PASADENA, Calif.--A quarterly review of research at the California Institute of Technology:
Kuiper Belt Moons Are Starting to Seem Typical
Moons were once thought rare in the outer solar system. Now astronomers are discovering that the satellites are actually quite common--at least around large objects.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12783.html.
Quasar Study Provides Insights into Composition of the Stars That Ended the "Dark Ages"
Astronomers using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey may have detected the last wisps of the cosmic fog of neutral atoms that marked the universe's "Dark Ages."
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12784.html.
Astrophysical Device Will Sniff Out Terrorism
Using technology from detectors that study galaxies, an astrophysicist is creating a new sensor for finding radioactive material near potential terrorist targets.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12788.html.
Dust Found in Earth Sediment Traced to Breakup of the Asteroid Veritas 8.2 Million Years Ago
Dust samples taken from deep-sea cores dated to 8.2 million years ago show a surge in a rare isotope known as helium 3. This is evidence of the breakup of a 100-mile-wide asteroid in the belt between Mars and Jupiter.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12787.html.
LIGO Kicks into High Gear for Gravitational-Wave Search with 18-Month Observation Run
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory has now entered its first sustained science run. If nature is kind, the observatory may detect the first evidence of gravitational radiation, which was proposed by Albert Einstein in 1916.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12798.html.
Andromeda's Stellar Halo Shows Galaxy's Origin to Be Similar to That of Milky Way
A detailed study of the motions and metals of nearly 10,000 stars in the Andromeda galaxy shows that the galaxy's stellar halo is surprisingly deficient in nearly all the elements heavier than hydrogen--as is our own Milky Way galaxy. Contrary to previous hypotheses, the two must have had very similar evolutions.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12801.html.
Study of 2004 Tsunami Forces Rethinking of Theory of Giant Earthquakes
Measurements reveal that the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman quake was caused by the rupture of a 1600-kilometer-long stretch of earthquake fault, the longest of any recorded earthquake, in a region where a giant quake should not have occurred, according to previous ideas. This means that regions of the earth once thought safe from giant earthquakes might actually be at risk.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12800.html.
Old-World Primates Evolved Color Vision to Better See Each Other Blush, Study Reveals
Researchers suggest that primates--humans included--evolved our brand of color vision so that we could subtly discriminate slight changes in skin tone due to blushing and blanching. The work may answer the long-standing puzzle of why color vision achieved with three cone receptors evolved in primates.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12802.html.
Researchers Create New "Matchmaking Service" Computer System to Study Gene Interactions
Researchers have devised a method of database mining to make predictions about the interactions between genes. The new computational procedure integrates several different sources of data from various organisms to study the genes of C. elegans, a tiny worm commonly used in biological experiments.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12805.html.
Caltech Scientists Gain Fundamental Insight into How Cells Protect Genetic Blueprints
A protein called "TopBP1" is responsible for activating the chain of reactions that keeps cells with damaged DNA from dividing, a process that can lead to cancer, researchers say. The discovery is a key insight that could someday lead to molecular breakthroughs in cancer therapy.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12803.html.
Astronomers Discover a River of Stars Streaming Across the Northern Sky
The narrow stream of stars, located about 76,000 light-years from Earth, extends across at least 45 degrees of the northern sky. It had previously been obscured from view by the vast sea of foreground stars that make up the Milky Way galaxy.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12811.html.
Caltech Scientists Discover the Part of the Brain That Causes Some People to Be Lousy in Math
Scientists have discovered the area of the brain linked to dyscalculia, which is the inability to deal with numbers. The find demonstrates that there is a specific part of the brain essential for proper counting.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12810.html.
Caltech Scientist Creates New Method for Folding Strands of DNA to Make Microscopic Structures
A researcher has devised a way of weaving DNA strands into any desired two-dimensional shape or figure. The process, called "DNA origami," could be an important tool in the creation of new devices just a few billionths of a meter in size.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12807.html.
Neuroscientists Discover the Neurons That Act As Novelty Detectors in the Human Brain
For the first time, neuroscientists have located single neurons in the brain that are involved in recognizing whether a stimulus is old or new. The discovery demonstrates that the human brain has neurons for processing new information and for recognizing old information that it may have seen just once before.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12818.html.
Fault That Produced Largest Aftershock Ever Recorded Still Poses Threat to Sumatra
Another section of the great fault that produced the December 2004 tsunami and a record-breaking aftershock in March 2005 could also rupture in a great earthquake, scientists say.
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12816.html.
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Contact: Kathy Svitil
(626) 395-8022 [email protected]
Visit the Caltech Media Relations Web site at: http://pr.caltech.edu/media
