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SpinCam: High-Gravity (100G) Camera

An anonymous reader writes "Centrifuge-cameras began exploration of genetic changes at the extremes of high gravity-- in the only animal with a completely sequenced gene library. Students at Harvey Mudd designed the 100G camera, Stanford is doing the gene array and NASA is spinning the 1 millimeter worms that are the model system for how to adapt and survive 100-times your terrestrial weight. Accelerated aging and slowed DNA repair are just two biological consequences of gravity changes. The Japanese (NASDA) are building the space station centrifuge for 2006. What other garden-variety objects can be photographed in that kind of ultra-spindryer?"

5 of 21 comments (clear)

  1. "accelerated aging" by Unknown+Poltroon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A lot of the science fiction stories i read speak of living longer in zero/low g, since obviously theres less strain on most of the systems of the body. I wonder if this is finally evidence for this fun idea?

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  2. Whoops by greenhide · · Score: 3, Funny

    Oh, this was an experiment?

    quickly removes wet laundry

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  3. Re:Excuse me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    From the same article: C. elegans is currently the only animal with a fully-sequenced genome, and DNA microarrays are available that contain nearly every one of the 19,000 genes in the C. elegans genome. Those microarrays don't contain the human genome, and the human genome has great uncertainties and gaps.

  4. Re:stupid engineering? by Suidae · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm not an engineer, but I'm curious why it took them a year to develop the camera. Seems like the most they'd have to do is pot the thing in epoxy and plug it in. Maybe they built the thing one evening then spent the rest of the year putting off writing the documentation?

  5. I'm surprised by wizarddc · · Score: 3, Funny

    I don't understand why they need to run these tests. Why don't they just watch Dragonball? Goku trained in 100x gravity, and his power level skyrocketed. Aren't they worried about these worms becoming Super Saiyin?

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