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    Scientific American - January 2016 - Scientific American

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    Scientific American - January 2016 - Scientific American

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    Scientific American - January 2016 - Scientific American

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    Scientific American - January 2016 - Scientific American

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    Scientific American - January 2016 - Scientific American

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    meee PELE ety ES GPS. Pathfinding Tame BIC Pe Wad VL EU Muts Ree oldu) new memories eae @ TANUARY 7016 Neuroscience 26 Where Am I? Where Am T Going? Scientists are figuring out how the brain navigates. By May-Britt Moser and Hdvard | Moser 84 Rings of a Super Saturn ‘A gargantuan set of planetary rings encircles a planet that orbits a star 400 light-years away. By Matthew Kenworthy PUBLIC HEALTH 42 Death in the Water Arsenic contamination in India and other parts of Asia is a growing problem. Experts are divided about how to fight it By Katy Daigle MEDICINE 52 An On/Off Switch for Genes ‘Molecular switehes can turn transplanted genes on and off, paving the way for safer therapies. By Jim Kozubek 5B 66 70 SCIENTIFIC ' AMERICAN ‘The Carbon Capture Fallacy Alleredble plans for dealing with climate change, including the ones discussed in Paris this month, hinge on finding a way 10 remove carbon before it goes up the smokestack. Progress has been slow. By Dovid Bizlo Do Animals Know ‘Where Babies Come From? Chimpanzees and other primates sometimes seem to have a grasp ‘of procreation, but they lack key cognitive tats needed to truly understand, By Hilly Dunswworth Blegant E ‘Most people look at symbols and numbers and see eold logic ‘Mathematicians see the sublime. ‘By Clara Moskowitz uations Ff a 2 | a a diaaatcommmeny ao i SCIENTIFIC AY ON THE COVER Nal re-ving ecarnha ded to uncionasbilagislGFS Tisreural ringtonsyeamecepwitinthobnn slows ‘sto eve seams om pace lan T isotonic Aherers patos aye eae ata aes we rage Ponernh se Janwry 2016, ScentiicAmerican.com 1 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 4. From the Editor 6 Letters 10 Science Agenda ‘An important question for presidential candidates is: What is your plan (o cut drug prices? By the Baitors u Forum ‘io gupport women in selence, we must reckon with a culture of unconscious bias. Ry Claire Pomeroy 12 Advances [NARA slow-going search for dangerous asteroids The most avcurate GPS. A professional tree climber. 23 The Science of Health [Desserts and junk foods can send our appetites into hypercrve, By Ferris Jabr 25 TechnoFiles A surefie way to banish online ads, By David Pogue 74 Recommended All the ligat we ean and cannot see, Politics on the brain How life arose from nonlife. Johannes Kepler's involve ‘ment in a witeheraft tral. By Clara Moskowire 75 Skeptic Did Homo nated behave more like Homo homvicidensis? By Michael Shermer 76 Anti Gravity ‘A new book postulates that math can actually be fun, By Steve Mirsky 78 50,100 & 150 Years Ago 80. Graphic Science Shumbering researeh comes Iife. By Amber Williams 2015 Breakthrough Prizes Scientific American spotlights the winners’ outstanding achievements in life siences, physics and mathematics. Go to www Seientijicdmerican.com/jan201s/oreakthrough 1 Sneha nan ant bic e tNon aa Si ena NY OED Pasa ne insbmDarines layne a0 aonb eM Haman ose FS Man ON 3K i Se cnr yr 9550 a Wa urs Hua aaSt i bral mo beer yar Crt) frm Ing gusset arc aes panne pete obe {Seb 16 Serderwal toes Sunlen cm Pre U3 A 2 Scien American, January 2016 FROM THE EDITOR Finding Our Place Where am | going? As you'll learn inthis seve, the way the brain processes the straightforward, location-based meaning of that ‘question is just as interesting as ts ability to ruminate on the existential meaning of the phrase. Our brain bas a GPS-like system that senses winete we are and where we ate headed. I also factors Jn the passage of tise in its calculations of position, doing so with an ease that leaves us barely aware of the effort. The process ing cecus in networks of cells deep within the brain, which collaborate to create a mental map of our environment. maps take the form of patterns of electri= cal ality thal fire in a way that echoes the shape of the surrounding layout and ‘our position init Intriguingly, these pathiinding re- sions of the brain are involved in the ‘making of new memories. Unforgivably, perhaps, my own brain has just suggested to me that this fact Dts 8 new twist on the phtase “a sttoll down memory lane.” [Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientists