Author Archives: Igor Mitreski

Drawn from the Cantina: The Intriguing Sounds of the Star Wars Underworld | Culture

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk into a sweaty, dusty club on a desert planet from Star Wars? What would be played on the radio in a casino on a planet like Las Vegas? What do Tatooine’s merchants and villains listen to when they’re not working on moisture farms or fighting off Tusken Raiders? Cody Matthew Johnson’s life these past few years has been spent pondering such questions. The composer and artist has previously worked in video game music, including Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, Bayonetta, and the cult indie Akira Kurosawa’s sidescroller Trek to Yomi. Surely is credited to. However, in Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws, he was tasked with creating music for a shady criminal organization.

“While the scope of musical expression within the world was limited in the original trilogy, this was an opportunity to legitimately explore the music of the time on a broader scale,” Johnson said. It was offered for his work in The Outlaws. “Creating bar music in the style of the original trilogy has its own set of ‘rules’, and while this game is certainly set in that era, we have was only encouraged. slightly Inspired by the cantina music from the original trilogy.”

We’re all familiar with John Williams’ 1977 Cantina Band music (unfortunately, the genre was commonly known as “jazz”), but it’s mainstream. Matthew Johnson digs deeper, exploring the dirt under the fingernails of Star Wars dunces and getting a real feel for the culture of those forgotten by the Empire and too demoralized to join the Rebellion. There was a need. He had to make different music for a world we were already familiar with.

Cody Matthew Johnson, composer, songwriter, producer of Star Wars Outlaws Photo: Knocking Bird

“The galaxy is vast, typically with thousands (some say millions) of planets, and the last 40 years of in-universe music have only scratched the surface of the possibilities., was not only about the main character Kay Vess and what she listens to, but also the underworld subcultures she exists in, such as Toshara, Akiba, Tatooine, and Kijimi. Not only music, but also music. created By that subculture.”

The result is a full album’s worth of tracks, over an hour long, and more than 10% of all diegetic or “in-universe” Star Wars music ever created. To my ears, Songs from the Underworld has elements of ELO, Bonobo, Snarky Puppy, Kraftwerk, and Ry Cooder. It bounces between genres and utilizes weird and wonderful instrumentation. Matthew Johnson is just as happy to use the didgeridoo as he is the guitar, which is not surprising considering he is a trained ethnomusicologist.

“All kinds of sounds, textures and instruments were on the table: spider monkeys, seals, vintage carbon phone microphones, cimbalom, yair tambour, furushi, shakuhachi, gamelan arranged on a drum set…” he says of this Maxima. Let’s talk about rhythm. “I searched every nook and cranny for inspiration to best represent these worlds, and every once in a while, I heard the sounds of gamelan, trash cans, didgeridoos, and kazoos being smashed together.” Just right For the outlaws of Star Wars.”

Matthew Johnson was “making it hard on himself” to avoid having “funny alien music” playing in every den of scum and villains where the player controls Kay Vess. He seriously considered and thought about the sounds of instruments within the world that the inhabitants of these worlds could physically play. He describes “the tonal elements of different instruments, the emotions and symbolic meanings they evoke, and how they can be combined to create instruments that may have been created or inspired by the world’s natural resources and cultures.” I had to think about whether I could create sound.

“I heard the gamelan, trash can, didgeridoo and kazoo being smashed together.” It’s just right”… Star Wars Outlaws. Photo: Ubisoft

For example, he explains in great detail that the sympathetic, resonant buzz of the sitar, the aggressive attack of the drumsticks of the saz and bouzouki, must be considered in conjunction with the playing style of the nylon-string guitar and charango of flamenco. I’m doing it. All these incredibly special sounds combine to give you a unique melodic instrumental sound that you would get on a desert planet. This is also the case with the track “If These Sands Could Speak.”

To create the collaborative spirit and “all in this together” attitude at the heart of so much alternative underground music, Matthew Johnson needed a band. “The joy of life is being able to collaborate with friends,” he explains. “It was a dream gig for everyone involved in this project, including musicians, engineers and instrument designers.The joy of playing and creating music is something we all share. That’s why we decided to dedicate our lives to this. Projects like Star Wars Outlaws combine my background as a record producer, performing musician, recording artist, and video game composer. , the perfect instrument for making music feel It’s like having a party.”


That’s right. The diegetic music in Star Wars Outlaws complements the equally great original score by Wilbert Roget II, providing some great musical ebbs and flows rarely seen in open-world games. The score is designed to be heard by you, the player. The music on the radio and in the bar is for Kay Vess. I think Outlaws is one of the best examples of how in-game music can add texture and depth, even to a world with as much history and lore as Star Wars.

“‘The Outlaws’ is the perfect vessel to show how music can reveal narrative information without literally conveying it,” says Johnson. “As Kay walks down the hallway and turns a corner, she hears the faint sound of a reverbed subwoofer hitting a kick drum. As she approaches the door at the end of the hallway, more musical elements can be heard. When Kei opens the door, music floods her body, and there’s a band on stage, dancing patrons, dim neon lights, and two stories of fog throughout. An underground nightclub has appeared.

“Even before they arrive at the club, the music, and equally importantly the implementation of music into the game itself, reveals a lot about our setting to the player.”

Songs from the Underworld is one of my favorite albums of the year so far. For me, it gives me a sense of what it’s like to be planetside in Star Wars, what it’s like to actually put yourself in the shoes of characters who live and breathe different atmospheres.

  • Star Wars Outlaws is available now on PS5, Xbox One, and PC. the song of the underworld Available on Spotify.

Source: www.theguardian.com

This Surprising Find in the Universe Could Finally Unlock the Dark Matter Mystery

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Evidence of antimatter in cosmic rays has been discovered by scientists, suggesting the potential existence of a new type of particle. These particles could be a part of dark matter, a mysterious substance that makes up 85 percent of the universe’s mass but has never been directly observed.

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A recent study indicates that antihelium particles, the antimatter form of helium, detected by instruments on the International Space Station may have originated from a new class of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). It is believed that dark matter could be made up of WIMPs.

“WIMP is a theoretical particle that could potentially be a perfect candidate for dark matter,” explained lead author Pedro de la Torre Luque, a physicist supporting research at the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Madrid. “Many proposed models have been ruled out, leaving only a few surviving theories.”

The antihelium core observed during cosmic ray research on the space station’s alpha magnetic spectrometer (AMS-02) may have been the result of two WIMPs colliding and annihilating each other. This collision could have generated matter, antimatter, and energy.

Antimatter is essentially the “mirror image” of normal matter, with the same mass but opposite properties such as charge.

While some antimatter may have been created during the Big Bang, researchers believe that additional antimatter is continuously generated by specific cosmic events, although it is challenging to observe.

“The observation of antihelium was thrilling because it indicates an unusual phenomenon occurring in the interstellar medium, where the production of antiparticles is unexpected,” stated De La Torre Luque.

“Theoretical forecasts suggest that even though cosmic rays interact with interstellar gas to produce antiparticles, the presence of antinuclei, particularly antihelium, should be extremely rare.”

“We anticipated discovering an antihelium event once every few decades, but the approximately 10 antihelium events observed by AMS-02 resulted from standard cosmic ray interactions. Therefore, these antihelium occurrences provide a promising clue to WIMP annihilation.”

Read more:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Research: Bottlenose dolphins communicate through “smiles” during playful interactions

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Play is a widespread behavior in distant species, and its social form relies on complex communication. Playful communication has been largely ignored in marine mammals. In a new study, scientists from the University of Pisa focused on playful visual communication. bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

“We revealed that bottlenose dolphins have a unique facial expression of open mouth, and showed that dolphins can also mirror other people’s facial expressions.” Dr. Elisabetta Palagian evolutionary biologist at the University of Pisa.

“Open-mouth cues and quick imitations are repeated throughout the mammalian family tree. This shows that in many species, not just dolphins, visual communication is important for forming complex social interactions. This suggests that it has played a role.”

Dolphin play includes acrobatics, surfing, playing with objects, chasing and fighting, but it is important that these activities are not mistaken for aggression.

Other mammals use facial expressions to convey playfulness, but it has not been investigated whether marine mammals also use facial expressions to signal play.

“The mouth-opening gesture probably evolved from the chewing motion, breaking down the chewing sequence to leave only the ‘intention to bite’ without contact,” Palagi said.

“The relaxed, open mouth seen in sociable carnivores, the playful faces of monkeys, and even the laughter of humans is a universal sign of playfulness and signals enjoyment to animals, and to us. , helps avoid conflict.”

marieri others. They investigated the presence and possible functions of open-mouth displays in solitary play, interspecific (human-dolphin) play, and intraspecific free play. Image credit: Marieli others., doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110966.

To investigate whether dolphins visually communicate playfulness, Dr Palagi and colleagues studied captive bottlenose dolphins when they were playing in pairs and when they were playing freely with a human handler. recorded.

They showed that dolphins frequently use the open-mouthed expression when playing with other dolphins, but do not seem to use it when playing with humans or alone. .

Although only one open-mouth incident was recorded during solitary play, the researchers recorded a total of 1,288 open-mouth incidents during social play sessions, and these 92% of the incidents occurred during dolphin-dolphin play sessions.

Dolphins were also more likely to make open-mouthed expressions when their faces were within the field of view of their playmates, with 89% of recorded open-mouthed expressions produced in this situation. When this “smile” was recognized, the playmate smiled back. With a probability of 33%.

“Given that dolphins frequently participate in the same activities and situations, some might argue that dolphins are simply copying each other’s open-mouthed facial expressions by chance, but this This does not explain why the probability of imitating another dolphin’s open-mouth expression within 1 second is 13 times higher if the recipient actually saw the original expression. ” said Dr. Palagi.

“This rate of mimicry in dolphins is consistent with what has been observed in certain carnivores, such as meerkats and sun bears.”

of study Published in a magazine iscience.

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veronica marieri others. Smiling underwater: Exploring the playful signals and rapid imitation of bottlenose dolphins. isciencepublished online October 2, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110966

Source: www.sci.news

Webb makes a groundbreaking discovery of a region on a centaur with active outgassing

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Centaur is a former trans-Neptunian object that has been moved within Neptune's orbit by the planet's subtle gravitational influence over the past several million years, and could eventually become a short-period comet.

29P/An artist's concept showing the gas release activity of Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 from the side. Image credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/L. Hustak, STScI.

Centaurs are transitional objects between primitive transsolar system objects and Jupiter-based comets.

Their composition and activity provide fundamental clues about the processes that influence the evolution of and interactions between these small celestial bodies.

“Centaurs are likely part of the remnants of the formation of our planetary system,” said Dr. Sarah Fudge, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and American University.

“Because they are stored at very low temperatures, they preserve information about the volatiles of the solar system's early stages.”

“The web really opened the door for us to impressive resolution and sensitivity. When we saw the data for the first time, we were excited. We had never seen anything like this before. I've never had one before.”

use Webb's NIRSpec (near infrared spectrometer) deviceDr. Fudge and colleagues observed 29P/Schwasmann Wachmann 1 (29P for short) is a centaur. known This is because very active, quasi-periodic explosions occur.

29P changes in intensity every six to eight weeks, making it one of the most active objects in the outer solar system.

They discovered a new jet of carbon monoxide and a jet of carbon dioxide gas never before seen, giving new clues about the nature of the centaur's core.

No signs of water vapor were detected in 29P's “atmosphere,” but this may be related to the extremely cold temperatures present on this object.

Based on the data collected by Webb, the researchers created a 3D model of the jet to understand its direction and origin.

Through modeling efforts, they discovered that the jets were emitted from different regions of the centaur's core, even though the nucleus itself could not be resolved by the web.

The angle of the jet suggests that the core may be a collection of separate objects with different compositions. However, other scenarios cannot be ruled out yet.

fudge others. collected data for 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 using Webb's spectrophotographic capabilities. Image credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/L. Hustak, STScI/S. Faggi, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and American University.

Dr. Jeronimo Villanueva, a researcher at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, said: “The fact that there are such dramatic differences in the abundance of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide across the surface of 29P means that 29P is This suggests that it may be possible.”

“The two parts probably merged to form this centaur, which is a mixture of very different objects that went through separate formation paths.”

“This challenges our ideas about how primitive objects are created and stored in the Kuiper belt.”

The reasons for 29P's brightness outburst and the mechanisms behind its outgassing activity through carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide jets remain two major areas of interest that continue to require further investigation.

In the case of comets, scientists know that their jets are often driven by the release of water gas.

However, Centaur's location means that the nature of its outgassing activity is different from that of comets, as it is too cold for water ice to sublimate.

“We only had time to look at this object once, and it was like a snapshot in time,” said Dr. Adam McKay, a researcher at Appalachian State University.

“I would like to go back and look at 29P over a longer period of time. Is the jet always pointing in that direction? Perhaps there is another carbon monoxide jet that turns on at a different point in the rotation cycle? Is there one?”

“Looking at these jets over time will give us better insight into what is causing these explosions.”

of the team paper Published in a magazine nature.

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S.Fudge others. Inhomogeneous outgassing regions were identified in active centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1. Nat Astronpublished online on July 8, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02319-3

This article is a version of a press release provided by NASA.

Source: www.sci.news

The abundance of ice deposits on the Moon is greater than initially believed

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Previous studies have found signs of ice in permanently shadowed regions near the moon’s south pole, including areas within the Cabeus, Howarth, Shoemaker, and Faustini craters. A new analysis of data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) shows there is widespread evidence of water ice outside Antarctica, at least within a permanently shadowed region toward 77 degrees south latitude. Ta.

This figure shows the distribution of permanently shadowed regions (blue) toward the moon’s poles at 80 degrees south latitude. They are overlaid on a digital elevation map of the lunar surface (gray) from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter Instrument aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image credit: NASA / GSFC / Timothy P. McClanahan.

Ice may have been embedded in the lunar regolith by comet or meteor impacts, emitted as steam (gas) from the moon’s interior, or formed by chemical reactions between hydrogen in the solar wind and oxygen in the regolith. there is.

Permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) typically occur in topographic depressions near the moon’s poles.

Due to the low angle of the sun, these regions have not seen sunlight for billions of years and are constantly in extremely cold conditions.

Ice molecules are thought to be repeatedly stripped from the regolith by meteorites, cosmic radiation, or sunlight, traveling across the lunar surface and landing on the PSR, where they become trapped in the extreme cold.

The PSR’s continuously cold surface could store ice molecules near the surface for perhaps billions of years, accumulating in sediments large enough for mining.

