Astronaut's wait over as daughter born back home

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer - Sun Nov 22, 2009 7:19AM EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -
Astronaut Randolph Bresnik is a new dad again, after launching into space and taking a spacewalk, all the for first time.
He announced the birth of his daughter, Abigail, on Sunday morning on NASA's airwaves.


His wife, Rebecca, gave birth to their second child back home in Houston on Saturday at 11:04 p.m. Central Time. They have a 3-year-old son, adopted from Ukraine.
Bresnik said both mama and baby are doing very well.
"Very thankful for everyone there at Mission Control and everywhere else at NASA that's been so supportive and essentially so helpful the last couple days with everything that's been going on," he said.
Mission Control responded with "heartfelt congratulations."

"Thanks for recognizing the significant accomplishments on Earth that happened while you guys were working hard on your challenging mission in orbit," Mission Control said.

The 42-year-old Marine installed antennas and other equipment outside the International Space Station on Saturday, while eagerly awaiting his daughter's birth. Mrs. Bresnik was due to deliver Friday, but the day came and went, as did most of the next. The astronaut received the news privately in orbit.
Mrs. Bresnik, an attorney who specializes in international law at Johnson Space Center, said before the flight that she was "a little disappointed" her husband would not be present for the birth, but understood.
"We don't choose the timing," she said in an interview that was broadcast by NASA following the birth announcement. "He's trained one year for this mission but really he's been here five, almost six years. I'm just really excited for him and excited for us."

She said their son is eager to be a big brother.
This is only the second time a NASA astronaut has become a new father while in orbit. In 2004, space station resident Mike Fincke welcomed the birth of his second child, also a girl.
The shuttle astronauts were awakened Sunday by the song "Butterfly Kisses." Mrs. Bresnik chose it for her husband. Among the lyrics: "There's two things I know for sure/She was sent here from heaven and she's daddy's little girl."

Sunday was mostly a day off for the seven shuttle fliers and five space station residents, giving Bresnik time to savor the baby experience. He will venture back out on another spacewalk Monday.
Atlantis will remain docked at the space station until Wednesday. The shuttle will return to Earth on Friday. Mrs. Bresnik will not be on hand for the touchdown.

On the Net:
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission(underscore)pages/shuttle/news/index.html

Electric Fish Equipped With 'dimmer' Switch

Fish that generates electric fields to navigate, fight and attract mates are equipped with a dimmer switch of sorts that can turn their signals to save energy, a new study finds.


Electric fish, such as some sharks and eels, emit weak electrical signals from a battery like organ in their tails. The fish studies, called Sternopygus macrurus, are active at night and must avoid predators, such as catfish, that can sense their electric feild.

Generating such impulses can be ergetically costly.

Now, researchers have located a dimmer switch in the membranes of cells called electrolytes within this electric organ. The switch takes a form of sodium channels that the fish can insert and remove from the electrolytes membranes. More sodium channels mean a stronger electric impulse.

The fish can turn their electric bursts up or down at a moment's notice. That's likely because a reservoir of sodium channels is stored in the electric cells. When serotonin is released in the fish brain, it initiates the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone from the pituitary gland, This triggers the mechanism that puts more sodium channels in the membrane.
"This is happening within a matter of two or three minutes," said study researcher Michael Markham of the University of Texas at Austin. " The mahinery is there to make this dramatic remodeling of the cell, and it does so within minutes from the time that some sort of stimulus is introduced in the environment."

When the fish are inactive, they remove the sodium channels from the cell membranes to reduce the intensity of the electric impulse.

"By adding new ion channels to the electrolyte membrane only during periods of activity or social encounters and removing these channels during inactive periods, these animals can save energy and reduce predation risks associated with communication," the researchers write in Sept. 29 issue of the journal PloS Biology.

Source: Sun Star Post Friday, October 2, 2009