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Why Sea Lilies Walk
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
03/21/10 |
| Summary: New research has shown that sea urchins have been preying on sea lilies for over 200 million years, and this interaction led to lilies developing the ability to creep along the ocean floor. The study provides a unique look into how organisms are able to evolve in response to environmental pressures over time. |
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Shrimp Under Ice
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
03/20/10 |
| Summary: While taking the first images of the underbelly of an ice sheet in Antarctica, scientists have made a surprising discovery. They captured video of a complex, shrimp-like animal swimming through the cold and dark subglacial waters. |
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Jupiter Planet in Mercury Orbit
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| Topic: New Planets |
03/19/10 |
| Summary: Astronomers have identified a gas giant exoplanet that orbits close to its host star. Its orbit allows scientists to examine the planet, dubbed Corot-9b, in great detail. The research team believes Corot-9b could be a 'Rosetta stone' in exoplanet research, providing key information about how planets form and evolve. |
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Russian Rover Found on the Moon
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| Topic: Moon to Mars |
03/17/10 |
| Summary: Using images taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the exact location of the Russian lunar rover, Lunokhod 2, has been identified on the Moon. The rover was the second of two unmanned Soviet rovers, and was lost on the Moon over 30 years ago. |
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Interrogating the Asteroid
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
03/16/10 |
| Summary: Researchers have proposed a new sample-return mission to visit the asteroid 1999 RQ36. Such a mission could help us learn how to move an asteroid that's set on a collision course with Earth. |
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Flipping the Amoeba
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| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
03/14/10 |
| Summary: A major step in the evolution of life occurred some 1.5 billion years ago when cells began storing their DNA inside a nucleus. Scientists are gaining new insights into this evolutionary leap from prokaryotes to eukaryotes by studying the genome of a unique, single-celled organism. |
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Attack of the Killer Electrons
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| Topic: Spaceship Earth |
03/13/10 |
| Summary: The European Cluster mission has provided new information about the energetic particles trapped in Earth's radiation belt. These dangerous electrons from solar storms can be harmful for satellites and astronauts in orbit. Understanding their properties will help make future missions more safe. |
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Titan's Painted Desert
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| Topic: Titan |
03/12/10 |
| Summary: Unique patterns in images of Titan's surface have puzzled scientists for years. Now, a 'volunteer researcher' has provided NASA with a unique interpretation of the data, showing how similar Titan may be to Earth. |
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The Battle Between the Earth and Sun
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| Topic: Spaceship Earth |
03/10/10 |
| Summary: Scientists have discovered that the Earth's magnetic field 3.5 billion years ago was only half as strong as it is today. This could have had profound implications for the evolution of the biosphere, which would have been bathed in higher levels of intense solar radiation. |
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Animals in a Snowball
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| Topic: Biosphere |
03/09/10 |
| Summary: Geologists have found new evidence to support the 'snowball Earth' thoery, where sea ice extended all the way to the equator. Such an icy environment may have had a profound effect on the evolution of life on our planet. |
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