When the next Mars rover launches in 2020, it will sport a sidekick: a football-sized scout helicopter.
Mars’s atmosphere is 1 percent as dense as Earth’s, so the copter will have to fly at the equivalent of 100,000 feet — 60,000 feet higher than any Earth-bound chopper has ever flown.
Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Mars 2020 Rover Mission To Include Scout Helicopter
What are memories made of? And can they be transferred?
One clue might lie with a humble sea slug called the California sea hare (Aplysia californica).
Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
UCLA Scientists Transfer Memories Between Sea Slugs
With summer fast approaching, many turn their thoughts to swimsuit bods and summer tans. Now, a new genetic study might help explain why some of us burn while others tan.
The answer could help predict who gets skin cancer, because severe sunburns, particularly in childhood, strongly intensify skin cancer risk.
Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Genetic Study Shows Why Some Tan, Some Burn — And What That Means For Skin Cancer
A team of researchers has applied a powerful genetic tool to the fight against the spotted wing fruit fly (Drosophila suzukii).
The destructive, invasive pest deposits its eggs inside of ripening fruit.
Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Researchers Turn To Gene Drive To Fight Destructive, Invasive Fruit Fly
One of the world’s rarest, largest and foulest flowers will bloom Thursday night at the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower for its signature rotting-carcass odor, can take 7-10 years or longer to bloom.
Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Tucson Garden Offers Rare Chance To See Corpse Flower Bloom