Gizmorama - January 6, 2014

Good Morning,

According to a U.S. researcher and a study of GPS satellite orbits it looks like the Earth is a bit heavier that we originally thought.

Learn about these interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Earth may be heaver than thought due to invisible belt of dark matter --*
ARLINGTON, Texas - A study of GPS satellite orbits suggests the Earth is heavier than thought, perhaps due to a halo of dark matter, a U.S. researcher says. Dark matter is thought to make up about 80 per cent of the universe's matter, but scientists have been unable to determine much else about it, including its presence in the solar system. In 2009, researchers at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, N.J., theorized that observed changes in the speeds of space probes as they flew past the Earth could be explained by dark matter bound by Earth's gravity. Now Ben Harris at the University of Texas at Arlington used orbiting satellites to see if dark matter might be affecting them. Using data on the satellites in the U.S. GPS, Russian GLONASS and European Galileo groups, he calculated Earth's mass as "felt" by each satellite. "The nice thing about GPS satellites is that we know their orbits really, really well," he told NewScientist.com. His research yielded an average figure for the weight of the Earth between 0.005 and 0.008 per cent greater than the value for Earth's mass established by the International Astronomical Union. This could be explained in there were a disk of otherwise undetectable dark matter around the Earth's equator 120 miles thick and 45,000 miles wide, Harris said.


*-- Genetically modified plants yield same heart-healthy oil found in fish --*
HARPENDEN, England - British researchers say they've been able to genetically modify a biofuel crop to produce components of fish oils beneficial for cardiovascular health. The flesh of oily fish such as mackerel and salmon are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids, known to reduce the risk of heart disease, but supplies are limited and unsustainable at current fishing levels, they say. Looking to create an alternative, sustainable source, scientists at Britain's Rothamsted Research took seven genes that algae use to produce these fatty acids and inserted them into the genome of the plant Camelina sativa. The seeds of the modified plant yielded oil that, when purified, contained around 12 per cent of the fatty acid EPA and 14 per cent DHA, the same proportions as in fish oil, they said. The Camelina plant oil could be available commercially within 10 years, they said. "We're never going to replace that 1 million tons a year from the sea, but if we could supply even 10 percent, we would significantly take the pressure off fish stocks," researcher Johnathan Napier told NewScientist.com.

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