May-Beltt Moser and Ld vard I. Moser explore the terrain further in our cover story, These Marte Dibra’ edn hie of Sent nein Folowber on Twas @neisira “Where Am 1? Where Am I Going?” The article starts on page 26 Unfortunately, carbon emissions are heaced in only one ei rection—up, With Pacis climate talks drawing attention to the poblem of excess carbon in the atmosphere fcom fossil-fuel burning, many have pointed tothe need for earbon capture and storage But can We atford it? In “The Carbon Capraze Fallacy.” senior reporter Davie Biello lakes a look at a ease in point: he building of the enormous Kemper “clean coal” power plant in Mississippi, which is intended to generate energy from the drti= cst form of coa) while siphoning off the emis- sions. The eaptuced earbon dioxide would, in turn, be pumped into oil wells to force out _more ol. Kemper is turning out to be expen- sive—and costs have led to the sitdowns of more than 2 couple of dozen such plants. Can we find a way forward? Turn to page 68. Shifting our focus to other worlds, we ‘can soar through the magazine tothe arti- le “Rings of a Super Saturn” by astrono- mer Matthew Kenworthy, beginning on page 34, Think of Satu, our solar sys- tems second-largest planet—neaely 10 limes the width of Earth—and its grace- ful rings. Now try to imagine what as- tronomers have found: a ring. system some 200 times larger, around a giant planet orbiting distant star in our Milky Way galaxy. This exoplanet may even have the first moon detected outside our solar system. These and other ‘wonders awaitin this month’s edition, toa sn ttc Ha Noa cryin renbjelica NshanatorronSee Spamecatitemtayns erage iSmaceceve senecenmes cates ne eile vnc Seana seme vigesS tama toate FretineleCorpid Menara ange Soe wera teneta “Nusrat! uerearats em canes Ntemetteing Nowsttercitenltqrone Seemwreridixermen — MIDS Sanectivonty eaten ty Tireyconae re Tith sree Gare cee Sec se econ se 4 Scientific American, January 2016 LETTERS EZ AW EINS: ‘EN September 2015 (CELEBRATING EINSTEIN ‘The opportunities for groundbreaking new discoveries as profound as those of Albert Einstein, whose achievernents were docu mented in your September issue, have éi- rminished The review and approval pro- cesses for obtaining research funding ‘rom ‘the federal government are not stendly to new ideas and approaches. Those who have demonstrated high levels of skill and creativity should be given more freedom to explore innovative approaches approved by a review system that does nol cat up balf their careers in chasing funding THoMas M. Voor Laguna Woods, Calif. | was surpriseé to find no mention of the only practical application of Finstein’s seneral theory of relativity the Global Positioning System (GPS). ‘Around 1966 1 worked at Aerospace Corporation in BI Segundo, Calif Part of ‘my job was applying general relativity to corzect the rates of the clocks that were lobe launched into orbit The work was classified at the time, but I did publish a sanitized version in a physics journal. Civilian haneheld GPS receivers became svailabie many years later, and I was finally able to tell my wife ‘what I had been up to! W.J. Cocks Professor emeritus University of Arizona “The processes for obtaining research funding from the federal government are not friendly to new ideas and approaches.” PREE WILL VS. DETERMINISM, ‘toward the end of dom?" George Musser makes a case the existence of free will that ignores the following evidence agsinst it: Some peo- ple would pay'to do what othets woulda’ do, no matter how much you patd shem, People don't suddenly drastically change Uheir personalities. And their preferences control everything they do, ‘STANLEY BECKER bia email Is the Cosmos Ran- [MUSSER REPLIES: One might argue that fur preferences constitute our will, and tterefore re act on the basis of those pref ferences, we act freely. In a sense, fee will requires determinism, in that your actsare determined by you, When our actions don't align with our desires because of some kind af compulsion, we have lost our free w TIME. TRAVEL, “A Brief History of Time Travel” by Tim Folger, gives a scenario in which an astronaut traveling 1,040 light-years at sear the speed of light ages just 10 years while Earth ages 7,000 years. Given that the buman heart will beat only so many times ina person's lifetime, hhow can the astronaut age only 10 years? anor. ax Chas Siritentanp via ematl FOLGER REPLIES: The time dilation of special relativity affects all clocks, even biological ones. So an astronaut trav ing at the speed of light does age more slowely—as seen by some stationary ob- server The astronaut herself will not no= tice anything unusual—she will age at the normal rac. SHOULDERS OF GLANS: In "Cleaning Up after Kinsteiny by Corey S. Powel, there isa photograph of string ‘theorists, including Leonard Susskind, at Stanford University. On the table are the Uhre volumes of The Keynman Lectures on Physics, by Richare P, Feynman, Kob- ert B Leighton and Matthew Sands. This is an elementary introduction to college physics. cannot imagine that the researchers need to consul i at this stage of thei eareers and liketo think that twas neluded as a homage to. great scientist. I also spied a copy of Gravitation, by Charles W. Misner, Kip S. Thorne and John, Archibald Wheeler (oka MTW). I's much more advaneed, but again, I suspect the ‘motive fr its inclusion was homage Roxatp Levine Berkelev, Calif SUSSKIND REPLIES: IfTrecall, the pho- tographer suggested that we place a few of the Books that I use most often where ‘hey could be seen. Feynman's books may Ihave been intended for a freshman class, ut the insights are very subtle Ifyou are confused about a subject in physics, the Jirst place to go is Feynman. Ifthe subject is gravitation, then the second is MTW. IMPROVING FORENSICS In “Forensic Peeudoseience” [Skeptic], Mi- jchael Shermer claims that the AAAS Fo- rensic Science Research Evaluation Work- shop held last May demonstrated that “many field in the forensie sciences ploy unreliable or untested techniques” Flawed science is not unique to the eld, butt s important to discuss itwhen happens. The workshop highlighted some areas that have been recognized as problemati, but this is far from an indict- ‘ent of all forensic science. We forensic scientists are grappling now with the im plications of cognitive bias, and significant progress has been made in the fielé. It seems indisputable tha forensic seience is Going more to help conviet the guilty and ‘exonerate the innocent than the reverse. ‘Vieror W. Wass Department of Forensic Sciences George Washington University 6 Scientific Amer LETTERS SHERMER REPLIBS: That forensic scien- ‘ists are turning a skeptical eye toward heir own practices is wood to hear, but T find Weudn's final proclamation to be ‘quite disputable, Al the workshop Lattend- ed, was told by @ number of forensic entists that noone knots how many inno- cent people are rotting inj because off rensie pseudoscience. What todo about the vavongly convicted? Those who tere con- victed on, sty, bogus arson pseudascience should be st free. Will he leading forensic science organizations sland up for them? HOLE HISTORY Thy "Don't Blind NASA to Farth’s Climate” [Science Agenda], the editors refer toNASA as having “spotted a dangerous, growing Dole” in the ozone layerin the 1980 I thought that the discoverers of the ‘zone hole were scientists from the Brit- Jsh Antarctic Survey, who reported it in Nature in 1985. -Farnestcx HaRris Hayes, England THE EDITORS REPLY: The 198 paper did document the existence of the ozone Fiote, But the disturbing fact that it was ‘growing was chronicled By Nase during the next several years ERRATA “The issues introduction, “Hinstein” by the editor, states that Sir Arthur Eddington confirmed a prediction by Albert Einstein ‘that starlight would bend as it passed the sun, Rather Einstein's prediction, eon- firmed by Eadinglon, was that it would bend twice as much as predicted by New- tonian physi. In “What Binstein Got Wrong” La rence M. Krauss deseribes Einstein’ ervo- ‘neous initial caleulation of light’ deflee- tion by gravity (Which put the deflection at alfits true value) The text says the er- ror was made in 1912 and never pub- lished. Binstein did publish the error, in 1911 Also in Krauses article, the box "Fin~ stein’s Blunders” has an incorrect ilus- lation of Einsteins earlier ané later con- ceptions of gravitational waves and a flawed description of the later concep= tion, The eorreeted description and tus- ration ean be seen at wowsSeientifie American com/sep20isjerratum, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN” seronm ony aos ace fie tng ‘uth seicher sro act Ctine Gorman ‘dee Psiownssnccrnses Gay 8 ‘ite Wong sist lec lge sexs Lay eee sc ‘wearers Boi Bale ‘cone rd ‘Soma rw penn “eetel | Somat ‘etherva Haron Courage Wy Gibb Ane Kuhns, Patino George Muss, Ce icon en ‘arom un be ‘scence Rr a sonnet Mae Brey orowcs Ua temer accrneraronon Berard ot “heorrnnuston oor Mele Whit ecmaroncnsacrcnercn Bryan il secre Ear al vrs 8 Geo Mek His ‘omaecon Harvie sonore Oat St para sr aan SnD are ‘mornoncturecn Aros Care Swenernnae Cans aie seraimoocvonnaevcs Kea oe ‘amon Nek Boren ally ‘orowa souneracon sa skp tora Hao ary ovcarsnicron cen Cina Hipp ssveremaovconcomaust Ext eet ‘eweresscnsus Maal Keel Stover ie, ‘eeapa aa es copia Satine mcrae tenes SET sunscreen smeeagecaet mum eaam ceooesmames oie iin as See et “pda ae it ity ‘mectitaeeacs commen core, ay oer tenn Eaves cai LETTERS 10 THE EDITOR Sent Arar, en eta Se 500 en oN uD erence storm ead rl Veepetalnecnetanwr acho Fasconmntonan aks ‘eoniclawerncninds How TO CONTACT US, Sibson: Formers revs ymertsandenesseades (CE cirde e049 ote Nonhnas S626 840r sence Sabine Tees rick lle suite se Sener Glortanaave weet rmumirdarersreerble ‘rakdned out, erin Teor akon rim sfidd0eey epreDearrart. Seribearercan Newton, Ste 450 eno, NY 20456 IRS Tp BSc Faregkpesean 021) Peison Forpumsenscryerrsersel domme go, Sarah keen Newer Soins Now ok NY 0886 ecp8ScAmcom sence coro Famskwchustsewesctrpo, bvetsog swe nfchnerncanhie everett ee, Tastee Scena n AHnponalleUS sdnalerrante, 8 Scientie American, January 2016 SCIENCE AGENDA OPINION AND ANALYSIS FROM. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN'S BOARD OF EDITORS. A Campaign to Cut Drug Prices Presidential candidates need to address this painful problem, but some duck it ‘The average price of a new cancer drug now exceeds $100,000 a year ‘The patient does nol pay the entize tab, but someone who needs a prescription can stil! spend $25,000, not re Jmbrrsed by health insurance. That steep co payment equals about half of what the typeal US. household exrns in a year. Tt is not just new cancer therapies that bear stratospheric price tags. Last year Tur: ing Pharmaceuticals, a New York City star-up, provoked wide: spread outrage after it bought 2 62-year-old infectious disease ddrug called Daraprim and raised the price from $13.50 a pill an astounclng $750 pill before agreeing co scale back the price sighly. Patients in the US. oRten pay much more than Europe ans for older drugs—not just for new pharmaceuticals protect: ed by patents. Inthe US, prescription drug spending increased 181 percent in 2014, the highest annual increase since 2003, The president we elect in 2018 needs to bring these prices down, With the political primaries now at full it, sky-high prices at the pharmaey have drawn the attention of voters. Polls say that Democrats and Republicans want the government to lake action on drug costs, but regulation-shy Republicans have more of a problem formulating coherent policy The leaders in the Democratic race—Ihillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders—have set out detailed proposals with some ‘eas in common: both candidates want to empower Medicare to ws its purchasing power to negotiate prices with drug com: panies to get the best deal, And both propose shat patients ‘should be able purchase lower-cost drugs from foreign pharma cies, an option current denied ther. Republican candidates have mostly dodged the issue. During {primary debate in late October, retired neurosurgeon Ren Car ‘son said, “Some people go overboard when it comes to trying to ‘make profits but then quickly adéed that more regulation is not the solution: “Government is not supposed to be in every aspect four lives, and that's what as been the problem” The Republicans are making a strategic eor if they do not take this issue more seriously. ln an April poll, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that Republican voters viewed outsize drug, Drioes as a more pressing concern than getting rid of Obamacare, In an August follow-up, Kaiser found that three quarters of Re- publicans surveyed wanted Medicare involved in trying te abtain ‘more reasonable prices from pharmaceutical companies. ‘Ibe drug;prieing debate need not get bogged down in bicker- ng about the merits of government regulation. Through long ‘years of study; health care economists have mapped out policy options that are not inimical to market-based approaches to drug, pricing, For example, Republican candidates could cite Switzer- land as a model worthy of emulation: i frst establishes alist of approved drugs and then sets a maximum price based on criteria ‘such as R&D cost and effectiveness. But market forees—negotia- tions between a drug company and a private insurer—determine how much is charged up tothe price ceiling. At the very least, both Democrats and Republicans shor! prevail on drug companies for more transparency. Better data are needed to set better poliey—and to evaluate claims by phar- rmaceutical companies that the billions spent to bring a new drug to market are justifiable. The candidates should also sup- port laws or regulatory reforms atthe national level that mirror Dills that are making their way through legislatures in six states ‘that require drug companies to provide more information about R&D and other expenditures. Ifa just released drug can command the saz price as a mod- ‘est home in Oklahoma City, companies need to account openly fortheir costs and furnish some justification of the value that ac~ rues to patients