NASA's 'age of Aquarius' dawns
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., June 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency launched its Aquarius instrument scientists will use to measure the oceans' saltiness to improve climate forecasting, NASA said Friday.
The Aquarius/SAC-D observatory rocketed into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California atop a Delta II rocket shortly after 7 a.m., NASA.gov said.
"Aquarius is a critical component of our Earth sciences work, and part of the next generation of space-based instruments that will take our knowledge of our home planet to new heights," NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver said. "The innovative scientists and engineers who contributed to this mission are part of the talented team that will help America win the future and make a positive impact across the globe."
Aquarius will make NASA's first space observations of the concentration of salt at the ocean surface, which scientists identified as a key missing variable in satellite studies of Earth. Variations in salinity influence deep ocean circulation, trace the path of freshwater and help drive Earth's climate.
"Data from this mission will advance our understanding of the ocean and prediction of the global water cycle," said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate at agency headquarters in Washington. "This mission demonstrates the power of international collaboration and accurate space-borne measurements for science and societal benefit."
Besides Aquarius, the observatory has seven instruments to monitor natural hazards and collect environmental data.
Mission partners include Brazil, Canada, France and Italy, NASA said.
Chimp-mauled woman gets face transplant
BOSTON, June 10 (UPI) -- The Connecticut woman mauled by a chimp in 2009 received a full face transplant last month, officials from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston said Friday.
Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, who led the BWH plastic and orthopedic surgery team, called the transplant "a success," WCVB-TV, Boston reported.
"We have been able to provide something that will eventually turn into a very functional face," Pomahac said of the team's work on Charla Nash, who was attacked by a neighbor's enraged pet chimpanzee two years ago in Stamford, Conn.
A double hand transplant was performed on Nash wasn't successful, the hospital said in a release. The hands failed to thrive and were removed.
Pomahac said he was confident doctors could try to transplant the hands again if a suitable donor is found.
The team of more than 30 physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists and residents worked for more than 20 hours to replace Nash's full facial area, including her nose, lips, facial skin, muscles of facial animation and the nerves that power them and provide sensation, the hospital said. The date of the procedure will not be released to ensure the privacy of the donor.
Nash's injuries are so severe, she hasn't been able to eat or breathe normally and has had to rely on feeding and breathing tubes, the Boston Globe reported.
Pomahac said Nash, who also was blinded in the attack, should regain her sense of smell and be able to eat.
"She will eventually be able to eat a hamburger, which she said was very important to her having eaten only pureed food since her injury," Pomahac said.
Brigham and Women's Hospital performed a partial face transplant on a Fitchburg, Mass., resident in April 2009, and full face transplants on patients from Texas and Indiana earlier this year.
Rare skink moved from Mauritius to Britain
PORT LEWIS, Mauritius, June 10 (UPI) -- Twenty-two critically endangered orange-tailed skinks were sent to Britain to try to save the rare animal from extinction, scientists said.
The rescue should allow the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust to try to start a captive breeding program for the skinks, thought to be extinct on their native Flat Island in Mauritius because shrews that prey on them are now established there, the BBC reported.
"We ultimately hope to reintroduce the species to the island," said Andrew Terry, Durrell's head of field programs. "Before humans turned up in Mauritius, the natural world there had a very strong reptile component; reptiles were really driving the ecosystems."
The rare lizard was discovered on Flat Island, the largest of the Mauritian islands, in 1995.
Human activity has modified the skink's habitat because of the addition on non-native predators such as rats and cats, Terry said. Because of the influx of predators, about 400 orange-tailed skinks were moved to another island -- an action Terry said was fortunate when the Indian musk shrew was introduced, the BBC said.
If the reptile team hadn't reacted to the threat of development and the arrival of the shrew in a timely manner, the orange-tailed skink would now be extinct, the BBC said.
The rescued skinks will be kept at Durrell until scientists are certain the relocated populations are established or the shrew problem is addressed, Durrell officials said.
Voyager data show solar system edge active
CHICAGO, June 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency's Voyager probes, traveling through space since 1977, indicate the fringe of the solar system is awash with activity, scientists said.
Information the probes transmit has allowed scientists to construct a better picture of what it's like on the edge of the solar system that abuts the space beyond, the BBC reported.
Computer modeling based on the Voyager data indicates the edge of the solar system could be similar to an "agitated Jacuzzi," said Eugene Parker from the University of Chicago.
Magnetic field lines carried in the "wind" of material break and reconnect, creating distinct bubbles tens of millions of kilometers wide, researchers said. The assessment could affect the understanding of cosmic rays.
"It's more like a membrane that is permeable to the galactic cosmic rays, so we expect the galactic cosmic rays to enter and slowly wander through this sea of magnetic bubbles until they can access field lines that connect back to the sun and quickly escape," Parker said.
Researchers say they're surprised at the amount of activity found on the outer reaches of the solar system.
"The findings are significant as we will have to change our view on how the sun interacts with particles, fields and gases from other stars, and this has consequences that reach down to Earth," said Arik Posner, Voyager program scientist at NASA.
The Voyager probes first surveyed Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, completing those missions in 1989. Now their primary task is to define the sun's limits.
