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ashley

ashley

I'm an undergrad in chemistry on my way to getting a Ph.D. I have many different interests including genetics, fire fighting, rock climbing, marine biology and literature. I'm also very concerned with environmental issues and hope to make a dramatic …
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MAVEN, Deuterium And A Mission To Mars

MAVEN, Deuterium And A Mission To Mars

A new proposed spacecraft named MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) is expected to be launched in 2013, a $485 million mission to collect atmospheric data on Mars. The purpose of the NASA’s Mars Exploration Program is to gain further knowledge on the history of the planet’s climate and atmosphere, as well as the planet’s availability of water and its future habitability.

“He eats like a pig!” (thanks to ghrelin research, that's not so bad now)

“He eats like a pig!” (thanks to ghrelin research, that's not so bad now)

It used to be that 'eating like a pig' was an insult. A new scientific finding may put that old saying to rest.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute have successfully suppressed the appetite of pigs by removing the blood vessel that allows secretion of that pesky ghrelin hormone.
“There's no major surgery," says Aravind Arepally, M.D., of the John Hopkins University School of Medicine, using a new-ish procedure called GACE (gastric artery chemical embolization). In this procedure, blood vessels connecting the stomach and the fundus are disintegrated by a chemical known as sodium morrhuate. The removal of this blood vessel interferes with the creation of ghrelin since, without a constant blood supply, the fundus can no longer produce the appetite-inspiring hormone.