Tag Archives: jim erickson

Curiosity Mars Rover Checking Possible Smoother Route

The team operating NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is considering a path across a small sand dune to reach a favorable route to science destinations.

A favorable route would skirt some terrain with sharp rocks considered more likely to poke holes in the rover’s aluminum wheels.

While the team has been assessing ways to reduce wear and tear to the wheels, Curiosity has made progress toward a next site for drilling a rock sample and also toward its long-term destination: geological layers exposed on slopes of Mount Sharp. The rover has driven into a mapping quadrant that includes a candidate site for drilling. Meanwhile, testing on Earth is validating capabilities for drilling into rocks on slopes the rover will likely encounter on Mount Sharp. (more…)

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It Takes Two to Tango: Pairs of Entwined Proteins Handle The Stress

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Imagine two tango dancers sweeping across the dance floor and suddenly encountering a slick spot. To avoid a slip or even a nasty tumble, the pair must work together to support one another and glide safely through the stressful moment.

In a similar way, a certain type of helper protein called a stress-specific molecular chaperone prevents its client proteins from collapsing during stressful situations by uncoiling a long, supportive arm that wraps around them, a University of Michigan-led research team has shown. (more…)

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When Continents Collide: A New Twist To a 50 Million-Year-Old Tale

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Fifty million years ago, India slammed into Eurasia, a collision that gave rise to the tallest landforms on the planet, the Himalaya Mountains and the Tibetan Plateau.

India and Eurasia continue to converge today, though at an ever-slowing pace. University of Michigan geomorphologist and geophysicist Marin Clark wanted to know when this motion will end and why. She conducted a study that led to surprising findings that could add a new wrinkle to the well-established theory of plate tectonics – the dominant, unifying theory of geology. (more…)

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