Gizmorama - November 7, 2012

Good Morning,

Today is a big day. You get to learn about an image of upcoming Google phone has been leaked, the study of low blood pressure in astronauts, and an Antarctic ozone hole is the smallest it's been in 20 years.

All interesting stories from the scientific community right here in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Image of upcoming Google phone leaked --*
LONDON - A British retailer leaked an image and details of Google's new flagship Nexus 4 smartphone ahead of the product's scheduled unveiling, tech watchers report. The website of Carphone Warehouse briefly displayed a page offering the LG Nexus 4's specifications and pricing before the page was taken down, The Daily Telegraph reported. The web page said the Nexus 4 -- expected to be the centerpiece of a Google event in New York Monday -- will have a 4.7-inch screen with density of 320 pixels per inch, just shy of the iPhone 5's 326, and run a quad-core 1.5 gigahertz Snapdragon S4 processor. The screen size suggests the Nexus handset will be roughly the same size as it main competition, the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X devices. Carphone Warehouse issued a statement saying: "Unfortunately a pre-order page for a new handset that we plan to range went live prematurely. We've now rectified this and apologize for any confusion caused."


*-- Low blood pressure in astronauts studied --*
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - U.S. researchers say they've identified low or zero gravity as the cause of low blood pressure experienced by astronauts returning to Earth from space. The condition, known as orthostatic hypotension, occurs in as many as half of those astronauts on short-term missions of two weeks or less and in nearly all astronauts after long-term missions of four to six months, researchers writing in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology report. The scientists conducting the study say low gravity compromises the ability of arteries and veins to constrict normally, inhibiting the proper flow of blood. Michael D. Delp of the University of Florida and colleagues examined and compared arteries and veins from mice housed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida with blood vessels from groups of mice flown on three of the last five space shuttle missions. The mice that returned from space experienced the equivalent of orthostatic hypotension in humans, researchers said, noting it takes as many as four days in normal gravity before the condition is reversed. "There has been considerable interest in sending humans to the moon, asteroids, and Mars," Gerald Weissmann, editor in chief of the FASEB Journal, said, "but what we're finding is that extended space missions have their own inherent risks above and beyond the obvious. "If we ever hope to visit distant worlds for extended periods of time -- or colonize them permanently -- we've got to figure out how to mitigate the effects that low and no gravity has on the body."


*-- Antarctic ozone hole smallest in 20 years --*
GREENBELT, Md. - Satellite data show the average area covered by the Antarctic ozone hole this year was the second-smallest in 20 years, NASA reported. The ozone hole reached its maximum size for the year Sept. 22, covering 8.2 million square miles -- the area of the United States, Canada and Mexico combined. The ozone layer acts as Earth's natural shield against ultraviolet radiation, which can cause skin cancer, and the ozone hole phenomenon began making a yearly appearance in the early 1980s. However, the size of the hole has decreased in recent years after an international agreement regulating the production of certain ozone-depleting chemicals. Warmer temperatures in the Antarctic lower stratosphere helped to keep the hole smaller this year, NASA said. "The ozone hole mainly is caused by chlorine from human-produced chemicals, and these chlorine levels are still sizable in the Antarctic stratosphere," said Paul Newman, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Natural fluctuations in weather patterns resulted in warmer stratospheric temperatures this year. These temperatures led to a smaller ozone hole." NASA and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration have been monitoring the ozone layer from the ground and with a variety of instruments on satellites and balloons since the 1970s. The Antarctic ozone layer likely will not return to its early pre-1980s state until about 2065, Newman said, because of the long lifetimes of ozone-depleting substances still in the atmosphere.

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