European scientists announced today the discovery of two Jupiter-sized planets orbiting stars in the constellations of Andromeda and Delphinus.  These are some of the hottest planets ever discovered. Radiation from parent stars is causing them to lose their atmospheres. These were the first planets to be discovered by the U.K.'s SuperWASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets), which uses wide angle camera lenses that can detect variations in starlight caused by planetary transit.  The findings were confirmed by French scientists, working with their own high-powered instruments.

What is unique about this discovery is the fact that SuperWASP's telescopes are capable of looking at millions of stars at a time. Previously, the discovery of extra-solar planets required the painstaking observations of individual stars, using very expensive telescopes.  So far, 200 of these planets outside our own solar system have been found.  SuperWASP consists of a number of smaller telescopes that work with highly sensitive, high-tech cameras that can make observations of broad areas of the sky, capable of generating 60 gigabytes of data in one night.

These most recent discoveries are known as "hot Jupiters" - so-called because they are gas giants that orbit very close to their parent stars.  These discoveries come on the eve of the launching of a new 35-million Euro (about 40 million USD) satellite that will facilitate the observation of extra-solar planets. Between SuperWASP and the COROT Satellite,  discoveries of extra-solar planets should increase substantially, allowing astronomers to better understand planetary formation.

U.S. scientists may take the lead in the field of high-energy physics - or lose that position to Europe. Right now, with the U.S. Congress and Administration held hostage to oil industry executives and a small, but influential group of religious fanatics who reject science for a narrow and literal interpretation of the Bible, the future of important new research related to anti-matter is very much in doubt.

Scientists at Fermilab have discovered a "bizarre particle" that whips back and forth between the states of matter and anti-matter at the incredible rate of 3 trillion times a second. This discovery could lead to further discoveries of fundamental particles and potential new forces that may be harnessed for new technology.

Unfortunately, the Fermilab may have to close down by 2010 if Congress does not approve funding for a new linear collider. Given the multi-billion price tag, and the fact that current Congressional priorities focus more on tax breaks for wealthy corporations and the finance of wars to secure oil supplies, it is probable that the U.S. will lose this opportunity to Europe, where a new, even more powerful particle collider is scheduled to go on-line within two years.

The most recent findings shows that the thirty-nine-year-old Fermilab can still make  "breakthrough discoveries. "This remarkable tour de force details with exquisite precision how the antiworld is tied to our everyday realm," said Raymond Orbach of the U.S. Department of Energy. "It is a beautiful example of how, using increasingly sophisticated analysis, one can extract discovery from data from which much less was expected."

These experiments, while promising great advances in technology that could have immeasurable benefits for society and the world, are very expensive. The recent study in which the new particle - known as the B sub s meson - was discovered required a team of 700 physicists from over 60 countries.

Given the priorities of the current U.S. Administration and Congress, chances are that, barring major changes,  the study will not go much further. One can only hope that an increasingly discontented American citizenry will get out to the polls for the mid-term elections in November and demand a more accountable, responsive, and science-supporting government.

Wal-Mart says it wants to play nice with others. According to the New York Post, Wal-Mart warned Hollywood movie studios that it would fight against distribution of movies on iTunes, worried that Wal-Mart DVD sales would decline as a result. Earlier this year, an insider suggested that many of the "big box" stores, including Wal-Mart, had expressed deep concern when Disney started selling TV shows on iTunes.

Wal-Mart, however, says otherwise. They submitted a recent report saying that they were not trying to stop movie studios from using other forms of distribution, such as Apple iTunes. According to an insider who wished not to be identified, Wal-Mart has discovered that the demographics differ on consumers who download movies--typically single young males--versus buyers of DVDs, and as a result now see no threat to their in-store DVD sales.

Downloads of movies from iTunes has produced $1 million in revenue in their first week of sales, according to Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger. iTunes, according to Iger, has not lowered TV viewership or DVD retail sales.

The fox, a natural predator for the endangered prairie dog, is having an easier time of hunting and killing prairie dogs.  The improved bagged rate is due, surprisingly, to closer than usual contact with human beings. Normally prairie dogs live in groups, and will post a sentinel to watch for predators. However, because of the incursion of humans into prairie dog habitat, over time the prairie dogs have become used to the nearness of the humans, and consequently have become complacent in warning their comrades to seek cover. 

What have the prairie dogs been doing with all their new-found time on their paws? According to John Hoogland of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Cambridge, "The males [prairie dogs] were so obsessed with sex they couldn't watch for predators." Hoogland is concerned that the sex obsession will further deplete already declining prairie dog populations.

At least they'll die happy.

