Close call signals Earth needs an asteroid shield

LONDON: Extensive monitoring systems and an Armageddon-style protocol is needed to save the Earth from a potentially hazardous asteroid, expected to fly by our planet in 2029, experts say. Actor Bruce Willis and his co-stars are given just 18 days to destroy a vast asteroid which threatens to wipe out life on Earth in the Hollywood movie "Armageddon" .

Scientists say the world must come up with a similar emergency plan after an asteroid whistled within a whisker of the Earth on Tuesday, only two days after it was first detected by astronomers , 'The Telegraph' reported. The Apophis asteroid , first detected in 2004, will come within 36,000 kilometres of Earth when it passes by and it can be seen with the naked eye as a burning point in the sky.

Scientists said although there is no chance of the asteroid colliding with Earth, there is an extremely small chance it could fall into a gravitational loop and come back to hit the planet in 2038.

The asteroid which passed by this week, known as 2012 XE54 measured just 36 metre across, but the last known asteroid of such a size to hit Earth wiped out an area of Russian forest the size of London in 1908.

Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about the possible impact of asteroids measuring less than 1km across, which are not typically picked up by surveying programmes and could only be detected at very short notice.

Delegates from across the world will gather at the UN in February to come up with a framework for earlier detection of asteroids, and a plan of action if a collision is deemed possible.

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Mind-controlled robotic arm gets closer than ever to human limb

LONDON: Researchers in the United States have developed a robotic arm controlled directly by thought with a level of agility closer than ever to a normal human limb.

Jan Scheuermann, a 52 year-old woman who was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder 13 years ago and is paralysed from the neck down, was able operate the robotic arm with a level of control and fluidity not seen before in this type of advanced prosthesis.

Experts are calling it a remarkable step forward for prosthetics controlled directly by the brain. Other systems have already allowed paralysed patients to type or write in freehand simply by thinking about the letters they want.

And in the last month, researchers in Switzerland used electrodes implanted directly on the retina to enable a blind patient to read.

The development of brain-machine interfaces is moving quickly and scientists predict the technology could eventually be used to bypass nerve damage and re-awaken a person's own paralysed muscles.

In the meantime, they say, systems like this could be paired with robotic 'exoskeletons' that allow paraplegics and quadraplegics to walk.

COMPLEX ALGORITHM

In the latest study, published in the Lancet, a research team from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center implanted two microelectrode devices into the woman's left motor cortex, the part of the brain that initiates movement.

The medics used a real-time brain scanning technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging to find the exact part of the brain that lit up after the patient was asked to think about moving her now unresponsive arms.

The electrodes were connected to the robotic hand via a computer running a complex algorithm to translate the signals that mimics the way an unimpaired brain controls healthy limbs.

"These electrodes are remarkable devices in that they are very small," Michael Boninger, who worked on the study, told Reuters. "You can't buy them in Radio Shack."

But Boninger said the way the algorithm operates is the main advance. Accurately translating brain signals has been one of the biggest challenges in mind-controlled prosthetics.

"There is no limit now to decoding human motion," he said. "It gets more complex when you work on parts like the hand, but I think that, once you can tap into desired motion in the brain, then how that motion is effected has a wide range of possibilities."

It took weeks of training for Scheuermann to master control of the hand, but she was able to move it after two days, and over time she completed tasks - such as picking up objects, orientating them, and moving them to a target position - with a 91.6 percent success rate. Her speed increased with practice.

The researchers plan to incorporate wireless technology to remove the need for a wired connection between the patient's head and the prosthesis.

They also believe a sensory loop could be added that gives feedback to the brain, allowing the user to tell the difference between hot and cold, or smooth and rough surfaces.

"This bioinspired brain-machine interface is a remarkable technological and biomedical achievement," said Gregoire Courtine at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, who was not involved in the study.

"Though plenty of challenges lie ahead, these sorts of systems are rapidly approaching the point of clinical fruition," Courtine said in a comment piece in the Lancet linked to the study.

ETHICAL QUESTIONS

Although using technology to restore movement, sight or hearing in the disabled would for many seem uncontroversial, some disability rights groups and ethicists are wary.

They argue that restoring hearing, for instance, could fuel a prejudice that a deaf life is less rich, or less well lived.

Andy Miah, a professor at the University of the West of Scotland who has written extensively about human enhancement in the context of the Paralympics, says it is far from straightforward.

"For instance, a few years ago, there was a case of a deaf lesbian couple who sought to use in vitro fertilisation to select for deafness.

