Crucial Advances in 'Brain Reading' Demonstrated

An innovative machine learning method anticipates neurocognitive changes, similar to predictive text-entry for cell phones, Internet search engines. (Credit: © ktsdesign / Fotolia)

Science Daily  — At UCLA's Laboratory of Integrative Neuroimaging Technology, researchers use functional MRI brain scans to observe brain signal changes that take place during mental activity. They then employ computerized machine learning (ML) methods to study these patterns and identify the cognitive state -- or sometimes the thought process -- of human subjects. The technique is called "brain reading" or "brain decoding."

The research, presented last week at the Neural Information Processing Systems' Machine Learning and Interpretation in Neuroimaging workshop in Spain, was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is interested in using these method to help people control drug cravings.In a new study, the UCLA research team describes several crucial advances in this field, using fMRI and machine learning methods to perform "brain reading" on smokers experiencing nicotine cravings.

In this study on addiction and cravings, the team classified data taken from cigarette smokers who were scanned while watching videos meant to induce nicotine cravings. The aim was to understand in detail which regions of the brain and which neural networks are responsible for resisting nicotine addiction specifically, and cravings in general, said Dr. Ariana Anderson, a postdoctoral fellow in the Integrative Neuroimaging Technology lab and the study's lead author.

"We are interested in exploring the relationships between structure and function in the human brain, particularly as related to higher-level cognition, such as mental imagery," Anderson said. "The lab is engaged in the active exploration of modern data-analysis approaches, such as machine learning, with special attention to methods that reveal systems-level neural organization."

For the study, smokers sometimes watched videos meant to induce cravings, sometimes watched "neutral" videos and at sometimes watched no video at all. They were instructed to attempt to fight nicotine cravings when they arose.

The data from fMRI scans taken of the study participants was then analyzed. Traditional machine learning methods were augmented by Markov processes, which use past history to predict future states. By measuring the brain networks active over time during the scans, the resulting machine learning algorithms were able to anticipate changes in subjects' underlying neurocognitive structure, predicting with a high degree of accuracy (90 percent for some of the models tested) what they were watching and, as far as cravings were concerned, how they were reacting to what they viewed.

"We detected whether people were watching and resisting cravings, indulging in them, or watching videos that were unrelated to smoking or cravings," said Anderson, who completed her Ph.D. in statistics at UCLA. "Essentially, we were predicting and detecting what kind of videos people were watching and whether they were resisting their cravings."

In essence, the algorithm was able to complete or "predict" the subjects' mental states and thought processes in much the same way that Internet search engines or texting programs on cell phones anticipate and complete a sentence or request before the user is finished typing. And this machine learning method based on Markov processes demonstrated a large improvement in accuracy over traditional approaches, the researchers said.

Machine learning methods, in general, create a "decision layer" -- essentially a boundary separating the different classes one needs to distinguish. For example, values on one side of the boundary might indicate that a subject believes various test statements and, on the other, that a subject disbelieves these statements. Researchers have found they can detect these believe-disbelieve differences with high accuracy, in effect creating a lie detector. An innovation described in the new study is a means of making these boundaries interpretable by neuroscientists, rather than an often obscure boundary created by more traditional methods, like support vector machine learning.

"In our study, these boundaries are designed to reflect the contributed activity of a variety of brain sub-systems or networks whose functions are identifiable -- for example, a visual network, an emotional-regulation network or a conflict-monitoring network," said study co-author Mark S. Cohen, a professor of neurology, psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA's Staglin Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and a researcher at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA.

"By projecting our problem of isolating specific networks associated with cravings into the domain of neurology, the technique does more than classify brain states -- it actually helps us to better understand the way the brain resists cravings," added Cohen, who also directs UCLA's Neuroengineering Training Program.

Remarkably, by placing this problem into neurological terms, the decoding process becomes significantly more reliable and accurate, the researchers said. This is especially significant, they said, because it is unusual to use prior outcomes and states in order to inform the machine learning algorithms, and it is particularly challenging in the brain because so much is unknown about how the brain works.

Machine learning typically involves two steps: a "training phase" in which the computer evaluates a set of known outcomes -- say, a bunch of trials in which a subject indicated belief or disbelief -- and a second, "prediction" phase in which the computer builds a boundary based on that knowledge.

