Is There Water on The Moon? YES!

After NASA’s attempt to find water on the Moon, many people are asking the question “Is there water on the Moon?”. Over the years many theories have raised about this matter, and many people were sure that with a little exploration, water could be found. Well, this week, NASA issued an official answer for the question:

Nasa has found ‘a significant amount’ of water inside a crater on the Moon in a discovery that could pave the way for the first manned lunar base. The agency announced that last month’s audacious attempt to smash two spacecraft into the Moon’s rocky surface to find ice was a major success. The £49million bombing raid threw up a mile-high plume of dust - which included chunks of ice locked away in a deep crater at the lunar south pole. The bottom of the crater had not seen sunlight for billions of years.

Quick answer? YES. So, is the moon ready for human settlements?

Watch Orionid Meteor Shower Tonight!

Tonight some of you will be able to watch the Orionid meteor shower. Yes! Tonight and tomorrow morning are the best times to see this meteor shower, the perfect time will be 1 a.m. so if you are sleepy go an set up your alarm clock right away! You shouldn’t miss it, check out what they say at NASA:

“Since 2006, the Orionids have been one of the best showers of the year, with counts of 60 or more meteors per hour,”

The best way to watch all the meteor shower is to go to a remote place. Why? Because there is less “light pollution”. This is one of the best sightings to see on earth while you are alive. Don’t miss the chance!

NASA Moon Bombing

News about the NASA Moon bombing is spreading fast across the World. According to some reports found online, it seems the NASA is preparing to bomb the Moon by slamming two spacecraft into it tomorrow at 7:30 am EDT.

The NASA Moon bombing is an effort to find water on Earth’s satellite.  The blast is believed to break ice on the Moon, allowing to search for water molecules. A live broadcast is being prepared for tomorrow Friday and it will start at 6:15 am EDT, you will be able to find it live at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Previously, NASA confirmed the existence on water on the Moon through an Indian mooncraft Chandrayaan, which carried instruments to probe the satellite.  The existence of water will be a step forward in the exploration of the Moon.  Costs will now be severely reduced for exploration if enough water is found to supply lunar exploration teams.

The missile for the NASA Moon bombing will be directed to the south pole of the Moon and will have twice the speed of a bullet. With proper equipment, debris and the impact could be seen from Earth.

WASP 17 New Planet Discovered

Scientists have discovered a new planet and they have called it WASP-17! Don’t worry it has nothing to do with wasps from outer space, its name comes from the initials of the Wide Area Search for Planets, a consortium of British universities.

WASP-17 is located 1000 light years from Earth, and according to initial calculations, his size would be twice the size of Jupiter!

“A near collision during the early, violent stage of this planetary system could well have caused a gravitational slingshot, flinging WASP-17 into its backwards orbit.”

For the discovery, WASP scientists used a group of cameras to monitor stars, and change of light that would be a sign of a presence of a planet.

Solar Eclipse 2009 VIDEO!

Check out the Solar Eclipse 2009. In America the Solar eclipse will not be visible, but in other parts of the World, like Japan, China and India, people will get to see the longest solar eclipse of this century!

The solar eclipse 2009 will last 6 minutes and 39 seconds.  The exact time it will take place is 02:35:21 UTC. Check out below as we update this post with the Solar eclipse video and pictures.

Stephen Hawking Ill

Stephen Hawking Ill – One of the greatest mind on Earth, Stephen Hawking is hospitalized and reported very ill according to Cambridge University. He was being treated on Addenbrooke-s hospital for the last few weeks after suffering a chest infection.

“Professor Hawking is very ill,” “He is undergoing tests. He has been unwell for a couple of weeks.”

said Gregory Hayman, from Cambridge University.

Later in the afternoon, he said Hawking was “now comfortable but will be kept in hospital overnight.”

Hawking is 67 years old and has been responsible for many of the advances in physics, especially black holes.

Those were the reports on Stephen Hawking Ill.

Discovery Shuttle Landing Schedule

Shuttle Landing Schedule - The landing of the space shuttle has been delayed because of bad weather. If you recall, the shuttle landing schedule was on early Saturday, today, but they will only make another one attempt today.  If bad weather persists, the landing will have to be scheduled for Sunday.

NASA spoke about the shuttle landing schedule:

“The weather forecast is ‘no go’ today for the first landing opportunity.”

