Illinois Unearths Remarkable 308-Million-Year-Old Fossil of Spiny Spider

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The forests of the Late Carboniferous Period (about 300-320 million years ago) were home to a wide variety of arachnids. In addition to the familiar spiders, harvestmen, and scorpions, there were other strange kinds of spider-like animals. new paper this month, paleontology journal a pair of paleontologists explained. douglas sarachne echinopod a large spider-like arachnid with highly spiny legs (presumably to deter predators) from the world-famous Mason Creek fossil site in Illinois, USA.

douglas sarachne echinopod. Image credit: Paul Selden and Jason Dunlop, doi: 10.1017/jpa.2024.13.

“douglas sarachne echinopod “It comes from Illinois' famous Mason Creek and is approximately 308 million years old,” said Dr. Paul Selden, a paleontologist at the University of Kansas and the Natural History Museum in London.

“This compact arachnid, about 1.5 cm long, has surprisingly strong, spiny legs, and is completely unlike any other known arachnid, living or extinct.”

“Coal measurements are an important source of information about fossil arachnids and represent the first time in Earth's history that most living groups of arachnids arose together. However, the fauna remains quite different from what it is today. It was different.”

Dr Jason Dunlop, a paleontologist at the Berlin Museum of Nature, said: 'Spiders are a fairly rare group, only known from primitive lineages at the time, and they are similar to a variety of long-extinct arachnids and these. They shared a shared ecosystem.”

“douglas sarachne echinopod is a particularly striking example of one of these extinct forms. ”

“Although this fossil's highly spiny legs are reminiscent of modern harvesters, its body structure is quite different from harvesters and other known arachnid groups.”

douglas sarachne echinopod The researchers discovered that it does not belong to any known order of Araneidae.

“Unfortunately, we can't see details such as the mouth parts, so it's difficult to say exactly which group of arachnids are our closest relatives,” Dr Selden said.

“It may belong to a broader group that includes spiders, whip spiders and whip scorpions.”

“Whatever their evolutionary similarities, these spiny arachnids likely come from a time when arachnids were experimenting with different body plans.”

“Some of these later became extinct, probably shortly after the Mason Creek era, during the so-called 'Carboniferous rainforest collapse,' when coal forests began to fragment and disappear. Or perhaps these strange arachnids are hanging on until the mass extinction at the end of the Permian?”

Specimen douglas sarachne echinopod It was discovered in clay and ironstone concretions by Bob Macek in the 1980s.

Macek introduced a common method of cracking stones by leaving them outdoors in water over the winter, allowing frost to penetrate the natural cracks in the stones along the fossil-containing surface.

A sharp hammer blow split the stone along a plane, exposing the fossil.

Around 1990, David Douglas acquired a specimen from Bob, at which point it became part of the David and Sandra Douglas Collection and was displayed in the Douglas Family Museum of Prehistoric Life.

In 2023, when it became clear that the specimen was a new species, David Douglas donated it to the Field Museum of Natural History for study.

“Genus name douglas sarachne We recognize the Douglas family,” Dr. Dunlop said.

“after that, echinopods “Refers to the animal's unique and distinctive spiny legs.”

_____

Paul A. Selden and Jason A. Dunlop. A remarkable spiny arachnid from Mason Creek Lagerstätte, Pennsylvania, Illinois. paleontology journal, published online on May 17, 2024. Doi: 10.1017/jpa.2024.13

Source: www.sci.news

Ancient Norwegian archaeologist uncovers Stone Age leader’s visage

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The skeletal remains of a 4,000-year-old Scandinavian man were discovered in 1916. Hitla island, Norway.

The male Hitra was approximately 169 cm tall, had blond hair and blue eyes. Image courtesy of Thomas Foldberg/Åge Hojem/NTNU University Museum.

“In 1916, the road up the hill to the Fausland farm on the island of Hitra was being renovated using gravel from the coast along the deepest part of Balmsfjorden,” said Dr. Birgitte Skarr of the NTNU University Museum. a colleague said.

“Suddenly, the workers noticed human bones among the sand and stones.”

“The bones belonged to an approximately 25-year-old man who died at the end of the Stone Age, 4,000 years ago.”

“He is believed to have drowned. At the time of his death, the sea level would have been 12.5 meters higher than it is now, and the site of his discovery would have been at a depth of 4 meters.”

