This robot can formulate hypotheses and run experiments all on its own. It is like a full lab group. Scientists believe this super robot could discover the cure for malaria and solve gene disorders faster than humans can. Most scientists believe robots will take over the experimenting task from the scientists, leaving the scientists to focus on solving problems and spend less time and money on routine, repetitive tasks. As King puts it, "There will be teams of robots and humans, but I believe that to work correctly, there always be a need from both teams to help each other with the experiment."

by KE source

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/robotscientist/

Laser Eye Surgery, How does it work?

Laser eye surgery has become more and more popular since it was first introduced over twenty years ago. Most patients that had this surgery were very happy with their results. Some people even said it was the best investment of their life. My big question is why do people say it is dangerous, how does it really work?

The First step to this procedure is for you to go to an ophthalmologist who will examine your eyes to assure you are suitable for this treatment. Once you get cleared by your doctor, either they or an ophthalmic surgeon will do the procedure.

Surprisingly, the surgery does not appear to be too complex. There are many different procedures, but the most common is LASIK eye surgery. In LASIK surgery, the first thing your ophthalmologist will do is give you a local anesthetic to numb your eye ball. A laser is used to make a thin circular flap in the cornea. The surgeon then folds the flap back and removes some corneal tissue using a different laser. The laser also reshapes the cornea while removing some tissue. Once the cornea is reshaped the flap is flipped back into place. This results in improved vision and often vision correction is no longer needed.

I decided to blog about LASIK eye surgery because of NS's blog of the tooth in the eye surgery. Mr. Hazen complimented MS for relating her blogpost to NS so I thought I'd do so too.

by ZS
My first resource-http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/lasik.htmhttp://ezinearticles.com/?LASIK---How-Does-This-Laser-Eye-Surgery-Work?&id=27418

My second resource-

http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/lasik.htm

ZS

Doomsday 2012?

Is the world coming to the end on 2012??




Well according to  these folks the world will end on December 21, 2012. They base their suspicions around an advanced civilization 1700 years ago and the callendar of the Mayans.

So what is the Mayan Calendar that predicted the end of the world?

The calendar was constructed by an advanced civilization called the Mayans around 250-900 AD. Evidence of the Maya empire stretches around most parts of the southern states of Mexico and reaches down to parts of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and some of Honduras. The Mayan Prophecy is wholly based on the assumption that something bad is going to happen when the Mayan Long Count calendar runs out. Experts are divided as to when the Long Count ends, but as the Maya used the numbers of 13 and 20 at the root of their numerical systems, the last day could occur on 13.0.0.0.0 . 13.0.0.0.0 represents 5126 years and the Long Count started on 0.0.0.0.0, which matches to the modern date of August 11th 3114 BC.

Have you seen the problem yet?

The Mayan Long Count ends 5126 years later on December 21st, 2012 on our calendars. The Mayan Doomsday Prophecy is purely based on a calendar which we believe hasn't been designed to calculate dates beyond 2012.

But wait there is more!

Mayan archaeo-astronomers are even debating to whether the Long Count is designed to be reset to 0.0.0.0.0 after 13.0.0.0.0, or whether the calendar simply continues to 20.0.0.0.0 (approximately 8000 AD) and then reset.  No one really knows.

Still think the world willend in 2012? I don't.


by KH -  source http://www.universetoday.com/2008/05/19/no-doomsday-in-2012/

Monkeys Can Now See In Color

Although female squirrel monkeys can see in color, male squirrel monkeys are usually red-green colorblind because they do not have certain pigments in their retinas that detect those wavelengths of light.  The only way these monkeys might be able to see red and green light is if they are treated with a gene therapy test.  From this, they would be able to hopefully produce the protein needed for them to form a red photoreceptor cell which will allow them to detect the colors red and green.

