MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. space agency officials say they have selected a target lunar crater for an impact study to determine whether water ice exists at the moon's south pole.
NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite is to travel nearly 6 million miles in a journey that will have included several Earth and moon orbits before it crashes into the Cabeus A crater at 7:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 9.
The experiment involves the satellite's spent upper-stage Centaur rocket impacting the permanently shadowed polar crater. LCROSS will then fly into the plume of dust left by the impact and measure its properties before it also collides with the lunar surface.
NASA scientists said they selected Cabeus A based on a set of conditions that included proper debris plume illumination for visibility from Earth, a high concentration of hydrogen, and mature crater features such as a flat floor, gentle slopes and the absence of large boulders.
Professional astronomers using many of the Earth's observatories will help maximize the scientific return from the experiment, NASA said, noting the telescopes will provide observations from different vantage points using different types of measurement techniques.
NASA said it was dedicating the mission to the memory of the late news anchor Walter Cronkite, who provided coverage of NASA's missions from the beginning of America's manned space program into the age of the space shuttle.
Early clinical trial of H1N1 vaccines good
BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. officials said they are encouraged by the progress of various clinical trials of H1N1 influenza vaccines.
"The early data from these trials indicate the H1N1 influenza vaccines are well tolerated and induce a strong immune response in most healthy adults when administered in a single unadjuvanted 15-microgram dose," said a statement by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.
NIAID is also conducting clinical trials of H1N1 influenza vaccines, produced by Sanofi Pasteur and CSL Limited.
The NIAID trials are testing two different dosages -- 15 micrograms versus 30 micrograms -- and evaluating the immune response to one and two doses of these vaccines. More than 2,800 people are participating in ongoing NIAID trials of these vaccines.
Among healthy adults who received a single 15-microgram dose of the Sanofi Pasteur vaccine, a robust immune response was measured in 96 percent of adults age 18-64 and in 56 percent of adults age 65 and older.
Among healthy adults who received a single 15-microgram dose of the CSL Limited vaccine, a robust immune response was measured in 80 percent of adults age 18-64 and in 60 percent of adults age 65 and older, the statement said.
Flowering may move out of seasonal sync
CLAYTON, Australia, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Australian and U.K. scientists studying global warming say botanical calendars in many parts of the Earth may eventually move out of sync with the seasons.
The study into the impact of global warming on spring flowering was led by Malcolm Clark of Monash University and Professor Roy Thompson of the University of Edinburgh.
"Already there is a great deal of observational evidence of regional changes in climate associated with global warming," said Clark. "We have not only seen an earlier breakup of ice on rivers and melting glaciers, but also the early emergence of insects, egg laying by birds and the flowering of plants. This new model allows us to refine predictions of the future impact of warming on plant and animal life across much of the world."
Clark and Thompson predict likely changes in spring flowering in Scotland based on three potential global warming scenarios. For every 1-degree Celsius of climate warming, they predict spring flowering will begin approximately 11 days earlier.
Using their results, the scientists constructed a global map that demonstrates "desynchronization" of plant and animal life in the year 2080. The map shows maritime climates including Western Europe, the American Atlantic coast, New Zealand, Chile and North Africa will be the greatest affected as their botanical calendar moves strongly out of sync with the seasons.
The study is reported in the International Journal of Climatology.
Diabetes drug also kills cancer stem cells
BOSTON, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've found that in human breast cancer cell tumors in mice, a diabetes drug worked better than chemotherapy in prolonging remission.
Researchers led by Harvard Medical School Professor Kevin Struhl said the mice appeared tumor-free for two months after treatment before the end of the experiment. The drug, metformin, appears to selectively kill cancer stem cells in culture dishes and in mice.
The scientists said their findings provide additional rationale for testing metformin in combination with chemotherapy in people with breast cancer and perhaps other cancers.
The scientists said their findings add to a growing body of preliminary evidence in cells, mice, and people that metformin may improve breast cancer outcomes in people. In the new study, the diabetes drug seemed to work independently of its ability to improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar and insulin levels, all of which are also associated with better breast cancer outcomes, the researchers said.