Archaeologists also found and studied a Hitraean dagger and arm guard.

“The arm guard is a rectangular bone with two holes that would have been attached to the wrist of the bow hand,” they said.

“The guard protects your wrist from the impact of the bowstring when you shoot an arrow.”

“These pieces of equipment may indicate that he was a warrior.”

“It is impossible to determine whether the drowning was the result of a fight or an accident,” Dr. Skarr said.

“What we do know is that the Hitraeans lived in a very turbulent time.”

“Up until that point, most people lived as hunter-gatherers, and agriculture only became fully established in Norway at the end of the Stone Age, during the time of the Hitra people.”

“Although elements of agriculture had been introduced earlier in southern and eastern Norway, agriculture was first established during this period in central Norway, along the coast of western Norway, and in northern Norway.”

“We believe that agriculture was introduced by settlers who came to Norway to obtain more land, and they were willing to use weapons to do so.”

“So we have to expect violent clashes between the people who were already living here and the newcomers.”

“New people brought new knowledge to the country, not just about animal husbandry and agriculture, but also about other ways of organizing society.”

“They lived in a class society, had different worldviews, different religions, and large networks that spanned Europe.”

“This knowledge led to major political, economic, and social changes.”

“There is still much we don’t know about this dramatic period in Scandinavian history, and research continues.”

“His DNA is currently being analyzed at the Lundbeck Foundation Geogenetics Center at the University of Copenhagen.”

Source: www.sci.news

Stunning images of NGC 4689 captured by Hubble

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured sharp images of NGC 4689, a jewel-bright spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma.

This Hubble image shows spiral galaxy NGC 4689 located 52 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / D. Tilker / J. Lee / PHANGS-HST Team.

NGC 4689 It is located approximately 52 million light-years away in the constellation Kamina.

“Of the 88 constellations officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Coma has the distinction of being the only constellation named after a historical figure. Queen Berenice II of Egypt” explained the Hubble astronomer.

“The Latin word ‘coma’ refers to her hair, meaning that NGC 4689 can be said to be present in the Queen’s hair.”

“Some of Berenice’s contemporaries may have meant this quite literally; her court astronomer believed that Berenice’s lost locks had been destroyed by God (“among the stars”). It was given this name because there is a story that it was thought to have been placed in It is the constellation of Coma. ”

NGC 4689 is discovered It was proposed by German-born British astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784.

Also known as LEDA 43186 or UGC 7965, this galaxy is a member of the Virgo Cluster, a group of more than 2,000 galaxies.

NGC 4689 is tilted 36 degrees and can be viewed almost head-on.

The new images of the galaxy were created from separate exposures taken in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared spectral regions. Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3).

This is based on data obtained through a gender filter. Color is obtained by assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.

“This image was created using two sets of observations taken in 2019 and 2024, both as part of a program to observe multiple ‘nearby’ galaxies.” Astronomy said the people.

The 2024 observing program is an interesting example of how Hubble, a relatively old but highly productive telescope, can support the work of the technologically cutting-edge Webb Telescope. ”

“Observations collected by Webb change our understanding of how galaxies change and evolve over time by providing data of unprecedented detail and clarity. It will be.”

“But thanks to their complementary capabilities, new observations from Hubble (such as those used to create new images) can aid the work being done using the Web.”

“In this case, the Hubble data were collected to better understand the stellar populations of nearby galaxies, which is critical to understanding the evolution of galaxies.”

“NGC 4689 therefore plays an important role in advancing our understanding of how all galaxies evolve.”

Source: www.sci.news

Cyprus settled by hunter-gatherers much earlier than previously believed

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

With persistent stories of isolation, inaccessibility, and unattractiveness, one of the eastern Mediterranean islands was first populated by an influx of agricultural populations from the mainland under demographic pressures. It is generally considered to be a Neolithic phenomenon that began with. New research led by Professor Corey Bradshaw from Flinders University shows Cyprus may have been settled by hunter-gatherers by about 14,000 to 13,000 years ago, earlier than previously recognized. . This process must have involved a small number of large-scale migration events (hundreds to thousands of people), which infers the intentions and organization of these early humans.