In future research, the neuroscientists said, they will be using these machine learning methods in a biofeedback context, showing subjects real-time brain readouts to let them know when they are experiencing cravings and how intense those cravings are, in the hopes of training them to control and suppress those cravings.

But since this clearly changes the process and cognitive state for the subject, the researchers said, they may face special challenges in trying to decode a "moving target" and in separating the "training" phase from the "prediction" phase.

Computer Assisted Design (CAD) for RNA: Researchers Develop CAD-Type Tools for Engineering RNA Control Systems

JBEI researchers have developed CAD-type tools for engineering RNA components with enormous potential for microbial-based production of advanced biofuels and other goods now derived from petrochemicals. (Credit: Image by Zosia Rostomian, Berkeley Lab)                                        Science Daily  — The computer-assisted design (CAD) tools that made it possible to fabricate integrated circuits with millions of transistors may soon be coming to the biological sciences. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have developed CAD-type models and simulations for RNA molecules that make it possible to engineer biological components or "RNA devices" for controlling genetic expression in microbes. This holds enormous potential for microbial-based sustainable production of advanced biofuels, biodegradable plastics, therapeutic drugs, and other goods now derived from petrochemicals.

Keasling, who also holds appointments with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkley, is the corresponding author of a paper in the journal Science that describes this work. The paper is titled "Model-driven engineering of RNA devices to quantitatively-program gene expression." Other co-authors are James Carothers, Jonathan Goler and Darmawi Juminaga."Because biological systems exhibit functional complexity at multiple scales, a big question has been whether effective design tools can be created to increase the sizes and complexities of the microbial systems we engineer to meet specific needs," says Jay Keasling, director of JBEI and a world authority on synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. "Our work establishes a foundation for developing CAD platforms to engineer complex RNA-based control systems that can process cellular information and program the expression of many genes. Perhaps even more importantly, we have provided a framework for studying RNA functions and demonstrated the potential of using biochemical and biophysical modeling to develop rigorous design-driven engineering strategies for biology."

Synthetic biology is an emerging scientific field in which novel biological devices, such as molecules, genetic circuits or cells, are designed and constructed, or existing biological systems, such as microbes, are re-designed and engineered. A major goal is to produce valuable chemical products from simple, inexpensive and renewable starting materials in a sustainable manner. As with other engineering disciplines, CAD tools for simulating and designing global functions based upon local component behaviors are essential for constructing complex biological devices and systems. However, until this work, CAD-type models and simulation tools for biology have been very limited.

Identifying the relevant design parameters and defining the domains over which expected component behaviors are exerted have been key steps in the development of CAD tools for other engineering disciplines," says Carothers, a bioengineer and lead author of the Science paper who is a member of Keasling's research groups with both JBEI and the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences. "We've applied generalizable engineering strategies for managing functional complexity to develop CAD-type simulation and modeling tools for designing RNA-based genetic control systems. Ultimately we'd like to develop CAD platforms for synthetic biology that rival the tools found in more established engineering disciplines, and we see this work as an important technical and conceptual step in that direction."

Keasling, Carothers and their co-authors focused their design-driven approach on RNA sequences that can fold into complicated three dimensional shapes, called ribozymes and aptazymes. Like proteins, ribozymes and aptazymes can bind metabolites, catalyze reactions and act to control gene expression in bacteria, yeast and mammalian cells. Using mechanistic models of biochemical function and kinetic biophysical simulations of RNA folding, ribozyme and aptazyme devices with quantitatively predictable functions were assembled from components that were characterized in vitro,in vivo and in silico. The models and design strategy were then verified by constructing 28 genetic expression devices for theEscherichia coli bacterium. When tested, these devices showed excellent agreement -- 94-percent correlation -- between predicted and measured gene expression levels.

"We needed to formulate models that would be sophisticated enough to capture the details required for simulating system functions, but simple enough to be framed in terms of measurable and tunable component characteristics or design variables," Carothers says. "We think of design variables as the parts of the system that can be predictably modified, in the same way that a chemical engineer might tune the operation of a chemical plant by turning knobs that control fluid flow through valves. In our case, knob-turns are represented by specific kinetic terms for RNA folding and ribozyme catalysis, and our models are needed to tell us how a combination of these knob-turns will affect the overall system function."

