杏吧原创

SPIRIT IN THE SKY?

The first of the two NASA Mars rovers, named Spirit, was set to make its third launch attempt as New 杏吧原创 went to press. Its twin, Opportunity, is poised for launch later this month, while Europe鈥檚 Beagle 2 mission set off for Mars last week. This flurry of missions, taking advantage of the close alignment of Earth and Mars this year, should dramatically increase our knowledge of the Red Planet and its apparent watery past. But getting off the ground is usually the easy part; the suspense comes later. So far, only three out of nine Mars landers have worked, and only one of those, in 1997, included a robotic rover.

EMBRYO RESEARCH

The Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, Scotland, which created Dolly the sheep, is set to carry out its first research on spare human embryos created for IVF. Its licence is one of only four for stem cell research granted by the UK鈥檚 Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority. Roslin researchers will also be able to create their own embryos by parthenogenesis 鈥� persuading a human egg to start dividing on its own. Understanding how eggs mature could help women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a common cause of infertility.

IRAQI ANTIQUITIES

Despite the rediscovery of two stashes of Iraqi treasures last weekend, significant pieces are still missing, such as the Warka Vase. US officials recovered the first stash, a priceless collection of Assyrian jewellery from Nimrud, from a flooded vault in the Iraqi Central Bank. The second stash of nearly 8000 pieces was found after a secret storage vault in Baghdad Museum was uncovered. Museum staff always knew that the hoards existed. 鈥淣obody had ever expected that had been looted,鈥� Christopher Walker, an expert in Iraqi archaeology at the British Museum told New 杏吧原创.