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Full-Text Articles in Astrophysics and Astronomy
Optimizing Course Offerings In A Science Department, Yu Kay Law
Optimizing Course Offerings In A Science Department, Yu Kay Law
Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings
We will discuss how enrollment data and faculty/advisor input can be used to maximize schedule efficiency in course offerings and providing for student success. We will also discuss how best to monitor and rearrange course schedules in light of actual enrollment.
Ice Caves On Extraterrestrial Bodies: What Are The Prospects For Speleogenesis And Detection?, Penelope J. Boston
Ice Caves On Extraterrestrial Bodies: What Are The Prospects For Speleogenesis And Detection?, Penelope J. Boston
The International Workshop on Ice Caves
Potential mechanisms for creating cavities in icy extraterrestrial bodies have been tentatively explored by several authors. On one hand we have examples of mechanisms that create caves in water ice here on Earth. In addition, there may be unique mechanisms on other Solar System objects that do not occur on Earth but might produce cavities, e.g. sublimation of comets upon perihelion passage. The methods of detecting such cavities depend upon the nature of the icy body in question, the potential for orbital or landed missions to visit those bodies in the future, and remote or landed methods for detecting the …
Martian Life Detection With Amino Acid Enantiomers, Ali Jamil, Gaosen Zhang, Henry J. Sun
Martian Life Detection With Amino Acid Enantiomers, Ali Jamil, Gaosen Zhang, Henry J. Sun
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
The Viking mission showed that Martian soil can degrade a heterotrophic medium to carbon dioxide as if live microorganisms were present. The result is considered inconclusive, however, because abiotic oxidants, such as superoxides, may also exist on Mars and would explain the Viking result. One way to resolve this ambiguity is to repeat the Viking experiment with a isomerically pure medium. The consumption of one isomer, either D or L, would indicate biological activity. Indiscriminate destruction of both isomers would indicate abiotic redox processes. This idea was validated for glucose by REU research last summer (Sun et al. 2009). The …
Martian Life Detection With Xylose Enantiomers, Arturo White, Gaosun Zhang, Henry J. Sun
Martian Life Detection With Xylose Enantiomers, Arturo White, Gaosun Zhang, Henry J. Sun
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
Ability of Martian soil to degrade carbohydrates, shown by the Viking mission, has two interpretations. One possibility is that the soil harbors living microorganisms. Alternatively, the soil is sterile but chemically oxidizing, i.e. it is laden with photochemical oxidants. It was shown by REU research last summer that these two possibilities can be distinguished by the use of glucose enantiomers. Life is selective: Earth organisms use D-glucose, but ignore Lglucose. This stereo selectivity is absent in chemical reactions. The goal of this project is to test if xylose, a five carbon sugar, is also suitable for chiral life detection. Mixed …