"They argued that absence of hearing is precisely not an impairment, but allows access to a rich community."

The ethics become more complex with the prospect of using these technologies to enhance the able-bodied.

"It's quite likely that therapy is the back door to enhancement in these kinds of technological interventions," says Miah. "People will question whether this is desirable, but we already live in a society that tolerates such modifications.

"Laser eye surgery interventions have grown astronomically over the last decade and nobody complains that it is making people superhuman."

For Jan Scheuermann, the experience has been transforming.

"It's given her a renewed purpose," said Boninger. "On the first day that we had her move the arm, there was this amazing smile of joy. She could think about moving her wrist and something happened."

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NASA eyes mission to Jupiter moon Europa by 2021

NEW YORK: NASA may have devoted many of its exploration resources to Mars recently, but the US space agency also has its eye on an icy moon of Jupiter that may be capable of supporting life.

The agency is thinking about ways to investigate the possible habitability of Europa, Jupiter's fourth-largest moon. One concept that may be gaining traction is a so-called "clipper" probe that would make multiple flybys of the moon, studying its icy shell and suspected subsurface ocean as it zooms past.

"We briefed [NASA] headquarters on Monday, and they responded very positively," mission proponent David Senske, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, said.

The USD 2 billion unmanned Europa Clipper, which could be ready to launch by 2021 or so, would also do vital reconnaissance work for a potential lander mission in the future, 'SPACE.com' reported.

Astrobiologists regard Europa, which is about 3,100 kilometres wide, as one of the best bets in our solar system to host life beyond Earth.

The moon is believed to harbour a large ocean of liquid water beneath its icy shell. This ocean is likely in direct contact with Europa's rocky mantle, raising the possibility of all sorts of interesting chemical reactions, Senske said.

The irradiation of Europa's surface and tidal heating of its interior also mean the moon likely has ample energy sources - another key requirement for life as we know it.

NASA has long been interested in exploring the icy moon and its ocean. Several years back, the agency drew up an ambitious mission concept called the Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO), which would have made detailed studies of Europa and the incredibly volcanic Jupiter moon.

According to the 2011 Planetary Science Decadal Survey, the science returns from such a mission would have been impressive which outlined the scientific community's goals in the field over the coming decade.

The decadal survey ranked JEO as the second-highest priority among large-scale missions, just behind Mars sample-return. But the report said its USD 4.7 billion price tag was just too high.

"The recommendation was, immediately go and do a de-scope. They loved the science, the science was great. But focus it," said Senske.

Researchers got to work developing a leaner, cheaper Europa mission that would fit under a firm USD 2 billion cost cap. They came up with two main options: the clipper and a Europa orbiter.

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Nature nurtures the brain

Wandering lonely as a cloud high o'er vales and hills may be the best way to recharge your batteries — so long as you leave your conventional battery-powered devices at home.
What writers have known for centuries , scientists are now endeavouring to prove — that contact with nature can boost creativity and problem solving skills.
Backpackers who spent four days in the wilderness without access to electronic devices scored 50 per cent better on a creativity test at the end of the trip, according to researchers.

The backpackers — 56 in all — joined one of four separate expeditions run by the Outward Bound organisation and took a ten item "creativity test" at the start and end of the hike. On average they got four out of ten questions right at the start and six right at the end. Earlier studies have shown that going for a long walk can improve the accuracy of proof-reading , the ability to perceive an optical illusion and the capacity to repeat a list of numbers backwards.

Yet the time people spend outdoors and in contact with nature is diminishing . Psychologists from the University of Utah who led the study said: "Our modern society is filled with sudden events (sirens, horns, ringing phones, alarms, television) that hijack attention. By contrast natural environments are associated with gentle soft fascination, allowing the executive attention system to replenish."

"Executive attention" is the ability to switch rapidly among tasks which is important in a modern society but is overtaxed by the constant demands from a technological environment.

However, the authors of the study, published in the online journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One, say they cannot be sure if the effects they observed were due to exposure to nature or withdrawal of electronic devices — or a combination of both. THE INDEPENDENT

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Minimally invasive technique used to remove brain tumour

NEW DELHI: A 50-year-old woman from Jharkhand underwent a surgery to remove brain tumor at a private hospital in Gurgaon on Saturday. The doctors said they used the latest technique of removing pituitary gland tumor- through nose with the help of endoscope.

"The surgery was performed without any incision(cut) or stitch," claimed a doctor.

