Source of zodiac glow identified

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The eerie glow that straddles the night time zodiac in the eastern sky is no longer a mystery. First explained by Joshua Childrey in 1661 as sunlight scattered in our direction by dust particles in the solar system, the source of that dust was long debated. In a paper to appear in the April 20 issue of The Astrophysical Journal, David Nesvorny and Peter Jenniskens put the stake in asteroids. More than 85 percent of the dust, they conclude, originated from Jupiter Family comets, not asteroids.

Rock of ages: Clues about Mars evolution revealed

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In addition to Lapen, the team includes Alan Brandon, an associate professor in UH's department of earth and atmospheric sciences, and their two post-doctoral researchers Minako Righter and John Shafer. Other collaborators were Brian Beard from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and NASA Astrobiology Institute, Vinciane Debaille from the University of Bruxelles and Anne Peslier, a research scientist at Jacobs Technology working at NASA Johnson Space Center.

Lost light from the moon may be sent astray by dusty reflectors

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Light bounced off reflectors on the moon is fainter than expected and mysteriously dims even more whenever the moon is full. Astronomers think dust is a likely culprit, they report in a forthcoming issue of the journal Icarus.

Einstein's theory fights off challengers

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Two new and independent studies have put Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to the test like never before. These results, made using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, show Einstein's theory is still the best game in town.

Each team of scientists took advantage of extensive Chandra observations of galaxy clusters, the largest objects in the Universe bound together by gravity. One result undercuts a rival gravity model to General Relativity, while the other shows that Einstein's theory works over a vast range of times and distances across the cosmos.

New procedure aims to save vision of children with eye cancer

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Harbour says it takes several weeks to months to see the tumor start to melt away, but in both ocular melanoma and retinoblastoma, the plaques usually deal the cancer a fatal blow.

Novel artificial pancreas successfully controls blood sugar more than 24 hours

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To sleep or not to sleep? Math software to help plan astronaut, shift worker schedules

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HOUSTON – (April 14, 2010) – Shifting work schedules can wreak havoc on a person's ability to get enough sleep, resulting in poor performance on the job.

Researchers funded by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) have developed software that uses mathematical models to help astronauts and ground support personnel better adjust to shifting work and sleep schedules. Outside the space program, the software could help people who do shift or night work or who experience jet lag due to travel across time zones.

Improving data collection and estimation methods for child and adult mortality

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New treatment helps control involuntary crying and laughing -- common in MS, ALS patients

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TORONTO – Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a neurologic condition of involuntary, sudden and frequent episodes of laughing or crying and is quite common in patients with underlying neurologic diseases or injuries, especially those with multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Now, a new investigational treatment may help stop these involuntary outbursts. The research will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 – 17, 2010.

Why are allergies increasing?

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Montreal, April 13, 2010 – Allergies have become a widespread in developed countries: hay fever, eczema, hives and asthma are all increasingly prevalent. The reason? Excessive cleanliness is to blame according to Dr. Guy Delespesse, a professor at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Medicine.

Allergies can be caused by family history, air pollution, processed foods, stress, tobacco use, etc. Yet our limited exposure to bacteria concerns Dr. Delespesse, who is also director of the Laboratory for Allergy Research at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal.