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A team of astronomers led by Gijs Roefols of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics recently examined this pair of stars known to astronomers as RX J0806.3+1527 or, HM Cancri. The two stars are both white dwarfs—the hot cores of dead, sun-like stars. They squeeze as much mass as half our Sun into a globe the size of the Earth. A teaspoon of white dwarf material would weigh about five tons.

This artist’s video depicts a pair of white dwarf stars known as HM Cancri, swirling closer together, traveling in excess of a million miles per hour. As their orbit gets smaller and smaller, leading up to a merger, the system should release more and more energy in gravitational waves. This pair of stars might have the smallest orbit of any known binary system. They complete an orbit in 321.5 seconds–just over five minutes.
(Credit: GSFC/D.Berry)

Scientists knew HM Cancri’s brightness varied on a five-minute timescale, but debated whether that variation was due to a tight orbit or other causes. In-depth studies were difficult because HM Cancri is very faint: about a million times fainter than what can be seen with the unaided eye. The team used the giant 30-foot Keck I telescope in Hawaii to gather enough light to confirm that the varying brightness was due to the speedy orbit of these two stars.

The stars move quickly because they are very close to each other, separated by only about one-fourth the distance from the Earth to the Moon. As a result, they share strong gravitational forces. They were once farther apart but have spiraled closer together over time. Billions of years from now, they will crash together and merge.

The stars drag together because they are gradually losing energy. Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity predicts that they are emitting gravitational waves, or ripples in the fabric of space-time. Those ripples carry energy away from the system, as shown in the artist’s conception accompanying this articles.

Future observatories like the proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna should somedy be able to detect gravitational waves coming from HM Cancri.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryqN6dyUmJg

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Image left: Scientists examine a colony of Virginia big-eared bats in a cave. (Click to enlarge)

In November 2009, the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park accepted 40 endangered Virginia big-eared bats (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus) at its Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., to establish a security population of these animals and scientifically develop husbandry practices.The possible extinction of this endangered subspecies, and the loss of its essential role in local ecosystems, were the reasons the National Zoo accepted such a high-risk project. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service funded this and other research projects focused on white-nose syndrome and bat survival. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has also assisted with the project.

Efforts to keep the bats alive have proved challenging and since November the majority have died. But the lessons Zoo scientists are learning will help save these, and other, insectivorous bats in the future.

Eleven bats remain in the National Zoo’s colony. The initial challenge the team faced was how to feed the animals. Virginia big-eared bats, which are a subspecies of the Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinuss townsendii), eat while flying. While some in the security colony successfully learned to eat meal worms out of pans, others did not, sometimes resulting in their deaths. Some of the bats that ate mealworms did not adequately groom themselves, which resulted in dermatitis (inflammation of the skin). Others developed foot, toe and digit problems that, in part, may have caused deadly bacterial infections that spread rapidly through their blood despite treatments with antibiotics and fluids.

Image right: A Virginia big-eared bat hangs from the roof of a cave. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photos)

“Virginia big-eared bats face an imminent threat from white-nose syndrome,” says Jeremy Coleman, the national white-nose syndrome coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Developing a successful captive breeding program is a reasonable precautionary step to ensure the long-term viability of the subspecies. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is the only organization to accept the challenge of this risky, groundbreaking, but essential endeavor.”

Because it is extraordinarily difficult to maintain insect-eating bats in captivity, extensive planning and preparations went into designing this project. The National Zoo formed a bat care team made up of biologists, husbandry and animal care specialists, veterinarians and a nutritionist who relied on protocols developed by the Virginia Big-Eared Bat Group convened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The team worked around the clock to care for, and learn from, the colony.

“We expected some of the feeding challenges,” explains David Wildt, head of the National Zoo’s Species Survival Center. “But we were surprised to learn how sensitive this particular subspecies of bat is. Even the smallest change in environment or husbandry practices seemed to affect the ability of the bats to adapt to their new environment.”

Image left: A little brown bat with white-nose syndrome.

