Old galaxy seen making new stars
OXFORD, England, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- U.K. astronomers say a nearby galaxy, well past its cosmic "prime" for producing stars, shows evidence it is still churning out baby stars.
Images from the Hubble Space Telescope show the core of an elliptical galaxy known as NGC 4150, thought to be well past its period of star formation, surrounded by streamers of dust, gas and young, blue stars considerably less than 1 billion years old, SPACE.com reported Tuesday.
Scientists say the finding suggests elliptical galaxies can still have some youthful vigor left, possibly through encounters with smaller galaxies, and that the star birth in NGC 4150 may have been kicked off by a collision and merger with a dwarf galaxy.
"Elliptical galaxies were thought to have made all of their stars billions of years ago," astronomer Mark Crockett of the University of Oxford says. "They had consumed all their gas to make new stars. Now we are finding evidence of star birth in many elliptical galaxies, fueled mostly by cannibalizing smaller galaxies."
Astronomers' theories on how these galaxies form may change with the new findings, he said
"These observations support the theory that galaxies built themselves up over billions of years by collisions with dwarf galaxies," Crockett says. "NGC 4150 is a dramatic example in our galactic backyard of a common occurrence in the early universe."
Invasive shrimp species found in Wales
CARDIFF, Wales, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- British environmentalists say an invasive "killer" shrimp that feeds on native counterparts, young fish and insect larvae has been detected in Wales.
The predatory Dikerogammarus villosus can have serious impacts on the ecology of habitats it invades and can cause extinctions, the BBC reported.
Dubbed the killer shrimp by biologists for its voracious appetite, it often kills its prey and leaves it uneaten.
Originally from the steppe region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, D. villosus, which can grow to be much larger than native freshwater shrimp, has been spreading across Western Europe for 10 years.
Already found in a Britain in September, Welsh environmental authorities confirm it has been found in Cardiff Bay and a reservoir near Port Talbot.
"Despite the fearsome name, these are not a threat to people, but the damage they can cause to our environment here in Wales is a very real danger," Environment Agency Wales Director Chris Mills said.
"Because of what they eat and the rate that they eat it, it can alter the food chain and our ecosystem by increasing the competition for food, and the native species that rely on the insects could go elsewhere," he said.
U.S. builds supercomputer with game units
CLEVELAND, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force used 1,760 Sony Playstation 3 video game consoles to create a supercomputer at about a tenth the normal cost for such a setup, officials say.
Named the Condor Cluster and to be unveiled Wednesday, it's the fastest interactive computer the Defense Department has, the Air Force said.
Researchers under the command of Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, harnessed the computing power of off-the-shelf PlayStation 3 consoles linked to more traditional graphical processing computer components, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported.
The Condor Cluster can be used to solve image-matching problems and assist in surveillance situations, using radar enhancement and pattern recognition capabilities, the Air Force said.
The total cost of $2 million is about 10 to 20 times cheaper than what a tradition supercomputer system would cost, Air Force officials said.
Harnessing video gaming technology for super computing may seem unusual but "unusual is a relative term," said Larry Merkle, assistant chairman of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Wright State University.
Video game consoles were developed with cutting-edge graphics capabilities and the ability to handle extensive numerical computations, he said.
Polar bears seen with 'piggy back' cubs
LONDON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Polar bears are carrying cubs on their backs while they swim through icy waters, possibly because of global warming melting arctic ice, U.K. researchers say.
Scientists say they believed it to be a new behavior, possibly the result of bears having to swim longer distances in the ocean because of reduction in the amount of ice used by the bears as seal-hunting territory, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported.
During the longer swims, traveling on the mother's back could be vital for the survival of the cubs, scientists say, as being on the mother's back means the cub's body is in direct contact with the adult's fur and a large part of the baby is out of the icy water, thereby reducing heat loss.
Young polar bears have not built up a sufficient layer of fat to keep them warm if they are swimming in the sea for a prolonged period of time, researchers say.
Polar bears are excellent swimmers but they hunt and breed on top of the sea ice, which has been in decline in recent years, wildlife experts say.
"As the arctic ice continues to melt, it is likely that polar bears are increasingly going to have to swim longer distances," Geoff York, polar bear specialist from the World Wide Fund for Nature, said.
"Data from tagged bears near Alaska has indicated swims of 350-400 miles in the past four years and if polar bear cubs are forced to cover these distances, then it is vital for them to behave in a way that minimizes heat loss," he said.
"This reported behavior, and anything else that helps cub survival in those circumstances, is good news."