“Our models and analysis show that the largest ice concentrations are near the coldest parts of the PSR below 75 Kelvin (minus 198 degrees Celsius, or minus 325 degrees Fahrenheit) and on poleward-facing slopes of the PSR. It is expected to occur near the base of the Dr. Timothy McClanahan, researcher at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

“It is not possible to accurately measure the volume of ice deposits in the PSR or determine whether they are buried beneath a dry layer of regolith.”

“However, we expect it to be 1 m for each surface.2 If present above these deposits, there should be at least about 5 liters of ice within the top meter of the surface compared to the surrounding area. ”

McClanahan and his colleagues used LRO’s Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) instrument to detect signs of ice deposits by measuring moderately energetic “exothermal” neutrons.

Specifically, they used LEND’s Collimating Sensor for Exothermal Neutrons (CSETN), which has a fixed field of view of 30 km (18.6 miles) in diameter.

Neutrons are produced by high-energy galactic cosmic rays that come from powerful deep space events, such as exploding stars, and impact the moon’s surface, destroying regolith atoms and scattering subatomic particles called neutrons.

Neutrons originate from depths of up to about 1 meter (3.3 feet) and ping-pong through the regolith, colliding with other atoms. Some are guided into space and detected by LEND.

Since hydrogen has approximately the same mass as a neutron, neutrons lose relatively more energy in collisions with hydrogen than in collisions with the most common regolith elements.

Therefore, if hydrogen is present in the regolith, its concentration will correspondingly reduce the number of medium-energy neutrons observed.

“We hypothesized that if all PSRs had the same hydrogen concentration, CSETN should detect hydrogen concentrations proportionally depending on their area,” Dr. McClanahan said.

“Therefore, more hydrogen should be observed towards the larger area of the PSR.”

of findings this week, Planetary Science Journal.

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TP McClanahan others. 2024. Evidence of widespread hydrogen sequestration within the lunar south pole cold trap. planet. Science. J 5, 217; doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ad5b55

This article has been adapted from the original release by NASA.

Source: www.sci.news

Record-breaking October heat wave sweeps through California and Arizona

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Overview

  • More than 50 heat records were broken in the western United States on Wednesday.
  • Daily temperature records include highs of 108 degrees Fahrenheit in Phoenix and 106 degrees Fahrenheit in San Jose, California.
  • October’s heatwave is expected to continue into the weekend, with extreme weather conditions continuing in states including California, Arizona and Nevada.

More than 50 heat records were set on Wednesday as October’s unusual heatwave continues to bake across much of the western United States.

A high temperature of 108 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in Phoenix, breaking the previous record of 107 degrees Fahrenheit, set in 1980. According to the National Weather Service. On Wednesday, temperatures in Yuma, Arizona, reached 112 degrees, tying the previous record, also set in 1980.

California also set several daily heat records, according to the National Weather Service. San Jose recorded a high of 106 degrees, breaking previous highs of 96 degrees in both 1980 and 2012. Napa recorded a high of 103 degrees, beating the previous record of 102 degrees set in 1980.

About 29 million people were under heat warnings on Thursday. Excessive heat warning substantially in most cases California, Arizona, and Nevada.

Dozens more records are expected from California to Colorado as extreme temperatures continue into the weekend.

The severe heat is expected Continue get worseare doing as a result of climate changeAs the earth warms, Heat waves are becoming more likelystronger and longer lasting.

More dangerously high temperatures are expected in California over the next few days, with highs reaching 112 degrees in the eastern San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley and western San Fernando Valley, the National Weather Service said. High temperatures could reach 102 degrees in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Temperatures in Death Valley National Park could reach highs of 113 degrees in lower elevations this weekend, making it “dangerously hot for early October,” the NWS said in an alert.

The National Weather Service also warned Arizonans of a “significant heat risk” into the weekend, with temperatures reaching 115 degrees in some parts of the state. Temperatures in parts of neighboring Nevada could reach 110 degrees by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, on the other side, temperatures rose into the mid-90s in parts of Florida recently hit by Hurricane Helen, including Tampa, Fort Myers and St. Petersburg.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Rebuilding democracy: unleashing the true power of the people

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Many of us entered this so-called super-election year with a sense of foreboding. So far, not much has happened to allay these fears. Russia’s war against Ukraine has exacerbated the perception that democracy is under threat in Europe and beyond. In the United States, presidential candidate Donald Trump self-proclaimed dictatorial tendenciesfacing two assassination attempts. And more broadly, people seem to be losing faith in politics. A 2024 report from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance states that “most citizens in diverse countries around the world have no confidence in the performance of their political institutions.”

By many objective measures, democracy is not functioning as it should. The systems we call democracies tend to favor the wealthy. Political violence is on the rise, legislative gridlock is severe, and elections are becoming less free and fair around the world. Nearly 30 years have passed since pundits proclaimed the triumph of Western liberal democracy, but their predictions seem further away than ever from coming true. what happened?

According to Rex Paulson At the Mohammed VI Institute of Technology in Rabat, Morocco, we have lost sight of what democracy is. “We have created a terrible confusion between the system known as a republic, which relies on elections, political parties, and a permanent ruling class, and the system known as democracy, where the people directly participate in decisions and change power. The good news, he says, is that the original dream of government by the people and for the people can be revived. That’s what he and other researchers are trying to do…

Source: www.newscientist.com

Can chickens blush? And what causes them to blush the most?

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blushing chicken

People, humans, blush. Chickens are not entirely inhuman, either, in that they express emotions through the skin on their faces. Delphine Soulet and colleagues at the University of Tours, France explored How skin redness can be a reliable indicator of a chicken's emotional state. Reader Frédéric Darboux brought this project to the attention of his feedback.

This is the story of six hens in a grassy outdoor woodland. They had free access to the chicken house and could be given as much water and food as they wanted at any time.

This is also a story that was essentially a reality show. The chickens were not given a script to follow. However, they were placed in a situation where they were almost forced to respond in a way that would induce persuasive video viewing.

The adventure spanned three consecutive weeks of summer. The main event was the “catch test,'' in which the experimenter captured an individual hen by holding its feathers with both hands. The hens also noticed that they were participating in a “challenging test” in which a glass dish containing mealworms and wood shavings was “placed in the center of the testing area.”

The researchers filmed videos of the animals in “calm conditions,” including resting, grooming, and feeding. Other footage showed “exciting and challenging conditions” such as dust bathing and exposure to mealworms. Inevitably, the “fear-related states” that were most prominent in the catch test also occurred.

The colorful data came from a process called “extracting redness from still images of chicken profiles.” In the past, before digital technology became available to study chicken emotions, this may have been a matter of subjective artistic evaluation. 2020s methods remove human emotion from that aspect of data collection. Electronic video processing extracted the “average values ​​of red (R), blue (B), and green (G) for each bare skin area (comb, cheek, earlobe, and wattle) on the hen's face.”

After analyzing the data from the videos, scientists came to a conclusion about when the chickens turned red most intensely. According to the final report, hens “had the highest facial skin redness in highly aroused and negative situations.”

eclectic smectic

For some reason, if your interests are eclectic and you find it esoteric (but not baffling) to explore dialectic and rhyming words, then, as the title of the study says, “smectic Please try “.Smectic and soap bubble optofluidic lasers”.

Zala Korenjak and Matjaž Humar write in a diary with an interesting name Physical Review Xthe paper explains that it doesn't take much to turn soap bubbles into lasers.

Or, if you want a bit of cheerful melancholy, go back to 1987 and read P. Oswald's paper. journal de physique,”Dynamics of smectic bubble collapse”.

Tendency toward entropy

Physics is often portrayed as a field so esoteric that most people cannot understand or use it directly. A new study called “The principle of increasing entropy: A new perspective on how tourism affects human health” shows how wrong that concept is by some people.

The researchers write: “The principle of 'increasing entropy' is a universal law that explains the natural progression from order to disorder. This paper innovatively applies this principle to how tourism impacts human health. It was the first to adopt this as a theoretical basis for evaluating it from the perspective of sociomateriality.

Back in 2000, a collaboration between physicists in Italy, Brazil, and the United States sought to understand another and borderline intractable aspect of the concept of entropy growth. They published a paper called “.Entropy increase rate at the edge of chaos”.

Tourism experts both like and don't like tourism to happen on the edge of disruption. They do it for the excitement, but not for the danger. Risk is material and economic. Too much entropy in a short period of time can increase both types of danger.

a press release As for the new tourism study, it says, “Entropy is classified as the general tendency of the universe toward death and disorder.” But other than that, the press release highlights the positives. “For the first time, a multidisciplinary study applies entropy theory to tourism and finds that travel may have positive health effects, including slowing the signs of aging.”

In theory, this theory might lead people to believe that by cleverly introducing physical principles, they can slow down the appearance of wrinkles. Taking this to a literary dimension, the feedback is thoughtful and reminds me of reading Madeline L'Engle's science fiction novels. wrinkles in time.

The book's plot involves travel. Publication of the book was reportedly delayed because the publisher could not decide whether the story was for adults or children.

Tongari calculation

We've added a few more to Feedback's collection of conversation starter research paper titles.

“Sword swallowing and its side effects” provided incisive knowledge to its subscribers. BMJ In 2006, “Estimating the total amount of saliva produced in a 5-year-old child per day” provided readers with some quick and, in some ways, hard numbers. Oral Biology Archives In 1995.

Have a story for feedback?

You can email your article to Feedback at feedback@newscientist.com. Please enter your home address. This week's and past feedback can be found on our website.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Rapamycin could potentially enhance the safety of epilepsy medications in pregnant women

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Sodium valproate is an effective drug for epilepsy, but its consumption is not recommended during pregnancy

Miljan Zivković/Shutterstock

The drug rapamycin may prevent the epilepsy drug sodium valproate from causing developmental problems during pregnancy.

Sodium valproate is used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and sometimes migraines. Although effective, it is not recommended during pregnancy as it can cause birth defects such as spina bifida and lifelong learning disabilities.

Giovanni Pietrogrande Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia wanted to understand why sodium valproate could have such an effect. So they used stem cells to create mini-spinal cords called organoids in the lab. These mimic the spine of a fetus during early pregnancy.

When organoids were exposed to sodium valproate, their cells changed in ways that may be associated with risk of congenital disease.

The researchers looked for reasons for this and found that activity in one of the cell's signaling pathways, called mTOR, indicates that cells are aging. This is a process in which cells stop growing but do not die, but instead continue to release chemicals that can cause inflammation.

Rapamycin, which was initially developed as an immunosuppressant but has some promise for anti-aging effects, also targets the mTOR pathway.

In another experiment, researchers exposed a new set of spinal cord organoids to a combination of sodium valproate and rapamycin and found that no aging occurred. They then replicated this test in zebrafish larvae and found that the cells similarly did not undergo senescence and showed no signs of the changes that occur when exposed to sodium valproate alone.

Rather than doctors discontinuing sodium valproate if an epileptic patient is pregnant or may become pregnant, someday doctors may be able to prevent the negative effects of sodium valproate by combining it with rapamycin. Pietro Grande says. Human studies are needed to make this recommendation.

Frank Vajda The University of Melbourne says sodium valproate is “a critically important drug and the single most effective treatment for generalized seizures, where abnormal electrical activity begins in both halves of the brain at the same time.”

“I think this is a very important paper that could lead to a return to the level of importance that this drug had before its side effects were discovered,” he says.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Review of Starfield: Shattered Space – Addressing Areas for Improvement | Game

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TThe first expansion story for Bethesda’s space RPG comes after a year of updates that have fixed the game’s flaws. Quest-breaking bugs are gone, there are vehicles for easier planetside travel, city maps are improved, and a 60fps mode is added for Xbox Series X players. However, NPCs still feel stiff and there are many loading screens. Despite this, the Shattered Space expansion aims to build upon the game’s progress.

Bethesda realized that traveling through space via cutscenes was lackluster, so Shattered Space mostly takes place on a single map. The story revolves around the Varoon family, a cult of space serpent worshippers. Players embark on a mission to save a civilization hit by a catastrophe, encountering various tasks and challenges along the way.

Tasks range from interstellar travel to defeating phantoms and mundane chores. While reminiscent of classic Bethesda RPGs, many tasks lack excitement and are hindered by clunky movement mechanics.

Exploring the planet’s landscape can be frustrating due to impassable rocks and lack of interesting discoveries. The gameplay lacks the depth and immersion found in Bethesda’s previous titles.

The attempt to introduce cosmic horror elements falls short, reverting to typical gunfights and loot collection. Unreliable quest markers make the game frustrating, overshadowing the engaging main story and visual appeal of the game.

Shattered Space offers more of the same experience as Starfield, lacking the variety of spaceflight. Despite its flaws, there is potential for improvement in future updates, but a full sequel may be needed to address fundamental issues. The core brilliance of Starfield remains unfulfilled, leaving room for growth.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Unexpected forms of gamma-ray emissions observed in tropical thunderstorms

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Thunderclouds include more than just rain and lightning. In addition to visible light radiation, thunderclouds can produce powerful bursts of gamma rays that last one millionth of a second. Clouds can also glow steadily with gamma rays for seconds to minutes at a time. Using a battery of detectors onboard NASA’s ER-2 research aircraft, scientists have discovered a new type of gamma-ray radiation whose duration is shorter than steady light but longer than microsecond bursts. They call it a flickering gamma ray flash.

NASA’s high-flying ER-2 plane is equipped with the Fly’s Eye Stationary Lightning Mapper Simulator, which records gamma rays (purple in the illustration) from thunderclouds, and instruments in this artist’s impression of the Airborne Lightning Observatory for the Ground Gamma Ray Flash (ALOFT) mission. is installed. Image credit: NASA/ALOFT team.

Previous studies have reported two types of gamma-ray emissions from thunderclouds. One is a high-intensity burst known as a terrestrial gamma-ray flash, and the other is a moderate-intensity, long-duration gamma-ray glow.

However, the characteristics of these emissions and how they are produced are not completely understood.

Researchers used data collected by the aircraft during 10 flights in July 2023 to investigate gamma-ray emissions that occurred during marine and coastal thunderstorms in the Caribbean and Central America.

“The ER-2 aircraft will be the ultimate platform for observing gamma rays from thunderclouds,” said Professor Nikolai Ostgaard of the University of Bergen.

“Flying at 20 km (12.4 miles) allows us to fly directly above the clouds, as close as possible to the gamma-ray source.”

“There’s a lot more going on in thunderstorms than we imagined,” added Professor Steve Comer of Duke University.

“At the end of the day, basically all large thunderstorms produce gamma rays in different forms throughout the day.”

“Several aircraft operations have attempted to determine whether these phenomena are common, but results have been mixed, and some operations over the United States have not found gamma rays at all.”

“This project was designed to answer these questions once and for all.”