Those of us here on Earth are protected from deadly radiation by magnetic fields known as the "Van Allen Belts." Once we leave that protective field, however, we are exposed to their full effects. This has serious implications for future space missions, if recent lab experiments are any indication.

It hasn't been much of a problem so far, because astronauts  have never been that far from the Earth for more than a week at a time. However, when it comes to Moon colonization or the proposed journey to Mars, we're talking about several months. In fact, a Mars mission could take as long as three years. Meanwhile, heavy-particle radiation that is found in the void between planets appears to have detrimental effects on cognitive processes.

Bernard Rabin of the University of Maryland has been performing experiments on rats indicating that when exposed to heavy particle radiation perform find it more difficult to navigate mazes and learning to press a button to get a food pellet. They also are more easily distracted deal and are more prone to stress. Astronauts could suffer similar effects, according to Rabin. Specific brain functions that were affected were those controlling spatial reasoning and anxiety levels.

"If you've got to locate an object in space and you can't, that presents some problems," Rabin said, adding  "If there's an increase in the level of anxiety, for example, the astronauts are not going to be willing to explore as much. Or if there's a decrease in anxiety, they might be taking chances that aren't wise."

The effects of the radiation is similar to those suffered during the aging process. Heavy particle radiation appear to create highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules in the body, similar to cell-destroying "free radicals." The One solution may lie in the use of compounds found in foods rich in anti-oxidants, such as blueberries and strawberries.

The next phase of Rabin's study will focus on short-term memory functions, and look for resultant genetic mutations as well. Scheduled to start early next year, the new study will take place at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory in Upton, New York.

"Biofuels" have shown great promise in weaning the world away from the use of petrofuels. They're less polluting, renewable, and all that acreage (primarily corn and soybeans) will go a long way toward absorbing that excess CO2 in the atmosphere.

Not so fast, say critics in the science community. First of all, they say, there's no proof that "biofuels" are any better than their fossil-fuel counterparts when it comes to greenhouse emissions. The other concern is what it may do the planet's ecology. The rush to plant additional acreage for biofuel production could put rainforests at risk, deplete fresh water supplies, deprive wildlife of habitat and eventually, affect the world's food supply. 

It comes down to deciding whose needs are greater: the 800 million people all over the world who own and drive automobiles, or the billions of others who survive on a day and already spend half their income feeding themselves.

Biofuels are not a new concept. Ford's famous "flivver," the Model T, was originally designed to run on alcohol, while the Diesel engine was designed to run on vegetable oil. Economics, as usual ended those ideas - back at the beginning of the last century, petroleum-based fuels were easier and cheaper to produce. The oil crises of the 1970's got many countries rethinking the idea.

The full article awaits after the jump!

350 miles on one tank of fuel is respectable, but not terribly above average - unless the fuel is free.

We first brought you news about Honda's FCX Concept Car back in June. Since then, the competition for the "green auto" market has intensified, and Honda has now announced a target date of 2008 for public release. It promises to be the first affordable hydrogen-fuelled automobile widely available to average consumer. The power generator which generates the electricity that actually runs the vehicle is 20% smaller and 30% lighter than its most recent predecessor, and allows the vehicle to travel up to 350 miles on a "fill-up."

Other companies, such as BMW, have been dabbling in hydrogen fuel-cell technology and hybrid cars. Hydrogen-powered cars are available, but at a price of almost 0,000 there haven't been many takers.

In a related story, Honda has come up with a catalytic converter for their high-tech Diesel powered vehicles. Diesel engines are far more efficient than their gasoline-powered counterparts - but historically, far more polluting as well. This particular vehicle should be available in the U.S. within the next three years. In the meantime, you might be interested to know that a Diesel engine was originally designed to run on used vegetable oil, which is far more environmentally friendly.

Your car will smell like french fries, however...

The people of the world may be starving, going without clean water, decent air and proper health care, and the planet's climate may be changing in ways that will make it ultimately uninhabitable - but you can always count on the world's governments and their private corporate masters to use technology in profitable - if destructive - ways.  After all, what's human life compared to a defense contractor's bottom line?

The latest toy (over which U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his British counterpart in the Ministry of Defence, Des Browne are already giddy about) is an "armed remote-controlled robot" manufactured by the Foster-Miller corporation of Waltham, Massachusetts. The machine-gun-equipped robot, called "Sword," was certified safe for use by the US forces last summer.

Robots have previously been used to detonating improvised bombs in the UK, Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan. The latest version has been developed from an earlier machine from the same company, called "Talon."  This one had a manipulator arm which has been replaced by a rotating machine gun carrier. According to Foster-Miller general manager Bob Quinn, "It's for urban combat and perimeter security and it's fully controlled by the soldier." Indeed, none of the robots currently under development will operate autonomously, except for a "return home" function pre-programmed into them.