Bradshaw uses the latest archaeological data, afterthought climate projections, and demographic models of age structure to other. They demonstrate evidence of an early arrival on Cyprus (14,257-13,182 years ago), within two to three major events occurring within 100 years, to ensure the risk of extinction is low. They expected a large group (1,000 to 1,375 people) to arrive.Image credit: Bradshaw other., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2318293121.

In researching when Cyprus was first occupied by humans, Professor Bradshaw and his colleagues discovered that the large Mediterranean islands were an attractive and preferred destination for Paleolithic people.

Their findings contradict previous research that suggested Mediterranean islands would have been inaccessible and inhospitable for Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies.

Archaeologists used archaeological data, climate estimates, and demographic modeling to uncover Cyprus's early people.

Analysis of archaeological dating from the 10 oldest sites across Cyprus suggests that first human habitation dates between 14,257 and 13,182 years ago, which is longer than previously thought. It is also much older.

“The islands were then rapidly settled. Climate modeling shows that this early hominin population was able to survive in tandem with increases in temperature, precipitation, and environmental productivity sufficient to sustain large hunter-gatherer populations. “We show that this is the case,” the researchers said.

Based on demographic models, we believe that large groups of hundreds to thousands of people arrived in Cyprus over two or three major migration events within 100 years.

“This settlement pattern suggests systematic planning and the use of advanced vessels,” Professor Bradshaw said.

Within 300 years, or 11 generations, Cyprus' population grew to a median of 4,000 to 5,000 people.

Dr Theodora Muzio, an archaeologist at James Cook University and the University of Cyprus, said: “This result suggests that Cyprus, and perhaps other Mediterranean islands, were more likely to be inhospitable places for Paleolithic hunter-gatherer societies. “This suggests that it would have been an attractive destination.”

“The dispersal and settlement of humans in Cyprus and other eastern Mediterranean islands was due to rapid climate change, with coastal regions inundated by post-ice age sea level rise and farmers forced to move to new locations. , it is argued that this is due to demographic pressures on the mainland, an area of necessity rather than choice.”

“This interpretation has arisen as a result of significant gaps in the archaeological record of Cyprus, resulting from differences in the preservation of archaeological materials, bias in preservation, uncertainties associated with dating, and limited DNA evidence. '' said Australian Museum of Archaeology's archaeologist Dr Christian Liebmeyer. Australian Biodiversity and Heritage Research Council Center of Excellence, German Institute of Archaeology, and James Cook University.

“Our research, based on more archaeological evidence and advanced modeling techniques, changes that.”

“New findings highlight the need to reconsider the question of early human migration in the Mediterranean and test the validity of the perceived early settlement dates in the light of new technologies, field survey methods and data. ' said Professor Bradshaw.

Regarding this research, paper Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

_____

Corey J.A. Bradshaw other. 2024. Demographic models predict the onset of the late Pleistocene and rapid expansion of pre-agro-pastoralism in Cyprus. PNAS 121 (21): e2318293121; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2318293121

Source: www.sci.news

Astronomers Find Milky Way Center is Ventilated

Posted on May 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered an “exhaust vent” that directs hot gas away from Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The vent is about 26,000 light-years from Earth and is connected to a previously discovered chimney-like structure perpendicular to the galactic plane. Chandra's data shows a cylindrical tunnel that helps collect gas towards the outer edge of the Milky Way. The results reveal how the Milky Way's black hole takes in and rejects matter.

This image shows a region near the center of the Milky Way galaxy in X-rays and radio waves. At the bottom of the image, near the center, there are knots of shiny, tangled material that resemble paint splatters. This is the brightest region in the image and contains the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy known as Sagittarius A*. The bottom third of the image looks like an angry firestorm. Red and orange stripes were scattered in all directions, as if the embers of a fire had crackled and shot into the air all at once. A flame-like structure is licking from the right side towards the center. Most of the image is injected with a wispy blue cloud indicating his X-rays detected by Chandra. In some places, wispy blue clouds appear to form balls of blue-green light, known as dust rings. They are caused by X-rays from a bright X-ray source reflecting off the dust around them. These dust rings resemble underwater lights glowing in a cloudy pool at night. Rising from Sagittarius A* in the center of the image is a pillar of blue light called a chimney. This chimney of hot gas is surrounded by a red cloud filled with stars, appearing as a small red speck. Near the top of the blue pillar is a light blue stripe surrounded by an illustrated gray box. This line is called the chimney exhaust. Immediately to the left is another illustrated box showing a close-up image of the chimney vent that Chandra observed.Image credits: NASA / CXC / Chicago Space / Mackey other. / NRF / SARAO / MeerKAT / SAO / N. Walk.