National Zoo researchers found that bats learned to eat from the bowl faster when confined in a small enclosure for a few hours. In the future, scientists can use this information to better provide for the needs of the subspecies in captivity. The bat team also has learned a great deal about enclosures and the medical care required for insectivorous bats in captivity.

“Faced with the possibility of white-nose syndrome eliminating the entire subspecies, we took decisive action to attempt to protect the bats,” Coleman says. “Together with the Zoo, we will examine this project, take what we have learned and be ready to apply it to captive propagation projects in the future.”

White-nose syndrome continues to devastate wild bat colonies. To learn more about white-nose syndrome on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s white-nose syndrome page.

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Image right: The newly discovered red giant star S1020549 dominates this artist’s conception. The primitive star contains 6,000 times less heavy elements than our Sun, indicating that it formed very early in the history of the Universe. (Image credit: David Aguilar/CfA)

“This star likely is almost as old as the Universe itself,” says Smithsonian astronomer Anna Frebel.

Scientists think that our Milky Way galaxy grew to its current size by swallowing many such mini-galaxies over billions of years. (In general, most galaxies are believed to form this way.) The newfound star supports this theory because its chemical make-up is very similar to the Milky Way’s oldest stars.

Finding this stellar relic wasn’t easy. It is 60,000 times dimmer than the faintest star visible to the unaided eye. The team also had to distinguish it from many surrounding stars that aren’t so old. Just like an archaeological dig, the hunt succeeded through a combination of patience and clever use of technology.

“This was harder than finding a needle in a haystack. We needed to find a needle in a stack of needles,” says astronomer Evan Kirby of the California Institute of Technology, developer of the search technique. “We sorted through hundreds of candidates to find our target.”

Video: In this computer simulation, dwarf galaxies swarm like bees around a beehive, crashing together to form a large spiral galaxy similar to our Milky Way.
(Video credit: Fabio Governato/University of Washington)

Once located, the star was studied in detail. Astronomers determined that it contained 6,000 times less “metals” than our Sun. (To astronomers, “metals” are chemical elements heavier than hydrogen or helium.) Because metals are produced by stars and grow in abundance over time, they were rare in the early Universe, so old stars tend to be metal-poor.The oldest and most metal-poor stars in the Milky Way reside in a spherical halo that surrounds the galactic center, extending for thousands of light-years in all directions. (A light-year is 6 trillion miles.) Finding a similar star in a nearby miniature, or dwarf, galaxy supports the idea that large galaxies attain their size by absorbing their smaller neighbors.

“If you watched a time-lapse movie of our galaxy, you would see a swarm of dwarf galaxies buzzing around it like bees around a beehive,” Frebel explains. “Over time, those galaxies smashed together and mingled their stars to make one large galaxy–the Milky Way.”

The researchers expect that further searches will discover additional metal-poor stars in dwarf galaxies, although the distance and faintness of the stars pose a challenge for current telescopes. The next generation of extremely large optical telescopes, such as the proposed 24.5-meter Giant Magellan Telescope, will open up a new window for studying the growth of galaxies through the chemistries of their stars. –Christine Pulliam

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Latinus 9333 is the Latin translation of the so-called Tacuinum sanitatis, a medieval handbook on wellness written in Arabic by the 11th-century physician ibn Butlan. It  deals with factors influencing human health: from the air, the environment and food, to physical exercise and sexual activity.

Image: The manuscript of Paris, Bibliothe`que nationale de France, latinus 9333: f. 36 verso: Ocimum basilicum L.; and f. 37 recto: Mandragora officinarum L.

In contrast to the Arabic original, several copies of the Latin version are illustrated. Characteristically, these illustrated Tacuinum sanitatis come from northern Italy and date to the 14th century. Their illustrations include scientific representations of plants and other substances used as medicines, as well as illustrations featuring other factors that influence human health. The illustraions offer snapshots of medieval daily life, environment and activities.

Such images are of particular importance to the history of botanical knowledge and illustration, Touwaide points out in the study volume. Plants are represented here in great detail, inserted into their environment, be it natural or human. Many of the images include human figures and illustrate the way plants were collected, treated, used, or were embued with cultural meanings. They constitute material of great interest for the study of the interaction between men and plants.