Since the bellicose Bush is handing out defense contracts like the Easter Bunny throwing candy to eager little children, defense contractors are busily designing the next generation of "battlebots" that they believe will be "smart" enough to tell friend from foe.  There has been some outcry about this from the AI community, fortunately. "It is ethically problematic to use software that may work in lab conditions but not under a whole range of extreme conditions, such as when you suspect someone might be a suicide bomber," says Kirsten Dautenhahn, an AI expert at the University of Hertfordshire.

Lucy Suchman, a researcher at the University of Lancaster whose work involves studying interactions between humans and computers adds, "This plan is just ridiculous. It involves the worst kind of simplistic profiling. It's a fantasy on the part of technology enthusiasts within the Pentagon."

Since there is so much profit at stake, Bob Quinn - predictably - disagrees. "Recognition technology is progressing fast. I think it will separate the wheat from the chaff," he says, pointing out that the Pentagon's Office of Naval Research - through which the funding is being channeled - is "not known for wasting research dollars." By the way, anyone out there wanna buy a bridge in Tacoma...?

A previously unknown ring of Saturn was revealed recently by the Cassini spacecraft last Sunday, as it spent over entire Saturnian day in the planet's umbra, or nightside shadow. Backlighting from the sun revealed this latest ring. Scientists' best guess indicate that it is made from dust resulting from meteoroids colliding with two moons that orbit at the same distance.

The moons in question, Janus and Epimetheus, are too small - a mere 120 and 85 miles across (194 and 138 km) - for the type of volcanic activity capable of spewing volcanic dust into space like Enceladus, which is nearly three times the size of the larger moon, Janus. "When an object is that small, it's basically a dead ice ball," said Mark Showalter of California's SETI Institute. "There really can't be much going on except the shooting gallery out there of meteoroids and little comets."

Because these two moons are so small, they are incapable of holding on to dust stirred up by meteor impacts. The dust escapes into outer space, where it is captured by Saturn's gravity and eventually forms a ring. While other planetary rings may be formed this way - similar rings exists in the orbit of Saturnian moon Atlas, as well as the orbits of Jovian moons Thebe and Amalthea and Uranian moon Mab - it begs the question of why other tiny moonlets like this do not have similar rings.

Cassini measured the rings with its Infrared Spectrometer. The data should eventually tell scientists the speed of the ring's particles, its rate of rotation and how often they collide. In the meantime, click on the thumbnail above for a more detailed look at the newest addition to Saturn's family of rings.

Most young science students learning about the solar system find out that planetary orbits are not perfectly circular, but rather elliptical, following an elongated oval path around the sun. This is especially true in recently discovered solar systems outside our own, where the eccentricity of planetary paths are far more pronounced. When planets initially form, they are believed to have circular orbits around their parent star, but for reasons that have never been entirely clear, these orbits stretch in to elliptical shapes over time. Theories include planets affecting each other's orbits, or gravitational tugs on newly formed planets from the primordial gaseous disk from which they are born.

The recent discovery of a "brown dwarf" in a distant solar system suggests another explanation. This "brown dwarf" has apparently been pulling on a gas giant orbiting close to a star identified only as HD 3651, approximately 36 light years from Earth. The gas giant, which is only 2/3 the size of Saturn, orbits far closer to its star than Mercury does the Sun, but in an extreme oval path. The brown giant on the other hand, is about thirty times as far away from HD 3651 as Pluto is from Sol. However, its mass is 50 times that of Jupiter - powerful enough to affect the closer planet's orbit over millions of years.

This theory has been around for awhile, but testing it has been difficult because brown dwarfs are dim and hard to see even with the best telescopes.

However, testing this hypothesis has proven difficult because these distant brown dwarfs are extremely dim and therefore difficult to observe. The discovery of this brown dwarf was made in the course of a study designed to find such "failed stars" - so-called because, while their chemical makeup is identical to full-fledged stars, they lack sufficient mass to ignite.

A similar brown dwarf was recently discovered in our own planetary neighborhood. However, at over 12 light years distant, it is too far away to have had any appreciable effect on the planetary orbits in our own system. In fact, one scientist, Massimo Marengo of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Massachusetts suspects that brown dwarf stars may not be responsible for elliptical orbits very often. "We have done a quite extensive survey of nearby stars for which extrasolar planets have been observed," he says. "So far this is the only one in which we have found a brown dwarf companion, so it seems to be a relatively rare case."