麻豆约拍

NASA spending plans for the future
The US Space Agency NASA, has announced its budget plans for the coming year, and despite having ambitious plans to continue to develop a new space telescope and to expand human exploration in space, there is a surprising cut to planetary science projects. NASA plans to slash proposed spending on Mars exploration, which will likely mean the cancellation of an ambitious joint mission with Europe. In the current economic climate, it is no surprise that some programmes will be cut, but what will this actually mean? We are joined by Paul Rincon, Science Editor on the 麻豆约拍 News Website, who has been following the story.

Optical telescope
Astronomers have created what is effectively the world's largest telescope. They have successfully linked-up four telescopes of the (appropriately named) Very Large Telescope, or VLT, in the Atacama Desert in Chile, so that they operate as a single device. This link-up was the final technical verification - the last step before scientific work starts. The 麻豆约拍's technology reporter Katia Moskvitch saw the link-up happen and we reached her in Santiago, Chile.

Tasmanian Devil
The largest carnivorous marsupial in the world and only found on the island of Tasmania, off Australia, Tasmanian Devils are the size of a small dog, but look more like a giant rat, with a muscular build. Apparently they do not smell great, and they have that rather disturbing screech. They are also unique because they are the only animal in the world which is threatened with extinction by a contagious cancer. Because of their aggressive biting behaviour, they are spreading it across the population, and now the race is on to save this iconic creature. News that researchers have been able to sequence the genome of the cancerous cells could help explains Dr Elizabeth Murchison, who has been working in Tasmania, and published her research in the journal Cell.

Wetlands at risk
Reed beds, peat bogs, ponds, river banks, swamps, marshes - the variety of eco systems that fall under the heading of wetlands is as varied as the wild life they support. Scientists from around the Mediterranean gathered at a symposium last week in Agadir to discuss these wetlands fate. Organised by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and its Mediterranean Wetlands Initiative (MedWet) the gathering shared and assessed scientific, cultural and environmental knowledge and reached the conclusion that urgent action is needed if large numbers of these precious areas, rich in bio-diversity are not to be lost. Our reporter Sylvia Smith was at the meeting.