In a somewhat academic discussion about survival of astronauts in outer space it has been suggested that a long term assignment may not be possible for human beings. The science project being discussed was a potential Mission to Mars where the one way journey would take about 250 days and the stay on Mars would be little under a year to wait for the orbital point closest to Earth to return.

This means that in a mission to Mars the astronauts would be spending little over two years in space. Scientific researchers argue that the health of the human beings may deteriorate too much in this time frame. The main reason being that pathogens such as viruses and bacteria tend to mutate and become more deadly in space.

There is a hypothesis that the increase in radiation can cause these deadly mutations to speed up. This will affect the health of the astronauts adversely making them incapable of functioning optimally. The reason for this suggestion is the fact that the fungi found in spacecrafts returning from outer space have the ability to eat through the plastic insulation of electric cables.

This ability does not exist in the fungi present on Earth. While it may be inconclusive evidence to suggest that the other microbes like salmonella and staphylococcus will also mutate in space the possibility does exist. More scientific research will be required to see if this actually is the truth.

It is fairly common to hear of human beings getting stranded in deserts and dying of thirst. Many animals can also die in a drought when there is acute shortage of water. However does the same principle extend to the plant kingdom? Smaller plants and shrubs can die due to lack of water but what about a deep rooted tree?

Can a tree really die of thirst? That’s the question that a three year study of 226 species of trees across the globe hoped to answer. It was found that climatic changes could actually affect the water transportation system established inside the tree. If a drought strikes and the tree is unable to take in as much water as it needs from the ground the plumbing pressure of the tree drops.

This can lead to something akin to air locks in plumbing pipes in the tree’s water transportation system. These air bubbles can actually block the flow of water into the tree even when the drought is over and ground water is available in plenty. The partially blocked flow of the liquid in to the tree can actually cause it to begin dehydrating and eventually dying due to the lack of water.

So yes, the science project did manage to prove that a tree could die of thirst just as easily as a human being or an animal can. The development of the blockage did differ from tree to tree and even tree species to species. However the fundamental truth holds.

The most abundant resource for the continent of Africa has got to be the sunny days that they have. In a science project that makes full use of this abundant natural bounty, a company called Palfridge is making solar powered refrigerators. Using the natural heat of the sun to keep things cool in the ice box.

The Swaziland based Palfridge has already manufactured more than sixty thousand sun powered refrigerators. The eco-fridges have been the first of their kind on the continent of Africa. There is great demand of these sun powered refrigerators in neighboring South Africa as well.

What makes these fridges truly eco- friendly is the fact that they use natural refrigerants that the German Society for International Cooperation came up with. The fridges are used essentially to keep food and medicines cool in areas that are devoid of electrical power supply at present.

It is a great way for doctors to ensure that vaccines stay at the optimal temperature in the rural interiors. Even with no sunshine the refrigerators continue to work managing to keep the contents cool for up to five days. A truly useful science project that will positively affect the world.

The expenses associated with inter space travel have deterred private industries from developing their own private spaceships in the past. However with the “Final Frontier” now being opened up to space tourism, the private industry is getting involved in space travel as well. Recently a commercial passenger space liner has been on test flights using its rocket power.

The private spaceship reached supersonic speeds in its ten minute test ride. The test was conducted on the SpaceShipTwo or SS2 by teams from Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic. It also marked the entrance into the final stage of vehicle testing before beginning commercial service from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson said that the first flight of the Virgin Spaceship Enterprise was without any doubt their most important test flight till date. He added that for the first time they were able to prove key components of the system, fully integrated and in flight.

The craft reached an altitude of 47,000 feet in WK2 after which the SS2 was released and propelled to 55,000 feet in an engine burn of 16 seconds. The SS2 reached Mach 1.2 speed. The next few months will see intense research in this science project as the company prepares the SS2 for a full space flight by the end of 2013.

The mobile running out of juice just when you need to make that crucial phone call is a common problem the world over. There have been numerous science projects going on around the world trying to come up with charge- on- the- go options. The most recent and extremely interesting option in offering comes from Sweden.

Researchers in Sweden have come up with the first water activated charger which can use a puddle of water to charge your phone. The charger, which has been named MyFC PowerTrekk, is based on micro fuel cell technology that was developed in Stockholm at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

The head researcher Anders Lundblad feels that the invention which uses ordinary water has great potential to accelerate social development in emerging markets. Specially in areas which lack electricity but have access of mobile phones. The charger works equally well with both fresh and seawater.

The charger has an USB connector which attaches the charger to the mobile. Water is poured into the recyclable metal disc inside the unit. Chemical energy due to release of hydrogen is converted to electrical energy which is then used to charge the mobile phone. Commercial applications for the science project have unlimited potential.