NASA scientists developed several Valkyrie R5 robots and signed them up in a competition.

STATES CHRONICLE – Scientists developed a humanoid robot called Valkyrie R5, and they are currently testing it to prepare it for a future Mars landing process. The Northeastern University received from NASA’s Space Robotics Challenge a $2 million robot named Valkyrie Robonaut 5. The tests are performed in a warehouse in Massachusetts. Back in 2015, the humanoid robot reached the Northeastern University, being part of Taskin Padir’s proposal sent to NASA for the Space Robotics Challenge software testing.

Scientists from NASA developed three Valkyrie R5 robots

Taskin Padir is an engineering professor at Northeastern University. Murphy Wonsick, a Ph.D. student at Northeastern University, argued that NASA scientists have done all the work regarding the hardware and now researchers at Northeastern are developing Valkyrie R5’s capabilities. Wonsick claimed that the robot could accomplish several tasks, to move around and make decisions.

Scientists decided to move the humanoid robot to the New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation Center (NERVE), which is a warehouse space conducted by UMass Lowell, outside Boston. Based on the report developed there, the criteria that are tested at the NERVE research site are the following: navigation in tight spaces, bipedal locomotion, and onboard vision systems.

These humanoid robots need to be improved to be able to face Mars colonization

NASA has created three more such humanoid robots. One of them remained at NASA, the second one was awarded as research loans to Northeastern University, and the last one was purchased by the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. According to data provided by NASA, in the final round of the Space Robotics Challenge, each Valkyrie R5 assigned to every team of researchers will be challenged to solve the aftermath of a dust storm which affected a Martian habitat.

Thus, the robots need to align a communications dish, repair a solar array and fix a habitat leak. The Space Robotics Challenge is part of the Centennial Challenges program at NASA which is bound to offer $1 million to the team which will be able to develop abilities of Valkyrie R5’s dexterity to be able to work with astronauts, but also independently, preparing for future Mars colonization.

Valkyrie is known to be a descendant of NASA’s R5 descent, measuring about six feet and weighing approximately 290 pounds. The three institutions which were chosen by NASA to educate these robots are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Northeastern University and the University of Edinburgh. They are all bound to develop the humanoid robots’ ability to face and solve tough situations during Mars explorations.

Image courtesy of: flickr

Researchers spotted massive groups of humpback whales off the coast of South Africa.

STATES CHRONICLE – Researchers have spotted massive groups of humpback whales off the coast of South Africa. Humpback whales are usually known as being solitary mammals. They prefer to be alone rather than in large groups. Nevertheless, the latest events indicated the exact opposite. These giants were spotted gathering in big groups of up to two hundred individuals.

Humpback whales gathered in massive groups

Scientists are wondering how such an event could happen since whales do not gather in groups larger than 20 individuals. This is an odd kind of event. Ken Findlay, the lead author of the study who conducted a team of researchers from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, claimed that he has never witnessed anything like this before.

He conducted the team of researchers to follow and observe how whales gather in groups and they were also asked to analyze their behavior. These researchers developed three separate reports, examining groups of whales in 2011, 2014 and 2015. They were able to observe them with the help of aircraft and drones, but also by boat.

Researchers believe that the main reason for these group is food

Humpback whales from the Southern Hemisphere usually migrate from the polar feeding territories in summer towards nursing and calving grounds in tropical and subtropical waters during winter. Findlay and his team observed that some whales remained on the South African coast instead of migrating. Alex Zerbini, a wildlife biologist at the Cascadia Research Collective, claims that these massive creatures may be searching for food.

He argued that over time, the social habits of humpback whales did not change, despite locating super-groups of about two hundred individuals. Nevertheless, if these mammals detected massive concentrations of food, they will tend to gather around their meal, forming massive groups. Zerbini also explained that populations of humpback whales have developed to reach outstanding numbers in recent years.

This species had finally indicated a sign of recovery from whaling back in the 20th century when they were on the verge of extinction. He also noted that when there are more whales in the ocean, they also end to group and researchers see more whales. This happens due to the high number of such mammals. It is clear that, like any other species, they gather where they found a large amount of food. Apparently, their diet mainstay of krill has reached outstanding numbers in some habitats.

These massive gatherings only represent a sign of wellness, where humpback whales have triumphantly returned in large numbers.

Image source: wikipedia

Scientists are still working on developing the first synthetic yeast genome in the world.

STATES CHRONICLE – A group of scientists from the International Synthetic Yeast Genome Project is closer to developing the first synthetic yeast genome in the world. They have recently announced that they completed the de novo redesign and had synthesized five more Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosomes. Researchers also developed a multi-dimensional, in-depth examination on the yeast strain.