The manuscript encapsulates a knowledge and wisdom gained by trial and error over centuries, often going back to a much earlier period. The archeology of its text brings to light the odyssey of medicine and science in the Mediterranean and beyond, as latinus 9333 moved from Italy further north, where its Latin text was translated into German.

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A rhesus macaque at the California National Primate Research Center nurses its infant. (Photo by Kathy West/CNPRC).

The study, conducted by anthropologist Katie Hinde and psychologist John Capitanio, used large groups of rhesus macaque monkeys living in an outdoor enclosure at the California National Primate Research Center at Davis. Researchers collected milk two different times from 59 mothers: once when their infants were one-month-old and again when the infants were 3.5-months-old. Researchers recorded the quantity of milk produced by each mother and the energy value of each monkey’s milk was analyzed for its content of sugars, proteins and fat. These figures were combined to calculate the available milk energy generated by each individual mother.

Although all of the monkeys in the experiment were fed regularly, the researchers found natural variation in the quantity and richness of the milk generated by the 59 mothers. Milk from mothers who weighed more and had had previous pregnancies, the study found, contained higher available energy when their infants were one month of age. Lighter, less experienced mothers produced milk with lower available energy.

 Photo right: A rhesus macaque infant and its mother at the California National Primate Research Center. (Photo by Kathy West/CNPRC).

At 3-4 months each infant was temporarily separated from its mother and assessed according to its behavior and temperament. The study found that infants whose mothers had higher levels of available milk energy soon after their birth, coped more effectively (moved around more, explored more, ate and drank) and showed greater confidence (were more playful, exploratory, curious and active) with this new situation. Infants whose mothers had lower milk energy had lower activity levels and less confidence when separated from their mother (they were less exploratory, playful, active and curious). Mothers and infants were reunited immediately after the experiment.

“This is the first study for any mammal that presents evidence that natural variation in available milk energy from the mother is associated with later variation in infant behavior and temperament,” Hinde says. “Our results suggest that the milk energy available soon after birth may be a nutritional cue that calibrates the infant’s behavior to environmental or maternal conditions.”

The milk the infant is getting at the time of its behavioral assessment does not predict its behavior and temperament, Hinde emphasizes. It is the milk it gets at 1 month, when the infant first becomes behaviorally active, that has an organizational effect on its behavior. “Whether or not this behavior is persists into adulthood is an important question and one we are in the process of addressing,” Hinde says.

An early view version of this scholarly paper by Hinde and Capitanio reporting these results was recently published in the American Journal of Primatology. —John Barrat

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Image right: Mark and Diane Littler (Photo by Barrett L. Brooks)

“We have seen rapid degradation of reefs worldwide. It is of paramount importance scientists–from geologists to chemists–and for school kids, tourist guides and conservationists to understand the local reef environment and its foundation species,” say the Littlers. “Our guide celebrates the beauty of some of the most attractive inhabitants of Panama’s undersea realm and provides an indispensable, easy-to-use tool for their identification.”

Along with the coelenterate corals, the algae are the major primary producers and builders of Panamanian Eastern Pacific reef systems. Marine plants from four diverse evolutionary lines dominate. Now there is a way to accurately identify the marine plants that form the basis of this food web and maintain living reef structures.

Image left: Spectacular marine algae like this specimen of Dictyota humifusa are easily identified using the new marine plant guide. (Photo by Dianne Littler)

Image left: Identification keys distinguish one species from another based on easily observed characters. This guide provides keys to genera and species within each phylum of macroalgae. The keys utilize a double numbering system that enables the user to work a key backwards as well as forwards. A specimen can be “picture-keyed” initially, then positively identified by using the dichotomous keys and the photomicrographs.

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These supernovae, called Type Ia, serve as cosmic mile markers to measure expansion of the universe because they can be seen at large distances, and they follow a reliable pattern of brightness. However, until now, scientists have been unsure what actually causes the explosions.

This NASA/Chandra X-ray Observatory animation shows two white dwarf stars merging into a supernova.