Professor Ostgaard, Professor Comer and their colleagues. identified Another type of gamma-ray radiation, called flicker gamma-ray flashes, consists of pulses of longer duration than terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.

A total of 24 flickering gamma-ray flashes were observed as the spacecraft passed over gamma-ray thunderclouds on five of its 10 flights. Seventeen of these flickering gamma-ray flashes resulted in lightning.

The researchers suggested that flickering gamma-ray flashes, which can begin as the emission of gamma rays and then suddenly increase in intensity into a series of pulses, may also be involved in the formation of lightning. are.

Because flickering gamma-ray flashes share similar characteristics with gamma-ray glows and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, they propose that flickering gamma-ray flashes could provide evidence of a link between the two phenomena.

In another study, Dr. Martino Marisardi from the University of Bergen and colleagues investigated Characteristics of gamma ray glow detected by aircraft.

These included thundercloud systems covering an area of ​​more than 9,000 km.2 Luminescence was observed for at least 3 hours.

They found that the emission was general and not uniform across the emission region.

During nine of the 10 flights, more than 500 individual gamma-ray glows were observed across the study area, each lasting between 1 and 10 seconds.

These findings contradict the results of previous studies that reported that the gamma-ray glow can last up to several hundred seconds and is emitted uniformly over a range of up to 20 km.

Taken together, these findings improve our understanding of gamma-ray emissions from thunderclouds and suggest a causal relationship between glows and flashes and the possible role of these emissions in the subsequent development of lightning.

“These two new forms of gamma rays are what I find most interesting,” Professor Comer said.

“They don’t seem to be related to the occurrence of lightning. They somehow appear naturally.”

“There are hints in the data that they may actually be related to the process that causes lightning, but it’s still a mystery to scientists.”

The results are published in two papers: journal nature.

_____

N. Ostgard others. 2024. Gamma ray flashing, the missing link between gamma rays and TGF. nature 634, 53-56; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07893-0

M. Marisardi others. 2024. Highly dynamic gamma-ray emissions are common in tropical thunderclouds. nature 634, 57-60; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07936-6

Source: www.sci.news

Living microorganisms found in ancient 2 billion-year-old rocks by microbiologists

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Researchers from the University of Tokyo and others have discovered pockets of living microorganisms in mineral-filled veins in 2 billion-year-old rocks taken from South Africa’s Bushveld Igneous Complex.

The 2-billion-year-old mafic rocks of the Bushveld Igneous Complex reveal veins filled with clay minerals colonized by indigenous microorganisms (stained green). Image provided by: Suzuki others., doi: 10.1007/s00248-024-02434-8.

“We didn’t know whether rocks from 2 billion years ago were habitable or not,” says Dr. Yohei Suzuki, a researcher at the University of Tokyo.

“This is a very interesting discovery because the oldest geological formations in which living microorganisms have been found were 100 million-year-old deposits beneath the ocean floor.”

“By studying the DNA and genomes of these microorganisms, we may be able to understand the evolution of very early life on Earth.”

Dr. Suzuki and his colleagues analyzed rock samples from the Bushveld Igneous Complex, a rock intrusion in northeastern South Africa that formed when magma slowly cooled beneath the earth’s surface.

“The Bushveld Igneous Complex covers an area of approximately 66,000 km2 (about the same size as Ireland), varies in thickness by up to 9 km, and contains approximately 70% of the platinum mined worldwide. , contains some of the richest mineral deposits on Earth,” they said.

“Due to the way it was formed and the minimal deformation and changes that have occurred since then, the BIC is thought to have provided a stable habitat for ancient microbial life that continues to this day.”

The core sample, measuring 8.5 cm in diameter and 30 cm in length, was taken from a depth of 15.28 meters with the assistance of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program, a non-profit organization that funds exploration of geological sites.

By analyzing thin slices of the rock, the researchers found that the cracks in the rock were packed with live microbial cells.

The crevices near these cracks were clogged with clay, making it impossible for living things to get out of them or for anything else to get in.

The researchers built on previously developed techniques to ensure that the microbes were native to the rock samples and not due to contamination during the drilling or testing process.

By staining the DNA of microbial cells and using infrared spectroscopy to observe proteins in the microbes and the surrounding clay, they confirmed that the microbes were alive and uncontaminated.

“I am very interested in the possibility that subsurface microorganisms exist not only on Earth, but also on other planets,” said Dr. Suzuki.

“Rocks on Mars are generally much older (20 billion to 30 billion years ago), but NASA’s Perseverance rover is currently scheduled to return rocks that are similar in age to the rocks used in this study.”

“Now that we have discovered microbial life in a 2 billion-year-old Earth sample and have been able to accurately confirm its authenticity, we are excited to see what we will find in Mars samples in the future.”

of result Published in a magazine microbial ecology.

_____

Yuya Suzuki others. 2024. Subsurface microbial colonization of mineral-filled veins in 2 billion-year-old mafic rocks of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa. microorganism ecole 87, 116; doi: 10.1007/s00248-024-02434-8

This article is based on a press release from the University of Tokyo.

Source: www.sci.news

At what point in history did the Galapagos giant tortoise grow so big?

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The Galapagos Islands are equatorial islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean, approximately 900 kilometers (500 miles) west of northern South America. Scientists have identified more than 1,500 native species of birds, reptiles, and other animals that live only on these islands, which are known for their biodiversity. One famous example is the Galapagos tortoise. This giant tortoise can weigh up to 400 kilograms (nearly 1,000 pounds), making it the largest cold-blooded land animal.

Scientists have speculated about the evolution of Galapagos tortoises. Charles Darwin visited this island for the first time aboard the HMS. Beagle 1835. Researchers agree These turtles originate from the South American continent, but it is still unknown how they migrated to the island and when they reached their impressive size.

Some scientists believe that Galapagos giant tortoises became large after immigrating to the islands, while others argue that the tortoises grew large before leaving the mainland. Proponents of the “then” hypothesis cite several examples in which island birds and snakes similarly grew larger than continental birds and snakes. Proponents of the “before” hypothesis argue that gigantism may have helped turtles cross oceans. They suggest that larger turtles have slower metabolisms, so they lose less body heat in the water, and have larger, more buoyant shells.

Researchers from the United States and Ecuador recently reconsidered the Galapagos tortoise debate based on new fossils collected off the coast of Ecuador. Paleontologists have previously discovered fossilized large turtles in southern South America, which they claim are ancestors of Galapagos giant tortoises. However, these fossils are located far south of the equatorial islands, and scientists have found no direct evidence that they are related to the Galapagos species. These researchers therefore wanted to test giant tortoise fossils found near the island.

The new turtle fossil was composed of shell material collected from sandstone of the Tablazo Formation on mainland Ecuador. The researchers explained that these fossils were only briefly described by researchers studying mammal fossils in the 1950s, so they may have been missed by earlier scientists. Researchers estimated that the fossil belonged to a turtle that was more than 1 meter (or 3 feet) long, and about the size of a Galapagos giant tortoise. Past researchers Researchers narrowed down the age of the Tabrazo Formation to between 780,000 and 12,000 years, making it the oldest giant tortoise fossil discovered by scientists in northern South America.

The researchers compared the new Ecuadorian giant tortoise fossils with fossils from other South American and Caribbean giant tortoises, as well as with extant Galapagos tortoises. They use features such as shape, structure, size, and age of fossilized and modern turtle shells to create a picture of how these turtles and their potential ancestors are related. Created. Phylogenetic tree. They called these trees: Tip dateThat’s because they placed different types of turtles at the ends, or “tips,” of trees and assigned each species an estimated age, or “dated.”

They used a statistical method called . Bayesian analysis Evaluate the probability that each tree is correct based on known relationships between several species and new data from Ecuadorian fossils. The research team found that Galápagos tortoises are more closely related to Ecuadorian tortoise fossils than any other species included, based on the most likely tree shape, and that the two groups have a common Confirmed that they share a common ancestry.

The researchers interpreted the phylogenetic analysis as supporting previous researchers’ claims that a population of giant tortoises lived on the coast of Ecuador more than 2 million years ago. The researchers explained that this was around the same time and place that scientists believe Galapagos tortoises hitchhiked to the islands on the Humboldt Current, which flows north along the west coast of South America. Therefore, they suggested that their findings support the “previous” hypothesis proposed by some scientists.

Researchers concluded that Galapagos tortoises were gigantic before they left mainland South America. However, researchers cautioned that South America’s fossil record is incomplete and poorly preserved, and dating the evolution of Galapagos tortoises remains difficult. They will collect more giant tortoise fossils from South America, possibly incorporating ancient DNA, to help future scientists further examine when and where the Galapagos giant tortoise species originated. Recommended to describe and analyze.


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Source: sciworthy.com

Podcast: Sheridan Smith’s Mystery Murder in Margate with a Gluttonous Twist

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This fall marks 10 years since we launched the Guardian Long Read. Looking back now, it’s hard to remember how counterintuitive this idea was at the time. At the time, readers were still increasingly willing to read things longer than a few hundred words, or even 140 characters. Creating a space in the Guardian dedicated to publishing multiple 5,000 (or more) words a week, many of which take months or even years to produce, is a strange project. It seemed like. Thankfully, our readers aren’t, and we’ve learned a lot about everything from the “brutal, paranoid and failed” Home Office and the fight against Islamic State to the strange world of competitive farming and the rise of hygge. They embraced our deeply researched stories.

Just a few months after launching The Long Read, our audio team had the bright idea to start the Audio Long Read Podcast. The idea was simple: get a good voice actor to read the article. That was it. We found that our listeners loved it. (A few years ago, I met Ed Miliband briefly and he said he likes to listen to podcasts when he swims in the pool.)

Since then, we’ve created well over 1,000 audio long reads. If you spend 12 hours a day doing nothing, it would take you about two months to listen to everything. While we wholeheartedly support this way of spending your time, we’ve selected just five of our favorites below.

We also have a range of 10th-anniversary content available in our audio long-form feed, and earlier this week, we began a roundtable discussion between editors about the section’s past, present, and future. And over the next 10 weeks, the podcast will be highlighting some of our favorite audio long reads from each year, along with new introductions from authors.

david wolf
The Guardian Editor-in-Chief’s Long Read

This week’s picks




Tom Kerridge and Chris Stark, hosts of the podcast Proper Tasty Pub Quiz Photo: Daniel Billinghurst

Margate murder case
Audible, all episodes now available
Sheridan Smith and Joanne Froggatt lead the cast in this dangerously gluttonous untrue crime drama. A serial murder case occurs once every 10 years, and as a forensic psychologist, detective, and local newspaper reporter discuss the case, it becomes clear that not everyone’s testimony is reliable. Although the story is scripted, it sounds like a convincing true crime story, thanks to the actors’ deft direction and a refreshingly understated realism. Hannah Verdier

Single women in your area
Wide range of weekly episodes available
Prepare for contagious hysteria. In this raucous giggle-fest, hear comedians Harriet Kemsley and Amy Gledhill grapple with being single in your 30s. Is true love lurking on rodeo night? How can I find a partner who will please my picky 2-year-old daughter? Is true love washing someone’s skid-marked pants? All will be revealed. Alexi Duggins

The Secret World: Alphayed, Harrods Predator
BBC Sounds, all episodes now available
This Mohamed Al-Fayed expose series may be a little stilted in narration, but the victims’ astonishing testimonies are truly heart-wrenching. Hearing the stories of staff who have had their crotches grabbed, been raped, or had their ovaries checked by an in-house doctor is horrifying and a testament to the courage of those who speak out. advertisement

from now on
Wide range of weekly episodes available
Presenter Lisa Phillips is a former model who was abused on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island when she was 21 years old. Here she shares her story and uses it to help other abuse survivors. Part confessional, part interviews with guests, including former cult members, it transforms from the confessional of a brave soul into a deeply insightful psychological help book. advertisement

correct delicious pub quiz
Wide range of weekly episodes available
Every week, award-winning chef Tom Kerridge and broadcaster friend Chris Stark invite you to take part in a pub quiz at Kerridge’s gourmet bar, The Butcher’s Tap and Grill in Chelsea. Celebrity guests will be answering questions and giving food talks, with the first few episodes starting with Jamie Redknapp and Pixie Lott. Holly Richardson

There’s a podcast for that




Dapper Laughs, Jimmy Carr, Dave…a “joke” era phenomenon explored in a long-running Guardian series in 2017. Illustration: Guardian Design Team

this week, charlie lindler choose the best five Guardian audio long text readingfrom Archie Brand’s essay on the rise and fall of ‘jokes’ to Michael Aylwin’s shocking account of his wife’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

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era of jokes
Archie Bland’s 2017 read takes us back to the heyday of LadBible and Dapper Laughs. So we examine the era of brash and gory comedy and ask what it was all about. Archie meets a group of “party pilgrims” who take a night boat from Ayia Napa to Syria, tracing the history of youth magazines and interrogating the pinnacle of this strange culture. Richard Keys and Andy Gray are questioned over their departure from Sky over sexism. A comment that, in the immortal words of “Kesey,” was “just a joke.” “Is it time to get off the banter bus?” the piece asks. Yes, of course, but this great piece is worth riding one last time.

For more from Archie, sign up for our inaugural newsletter here

How a dazzling creative wife in her 40s recovered from Alzheimer’s disease
In August this year, Guardian journalist Michael Aylwin wrote a remarkable article about his wife Vanessa and her battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Aylwin considers Vanessa’s early signs of dementia, her strength as the disease ate away at her, and recalls how their relationship changed as it took hold. This is a tough, must-read book that reveals the truth about the disease, the strain it places on marriages, and the damage that can be done by not speaking up about its effects. Michael’s description of his “dazzling and creative” wife and her “cruel and unanswerable” degradation is even more moving when heard in his own words.

My 4 miscarriages: Why is pregnancy loss so mysterious?
This 2020 full-length book explores perhaps the most personal burden of all: fertility. After experiencing four consecutive miscarriages, journalist Jenny Agg explores the words we use to describe losing a pregnancy, the circumstances of miscarriage care, and what she could do to change what happened to her. I decided to investigate whether there was anything I could do. Agg gracefully writes, “To become pregnant again after a previous miscarriage is to live at the crossroads of two lives,” and Emma Powell matches her in a gripping reading of her profound words. . Additionally, Agg delves deeper into the urgent need for better miscarriage treatment on this 2021 episode of Today in Focus.

How sandwiches consumed Britain
Believe it or not, there was a time before Pret a Manger, Greggs and Tesco meal deals. Lunch used to be something completely different. So how did we arrive at the sandwich monoculture? Author Sam Knight traces the packaged sandwich back to its roots in the 1980s, and how Marks & Spencer’s Egg and Cress Triangle came to be in the 80s. We look at how it has grown into a £billion industry, where ‘sandwich people’ have come to pre-empt and often dictate what people eat for lunch. Knight reads this episode’s story with the same sense of wonder and whimsy with which he wrote the original.

