The moment you read this, volcanic eruptions could be happening on Venus.

Planetary astronomers have been debating whether Venus is or was geologically active, and whether the geologic hotspots previous missions saw mean that Venus is one of the few places in the solar system to have experienced volcanism. Now, according to data from the European Space Agency’s Venus Express mission, there’s every reason to believe that Venus not only has been geologically active and volcanic during its lifetime, but also might still be today, according to Jörn Helbert, coauthor of the study in Science. “The solidified lava flows, which radiate heat from the surface, seem hardly weathered. So we can conclude that they are younger than 2.5 million years old — and the majority are probably younger than 250,000 years…. In geological terms, this means that they are practically from the present day” [Wired.com].

Previous maps of Venus showed features that looked like large shield volcanoes, such as Hawaii’s Kilauea and Mauna Loa. Some of these rise roughly a mile above the surrounding plain and have rise diameters that span more than 1,600 miles [Christian Science Monitor]. And gravity measurements suggested large pools of magma lie beneath the surface of these formations. For this study, the Venus Express measured the composition of the surface materials near these hotspots, and found just the concentration of iron-bearing materials you’d expect from from volcanism. The researchers then used that chemical composition to estimate how long the material had been exposed to the conditions on Venus’ surface. The answer? The blink of an eye, in geologic terms.

Study coauthor Suzanne Smrekar says it’s even possible that scientists spotted a volcanic eruption on Venus last July, when a mysterious bright spot was seen in the Venusian atmosphere. Smrekar and several of her colleagues are following up on this event to see if a volcanic eruption from one of these hotspots coincides with the spot and could feasibly explain it. If so, then that link could serve as further evidence that Venus’ volcanoes are still active. “We’re kind of going from warm, warmer, warmest to maybe really hot,” Smrekar said [MSNBC].

Besides the thrill that Venus could be geologically alive, the possibility of ongoing volcanic activity could help to clear up a mystery about the planet. One need only look up at the cratered moon on a clear night to be reminded that the inner solar system has endured periods of heavy asteroid bombardment. But Venus, our probes have shown, is not a particularly puckered place, so somehow it must have been resurfaced. Because Venus lacks the water that’s apparently necessary for plate tectonics, the most likely explanation for Venus’ smoother surface (and also how heat escapes its interior) is through volcanic eruptions.

Helbert and colleagues plan to try to recreate some of the surface conditions of Venus in the lab to test out their ideas. But that might not be the only way to answer the intriguing outlying questions about our sister planet. Future landers could get better measurements of conditions there, which would aid lab experiments that try to mimic weathering processes on the sweltering planet’s surface [MSNBC].

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Image: NASA/JPL/ESA

The standard inkjet printer found in offices around the world is the inspiration for a new medical device that can help patients with severe burns. Researchers at Wake Forest University rigged up a device that can spray skin cells directly onto a burn victim’s wounds, and animal trials showed that the treatment healed wounds quickly and safely. The team says this printing method could be an improvement over traditional skin grafts, which often leave serious scars.

The researchers explain that the device is mounted in a frame that can be wheeled over a patient in a hospital bed. A laser then takes a reading of the wound’s size and shape so that a layer of healing cells can be precisely applied, Reuters reports.

“We literally print the cells directly onto the wound,” said student Kyle Binder, who helped design the device. “We can put specific cells where they need to go.”

In the trials, this treatment completely closed wounds in just two weeks. The “bioprinting” device has so far only been tested on mice, but the team will soon try out the technique on pigs, whose skin is similar to that of humans. Eventually, the team expects to request FDA approval for human trials.

For the treatment, the researchers first dissolved human skin cells from pieces of skin, separating out cell types like fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Reuters writes:

They put them in a nutritious solution to make them multiply and then used a system similar to a multicolor office inkjet printer to apply first a layer of fibroblasts and then a layer of keratinocytes, which form the protective outer layer of skin.

The sprayed cells not only worked themselves into the surrounding skin, they were also incorporated into the skin’s hair follicles and sebaceous glands. Researchers say this may have been possible because immature stem cells were mixed in with the sprayed cells.

Binder told Reuters:

“You have to give a lot of credit to the cells. When you put them into the wound, they know what to do.”

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DISCOVER: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About… Skin
Discoblog: The Body Electric: Turn Your Skin Into a Touchscreen With “Skinput”
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Discoblog: You Got Burned! Wristband Warns Wearers of Impending Sunburn

Image: Epson

The podcast "Are We Alone" is a great weekly ‘cast from the SETI Institute, and this week’s episode has Seth Shostak and me discussing the nonsense about Iraq using bomb-detecting dowsing rods (here’s a direct download of the MP3). These magic wands do not work, and their use has allowed cars loaded with bombs through checkpoints in the Middle East. This is a direct example of how magical, antiscientific thinking can do real harm, resulting in dangerous situations and even deaths… hundreds of them.