Science

L.A. mayor's race: It's Eric Garcetti by wide margin

Existing research shows that bicyclists who wear helmets have an 88 percent lower risk of brain injury, but researchers at Boston Children's Hospital found that simply having bicycle helmet laws in place showed a 20 percent decrease in deaths and injuries for children younger than 16 who were in bicycle-motor vehicle collisions.

Some auto manufacturers are dipping their toes into co-creation with customers, seeking design preferences via online communities, social network sites, crowdsourcing and contests.

A genetic analysis of fungi on the human body finds that our feet have the most – more than 100 types, many of which ward off the unhealthy fungi that cause infections like athlete's foot.Here's a scientific finding that may knock you off your feet: At least 80 types of fungi reside on a typical person's heel, along with 60 between the toes and 40 on the toenail.

Posted on behalf of Brian Owens. After a two-year, $41 million upgrade, the venerable Alvin submersible is about to return to sea. On 25 May, the research ship Atlantis will leave the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, with Alvin on board, bound for Astoria, Oregon. After a series of Navy certification cruises in September and a scientific verification cruise in November, Alvin will return to full service in December studying the deep ocean off the US Pacific Northwest. The main improvement in this first phase of the Alvin upgrade is the new titanium sphere where the sub’s three-person crew sits (See Nature’s feature story: “Deep-sea research: Dive master“). It is 18% bigger than the previous sphere, and has two extra windows and high-definition cameras, giving the scientists a better view of the deep ocean. It also has more comfortable seats. In addition, the manipulator arms have longer reach, and the sample collection basket can carry twice as much weight – up to 400 pounds. Though the new sphere was designed to travel to depths of 6,500 metres, Alvin will still be limited to its old depth of 4,500 metres after the first phase of the upgrade. Holding it back from greater depths are battery limitations, says Susan Humphries, who is in charge of the upgrade programme at WHOI. Alvin uses lead-acid batteries, which do not provide enough power for longer, deeper dives. Lithium-ion batteries would be better, but are considered to have too great a risk of fire for now. “In a few years, once the battery technology has matured, we’ll complete phase two,” says Humphries. She hopes that within five years, when Alvin is scheduled for regular maintenance, the problem will be solved. In the meantime, ocean scientists are eager to get back below the waves. Over its five-decade career, Alvin has been responsible for revealing some of the deep ocean’s biggest surprises, including the famous ecosystems powered by hydrothermal vents rather than sunlight. Julie Huber, a microbiologist at the Marine Biological Laboratory, also in Woods Hole, has been on three Alvin dives in the past. She is looking forward to the new exploration opportunities, but sounds a note of caution: “I want to wait for them to have 50 safe dives under their belt before I go back.” Image credit: Brian Owens Disclosure: Brian Owens is in Woods Hole as part of the Logan Science Journalism Fellowship at the Marine Biological Library.

Radically different viruses share genes and are likely to share ancestry, according to research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Virology Journal this week. The comprehensive phylogenomic analysis compares giant viruses that infect amoeba with tiny viruses known as virophages and to several groups of transposable elements. The complex network of evolutionary relationships the authors describe suggests that viruses evolved from non-viral mobile genetic elements and vice versa, on more than one occasion.

The first topographic map of the surface of Titan gives a fascinating new insight into Saturn's giant moon. Continue reading ?

astroengine writes "In a recent batch of images beamed back to Earth from Mars rover Curiosity's MAHLI camera, obvious signs of wear and tear could be seen in the 'skin' of the robot's wheels. Considering Curiosity is only 281 sols (Mars days) into its mission and roved less than a kilometer after landing, surely this doesn't bode well? Fortunately, there's good news. 'The wear in the wheels is expected,' Matt Heverly, lead rover driver for the MSL mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told Discovery News. 'We will continue to characterize the wheels both on Mars and in the Marsyard, but we don't expect the wear to impact our ability to get to Mt. Sharp.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Big week for NASA last week. The Kepler space telescope, the most prolific exoplanet detector ever, is paralyzed. Meanwhile, the Dream Chaser spacecraft is prepping for its first test flights.

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs), emissions of magnetized ionized gas from the Sun, can damage satellites and communication technology, so being able to predict where they are heading and how much energy they have is important in protecting this technology.