The chimney begins at the center of the Milky Way and stands perpendicular to the galaxy's spiral disk.

Astronomers previously identified the chimney using X-ray data from NASA's Chandra mission and ESA's XMM Newton mission.

The radio emissions detected by the MeerKAT radio telescope show the influence of the magnetic field surrounding the gas in the chimney.

The latest Chandra data reveals several X-ray ridges nearly perpendicular to the galactic plane.

Astronomers believe these are cylinder-shaped tunnel walls that help collect hot gas as it moves upwards along the chimney and away from the center of the galaxy. .

The newly discovered vent is located near the top of a chimney about 700 light-years from the center of the galaxy.

“We suspected that the magnetic field was acting as a chimney wall, allowing hot gases to rise through it like smoke,” said Dr. Scott McKee, an astronomer at the University of Chicago.

“I just discovered an exhaust near the top of the chimney.”

Astronomers believe the vent formed when hot gas rising through the chimney collided with cooler gas in its path.

The brightness of the exhaust wall in X-rays is caused by the shock wave created by this collision, similar to the sonic boom from a supersonic airplane.

The left side of the exhaust port is thought to be particularly bright because the upwardly flowing gas hits the tunnel wall at a more direct angle and with more force than other areas.

The researchers believe that the hot gas originates from a series of events in which material falls into Sagittarius A*, then erupts from the black hole, sending gas upward along the chimney and out the exhaust vent. I think it is most likely that it did.

However, it is not known exactly how often black holes are fed.

Previous studies have shown that dramatic X-ray flares occur every few hundred years at or near the central black hole, so that these flares send hot gases upward through the exhaust vent. may play an important role in pushing up.

Astronomers also estimate that Sagittarius A* tears apart and swallows a star approximately every 20,000 years.

Such an event would lead to a powerful and explosive release of energy, much of which would rise through the chimney vent.

Dr Mark Morris, an astronomer at the institute, said: 'We don&#39t know whether this energy and heat is caused by a large amount of material being thrown into Sagittarius A* at once. It&#39s like being thrown into it.” University of California, Los Angeles.

“Alternatively, it could result from multiple small loads being fed into the black hole, similar to kindlings thrown in periodically.”

Particles and energy within the vents provide clues about the origins of two mysterious and much larger structures near the center of the Milky Way. Fermi bubbles observed in gamma-rays by NASA&#39s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and eROSITA bubbles detected by NASA&#39s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. ESA&#39s eROSITA X-ray telescope.

These are both pairs of structures that extend thousands of light-years away from the center of our galaxy.

These provide important information about past explosive activity near the center of the galaxy.

Both the Fermi and eROSITA bubbles are aligned along the direction of the chimney and a second X-ray chimney that starts at the center of the galaxy and points in the opposite direction.

The funnel effect of the exhaust near the top of the chimney keeps the hot gases concentrated as they move upwards, which can promote the formation of a bubble agglomerate structure.

“The origin of the Fermi and eROSITA bubbles is one of the greatest mysteries facing the study of high-energy radiation from the Milky Way,” said Dr. Gabriele Ponti, an astronomer at Italy&#39s National Institute of Astrophysics.

“We discovered small structures that may play a major role in the creation of these giant bubbles.”

a paper Regarding the survey results, astrophysical journal.

_____

Scott C. McKee other. 2024. X-rays from the central “exhaust” of the chimney at the center of the galaxy. APJL 966, L32; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad3248

Source: www.sci.news

Fresh research offers new understanding of baobab’s evolutionary past

Posted on May 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The iconic baobab, also known as the upside-down tree or tree of life, is most likely native to Madagascar, according to a new study.

Baobab tree in Senegal. Image credit: Viajesunion2.

genus AdansoniaThis plant, better known as the baobab or “Mother of the Forest,” has fascinated botanists, tourists, naturalists, and passersby for centuries.

Perhaps the earliest record of humans marveling at these amazing trees can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians around 2,300 BC.

