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10.1

Afterayearcirclingthemoonwithadiversearrayofinstruments,LROhasrevealeddetailedimagesfardifferentfromtheonesBrownUniversitygeologyprofessorJimHeadusedwhenheworkedintheApolloprogram,whichsentthefirstmentothemoonin1968.

Brownsaysthelunarmapsbackthenwerebasedonimageswithlowerresolutionandlimitedviewingangles,whichmeantthatdecidingwhereastronautscouldlandinvolvedafairamountofguesswork.

"ButwhatwehaveherewiththeLOLAinstrumentisinfacttheabilitytocreatetopographicmapsthatactuallylooklikeimages.Sowehaveover2,500,000,000shotsoflaserdatawhichwe'vecombinedtogethertocreatetheseglobaltopographicmapsandtheygiveusanevenportrayalofthetopography,largelycomposedofimpactcratersoverthewholesurfaceofthemoon."

10.2

The"LOLA"instrumentHeadrefersto-theLunarOrbiterLaserAltimeter-countedsome50,000cratersinone20-kilometerarea.ChieflunarscientistMikeWargosaysthenewmapscanpinpointsafelandingsites,butalsoprovidedetailsabout,forexample,howthatlandingsiteislitbythesun.

Andbyunderstandingthetopographyandthepositionofthattopographywithrespecttothesun,wecanidentifythoseareasthathaveverynearly100%continuousilluminationsothatwehavetheavailabilityoflong-termsolarpoweravailableforafutureroboticandhumanexplorer."

Thenewtopographicaldatashowamorecomplexmoonthanpreviouslythought,onebombardedby2distinctpopulationsofasteroidsorcometsinitsturbulentearlyhistory.Therecordofthoseancientbombardments,whichalsopummeledtheyoungEarth,ispreservedinthemoon'sheavilycrateredsurface.

10.3

BrowngeologyprofessorJimHeadnotesthatmostoftheEarth'simpactcratershavebeenerodedawaybywindandwaterorseismicshifts.Sothelunarlandscape,Headsays,offersauniqueplatformonwhichtostudyhowourplanetandoursolarsystemevolved.

"It'sanexcitingtimetogetatthesethingsandit'sunlockedawholeseriesofnewmissionsandgoalsandobjectivesthatwecanaccomplishbyusingthemoonessentiallyasthisRosettastoneoftheunderstandingoftheearlysolarsystem."

Inadditiontospectacularimages,LROinstrumentshavemeasuredlunartemperatureandradiationlevels,helpedconfirmthepresenceofhydrogenandoxygeninlunariceandgatherednewinformationaboutthecompositionofthemoon'sruggedsurface.

LROwillcontinueinlunarorbitforanother2to4years.3papersexaminingtheorbiter'sdataarepublishedthisweekinthejournalScience.

10.4

Inaback-to-schoolspeechinPhiladelphiaafewdaysago,PresidentObamaurgedstudentstostudyhard,evenatsubjectsinwhichtheydon'tthinktheycouldexcel.

"Butjustbecauseyou'renotthebestatsomethingtodaydoesn'tmeanyoucan'tbetomorrow.Evenifyoudon'tthinkofyourselfasamathpersonorascienceperson,youcanstillexcelinthosesubjectsifyouwanttomaketheeffort.Andyoumayfindoutyouhavetalentsyouneverdreamedof."

ThosewordsareechoedintheNationalScienceBoardreport-PreparingtheNextGenerationofSTEMInnovators:

IdentifyingandDevelopingOurNation'sHumanCapital.Thestudyexploreswaystopromoteso-called"STEM"careers,theacronymforscience,technology,engineeringandmathematics.

CamillaBenbowisdeanofeducationatVanderbiltUniversityandco-authorofthereport.Shesaysfindingandnurturingtomorrow'sinnovatorsisessentialtokeepingthecountrycompetitiveinanideas-drivenglobaleconomy.Thenation'sbrighteststudents,sheadds,havebeentoooftenoverlookedinanattempttoraisemathandscienceachievementoverall.

"Theyweren'tbeingidentified.Theyweren'tbeingdevelopedandsotheirpotentialandtheircontributionswerepotentiallylost.Andsothat'swhyweputthereportoutsothatwecouldbealsofocusedonthisgroupofindividuals."

10.5

Benbowdisagreeswiththepopularnotionthatstudentsareeitheracademicallygiftedortheyarenot.Shesaysit'spossibletopromotemoreinnovativethinkinginageneralstudentpopulation,butit'saprocessthatrequiresalotofhardwork.

"AndthatiskindofamindchangeandattitudechangeweneedtohavehereinAmericatofocusonhowmucheffortittakestodevelopskillstoaveryhighlevelandhowmuchsupportsocietyneedstoprovideforthattohappen."

Accordingtothereport,America'smosttalentedstudentsfaceanumberofroadblocks,somesimplyanaccidentofbirth.Theauthorspointtoonenationalstudythatshows72%ofthehighestachieversinfirstgrade,thoseinthetopquartile,werefromhigher-incomefamilies.

Thereforeonly28%ofstudentsinthetopquartilearefromlower-incomefamilies.That'sastartlingstatistic.Sobeforeweevenhavebegunourformaleducationalbackground,theJackKentCookeFoundationhasestimatedthatwelooseabout200,000kidsayear,andthattomeisinequitable."

