Imagine working hard on a project that could impact the future of space travel. Developing a smart space foundation for larger structures to be built on. Something that could be used in the future by telescopes and new generation of telecommunications antennae. Sending up the web like platform into outer space to check sustainability, and then not getting the data back!

Students from the University of Strathclyde and the University of Glasgow developed just such a platform called Suaineadh  which means ‘twisting’ in Scots Gaelic. They then launched it into space on-board the sounding rocket REXUS12 from the Swedish space center Esrange in March 2012.

Unfortunately the recovery of the section in which the data was recorded could not be found after re-entry into the atmosphere. Students spent 10 days on the recovery mission in Northern Sweden above the Arctic Circle in vain. Finally they had to give up and return empty handed thinking that all their effort had been in vain.

It was 18 months later that Swedish hunters discovered the section and returned it to civilization. The excitement and relief of the students who now get to study all the data recorded is evident. Thankfully this is one science project that had a happy ending.

<p>It seems that your daily sweetened drink may have you at a higher risk for depression as per a recent scientific study. Dr Honglei Chen is the author of a new study conducted at the National Institutes of Health in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. The study claims that adults who have sweetened beverages on a regular basis can be at an increased risk of triggering depression.<br />
As per Dr Chen sweetened beverages like coffee and tea may have important mental health consequences. The study was conducted on 263,925 people who were in the 50 to 71 age group. They were evaluated on their consumption of sweetened beverages like soda, fruit punch, tea and coffee over a period of ten years.<br />
At the end of the decade the participants of the study were asked if they had been diagnosed with depression. As per the records 11,311 participants out of the original 263,925 had been diagnosed with depression since the year 2000. While others might argue that such a portion of the participants being diagnosed with depression may have little to do with their beverage intake habits, the tentative link has been established.<br />
Sweetened beverages have had a full blown effect on obesity and weight gain in other scientific studies and this may be another ill effect that you may have to watch out for. The initial study does need to be followed up further before conclusive results can be announced. It may be healthier to take your beverages minus the sugar for the body and the mind in the future. </p>

Star gazing can yield some really good science projects. What if you were to discover a whole new world through your little telescope in the garden? There are some who would be skeptical that scientists with more powerful instruments are also gazing at the stars. And they are more likely to find any new worlds out there.

That is not always the case, as these scientists are busy looking at specific areas that they are studying. They may very often miss a whole new world before them. And then they might not. As Dr David Charbonneau, from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre will testify at the discovery of a new “Waterworld” located 40 light years away.

This planet is relatively close to Earth and is about six times the size of our planet. However its surface is also covered in water to the extent of 75% of the total surface area. This makes it all the more likely to have life. Although the astronomers are debating that Earth like life may not be able to develop there due to the heat.

The planet is orbiting a small red dwarf star and so has a surface temperature of 200 degrees Celsius. Yet it is the smallest, coolest and most Earth like planet in the known exoplanets and that makes it an exciting study opportunity. It maybe not as exciting but your science fair project could help lead to such important discoveries. You never know how it will shape up in the future.

If you like interesting tidbits of technology, you may enjoy this article about an observatory in Antarctica:

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/080207-technov-robot-plato.html

Here’s a quick peek at one of our closest neighbors: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features.cfm?feature=1560

If you want to be following the Cassisni-Huygens NASA mission, be sure to see the latest info here:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/events/titan20080222/index.cfm

This is a fun article about how we’re finding more planets around distant stars. Enjoy!

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2008-027