JBEI researchers are now using their RNA CAD-type models and simulations and the ribozyme and aptazyme devices they constructed to help them engineer metabolic pathways that will increase microbial fuel production. JBEI is one of three DOE Bioenergy Research Centers established by DOE's Office of Science to advance the technology for the commercial production of clean, green and renewable biofuels. A key to JBEI's success will be the engineering of microbes that can digest lignocellulosic biomass and synthesize from the sugars transportation fuels that can replace gasoline, diesel and jet fuels in today's engines.

"In addition to advanced biofuels, we're also looking into engineering microbes to produce chemicals from renewable feedstocks that are difficult to produce cheaply and in high yield using traditional organic chemistry technology," Carothers says.

While the RNA models and simulations developed at JBEI to date fall short of being a full-fledged RNA CAD platform, Keasling, Carothers and their coauthors are moving towards that goal.

"We are also actively trying to make our models and simulations more accessible to researchers who may not want to become RNA control system experts but would nonetheless like to use our approach and RNA devices in their own work," Carothers says.

While the work at JBEI focused on E. coli and the microbial production of advanced biofuels, the authors of the Science paper believe that their concepts could also be used for programming function into mammalian systems and cells.

"We recently initiated a research project to investigate how we can use our approach to engineer RNA-based genetic control systems that will increase the safety and efficacy of regenerative medicine therapies that use cultured stem cells to treat diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson's," Carothers says.

This research was partly supported by grants from the DOE Office of Science through JBEI, and the National Science Foundation through the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC).

Shirdi Saibaba Suprabatham - Sanskrit

Paint-On Solar Cells Developed

This paste of cadmium sulfide-coated titanium dioxide nanoparticles could turn large surfaces into solar cells. (Credit: : ACS Nano)

Science Daily  — Imagine if the next coat of paint you put on the outside of your home generates electricity from light -- electricity that can be used to power the appliances and equipment on the inside.

"We want to do something transformative, to move beyond current silicon-based solar technology," says Prashant Kamat, John A. Zahm Professor of Science in Chemistry and Biochemistry and an investigator in Notre Dame's Center for Nano Science and Technology (NDnano), who leads the research.A team of researchers at the University of Notre Dame has made a major advance toward this vision by creating an inexpensive "solar paint" that uses semiconducting nanoparticles to produce energy.

"By incorporating power-producing nanoparticles, called quantum dots, into a spreadable compound, we've made a one-coat solar paint that can be applied to any conductive surface without special equipment."

The team's search for the new material, described in the journalACS Nano, centered on nano-sized particles of titanium dioxide, which were coated with either cadmium sulfide or cadmium selenide. The particles were then suspended in a water-alcohol mixture to create a paste.

When the paste was brushed onto a transparent conducting material and exposed to light, it created electricity.

"The best light-to-energy conversion efficiency we've reached so far is 1 percent, which is well behind the usual 10 to 15 percent efficiency of commercial silicon solar cells," explains Kamat.

"But this paint can be made cheaply and in large quantities. If we can improve the efficiency somewhat, we may be able to make a real difference in meeting energy needs in the future."

"That's why we've christened the new paint, Sun-Believable," he adds.

Kamat and his team also plan to study ways to improve the stability of the new material.

NDnano is one of the leading nanotechnology centers in the world. Its mission is to study and manipulate the properties of materials and devices, as well as their interfaces with living systems, at the nano-scale.

This research was funded by the Department of Energy's Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

Chemists Solve an 84-Year-Old Theory On How Molecules Move Energy After Light Absorption

MSU chemist Jim McCusker and postdoctoral researcher Dong Guo proved an 84-year-old theory. (Credit: Photo courtesy of MSU.)                                                                         Science Daily  — The same principle that causes figure skaters to spin faster as they draw their arms into their bodies has now been used by Michigan State University researchers to understand how molecules move energy around following the absorption of light.

In the current issue of Science, MSU chemist Jim McCusker demonstrates for the first time the effect is real and also suggests how scientists could use it to control and predict chemical reaction pathways in general.Conservation of angular momentum is a fundamental property of nature, one that astronomers use to detect the presence of satellites circling distant planets. In 1927, it was proposed that this principle should apply to chemical reactions, but a clear demonstration has never been achieved.