Cotton Capital: Repulsion – How slavery research came under criticism
As part of The Guardian’s 2023 series examining the paper’s founder and its historical links to slavery, Samira Shackle will be reviewing a series of articles taking place at universities and other public institutions. We delved into similar studies and the harsh backlash that accompanied them. Shackle meets intrepid historian Nicholas Bel Romero and accompanies him on his quest to understand Cambridge’s troubled past. It’s not just about how scholarship drew from slavery, but, in Shackle’s words, “how that scholarship may have reinforced, validated, or challenged race-based thinking.” . Important parts of your report will be more convincing in audio format. To learn more about the Cotton Capital project, visit the project homepage or sign up for our 15-week newsletter series.

Why not try it…

  • Dig deeper into unusual hobbies, from Warhammer to wild turkey conservation. Niche that meets you.

  • Learn how a 5-year-old Cuban boy sparked a “mini-Cold War.” Chess Pieces: The Story of Elian González.

  • deserterThe New York Times’ new “audio feature” features Sarah A. Topol’s epic report on a fugitive Russian military officer, narrated by Liev Schreiber.

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Sun’s Ultimate Impact on Earth’s Life

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Upon entering my department’s weekly Astro Coffee Journal Club some years ago, I was immediately struck by an existential crisis regarding the future of our planet.

Let me clarify; our discussion was not centered on the planet itself. Rather, we were delving into a newly published research paper detailing intriguing features in the light spectrum of very distant stars known as white dwarfs—or dead stars.

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While this white dwarf wouldn’t directly impact Earth, nor did its spectrum pose any particular threat, the paper did offer a peek into our Sun and, in turn, our own future in a somewhat terrifying manner.

First and foremost, rest assured that our sun won’t explode, contrary to popular belief. One prevalent astronomical misconception is the notion that our sun will eventually go supernova, ending in a dramatic explosion that engulfs our solar system.

Based on our knowledge of stellar evolution, this fate does not await our Sun at all.

There are two main routes for a star to go supernova: a nuclear collapse supernova, where a massive star exhausts its fusion fuel, collapses, and bounces back in a violent explosion, or when a stellar remnant interacts catastrophically with a companion star, annihilating both. Fortunately, our Sun is safe from these outcomes as it lacks the mass for nuclear collapse and doesn’t have a companion star.

Nonetheless, immortality isn’t in the cards for the Sun.

Presently, our sun operates as a massive fusion reactor, converting hydrogen into helium at its core and emitting vast energy. Although some energy escapes as light, the rest bounces inward off the plasma, creating pressure that counteracts gravitational collapse—similar to how air pressure shapes a balloon. For the next 5 billion years, the Sun will function normally, but as hydrogen depletes, its core will compress, triggering fusion of helium into heavier elements and causing the sun to swell and grow brighter.

At this point, the sun will become potent enough to evaporate Earth’s oceans, likely wiping out life. Mercury and Venus will face a more severe fate, swallowed by the expanding sun. The future of Earth is uncertain during this phase, known as the red giant phase, when the Sun ceases nuclear fusion and sheds its outer layers, potentially birthing stunning planetary nebulae.

As the core collapses, it forms a dense white dwarf star sustained by quantum mechanical processes rather than fusion. Eventually, all Sun-like stars end as white dwarfs, cooling and fading away.

In our journal club, researchers studied a white dwarf’s spectral lines and noted unexpected elements like calcium, potassium, and sodium—fragments likely from a devoured planet, a notion hauntingly depicted as blood on a predator’s jaw. This insight into contaminated white dwarfs evoked a sense of emotional calm and reflection.

Perhaps in the distant future, alien astronomers will gaze upon us, reminiscing about the once vibrant Earth. The contemplation of these cosmic phenomena leaves one pondering the impermanence of all things.

read more:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

New research proposes that the young Earth may have taken in the moon from space

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According to some researchers, the moon may have been captured during a close encounter between young Earth and the Earth binary (a system consisting of the moon and other rocks). new paper Published in Planetary Science Journal.

Darren Williams and Michael Zugger explored the concept of collisionless binary exchange for capturing large satellites (comparable to or larger than the Moon) around Earth-mass objects inside and outside the solar system.

During six missions to the Moon from 1969 to 1972, Apollo astronauts collected more than 360 kg (800 pounds) of lunar rocks and soil.

Chemical and isotopic analysis of the material showed it to be similar to rocks and soils on Earth. It was found to be calcium-rich, basaltic, and dated to about 60 million years after the formation of the solar system.

Using that data, planetary scientists gathered at the Kona conference in Hawaii in 1984 reached a consensus that the moon formed from debris after it collided with a young Earth.

“The Kona conference set the story for 40 years,” said Darren Williams, a professor at Penn State University.

“But questions still remained. For example, a moon formed by a collision of planets, with the debris clumped together in a ring, should orbit above the planet's equator. Earth's moon should orbit above the planet's equator. It's circling around.

“The moon is more in line with the sun than the Earth's equator.”

“In an alternative binary exchange capture theory. Earth's gravity separated the binary star and latched onto one of the objects, the moon, which became a satellite orbiting its current plane.”

“There is evidence that this is happening elsewhere in the solar system.”

“The leading hypothesis in this field is that Triton, the largest of Neptune's moons, was drawn into orbit from the Kuiper belt, where one in 10 is thought to be a binary star. There is.”

“Triton orbits Neptune in a retrograde orbit, moving in the opposite direction of the planet's rotation.”

“Its orbit is also highly tilted, making an angle of 67 degrees from Neptune's equator.”

Professor Williams and Professor Michael Zager of Pennsylvania State University argue that Earth could have captured an even larger satellite than the moon, an object the size of Mercury or Mars, but the resulting orbit would not be stable. It was determined that there was a possibility that the

The problem is that the Moon's “capture” orbit started out as an elongated ellipse, not a circle.

Over time, the shape of the orbit changed under the influence of extreme tides.

“Today Earth's tides are more advanced than the Moon's,” Professor Williams said.

“The high tide accelerates the orbit. It gives it a pulsation and gives it a little bit of a boost. Over time, the moon moves away a little bit.”

When the Moon approaches the Earth, the effect is reversed, as it was immediately after capture.

By calculating tidal changes and the size and shape of the orbit, the researchers determined that the moon's initial elliptical orbit had shrunk over a timescale of several thousand years.

The orbit also became more circular, until the moon's rotation became fixed in its orbit around the Earth, as it is now.

“At that point, the tides likely reversed and the moon began to gradually move away,” Professor Williams said.

“Each year, the Moon moves 3 centimeters away from Earth. At its current distance from Earth – 385,000 km (239,000 miles) – the Moon feels a significant pull from the Sun's gravity.”

“The moon is so far away right now that both the sun and Earth are competing for your attention. They're both being pulled by it.”

Mathematically, the researchers calculated, a satellite captured in a binary exchange could behave similarly to Earth's moon. However, it is not certain whether this is the origin of the moon.

“No one knows how the moon formed,” Professor Williams says.

“For the past 40 years, we've had one possibility as to how it got there.”

“Now we have two. This opens up a treasure trove of new questions and opportunities for further research.”

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Darren M. Williams and Michael E. Zagar. 2024. Formation of large-scale terrestrial satellites through binary exchange acquisition. Planetary Science Journal 5(9):208;doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ad5a9a

Source: www.sci.news

JUICE captures unprecedented image of Earth’s radiation belts

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In August 2024, ESA’s Jupiter ICy satellite probe (JUICE) made history with its daring Moon-to-Earth flight and double-gravity assisted maneuver. When the spacecraft passed the moon and the home planet, NASA’s Jupiter’s energetic neutrons and ions The (JENI) instrument aboard JUICE has captured the clearest images yet of Earth’s radiation belts, belts of charged particles trapped in Earth’s magnetosphere.

The center of this infographic shows the clearest image yet of a cloud of charged particles trapped in Earth’s magnetic field, and the inset shows high-energy images detected along JUICE’s flight path. Measurements of ions and electrons are shown. Image credit: ESA / NASA / Johns Hopkins APL / Josh Diaz.

“The moment we saw the clear new image, the whole room erupted in high-fives,” said Dr. Matina Goukiuridou, JENI deputy director at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

“It was clear that we had captured the giant ring of hot plasma surrounding Earth in unprecedented detail, and this result has sparked excitement about what’s to come on Jupiter.”

Unlike traditional cameras that rely on light, JENI uses special sensors to capture high-energy neutral atoms emitted by charged particles that interact with hydrogen gas in the widespread atmosphere surrounding Earth. Masu.

The JENI instrument is the latest generation of this type of camera and builds on the success of similar instruments in NASA’s Cassini mission, which revealed the magnetospheres of Saturn and Jupiter.

August 19th, JENI and its companion particle measuring instrument Jupiter’s energetic electrons (JoEE) made the most of his brief 30-minute encounter with the moon.

As JUICE zoomed just 750 km (465 miles) above the lunar surface, the instrument collected data about the space environment and its interactions with our closest celestial companion star.

Scientists expect this interaction to be magnified and observed on Jupiter’s moons as the gas giant’s radiation-rich magnetosphere passes over them.

On August 20, JUICE entered Earth’s magnetosphere, passing approximately 60,000 km (37,000 miles) over the Pacific Ocean. There, the instruments experienced for the first time the harsh environment that awaits them on Jupiter.

As JoEE and JENI raced through the magnetic tail, they encountered the dense, low-energy plasma typical of the region before plunging into the heart of the radiation belt.

There, instruments measured the millions of degrees of plasma surrounding Earth to investigate the secrets of plasma heating, which is known to drive dramatic phenomena in planetary magnetospheres.

“We couldn’t have expected a better flyby,” said Dr. Pontus Brandt, principal investigator for JoEE and JENI at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

“The wealth of data we have obtained from our deep dive into the magnetosphere is amazing. JENI’s image of the entire system that we just flew was simply the best.”

“This is a powerful combination to leverage in the Jupiter system.”

_____

This article has been adapted from the original release by NASA.

Source: www.sci.news

A newly discovered dinosaur relative found in Brazil

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New genus and species of Silesauridae named Gondwanax paracensis It was identified from fossilized remains found in southern Brazil.

Gondwanax paracensis. Image credit: Rodrigo Temp Müller, doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2024.09.007.

Silesauridae An extinct group of Triassic reptiles related to dinosaurs.

These creatures had fairly long necks and legs and probably had a quadrupedal habit.

Most commonly, they are a group of non-dinosaur dinosaurs and are considered to be the sister group of dinosaurs.

Early silesaurids were carnivorous, and later species occupied a variety of ecological niches, with specialized herbivorous adaptations.

“Most authors agree that silesaurids are a sister group to dinosaurs, forming the clade silesauridae.” Dr. Rodrigo Temp Mullera paleontologist at the Federal University of Santa Maria.

“On the other hand, some authors suggest that silesaurids form a clade within ornithischians, nesting as a sister group to typical ornithischians.”

“A more recent hypothesis is that members of the Silesauridae were recovered as ornithischians in a paraphyletic sequence leading to typical ornithischians.”

“Irrespective of their phylogenetic status, sirsaurids inhabited Triassic landscapes for more than 30 million years,” the researchers added.

“Therefore, to investigate the succession of Triassic faunas, it is important to understand their anatomy, biology, and evolution.”

“There are several aspects of sirosaurid anatomy that are unclear or poorly studied.”

“Part of this problem is a result of the lack of more complete fossils, which are usually limited to hindlimb elements.”

The newly discovered species of Cirsaurid lived in what is now Brazil during the middle to upper Triassic period, about 237 million years ago.

named Gondwanax paracensisit represents one of the oldest dinosaurs of South America and one of the oldest silesaurids in the world.

Animal skeletons were recovered from the ruins. santa maria formation Located in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

“Gondwanax paracensis “It is the oldest silesaurid with three sacral vertebrae, a feature commonly observed in more derived forms,” ​​the paleontologist said.

“Furthermore, unlike other Triassic panbirds, this new species has an early fourth trochanter of the femur.”

“This unique combination of features indicates a high diversity of locomotor strategies in early panbirds.”

“Also, what co-occurs is Gondwanax paracensis and Gamatavus antiquus These animals, located in the same aggregation zone, represent the earliest evidence of South American silesaurid sibling. ”

“Indeed, the unique combination of sacral and hindlimb characteristics suggests different behaviors for these species, which may lead to niche differentiation within the same ecosystem.”

of study Published in the Journal on September 30, 2024 Gondwana research.

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Rodrigo Temp Muller. A new silesaurid found in South America's oldest dinomorph habitat provides insight into the early evolution of avian archosaurs. Gondwana researchpublished online on September 30, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2024.09.007

Source: www.sci.news

The smile of a dolphin could indicate their playful nature

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Bottlenose dolphins have an open mouth and a facial expression that resembles a smile.

Zoomarin, Italy

Dolphins seem to make open-mouthed expressions most often when being watched by playmates, suggesting that such expressions may be similar to human smiles.

Although we often recognize these as smiles, there is little research into dolphin facial communication.

Want to know more? Elisabetta Palagi Researchers from the University of Pisa in Italy analyzed the behavior of 22 captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). It takes place in two wildlife parks: Zoomarine Rome in Italy and Planete Sauvage in Port-Saint-Père, France.

Over 80 hours of footage, the team observed a total of 1,288 open-mouthed facial expressions during social play sessions. More than 90 percent of these events occurred during play between dolphins, and the rest occurred during dolphin-human interactions.

Animals were more likely to adopt an open-mouthed expression when their face was within the playmate’s field of view, 89% of the time it was displayed in this situation. When their playmate saw the smile, they smiled back 33% of the time.

“One might argue that dolphins imitate other people’s open-mouthed facial expressions purely by chance, as they are often engaged in the same activity or situation,” Paragi says. “But this does not explain why recipients are 13 times more likely to imitate another dolphin’s open-mouthed expression within one second when they actually see the original expression.”

Other animals, such as monkeys, wolves, and meerkats, may relax and open their mouths to make a “playful face,” but whether this is driven by emotion or a way to communicate intent remains unclear. There is a discussion.

“Is the dolphin’s open-mouthed expression conveying an emotional mood, or is it simply used to tell others, ‘Don’t be scared, we’re just playing!’, or both?” It’s not easy to determine whether that’s the case,” Palagi said. .

She says the study can’t say conclusively whether it’s comparable to a human smile. “We do not claim that a single study will reveal the communication strategies of dolphins during play. However, we would like to open up new areas of research that also take into account visual elements.”

