It’s time once again to review the wacky world of science. Much has transpired since the last update.

NASA may do more probing

NASA and the European Space Agency are making plans to launch two probes that will help answer scientists questions about the past and future of the universe. NASA plans to launch the Microwave Anisotropy Probe in the year 2000, to be followed by the ESA’s COBRAS/SAMBA mission in 2004.

Both probes will measure with high accuracy the cosmic background radiation, residual energy left over from the Big Bang that gave birth to the universe. Scientists hope to use the information obtained from the probes to determine the density of the universe and whether the universe will expand forever, or eventually collapse at the end of time.

Socks are optional

British scientists have come up with a robotic “sweaty foot” to help refine the manufacture of boots and shoes. During activity, the average pair of feet can fill a soft drink can with sweat, scientists say. The robotic foot is filled with a network of tubes and a reservoir of water. It can be controlled to sweat in different ways in order to account for differences between people.

Sour grapes

This year’s French wines may not be very good. A fungus, Eutypa armenica, has been ravaging grape vines in France. Cabernet, Sauvignon, Cinsault and Ugni blanc grapes have been hardest hit by the fungus, which is resistant to every known fungicide. In the Cognac region of France it is estimated that nearly half the grape vines are affected.

The Tyrannosaurus blue jay

In China a fossil discovery may be the “missing link” for birds in helping scientists determine if birds came from dinosaurs. Sinosauropteryx prima, as the fossil creature is called, is clearly a dinosaur, scientists say. But the small creature seems to be partly covered in down feathers, which are not suited for flight.

If the creature is an ancestor of birds, it is probably not an ancestor of Archaeopteryx, the most well-known bird-like dinosaur (or dinosaur-like bird). Sinosauropteryx appears to be related to a different family of dinosaurs, the compsognaths, rather than Archaeopteryx (which are related to dromeosaurs).

Gulf War syndrome investigation continues

According to a report from the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., a lack of reliable record- keeping in the U.S. Military is hampering efforts to determine if the so-called Gulf War syndrome really exists. Inadequate record keeping, stated the report, has made it hard to determine simple facts like where troops served, what chemicals they were exposed to, and what inoculations and drugs they received.

Cholesterol may be useful

Cholesterol, the despised molecule that has been linked to heart disease, has been found to be crucial to embryonic development, at least in mice and fruit flies. In the fruit fly, developmental molecules must bind to cholesterol in order to function properly, said scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Scientists already know that cholesterol is involved in other important biological functions, like hormone production and maintaining healthy cell membranes. .