Their grotesque appearance, gigantic size, reputed longevity, and diverse uses have made baobabs one of the most charismatic species on Earth.

Embedded in folklore and tradition, baobabs have inspired countless works of art and have been associated with human settlements and cultures for thousands of years.

Adansonia consisting of Eight morphologically distinct species: one distributed throughout Africa, one in northwestern Australia, and six endemic to Madagascar.

However, the origin of baobabs has been debated for many years due to a lack of fossil evidence.

“Our study reveals new insights into baobab speciation patterns and shows how climate change has influenced baobab distribution and speciation patterns over millions of years.” said Dr Ilia Leech, researcher at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Dr. Leach and his colleagues conducted genomic analyzes of all eight baobab tree species and combined these datasets with ecological analyses.

As a result of the analysis, Adansonia They originated about 41 million years ago and diversified about 20 million years ago.

The researchers found that the historical population dynamics of baobabs are closely linked to both interspecific competition and geological changes in Madagascar, particularly changes in sea level.

Based on data including phylogenetic relationships, gene flow, and genetic diversity of different baobab species, they believe that the hypothesis of mainland Africa and Madagascar as the center of origin for baobabs is the most reasonable explanation for the current data. suggests providing. Australia.

The discovery also allowed scientists to reassess the baobab's conservation strategies and current status.

For example, they suggest that two endangered baobab species in Madagascar should be assigned higher conservation status. Adansonia Suarezensis and Adansonia grandidieri.

High levels of inbreeding, low genetic diversity, and population declines all mean these endangered species lack resilience to ecological perturbations and could be seriously threatened by climate change. It suggests that.

“We are thrilled to be part of this project that uncovers patterns of baobab speciation in Madagascar and the subsequent remarkable long-distance dispersal of two species, one to Africa and one to Australia. I was delighted,” said Professor Andrew Leach, a researcher at Queen Mary University. London.

“This has been accompanied by the evolution of some interesting pollination syndromes involving hawkmoths, lemurs and bats.”

of study It was published in the magazine Nature.

_____

JN. One other. Baobab tree prominence in Madagascar. Nature, published online April 19, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07447-4

Source: www.sci.news

Marine scientists confirm that killer whales only take one breath during a dive

Posted on May 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

To collect information on the animals’ behaviors, Professor Andrew Treitz and his team at the University of British Columbia utilized drone footage and biological data from tags attached to 11 northern and southern resident killer whales in Queen Charlotte Sound, Queen Charlotte Strait, Johnston Strait, and Strait of Juan de Fuca along the British Columbia coast.

Still image from UAV drone video showing data logger placement and breathing. Image credit: McRae et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302758.

“Orcas are like sprinters; they lack the endurance for deep and prolonged dives like blue or humpback whales,” Professor Treitz noted.

Research revealed that killer whales predominantly spend their time off the coast of British Columbia, engaging in shallow dives lasting less than a minute.

An adult male recorded the longest dive time of 8.5 minutes.

By determining that the whales took only one breath during the dive, researchers could calculate their oxygen consumption rates per minute for adults and juveniles.

This information contributes to estimating the energy expenditure of killer whales and their daily fish consumption needs.

University of British Columbia student Tess McRae stated, “This will aid in understanding if killer whales, especially the endangered southern population, are obtaining sufficient food. It’s a critical aspect.”

The orcas in the study took 1.2 to 1.3 breaths per minute at rest, increasing to 1.5 to 1.8 breaths per minute while moving or hunting.

For comparison, humans typically take around 15 breaths per minute at rest and 40 to 60 breaths per minute during physical activity.

“It’s akin to holding your breath, rushing to the grocery store, shopping, and returning before being able to breathe again,” explained Dr. Beth Volpoff, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia.

Published findings in the online journal PLoS ONE.

_____

TM McRae et al. 2024. Killer whale breathing rate. PLoS ONE 19 (5): e0302758; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302758

Source: www.sci.news

Hubble Space Telescope finds three-star system in Taurus

Posted on May 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The Hubble team has released an astonishing image. NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the triple star system HP Tau.

About 550 light-years away in the constellation Taurus, three dazzling stars, HP Tau, shine brightly from the cavity of a reflection nebula in a new Hubble image. Image credit: NASA / ESA / G. Duchene, University of Grenoble I / Gladys Kober, NASA and Catholic University of America.