Luciana Moller Researchers from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, say that dolphin open-mouth behavior occurs in a variety of situations, including aggressive, sexual, and social interactions. This means that it can’t necessarily be interpreted as a smile, as this is a very versatile signal.

She notes that making sounds could have been a factor in the dolphins opening their mouths, but the study did not examine acoustic recordings.

Another drawback is that they studied small groups of dolphins in captivity, so their behavior may not reflect their behavior in the wild.

“Free-living dolphins have much more space to interact and chase each other while playing, and are often found in waters with poor visibility,” Moller says. . “Visual signals may to be as effective as acoustic signals in these situations.”

Source: www.newscientist.com

Google’s AI asserts it can create superior chips compared to human designers, but experts are skeptical

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Can AI design chips that are more efficient than those made by humans?

Yuichiro Kayano/Getty Images

Google DeepMind says its artificial intelligence is already helping design chips used in data centers and even smartphones. But some chip design experts are skeptical of the company’s claims that these AIs can plan new chip layouts better than humans.

He said the new method, dubbed AlphaChip, can design “superhuman chip layouts” in hours, rather than relying on weeks or months of human effort. anna goldie and Azaria Mirhoseiniaccording to researchers at Google DeepMind. blog post. This AI approach uses reinforcement learning to figure out relationships between chip components and receives rewards based on the quality of the final layout. However, independent researchers say the company has yet to prove that such AI can outperform expert human chip designers or commercial software tools, and they say they are unable to demonstrate that such AI can outperform expert human chip designers or commercial software tools, and that they believe that current state-of-the-art The company hopes to test AlphaChip’s performance on public benchmarks that include cutting-edge circuit designs.

“If Google provides experimental results for these designs, we’ll be able to make a fair comparison, and we hope everyone will accept the results,” he says. patrick madden At Binghamton University in New York. “Experiments take a day or two to run at most, and Google has nearly infinite resources. The fact that these results aren’t being provided speaks volumes to me.” He declined to comment.

Google DeepMind’s blog post says: update Google for 2021 nature A journal paper about the company’s AI process. Since then, Google DeepMind says AlphaChip has helped design three generations of Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). TPUs are specialized chips used to train and run generative AI models for services such as Google’s Gemini chatbot.

The company also claims that its AI-assisted chip designs outperform those designed by human experts and are steadily improving. AI accomplishes this by reducing the overall length of wire needed to connect chip components. This could reduce the chip’s power consumption and increase processing speed. Google DeepMind also said AlphaChip created the layout for a general-purpose chip used in Google’s data centers, while also helping MediaTek develop a chip used in Samsung’s phones.

However, the code published by Google lacks support for common industry chip data formats, which suggests the AI method is currently more suited to Google’s own chips, it said. . Igor Markovchip design researcher. “We have no idea what AlphaChip is today, what it does or doesn’t do,” he says. “We know that reinforcement learning requires two to three orders of magnitude more computational resources than techniques used in commercial tools, and typically lags behind. [in terms of] result. “

Markov and Madden criticized the original paper controversial Claim that AlphaChip outperforms anonymous human experts. “Comparisons to unnamed human designers are subjective, non-reproducible, and very easily fooled. Although it is possible that the human designer is not trying hard enough or is underqualified. , there are no scientific results here,” says Markov. “Imagine if AlphaGo were reported to have won against an unknown Go player.”

In 2023, independent experts who reviewed Google’s paper revoked his nature An explanatory article that initially praised Google’s efforts. The expert is andrew kern At the University of California, San Diego, Public benchmarking efforts When we tried to replicate Google’s AI methods, we found that they could not consistently outperform human experts or traditional computer algorithms. The best approach was commercial software for chip design from companies like Cadence and NVIDIA.

“Reinforcement learning appears to lag significantly behind the state-of-the-art in every benchmark that would be considered a fair comparison,” Madden says. “I don’t think that’s a promising research direction when it comes to circuit placement.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Can artificial intelligence and new technologies solve the issues in our broken democracies?

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Many of us entered this so-called super-election year with a sense of foreboding. So far, not much has happened to allay these fears. Russia’s war against Ukraine has exacerbated the perception that democracy is under threat in Europe and beyond. In the United States, presidential candidate Donald Trump self-proclaimed dictatorial tendencies facing two assassination attempts. And more broadly, people seem to be losing faith in politics. A 2024 report from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance states that “most citizens in diverse countries around the world have no confidence in the performance of their political institutions.”

By many objective measures, democracy is not functioning as it should. The systems we call democracies tend to favor the wealthy. Political violence is on the rise, legislative gridlock is severe, and elections are becoming less free and fair around the world. Nearly 30 years have passed since pundits proclaimed the triumph of Western liberal democracy, but their predictions seem further away than ever from coming true. what happened?

According to Rex Paulson At the Mohammed VI Institute of Technology in Rabat, Morocco, we have lost sight of what democracy is. “We have created a terrible confusion between the system known as a republic, which relies on elections, political parties, and a permanent ruling class, and the system known as democracy, where the people directly participate in decisions and change power. The good news, he says, is that the original dream of government by the people and for the people can be revived. That’s what he and other researchers are trying to do…

Source: www.newscientist.com

New study reveals that coyotes can display ‘puppy eyes’ as well

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Recent research suggests that a muscle called the levator medial oculi (LAOM) is unique to dogs (canine) and evolved through domestication. This muscle lifts the inner eyebrows, creating a “puppy eye” look. In a new study, Baylor University scientists tested whether LAOM is a derived trait in dogs by (i) examining facial muscles in closely related wild ancestors; canis seed, Coyote (canis latrans) (ii) compare your results with other results; canis and canine species. They discovered that coyotes, like dogs, have well-developed LAOMs. This is different from the modified/absent LAOM of gray wolves. Their findings cast doubt on the hypothesis that LAOM developed through domestication.

Like dogs, coyotes have a well-developed LAOM, which gives both species the ability to develop “puppy eyes.” Image credit: Cunningham others., doi: 10.1098/rsos.241046.

“Our findings suggest that the ability to produce 'puppy eyes' is not a unique product of dog domestication, but rather an ancestral trait shared by multiple species on Earth. . canis genus,” said Dr. Patrick Cunningham. student at Baylor University.

“This raises interesting questions about the role of facial expressions in communication and survival in wild canids.”

In this study, Cunningham and colleagues compared the facial muscles of coyotes, dogs, and gray wolves.

Both dogs and coyotes have well-developed LAOMs, but gray wolves' muscles are modified or absent.

This challenges the hypothesis that human-driven selection alone is responsible for the development of the inner eyebrow ridge in dogs.

Instead, this study suggests that LAOM was likely present in the common ancestor of dogs, coyotes and gray wolves, but was later lost or reduced in wolves.

The researchers also documented significant within-species variation in coyote facial muscles, particularly those related to eyebrow and lip movements.

Genetic analysis excluded significant canine ancestry in the coyote specimen, confirming that these traits were not the result of interbreeding.

“Our research shows that coyotes and dogs not only share behavioral similarities, but also an interesting evolutionary history, including the ability to make expressions that were once thought to be unique to domestic animals. “We made it clear,” Cunningham said.

“This discovery has broader implications for understanding the evolution of facial expressions in mammals.”

“LAOM may have originally evolved for functions related to vision and eye movements, rather than for human communication, as previously thought.”

“Future studies on other canid species, such as red wolves and African wild dogs, may further elucidate the role of facial expressions in survival and species communication.”

a paper The survey results were published in a magazine Royal Society Open Science.

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Patrick Cunningham others. 2024. Coyotes can also have “puppy eyes”: a comparison of interspecific variation. canis Facial muscles. R. Soc. Open Science 11(10):241046;doi: 10.1098/rsos.241046

Source: www.sci.news

Exploring the Alive and Vibrant Japanese Gaming Scene at Tokyo Game Show | Games

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TThe Tokyo Game Show will take place at Makuhari Messe. Makuhari Messe consists of spacious halls situated in a suburban complex about 45 minutes east of central Tokyo. The event occurs in late September and is usually accompanied by extreme heat or heavy rain, leading to humid and crowded conditions. Despite these challenges, I have always had an interest in TGS. My first experience attending was in 2008, and the memories of playing games in a crowded hall with minimal understanding of the surroundings evoke a sense of nostalgia.

Last Friday in Tokyo, many individuals, including myself, felt nostalgic as the event hall was filled with characters and series from 15 years ago. Games like Silent Hill 2 at the Konami Stand and the return of Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater remake sparked memories. Popular titles like Monster Hunter from Capcom, Sony’s showcase of the PlayStation 5 Pro, and Sega’s presence with upcoming games also added to the nostalgic atmosphere. Japanese-made Astro Bots and other new games were on display, reflecting the greatness of the industry.

Alongside these prominent displays, new games like Metaphor: ReFantazio and Like a Dragon: Pirate Rokuza in Hawaiian series captivated the audience. Developers of Palworld faced challenges amidst a lawsuit from Nintendo for alleged copyright infringement. The event also featured Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Infinity Nikki, and elaborate presentations from Paper Games, offering a variety of experiences to attendees.

Participants at last week’s Tokyo Game Show. Photo: Tomohiro Osumi/Getty Images

Exploring the diverse offerings, it became evident that indie games from around the world were prominently featured this year, showcasing a blend of creativity and innovation not seen a decade ago. Titles like Rolling Macho: Tumble to Earth from Serial Games offered unique gameplay experiences, reflecting the evolving landscape of the gaming industry.

Reflecting on my time at TGS, I was reassured that Japanese games, reminiscent of my childhood, were thriving. With new releases like Metaphor: ReFantazio from Studio Zero capturing attention, the event highlighted the enduring appeal of Japanese game development.

What to Play

Apartment Story, a Sims-style life management game. Photo: Blue Rider Interactive

One standout experience was playing Apartment Story, a Sims-like game that immerses players in the mundane life of a gaming journalist, offering a unique and intimate gaming experience worth exploring.

Available: Computer
Estimated play time: 1-2 hours, multiple playthroughs possible

What to Read

“Assassin’s Creed Shadows” features a black samurai as the main character. Photo: Ubisoft

  • Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been delayed, sparking controversy and reflections on the gaming industry’s challenges. The removal of The Simpsons: Tapped Out from the app store and insights into the Yakuza series further highlight the evolving landscape of gaming.

What to Click

Question Block

Plug and play…steam deck. Photo: Valve

“Is the Valve Steam Deck suitable for plug-and-play gamers like myself? How does its performance compare to traditional PC gaming?”

The Valve Steam Deck offers a portable PC gaming experience at an accessible price point, making it a viable option for gamers seeking convenience. While some games may require minor adjustments for optimal performance, most titles are optimized for the Steam Deck, ensuring a hassle-free gaming experience. Additionally, Steam offers a hassle-free refund policy for games that do not run smoothly on the device, providing peace of mind to users.

If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out to us at pushbuttons@theguardian.com.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Meta removes over 9,000 fraudulent Facebook pages costing Australians $43.4 million in celebrity deepfake scams

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After Meta launched a new platform for sharing fraud information with banks, celebrities and others were taken away in handcuffs. The platform blocked 8,000 pages and 9,000 celebrity scams, reducing the likelihood of Australians seeing deepfake images promoting fraudulent crypto investments on Facebook. This occurred in the first 6 months following the launch.

Between January and August 2024, Australians reported $43.4 million in losses to social media scams through Scamwatch, with almost $30 million related to fake investment scams.

Meta has been dealing with scams using deepfake images of celebrities like David Koch, Gina Reinhart, Anthony Albanese, Larry Emdur, and Guy Sebastian. Politicians and regulators have pressured the company to address these scams, especially those facilitating investment fraud.

Mining tycoon Andrew Forrest is suing Meta for failing to address fraudulent activity using his image.

Meta has partnered with the Australian Financial Crime Exchange (AFCX) to launch the Fraud Information Exchange (Fire). This channel allows banks to report known fraud to Meta, enabling Meta to notify all banks involved in fraud discovered on its platform.

Seven banks, including ANZ, Bendigo Bank, CBA, HSBC, Macquarie, NAB, and Westpac, are participating in the Fire program. Another program involving AFCX’s Intel Loop information sharing service includes banks like Optus, Pivotel, Telstra, TPG, and the National Anti Scams Center.

Since the pilot launch in April, Meta has removed over 9,000 fraudulent pages and 8,000 AI-generated celebrity investment scams on Facebook and Instagram based on 102 reports received.

While the early results are promising, the number of fire reports is low compared to the losses reported to Scamwatch, with 1,600 reported losses in social media scams in August alone.

Meta reported removing 1.2 billion fake accounts worldwide in the last quarter, with 99.7% removed before user reports.

AFCX’s Rhonda Lau mentioned that the program aims to make Australia a less attractive target for fraudsters.

Meta’s David Agranovich stated that the system will help detect fraud outside the platform, connecting the dots between fraudulent activities on Facebook and Instagram.

Meta provides the list of blocked domains to partners and will grant access to the Fire platform to its threat exchange system to detect criminal activity like covert influence operations and child abuse on the platform.

Mr. Agranovich acknowledged the frustration Australians may face in reporting fraud to Meta and mentioned plans for improvement.

Both the Commonwealth Bank and ANZ welcomed the collaboration with Meta. Deputy Treasurer Stephen Jones introduced a draft bill to combat fraud and provide a proper dispute resolution process for fraud victims, with consultations ending on 4th October.

Source: www.theguardian.com

The covert means by which insects (and their excrement) disperse plants globally

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The plant produces a juicy, sweet fruit with a secret seed inside, which entices fruit-eating mammals like toucans, flying foxes, and orangutans to take a bite.

As these animals travel and digest their meals, they pass the fruit seeds through their waste. This method has helped plants that cannot move disperse seeds over larger areas.

This process has been crucial for ecosystems for a long time, but recent research indicates that insects and invertebrates also play a significant role in seed dispersal.

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Ants are the most well-known seed-dispersing insects, spreading seeds from plants containing special oil bodies called elaiosomes. These seeds are then carried to ant nests, where the ants eat the elaiosomes and discard the seeds either on the surface or deep underground.

Other insects are also thought to aid in seed dispersal, particularly for non-green plants that parasitize other plants or consume fungi for nutrients.

For example, small woodlice distribute seeds from parasitic bell-shaped plants, helping in the growth of new plants.

In New Zealand, researchers found that wetter crickets help in the dispersal of plant seeds by feeding on them and spreading them through their waste. This phenomenon is important for areas where ground-dwelling mammals are not present.

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Research also shows that Japanese camel crickets play a role in dispersing seeds by eating and expelling them. This is significant as insects may have a broader role in seed dispersal than previously thought.

