In a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that high absolute humidity can help kill flu virus particles in a given environment. Adam Hinterthuer reports
Here’s a novel potential public health measure against the flu—kick up the humidity. The cold, dry months of winter signal the start of flu season. [...]

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About half a year before the robotic arm on NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander began digging into soil and subsurface ice of an arctic plain of Mars, six scientists traveled to one of the coldest, driest places on Earth for soil-and-ice studies that would end up aiding analysis of the Mars data.
They used duplicates of some [...]

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During the countdown, formal weather briefings occur approximately as follows:
L-24 hr 0 min: Briefing for Flight Director and astronauts
L-21 hr 0 min: Briefing for removal of Rotating Service Structure
L-9 hr 00 min: Briefing for external tank fuel loading
L-4 hr 30 min: Briefing for Space Shuttle Launch Director
L-3 hr 55 min: Briefing for astronauts
L-2 hr [...]

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Marny Skora
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
757-864-3315/344-6111
marny.skora@nasa.gov
May 01, 2009 CONTRACT RELEASE : C09-019   NASA Selects Northrop Grumman To Build Science Instrument   WASHINGTON — NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., has awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., to support the design, manufacture, assembly, test and calibration of the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant [...]

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The largest and most ambitious tornado study in history will begin next week, as dozens of scientists deploy radars and other ground-based instruments across the Great Plains to gain a better understanding of these often-deadly weather events.
The collaborative international project, involving scientists from the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and a number of other [...]

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For almost half a century, John Powell has monitored the weather at the same time every day for the Met Office.

By Richard Savill

Last Updated: 2:08PM BST 05 May 2009

Now the amateur weather forecaster has retired, ending a hobby that has involved recording daily on the stroke of 9am GMT since 1961.
Mr Powell, 75, has been [...]

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Gill Instruments has extended its WindObserver line of two-axis ultrasonic anemometers to include an extreme-weather version that incorporates high-temperature heating elements designed keep the product ice-free in most conditions.
With high heating power and the ability to measure wind speeds up to 168 miles per hour, the instrument is ideal for use in extreme conditions where [...]

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Located next to the airport on Graciosa Island, the ARM Mobile Facility’s comprehensive and sophisticated instrument suite will obtain atmospheric measurements from the marine boundary layer.

Today marks the beginning of a 20-month field campaign on Graciosa Island in the Azores to study the seasonal life cycle of marine clouds and how they modulate the global [...]

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Indian Ocean Buoy.
(Credit: NOAA)
A new array of moored buoys in the Indian Ocean will provide critical climate and ocean data to help scientists predict the dramatic variations between seasonal monsoon rains and droughts.
“The data from these buoys will provide us with much-needed information to advance our understanding of the oceanic and atmospheric processes that [...]

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