Benbowsaysschoolsmustbeheldaccountablefortheprogressofallstudents.Thatdoesn'tnecessarilymeanmorefunding,shesays,butratherbettercoordinationofexistingresourcesandflexibilityfortopstudentstomoveacrossthecurriculumattheirownpace.

"Becauseotherwisetheyarebored.Thesekidsareadvanced.Andiftheydon'thaveachancetoplaywithadvancedcurriculaandbelearningatthelevelswhichtheyarefunctioningat,thentheylosethatspark.Theylosethatinspirationandpassion."

10.6

Benbowsaysthereportmakes3broadrecommendations:

First,tochallengebrightstudentswithadvanced-placementcoursesandhigher-levellearningopportunities."WhethertheseareAPcourses,whethertheseareenrichedcourses,whetherthisisworkinginlabs,workinginindustry,withmentorsandsoon."

Secondly,theboardrecommendsthatschools:

identifyandnurturestudentsnomattertheirgender,race,ethnicityoreconomiccircumstance,withacommitmenttoequityanddiversity.Andthird,anenvironmentthatcelebrateslearningandrewardsinnovativethinking.

BenbowsaysturningtheNationalScienceBoard'srecommendationsintorealityisgoingtorequirehardworkandpoliticalwill-andarecognitionthatthecountry'sfuturedependsonit.

That'sapointPresidentObamastressedinhisback-to-schoolspeechfromaschoolinPhiladelphia.

"Thefartheryougoinschool,thefartheryou'regonnagoinlife.Andatatimewhenothercountriesarecompetingwithuslikeneverbefore,whenstudentsaroundtheworldinBeijing,ChinaorBangalore,India,areworkingharderthanever,anddoingbetterthanever,yoursuccessinschoolisnotjustgonnadetermineyoursuccess.It'sgonnadetermineAmerica'ssuccessinthe21stcentury."

10.7

Gettingaflushotcanhelppreventinfluenza.Butnow,alargestudyinBritainindicatesthatolderadultswhogetanannualfluvaccinationarelesslikelytosufferaheartattack.

Thestudyinvolvedmorethan78,000people,age40andolder.ResearcherNiroshanSiriwardenaofBritain'sUniversityofLincolnledthestudy.

"Ourresearchsuggeststhatflushotsareassociatedwithareductioninrelativeriskofheartattackinadultsbyabout19%."

Thereductionwasevenhigher,21%,forpeoplewhogottheirvaccinationearlyinthefluseason.

Theresultsweremathematicallyadjustedtoreflectthefactthatpeoplewhoareathigherriskforheartattackinthefirstplacearemorelikelytogetaflushot.

10.8

AlthoughSiriwardenaiscarefultopointoutthathisstudyisoneofassociations,notnecessarilycauseandeffect,hedoesofferonepossiblelinkbetweentheseeminglyunrelatedconditionsofinfluenzaandheartattack.

"Thekeytheoryisthatcoronaryarterieswhicharenarrowed,thatinfluenzacausesaninflammatoryprocess,whichmakestheplaquesmoreliabletorupture.Sofluisencouragingplaqueruptureandtriggeringoffaheartattack.That'sthetheory."

Foralotofpeople,themessageofthisstudyisthatnowthere'sonemorereasontogetafluvaccination.ButspeakingviaSkype,Siriwardenathescientisthasaslightlydifferentanalysis.

"Thetake-homemessageofthisstudyisreallythatweneedtodofurtherresearchtolookatthislinkbetweenfluandheartattacktoseewhetherthere'sarealcauseandeffecthere."

ThestudybyNiroshanSiriwardenaandhiscolleaguesispublishedintheCanadianMedicalAssociationJournal.

10.9

PerhapsnowhereinGermanyaretheeffectsoftheIronCurtainunderstoodbetterthanthetinyvillageofMoedlareuth.Thevillageofjust50peoplewasdivideddownthemiddleafterWorldWarII,andseparatedfor4decades.

2abandonedguardtowers,alongwhitewall,afencetoppedwithbarbedwireandborderpostsstandasatestamenttowhatpeopleenduredformorethan40years.

AfterGermany'sunconditionalsurrenderin1945,theAlliesdividedoccupiedGermanyinto4militaryzones;Frenchinthesouthwest,Britishinthenorthwest,theUnitedStatesinthesouth,andSovietintheeast.

2statesemerged.WestGermany,aparliamentarydemocracy,aNATOmember,afoundingmemberofwhatsincebecametheEuropeanUnionandoneoftheworld'slargesteconomies,andEastGermanyatotalitarianStalinistdictatorshipalliedwiththeSovietUnion.

WhenGermanywasdivided,firstcameafence,andthenawallinMoedlareuth,separatingEastfromWestandinonecase,brotherfrombrother.

Germanywasreunitedin1990,afterthecollapseoftheEastGermancommunistgovernmentandtheopeningoftheBerlinWall.

NowMoedlareuthisamuseumthatattracts60,000visitorsayeartoitsopenairexhibit.

10.10

Thereisalsoafilmthatdocumentsthedivide.TourguideHeikoUltschsaysitmovesmanyvisitors.

"Therearepeoplewhentheywatch