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The Spacecraft Mars Express of the European Space Agency orbiting our planetary neighbor since 2003, detected a 1,500 liquid water lake under the ice Martian, reports an article published in the magazine Science this week.
It is an underground aquifer 20 kilometers wide, very cold, with about 75 degrees below zero and that is full of salts, an unlikely habitat for life. But the discovery will surely intensify the search for other aquifers that might be more hospitable.
The presence of liquid water was detected with the Mars advanced underground radar and ionosphere sounding (MARSIS) of the space probe, after exploring the polar ice caps of the red planet.
For 30 years this possibility has been suspected, but it has not been proven until now.
The probe examined the region of Planum Austral and collected information between May 2012 and December 2015, which showed the presence of vital fluid in the form of "abnormally bright underground reflections".
The MARSIS sent radar pulses that penetrate the surface and icecaps of the planet, and the data obtained gave a profile similar to that of the liquid water lakes that are under the Antarctic ice sheets and Greenland Earth, suggesting that there is a subglacial lake in this Martian region.
Despite the discovery of liquid water – a necessary condition for assuming the existence of life as we know it in other places outside the Earth does not automatically mean that one can deduce the presence of a living organism, since the localized water is a kind of brine impossible to live as far as we know. Too salty and too cold.
The water dissolved magnesium, calcium and sodium that are known to be present in the rocks of Mars; this is aggravated by the pressure of the superimposed ice, which reduces the freezing point and allows the lake to remain liquid at less than 75 degrees below zero.
It is believed that water flowed through the surface of Mars thousands of millions of years ago, when its atmosphere was thick and warm, leaving channels still visible. But today, because of low atmospheric pressures, all surface water evaporates.
In polar regions of the Earth, ice pressure covers its melting point and geothermal heat warms it from below to create subglacial lakes. But there is little heat in the interior of Mars, geologically dead, and under the slight gravity of the planet.
Smartphones and Tablets Reduce Academic Performance
Students Get Less Results in Exams According to a study published today in the journal Educational Psychology the end of the quarter, if they are allowed to access an electronic device, such as a phone or tablet, for non-academic purposes. conducted by researchers from Rutgers University from the United States conducted an experiment to assess whether the division of attention between electronic devices and the teacher during classes affected the performance of students, and the results showed that the use of the phone and / or tablet harms the learning environment, both individually and in a group.
The researchers analyzed 11 8 students in cognitive psychology from Rutgers University during a period of their coursework. Laptops, phones and tablets were banned in half of the classes and allowed in the other half.
The study found that having a device did not lower student results on comprehension tests in courses, but it influenced the lowest scores at the university. End-of-semester exam, at least 5%.
This finding shows for the first time that the main effect of attention divided into class is the assignment in the long-term retention. In addition, when the use of electronic devices was allowed in the classroom, the performance affected both those who used the devices and those who did not use them.
"These results should alert the many dedicated students and instructors that Divided Attention has an insidious effect that is detrimental to your exam performance and final grade," notes the study.
help manage the use of devices in the classroom, teachers should explain to students the harmful effect of distractions on retention, not only for them, but for the whole class.
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