"The idea has floated around for decades and has been implicitly invoked in a variety of contexts, but no one had ever come up with a chemical system that could demonstrate whether or not the underlying concept was valid," McCusker said. "Our result not only validates the idea, but it really allows us to start thinking about chemical reactions from an entirely different perspective."

The experiment involved the preparation of two closely related molecules that were specifically designed to undergo a chemical reaction known as fluorescence resonance energy transfer, or FRET. Upon absorption of light, the system is predisposed to transfer that energy from one part of the molecule to another.

McCusker's team changed the identity of one of the atoms in the molecule from chromium to cobalt. This altered the molecule's properties and shut down the reaction. The absence of any detectable energy transfer in the cobalt-containing compound confirmed the hypothesis.

"What we have successfully conducted is a proof-of-principle experiment," McCusker said. "One can easily imagine employing these ideas to other chemical processes, and we're actually exploring some of these avenues in my group right now."

The researchers believe their results could impact a variety of fields including molecular electronics, biology and energy science through the development of new types of chemical reactions.

Dong Guo, a postdoctoral researcher, and Troy Knight, former graduate student and now research scientist at Dow Chemical, were part of McCusker's team. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation.

TOP OF THE WORLD TOM CRUISE

Highest Standing

“Or while advancing higher and higher over the ocean, trying to break free that daughter of Janaka surely fell into the sea. Alas, while trying to protect her chastity, cut off from her relatives, Sita, the very chaste wife, has been eaten up by this wicked Ravana. Alternatively, that innocent, dark-eyed lady has been eaten up by the ill-motivated wives of the king of Rakshasas.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 13.10-12) upari upari vā nūnam sāgaram kramataḥ tadā || viveṣṭamānā patitā samudre janaka ātmajā | āho kṣudreṇa ca anena rakṣantī śīlam ātmanaḥ || abandhur bhakṣitā sītā rāvaṇena tapasvinī | athavā rākṣasa indrasya patnībhir asita īkṣaṇā || aduṣṭā duṣṭa bhāvābhir bhakṣitā sā bhaviṣyati | Lord Rama’s position as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is substantiated through the authorized words of the Vedas and their followers. As if He needed any further support, for good measure, to remove any doubt, the Lord’s true identity is also revealed through the glorious nature of His closest associates, those who worship Him with every thought, word and deed. Just by observing their behavior, becoming intimately acquainted with their personality traits, Rama’s standing increases. Among such proponents, Sita Devi   , Rama’s wife, stands tall always, even when the mind is conjuring up the worst possible images. If one hasn’t met her, never seen her before, and only heard about her from others, Sita still comes off looking good. In many respects she can be worshiped as being greater than God. What are some of her characteristics? Why is she so glorious? Her predominant feature is her devotion to Lord Rama   , who is the Supreme Lord in His manifestation as a warrior prince. Sita and Rama are always together, but during their time on earth they put on a wonderful play, sometimes remaining in close proximity to one another and sometimes feeling the pains of separation. Through separation is where our commitment is really challenged, where our devotion to the stated object of affection is put to the real test. Sita, by dharma, or religiosity, was wedded to Rama in the beautiful kingdom ruled by her father, Maharaja Janaka. Her devotion to Rama was expected as a matter of protocol. Nevertheless, she always went above and beyond the call of duty, for her love for God can never be challenged or diminished. Just like a raging fire cannot be put out by tiny buckets of water, Sita’s intense affection for Shri Rama cannot be lessened through physical separation, imminent danger, or even the fear of never seeing her beloved again. Even Shri Rama, the husband she swore an oath to always serve, is helpless in trying to quell her love for Him. The most detailed accounts of their time spent on this earth can be found in the Ramayana    of Valmiki   , one of the most sacred and oldest Vedic texts. The Ramayana can be considered a history book put into a poem. Since the subject matter is the prince of the Raghu dynasty, the soothing moonlight for the living entity stuck in a world full of darkness, the history becomes the most important to learn about. Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it, and those who miss learning about the Supreme Lord and devotion to Him in this lifetime are destined for rebirth. “As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna   , Bhagavad-gita   , 2.13) Why is rebirth such a bad thing? Isn’t it cool that we get another chance at life if we mess this one up? And if we do well in this life, we get to start off from a better position in the next one, so why the negative portrayal of reincarnation   ? These are certainly valid points, as everything in the material world presents a duality. One person likes ice cream and its taste, while another person loathes the effect it has on their weight and sugar levels. One person loves the summer and the wonderful heat, while another person can’t stand having to put on the air conditioner all the time and sweat constantly. Reincarnation can be viewed both favorably and unfavorably. To the wise rebirth is not a welcome event because it indicates that the previous life was a failure. How do we know this? The human brain cannot conceive of the meaning of life on its own; it must accept the information on the position of the soul and its constitutional qualities from the proper authority figures. In the absence of such instruction, man will try his hand at different conclusions to see what the effects are. In the beginning the first conclusion is that life is only about enjoyment. Play all day, sleep a little at night, and then repeat the procedure again the next day. With a little maturity, the need for education is introduced. With school, the aim is to acquire knowledge and grow up to have a profession that is both enjoyable and productive. When life’s gains are accumulated, renunciation will naturally follow as well; get rid of all the things you don’t need anymore. This cycle of acceptance and rejection continues all the way up until death. If the consciousness is not properly situated when the time comes to exit the currently occupied dwelling, there is no choice but for the higher authorities in charge of managing nature to grant rebirth, wherein the pursuit of perfection resets. To the person who learned that the meaning of life is to become God conscious, the repetition of birth and death is considered quite miserable. To he who has no knowledge of such things, the greatest loss of missing out on the Supreme Lord’s eternal association is not known. “Tulsi emphatically says, ‘O mind, hear what I am saying and always take it to heart, for this will benefit you. Remembering Shri Rama is the greatest profit, and forgetting Him is the worst loss.’” (Dohavali, 21) Vedic texts fill us in on what we would be missing out on should we not make the most of this valuable human form of life. The Ramayana has truths of life presented through a real-life story pertaining to God and His associates. After enjoying married life with Sita for around twelve years, Rama was ordered to leave His kingdom of Ayodhya and reside in the forests for fourteen years. He did not want Sita to come with Him. The order didn’t apply to her, so why should she needlessly suffer? To Sita, life was only about loving Rama, no matter what. What could she have to gain by remaining in the kingdom while her husband suffered in the wilderness? Though Rama tried and tried to dissuade her, nothing could stop Sita from accompanying her husband. This was just the first notable incident showing Sita’s unbreakable love for Shri Rama. But while in the forest, there would be trouble. The king of Rakshasas, Ravana, heard of Sita’s residence in Dandaka and decided he couldn’t live without her. He already had hundreds of the most beautiful princesses for wives, but this was of no concern to him. He didn’t know the meaning of life, so he figured the more enjoyable association he could get, the better his life would be. Yet there was one minor issue with which to contend. Ravana, though having ten heads and a legendary fighting prowess, was no match for Shri Rama, who, using a single bow and arrow set, had killed 14,000 of the demon king’s most capable fighters that had attacked the Lord in the forest of Dandaka. How a single man could kill that many fighters without outside help is known only to the devoted souls who have taken shelter of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service   . Though Ravana couldn’t believe what Rama had done, he wasn’t going to take his chances by fighting the Lord one on one. Instead, he devised a plan where he could take Sita away in Rama’s absence. His plan worked and he was able to separate the divine couple. To help find Sita, Rama enlisted the aid of a band of Vanaras residing in Kishkindha. Hanuman    was their most valuable asset, the most capable warrior, so the burden for success in the reconnaissance mission was placed on his shoulders. Having tremendous love for Rama, though only knowing Him for a short while, Hanuman was up to the challenge. He was enthusiastic to please Rama and find the Lord’s wife, whom Hanuman had never met. Hanuman had heard all about Sita, and he knew that she was Rama’s wife. This automatically meant that her character was flawless. The story of the couple’s marriage arrangement was also famous throughout the world at the time. Janaka had found the child Sita in the ground while ploughing a field. Taking baby Sita back with him to Videha, he and his