The landing was scheduled for the Kennedy Space Center at 1:39 pm (1739 GMT). The next attempt will be at  3:14 pm (1914 GMT).

“We don’t feel comfortable with what we are seeing.”

If thinks work out the way they were planned, Edwards Air Force Base in California could be the other option.

Those were the news on the shuttle landing schedule.

Technorati Tags: shuttle landing, discovery landing, shuttle landing schedule

The Road Coloring Problem Solved

The Road Coloring problem has been a long-standing mathematical problem.  And it has been solved by a 63 year old man who lives in Israel, called Avraham Trakhtam.

Basically by solving the problem, now it is possible to give someone a set of universal directions to get them to arrive to an specific spot.  This can be used in mazes as well as when giving directions to find a restaurant in a city.  For a better explanation let’s see what Wikipedia has to say:

The Road coloring conjecture, also referred to as the Road coloring problem, is a theorem in graph theory with implications in symbolic dynamics. It deals with synchronized instructions. The issue involved is whether by implementing such instructions, one can reach or locate an object or destination when lost within a city, maze, or network. Using this theorem, for example, it would be possible to produce a set of directions that would lead you to a friend’s house even if you are completely lost in the city in which he lives and there are no street signs.

Pretty interesting. The story of Avraham is also interesting, he was a migrant who arrived from Russia with nothing.  Working as a labourer and night watch.  Now he has made history in maths.

The problem was first posed in 1970 by Benjamin Weiss.  It took Traktham a year to solve the problem.

“The solution is not that complicated. It’s hard, but it is not that complicated. Some people think they need to be complicated. I think they need to be nice and simple.”

I totally agree with him.  Most great things in life are simple and he has proven it once again. Let’s see how this knowledge will integrate into our everyday lives.

Those were the news on the road coloring problem

Technorati Tags: road coloring problem, Avraham Trakhtam, israel, maths

Airborne Lawsuit

Are you using Airborne to cure or prevent common cold and for “other therapeutic benefits”? Well, if that’s the case, you’ll be interested in the result of the Airborne Lawsuit. It results in a $23 million settlement today.

Airborne had a class action lawsuit because of false allegations they made about the product. Why? There’s little solid proof that the product works! So what they are selling? A placebo, Airborne doesn’t have the scientific backup needed.

The company is going to recall the product, and the money is supposedly destined to all airborne consumers who spent cash in this garbage med.

“There’s no credible evidence that what’s in Airborne can prevent colds or protect you from a germy environment,” said CSPI Senior nutritionist, David Schardt. “Airborne is basically on overpriced, run-of-the-mill vitamin pill that’s been cleverly, but deceptively, marketed.”

Many people are enraged over this, in the end they just bough a bunch of vitamins. And well the company hasn’t much to say about this, a recorded message at Airborne says “Defendants deny any wrongdoing or illegal conduct, but have agreed to settle the litigation.”. At the end $23 million is nothing compared to the big earnings they have. Anyway, that’s a victory to consumers and a reminder that placebo can work pretty good on some people.

Have you bought Airborne? You can ask for refunds by writing to Airborne Class Action Settlement Administrator at PO Box 1897, Faribault, MN 55021-7152 or visit www.AirborneHealthSettlement.com

And those were the news on the Airborne Lawsuit.

Technorati Tags: airborne lawsuit, airborne, airborne recall, airborne class action, airborne refund, airborne settlement

Naked Mole Rats Don’t Feel Pain, Can Help People

The tiny naked mole rat is a small, nasty looking mammal, but they are a subject of a study that might help millions of people in the future.  Why?  Because they are insensitive to pain.

It has been discovered that these naked mole rats are insensitive to long-lasting, achy pain.  This is because they do not produce a chemical called Substance P that is present in mammals and is the responsible of sending pain signal to the central nervous system.

Professors Thomas Park and Gary Lewin in the experiment were also capable of restoring the production of Substance P with a herpes cold sore virus – though only in one foot.

“They’d pull their foot back and lick it,” in response to the stimulus, said Park.

This knowledge could help patients who deal with painful diseases.  “This is important specifically to the long-term, secondary-order inflammatory pain. It’s the pain that can last for hours or days when you pull a muscle or have a surgical procedure,” he said. 

“We’re learning which nerve fibres are important for which kinds of pain, so we’ll be able to develop new strategies and targets,”