Race for the red planet

Humans may already inhabit Mars by 2035 when NASA envisions its first manned mission there. The race for the red planet is on as private organizations vie to be the first to put a human footprint on Martian soil.

NASA officials announced in August that they will proceed with development of the new Space Launch System (SLS) designed to carry astronauts to the moon, asteroids, and Mars. The 143-ton lift capability of the SLS will make it the most powerful rocket in history. It will also be one of the most expensive, with a baseline cost of $7.021 billion.

Some private organizations, like the Netherlands-based, not-for-profit Mars One Foundation, believe they can put humans on Mars sooner and without the use of taxpayer money. Mars One has an ambitious plan to establish a permanent human settlement on the planet in 2024.

In May of this year, Mars One announced the selection of 353 potential candidates, chosen from 200,000 applicants for the one-way trip to Mars. The company’s mission plan calls for crew training to begin in 2015, followed by establishment of the first Martian outpost, accomplished by use of a rover, in 2023. The first crew of four will leave Earth a year later. New recruits will join the settlement every two years.

The Inspiration Mars Foundation has a target launch date of Jan. 5, 2018, to send two Americans—one man and one woman—to fly within 100 miles of the planet and then return to Earth.

The privately funded California Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, SpaceX, hopes to send a person to Mars and back sometime in the next 10 years.

Later learners

School start times don’t allow teens to get enough sleep, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said in an Aug. 25 statement.

The AAP recommends that middle and high schools delay their start times to no earlier than 8:30 a.m., or a time that allows students to get the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep per night. Schools need to take average commute times into consideration in determining appropriate start times, the AAP said. An estimated 40 percent of high schools in the United States have start times before 8 a.m., and 20 percent of middle schools start at 7:45 a.m. or earlier.

Simply instituting earlier bedtimes won’t solve the problem because the biological sleep-wake cycles of adolescents begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty, making it difficult for many teens to fall asleep earlier than 11 p.m.

“The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life,” lead author of the policy statement, Judith Owens, said.

Causes of teen lack of sleep also include homework, extracurricular activities, after-school jobs, and technology use. The AAP encourages parents to enforce a media curfew. —J.B.

Hypoallergenic peanuts

Good news for the 2.8 million Americans who are allergic to peanuts. Researchers at North Carolina A&T State University discovered a way to treat peanuts with enzymes that reduce protein allergens by 98-100 percent. The hypoallergenic peanuts may also be used by doctors to build up a patient’s resistance to peanut allergens.

The discovery is important because the increased use of peanuts in food products makes it difficult for allergic individuals to avoid accidental exposure. The research also shows promise for reducing allergens in other tree nuts and in wheat. —J.B.