He added, "K Bibi, from Jharkhand visited the hospital initially with complaints of headache and decreased vision. Gradually, her facial features thickened (coarse) and her height also increased, more than her husband in last two years. After undergoing investigations including MRI, she consulted Dr KK Chaudhary, Consultant- Neurosurgery at Columbia Asia Hospital and was diagnosed with Pituitary Tumor."

A pituitary tumor is an abnormal growth in the pituitary gland, the part of the brain that regulates the body's balance of hormones.

Explaining the procedure Dr KK Chaudhray said, "The needle is inserted from the nose and a hole is made between the base of the brain and nasal cavity. The tumor is treated through the instrument through endoscopy. It is a new technique in medical sector and few people are performing it. Unlike the other surgeries, it is less painful and also takes less time to recover. We need to make people aware about this 'stitchless and bloodless surgery."

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Sitting up boosts learning skills in babies

WASHINGTON: The body position of babies while they learn plays a critical role in their cognitive development, according to new research.

The research out of North Dakota State University, Fargo, and Texas A 'n' M revealed that for babies, sitting up, either by themselves or with assistance, plays a significant role in how infants learn.

The research was co-authored by Rebecca J. Woods, assistant professor of human development and family science and doctoral psychology lecturer at North Dakota State University, and by psychology professor Teresa Wilcox of Texas A and M.

The study's results showed that babies' ability to sit up unsupported has a profound effect on their ability to learn about objects. The research also found that when babies who cannot sit up alone are given posture support from infant seats that help them sit up, they learn as well as babies who can already sit alone.

"An important part of human cognitive development is the ability to understand whether an object in view is the same or different from an object seen earlier," said Dr. Woods.

Through two experiments, she confirmed that 5-and-a-half- and 6-and-a-half-month-olds don't use patterns to differentiate objects on their own. However, 6-and-a-half-month-olds can be primed to use patterns, if they have the opportunity to look at, touch and mouth the objects before being tested.

"An advantage the 6-and-a-half-month-olds may have is the ability to sit unsupported, which makes it easier for babies to reach for, grasp and manipulate objects. If babies don't have to focus on balancing, their attention can be on exploring the object," said Woods.

In a third experiment, 5-and-a-half-month-olds were given full postural support while they explored objects. When they had posture support, they were able to use patterns to differentiate objects. The research study also suggests that delayed sitting may cause babies to miss learning experiences that affect other areas of development.

"Helping a baby sit up in a secure, well-supported manner during learning sessions may help them in a wide variety of learning situations, not just during object-feature learning. This knowledge can be advantageous, particularly to infants who have cognitive delays who truly need an optimal learning environment," Woods said.

The finding was published in the journal Developmental Psychology.

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Moon mission: Twin crashes planned

Nasa's latest Moon mission will end on Monday - not with a whimper, but a splat. Two splats, actually. Ebb and Flow, two space probes the size of washing machines that have been orbiting the Moon and measuring its gravity field , will perform an orchestrated death plunge on Monday, crashing into the body's dark side.

The exercise will not be for the advance of science, but rather something of a garbagedisposal operation, to make sure that the probes - which are running out of fuel - do not come to rest in a historically significant place, like on Neil Armstrong's footprints. The Moon has been affronted this way many times before, especially during the space race of the 1960s, but Nasa is now trying to dispose of its litter more carefully.

This time, the first impact will come 40 seconds past 5.38pm (EST) on December 17 when Ebb slams into a mountain near the Moon's north pole at 3,760 miles per hour.

The second, from Ebb's twin, Flow, will come 20 seconds later. Unfortunately, since the action will happen on the dark side of the Moon, there will be nothing for earthlings to see.

"We're not expecting a flash that is visible from Earth," Maria T Zuber, the mission's primary investigator, said on Thursday during a telephone news conference. That is all by design as Nasa wraps up its Grail Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission, or Grail, for short.

To map the gravity, the two spacecraft are in an orbit passing over the Moon's north and south poles. They pass over all parts of the lunar surface as the Moon rotates below.

If the probes' fuel ran out and their orbits decayed, they could crash anywhere on the Moon, including a slim chance - eight in one million - that one of them could obliterate those famous footprints or another historic site. With the spacecraft guided into a mountain, the chances are zero.

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Moon mission: Twin crashes planned

Nasa's latest Moon mission will end on Monday - not with a whimper, but a splat. Two splats, actually. Ebb and Flow, two space probes the size of washing machines that have been orbiting the Moon and measuring its gravity field , will perform an orchestrated death plunge on Monday, crashing into the body's dark side.