and insurers who foot the bil. And candidates from both parties need to pledge to make sure they do so. ® SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ONLINE COMMENT On THISARTIC 'SCIENTIFICAMERICAN.COM/IAN2016 10 Scicstife American, January 2016 (airePemeroy, M.D, MBA isp neAbotard ary her eundon deicacdoabarcng mesa seach Academia’s Gender Problem To support women in science, we must reckon with a culture of unconscious bias 8y Clare Pomeroy Last October news broke of allegations that University of Cal fornia, Berkeley, astronomer Geoff Marcy had for years harassed female students. (Marcy, who denied some of the allegations, resigned) The news reminded me of an experience 1 had in school. admired an instructor and was honored when he took me out for a celebratory dinner near the end of the course. After walking me home, he put his arms around me, and alarm bells ‘began lo ring, When Lrebulfed the advance, le complied, bu lat- cermy grade changed from “outstanding” to pass" Itwas a pain- ful lesson, and T never spoke about it to anyone. sven on to complete my training in internal medielne and FORUM COMMENTARY ON SCIENCE IN THE NEWS FROM THE EXPERTS. Infectious diseases and embarked on a career as an TITY pysi= cian. I conducted research on virus-induced immunosuppres- sion under the tutelage of two outstanding male professors, Lfelt supported by my mentors, usually men, who nurtured my elini- cal and research paths, But even as my career progressed 1 ob- served thet many of my female colleagues were disproportion ately dropping out of academic medicine careers. ‘The statistics hore out my hunch Although the percentage of| doctorates awarded to women in life sciences mereased fram 1510 52 percent between 1969 and 2008, only about a third of asistant professors and less than a fith of fll professors in bology-telated, fields in 2009 were female. Women make up only 15 percent of per ‘manent department chairs in medical sehools and barely 16 per «cent of medical sclivol deans. The pipeline to leadership is leaking, The problem is not only outright sexual harassment—It is a culture of exclusion and unconscious hiss that leaves many wom- en feeling demoralized, marginalized and unsure. Ip one study, science faculty were given identieal résumés in which the names and genders of two applicants were swapped; both male and fe- ‘male faculty judged the male applicant to be more competent and, offered him a higher salary Unconscious bias also appears in the form of “microas- nulla" hat women scientists are forced to endure dally. This the endless barrage of purportedly insignificant sexist Jokes, ingults and putdowns that accumulate over the years and undermine confidence and ambition. Each ‘time it is assumed that the only woman in the lab group will play the role of recording secretary, each time a re- search plan becomes finalized in the men's lavatory be- ‘ween conference sessions, each time a woman is not in- vited to g0 out fora beer after the plenary lecture to tals shop, the damage is reinforced. When I speak to groups of women scientists, often ak them ifthey have ever been in a meeting where they made a recommendation, had it ignored. and then heard a men receive praise and support for making the same point a few minutes later. Each time the majority of women in the audience raise their hands, Miccoassaults are especially amaging when they come from a high school science teacher, college mentor, university dean or a member ofthe scientific elite who has been awarded a prestigious prive— the very people who should be inspiring and supporting ‘the nest generation of scientists. fe are to achieve the fall promise of selence and med icine, we must use all the brainpower available to us by en suring the full participation of women. We must repri- tmand blatant harassment, but we must do much more than thal. We must change the culture of our organiza- tions so that women feel the value they bring to science willbe encouraged and celebrated. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ONLINE COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLEAT 'SCIENTIFICAMERICAN.COM/IANZ0%6 ADVANCES ~~ Although NASA has foun th in Earths vicinity, rillons of smaller ones that could ‘also threaten our werld remain uneatalogued. FURTHER READINGS AND CITATIONS | +The rudimentary polities of ruminants +The man who dimbs trees fr a ving + Why bankerslose ther sense of self + How “brainprnts” can identify an indWvidual out of «crowd with 99 percent accuracy Fear of the Unknown NASA's best hope for planetary defense resides with a proposed asteroid-seeking space telescope. Will it be funded? Before it became a crater of sauran door, the space rock that ended the age ofthe dinosaurs