June 26, 2019

Good Morning,

The Martian rover Curiosity has certainly made it's share of discoveries. Most recently it has found a high volume of methane on the red planet. Now, what could be the causing this elevated level of gas? Curiosity is on the case.

Learn about this and more interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Curiosity rover measures elevated methane levels on Mars --*

NASA's Martian rover Curiosity has discovered elevated methane levels on the Red Planet.

The rover's Sample Analysis at Mars tunable laser spectrometer, or SAM instrument, measured approximately 21 parts per billion units by volume of methane in the Martian atmosphere -- the largest single reading since Curiosity's scientific mission began.

As of now, Curiosity and NASA scientists working on the Curiosity mission can't determine the methane's source. Researchers are also unable discern whether the methane source is local or distant. Curiosity is currently exploring Gale Crater.

"With our current measurements, we have no way of telling if the methane source is biology or geology, or even ancient or modern," Paul Mahaffy, scientist at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center and principle investigator for the rover's SAM instrument, said in a news release.

Both Curiosity and ESA's Mars Express probe have previously measured methane spikes on Mars. Earlier this year, scientists analyzing methane measurements made by the two spacecraft determined the seasonal methane spikes are most likely explained by small, transient geological events.

Scientists concluded a frozen slab of ice or permafrost containing methane, located beneath tectonic faults outside of Gale Crater, is the most logical explanation for the Red Planet's seasonal methane spikes. The research team estimated periodic melting causes the ice to release the compound in gas form.

NASA scientists have developed a test for the rover to conduct over the coming weekend to determine whether the most recent record-breaking methane measurement was caused by a transient methane plume.

*-- Device detects deadly surgical bleeding earlier, study shows --*

Researchers have developed a new device that may help save lives by picking up internal bleeding in patients during surgery, new research shows.

The Early Bird system detected bleeding in 63 percent of patients during large-bore endovascular procedures like transcatheter aortic valve replacement, endovascular aneurysm repair and percutaneous, according to a study recently presented at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography Interventions.

"The device is very accurate to detect early bleeding. You don't want to detect the bleeding too late," Philippe Genereux, a cardiologist at Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, N.J. and study principal investigator, told UPI. "When you have half a liter of blood in the abdomen, the patient will be hypertensive, sweating and in shock. So we want to detect bleeding before this."

Between August 2018 and December 2018, the researchers enrolled 60 patients at five sites throughout the United States. They used the Early Bird device to monitor bleeding during and after procedures, including percutaneous coronary intervention, Impella balloon aortic valvuloplasty, transcatheter mitral valve and endovascular aneurysm repair.

The Early Bird uses a sensor to detect when bleeding complications start during these procedures, as well as the severity of the event. Among study participants, the device identified 33 percent of bleeding at level 1, 23 percent at level II and 7 percent at level III, the highest level of bleeding.

"The device was used safely. We were able to use it without disturbing the workflow," Genereux said.

Earlier this year, the Early Bird device received de novo classification from the FDA, and the researchers expect medical professionals to gradually begin using it.

About one in five people that undergo a large-bore endovascular procedure suffer bleeding complications, according to a 2017 study conducted by Genereux. The study read, "Bleeding complications were associated with a more than 2-fold higher adjusted risk of dying, longer hospitalization and higher health care cost."

Those risks went up when the number of blood transfusions increased.

After rolling the devices out to some institutions, the researchers plan to collect more findings and continue to evaluate it.

"It's going to be a progressive launch and adoption. We're going to start to release the device in a limited number of centers and within one or two years we're going to see broader adoption," Genereux said. "I think the incorporation of this technology into the normal flow of work may result in an improved outcome in patients."