The main body of the crater appears in the upper right of this panorama, with the far side of the crater lying about 800 meters (half a mile) away. Bracketing that part of the view are two promontories on the crater's rim at either side of Duck Bay.

They are "Cape Verde," about 6 meters (20 feet) tall, on the left, and "Cabo Frio," about 15 meters (50 feet) tall, on the right. The rest of the image, other than sky and portions of the rover, is ground within Duck Bay.

High resolution JPEG (26Mb) is available here.

Source: NASA

A new research by Johns Hopkins University suggests that an earlier exposure to some pollutants can cause harm that shows up only years later, according to media reports Monday.

    Sharp cuts in environmental lead levels more than 20 years ago didn't stop its widespread effects, said the researcher.

    "We're trying to offer a caution that a portion of what has been called normal aging might in fact be due to ubiquitous environmental exposures like lead," said Dr. Brian Schwartz of Johns Hopkins University.

    Animal studies showed that infant mice exposed to chemicals took on very subtle effects in young adulthood. But more dramatic harm in areas like movement and learning appeared when they reached old age.

    Researchers contributed this prolonged effect to the fact that when some brain cells are destroyed in early life, the brain draws on its reserve capacity until it loses more cells with aging hence symptoms like forgetfulness or tremors appear.

    Other pollutants like mercury and pesticides may do the same thing, said Schwartz.

    The long-delayed effects have also been found in tobacco and asbestos which can lead to cancer.

• Lead information: http://www.epa.gov/lead/index.html

An important step has been taken in the quest to create a synthetic lifeform.

A US team reports in Science magazine how it built the entire DNA code of a common bacterium in the laboratory using blocks of genetic material.

The group hopes eventually to use engineered genomes to make organisms that can produce clean fuels and take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Publication of the research gives others the chance to scrutinise it. Some have ethical concerns.

It sets the stage for what we hope is going to be a new approach to engineering organisms.

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