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11 May 2013 | NewScientist | 7 TAAVI TORIM SPRING break is over for NASA’s Mars rover. But before it can get to work, Curiosity will receive some upgrades, such as the ability to fire its laser with more autonomy. The rover had gone into standby mode throughout April, when Mars went behind the sun from our perspective. Limited radio communications made it too difficult for drivers on Earth to send Curiosity new commands. The blackout left the team with a cliffhanger: in March, Curiosity had delivered the first chemical evidence of an ancient life- friendly environment on Mars. The rover woke up on 1 May and is transitioning to new software. As a result, the ChemCam tool, which shoots rocks with a laser to analyse the resulting puff of gas, will be able to auto-adjust to avoid glare from the sun, letting it aim at a wider range of rocks. After the upgrade, Curiosity will try to confirm the habitable conditions at its current site, says mission lead scientist John Grotzinger. “After that, we’re likely to begin the trek to Mount Sharp,” a layered mountain that should show how the Martian surface has changed over time. Mars rover reboot ACROSS a large band of the eastern US, things are about to get loud – and crunchy underfoot. The coming weeks will see the emergence of millions of cicadas with sex on the brain. The nymphs of brood II, as this swarm is known, have been feeding on tree root sap for 17 years. When they emerge, they have just a few weeks to reproduce before littering the floor with their carcasses. To attract females, the males “sing” by vibrating abdominal membranes. Periodical cicadas are unique to the eastern US. There are 15 broods – some made up of several species – with life cycles of 17 or 13 years (see bit.ly/18zVjOP to find out more). Brood II isn’t the largest, but it will engulf major cities including New York. As New Scientist went to press, there had been sightings in New Jersey. In places there could be several hundreds of the insects per square metre, making a racket louder than an approaching subway train. As well as breaching the peace, the cicada orgy will have ecological ramifications for years to come. Their carcasses will fertilise the soil, and the numbers of potential bird predators will be affected (American Naturalist, doi.org/k9j. The numbers of such birds are lowest when cicadas emerge, suggesting that cicada boom years set in train a cycle that ensures predators will be scarce when the cicadas next appear. MITSUHIKO IMAMORI/MINDEN PICTURES/FLPA Atom’s fruity centre Pears grow inside some heavy atoms, according to the most detailed peek yet at the nuclei in radium isotopes. In most elements, stable atoms have roughly spherical nuclei. But heavy, unstable atoms like radium can have arrangements of protons and neutrons with weird shapes. Studying the short-lived atoms could point to physics beyond the standard model (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature12073). Arctic’s acid test It’s not all about melting ice. The Arctic Ocean is also acidifying faster than other oceans, according to a new report by the international Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme. It warns that acidification threatens food webs and the indigenous people who depend on them. SARS-like virus deaths Within the past week, 13 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide, including seven deaths in Saudi Arabia. This brings the total number of cases to 30, including 18 deaths. A sudden surge in cases suggests that the SARS-like virus may have spread more widely than previously suspected. Wild wildfires expected Firefighters battled through the weekend to contain a wildfire in California that burned 11,000 hectares. The state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says this year’s wildfire season is likely to be unusually severe due to the ongoing drought in the country. 3D print – in space NASA plans to send a microgravity- proof 3D printer to the International Space Station by 2014. Built by company Made In Space, the goal is to allow astronauts to print spare parts as needed, rather than waiting for a resupply mission. Space miners could use 3D printers to turn asteroid or lunar soil into machinery. –It’s swarmageddon– Cicada orgy starts Autism drug hope “Curiosity will transition to new software that will allow it to fire its laser with more autonomy” “There could be hundreds of insects per square metre, making a racket louder than a subway train” COULD a drug reverse the symptoms of autism? The results of the latest clinical trial are mixed. At a meeting last week, Seaside Therapeutics, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, presented the results of the largest ever clinical trial of a drug for autism. Called arbaclofen, or STX209, it works by damping down excessive brain activity – a hallmark of autism. For 12 weeks, 150 people with autism, aged between 5 and 21, received either arbaclofen or a placebo. While the drug failed make any impact on social withdrawal, its main clinical target, it did make recipients more able to respond appropriately to other people. “We strongly believe that STX209 is associated with a real efficacy signal,” says Randall Carpenter, Seaside’s CEO. “We are very hopeful the next trial will have positive results.” 60 SECONDS –Sun, you repulse me – For daily news stories, visit newscientist.com/news