The exercise will not be for the advance of science, but rather something of a garbagedisposal operation, to make sure that the probes - which are running out of fuel - do not come to rest in a historically significant place, like on Neil Armstrong's footprints. The Moon has been affronted this way many times before, especially during the space race of the 1960s, but Nasa is now trying to dispose of its litter more carefully.

This time, the first impact will come 40 seconds past 5.38pm (EST) on December 17 when Ebb slams into a mountain near the Moon's north pole at 3,760 miles per hour.

The second, from Ebb's twin, Flow, will come 20 seconds later. Unfortunately, since the action will happen on the dark side of the Moon, there will be nothing for earthlings to see.

"We're not expecting a flash that is visible from Earth," Maria T Zuber, the mission's primary investigator, said on Thursday during a telephone news conference. That is all by design as Nasa wraps up its Grail Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission, or Grail, for short.

To map the gravity, the two spacecraft are in an orbit passing over the Moon's north and south poles. They pass over all parts of the lunar surface as the Moon rotates below.

If the probes' fuel ran out and their orbits decayed, they could crash anywhere on the Moon, including a slim chance - eight in one million - that one of them could obliterate those famous footprints or another historic site. With the spacecraft guided into a mountain, the chances are zero.

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Very early human ancestors survived on grass: Study

NEW DELHI: A new international study has revealed that very early human ancestors survived on grass and similar plants. The scientists' team led by Oxford University came to this startling conclusion after extensively studying the teeth of three hominin fossils dug up from two sites in Chad in central Africa. The fossil remains were dated at 3 to 3.5 million years old, and the hominins were classified as Australopithecus bahrelghazali. The findings are published in the early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Leading a team of scientists from Chad, France and US, Professor Julia Lee-Thorp from Oxford University, said in a statement: "We found evidence suggesting that early hominins, in central Africa at least, ate a diet mainly comprised of tropical grasses and sedges. No African great apes, including chimpanzees, eat this type of food despite the fact it grows in abundance in tropical and subtropical regions. The only notable exception is the savannah baboon which still forages for these types of plants today. We were surprised to discover that early hominins appear to have consumed more than even the baboons."

Professor Lee-Thorp is a specialist in isotopic analyses of fossil tooth enamel. The team analysed the carbon isotope ratios in the teeth and found the signature of a diet rich in foods derived from C4 plants.

The research paper suggests this discovery demonstrates how early hominins experienced a shift in their diet relatively early, at least in Central Africa. The finding indicates how early humans were able to survive in open landscapes with few trees, rather than sticking only to types of terrain containing many trees. This allowed them to move out of the earliest ancestral forests or denser woodlands, and occupy and exploit new environments much farther afield, says the study.

The fossils of the three individuals were found in the Djurab desert, near the ancient Bahr el Ghazal channel which links the southern and northern Lake Chad sub-basins. However, in their paper the authors observe that at the time when Australopithecus bahrelghazali roamed, the area would have had reeds and sedges growing around a network of shallow lakes, with floodplains and wooded grasslands beyond.

Previously, it was widely believed that early human ancestors acquired tougher tooth enamel, large grinding teeth and powerful muscles so they could eat foods like hard nuts and seeds. This research finding suggests that the diet of early hominins diverged from that of the standard great ape at a much earlier stage, Oxford University said.

The authors argue that it is unlikely that the hominins would have eaten the leaves of the tropical grasses as they would have been too abrasive and tough to break down and digest. Instead, they suggest that these early hominins may have relied on the roots, corms and bulbs at the base of the plant.

Professor Lee-Thorp said: 'Based on our carbon isotope data we can't exclude the possibility that the hominins' diets may have included animals that in turn ate the tropical grasses. But as neither humans nor other primates have diets rich in animal food, and of course the hominins are not equipped as carnivores are with sharp teeth, we can assume that they ate the tropical grasses and the sedges directly.'

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Captured: Deepest view of space yet

WASHINGTON: Astronomers have observed deeper into space than ever before and identified seven new galaxies that formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, including one that may be the oldest to date.

Using Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers uncovered a population of seven primitive galaxies that formed more than 13 billion years ago, when the universe was less than 4% of its present age.

The deepest images to date from Hubble yield the first statistically robust sample of galaxies that tells how abundant they were close to the era when galaxies first formed, Nasa said.

The Hubble's observations support the idea galaxies assembled continuously over time and also may have provided enough radiation to reheat, or re-ionize , the universe a few hundred million years after the theorized big bang.

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