most likely was a near-Earth object (NEO), an asteroi that occasionally came within striking distance o our planet asitorbited the sun. NASA and other space agencies are now developing ways ‘0 deflect and reiect asteroids should they approach, but those techniques willbe Useful only we find dangerous NEOs before they fn us. Yet NASAS search isnot ‘going as planned, 112010 NASA completed a congressio~ rally mandated inventory of more than 90 percent of NEOs witha clameter ofone Kilometer or greater—objects that ae big enough to create a planetary scale cisaste No known objects of such catadysrmc size arenow on colsion courses with Earth, but smaller NEOs arestillout there undscew- 20d by the millons. Even puny ones can cause big regional problems, such asthe ‘8-meter rock that exploded aver the Rus- San city of Chelyabiaskin 2083, nfiting ‘ore than $30 millon in damage and njur- ing at eas 1400 peosle. Recognizing the threstof smaller NEOs, in 2005 Congress upped the ante for NASA siving the agency unt 2020 0 catalogue 90 percent of midsized NEOs at or above “40 metersin diameter. Congress, however, filed to provide te agency with suficent JInnery 2016, SsentcAmericn.com 1 ADVANCES new funding to achieve this arrbtious goal SoNASA far behind. "With capabilties we have. the deadline of 2020's not achievable” says Lindley Johnson, pro- gram officer for NASA’ NEO survey. The agency largely relies on three ground-based optical telescopes to hunt for NEOs—ob~ jects that, even at their largest and closest, are sll very dim and dificult to find. This approach limits the search to hours wren the skies above the observatories are dark ard clear NASA's Wide-feld lfrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecrtt also hunts NEOs by ooking for ther telkale ther ral glow a they are warned by sunlight, but WISE is pracicted to caase functioning asearly 257017 ‘As of ealy 2013, Nasa had mapped about 1400"“potentially hazard- sry 8 0Trcanthat theres cus aero" None ar beled worrisome forthe next OD,ears survey would require another 30% : _35years ta findthe several tens fthou- _selactone or two of those proposals ter son, which has been a reguartargetorcuts = sancso! midsized NEOs estimated o lk this yearfor continued development toward inrecentfederalbudgets Akhough Congress = undetected in the solarsystern. “There are a aurchasearty as 2020. recently increased the francialsupportfor = no penalties fr missing the deadline” Jon ‘flown, NEOCam would use imovative the NEOsurveyfrom $4 milion ayearto = sonsays,*solongas there's nothing big out newirffareddetectorstodiscover10times $40 millon the price tag fora space mission there thet’ going to hic us” more NEOs thanallthose fourdodste ful tohunt for midsinedcbjecsisestimatedto — § Now the besthope ‘or globalasteroid fing Congress 2008 mandate. ut NEO- be about halfabillon cols. So without awareness may be a proposed infrared Cars selection is ota foregone conclusion. another aigboost to the NEO program's space telescope called NEOCam, which the Inthe high-stakes envionment offederally funding, chee is nowhere else witin NASA agency short-listed in September 201, fundea space scienos it could bearguedthat that the money ean easly come from exces! along with four other proposals competing 1oney fora missiono seekout danger forthe agency’ planetary science progrars. fecundrgsoputafleDacovey pegeer owspaerelssheudcomeler some, Theseusgle‘rmargyhoprebiem Chg Scnedscercemision wanwil wetetacesnentpuraoryscenced~ tatdtalderenesn aye cel Hea, . CO 7 AeA Soaked in Space ‘Our solar system is overflowing with liquid water Toxalvlumecf water on Enh: 1.3 billion eae tne cubic on Earth estimated kilometers > Europa: 1-3, Tian: 1B, Callisto: 12-14: 14 Scientific American, Janwary 2016 an astronomer at the University of Maryland ane former principal investigator for NASA Deep Impact spacecrat, a Discovery-lass ris- sion, Given that Congress considers the search an important public policy task for NASA, shoule appropriately fund the missiontselt he explains: "Can NASA afford not to select NEO- Cam? Thatis precisely what lworry abou. ‘Amy Minzer an astronomer athe NASA Je Propulsion Laboratory ane NEOCam' principal investigator emphasizes thatthe mision isan excellent candidate forthe Discovery program because ithas scientfe objectives that go beyond protecting Earth rom asteroids, For example, the telescope would characterize the cxbits, shapes, compastions and spin rates of some near-Farh objects—informatioa that would hela researchers trace Lreistory of tne solar system as wellas select new targets for future human and robotic deep-space missions But even if NEOCam was purely about plane

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