A record number of Americans have applied to become an astronaut at NASA. According to NASA, the agency received more than 18,300 applications for its 2017 astronaut class. This is more than three times the amount that applied in 2012. Only 8-14 people will be accepted in the NASA program. These candidates will then go through 2 years of training to learn spacecraft systems, spacewalking skills, and to speak Russian!
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Ever wonder what kind of sounds can be heard from the deepest part of the ocean? Scientists from Oregon State University and NOAA placed an underwater microphone in the Mariana Trench. Check it out here!
On Tuesday, American astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth after spending 1 year aboard the International Space Station. Kelly, along with Russian cosmonauts Sergey Volkov and Mikhail Kornienko touched down in Kazakstan. NASA will evaluate Kelly as they try to learn more about the effects of space on the human body, in preparation for a mission to Mars in the 2030's. During his year in space, Kelly orbited the Earth 5,440 times! Read more here!
Written by educator Charlton Brownell Scientist Emily Cole has created technology that can recycle carbon dioxide into something useful. She has developed a method that would turn the greenhouse gas emissions into a chemical that could be used to make consumer products like plastic bottles. Talk about innovative! Learn more here. The sea lamprey is a parasitic fresh water fish that is invasive in the Great Lakes (why it is called a sea lamprey is a different story for another time...). Since the sea lamprey invaded in 1919, they have killed SEVERAL MILLION pounds of native fish annually. Currently managers are using chemicals to kill lamprey larvae in streams, but these same chemicals can also accidentally kill other fish, like endangered juvenile sturgeons. Researchers have developed a new control method which uses phermones (natural chemicals) produced by lampreys, to trick lampreys into migrating towards areas where they can be easily removed. If successful in the Great Lakes, this new method can be used worldwide to provide an environmentally-friendly way to control invasive species.
Adapted by Science Educator Christine Michael Full article found in the New York Times by Rachel Nuwer Large container ships come through Charleston Harbor to deliver goods from all over the world. Charleston Harbor has a whole lot of sediment in it though! Do you think the harbor is normally deep enough for large ships to sail through? It's not! The harbor is regularly dredged (digging up sediment) to pave a way for these ships to travel. As the harbor gets dredged deeper and deeper, there's been discussion of what to do with all of that sediment! Check out the article here.
Video from ScienceMag.org
Today, two scientists announced evidence that mass nearly the size of Neptune, orbits the sun every 15,000 years. Could this be the new 9th planets? Read the article here!
Just before the 2015 came to a close, four newly discovered elements were approved to be added to the periodic table of elements. These four elements have the temporary names of ununtrium, ununpentium, ununseptium and ununoctium. The Russian and American scientists that discovered them will now decide on their permanent names. Check out more about these elements here!
Scientists have created a robotic penguin that records day to day life of penguins in the Antarctic. It's a safe way to truly observe these creatures without human disturbance. Technology has allowed us to explore so many places and things without having to physically be there! Can you think of some other examples? ROV's and drones are but a few!
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