wife raised her as their own. Since her family ancestry was not known, Janaka was in a quandary about her marriage arrangements. He decided that whoever could lift the amazing bow belonging to Lord Shiva    handed down in his family would win Sita’s hand in marriage. At thesvayamvara ceremony, many kings from far and wide came to try their hand at lifting the bow, but like an assembly in a manufacturing plant, one king after another came and went. They started out excited, but as their inability to even move the bow showed, they left dejected. Shri Rama, who was in the forests at the time with His younger brother Lakshmana    protecting the sage Vishvamitra from the attacking Rakshasas, came and easily lifted the bow, breaking it in half while stringing it. Thus Sita and Rama were married, showing the world that they were destined to be with each other. While in Lanka searching for Sita, Hanuman was having trouble finding her. He used every power he had in him just to infiltrate the city. The other monkeys in his party could not make the giant leap across the ocean to reach the shores of Lanka. Thus Hanuman was a warrior all alone. The fate of the mission rested with him. Sita’s chances for rescue were also dependent on his ability to find her. Who wouldn’t start to feel the pressure after a while? Hanuman is extremely powerful and ever pure of heart, but he finally relented a little to the inhibiting forces of the mind. In the above referenced verse from the Ramayana, he is continuing his running through of the different worst-case scenarios. “Maybe Sita fell off from Ravana’s aerial car while he was flying away from Dandaka. Maybe that Rakshasa ate her up, for she wouldn’t give in to his demands. Or maybe the jealous queens in Lanka devoured her to remove the competition.” All of these were distinct possibilities, as the Rakshasa king was jealous enough to steal another person’s wife. What would then stop him from hurting Sita? Moreover, what would stop the other queens from removing their stiffest competition? So infatuated was Ravana with Sita that he offered her the position of head queen. The irony in these hypothetical scenarios is that though they are horrible to even think about, should any of them had actually taken place, Sita’s glory would remain intact. If she fell from Ravana’s aerial car, it would have been because she was so disgusted by his presence. If Ravana ate her up, as the Rakshasas are known to do, it would have been because she refused to give in to his demands. The same would hold true if the rival queens had attacked her. In this way Hanuman knew that Sita was incapable of sin, and that if she weren’t in Lanka, it was due only to the wicked forces of those most vehemently opposed to loving God. Hanuman’s love for Sita and Rama would keep him going despite the horrible situations created in his mind. Why give up when there was a possibility of success by forging ahead? In a similar manner, just because we have wasted so many previous lives, why not at least put forth the effort to make this birth our last one? The path laid down by Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman can be followed by the people of this age by regularlychanting    the holy names of the Lord, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare   ”. This mantra is the mother, the father, the guru, and the benefactor. With the sound vibrations of the spiritual world permeating the consciousness, proper intelligence is revived, which gives the ability to decipher the proper course of action in any situation. Hanuman kept the holy name with him while traversing Lanka. Despair and temporary setbacks did not deter him. Neither did being separated from her beloved Rama stop Sita from loving her husband. She forever has the highest standing, and since her love for Rama was tested on so many occasions, she is in many ways superior to Him. Rama sometimes puts His devotees into difficult situations because that will increase their love for Him. We can be angry with Him over this or we can honor and adore Him even more for giving us such special favor. Sita Devi similarly ensures that the devotees engaged in bhakti are never bereft of necessities. She knows what it’s like to love Rama, and unlike the jealous queens in Lanka, her heart melts whenever she sees someone sincerely trying to win her husband’s favor. To this day she is Hanuman’s greatest supporter, and their affection for each other is one of the many jewels coming from the history that is the Ramayana. Those who become familiar with these truths will doom their chances of rebirth. In Closing: Know it for certain that Sita is pure, Her position as Rama’s beloved secure. Even in the face of the worst calamity, She remembers Rama, ignores impending tragedy. Not finding her, Hanuman had negative thoughts, Perhaps Sita killed while to Lanka she was brought. The queens of Rakshasa king always rivaling, Perhaps their competition they took to devouring. Monkey forged ahead because one thing he knew, That Sita’s chastity and love for Rama always true.

