planet made of diamond found

Astronomers claim that a planet orbiting a small fast spinning star, called a pulsar, is likely made of diamond. Pulsars are small spinning stars about 20 km in diameter – the size of a small city – that emits a beam of radio waves. As the star spins and the radio beam sweeps repeatedly over
Earth, radio telescopes detect a regular pattern of radio pulses.

Researchers, from The University of Manchester as well as institutions in Australia, Germany, Italy, and the USA, noticed that the arrival times of the pulses were systematically modulated. They concluded that this was due to the gravitational pull of a small companion planet, orbiting the pulsar in a binary system.

But despite its small size, the planet has slightly more mass than Jupiter.

“This high density of the planet provides a clue to its origin”, said Professor Bailes.

The team thinks that the ''diamond planet'' is all that remains of a once-massive star, most of whose matter was siphoned off towards the pulsar.

“This remnant is likely to be largely carbon and oxygen, because a star made of lighter elements like hydrogen and helium would be too big to fit the measured orbiting times,” said Dr Michael Keith (CSIRO), one of the research team members.

The density means that this material is certain to be crystalline: that is, a large part of the star may be similar to a diamond.

The study has been published in the journal Science.

 

Humans inherited some immune genes in dalliances with Neanderthals

Before driving them to extinction, early modern humans didn't mind dallying with the Neanderthal tribes and in the process passed on many of their genes that now mark our greatly improved immune systems, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

This Ice Age interbreeding took place in a part of the world now known as Europe, according to a study published Thursday in the journal ScienceExpress.

In the report, Peter Parham, a Stanford microbiologist and immunologist, says he and 22 colleagues from five nations traced the genetic history of varied peoples who moved into Europe and the Middle East from Africa.

The German anthropologist Svänte Paabo and his colleagues first deciphered the Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes and showed where and when they interbred with modern humans, the Chronicle writes.

"We didn't just replace the Neanderthals and Denisovans, we have retained some of them in us," Parham says, according to the Chronicle. "There was a lot of diversity in dealing with the pathogens they faced, and we have that diversity, too."

According to the study, the parts of the modern immune system that come from the Neanderthals and other pre-humans help protect humans from some bacterial infectons and viruses, and the rejection of tissue tranplants.

Humans eventually overran the Neanderthals and other groups, who were gone 30,000 years ago.

 

Hurricane Irene likely to cause 'horrendous' travel conditions

Perhaps Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell put it best: Saturday is going to be a "horrendous day for travel" as Hurricane Irene sets its sights on the U.S. East Coast.
Sunday probably won't be any better.
The core of the powerful storm is approaching the North Carolina coast and is expected to bring hurricane-force winds over a large swath from Virginia all the way up into Maine this weekend, CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen said.
Are you there? Share photos, video, but stay safe
Airlines have canceled hundreds of flights, cruise lines are scrambling to change itineraries, and many trains won't be running at all in the next few days.
Public transportation is taking a hit: Transit systems in New York City, Philadelphia and New Jersey will shut down on Saturday.
Roads are expected to be clogged with people heading away from Irene's path and many visitors enjoying the still-beautiful weather on some Northeast beaches have had to cut their trips short.
"It's kind of lousy," said Eric Orifice, 40, who lives in Boston and came to Seaside Heights, New Jersey, with his wife and two kids for a week-long vacation.
"We've got to go home early and we're just worried about hitting a lot of traffic."
Flights canceled
Airports in the region are also bracing for the storm.
Baltimore/Washington International is "monitoring terminal and airfield drainage, checking generators and securing any equipment that may become airborne as a result of high winds," said Paul J. Wiedefeld, the airport's executive director.
Twitter Q&A for Hurricane Irene U.S. military squares off with Irene Hurricane Irene's impact on NYC Charleston mayor worried about surge

American Airlines has tentatively canceled all flights in the Washington area from noon Saturday to noon Sunday, said spokesman Ed Martelle.
The airline has also canceled all flights at Raleigh-Durham International Airport scheduled for Saturday.
Air Tran has canceled more than two dozen Saturday and Sunday flights, according to an airline spokeswoman.
JetBlue has canceled almost 900 flights in the Northeast ahead of the storm. Most of those are Sunday and Monday flights out of the New York metro area and Boston, said spokesman Mateo Lleras.
Delta Air Lines canceled two roundtrip flights Friday from Atlanta to Nassau, Bahamas, as a result of Hurricane Irene.
"We are continuing to study the impact of the storm and anticipate announcing further cancellations beginning Friday afternoon," spokesman Anthony Black said.
US Airways canceled five flights to the Bahamian locales of Nassau and Freeport, spokeswoman Valerie Wunder said.
Major airlines -- including US Airways, American, United Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and AirTran -- have dropped ticket change fees for passengers scheduled to fly to or from many cities along the East Coast this weekend.
Some airlines have extended change-fee waivers into early next week.
You'll likely need lots of patience if you are calling to change your plans: carriers including American, US Airways and JetBlue are reporting long hold times because so many people are scrambling to adjust their itineraries.
Tech to keep you safe from hurricanes
Amtrak has canceled most train service operating south of Washington on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in anticipation of Hurricane Irene. Service in the Northeast corridor is not affected at this point, but more cancellations may be necessary in the coming days, Amtrak warned.
If you are planning to travel along the East Coast in the next few days, call your hotel and find out what its policies are in case you need to cancel, advised Anne Banas, executive editor at SmarterTravel.
Also keep on top of what your airline is doing, she said, especially because this kind of weather event is not within carriers' control.
"You don't want to be stranded at the airport," Banas said.
"The only thing you're entitled to in that situation is a refund. So if you're stranded at the airport, you're not necessarily going to get food vouchers or hotel vouchers."
To avoid getting stranded, check with your airline and consider rerouting or rescheduling your trip.
Irene affects cruises
The approaching hurricane means some weekend cruise departures from Northeast ports such as New York may be delayed, CruiseCritic.com reported. The storm already has forced more than 20 cruise ships to change their itineraries.
"We monitor the storms closely and make strategic changes to the itineraries to keep them away from the storm," said Jennifer de la Cruz, a Carnival spokeswoman.
"The nice thing ... is that there are a lot of destinations in the Caribbean, so we have lots of options."
Meanwhile, the Bahamas is assessing the impact from the storm.
There's limited damage in major tourism areas in Nassau and Grand Bahama Island, and the region expects "a quick return to normal operations," the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation said.
Large resorts remained operational, including the country's largest, the Atlantis, which accommodated about 6,000 guests during the storm. Other resorts in the Bahamas will be open for business as early as Friday, the ministry said.
Cruise ports in Nassau and Grand Bahama reopened Thursday evening, and ships are anticipated to resume calls Saturday.