Exploring outer space is an adventure that still needs a lot of preparation by the human race. There are not many ways to power a spacecraft with humans that would be able to survive the harsh realities of space, but a NASA funded prototype craft that is steam powered may actually be able to explore these regions on it’s own forever.

The space craft called the WINE is being developed in partnership with NASA and a California based robotics firm called Honeybee Robotics. It can propel itself from asteroid to asteroid by extracting water to fuel it’s ongoing journey. Potentially making it able to explore outer space for unlimited years.

The first trials of the craft were conducted in December 2018 in the lab using simulated asteroid material. The WINE was able to mine the soil, make rocket propellant and launch itself on a jet stream extracted from the material. This can be game changing for how humankind explores the universe.

The science project is in it’s infancy and a number of changes can be made before it’s actually ready to handle outer space. However, the potential for this craft is truly amazing in scope. It could hop from the Moon to the asteroid belt, to Mars and onward using small hops all the way to Pluto.

Your DNA is the key to finding out more about your ancestry. At the University of Sheffield researchers were frustrated with the traditional methodology used to identify a skeleton and assign it to one of the ancient populations that once roamed the planet. The process was long drawn, and not always very accurate.

That’s when Eran Elhaik and his team decided to try something new. They identified a group of mutations that are sufficiently informative to identify and classify ancient populations. The Ancient Ancestry Informative Markers (aAIMs)  use the diversity that was much more prevalent in ancient times to identify which bones belonged to a certain civilization.

As per Elhaik, the people today are a lot more similar than the populations of ancient times. Finding a few relevant markers from an ancient population can make it much easier to identify them. However the problem they faced with this science project is that the ancient DNA is often degraded so much that it’s difficult to extract markers.

The team has managed to improve the system that was already in place. They just need a more comprehensive ancient DNA data base to compare the markers isolated against to improve accuracy even more.

While most of the human population is well aware that doing drugs is a sure fire way to ruin your health and your life, not so many young (and not so young) people are worried about a little weed. If a study, published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience, is to be believed there is simply no way that human beings should smoke cannabis if they don’t want to harm their brains.

Hugh Garavan, a professor at the University of Vermont, US, said that consuming just one or two joints seemed to change grey matter volumes in the young adolescents in the study. Researchers found evidence that an increase in grey matter volume in certain parts of the adolescent brain is a likely consequence of low level marijuana use.

In studies so far the research has been based on subjects who have been using marijuana for a while and are heavily addicted. These subjects are then compared with non-users. This new scientific research is not following the old pattern. It’s focus is on the young people who tend to indulge in a joint or two infrequently. Not surprisingly the grey matter in their brains is affected even with this seemingly low level of consumption.

In New South Wales, Australia, thousands of fish have been found floating dead in lakes and rivers. The heat of the summer Down Under has been responsible for this ecological disaster. The heatwave has been responsible for so much damage that the local government is now thinking of fighting back to help preserve the fish.

The state government has been monitoring the situation since the first batch of rotting fish were found in Lake Hume. They have recently announced a plan to activate 16 battery powered aerators in the drought affected waterways. The idea is to pump oxygen into the rivers to help the fish deal better with the low water levels.

Niall Blair, Minister for regional water said that nothing would stop this fish kill until we get proper river flows and water levels in our dams back up to normal. They are doing everything that they can to limit the damage to the environment.

Considering the hundreds of dead fish that were found floating on Darling River in western New South Wales last week, this may be a science experiment worth taking up for the state government. If they are successful, it may be a new method to save the algal blooms and oxygen starved water ways in the nation during this summer.

Plants that are found on the sides of roads that show a high frequency of traffic are usually seen to be sickly looking. They never quite achieve their optimum height as per the species or even grow as much as they would in foliage in the woods. Scientists have always said that the emissions from the vehicles on the road pollute the area so badly that the plants end up stunted.

Researchers at the University of Surrey are looking into another aspect of this by studying hedges that are planted on the edge of roads with an aim to reduce air pollution in the region. Hedges are a much more hardy plant species and study showed interesting results. The researchers studies areas which had only hedges as well as some which had a combination of hedges, trees and shrubs.

It was found that the areas with just hedges were the most effective at reducing air pollution. There was a 63% reduction in black carbon in these areas. Also the ultra fine and sub micron particles were also reduced in the size in the area. This science experiment suggests that it may be better to plant hedges near roads than trees or shrubs.

Most funerals are heavy on their carbon footprint. With burials there are a number of chemicals used in the embalming liquid and wood is used for the coffins. The area for the burial is also earmarked and not available as a resource to the living people of the planet. In case of cremations, the accelerants used to aid the spread of fire also have a heavy chemical release into the atmosphere.

Jamie Pedersen is now hoping to offer residents of Washington an alternative which would be a lot healthier to the planet. The idea is to allow human bodies to undergo composting so that they are gently broken down into the soil. This mineral rich soil would then be able to sustain new life. The Democratic state senator is sponsoring a bill in the legislature to this effect.

The obvious green benefits aside, there is also a huge financial benefit for the family left behind. It is likely that the human composting system will be $2000 cheaper than the regular burial. Here’s wondering of this science experiment will ever come to life. It may be green, but will it soothe emotions of the bereaved family?