Science & Technology
Scientists to track shrinking snowpack in Sierras
By CARL T. HALL
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Coping with climate change takes sophisticated analytical tools. In the mountain environments of the West, it also takes mules, shovels and plenty of sweat.
Mars orbiter remains lost in space
By JIM ERICKSON
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
NASA has been out of touch with Mars Global Surveyor since the evening of Nov. 5. But engineers said late last week they remain hopeful they'll regain contact with it.
"I certainly wouldn't say the mission is over," said Tom Thorpe, project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"The engineers still have plenty of things they want to try, so I would say we've got a good possibility of getting the spacecraft back."
Global Surveyor was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
Unique seed project aims to save threatened hemlocks
By WADE RAWLINS
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Forest insect researcher Robert Jetton stopped the van near a stand of eastern hemlocks in Dupont State Forest when he saw what he was seeking: tiny seed cones that could save the evergreens from extinction.
The slow-growing eastern hemlock, a pillar of Appalachian forests, grows 150 feet tall and lives 700 to 800 years.
Saving the world's coastal waters
By PETER B. LORD
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Ken Sherman flew to Beijing last month expecting to see environmental officials from 60 countries make final plans to spend $250 million cleaning up the Mediterranean Sea, $650 million on coastal waters in Southeast Asia and $100 million on waters off Africa.
Then the environmental ministers surprised him by announcing plans to spend another billion dollars to reduce pollution and improve fishing in the coastal waters of China.
"That was quite remarkable," Sherman exclaimed.
The same could be said for the way things have been going lately for the indefatigable senior scientist from Rhode Island.
When ministers from three South African countries _ Namibia, Angola and South Africa _ agreed two months ago to work together to manage the highly productive coastline they share on the Atlantic Ocean, Ken Sherman was there for the unforgettable ceremony.
New mice and other gadgets to try out
By MIKE BERMAN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
What fun would it be if we all had computers and no one was making any cool stuff to use with them?
Well, thanks to gadget-makers such as Logitech we computer geeks don't have to lead a boring existence and can continue to play with new and innovative products designed to make our hours spent using the one-eyed monsters a bit more tolerable.
I've been playing with two new Logitech mice, noise-canceling headphones, notebook speakers and a new notebook Webcam and all them have found permanent homes either on my desk or in my notebook bag.
The new MX Revolution cordless mouse ($99.99) does a lot more than just move a cursor around on your desktop.
Mercury makes a rare planetary 'transit'
By CARRIE PEYTON DAHLBERG
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
When Mercury passes between the Earth and sun on Wednesday, the view in countless telescopes will be more than just the latest slow samba in the dance of planets.
It will offer a hint of history, when the sight of planets moving across the sun helped confirm theories of the solar system and inspired massive expeditions to track it from every land.
Today, planetary "transits" are less epoch-making but still eye-catching.
"It's relatively rare," said Chris Taylor, a physics and astronomy professor at California State University, Sacramento.
Titan's atmosphere gives tips to Earth's 'early haze'
By DAVID PERLMAN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
When Earth was very young a few billion years ago, a thick smoggy haze shrouded the planet _ a haze much like the one that kept astronomers from seeing the surface of Saturn's moon Titan until last year, when the Huygens space probe parachuted through the moon's atmosphere onto its tarry landscape.
Test tube bison could help preserve species
By DAWN WALTON
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Wood bison have had their habitat destroyed, been hunted to the edge of extinction and been infected with debilitating diseases.
Now Canadian researchers are hoping to use modern-day reproductive technologies to create test-tube bison in an attempt to turn back the clock for the country's largest land mammal.
In a groundbreaking experiment, scientists recently salvaged testes and ovaries from bison in the Northwest Territories, which were sent to slaughter.
Hibernation of Arctic squirrels could aid humans
By HANNAH GUILLAUME
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Hibernating Arctic ground squirrels may guide scientists to new treatments for battlefield injuries, strokes and cancer.
Tests show that during hibernation ground squirrels are able to resist brain damage and injuries related to loss of blood flow and oxygen to the brain.
Scientists said they think this is partly because squirrels' body temperatures can go below freezing without causing damage _ a rare feat for a mammal.
"The Arctic ground squirrel is famous for being super cool," said Kelly Drew, a scientist and professor of the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Hibernating squirrels easier to study than bears
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Why not test bears?
Ground squirrels are studied because they are cheaper to deal with than hibernating grizzly bears.
"Bears are a little trickier to catch," said Kelly Drew, a researcher and professor of the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Permits from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game allow trapping ground squirrels for research.
