Mars One Finalists, Upgraded Mice Brains, And Other Weekly News

 
If you didn't know about the Mars One initiative yet, you're about to. The concept of visiting another planet has existed for centuries, and at the start of the new millennium, that vision our ancestors had could start to come true. With Mars One at the forefront, scientists are not sure traveling to Mars has to be an impossible dream any longer. Two years ago citizens from around the world could apply to be one of the four astronauts that would be sent to the red planet in 2024. Despite overwhelming odds of danger and peril and the unlikely prospect of seeing their loved ones again, 200,000 signed up. Through a series of examinations, the number dropped to roughly 600. Now about 100 remain, after Mars One gave tests to determine if finalists were strong-minded, able-bodied and resourceful. The selection process which will end with 24 people -six teams of four- might be filmed as a reality show for the world to see later this year. Final voting will be left to the public. If you want to see this English dude reacting to the news of his acceptance, it's down below.

 

New studies bring light to the harsh reality of plastic pollution. In 2010, estimates suggested we were tossing billions of pounds into the environment, and the data shows that this is growing worse. By 2025, plastic waste from all the world's countries could double. To understand this more and maybe look to solutions, researchers at the University or Georgia believe it's just as important to know where this plastic is coming from. Graphs from their findings indicate that China is by far the worst offender out of all the countries contributing to the trashy remains entering our oceans.

Human DNA was used by Duke University researchers to increase brain size for a little mouse embryo. The amazing part is that past efforts have met with failure. The reason for their success could be that they started with many possible sequences involved in early human brain development, and shortened the list by excluding unlikely candidates to arrive at a perfect match, HARE5. The sequence from the human DNA was implanted in an embryo and yielded striking results, which can be seen in blue because of an additional reporter gene that was added. It's freaky stuff, but it's only the beginning, co-authors of the study are saying.

Following after Apple, General Motors is seeking renewable energy to power its facilities. GM hopes wind energy can both serve as a fine enough replacement for their operations, and convince the crowd that they care for the environment. Planned to be built in Mexico later this year, their complex/factory will use 34 megawatts generated from 17 wind turbines, a feat that will erase thousands of tons of co2 emissions from the atmosphere, annually. Their largest power purchase to date, GM announced that this deal would get them on the right track in fulfilling their goal of 125 MW by 2020.

The Tesla "Gigafactory" that will provide the batteries for company vehicles just had some initial funding as Tesla threw 50 million dollars into the pile. This is small when compared to their $5 billion goal, but notable ally Panasonic might help pull it off with their large contributions. The factory's completion date is 2018, and the main reason for its construction will be to supply Tesla's forthcoming line of vehicles with lithium ion batteries. By doubling the world's supply of these batteries, Tesla can sell the model 3 for an estimated 35 grand while still retaining the long-ish range of its predecessor.