World

The Moon: NASA's Findings

Inconsistent and contradictory information concerning the recalculated neutral point leads some investigators to believe NASA is conducting an official cover-up. Using NASA's own figures, researchers have determined that the flight times for the Apollo missions were shorter than they should have been, indicating that the spacecraft began to accelerate sooner than they would have if the moon's gravity were only one-sixth that of Earth's. The figures, in fact, validate the claim that the moon's gravity is nearly the same as Earth's! Assuming the moon's gravity is one-sixth that of Earth's,…

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World

The Moon: The Lunar Surface

Early Apollo missions found no traces of water on the lunar surface. But NASA scientists were stunned later when they detected a water vapor cloud greater than 100 square miles in size. This water vapor appears to have come from inside the moon, according to NASA testimony. Clouds, fog and other surface changes have been observed on the lunar surface for centuries. Six different 19th century astronomers reported having observed a fog which obscured details in the floor of the crater Plato. This would seem to contradict the idea that…

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World

The Moon: What Is This Strange Thing Orbiting Earth?

Three theories have been postulated to explain the moon, none of them really worth their salt. The first is that the moon was created from the same cosmic dust cloud at the same time as Earth about 4.6 billion years ago. The second is that the moon was torn from the Pacific Basin which later filled with water. The third, generally accepted by most scientists, is that the moon was captured by the Earth as it wandered into our gravitational field. The mechanics involved in such a celestial capture are…

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World

Researchers look to gut microbiome to improve bone health

A Cornell-led collaboration has been awarded a five-year, $3.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to explore the ways that the gut microbiome – that mass of microorganisms inside us all – impacts bone quality. Their findings could potentially lead to the creation of a microbiome-based therapeutic for improving bone health. The Cornell team is led by principal investigator Christopher J. Hernandez, professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, in collaboration with researchers at Tufts University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Hernandez came to the gut microbiome…

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World

Study tracks food’s value from farm to plate globally

June 7, 2021 | Tom Fleischman As soon as an ear of corn is taken off its stalk, or a potato is pulled from the ground, it travels anywhere from a few miles to across continents, and sometimes undergoes a multitude of processes that transform it into the food we consume. These miles and processes all contribute to what’s known as the food value chain (FVC), along which, as one might expect, the value of the product increases. However, most of the research and attention thus far paid to FVCs…

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World

Neurons Stripped of Their Identity Are Hallmark of Alzheimer’s Disease, Study Finds

November 13, 2020 | By Liezel Labios Researchers at the University of California San Diego have identified new mechanisms in neurons that cause Alzheimer’s disease. In particular, they discovered that changes in the structure of chromatin, the tightly coiled form of DNA, trigger neurons to lose their specialized function and revert to an earlier cell state. This results in the loss of synaptic connections, an effect associated with memory loss and dementia. The findings are published Nov. 13 in Science Advances. The study was founded on the question: how do…

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World

Fossil footprints tell story of prehistoric parent’s journey

Hungry giant predators, treacherous mud and a tired, probably cranky toddler – more than 10,000 years ago, that was the stuff of every parent’s nightmare. Footprints found at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, from more than 11,000 years ago, of an adult carrying a child for nearly a mile, then returning along the same path without the child. Evidence of that type of frightening trek was recently uncovered, and at nearly a mile it is the longest known trackway of early-human footprints ever found. The discovery, published in…

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Lifestyle World

Studies Find Physical Activity Measurably Boosts Health

Studies Find Even Minimal Physical Activity Measurably Boosts Health Two new studies from UC San Diego find that simply standing up or walking around can provide positive health benefits; and Americans sit too much October 12, 2020 | By Jeanna Vazquez More than 5 million people around the world die from causes associated with a lack of physical activity. Two research teams at UC San Diego School of Medicine sought to understand sedentary lifestyles, with one study finding that even light physical activity, including just standing, can benefit health, and…

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World

Ladybugs love their leafy greens

By Krishna Ramanujan |September 28, 2020 Most predators obtain a balanced diet from their prey, but Cornell researchers recently discovered that in the case of aphid-eating ladybugs, the rule doesn’t apply. That’s because a diet consisting solely of aphids lacks an essential nutrient –sterols, like cholesterol – which all male animals need to make sperm, hormones, and to maintain cell health. As a result, farm-friendly aphid-eating ladybugs supplement their diets with sterol-rich leafy greens. “We showed that a large group of predacious lady beetles eat leaves to obtain sterols,” said…

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World

Migrations research highlights human impacts on environment

By Megan DeMint, Sheri Englund |September 24, 2020 As smoke from western wildfires blots out the sun in Northern California and drifts as far as the East Coast and Europe, locals watch daily wildfire updates for evacuation and air-quality warnings. Outside at their birdfeeders, there’s another warning: silence. Birders across the Rocky Mountain region are reporting a decline in backyard traffic and dead migratory birds – including evidence of mass bird deaths in New Mexico. Sentinel species like wild songbirds are a potent reminder that humans and wildlife depend on…

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