Developments CLIMATE Greenhouse Weather Rising global warming, propelled in part by carbon dioxide released by the burning of fossil fuels, is expected to shake up the weather, and that is exactly what happened last year, climate scientists reported last week. In examining a dozen extreme weather events last year, scientists found signs that human activity contributed to about half of them. One of the most robust results was a much greater likelihood of heat waves like the one in the United States in July 2012. On the other hand, computer simulations indicated that the higher levels of carbon dioxide did not increase the odds of droughts like the one that affected much of the Midwest. In that case, the scientists said, it was just part of the natural cycles of weather. BIOLOGY Fat Germs, Thin Germs Some people blame their genes for their weight. Now you may be able to blame the bacteria in your gut, too. Trillions of microbes live in the intestines of a healthy person, helping to digest foods. Researchers found pairs of human twins in which one was obese and the other was thin. They extracted gut bacteria from each of the twins and then injected them into the guts of laboratory mice. Mice with bacteria from a fat twin grew fat. Mice with bacteria from a thin twin stayed lean. Researchers said that they wanted to figure out which particular bacteria induced thinness, and those perhaps could be used in the future as a treatment for obesity. Also intriguing was that a change in diet could cause bacteria from a thin twin to crowd out the bacteria from a fat twin, causing the fat mouse to lose weight. But the opposite never occurred. SPACE Looking for Moondust For its latest Moon mission, NASA launched an unmanned spacecraft that will study the evanescent atmosphere and dust particles above the surface. The craft, the Lunar Atmosphere Dust Environment Explorer, or Ladee, is in orbit around Earth as engineers check that everything is working; it heads for the Moon in about a month. During the 100-day science part of the mission, Ladee will look for water and other molecules in the atmosphere. Scientists are interested in how dust is lifted off the lunar surface and moved about. NASA Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) Complete Launch CoverageCOGNITIVE SCIENCE Senior Games The next video game craze could be for grandparents. Cognitive scientists have found that a simple game that forced players to juggle two different tasks helped improve the short-term memory and long-term focus of older adults. Researchers said those as old as 80 began to show neurological patterns of people in their 20s. The improvements persisted in other cognitive tasks after they finished playing. In the game, players drive around cars while trying to identify road signs that pop up. The research could lead to neurological interventions to improve memory and attention. Coming Up ROCKETRY More Firsts for SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Inc., or SpaceX, has launched three cargo ships to the International Space Station and is a favorite to win a contract from NASA for taking astronauts to orbit too. SpaceX could achieve another important milestone on Saturday, Space News reported: the first launching of its Falcon 9 rocket for a commercial customer, a science satellite for a Canadian aerospace company. It will be the first from a new launching pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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