SPOTLIGHT
Canberra to get first glimpse of Mercury
NASA will return to Mercury for the first time in almost 33 years tomorrow when a robotic probe makes its first fly-by of the Sun’s nearest neighbour. The Messenger spacecraft is expected to make its closest approach to Mercury sometime after 6am (AEST) tomorrow, flying just 200km above the rocky surface.
Super-computer Could Throw Light On Mysterious Dark Energy
Cosmologists have run a series of huge computer simulations of the Universe that could ultimately help solve the mystery of dark energy.
Happiness is a Warm Electrode
SHOCK TRAUMA Diane Hire, shown here in profile and x-ray, is among the first depression patients to receive deep-brain stimulation, a procedure in which two electrodes are implanted in the head.
Perfectly Aligned Galaxies Found For the First Time
Astronomers have found three galaxies in a never before seen perfect alignment?a discovery that may help scientists better understand the mysterious dark matter and dark energy believed to dominate the universe.
Let the cooling begin at the LHC
Tens of thousands of tonnes of equipment must be cooled to near absolute zero before the Large Hadron Collider can detect its first exotic particle.
A dark future for cosmology
Even with the many observations planned over the next decade, there is a real chance that we will never understand the true nature of dark energy, argues Lawrence M Krauss
Light Echo Show From Wrenching Gravity Outside Black Hole Predicted
It?s well known that black holes can slow time to a crawl and tidally stretch large objects into spaghetti-like strands. But according to new theoretical research from two NASA astrophysicists, the wrenching gravity just outside the outer boundary of a black hole can produce yet another bizarre effect: light echoes.
Growing Artificial Skin From Hair Roots
There is new hope for patients with chronic wounds: euroderm GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI in Leipzig have been granted approval to produce artificial skin from patients? own cells.
Nerve Rewiring Restores Most Movement Post?Spinal Injury
When nerves connecting the brain and spinal cord are severed, rerouting signals through local nerve cells can make movement possible again.
BBC on Safe Disposal of CFLs
The question of mercury in Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) has kicked up a debate on TreeHugger before, but now we hear from the BBC that the UK?s Environment Agency wants to put warnings on CFL packaging about safe disposal, and what to do if a bulb is broken.
The Hypersonic Age is Near
Recent breakthroughs in scramjet engines could mean two-hour flights from New York to Tokyo. They could also mean missiles capable of striking any continent in a moment’s notice. No wonder the race to develop them is as fierce as ever
The Green Side of the Moon
Scientists design a self-sustaining lunar habitat that would make Al Gore proud. See our interactive infographic inside
Seeds to Save a Species
Around the world, scientists are risking their lives to retrieve seeds destined for a massive vault near the North Pole. Their work just might save mankind.
Microsoft Money Pushes Time-Lapse Space Camera Closer to Action
Bill Gates and ex-Microsoft executive Charles Simonyi have donated a combined $30 million to the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, which will feature the largest digital camera ever constructed. Scientists say it will provide a “color movie” of the universe.
Next Big Bang in 2008
The 17-mile-long tunnel on the Swiss-France border could usher in another miracle year. Physicists hope that the LHC, which is the biggest and highest energy particle accelerator, will be able to find the elusive Higgs boson and other mysterious particles that hold the key to a clear picture of the Universe ? from its beginning to the present.