NEWS BY:http://www.upi.com
NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite is to travel nearly 6 million miles in a journey that will have included several Earth and moon orbits before it crashes into the Cabeus A crater at 7:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 9.
The experiment involves the satellite's spent upper-stage Centaur rocket impacting the permanently shadowed polar crater. LCROSS will then fly into the plume of dust left by the impact and measure its properties before it also collides with the lunar surface.
NASA scientists said they selected Cabeus A based on a set of conditions that included proper debris plume illumination for visibility from Earth, a high concentration of hydrogen, and mature crater features such as a flat floor, gentle slopes and the absence of large boulders.
Professional astronomers using many of the Earth's observatories will help maximize the scientific return from the experiment, NASA said, noting the telescopes will provide observations from different vantage points using different types of measurement techniques.
NASA said it was dedicating the mission to the memory of the late news anchor Walter Cronkite, who provided coverage of NASA's missions from the beginning of America's manned space program into the age of the space shuttle.
Early clinical trial of H1N1 vaccines good
BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. officials said they are encouraged by the progress of various clinical trials of H1N1 influenza vaccines.
"The early data from these trials indicate the H1N1 influenza vaccines are well tolerated and induce a strong immune response in most healthy adults when administered in a single unadjuvanted 15-microgram dose," said a statement by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.
NIAID is also conducting clinical trials of H1N1 influenza vaccines, produced by Sanofi Pasteur and CSL Limited.
The NIAID trials are testing two different dosages -- 15 micrograms versus 30 micrograms -- and evaluating the immune response to one and two doses of these vaccines. More than 2,800 people are participating in ongoing NIAID trials of these vaccines.
Among healthy adults who received a single 15-microgram dose of the Sanofi Pasteur vaccine, a robust immune response was measured in 96 percent of adults age 18-64 and in 56 percent of adults age 65 and older.
Among healthy adults who received a single 15-microgram dose of the CSL Limited vaccine, a robust immune response was measured in 80 percent of adults age 18-64 and in 60 percent of adults age 65 and older, the statement said.
Flowering may move out of seasonal sync
CLAYTON, Australia, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Australian and U.K. scientists studying global warming say botanical calendars in many parts of the Earth may eventually move out of sync with the seasons.
The study into the impact of global warming on spring flowering was led by Malcolm Clark of Monash University and Professor Roy Thompson of the University of Edinburgh.
"Already there is a great deal of observational evidence of regional changes in climate associated with global warming," said Clark. "We have not only seen an earlier breakup of ice on rivers and melting glaciers, but also the early emergence of insects, egg laying by birds and the flowering of plants. This new model allows us to refine predictions of the future impact of warming on plant and animal life across much of the world."
Clark and Thompson predict likely changes in spring flowering in Scotland based on three potential global warming scenarios. For every 1-degree Celsius of climate warming, they predict spring flowering will begin approximately 11 days earlier.
Using their results, the scientists constructed a global map that demonstrates "desynchronization" of plant and animal life in the year 2080. The map shows maritime climates including Western Europe, the American Atlantic coast, New Zealand, Chile and North Africa will be the greatest affected as their botanical calendar moves strongly out of sync with the seasons.
The study is reported in the International Journal of Climatology.
Diabetes drug also kills cancer stem cells
BOSTON, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've found that in human breast cancer cell tumors in mice, a diabetes drug worked better than chemotherapy in prolonging remission.
Researchers led by Harvard Medical School Professor Kevin Struhl said the mice appeared tumor-free for two months after treatment before the end of the experiment. The drug, metformin, appears to selectively kill cancer stem cells in culture dishes and in mice.
The scientists said their findings provide additional rationale for testing metformin in combination with chemotherapy in people with breast cancer and perhaps other cancers.
The scientists said their findings add to a growing body of preliminary evidence in cells, mice, and people that metformin may improve breast cancer outcomes in people. In the new study, the diabetes drug seemed to work independently of its ability to improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar and insulin levels, all of which are also associated with better breast cancer outcomes, the researchers said.
NEWS BY:http://www.upi.com
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