Science X Newsletter Week 02

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 02:

	Potential signs of ancient life in Mars rover photos A careful study of images taken by the NASA rover Curiosity has revealed intriguing similarities between ancient sedimentary rocks on Mars and structures shaped by microbes on Earth. The findings suggest, but do not prove, that life may have existed earlier on the Red Planet.
	Scientist tackles mystery of ancient astronomical device The shoebox-size chunk of bronze didn't attract much attention when divers retrieved it from an ancient shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901. Archaeologists on the expedition had their hands full with far more impressive finds, including life-size statues of warriors and horses, delicate glass bowls and scores of ceramic vessels called amphorae.
	Super-insulated clothing could eliminate need for indoor heating (Phys.org)—By wearing clothes that have been dip-coated in a silver nanowire (AgNW) solution that is highly radiation-insulating, a person may stay so warm in the winter that they can greatly reduce or even eliminate their need for heating their home. Considering that 47% of global energy is spent on indoor heating, and 42% of that specifically for residential heating, such highly insulating clothing could potentially have huge cost savings.
	Eight new planets found in 'Goldilocks' zone Astronomers announced today that they have found eight new planets in the "Goldilocks" zone of their stars, orbiting at a distance where liquid water can exist on the planet's surface. This doubles the number of small planets (less than twice the diameter of Earth) believed to be in the habitable zone of their parent stars. Among these eight, the team identified two that are the most similar to Earth of any known exoplanets to date.
	Perovskite solar cell reaches record efficiency A team of researchers with Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology and Sungkyunkwan University has developed a new formula for mixing perovskite structures that has led to the team achieving a new record level of efficiency in solar cells made from them. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the team describes how they came up with the new formula and what it might mean for the future of solar cell technology.
	Super-Earths have long-lasting oceans For life as we know it to develop on other planets, those planets would need liquid water, or oceans. Geologic evidence suggests that Earth's oceans have existed for nearly the entire history of our world. But would that be true of other planets, particularly super-Earths? New research suggests the answer is yes and that oceans on super-Earths, once established, can last for billions of years.
	Sea Shepherd in epic chase of Antarctic 'poaching' ship Environmental activist group Sea Shepherd said Friday it has been chasing a "poaching" ship for three weeks amid heavy ice flows in an attempt to stop the crew from illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean.
	Sun may determine lifespan at birth, study finds Could the Sun be your lucky—or unlucky—star? In an unusual study published Wednesday, Norwegian scientists said people born during periods of solar calm may live longer, as much as five years on average, than those who enter the world when the Sun is feisty.
	More effective diet pill: 'Imaginary meal' tricks the body into losing weight Salk researchers have developed an entirely new type of pill that tricks the body into thinking it has consumed calories, causing it to burn fat. The compound effectively stopped weight gain, lowered cholesterol, controlled blood sugar and minimized inflammation in mice, making it an excellent candidate for a rapid transition into human clinical trials.
High-temperature superconductor 'fingerprint' found (Phys.org) —Theorists and experimentalists working together at Cornell may have found the answer to a major challenge in condensed matter physics: identifying the smoking gun of why "unconventional" superconductivity occurs, they report in Nature Physics, published online Dec. 22.
	Intel to launch compute-on-a-stick device this year Intel has come up with a compute-on-a-stick device which is pre-installed with Windows 8.1 or with Linux. The stick is four inches long and it carries a quad-core Intel Atom processor. Call it by its name, Compute Stick, or think of it as a neat way to do your work in a pocket-sized form factor. The stick has an HDMI output, a USB port and a microSD card slot.
	Study suggests history of Rapa Nui on Easter Island far more complex than thought (Phys.org)—A team of researchers with members from the U.S., Chile and New Zealand has uncovered evidence that contradicts the conventional view of the demographic collapse of the Rapa Nui people living on Easter Island, both before and after European contact. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes how they conducted obsidian hydration dating of artifacts from the island to trace the history of human activity in the area and what they found in doing so.
	New instrument reveals recipe for other Earths How do you make an Earth-like planet? The "test kitchen" of Earth has given us a detailed recipe, but it wasn't clear whether other planetary systems would follow the same formula. Now, astronomers have found evidence that the recipe for Earth also applies to terrestrial exoplanets orbiting distant stars.
	Map of mysterious molecules in galaxy sheds new light on century-old puzzle By analyzing the light of hundreds of thousands of celestial objects, Johns Hopkins astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey have created a unique map of enigmatic molecules in our galaxy that are responsible for puzzling features in the light from stars.
	NASA observatories take an unprecedented look into superstar Eta Carinae Eta Carinae, the most luminous and massive stellar system within 10,000 light-years of Earth, is known for its surprising behavior, erupting twice in the 19th century for reasons scientists still don't understand. A long-term study led by astronomers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, used NASA satellites, ground-based telescopes and theoretical modeling to produce the most comprehensive picture of Eta Carinae to date. New findings include Hubble Space Telescope images that show decade-old shells of ionized gas racing away from the largest star at a million miles an hour, and new 3-D models that reveal never-before-seen features of the stars' interactions.
	Quantum hard drive breakthrough Physicists developing a prototype quantum hard drive have improved storage time by a factor of more than 100.
	Chandra detects record-breaking outburst from Milky Way's black hole (Phys.org)—Astronomers have observed the largest X-ray flare ever detected from the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This event, detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, raises questions about the behavior of this giant black hole and its surrounding environment.
	Hubble discovers that Milky Way core drives wind at 2 million miles per hour (Phys.org)—At a time when our earliest human ancestors had recently mastered walking upright, the heart of our Milky Way galaxy underwent a titanic eruption, driving gases and other material outward at 2 million miles per hour.
	Astronomers use vanishing neutron star to measure space-time warp In an interstellar race against time, astronomers have measured the space-time warp in the gravity of a binary star and determined the mass of a neutron star—just before it vanished from view.
	Astronomers seek widest view ever of the universe with new telescope At the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society last week, the booth devoted to a revolutionary new telescope called the LSST got a lot of traffic.

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