Comet Lovejoy, as Seen from the International Space Station

By Clay Dillow

Comet Lovejoy, As Seen from the ISS NASA/Dan Burbank via Bad Astronomy

Today in pretty space pics: Comet Lovejoy, still alive and heading back out toward the far reaches of the solar system, as seen from the International Space Station. This photograph was snapped yesterday as the ISS passed over Australia by Dan Burbank, one of the station’s current crew members. And needless to say, it’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime shots.

What you’re seeing in the top of the shot is actually the dark side or our dear planet, with the lit up arc traversing the image being Earth’s atmosphere, backlit by the sun (the thin green line is the upper atmosphere, where energized particles are tickling the edge of space). And of course, there’s Comet Lovejoy, which narrowly escaped a flyby of the Sun last week and came out not so worse for wear on the other side. Burbank managed to capture it from the ISS just as it was darting behind the home planet on its way back out into interplanetary space.

Click through to Bad Astronomy for a quick primer on comets, Lovejoy, and the two tails--yes, there’s actually two--that you’re seeing here. And, as always, the Bad Astronomer has links up to the larger version of this pic, should you feel the need to take a closer look. And you should.

[Bad Astronomy]

Mysterious Metallic Space Ball Falls to Earth in Africa, Baffling Authorities

If you're missing a space ball, please contact Namibia

By Clay Dillow

Space Ball National Forensic Science Institute via PhysOrg

A large metallic ball has fallen from the heavens and landed in a remote region of Namibia, spurring a lot of speculation about its origins and spurring local authorities to get NASA and the European Space Agency on the horn. No one is sure where the hollow metallic object came from, but it definitely came down hard--it was found 60 feet away from its landing site, a hole more than a foot deep and 12 feet across.

Made of a “metal alloy known to man,” the 13-pound ball is about 43 inches in circumference and landed roughly 480 miles from the Namibian capital of Windhoek. And it turns out it’s not alone. Apparently several similar objects have fallen across the southern hemisphere (in Australia and Latin America as well as elsewhere in Africa) over the past couple of decades.

So far, it has not exploded, hatched, or started to glow with a faint, eerie white light. Nor has anyone descended from the sky looking for it. If that happens, we’ll be sure to post something about it here.

[AFP]

The First Direct Measurements of Earth's Rotation, Made With the World's Most Stable Ring Laser

By Clay Dillow

See That? It's Wobbling NASA via Wikimedia

Deep in an underground bunker near the German-Czech border, through a 65-foot tunnel and locked behind five cold storage doors, German scientists are building a laser so advanced, so precise, that there isn’t another laser in the world that can challenge it. But despite the sinister-sounding backdrop, there’s nothing nefarious going on here. Researchers there have built theworld’s most stable ring laser, and they’re using it to make unprecedentedly accurate measurements of the Earth’s rotation.

In other words, they’re trying to keep track of our planets wobble. And it is wobbling. In relation to space, the Earth is not rotating perfectly in one smooth, circular spin all the time. Relative to the surface, the rotational axis of the Earth moves around, pushed and pulled by all kinds of external influences ranging from the pull of the sun and the moon to atmospheric pressure and the effects of our elliptical orbit around the sun.

The shift isn’t so much that we notice it here at the surface--the migration of the axis has a radius of roughly 30 feet--but it complicates things like GPS mapping (it’s one reason why there’s a margin of error on your iPhone map) and the projection of space launch trajectories or the calculations of satellite orbits relative to Earth.

The work on the world’s most stable ring laser has been underway for more than a decade and is now returning its first direct measurements of the Earth’s rotational wobble--that is, THE first direct measurements of the Earth’s rotational wobble. Ever.

It does so via two counter-rotating lasers traveling around closed beam paths. When the entire apparatus rotates, the co-rotating light has farther to travel than the counter-rotating beam, and the beams adjust their wavelengths to compensate for this, which in turn affects their optical frequencies. By measuring that shift in frequency and doing some clever math, the researchers can measure the change in rotational velocity the entire apparatus is experiencing.

The deep-in-an-underground-bunker aspect stems from the fact that the world’s most stable ring laser is only stable if it is protected from outside influences like changes in air pressure and temperature. So it is buried some 20 feet underground in a pressurized cabin that compensates for any change in ambient pressure to keep the laser chamber stable.

The next step: making it even more accurate. Right now the ring laser can measure rotational wobble over time (its readings have been corroborated by radio telescopes), but the researchers want to make it so precise they can look at the change in wobble over a single day. Eventually, they want it to be so stable they can leave it underground and running for years on end without any deviation, so researchers can pop downstairs at any given time and check the rotational wobble as it stands right at that moment.