A lot is happening in the world around us. And in space above us. And inside the mice that scientists used to grow human blood vessels. Neat-o! Dork. What's the latest this week in the world of science? Check it out in this week's Science Weekend Warrior!

In a recent study involving 740 pregnant women in the UK, it was concluded that there's a real correlation between what mothers eat and what the gender of their kids are. Carbohydrates, sugars, and other high-energy compounds yields boys, experts say.

The Ebola virus is a fearful strain. Humans have a mortality rate of 90% with the virus. The threat of the virus was so great that it even became the model for the fictional virus used in the 1995 film "Outbreak." However, scientists are making fast progress in finding a vaccine to protect against it. Details in the full article.

Eyespots on butterfly and moth wings protect them from predators by mimicking bigger animal eyes. that's been the popular belief, but lately, a team of English scientists have challenged that notion. They say that "visual loudness" and not eyespots make the difference. Details on the full article.

Remember the news about the satellite that the US lost contact with back in late January? Well, someone believes that it might be harmful to denizens of planet Earth once it re-enters after all. The Pentagon's top brass that think shooting it down is the best way to stop NROL-21, the recon satellite, from burning up in the atmosphere and releasing its poisonous rocket fuel.

*UPDATE*: They're gonna shoot it. And they've probably launched now!

In a recent study showing the decline of the wild salmon population, ecologists are sending out an SOS (Save our Salmon... okay, that was a bad pun) alert to the fish-farming industry to try and halt the possible extinction of the once abundant fish population.

Check out the full article after the jump!

We've seen global warming rear its ugly head in ways that run from in the subtle to the stark in recent years. A recent report, however, suggests that the Pentagon's Northern defense strategy may be put into compromise by the planetary crisis. Find out what's happening to NORAD radars up in Alaska and Canada in the detailed version.

Astronomers have discovered what appears to be a neutron star in Earth's neighborhood. The star has been nicknamed Calvera - after the bad guy in the 1960s western film The Magnificent Seven - and was first noticed by Robert Rutlidge of McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

With help from NASA's Swift satellite, the dead star's position was pinpointed more accurately. The Swift observations showed that the dead star wasn't associated with any known astronomical object, branding it as an isolated neutron star. If confirmed, it will be the eighth isolated neutron star, joining seven others that have already been discovered.

According to BBC News, the term "isolated neutron star" refers to a neutron star that "does not have an associated supernova remnant, binary companion, or radio pulsations". Calvera's exact type has yet to be determined, and Dr Rutledge has said that "either Calvera is an unusual example of a known type of neutron star, or it is some new type of neutron star, the first of its kind".

America is now ranked 41 in the world in terms of life expectancy. This downward trend has been a continuing problem for the country considering that it used to be at number 11 in the world chart 20 years ago.

According to data from the Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics, a person born during 2004 will live to be around 77.9 years old.

The head of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington Dr. Christopher Murray is particularly disturbed by the decline in the rankings stating that "something's wrong here when one of the richest countries in the world, the one that spends the most on health care, is not able to keep up with other countries."

Researchers attribute the drop to different reasons. What could be considered one of, if not the biggest factor, is the fact that 45 million Americans lack health insurance. This is pretty bad compared to Canada and European countries which both have universal health care for their citizens.

If America wants to climb the rankings once again, Murray had a few suggestions such as getting improved access to health insurance and changing our policymakers' priorities to focus more on methods of reducing lung and heart disease as well as cancer.

In addition to this, movements to control blood pressure, regulate blood sugar, reduce tobacco use, as well as reduce cholesterol will definitely have an impact in increasing our life expectancies. 

It now becomes a question of feasibility and implementation. A sustainable long term plan is needed to stop this downward spiral. The people governing America will have to take a long hard look at suggestions from experts like Doctor Murray and see what can be done to implement it in the most efficient manner as possible.

Sending men to the moon is a tall order, so NASA is being extra careful with its plans to send astronauts back there by 2020. Plans to establish a lunar outpost are being drawn up, and information is vital if we're ever going to make it happen.

To make sure that all is calculated and that minimum risks are taken, astronomers in the agency are going to send lunar robots to "scout" ahead of their masters ti survey the shadowy parts of the Earth's lone satellite. Though they're not alive, these machines need some preparation, too so NASA took them on a field test.
 
Scientists needed a place which can best simulate a trek on the lunar surface, so they had to pick one very carefully. Deserts were the prime candidates, but the one chosen isn't a place where you'd guess it would be: The frigid Arctic Circle.

According to NASA, a place called the Haughton Crater in Devon Island, Canada is the ideal place to go. It has a dry, rocky desert about 6.4 miles in radius and has a spot called Drill Hill which is similar in features to some lunar landing sites. The cold weather also simulates conditions in shadowy parts of the moon where temperatures drop to unearthly lows.

The robots are called K10 Red and K10 Black. They're similar in structure to small lunar rovers and they weigh about 160 pounds. They're equipped with high-tech laser sensors, GPS, cameras and terrain-penetrating radar to guide it and facilitate data collection. It can carry 110 pounds worth of samples in case lunar debris are required to be taken in.

Plans are also set to have these robots employed for the long term study of the moon. Even as humans make their way back to the moon, they will still be assisted by these robots which will serve as advance units in exploring uncharted parts. NASA's astronomers say that the images that the robots will bring home should be very crisp in high-resolution 3D.