Telescopes on the Moon or pie in the sky?

The question is examined of whether it makes sense to believe that there will one day be an interferometric array of telescopes on the Moon. The question is really one of national commitment to a lunar base, since it is not likely that a scientific undertaking of this magnitude would occur in the absence of permanent human presence on the Moon. A discussion is also given of the real possibility if the exploration of space should be a multinational effort

A study of the Io-associated plasma and neutral sodium cloud

Narrow-band interference filter images were obtained for the Io torus at the S II wavelengths of 6716, 6731 and at the wavelenght of the S III, 9532 spectrum. The purpose of these observations is to study the short term temporal behavior of the torus and to gain a better understanding of the systematic morphology of the torus. From these images, estimates were obtained for the electron and ion densities and ion temperatures as a function of longitude, latitude, radius from Jupiter, and time. From the analysis of images taken in 1983 and 1984, extremely sharp longitudinal variations in plasma density were detected, subcorotational velocities were measures in the torus plasma, the presence of an optical east-west brightness asymmetry was confirmed in the ion emissions, and longitudinal variations were detected in torus ion temperatures

The Earth Through Time: Implications for Searching for Habitability and Life on Exoplanets

The Earth has been both a habitable and inhabited planet for around 4 billion years, yet distant observers studying Earth at different epochs in our history would have detected substantially different and probably varying conditions. Understanding Earth's history thus has much to tell us about how to interpret observations of potentially habitable exoplanets. In this talk I will review the history of life on Earth, from the earliest microbial biosphere living under a relatively methane-rich atmosphere to the modern world of animals, plants, and atmospheric oxygen, with a focus on how observable conditions on Earth changed as the planet and its biosphere evolved. I'll discuss the implications of this history for assessing the habitability of-or presence of life on-planets around other stars

Workshops without Walls: Broadening Access to Science around the World

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Astrobiology Institute (NAI) conducted two “Workshops Without Walls” during 2010 that enabled global scientific exchange—with no travel required. The second of these was on the topic “Molecular Paleontology and Resurrection: Rewinding the Tape of Life.” Scientists from diverse disciplines and locations around the world were joined through an integrated suite of collaborative technologies to exchange information on the latest developments in this area of origin of life research. Through social media outlets and popular science blogs, participation in the workshop was broadened to include educators, science writers, and members of the general public. In total, over 560 people from 31 US states and 30 other nations were registered. Among the scientific disciplines represented were geochemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and evolution, and microbial ecology. We present this workshop as a case study in how interdisciplinary collaborative research may be fostered, with substantial public engagement, without sustaining the deleterious environmental and economic impacts of travel

The impact of provider-initiated (opt-out) HIV testing and counseling of patients with sexually transmitted infection in Cape Town, South Africa: a controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The effectiveness of provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC) for patients with sexually transmitted infection (STI) in resource-constrained settings are of particular concern for high HIV prevalence countries like South Africa. This study evaluated whether the PITC approach increased HIV testing amongst patients with a new episode of sexually transmitted infection, as compared to standard voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) at the primary care level in South Africa, a high prevalence and low resource setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The design was a pragmatic cluster-controlled trial with seven intervention and 14 control clinics in Cape Town. Nurses in intervention clinics integrated PITC into standard HIV care with few additional resources, whilst lay counselors continued with the VCT approach in control clinics. Routine data were collected for a six-month period following the intervention in 2007, on new STI patients who were offered and who accepted HIV testing. The main outcome measure was the proportion of new STI patients tested for HIV, with secondary outcomes being the proportions who were offered and who declined the HIV test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A significantly higher proportion of new STI patients in the intervention group tested for HIV as compared to the control group with (56.4% intervention versus 42.6% control, p = 0.037). This increase was achieved despite a significantly higher proportion intervention group declining testing when offered (26.7% intervention versus 13.5% control, p = 0.0086). Patients were more likely to be offered HIV testing in intervention clinics, where providers offered the HIV test to 76.8% of new STI patients versus 50.9% in the control group (p = 0.0029). There was significantly less variation in the main outcomes across the intervention clinics, suggesting that the intervention also facilitated more consistent performance.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>PITC was successful in three ways: it increased the proportion of new STI patients tested for HIV; it increased the proportion of new STI patients offered HIV testing; and it delivered more consistent performance across clinics. Recommendations are made for increasing the impact and feasibility of PITC in high HIV prevalence and resource-constrained settings. These include more flexible use of clinical and lay staff, and combining PITC with VCT and other community-based approaches to HIV testing.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Controlled trial ISRCTN93692532</p