A New Habitable Planet Beyond our Solar System?

Outside of our solar system a planet about 50% larger than Earth was discovered. This planet is within the constellation Libra and orbits around a red dwarf star. It is about 14 times closer to its star than Earth is so a year would last 13 days rather than 365. It has temperatures between 32 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The gravity on this planet is heavier than on Earth, therefore, if you weigh about 150 lbs. on Earth than you might weigh about 240 lbs. on this planet. Most importantly, scientists are saying that there is a possibility for water on this planet which could be a sign for life. Theres only one problem, that is that it would take 20 light years to get there and 20 to get back.
I think its amazing that scientists are now discovering planets out of our solar system and I think it would be even more amazing if scientists discovered a way to get to this planet within 20 light years.
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Spacecraft Tracking Earth's Highest Clouds

Since 1885 scientists have noticed certain clouds that remain about 50 feet above Earth. These clouds are only noticeable at night because once the sun sets below the horizon, the light reflects on the clouds causing them to glow. Within the past few years these clouds seem to be shining brighter, occurring more frequently, and they are appearing at lower latitudes. Some scientists are saying that this is happening because of global warming. Above Mars, similar clouds are hovering. Therefore, after scientists send out a spacecraft to study these clouds, they hope to not only find answers for Earth, but also for Mars.
I chose this article because it is interesting to me that in the past few years the clouds have been changing. Also, if these clouds are also above Mars it might be a clue to whether or not there is life on Mars.
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Disease fighting plants of the polar region?

From February to May of this year, scientists have been in Antarctica studying plants that supposedly can fight diseases such as Cancer and Cystic Fibrosis. So far a sponge-like organism that lives at the bottom of the ocean is what scientists are examining. So what's the problem? Each of the organisms that live on Antarctica are accustom to a cold, icy habitat. Yet, lately global warming seems to be slowly taking over Antarctica. Therefore, if these plants are able to prevent deadly diseases, then they may not be around for long if their habitats change.
This article interests me because scientists are saying that we could be fighting some of the most serious diseases. Yet, we mostly caused global warming. Therefore, we're the only ones who can fix it. If global warming was stopped, then all these plants would have a better chance of surviving, which means that all the people that could potentially die from cancer could also have a better chance of surviving.
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DNA

In case you don't already know, DNA is what makes our bodies. Every part of you; your hair color, eye color, height, etc.; is all located in your DNA. It is so complex that if you were to print it on paper, it would probably stretch for miles. There are only four main structures that make up DNA; Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine; yet no two people can have the exact same DNA unless they are identical twins. Adenine and Thymine are always matched together, and Guanine and Cytosine are always matched together.
In one article I read on DNA I saw it mentioned how DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid. Also, DNA is in all living organisms. For us, DNA is located in our cells.
This is all very interesting to me because I find it amazing that our body can be so complex. Also, I think it is amazing that even though DNA is what creates our bodies, yet we can't even see it!
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Punnent Squares

The reason I choose to do punnett squares was because it can show the probability of diseases or appearance, etc. in your children. I thought this was cool because if they already have ways to predict the outcome of certain genes in our children, than it makes me wonder what will be discovered in the future. Punnett squares are also very easy to follow because it is almost like a little game. They represent two things called phenotype and genotype. When you create punnett squares you always have a capital letter represent the dominant allele and a lower case letter represent the recessive allele. On the top of the square you write one gene pair, and on the left side you write the partner's gene pair.
After reading an article on a website I remembered that when a dominant and a recessive allele are resulted together the dominant always shows over the recessive. Therefore, if B represents brown eyes and b represents blue eyes and they combine then the offspring would have brown eyes. As I read further I saw it was talking about how if a gene in an offspring becomes dominant, the recessive allele is still carried within that offspring.

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Water on Mars?

After N.A.S.A.'s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter discovered pictures of a valley on Mars, scientists are beginning to question whether or not there is water as a trace that there is or was life Mars. There were layers of dark and light rock which filled a giant rift valley. Some say that there were areas in which water passed through the bedrock. Researchers say that layered outcrops can indicate signs of cycles of water, wind, or volcanic acid once passing through. Last December there was evidence of water possibly passing through. More recent photos show changes in craters which could mean that there was water passing through only a few years ago, or possibly even now.
I was interested in this article because if there is still water passing through Mars than possibly in a couple hundred years or so we could start human life on Mars. Also, maybe people could go to Mars temporarily to tour the planet with less risk considering there could be water. Not only could we send humans there but, also, if there was life there, then maybe it could come to Earth.

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The Silver Dart Spaceship

Recently N.A.S.A. is working on building a new space plane called The Silver Dart. They are hoping that it can travel at least 5,000 miles farther down. It is expected to move at a speed of Mach 22. This speed can get you from New York to Paris in 20 minutes rather than about 8 hours! A demonstration launch is planned for December 2009.
This is fascinating because it seems that everyday N.A.S.A. is finding new ways to explore. Also, I don't think we have ever explored this far down in space before, so something new could be discovered.

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