With this theory, researcher Jay Neitz of the University of Washington in Seattle has taken two male monkeys, named Sam and Dalton, to perform a gene therapy test to see if they could produce the proteins they need to be able to see red and green lights.  Since Sam and Dalton were both lacking the red photoreceptor cell, they were given injections with a virus carrying a gene with the protein.  Over a 20 week period, the levels of protein slowly rised in the retinal cells of both monkeys and their performance on their daily color vision tests improved.  While looking at a gray screen with red and green dots lighting up, Sam and Dalton were able to sense the difference of lights by pointing to where they were on the screen.  Two years after Sam and Dalton underwent this test, they have maintained full color vision and can recognize all colors of light.

Researchers were very impressed that this test worked on adult monkeys and that it did not require any rewiring of the brain.  Even though we do not know what actual colors the monkeys are seeing, scientists do know that they do have a change in what type of color they see through their new photoreceptors.  Many scientists are now curious to see if this test would work on colorblind humans, but the outcome would be unpredictable.

     

Main article for colorblind monkeys

By E.R.

Was there ever water on Mars?

   For decades, scientists assumed that the reason for Mar's rusty red color was that Mars was probably at one time warm and wet.  Scientists believed that over time the soil on Mars became rusty.  Scientists believed that this process happened because the iron oxide formed from iron in the soil and oxygen in the water.  "Mars should really look blackish, between its white polar caps, because most of the rocks at mid-latitudes are basalt," said Merrison in a release.  Basalt is the kind of rock that is produced by volcanoes, and other sources of earthly heat.  Basalt is almost always dark.

            "So why isn't Mars black?"  An experiment was conducted where flasks were filled with sand (earthly but not terribly different from Martin soil analyzed by Mars landers).    The flasks were sealed would stay dry as dust.  The vials were put in mechanical tumbler, and they were turned over ten million times to simulate the kind of erosion that happens when rock particles are blown around or grind against each other over time.  After several months, the flasks contained reddish dust.  No water was required.  Merrison theorizes that the chemical composition of the dust changed as a result of the constant friction.  The soil became rich in hematite, which is reddish and a form of iron oxide.

            This finding could mean that there was never water or life on Mars.  This was what some scientists had based their theories for life on Mars on.  I think this could put an end to some studies, but this discovery could open a whole knew world of research possibilities.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/2009/09/red-mars-black-mars.html

KH

Blind Woman sees with "Tooth-in-eye" Surgery

Blind Woman sees with "Tooth-in-eye" Surgery

(SEE the video on ABC.com)

Just recently a team of specialists at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine announced on Wednesday that they were going to be the first people in America, to restore a person's sight by using a tooth. They used a procedure that is formally called "osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis," or MOOKP. As far as we know, this procedure only works for people who have become blind due to disease or other problems, such as Sharron "Kay" Thornton, age 60. She had lost her vision due to a rare disorder called Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and her eye became totally damaged.

The first step was for dentist, Dr. Yoh Sawatari, to remove a tooth from Thornton's mouth and prepare for an implant of her own dental tissue for her worse eye. This tissue would be used to make a new cornea to replace the damaged one. The doctors then removed a section of Thornton's cheek to become the soft tissue around the pupil and finally the team implanted the modified tooth with a hole drilled through the center to support a lens, and then they put in an optical cylinder. The doctors had said that since they had used her own tooth and piece of cheek, her immune system would not fight the transplant.

"Her eye looks different, but the goal is that once she's better, we can put on a cosmetic eye shield." says one of the doctors. This "tooth for an eye" technique was developed in Italy in the early 1960s, but it has been modified in Europe ever since. Hundreds of people in Japan, England and Italy have regained their vision, but it was amazing to see it caught up in America. MOOKP is used more often in Europe, but doctors in the U.S. usually choose a less tedious technique called the Boston Keratoprosthesis, which is like this procedure, but uses a prosthetic cornea instead of a tooth and cheek tissue. However, the Boston Keratoprosthesis does not work for all people.

~NS

source

Article from the Daily Mail with illustrations