“These are such critical objects in understanding the universe,” said Marat Gilfanov of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany and lead author of the study that appears in the Feb. 18 edition of the journal Nature. “It was a major embarrassment that we did not know how they worked. Now we are beginning to understand what lights the fuse of these explosions.”

Most scientists agree a Type Ia supernova occurs when a white dwarf star—a collapsed remnant of an elderly star—exceeds its weight limit, becomes unstable and explodes. Scientists have identified two main possibilities for pushing the white dwarf over the edge: two white dwarfs merging or accretion, a process in which the white dwarf pulls material from a sun-like companion star until it exceeds its weight limit.

Image left: X-ray, optical and infrared composite image of galaxy M32, one of six galaxies used in a study to examine properties of Type Ia supernovas

Because these two scenarios would generate different amounts of X-ray emission, Gilfanov and Bogdan used Chandra to observe five nearby elliptical galaxies and the central region of the Andromeda galaxy. A Type 1a supernova caused by accreting material produces significant X-ray emission prior to the explosion. A supernova from a merger of two white dwarfs, on the other hand, would create significantly less X-ray emission than the accretion scenario.

The scientists found the observed X-ray emission was a factor of 30 to 50 times smaller than expected from the accretion scenario, effectively ruling it out. This implies that white dwarf mergers dominate in these galaxies.

“Our results suggest the supernovae in the galaxies we studied almost all come from two white dwarfs merging,” said co-author Akos Bogdan, also of Max Planck. “This is probably not what many astronomers would expect.”

“To many astrophysicists, the merger scenario seemed to be less likely because too few double-white-dwarf systems appeared to exist,” said Gilfanov. “Now this path to supernovae will have to be investigated in more detail.”

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra’s science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

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The birth represents the third time Jao Chu and the cubs’ father, 3 1/2-year-old Hannibal, have produced offspring. On March 24, 2009, Jao Chu gave birth to two males—Sa Ming (SAH-meeng), “brave warrior,” and Ta Moon (TAH-moon), “mischievous child.” Nearly four months later, she gave birth to a female cub Baylie (BAY-lee) July 9, 2009. Jao Chu and Hannibal were born in Thailand in a collaborative breeding and research program with the Zoological Park Organization of Thailand.

The breeding of clouded leopards has been a challenge, primarily due to male aggression, decreased mating activity between paired animals and high cub mortality. In 2002, the National Zoo, in collaboration with the Nashville Zoo, Point Defiance Zoo, the Clouded Leopard Species Survival Plan and the Zoological Park Organization of Thailand created the Thailand Clouded Leopard Consortium—the largest population of confiscated clouded leopards in Southeast Asia. The Clouded Leopard SSP oversees clouded leopard populations in zoos worldwide and makes breeding recommendations for potential pairs based on the genetics of each cat. Since the cubs born in the Thailand breeding program are only one or two generations removed from the wild, their genes are especially valuable.

Due to deforestation and hunting, clouded leopards are listed as “vulnerable to extinction.” National Zoo scientist Dr. JoGayle Howard and colleagues have been working with clouded leopards at the Front Royal campus since 1978, with the goal of creating a genetically diverse population. In the past 30 years, more than 76 clouded leopards have been born here.

Little is known about clouded leopards. They are native to Southeast Asia and parts of China in a habitat that ranges from dense tropical evergreen forests to drier forests.

As adults, clouded leopards weigh between 30 and 50 pounds and measure about five feet in length. Their short legs, large paws and long tail (which accounts for half their length) help them balance on small branches, and their flexible ankles allow them to run down trees head first.

The clouded leopards at the Front Royal campus need a new home. They currently live in a facility that was built in 1911. In 2009, the National Zoo kicked off a campaign to raise $2 million to build a facility that will include indoor homes with adjacent arboreal habitats. The habitats for each breeding pair will include a climate-controlled and quiet indoor area attached to two 20-foot-tall towers furnished with climbing structures that will simulate their natural forest environment. For more information about the campaign, visit the Zoo’s Web site.

View the cubs on the Zoo’s clouded leopard webcam: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AsiaTrail/CloudedLeopard/cam.cfm

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