Four Nasa volunteers are living on 'virtual Mars' for the next 12 months
Would you sign up to live in isolation for a year, all in the name of furthering scientific research? Probably not, we’re guessing, but that’s exactly what four NASA volunteers have agreed to do over the next 12 months. The participants will live in an environment created to simulate conditions on the surface of Mars as part of NASA's Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog for 378 days. The people involved are research scientist Kelly Haston, structural engineer Ross Brockwell, emergency medicine physician Nathan Jones and US Navy microbiologist Anca Selariu. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The simulation has been built at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and will see the four volunteers undertake a series of tasks as part of the exercise. Data collected over the next 12 months will help to inform future missions to send astronauts to Mars. During that time, the guests will take part in activities such as crop growing as well as simulated spacewalks and other operations. The 3D-printed hub they’ll spend their time in contains a kitchen, sleeping areas, two bathrooms as well as work and recreation spaces. The mission will also see the guests faced with simulated obstacles, which are designed to test responses to equipment failure, communication delays and other issues. Speaking at a recent briefing, the mission's principal investigator at NASA Grace Douglas said: “Thank you all for your dedication to exploration. Our best wishes go with you." Haston also spoke, calling her fellow participants an "amazing group of dedicated individuals who feel very passionate about space exploration and science." "The crew has worked so hard this month to get ready for this mission," Haston added. "It has been very special to be a part of such a tremendous group of scientists and specialists from a diverse set of backgrounds working together to bring CHAPEA 1, the first of three missions, to reality." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Dorset men in court over alleged tree investment fraud
The men are accused of fraudulently promising returns on a forestry scheme in Costa Rica.
1970-01-01 08:00
Kaliningrad profile
Provides an overview of Kaliningrad, including key facts about this Russian territory on the Baltic.
1970-01-01 08:00
Belarus media guide
An overview of the media in Belarus, including links to broadcasters and newspapers.
1970-01-01 08:00
Belarus country profile
Provides an overview of Belarus, including key events and facts about this east European country.
1970-01-01 08:00
Jury to resume deliberations of ex-Parkland school resource officer's fate in a rare trial over police conduct in a mass shooting
Jurors are due to begin a third day of deliberations Wednesday to mull a verdict in the trial of the former school resource officer who stayed outside during the 2018 massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school in a rare trial focused on law enforcement response to a mass shooting.
1970-01-01 08:00
Scientists claim human ancestors lived alongside dinosaurs
It turns out that human ancestors and dinosaurs could have actually co-existed, according to new research. Scientists have produced a study which suggested that placental mammals were around before the asteroid that brought an end to the Cretaceous period hit Earth 66 million years ago. A new paper published in the journal Current Biology claims that fossil records of placental mammals suggests that our ancestors roamed the Earth before the extinction event, and later flourished due to the lack of competition from dinosaur species afterwards. According to the research, primates evolved shortly before the asteroid hit. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Lead author Emily Carlisle of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences said: “We pulled together thousands of fossils of placental mammals and were able to see the patterns of origination and extinction of the different groups.” Carlisle added: “Based on this, we could estimate when placental mammals evolved.” “The model we used estimates origination ages based on when lineages first appear in the fossil record and the pattern of species diversity through time for the lineage,” co-author Daniele Silvestro from the University of Fribourg shared. While we don’t have a full picture of what human ancestors looked like at that time, it’s thought they “were small and squirrely”. Carlisle said: “Unfortunately we don’t know what our placental mammal ancestors would have looked like back then. “Many of the earliest fossils of placental mammals are quite small creatures such as Purgatorius – an early ancestor of primates – which was a small burrowing creature a bit like a tree shrew. So it’s likely that many of our ancestors were small and squirrely.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Australian defence minister in Solomon Islands for security talks
By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) -Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare called for a review of a security treaty with
1970-01-01 08:00
