TOULOUSE, France (UPI) — The European Space Agency said it has cleared the Jules Verne spacecraft to proceed with the first automated docking with the International Space Station. The event is scheduled for 10:41 a.m. EDT Thursday. Wednesday’s official go-ahead followed two flawless Monday tests during which the automated transfer vehicle proved its operational capabilities. […]

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BERKELEY, Calif. (UPI) — U.S. and Chinese scientists say they’ve found a hormone called insulin-like growth factor directs nerve connection formation in an area of the brain. IGF had formerly been known only to stimulate the growth of cells throughout the body but the new study showed it also plays a critical role in establishing […]

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MONTREAL (UPI) — A team of Canadian and French researchers said it has identified a gene responsible for a significant fraction of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases. ALS — commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease — is an incurable neuromuscular disorder. Researchers at the University of Montreal and Waterloo and Laval Universities in Canada, along […]

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What was writings on blindness taboo? After Helen Keller graduated magna cum laude from Radcliffe College in 1904, she began writing about blindness, a subject taboo in women’s magazines because so many cases were related to venereal disease. How many types of flatfish are there? Flatfishes form a unique and widespread group that includes about […]

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