Japan launches flagship H2A rocket for 50th and last time
Japan launched the country's flagship H2A rocket for the 50th and last time from the Tanegashima Space Centre Saturday. The rocket is carrying a satellite to monitor greenhouse gas emissions.
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Japan launches GOSAT-GW on 50th and final liftoff of the H-2A rocket (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Japan launched a dual-purpose satellite to monitor sea temperature and greenhouse gases. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Saturday (June 28) conducted its 50th and final launch of the H-2A rocket, taking the GOSAT-GW dual-purpose satellite to space. The mission lifted off from Yoshinobu Launch Complex (LP-1) at the Tenegashima Space Center in Japan at 12:33 p.m. EDT (1633 GMT; 1:33 a.m. June 29, local time in Japan). The Greenhouse Gas and Water Cycle Observation Satellite (GOSAT-GW) is the latest in Japan's efforts to observe changes in water cycles and greenhouse gases. GOSAT-GW has joined its predecessors in Earth orbit: GCOM-W2, which launched in 2012 and is known as "SHIZUKU," and GOSAT-1, which launched in 2009 and is known as "IBUKI." GOSAT-GW is equipped with two main instruments. The first is known as the Advanced Microwave Radiometer (AMSR), and will measure water cycles and fluctuations in sea surface temperatures. The second is the Greenhouse Gases Observation Sensor (TANSO), and will monitor components such as carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere to measure climate change. Related Stories: — Japan launches navigation satellite on nation's 1st mission of 2025 (video) — New Japanese rocket engine explodes during testing for 2nd time in 16 months — Japan's wooden satellite deploys from ISS to demonstrate cleaner spacecraft tech (photo) Japan's H-2A rocket, built for JAXA by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was capable of launching payloads into a geostationary orbit around Earth and to orbit around the moon. It also launched the Akatsuki spacecraft to study Venus in 2010, though the spacecraft failed to properly enter Venusian orbit. H-2A first launched in 2001. During its nearly 25 years in operation, the rocket experienced only a single launch failure, giving the vehicle a 98% success rate. After 50 missions, the launch vehicle is now being retired to make way for Japan's H3 rocket, which offers comparable performance at a lower cost.
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10 hours ago
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Parkinson's Disease Might Not Start in The Brain, Study Finds
Parkinson's disease is traditionally associated with neurological damage in the brain, brought on by a drastic drop in dopamine production, but a new study suggests it could get started in an unexpected part of the body: the kidneys. Led by a team from Wuhan University in China, the study is primarily concerned with the alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) protein, which is closely associated with Parkinson's. When production goes awry and creates clumps of misfolded proteins, it interferes with brain function. The key discovery here is that α-Syn clumps can build up in the kidneys, as well as the brain. The researchers think these abnormal proteins might actually travel from the kidneys to the brain, possibly playing a part in triggering the disease. "We demonstrate that the kidney is a peripheral organ that serves as an origin of pathological α-Syn," write the researchers in their published paper. There's a lot to dig into here. The research team ran multiple tests, looking at the behavior of α-Syn in genetically engineered mice, as well as analyzing human tissue – including samples from people with Parkinson's disease and chronic kidney disease. The team found abnormal α-Syn growth in the kidneys of 10 out of 11 people with Parkinson's and other types of dementia related to Lewy bodies (a commonly seen type of α-Syn protein clumping). That wasn't all: in another sample batch, similar protein malfunctions were found in 17 out of 20 patients with chronic kidney disease, even though these people had no signs of neurological disorders. This is more evidence that the kidneys are where these harmful proteins begin to gather, before brain damage begins. The animal tests backed up these hypotheses. Mice with healthy kidneys cleared out injected α-Syn clumps, but in mice with kidneys that weren't functioning, the proteins built up and eventually spread to the brain. In further tests where the nerves between the brain and kidneys were cut, this spread didn't happen. As α-Syn proteins can also move through the blood, the researchers tested this too. They found that a reduction in α-Syn in the blood also meant less damage to the brain, which means this is another consideration to bear in mind. There are some limitations to this study. The number of people that tissue samples were taken from was relatively small, and while mice make decent stand-ins for humans in scientific research, there's no guarantee that the exact same processes observed in the animals are happening in people. However, there are lots of interesting findings here that can be explored further, which could eventually aid in the development of new treatments for Parkinson's and other related neurological disorders. The likelihood is that Parkinson's (in a similar way to Alzheimer's disease) is actually triggered in a variety of ways and through a variety of risk factors. For example, previous studies have also suggested it could get started in the gut – and now it seems the kidneys could be connected in a similar way. "Removal of α-Syn from the blood may hinder the progression of Parkinson's disease, providing new strategies for therapeutic management of Lewy body diseases," write the researchers. The research has been published in Nature Neuroscience. These Common Drugs Can Make Coping With Heat Even Harder Tinnitus Seems Somehow Linked to a Crucial Bodily Function Your Ear Wax Might Hold Clues to Early Parkinson's, Study Finds
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10 hours ago
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Sunrise, river, palm tree, spectator, launch: That's so Space Coast!
FLORIDA TODAY's Tim Shortt puts it bluntly: 5 a.m. is early, but when your assignment is to shoot a launch just after sunrise, well ... So, when the veteran photographer headed out on June 23 to shoot the 6:54 a.m. liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41, one carrying 27 Amazon Project Kuiper satellites, he hoped for, at the least, a good vantage point and spectators. But as launch time approached, only one or two people showed up at Nicol Park, located along the Indian River in Port St. John just south of the Fay Boulevard intersection. As luck would have it, though, a man walked up to the river's edge just in time for liftoff. It was Kevin Mahaffey, a teacher at Fairglen Elementary in Sharpes. Mahaffey had taken a break from a flooring project to see the launch, which came less than 30 minutes after the 6:26 a.m. sunrise. And in short order, FLORIDA TODAY's next Photo of the Week was in the works. "I quickly positioned myself so that he was directly blocking the sun and took several pics before he saw me. He at first seemed concerned that he was in my way," said Shortt. "But I was so glad he was there. To me, with the launch, the sunrise, the river and the palm trees — it sure says Brevard County, Florida! Getting up early is not easy, but it often pays off with sights like these." This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Launch at the crack of yawn? That's life in Brevard | Photo of the Week
