The International Space Station, with its two-man crew (one American, one Russian) is losing cabin pressure, meaning it may have sprung a leak after recently being hit by a piece of space junk. So far, there are no plans to abandon the ISS, since NASA says the leak is small and is “having no impact on station operations and the crew is in no danger.”
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There are plenty of people who dislike the traditional idea of being buried in a graveyard. They usually opt for cremation, and ask that their ashes be scattered in a particular place. Now they can be sent into space. And you can now send final emails to your friends after you’re dead.
In 1997, Celestis launched Timothy Leary’s ashes into space and in April, they are sending the remains of 150 others into space on the Russian Kosmos 1 satellite. The containers will orbit the Earth for approximately 156 years, then re-enter the atmosphere, burning up along the way. This costs between $1,000 and $5,000, depending on the amount of ashes contained in the capsule.
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There are lot more Danes around that you think?Danish genes that is. Cyros International, the world’s biggest sperm bank, is located in Denmark and has just opened a branch in New York City.
Elinor Schang writes in Reuters that Cyros has three donation centers in Denmark and donors, mostly students, are paid $40.50 for each donation. However, only about 10% of the donations are of high enough quality to be used.
On the Cyros website, childless couples can look at photos of about 250 donors (listed under aliases) so they can find someone who looks like them. Soon Cyros will accept donations from Indian, Asian and African men.
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The growing number of small and single-person households is creating huge climate problems. Researcher Jan Kooijman says this is because each household needs many essential items that would otherwise be shared. These range from disposable items, like toothpaste, to larger items, like TVs and furniture. The production of each item releases greenhouse gases into the air.
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