In this elections-themed video, voting system engineer David Bismark talk about a new way for clean electronic voting that preserves identities, protects privacies, and targets tinkering.

Biola University professor Matt Weathers brings a brand new bowlful of tricky treats to his annual Halloween-themed "Nature of Math" class.

A presentation of the shape-shifting, weight-shifting future of the cell phone.

The gang at the UA Controlled Environment Agriculture Center have made progress on their lunar greenhouse.

I wrote about their South Pole greenhouse and their lunar ambitions here.

Now the UA's Ed Stiles tells us more:

The first extraterrestrials to inhabit the moon probably won't be little green men, but they could be little green plants.

Researchers at the University of Arizona Controlled Environment Agriculture Center, known as CEAC, are demonstrating that plants from Earth could be grown hydroponically (without soil) on the moon or Mars, setting the table for astronauts who would find potatoes, peanuts, tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables awaiting their arrival.

The research team has built a prototype lunar greenhouse in the CEAC Extreme Climate Lab at UA's Campus Agricultural Center. It represents the last 18 feet of one of several tubular structures that would be part of a proposed lunar base. The tubes would be buried beneath the moon's surface to protect the plants and astronauts from deadly solar flares, micrometeorites and cosmic rays.

The membrane-covered module can be collapsed

From the press release:

David Rajter, Field producer for X-Ray Earth said “When we were first developing the program Biosphere 2 was at the top of the list as a location that we must shoot at. As far as technology there is nothing else like Biosphere 2 on earth, in terms of scale, diversity and the type of science that is done here. After nearly 20 years it is uniquely suited to help us better understand our changing planet. "

The rest of the press release is after the jump:

• NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

A new batch of photos from the UA's HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available here.

HiRISE team member Kelly Kolb tells us about the above shot:

A northern mid-latitude scene consisting of craters, intercrater plains, and mantled material is visible in this HiRISE image.

The mantled material seen here covers much of the middle latitudes in both hemispheres of Mars; it has been visibly removed in some locations. It's called "mantled" because it looks as if

Daniel Stolte, science writer for UA Communications, tells us:

For years, researchers worldwide have attempted to create genetically altered mosquitoes that cannot infect humans with malaria. Those efforts fell short because the mosquitoes still were capable of transmitting the disease-causing pathogen, only in lower numbers.

Now for the first time, University of Arizona entomologists have succeeded in genetically altering mosquitoes in a way that renders them completely immune to the parasite, a single-celled organism called Plasmodium. Someday researchers hope to replace wild mosquitoes with lab-bred
populations unable to act as vectors, i.e. transmit the malaria-causing parasite.

"If you want to effectively stop the spreading of the malaria parasite, you need mosquitoes that are no less than 100 percent resistant to it. If a single parasite slips through and infects a human, the whole approach will be doomed to fail," said Michael Riehle, who led the

• NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

The UA Lunar and Planetary Lab has posted a new batch of photos taken by the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Check ’em out here.

HiRISE team member Maria Banks tells us:

This observation is a view of the sand dune field in Richardson Crater covered with seasonal frost.

The subimage is a close-up view (1 MB) of defrosting patterns on the dunes. The frost is a combination of frozen carbon dioxide and some water ice that covers

• NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

The UA's HiRISE team has posted new snapshots of Mars here.

HiRISE team member Sharon Wilson tells us about the above photo:

This observation is a candidate landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover—named Curiosity—to be launched in 2011.

One of the main science objectives for MSL at this location is to examine deposits containing different types of clay minerals along the banks of Mawrth Vallis.

Reusable grocery bags can be a breeding ground for dangerous food-borne bacteria and pose a serious risk to public health, according to a joint food-safety research report issued today by the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University in California.

The research study — which randomly tested reusable grocery bags carried by shoppers in Tucson, Los Angeles and San Francisco — also found consumers were almost completely unaware of the need to regularly wash their bags.

"Our findings suggest a serious threat to public health, especially from coliform bacteria including E. coli, which were detected in half of the bags sampled," said Charles Gerba, a UA professor of soil, water and environmental science and co-author of the study. "Furthermore, consumers are alarmingly unaware of these risks and the critical need to sanitize their bags on a weekly basis."

Bacteria levels found in reusable bags were significant enough to cause a wide range of serious health problems and even death. They are a particular danger for young children, who are especially vulnerable to