Thus, they managed to determine that the phenotype of the newly developed synthetic yeast strain is similar to the one present in the wild type of strain. One of the Chinese researchers has conducted the redesign to completion and has also led the synthesis of the chromosome II. This chromosome is known to be 770 kilobase pair long. Scientists transformed it into a yeast cell which resulted in a synthetic strain.

This one is part of the wild type one when it comes to viability. The new study was published on March 9th in the Science magazine. The project was named Sc2.0, and it is known to be a new outstanding project in synthetic genomics research. The project consists in a consortium of many leading yeast laboratories located in Australia, Singapore, France, China, UK, and the USA.

Its primary purpose is to develop the first synthetic yeast genome until 2018. Chinese researchers received support from the National High Technology Research and Development Program and, thus, they managed to bring a significant contribution to the project. They all come from three different Chinese institutions, like Tsinghua University, Tianjin University, and BGI.

Prof, Jef D. Boeke, the leader, and initiator if the Sc2.0 project claimed that their Chinese colleagues from the three leading Chinese institutions had significantly contributed to the new project. Prof. Boeke also noted that the resources used to bear on this complex project, regarding human capital in the form of knowledgeable scientist, state of the art facilities and grant support, are outstanding.

The Chinese institution BGI, which is part of the Chinese team, has led the chromosome II synthesis process. They applied a “Trans-Omics” approach to determine the correlation between phenotype and genotype of the synthetic yeast strain at the metabolomics, proteomic, transcriptomic, genomic and phenotypic level.

Yue Shen, the director of the Genome Synthesis and Editing Platform at the China National GeneBank, argued that the Sc2.0 project offers scientists the opportunity to collaborate with international teams to learn more about genome synthesis.

Image courtesy of: wikipedia

Scientists have a theory regarding why pandas have black and white patches.

STATES CHRONICLE – Researchers provide an explanation regarding why pandas have black and white patches. Pandas are known everywhere for their unique pattern, being one of the most fascinating creatures existing. Their limited diet is based only on bamboo consumption and their well-known reluctance to breed determined them to be one of the species on the verge of extinction.

This species left the endangered species list last year. Nevertheless, despite the scientific oversight which comes with ecological vulnerability, researchers still try to reveal the mystery behind their pattern. Other species of bears have only one color. Scientists want to determine why pandas are so different. Researchers from the California State University, University of California and Davis believe that they might have an answer.

Tim Caro, the lead author of the study and a professor in the UC Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, claimed that it was difficult for them to determine why the panda bear has this pattern since no other mammals have it. This made it difficult for them to infer data by analogy. They reached a result after they had analyzed every part of a panda’s body as an independent area.

Scientists have found out that the black patches of a panda are not always black for the same reason. To reveal what part of the fur designated what, scientists compared a panda’s pattern to the pattern of other 195 carnivore species and 39 bear subspecies which were related to the Panda. Based on the new study recently published in the Behavioral Ecology journal, scientists unveiled that the color of the fur did not depend on temperature regulation or reducing eye glare.

Nevertheless, researchers discovered that the black and white patches could be related to two primary functions. One of them is communication, and the other is crypsis or camouflage. Researchers inferred that pandas are different from other bears when it comes to hibernation. Panda bears are active all the time, without hibernating.

Keeping in mind that bamboo is found in small amounts and only in particular areas, panda bears need to be able to search for food in warm and dense rainforests or even in snowy, mountainous regions. The white patches help the bear to camouflage in snowy areas, while the black patches helped the animal hide in rainforests.

Image source: flickr

Researchers estimated that 80% of all wildfires are human-induced.

STATES CHRONICLE – Studies indicated that about 80% of wildfires in America are human-induced. They are responsible for 84% of all fires in the US. The study comprised the data recorded in a 20-year period. The remaining of 16% of fires were triggered by natural causes, like lightning. Bethany Bradley together with her colleagues from the University of Massachusetts has indicated that there occurred 1.5 million wildfires which happened between 1992 and 2002.

The study indicated that human-induced fires were triple the length of lightning-ignited fires. Every year, the average number of wildfires was of 40,000. The fires accounted for approximately half of 44% of burned areas. Based on the information provided by the team of researchers, humans are responsible for expanding fires into areas and environmental conditions compared to lighting-ignited fires.

The authors of the study argued that lightning develops enough ignition pressure to determine wetter materials to burn, growing the fire niche, responsible for measuring dryness, fuel mass, and ignition sources. The new study focused on wildfires which required firefighters to be squelched. In recent years, fighting wildfires meant spending approximately two billion dollars.