Elon Musk ‘microdoses ketamine to manage depression’, report says
Elon Musk reportedly takes “microdoses” of “ketamine”, a drug he has praised as being “a better option” than antidepressants when “taken occasionally”. The SpaceX founder is said to use the dissociative anaesthetic to manage depression. Musk, 52, previously tweeted in 2017 about his struggles with mental health. Speculating that he could have bipolar disorder, he spoke of how he experienced “great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress”. According to The Wall Street Journal(WSJ), people close to Musk have witnessed him using ketamine in small doses. Following the publication of WSJ’s article on Tuesday (27 June), Musk tweeted that while depression is “overdiagnosed” in the US, it is a “brain chemistry issue” for some people. He believed that “zombifying people” with selective serotonin uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a widely used type of antidepressant medication, “happens way too much”. “From what I’ve seen with friends, ketamine taken occasionally is a better option,” Musk added. The Independent has contacted Musk for comment. His attorney and top advisor did not respond to WSJ’s request for comment, it was reported. In 2017, Musk answered questions from Twitter users about his personal life and was asked about his mental health. He wrote: “The reality is great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress. Don’t think people want to hear about the last two.” When asked if he had bipolar disorder, the South African entrepreneur simply replied: “Yeah.” According to the NHS, bipolar disorder is characterised by extreme mood swings that can range from extreme highs (known as ‘mania’) to extreme lows (depression). It can be treated in several ways, including taking medication to treat prevent and stabilise episodes of mania and depression. In a later tweet, Musk added that he may not be “medically” bipolar, but said he does not know. “Bad feelings correlate to bad events, so maybe [the] real problem is getting carried away in what I sign up for,” he wrote. Microdosing involves consuming small doses of drugs, usually psychedelic or sub-hallucinogenic substances such lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or mushrooms with psilocybins. Ketamine is an approved drug in the US for treating severe depression that has not improved with other therapies. In the UK, it is approved as an anaesthetic drug by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), but not for use in treating depression. However, in 2019, a drug similar to ketamine – known as esketamine, which is taken as a nasal spray – was approved in the UK for treating severe depression. Read More Walk this way... but not like that: How men’s walks became sexualised Sarah Ferguson reveals she almost skipped doctor’s appointment that led to cancer diagnosis Influencers face backlash for promoting Shein factory during PR trip in China Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg: Who would win a fight between tech titans? Elon Musk’s sister says she’s been overcharged due to her last name Nicolas Cage once bought a plane seat for his son’s imaginary friend
1970-01-01 08:00
World Bank raises Thailand 2023 growth outlook to 3.9% as tourists return
BANGKOK Thailand's economy is projected to grow 3.9% this year, up from a previous forecast of 3.6%, helped
1970-01-01 08:00
Get Over $3k in Betting Bonuses to Back USMNT With Gold Cup Soccer Promos!
Caesars, FanDuel, and BetMGM have $3,250 worth of bonus cash available for new users to back the U.S. tonight with! Find out how to claim these offers here.
1970-01-01 08:00
What is Only Up? The game which is taking players hours or seconds to complete
The online gaming world has a new obsession, with a game called Only Up where you simply have to keep climbing up a series of random objects until you reach space. The game sounds relatively straightforward as anyone who has even the most basic concept of videogames knows how to climb up various structures. However, Only Up does not make the game easy for players as the seemingly infinite amount of objects range from pipes, bridges and trampolines but even the slightest of mistakes can end in disaster sending the players plummeting all the way back to the start of the game. Only Up was developed by SCKR Games and released in May 2023. It is available to play on Steam for the price of £8.50 ($10.80). Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The game has gone viral thanks to high-profile streamers such as Adin Ross, Hasan Piker and iShowSpeed playing the game on their respective streams. iShowSpeed, who has 17 million followers on YouTube, attempts to play the game have proved to be particularly entertaining. At one point he lost 8 hours of progress. Thankfully, while playing the game on Tuesday the 18-year-old was able to complete the game in just under 5 hours. The most impressive run on the game so far has come from streamer Shade managed to find a glitch which allowed him to complete it in just 33 seconds. Whether you want to complete the game properly or use the glitch is your call but have fun regardless. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00