Orbiting gas station could refuel lunar missions

Forget huge, expensive rockets: a plan being examined by the US government would allow smaller, cheaper rockets to fly to the moon and beyond
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Measuring the Speed of Light in Composite Materials

(PhysOrg.com) -- Although the speed of light is constant in a vacuum, light slows down a small amount when traveling through other materials. While it's relatively easy to measure the speed of light in mediums made of one material, it's much more difficult to track light's speed through composite materials. Now, a new technique can determine the speed of light in composite materials by varying the pressure of light.
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Mutation responsible for cystic fibrosis also involved in muscle atrophy

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) usually experience significant muscle loss, a symptom traditionally considered to be a secondary complication of the devastating genetic disease. However, a recent study by Dr. Basil Petrof reverses the equation: his results show that muscle atrophy and weakness may be a primary symptom caused by the effects of CFTR gene mutations on the muscle itself. Dr. Petrof's findings will be published on July 31 in Public Library of Science -- Genetics.
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Family planning a major environmental impact

Some people who are serious about wanting to reduce their "carbon footprint" on the Earth have one choice available to them that may yield a large long-term benefit â€" have one less child.

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Astronauts return from space to sushi overload (AP)

AP - Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts returned to Earth on Friday, completing a long but successful construction job that boosted the size and power of the international space station.

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Video Gamers Hooked for Life (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Video gamers are gamers for life, analysts say. And that's no surprise to the industry that peddles the games and the hardware, which grew last year as the rest of the economy went south.

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National Ignition Facility Contains World's Most Powerful Laser

The world's most powerful laser that took $5 billion and a decade recently debuted with a special dedicated at the Livermore National Laboratory in California. The laser is housed inside a football field sized building called the National Ignition Facility. The AP says the laser was designed to help ensure the reliability of the nation's aging nuclear weapons but it could also be used one day to create a more efficient energy source. In 2010, NIF will focus the intense energy of 192 giant laser beams on a BB-sized target filled with hydrogen fuel - fusing, or igniting, the hydrogen atoms' nuclei in the world's first controlled thermonuclear reaction. You can read how the NIF works here.



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