Jennifer Balch, the co-lead author of the study and a professor at the University of Colorado, stated that in the spring, fires ignite in the Southeast and later in the fall they occur in the West. During the last ten years, many fatal and costly fires burnt the western part of United States. States like Colorado, California, Washington, and Oregon faced the most massive wildfires ever registered.

Contrary to what people may think, human-induced fires are more common in spring and fall compared to the rest of the year. Lightning-ignited fires mainly happen in the mountains from the west during the summer time. July 4th was the day when approximately 7,700 wildfires started, being known as the most common day for human-ignited wildfires.

The main reasons which lie on the ground of human-induced fires are children, campfires, equipment use, arson and burning debris. The team of researchers proposed regional and national policy initiatives, having as sole purpose to reduce the human factor in wildfires. Specialists also pointed out that the urban areas are bound to intermingle with natural areas, being estimated to double by 2030. Thus, the fire vulnerability will increase even more.

Image source: wikipedia

NASA researchers reanalyzed supernova 1987A due to the 30th anniversary since the stellar explosion.

STATES CHRONICLE – Scientists have looked back at Supernova 1987A celebrating the 30th anniversary of the stellar burst. When a star transforms into a supernova, it spreads iron, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon into the universe. By developing a study on supernovae, researchers have also revealed that the world we live in is an expanding one. A massive supernova burst back on February 23, 1987, its light washing over our planet.

Due to its proximity to Terra, having been located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the supernova has reached to be the most examined supernova for the last thirty years. It is situated at about 160,000 light-years from our planet. Since 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has observed the Supernova 1987A. Now, at the 30th anniversary of the supernova, the telescope has captured a new picture displaying the remnant of the SN 1987A.

The new image together with new data collected by the European Southern Observatory’s Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory of Chandra have recently been unveiled. NASA claimed that the latest information received from these revolutionary telescopes suggest that supernova 1987A has overcome a significant phase.

The shock wave from the supernova is moving beyond the thick ring of gas deployed during the life of that star. Back then, a fast wind coming from the pre-supernova star clashed with a slower wind which was previously developed in an early stage of the evolution of the star. Scientists did not reveal yet what lies beyond that gas ring.

In the past few years, this ring started to fade. It formed back in 1999, and it gradually increased to be brighter in X-rays. NASA claimed that starting with February 2013 until September 2015, the amount of low-energy X-rays stayed the same. All the changes which were recorded indicate the blast wave of this explosion surpassed the ring, reaching an area in which the dense gas was decreased.

This event represented “the end of an era for SN 1987.” Researchers argue that new analysis of supernovae 1987A could give them significant data regarding the early phases of elements’ dispersal throughout interstellar space. Before the explosion, the supernova was brighter than a hundred suns. But now, a remnant of a supernova slowly cools, and the elements which once formed it may create new molecules and transform into dust.

Image source: wikipedia

NASA tries to develop some stronger materials to build vehicles and habitats on Mars.

STATES CHRONICLE – NASA scientists are currently working on developing stronger materials which would be suitable to build habitats and vehicles on Mars. New technologies are used to fuel the development of Mars mission. At this moment, the primary goal is to create habitats and transport vehicles which would be efficient on the Red Planet. NASA has recently approved the proposal claiming university research groups to develop necessary materials to support human presence on MARS.

The new gadgets developed aim to build stronger habitats and efficient but at the same time light vehicles by making use of carbon nanotube as being the primary material. The Space Technology Research Institutes (STRIs) need to exploit the skills of scientists coming from several organizations to develop advanced technologies in fields like space infrastructure and bio-manufacturing.

The primary focus will be to create self-supporting capabilities for deploy exploration missions by using Earth-independent features. Steve Jurczyk, the associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate based in Washington, stated that NASA asked STRIs to exploit and analyze cutting-edge progression in technology, developing the potential for innovative impact on upcoming aerospace capabilities.

NASA prefers to ask STRI for help because their effort goes hand in hand with the strategic concentration shifting of NASA regarding deep space exploration by setting off from the low orbit of Earth. NASA is looking for technologies which could support long crewed missions while helping them to develop devices in the original place than waiting for supply cargos sent from Earth.

The STRIs has already selected some institutes like the Institute for Ultra-Strong Composites by Computational Design (US-COMP) and the Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space (CUBES). These particular research programs are meant to fuel synthesis of engineering and science to achieve the main goals within five years.

The innovative technologies were funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate which will play a crucial role in obtaining spectacular results in NASA missions. These institutes are also bound to boost the talent base of America by steering the new applications towards and beyond the aerospace realm. Each STRI will obtain $15 million to develop their technology missions. Meanwhile, the CUBES Institute will continue its research into an integrated system for producing pharmaceuticals, materials, fuel and food.

Image source: wikipedia