This challenges the traditional understanding of seed dispersal and highlights the importance of insects in ecosystem functioning.

About our experts

Professor Ellen Sims is a biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, with published work in magazines such as BMC Ecology and Ecology Letters.

Professor Kevin Banks is a field biologist at Victoria University of Wellington, with work published in journals like Plant Ecology and Ecological Research.

Professor Kenji Suetsugu is a biologist at Kobe University, with work published in journals like Ecology and New Botanist.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Scientists uncover enigmatic subduction zone beneath Pacific Ocean

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According to a team of geoscientists from the University of Maryland and the University of Maryland, between 250 million and 120 million years ago during the Mesozoic Era, the ancient ocean floor was formed by the East Pacific Rise, a plate boundary at the bottom of the southeastern Pacific Ocean. It is said to have sunk deep into the earth. University of Alberta.

A map of the East Pacific Ridge region where the ancient ocean floor was discovered. Image credit: Jingchuan Wang.

University of Maryland researcher Jingchuan Wang and his colleagues used innovative seismic imaging techniques to look deep into the Earth's mantle, the layer between the Earth's crust and core.

They discovered an unusually thick region in the mantle transition zone at depths of about 410 to 660 km below the Earth's surface.

This zone separates the upper and lower mantle and expands or contracts depending on temperature.

The newly discovered ocean floor may also explain the unusual structure of the Pacific Large Low Shear Velocity Province (LLSVP), a huge region in Earth's lower mantle. Because LLSVP appears to be divided by slabs.

“This thickened area is like a fossil fingerprint of an ancient ocean floor that sank into the Earth about 250 million years ago,” Wang said.

“This gives us a glimpse into Earth's past that we've never seen before.”

Subduction occurs when one tectonic plate slides beneath another and surface material is recycled into the Earth's mantle.

This process often leaves behind visible evidence of movement, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and deep ocean trenches.

Geologists, on the other hand, typically study subduction by examining rock samples and sediments found at the Earth's surface.

By studying how seismic waves travel through the different layers of the Earth, researchers were able to create a detailed map of the structures hidden deep within the mantle.

“You can think of seismic imaging as similar to a CT scan. Essentially, it allows us to see a cross-section of the Earth's interior,” Dr. Wang said. .

“Typically, chunks of ocean material are completely consumed by the Earth, leaving no discernible traces on the surface.”

“But looking at ancient subducted slabs through this perspective has provided new insights into the relationship between the Earth's very deep structures and surface geology that were not previously clear.”

What the authors discovered surprised them. Matter was moving much more slowly through the Earth's interior than previously thought.

The unusual thickness of this region they found suggests the presence of cold material in this part of the mantle transition zone, where parts of the oceanic slab become stuck in the middle as they sink through the mantle. It suggests that there is.

“We found that material is sinking at about half the rate expected in this region. This may be due to the mantle transition zone acting like a barrier, slowing the movement of material through the Earth. “This suggests something,” Dr. Wang said.

“Our findings raise new questions about how the deep Earth influences what we see at the surface over vast distances and time scales.”

of result Published in a magazine scientific progress.

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Wang Jingchuan others. 2024. Intraoceanic subduction during the Mesozoic era formed the lower mantle beneath the East Pacific uplift. scientific progress 10(39);doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ado1219

Source: www.sci.news

NOIRLab commemorates 5 years with breathtaking images of the Rosette Nebula

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A new image of the Rosette Nebula is dark energy camera (DECam), mounted on NSF's Victor M. Blanco 4-meter telescope. Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory Program of NOIRLab, Chile.

Nestled within the fiery petals of the Rosette Nebula is NGC 2244, a young star cluster that the Rosette Nebula nurtured. Image credits: CTIO / NOIRLab / DOE / NSF / AURA / TA University of Alaska Anchorage Chancellor and NSF's NOIRLab / D. de Martin and M. Zamani, NSF's NOIRLab.

of rosette nebula It exists in the constellation Monoceros, about 5,000 light-years from Earth.

Also known as Caldwell 49, CTB 21, SH 2-275, or W 16, the object spans 1.3 degrees in the sky, about the width of your index finger at arm's length.

The diameter of the rosette nebula is 130 light years — More than five times the size of the Orion Nebula.

The former are four times as far apart, so their apparent sizes are similar.

“As striking as the nebula's 'petals' is the striking absence of gas at its center,” NOIRLab astronomers said in a statement.

“The culprits who drilled this hollow core are the most massive stars. NGC2244 -An open star cluster nurtured by a nebula. ”

“This cluster was formed about 2 million years ago after the nebula's gases coalesced into clumps due to their mutual gravity.”

“Eventually, some of the clumps grew into giant stars, producing stellar winds powerful enough to punch a hole in the center of the nebula.”

“NGC 2244's massive star also emits ultraviolet light, which ionizes the surrounding hydrogen gas and illuminates the nebula with vibrant colors,” the astronomers said.

“The undulating red cloud is a region of H-alpha radiation originating from high-energy hydrogen atoms that emit red light.”

“Along the walls of the central cavity and closer to the central giant star, the radiation has enough energy to ionize heavy atoms like oxygen, causing it to glow in shades of gold or yellow.”

“Finally, along the edges of the petals, thin tendrils of deep pink glow with light emitted from the ionized silicon.”

The bright, glowing features of the Rosette Nebula are certainly impressive. But its dark and shadowy features also attract attention.

“Surrounding the excavated core of this nebula is a series of dark clouds called 'elephant trunks', so named because of their trunk-like pillars,” the researchers said. .

“These structures are opaque because they contain invisible dust and form a boundary between the hot shell of ionized hydrogen and the cold hydrogen surrounding environment.”

“As the shell expands outward, it encounters a cold, clumpy gas that resists its push.”

“This forms an elongated trunk, the length of which extends like fingers towards the central cluster.”

“One of these dark features is the wrench trunk: its claw-like head visible in the upper right corner of the central cluster.”

“Unlike the typical Pillar of Creation trunk, which stands like a straight column, the wrench's 'handle' has an unusual spiral shape that traces the nebula's magnetic field.”

“Less obvious, but equally interesting, is the dark globlet.”

“These tiny dust clumps, sometimes round and sometimes teardrop-shaped, are smaller than the familiar globules and have a mass just a few times that of Jupiter.”

“We see a series of them near Wrench Trunk, but hundreds more are scattered throughout the Rosette Nebula.”

“These spherules could contain brown dwarfs or planets.”

“In about 10 million years, radiation from the hot, young stars in the NGC 2244 cluster will obliterate the nebula.”

“By then, the rosette will be gone and the giant stars will be left without their parent clouds.”

Source: www.sci.news

Study suggests that nearby rivers are causing Mount Everest’s peak to rise

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Mount Everest, also known as Chomolangma in Tibetan and Sagarmatha in Nepali, is about 15 to 50 meters higher than its original height due to uplift caused by erosion of nearby river canyons, and therefore continues to grow. This is revealed in a new study.

Han et al. They found that erosion from a network of rivers about 75 km from Everest had carved out a significant canyon. This landmass loss has caused mountains to rise by 2 mm per year, and their heights have already increased by 15 to 50 meters over the past 89,000 years. Image credit: truthseeker08.

The Himalayas, formed by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate beneath the Eurasian plate, are home to some of the highest mountains on Earth.

Mount Everest is 8,849 meters above sea level, about 250 meters higher than the other highest peaks in the Himalayas.

Previous analysis of GPS data suggests that Everest's recent uplift is about 2 mm per year, which exceeds the expected uplift rate for the mountain range and suggests that mechanisms other than ongoing regional tectonics are responsible. This suggests that it may contribute to this process.

“Mount Everest is a remarkable mountain of myth and legend, and it continues to grow,” said Dr. Student Adam Smith.

“Our research shows that the nearby river system is cutting deeper and the loss of material is causing the mountain to spring further upwards.”

In this study, Smith and his colleagues investigated whether changes in rivers near the mountain may have contributed to Everest's recent uplift.

They used a numerical model to simulate the evolution of the Kosi river network and compared it to existing landforms.

These models suggest that the Arun River, a major tributary of the Kosi River, was involved in the occupation of another river 89,000 years ago.

The diversion of river water accelerated river erosion as the river adapted to its new path, resulting in the formation of the deep Arun River Gorge.

“Currently, the Arun River flows east of Mount Everest and joins the larger Kosi River system downstream,” Mr Smith said.

“For thousands of years, the River Arun has carved great gorges along its banks, washing away billions of tonnes of soil and sediment.”

“There are interesting river systems in the Everest region,” said Dr. Jing Geng Dai, a researcher at the China University of Geosciences.

“The upper Arun River flows eastward through highlands with flat valleys.''

“Then it suddenly turns south as the Kosi River, dropping in elevation and becoming steeper.”

“This unique feature of instability may be related to Everest's extreme height.”

The authors conclude that although erosion would have lowered local elevations along the river channel, the formation of the canyon removed the eroded mass relatively abruptly, allowing the surrounding landforms, including Everest, to compensate with surface uplift. It is argued that there is a possibility that

Although its contribution may be small compared to tectonic deformation, fluvial capture may play a role in both erosion and uplift of high landforms.

“Everest and its neighboring mountains are growing because isotropic rebound is causing them to rise faster than erosional wear,” said Dr. Matthew Fox, a researcher at University College London. said.

“Using GPS equipment, we can see it grow by about two millimeters every year. Now we can better understand what's causing that.”

“The change in the height of Mount Everest really highlights the dynamic nature of the Earth's surface,” says Dr. Xu Han, a researcher at the China University of Geosciences.

“The interaction between the erosion of the Arun River and the upward pressure of the Earth's mantle gives Everest a boost, pushing it higher than normal.”

of study Published in a magazine natural earth science.

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X Han others. The recent uplift of Chomolungma was reinforced by river drainage piracy. nut. earth sciencepublished online on September 30, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41561-024-01535-w

Source: www.sci.news

Webb discovers carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide found on Charon’s surface

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Using data from near infrared spectrometer (NIRSpec) Astronomers aboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have detected carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) The frozen surface of Pluto’s moon Charon. Their findings provide new insights into Charon’s chemical processes and surface composition, and could help understand the origin and evolution of icy objects in the outer solar system.

Protopapa others. Using Webb telescope observations (white), we detected spectral signatures of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Charon. This extends the wavelength range of previous New Horizons flyby measurements (pink). Image credit: S. Protopapa / SwRI / NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / JHUAPL.

Beyond Neptune, there is a collection of fascinating small objects known as trans-solar objects (TNOs) that orbit around the Sun.

These objects act as time capsules, giving planetary scientists a glimpse of the early solar system.

“Charon is unique in that it is the only medium-sized TNO for which geological maps are available, 500 km to 1700 km in diameter, thanks to measurements returned by NASA’s New Horizons mission,” said Sylvia of the Southwest Research Institute. Dr. Protopapa said. And her colleagues.

“Unlike larger TNOs (such as Pluto, Eris, and Makemake), Charon’s surface is not covered by supervolatile ices such as methane, with possible exceptions toward the poles.”

“As a result, Charon serves as an excellent candidate to gain valuable insights into processes such as differentiation, radiation exposure, and cratering within the Kuiper belt.”

“Although Charon has been extensively studied since its discovery in 1978, previous spectral data were limited to wavelengths below 2.5 μm, leaving gaps in our understanding of its surface composition. “

“The presence of water ice, ammonia-containing species, and organic compounds had been previously noted, but the spectral range used was insufficient to detect other compounds.”

Protopapa and his co-authors used Webb’s near-infrared spectrometer to observe Charon at wavelengths between 1.0 and 5.2 μm.

They conducted four observations at different longitudes, and together with laboratory experiments and spectral modeling, they confirmed the presence of crystalline water ice and ammonia, and also identified carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide.

“Thanks to Webb’s advanced observational capabilities, our team is able to explore the light scattered from Charon’s surface at longer wavelengths than previously possible, allowing us to explore the complexities of this fascinating object. “We were able to further deepen our understanding of human health,” said Dr. Ian Wong, a scientist at the institute. Space Telescope Science Institute.

The presence of hydrogen peroxide suggests active processing of water ice by irradiation and light at Charon’s surface, while carbon dioxide is present since its formation and is due to subsurface carbon dioxide exposed to the surface by impact events. It is thought to originate from carbon reservoirs.

The detection of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Charon represents a step forward in planetary science and provides insight into the moon’s surface chemistry.

This study could lay the foundation for future studies to investigate the dynamics of extrasolar objects, their surface compositions, and the effects of solar radiation.

“Our preferred interpretation is that the upper layer of carbon dioxide originated from within and was exposed to the surface through cratering events,” Dr Protopapa said.

“Carbon dioxide is known to exist in the region of the protoplanetary disk where the Pluto system formed.”

“New insights are made possible by the synergy of Webb observations, spectral modeling, and laboratory experiments, and may be applicable to similar medium-sized objects beyond Neptune.”

of result Posted in today’s diary nature communications.

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S. Protopapa others. 2024. Detection of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Charon’s layered surface using JWST. Nat Commune 15, 8247; doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-51826-4

Source: www.sci.news

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket suspended by FAA for malfunction

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The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Monday that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket experienced a second stage failure following Saturday’s NASA astronaut mission, leading to the rocket being grounded for the third time in three months. An investigation was deemed necessary.

After SpaceX successfully launched two astronauts to the International Space Station on behalf of NASA on Saturday, the rocket’s second stage that propelled the crew further into space failed to re-ignite properly due to “inertial combustion.” It ultimately crashed into the sea after the mission.

The astronauts safely reached the ISS and docked as planned on Sunday. The FAA confirmed that there were no injuries or property damage resulting from the booster malfunction.

The failure caused the booster to fall into the Pacific Ocean, outside the designated safety zone for the mission approved by the FAA.

SpaceX attributed the incident to a “non-nominal deorbit burn” experienced by the booster, resulting in the second stage landing safely in the ocean but outside the intended target area.

SpaceX stated, “Once we have a better understanding of the root cause, we will resume our launch activities.” This recent incident marks the third FAA grounding in the past three months, impacting SpaceX’s regular Falcon 9 rocket launches, which play a significant role in providing access to space for many nations.

Despite previous setbacks, SpaceX has swiftly resumed operations following technical issues with its Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX anticipates seeking FAA approval to resume flights soon, with ongoing technical assessments being conducted under FAA supervision.

SpaceX has emerged as a dominant force in the launch industry, launching multiple rockets per week since early 2024. While the first stage of the Falcon 9 is reusable, the second stage is not, leading to challenges during launches and re-entries that require FAA oversight for public safety.

