But the actual streams themselves may have persisted on the surface for long periods, said Curiosity science co-investigator Bill Dietrich of the University of California, Berkeley.

BBC: Curiosity Mars rover beams images of ancient streambed

"It's correlating the increasing intensity in different bands that provides really important clues about the structure of the source, " Prof Madejski - a co-investigator on the NuStar X-ray telescope, told BBC News.

BBC: Blazar Markarian 421's flare-up is cosmic coincidence

On the academic side, the ISTC-EC co-principal investigator is CMU Associate Professor Priya Narasimhan.

FORBES: Intel Invests For Everyone's Future

Since there are new uses but not new space, planning is necessary, said Charles Ehler, another co-principal investigator at the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

CNN: Governments trying to reel in 'ocean sprawl'

Internationally, several European countries, including Denmark, Belgium, the United Kingdom and France, are pioneering the new field, said Fanny Douvere, a co-principal investigator at UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

CNN: Governments trying to reel in 'ocean sprawl'

The Intel-side co-principal investigator, Mei Chen, has been in research at Intel and elsewhere for more than a decade, and has most recently focused on detailed medical image analysis and visual-collection management and navigation.

FORBES: Intel Invests For Everyone's Future

Last March, following accusations by independent bloggers in Japan and Germany, the American Heart Association (AHA) issued an Expression of Concern about five papers published in AHA journals co-authored by the chief investigator of the Kyoto Heart Study, Hiroaki Matsubara, who was a prominent cardiologist and researcher at Kyoto Prefectural University in Japan.

FORBES: Two Retractions For Embattled Chief Investigator Of Kyoto Heart Study

Graubard, a senior investigator at the NIH's National Cancer Institute and co-author of the JAMA paper.

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