Science

November 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye announced today that the full Senate has approved $74,753,000 for Hawaii commerce, justice and science initiatives including protection for marine wildlife, climate change research, and programs for at-risk, rural youth.

The federal funds for Hawaii-related projects were approved as part of the Fiscal Year 2010 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Bill.

The bill passed by a vote of 71 to 28, with Chairman Inouye and Senator Daniel K. Akaka supporting the bill. The bill must now face a joint House-Senate Conference and final approval by the Senate and House, before it is transmitted to the White House.    » read more »

Includes $3.8 million Requested by Boxer

November 5, 2009 -- Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate today passed the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill, which includes $3.8 million requested by U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) for key investments throughout California.

Senator Boxer said, “I am so pleased the Senate passed this bill, which will help make Californians safer. It includes crucial investments to fight drugs, combat gang violence and support our first responders.”
These investments include:

Coachella Valley Anti-Gang Task Force Project

Location: Cathedral City, California
Amount Received: $500,000    » read more »

Nov. 3, 2009 -- The eyes may be the mirror to the soul, but the iris reveals a person’s true identity—its intricate structure constitutes a powerful biometric. A new report by computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) demonstrates that iris recognition algorithms can maintain their accuracy and interoperability with compact images, affirming their potential for large-scale identity management applications such as the federal Personal Identity Verification program, cyber security and counterterrorism.    » read more »

Nov. 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- A NASA spacecraft's third and final flyby of Mercury gives scientists, for the first time, an almost complete view of the planet's surface and provides new scientific findings about this relatively unknown world.

The Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging spacecraft, known as MESSENGER, flew by Mercury on Sept. 29. The probe completed a critical gravity assist to remain on course to enter into orbit around Mercury in 2011. Despite shutting down temporarily because of a power system switchover during a solar eclipse, the spacecraft's cameras and instruments collected high-resolution and color images unveiling another 6 percent of the planet's surface never before seen at close range.    » read more »

Nov. 02, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA will award $1.65 million in prize money Thursday to a pair of innovative aerospace companies that successfully simulated landing a spacecraft on the moon and lifting off again.

NASA’s Centennial Challenges program will give a $1 million first prize to Masten Space Systems of Mojave, Calif., and a $500,000 second prize to Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwall, Tex., for their Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge flights. The competition was managed by the X PRIZE Foundation. The Northrop Grumman Corporation is a commercial sponsor that provided operating funds for the contest to the X PRIZE Foundation.    » read more »

Nov. 4, 2009 -- Searching for a needle in a haystack may seem futile, but it’s worth it if the needle is a hard-to-detect protein that may identify a person at high risk of a heart attack circulating within a haystack of human serum (liquid component of blood).    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- November 3, 2009 -- The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) today asked Congress to adopt strong transparency and accountability standards for each advisory committee created by any new health care law. UCS made its request in a letter signed by 20 consumer, labor, health, scientific integrity, transparency, journalism, taxpayer and public interest groups and delivered to the chairs of key House and Senate committees, House and Senate leaders, and other lawmakers who will negotiate a final health care bill.    » read more »

Why is a Mature, 50-year-old Industry Still Asking for Massive Taxpayer Handouts?, Science Groups Asks

October 29, 2009 -- Earlier this week the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the nuclear power industry's principal trade organization, released a proposal asking for billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies and radical changes to the federal regulatory process that would shift even more risks and costs from the industry to the public.    » read more »

Company Expects 2010 Earnings to Grow to Range of $2.10 to $2.40 Per Share; 20 Percent Compound Annual Earnings Growth Expected 2009 Through 2012

Wilmington, Del., Nov. 3, 2009 - During the company’s Investor Day, DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman and the company’s leadership team detailed how DuPont expects to build on its core competitive advantage of market-driven scientific innovation and its strong position in targeted global growth markets to deliver 20 percent compound annual earnings growth for the 2009-2012 period.    » read more »

November 2, 2009 -- Broomfield, Colo. – NOAA scientists took off Saturday on the second phase of a mission that, when complete, will provide a detailed view of how carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are distributed globally. Monitoring the increasing levels of greenhouse gases and black carbon aerosols in the atmosphere is crucial to understanding human-caused climate change.

“Missions such as this one are critical to understanding the impacts of greenhouse gases and particulates,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The data collected are also essential to help verify if policies to reduce these heat trapping pollutants are having their intended effect.”    » read more »

Oct. 29, 2009 -- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's space shuttle Atlantis is targeted to begin an 11-day flight to the International Space Station with a Nov. 16 launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is scheduled for 2:28 p.m. EST.

Atlantis' launch date was announced Thursday at the conclusion of a flight readiness review at Kennedy. During the meeting, senior NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready.    » read more »

Oct. 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA is funding 12 proposals from nine states to investigate questions about the effects of space radiation on human explorers. The selected proposals from researchers in Alabama, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Washington have a total value of approximately $13.7 million.

The ground-based studies will address the impact of space radiation on astronaut health. Research areas will include risk predictions for cancer and models for potential damage to the central nervous system and the heart.    » read more »

Oct. 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA is targeting Nov. 16 for the launch of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Managers for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate and Exploration Systems Mission Directorate met Monday and decided to adjust Atlantis' target launch date to optimize the agency's ability to launch both Ares I-X and Atlantis before the end of the year. The same launch team at Kennedy is supporting both the shuttle and the flight test of the Ares I-X rocket, which is targeted to lift off on Oct. 27. Ares I-X is scheduled to roll out to its launch pad at 12:01 a.m. EDT Tuesday.    » read more »

Findings by Scripps Research Scientists Brighten Prospects of Stem Cell Therapy for Range of Diseases

LA JOLLA, CA – October 15, 2009 A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has developed a method that dramatically improves the efficiency of creating stem cells from human adult tissue, without the use of embryonic cells. The research makes great strides in addressing a major practical challenge in the development of stem-cell-based medicine.

The findings were published in an advance, online issue of the journal Nature Methods on October 18, 2009.    » read more »

Scientists identify enzyme that could help grow biofuel crops in harsh environments

October 19, 2009 -- by J. Bryan Lowder -- UPTON, NY — Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified a novel enzyme responsible for the formation of suberin — the woody, waxy, cell-wall substance found in cork.

While effective at keeping wine inside a bottle, suberin’s most important function in plants is to control water and nutrient transportation and keep pathogens out. Adjusting the permeability of plant tissues by genetically manipulating the expression of this enzyme could lead to easier agricultural production of crops used for biofuels.    » read more »