The ongoing dispute between SpaceX and the FAA over launch license regulations has added to the challenges faced by both parties, with the FAA recently imposing fines on SpaceX for license violations related to previous launch activities.

The Falcon 9 grounding has no direct impact on SpaceX’s Starship, the company’s next-generation rocket system, which has undergone multiple tests since 2023. SpaceX has been vocal about the delays in obtaining FAA approval for the upcoming Starship test flights, highlighting the need for a smoother regulatory process.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

New discoveries made through drone footage of gray whales feeding habits

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Drone footage of a gray whale captured off the coast of Oregon over a seven-year period reveals new details about how the giant marine mammal finds and eats its food.

The findings, described in two studies published this summer, include that gray whales use different swimming techniques to gather food depending on their size and age, and that larger whales are able to swim more easily in the water. It includes a high chance of spitting out a “bubble explosion” to stay in place.

“Until this study, we thought all whales exhibited this behavior,” said Clara Byrd, lead author of both studies and a research scientist at Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Research Institute. said. “No one thought there was a pattern to who behaved in what way.”

Bird's research also found that whales use different predation techniques depending on the depth at which they forage and the habitat of their prey. Such information could inform future conservation efforts, she said, as it provides insight into the types of habitats that need to be protected to maintain whales' access to food.

“While we are not currently actively seeking to protect specific habitats, future concerns include the possibility that whales of different ages may not all be using the same habitats. “It's very important to know,” Bird said. “It will help us manage them in the future.”

Drone footage of gray Wales shows them standing on their heads and exploding bubbles.
oregon state university

Some gray whale populations are designated as an endangered species Under the Endangered Species Act. The entire species was once at risk of extinction due to commercial hunting. Gray whales were once common in the Northern Hemisphere, but are now only regularly seen in the North Pacific Ocean. As of 2016, just under 27,000 of them are estimated to be in the region. According to a 2020 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Whales eat amphipod crustaceans, such as small shrimp and earthworms. These creatures suck up water and sediment from the ocean floor where they live and use their whiskers to filter and consume food. Gray whales are usually observed alone or in small groups, but large groups can sometimes be seen on feeding and breeding grounds.

Bird and her team conducted a survey off the coast of Newport. During their seven-year voyage, the group used drones to track and record individual whales. They used identification markers such as scars, spots, and tail shapes to identify specific whales.

The first study that resulted from that research was Published in Animal Behavior magazine in Julyfocused on changes in whale foraging behavior depending on size and habitat.

The research team tracked 78 gray whales in a total of 160 sightings from 2016 to 2022. In drone footage, young, small whales were observed often swimming sideways or facing forward, opening and closing their mouths in an attempt to find and ingest food. . Older, larger whales, on the other hand, tended to dive and then stay in place with their heads down, in what scientists describe as a “handstand technique.”

As whales grow larger, the probability of such headstands increases, but the probability of forward swimming tactics decreases, the study found. Water depth and habitat type, including rocky, sandy, and coral reefs, also influenced the whales' approach.

Drone images show a gray whale using a sidestroke technique to forage for food.
oregon state university

Bird believes the switch in technique is due to the maturation of the whale's muscles and its level of strength and coordination.

Her team's second study was published Published in Ecology and Evolution In August, we explained how older, larger whales emit air through their blowholes to stay underwater as they forage.

These “bubble explosions” can reduce the whale's buoyancy and help it sink. Larger whales have a greater need for this because their lungs hold more air, contain more fat, and are easier to float.

The discovery was based on observations of 75 whales. On average, the bubble explosions occurred 27 seconds after the whale dove took off in search of food, and most were observed while the whales were doing a handstand. The older and larger the whale, the more likely such an explosion will occur.

“Combining size and individual-level behavior in this way is a really interesting part of this study,” Bird said.

Susan Parks, a biology professor at Syracuse University who has published research on whale eating habits but was not involved in the new study, said documenting the diversity among whale species is important for scientists. said that it helps avoid inaccurate generalizations.

“When working on conservation efforts and protecting endangered species, it's really important to understand that there can be large variations in behavior,” Parks said. “So you can't just stop at a single observation.”

The park also highlighted the potential drones have for collecting detailed data about whales.

“There is so much we don’t know about whale behavior,” she said, adding that the study “uses drone footage to essentially monitor whale behavior to help explain how whales make a living.” “It gave us a completely different perspective on the details of what's going on,” he added.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Diet for Longevity: How Changing Your Eating Habits Can Add Decades to Your Life

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I've seen my future and it's full of beans, both literally and figuratively. In addition to increasing the amount of beans, eat a lot of vegetables, no meat, avoid long periods of hunger and almost no alcohol. But in return for this dietary discipline, my future will also be longer and brighter. I'm 52 years old and can expect to live another 29 years with my current diet. But if I change now, I can earn another 10 years and live a healthy life until I'm 90.

This “longevity diet” is not just the latest fad, but the result of scientific research that extends beyond the human lifespan. And it's not just designed to prevent disease, it's actually designed to slow the aging process – that's the claim, anyway.

Of course, it makes sense to say that your diet can change your lifespan. Millions of people around the world still die prematurely each year due to lack of calories and nutrients. On the other hand, the estimate is 11 million people die every year from too many calories And the wrong kind of nutrients. Unnecessary ridicule inevitably leads to obesity and its obesity. cardiovascular diseasediabetes and cancer. The typical Western diet is high in sugar, refined starches, saturated fat, and low in whole foods, which can hinder your metabolism and make injuries even worse. This includes excessive release of insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar levels and directly affects aging. Suffice it to say that the Western diet is not pushing the longevity levers in the right direction. But is it really possible to dig yourself into a later grave?…

Article modified on June 29, 2022

Revised step 5 of longevity diet.

Article modified on July 20, 2022

Fixed the main target of amino acid restriction.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Newly Found Planet Orbiting Barnard’s Star Only 6 Light Years from Earth

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Artist’s impression of Barnard’s b, a planet orbiting around Barnard’s star

ESO/M.Kornmesser

Barnard’s star, one of the Sun’s closest neighbors, appears to have at least one planet orbiting around it, and possibly three more that require further confirmation.

Astronomers have been searching for planets around Barnard’s star, 5.96 light-years away, since the 1960s. Barnard’s star is the next closest star to us after the three stars in the Alpha Centauri star system.

In 2018, researchers claimed to have discovered a planet at least three times the size of Earth called Barnard Star B, but subsequent analysis revealed that the apparent planet’s signal was actually a larger-than-expected star. Turns out it was caused by activity. .

now, Jonay González Hernández Researchers at the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics have announced the discovery of a new Barnard star b, which has about 40 percent the mass of Earth.

The planet is much closer to its star than any other planet in our solar system, completing an orbit in just over three Earth days. This also means that its surface temperature is around 125°C (257°F), too hot for liquid water or life to exist.

Using an instrument called Espresso on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, González Hernández and his team observed tiny wobbles in Barnard’s star’s position caused by the orbiting planet’s gravity. I discovered this star.

They also found evidence of three more planets orbiting the star. However, the signal wasn’t strong enough to be certain, so more observations will be needed to confirm that.

“These detections are very tricky and always difficult because there is stellar activity, the magnetic field of the star that rotates with the star,” he says. Rodrigo Fernando Diaz at the National University of San Martin, Argentina. González Hernández and his team have thoroughly checked whether the observations are from a planet, but there could always be “unknown unknowns,” Fernando Díaz said. says. To really confirm this, he says, data from other telescopes is needed, which could take years of observations.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Alan Moore’s Epic and Blake Crouch’s Reprint Shine in This Month’s Top Sci-Fi Releases

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Tim Winton's new movie 'Juice' has been compared to post-apocalyptic 'Station Eleven' and 'The Road'

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We science fiction fans will have to work hard to survive all the riches this month has to offer. At least four books published in October are must-reads for me. These include the new Stephen Baxter, Tim Winton's epic tale of a future ravaged by climate change, Alan Moore's time travel, and the story of J. Lincoln Fenn. A mysterious and creepy plant on a remote island. I've also included some new spooky sci-fi novels that might be interesting. After all, it's already October. Speaking of which, it's time to start our annual reread of the Shirley Jackson family…

Our science fiction columnist, Emily Wilson, tells me that her judgment is impeccable (her review will be published later this month). And I think that's true. The film is set in a future ravaged by climate change, and follows a man and a child traveling through a stony desert until they discover an abandoned mine and decide to evacuate. Comparisons are made by publishers. station eleven and road.

This is a love story. When Love was two years old, her mother cut off her hand so she wouldn't have to work in the Mercury mines. As an adult, he lives in the Mask, a gigantic structure that hides the solar system from aliens to keep it safe. But then a spaceship arrives that has been traveling for 100 years from a forgotten colony planet…I have a lot of old stuff Stephen Baxter's novel My bookshelf is full, but it seems like this latest work from Britain's top science fiction author has to have a place there.

Remember when pride and prejudice and zombies ' came out, and we liberal arts students were wondering, 'What's next?' But it was actually quite interesting, wasn't it? Now, it's time for Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy's space adventures. In this version of Jane Austen's classic story, Elizabeth lives with her sisters and parents on a small moon in the “Londinium moon system,” but their Life is greatly shaken up.

First the Bennett sisters were facing off against zombies… now they're in space

Jay Maidment/Lionsgate/Cross Creek/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

Julia, a journalist, is offered a large sum of money to collect samples of strange flowers on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. That is the island where her sister, Irene, a botanical researcher, died in 1939. Julia will also delve into the island's secrets and rumors. It is said that a ghost appears from the burial ground on a moonless night. Fen's publisher compares this to the last of uswhich makes me wonder if this flower has some disturbing properties…

The novel, which podcast editor Rowan Hooper teased as “fascinating”, is the latest in a series of new novels from top literary author Knausgaard, and is set in a town in southern Norway where a bright new star has risen. Apparently, it turns out that since the appearance of this star, people no longer die. “These books deal with the meaning and reality of life in the modern world,” Rowan says in her writing.

alan moore

Kazam Media/REX/Shutterstock

In 1949, 18-year-old second-hand bookseller Dennis stumbles upon a fictional novel, an imagination from another book, which is in his hands. It turns out that Dennis has found a book known as the Great When, a version of London that transcends time and space, but this magical London must remain a secret, and Dennis has to take the book to its place where it's supposed to be. must be returned to. A time travel epic from the great Moore? Yes, please.

I've been thinking a lot about Jeff VanderMeer. extinctionand the eerie strangeness of Area X, a zone on the U.S. coastline where anyone who enters disappears since its publication ten years ago. Now we are gifted with the surprising fourth volume of the Southern Reach series. The first part begins decades before the formation of Area X, and jumps to follow the first expedition after the borders have been drawn down around the danger zone. VanderMeer can't wait to learn more about a world he thought was gone.

www.newscientist.com

Scientists discover new exoplanet near Barnard Star that is smaller than Earth

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An exoplanet with at least half the mass of Venus orbits Barnard's Star, the closest single star to the Sun, once every 3.15 days.

Artist's impression of Bernard B. Image credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser.

Barnard's Star is a 10 billion year old red dwarf star located in the constellation Ophiuchus.

At a distance of about 6 light years, it is the second closest star to the Sun after the Alpha Centauri triple star system.

The star, also known as Gliese 699 or GJ 699, is much smaller than the Sun and is classified as an M3.5 dwarf.

Despite the prospect of a “super-Earth” with a mass 3.2 times that of Earth in 2018, no planets have ever been confirmed to orbit this star.

The new exoplanet discovery is the result of five years of observations using the ESPRESSO instrument of ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.

“We were always confident that we would find something, even if it took a long time,” said Dr. Jonay González Hernández, an astronomer at the Canarias Astronomical Institute.

The newly discovered planet, named Barnard b, is about 20 times closer to Barnard's star than Mercury is to the Sun.

It orbits its parent star in 3.15 Earth days and has a surface temperature of about 125 degrees Celsius (257 degrees Fahrenheit).

“Bernard B is one of the lowest-mass exoplanets known, and one of the few exoplanets known to have less mass than Earth,” said Dr. González-Hernández. Ta.

“But this planet is too close to its host star, closer than the habitable zone.”

“Even though this star is about 2,500 degrees cooler than the Sun, it's still too hot to support liquid water on its surface.”

In addition to the confirmed planet, astronomers also discovered hints of three more exoplanet candidates orbiting the same star.

However, additional observations are required to confirm these candidates.

“We need to continue observing this star to confirm other candidate signals,” said Dr. Alejandro Suárez Mascareño, also from the Canarias Astronomical Institute and co-author of the study.

“But the discovery of this planet, along with previous discoveries such as Proxima b and Proxima d, shows that our cosmic backyard is full of low-mass planets.”

Bernard B's findings were published in a. paper in diary astronomy and astrophysics.

_____

JI Gonzalez Hernandez others. 2024. A sub-Earth mass planet orbiting Barnard's star. A&A 690, A79; doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202451311

Source: www.sci.news

The Rising Height of Mount Everest: An Exploration of Why the World’s Tallest Mountain Continues to Grow

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Standing at an impressive height of 29,032 feet, Mount Everest surpasses the nearby Himalayas by several hundred feet.

Scientists have discovered that the world’s highest mountain is still growing, attributed in part to the merging of two nearby river systems tens of thousands of years ago.

Researchers found that Everest rose between approximately 50 feet and 160 feet due to this merging, as detailed in a study published in Nature Geoscience.

“Even a seemingly permanent landform like Mount Everest can be continuously changed by various geological forces,” said Dai, a geoscientist from the China University of Geosciences in Beijing and co-author of the study, in an email to NBC News.

The Himalayas, including Everest, have been steadily increasing in height since the collision of the Indian subcontinent and the lower Eurasian plates around 45 million years ago.

A significant event occurred about 89,000 years ago when the Kosi River overtook the Arun River, leading to substantial erosion of rock and soil from the Himalayan foothills nearly 80 miles from Everest.

Through a geological process known as isostatic rebound, erosion reduced the weight of the area, allowing for the uplift of the Earth’s crust.

Scientists estimate that this rebound is causing Everest to grow at a rate of 0.16 to 0.53 millimeters per year, accounting for half of its annual uplift rate.

Research suggests that this phenomenon may explain why Mount Everest is unusually tall compared to its neighboring peaks.

Professor Dai noted that the role of isostatic rebound associated with river capture and erosion in Everest’s elevation adds a novel aspect to the study of mountain formation.

“These findings, while not completely revolutionary, are certainly surprising and could prompt a reevaluation of current models of the formation and evolution of the Himalayas,” Dai commented.

The study also emphasizes the interconnectedness of the Earth’s systems, where changes in one region can have significant impacts on others,” he added.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

The US government’s investigation of NVIDIA for alleged misconduct is justified | Max von Thun

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circleWhen a company like computer chip maker Nvidia experiences a significant surge in value within a short period, it catches the attention of investors. However, regulators are also alert, knowing the risks of monopolies stifling competition and manipulating markets. The U.S. Department of Justice, along with other competition authorities and tech watchdogs, suspect Nvidia of employing such tactics to strengthen its chip monopoly. Recently, reports surfaced that the Justice Department would initiate an antitrust investigation. investigationIt's about time.

Before the pandemic, Nvidia was relatively unknown to those outside the realm of video game enthusiasts with high-end gaming computers and consoles featuring powerful Nvidia chips. However, in the era of generative AI, Nvidia has risen to prominence. The fastest growing The greatest companies and their chips of all time Powered Every significant AI milestone (including OpenAI's development of ChatGPT) Two thirds of the AI ​​business tools market.

Generative AI necessitates massive computational power, with Nvidia's GPUs being a preferred choice for these calculations. This alignment between computational needs and Nvidia's chips has significantly contributed to the company's high market capitalization. 30 or more times In just five years, The world's most valuable companies It surpassed Microsoft and Apple earlier this year.

While Nvidia's success is beneficial for investors amid the AI ​​boom, recent stock market fluctuations suggest that the enthusiasm may be excessive. Nvidia should not be faulted for capitalizing on favorable circumstances, but the manner in which a company like Nvidia expands is critical. Unfair practices like driving out competitors, inflating prices, and fortifying monopolies are detrimental to customers, fair competition, and the public interest.

Similar to other tech giants, NVIDIA aims to dominate every market it enters. 88% of the world It also leverages GPUs and holds an edge in AI. Some projections indicate that Nvidia could attain a Trillion Dollar Market within a few years, solidifying its dominance. 98% of the market For data center GPUs.

Despite serving as a vital infrastructure for the AI ​​industry, Nvidia’s market power raises concerns. By amalgamating chips, software, and network services, the company holds a strong position in dictating AI development. This concentration can hinder competition, increase prices, and limit innovation, ultimately harming consumers and fair market practices.

To promote a healthy AI chip market, equitable accessibility to advanced semiconductors is essential. This fosters innovation, supports small businesses, and mitigates potential monopolistic control over the industry. Addressing these issues is crucial to safeguarding fair competition, consumer choice, and overall market resilience against disruptions.

The mounting concentration of the chip market, particularly controlled by Nvidia, warrants caution. As AI regulation initiatives emerge globally, Nvidia’s dominance in supplying high-demand chips places it in a quasi-regulatory role, influencing AI development access. This commercial influence over regulatory matters is concerning, highlighting the need for robust oversight to prevent monopolistic practices.

While Nvidia’s rapid growth is remarkable, it does not absolve the company from potential regulatory scrutiny for its monopoly practices. By leveraging its market power to exclude competitors and strengthen its position, Nvidia jeopardizes healthy competition and public interest. Regulators must act swiftly to prevent Nvidia from repeating the mistakes of past tech giants in dominating markets and stifling innovation.

Source: www.theguardian.com

What caused the spectacular flop of Sony’s big-budget hero shooter ‘Concorde’? | Games

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aShortly after posting Pushing Buttons last week, big gaming news broke: Sony was pulling the plug on hero shooter Concord just two weeks after launch, citing reasons that no one was playing it. Refunds were being offered to everyone who purchased it on PlayStation 5 and PC, leaving the game’s future uncertain.

It’s a brutal series of events. Sony acquired Firewalk Studios, the makers of Concorde, in 2023. Concorde was an expensive game that was in development for eight years, with a custom cinematic and a long-term plan that cost over $100 million to develop. Estimates suggest that fewer than 25,000 copies were sold in the first two weeks of release. This is shocking compared to other bad news for developers and studios this year.

Many It is written The question remains as to why Concorde was such a huge flop. As Keith Stewart pointed out in his review of the game, it entered a crowded genre of hero shooters, where many players already had favorites (Overwatch, Valorant, Apex Legends, etc.). Sony’s marketing for the game also seemed to flop, with very few people knowing about Concorde before it came out (I almost didn’t, but it’s my job to know about these things). Criticism was also leveled at the characters and design, which were generic and lacked any particularly interesting gameplay ideas.

Concord’s failure is emblematic of an existential problem in modern game development: Games are expensive and take so long to make that moment they can be missed years before a game is released. This makes publishers risk-averse, but simply trying to recreate something popular means it will be outdated by the time it’s finished.


I don’t want to play a game that takes years to play…Black Myth: Wukong. Photo: undefined/Game Science

Concord isn’t the first high-profile multiplayer flop of the year. Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League also disappointed publishers with poor sales and disappointed players by shoehorning a potentially fun game into a live-service multiplayer model. Sega’s Foamstars went completely unnoticed. And let’s not forget Sega’s live-service shooter Hyenas. Cancelled This was just a few months before the scheduled release.

My sense is that people just don’t have time to play games that last forever anymore. Destiny, one of the first of the current generation of permanent live-service games aimed at keeping players playing for years, celebrated its 10th anniversary this week. The game has become part of the lives and habits of millions of people. Overwatch, Fortnite, and even the decades-old World of Warcraft dominate in their genres. What will it take to get these players to abandon the game for a new one or add a new one to their spare time? And with these types of games, people aren’t just abandoning the game, they’re abandoning their friends.

The proliferation of live service games reminds me of the time in the 2000s when nearly every publisher was trying to make a massively multiplayer online game like World of Warcraft. Every day we got a press release saying someone had secured millions of dollars in funding for a new Warcraft killer. Some of the resulting games were good (Guild Wars, to name one), but most were only moderately successful at best. Online games are Success isn’t easy. It never was.

It’s surprising that this game is coming out so soon after the sales surge of Black Myth: Wukong, a single-player only game. As I wrote last week, many factors contributed to Wukong’s success, but still, there is a huge demand for this game, and by extension, single-player games in general. Personally, I don’t want a game that takes years to play. I want a game that wants to say something, to convey an experience, and that eventually ends. Games where the artistry is reflected in the game. in front That business model.

This is partly a matter of preference. There’s clearly a huge market for live-service multiplayer games; it’s just that most people are already playing them. There’s no way there’s an untapped market for millions of players who crave hero shooters and battle royale games but haven’t yet found the right fit. It’s time for publishers to try something new instead.

What to Play


It’s also great for kids… Photography: Good Feel Co.

My family is still crazy about Astro Bot. My youngest son wakes me up every morning telling me about his favorite power-up (his favorite is the “Frog Punch”). But I wanted a break, so I took a long train ride recently. Bakel It’s a Japanese-style action platform game in the vein of the forgotten 1990s series Ganbare Goemon, which means absolutely nothing to 98% of people – it means defeating beautifully animated enemies. Yokai Use your drumstick to run through a world of manga-style depictions of Japanese towns and landscapes.

The difficulty level is clearly geared towards kids, so I barely had any trouble playing through the first few levels, but it’s still a welcome time-warp platformer that reminded me of the screenshots of similar Japanese games I used to pore over in Nintendo magazines back in the ’90s.

Available: PC, Nintendo Switch
Estimated play time: 10 hr

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What to Read


An eternal conversation…Destiny 2. Photo: Activision

  • In more positive news for Sony, the long-awaited PS5 Pro It’s finally been announced, and for an extra £200 on top of the current system price you get an enhanced tech spec, a 2TB solid-state drive and more.

  • As mentioned above, Bungie’s space opera shooter destiny It turns 10 this week, and as Christian Donlan writes in his anniversary essay, the game is about everytime There’s something to be said for this, and it’s not just one of the first ever-lasting games, it’s an ever-lasting conversation.

  • The Mystery of Rubber Keysa new film about the development of ZX Spectrumwill be released early next month.

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Question Block


Baldur’s Gate 3 is best played on PC. Photo: Larian Studios

leader Maisie Question of the week:

After years of enjoying gaming on the Switch, I decided to broaden my horizons and bought a PS4 and a gaming laptop. The PS4 is great, but I’m having trouble getting Steam games to start. Working at a desk is different than lounging on the couch next to your husband. Do you have any tips for making PC gaming more fun and less like work?

I feel the exact same way about PC gaming. I hate sitting at a desk playing games. As a teenager I would play endless hours of Rollercoaster Tycoon, The Sims, and Age of Empires II after school, but now I sit at a desk all day. Not only is it the last thing I want to do after work, it’s also bad for my health. But I’ve been playing a lot of PC games lately, because I can play most games with a Bluetooth-enabled controller by connecting it to my TV with an HDMI cable.
PS4 Controller You can use any Xbox controller. I Xbox One Pad I use it for PC gaming now, but for many years I used an old, cheap, second-hand wired Xbox 360 one. Steam Deck It’s a game changer, so I highly recommend saving up and buying one.

For PC-exclusive games, that might seem like a worthwhile investment — almost all games are cross-platform these days — but… Baldur’s Gate 3 It really is great to play on PC, and if playing on PC doesn’t make you a fan of the keyboard and mouse, then nothing will.

If you have a question for Question Block, or anything else you’d like to say about the newsletter, please click “Reply” or email us at pushingbuttons@theguardian.com.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Scientists successfully recreate Martian “spiders” in laboratory for the first time

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Martian “spiders” are small, dark, spider-shaped formations up to 1 km (0.6 miles) in diameter. The leading theory is that they form when spring sunlight hits a layer of carbon dioxide that builds up during the dark winter months. In a new experiment, a team of NASA scientists has recreated these formation processes for the first time, simulating Martian temperatures and air pressure.

Examples of “Keefer Zoo” features proposed to have formed by seasonal CO2 sublimation dynamics on Mars: (a) a “skinny” spider within layered deposits in Antarctica, (b) a dark spot on a layer of translucent CO2 slab ice covering a group of “fat” spiders in an “Inca city” on Mars, (c) a “fried egg” showing a ring of dark dust surrounded by a bright halo, (d) patterned ground within high Antarctic latitudes with dark directional fans and some bright white fans indicating wind direction, (e) a bright halo surrounding a Swiss cheese depression, (f) a “lacey topography”, a type of patterned ground suggested to be polygonal patterned ground that was later scraped and eroded by surface-flowing CO2 gas from the Keefer model. Image credit: HiRISE/NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/University of Arizona.

Today, Mars is a dynamic planet with a rich variety of surface changes, despite its thin atmosphere and cold climate.

In winter, most of Mars' mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere accumulates on the surface as frost.

In spring, it sublimates and takes on forms never seen on Earth.

These include dark Dalmatian spots, directional alluvial fans, “fried eggs”, grooves which may have dark finger-like flows or light “halos” in spring, dendritic “spiders”, sand grooves in active dunes and growing dendritic valleys.

These features have been detected in the loose material around the Antarctic and in the inter-dune material towards the mid-Antarctic latitudes, although some smaller phenomena have also been detected in the Arctic.

Many of these features make up the so-called “Kiefer zoo,” or collection of surface expressions. Explained It was first published in 2003 and was proposed to be produced by the solid-state greenhouse effect.

“In the Kiefer model, sunlight penetrates a translucent ice sheet in spring, trapping thermal radiation and heating the topsoil beneath the ice, causing the impermeable sheet to sublime from beneath,” explained Dr. Lauren McKeown of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and her colleagues.

“Through this process, the spiders are thought to be caused by high-velocity gases scraping away topsoil beneath the ice sheet, littering the ice surface with fan and patchy variations that are then deposited by dust and gas plumes.”

The study authors were able to create a complete cycle of the Kiefer model in the lab and confirm the formation of several types of Kiefer zookeeper features.

“The greatest challenge in conducting the experiment was replicating the conditions found on the polar surface of Mars, namely the extremely low air pressure and temperatures of minus 185 degrees Celsius (minus 301 degrees Fahrenheit),” the researchers said.

“To do this, we used a liquid nitrogen-cooled test chamber, the Dirty Under Vacuum Simulation Chamber for Icy Environments (DUSTIE).”

“In our experiments, we cooled a Martian soil simulant in a container submerged in a bath of liquid nitrogen.”

“We placed it in the Dusty Chamber, where the air pressure was lowered to the same as in the southern hemisphere of Mars.”

“Carbon dioxide gas was then released into the chamber, where it condensed from the gas into ice over a period of three to five hours.”

“It took a lot of trial and error before we found the right conditions to make the ice thick and clear enough for the experiment to work.”

“Once we have ice with the right properties, we place a heater in the chamber underneath the simulant to heat it up and crack the ice.”

“We were thrilled when we finally saw plumes of carbon dioxide gas coming out of the powdered simulant.”

a paper The explanation for these experiments is Planetary Science Journal.

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Lauren E. McKeon others2024. Laboratory-scale investigation of the Kiefer Model of Mars. Planet Science Journal 5, 195;doi:10.3847/PSJ/ad67c8

Source: www.sci.news

Blood test accurately detects ALS in 97% of cases

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Biomarkers in blood may indicate certain medical conditions

Evgeny Sarov/Alamy

Researchers have linked eight genetic markers to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which may one day be able to diagnose the disease with a blood test.

Patients with ALS, the most common motor neuron disease, suffer from problems walking, speaking, swallowing and breathing that worsen over time and ultimately lead to death. There is no cure, but treatments such as physical therapy can help reduce the impact of these symptoms.

Doctors typically diagnose ALS using an assessment of symptoms, tests that measure electrical activity of the nerves and brain scans. A lack of awareness about ALS means doctors have to track how a patient’s symptoms progress over time before making a diagnosis, which delays treatment, doctors say. Sandra Banack At Brain Chemistry Labs, a research institute in Wyoming.

To diagnose the disease earlier, Banach and his colleagues have been analyzing blood samples from small groups of ALS patients and non-patients, and have found eight genetic markers that appear to be present at different levels in the two groups.

To test this, the team looked at blood samples from 119 people with ALS and 150 people without ALS from a biobank called the National ALS Biorepository and found that the same eight markers remained different between the two groups. These markers are related to neuronal survival, brain inflammation, memory and learning, Banak says.

The researchers then trained a machine learning model to distinguish between people with and without ALS based on the marker levels of 214 participants, and when they subsequently tested it on the remaining 55 participants, found that it correctly identified 96 percent of ALS cases and 97 percent of non-ALS cases.

“This is a wonderful thing.” Ahmad Al Khlifat “The test is excellent at distinguishing between people with ALS and those without,” said researchers from King’s College London.

The researchers estimate that the test will cost less than $150 and hope to have it available within two years, Banach said. But it needs to be tested in different groups of people first. If the team partners with the right diagnostic labs, Banach said, the test could be available within a year.

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Source: www.newscientist.com