HP Tau is a triple star system located approximately 550 light-years away in the constellation Taurus.

The system, also known as EPIC 247592463, TIC 118521708, or IRAS 04328+2248, consists of the variable stars HP Tau, HP Tau G2, and HP Tau G3.

HP Tau is one of the stars. T Taurus a type of young variable star that has not yet begun nuclear fusion but is beginning to evolve into a hydrogen-fueled star similar to the Sun.

“T Tauri stars tend to be less than 10 million years old, compared to our Sun, which is about 4.6 billion years old, but they formed when they were shrouded in clouds of dust and gas. “They are often discovered as they are,” Hubble astronomers said.

“Like other variable stars, HP Tau's brightness changes over time.”

“The T Tauri star is known to have periodic and random fluctuations in brightness.”

“Random fluctuations can be caused by chaotic conditions in a developing young star, such as instability in the accretion disk of dust and gas around the star, material from that disk falling into the star and being consumed, and flares on the star's surface. It may be due to the nature of

“The periodic changes may be due to giant sunspots rotating in and out of view.”

“Clouds of gas and dust glow with reflected light as they orbit the star.”

“Reflection nebulae do not themselves emit visible light, but they shine when light from nearby stars reflects off gas and dust, much like fog illuminated by a car's headlights.”

Hubble studied the HP-tau system as part of its study of protoplanetary disks, disks of material around stars that coalesce into planets over millions of years.

Source: www.sci.news

As heat waves loom, cities innovate to protect residents and prevent casualties.

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

In North Carolina, for instance, Ward and colleagues have assisted counties in formulating heat preparedness plans to identify their most vulnerable residents.

He emphasized that government officials should approach the rise in heat and humidity in a similar manner to how they handle hurricanes, tornadoes, and other emergencies.

“Emergency management and public health officials are already well-prepared for various extreme weather events, but they are not as well-prepared for heat-related incidents,” Ward explained.

The events of last summer raised concerns, she noted.

“It was a Category 5 heat event,” Ward explained. “The severity of what we experienced last summer was enough to bring attention to this issue.”

Research indicates that climate change is leading to an increase in the frequency, duration, and intensity of heatwaves worldwide. Last year marked the hottest year on record, and the warming trend continues. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Agency, April saw World temperature records being set for 11 consecutive months.

Forecasts suggest that temperatures will be higher than usual across much of the United States in the next three months, as per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s predictions. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Ward expressed optimism that cities were taking the threat of heatwaves seriously, although significant challenges lie ahead. Securing funding for preparing for extreme heatwaves, particularly in rural regions, is a major challenge.

Addressing the root social issues that exacerbate during heatwaves, such as homelessness, soaring energy costs, and economic disparities, is an even greater challenge.

However, Ward remains hopeful that the experiences of last summer have motivated some local governments to take action.

“Moving forward, I would like to see a stronger emphasis on preventive measures to reduce these exposures in the first place, so we are not constantly in response mode,” she stated.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Discovery of ancient star in Milky Way halo estimated to be 12-13 billion years old by astronomers

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered very old stars in the Milky Way’s halo, a cloud of stars that covers the entire disk of our galaxy. These objects formed between 12 and 13 billion years ago, when the first galaxies were beginning to form. Researchers believe that each star once belonged to its own dwarf galaxy, which was later absorbed into the larger but ever-growing Milky Way, making them known as small accreting star systems (SASS). It’s called a star.

Artist’s concept of the Milky Way galaxy. Image credit: Pablo Carlos Budassi / CC BY-SA 4.0.

“Given what we know about galaxy formation, these oldest stars should definitely exist,” says MIT professor Anna Froebel.

“They are part of our cosmic family tree. And now we have a new way to find them.”

As they discover similar SASS stars, Professor Froebel and his colleagues hope to use them as analogues of ultrafaint dwarf galaxies, which are thought to be some of the first living galaxies in the universe.

These galaxies remain intact today, but they are too distant and faint for astronomers to study in detail.

SASS stars may once have belonged to similar primitive dwarf galaxies, but they are now located within the Milky Way and are much closer, making them more accessible for understanding the evolution of ultrafaint dwarf galaxies. This could be the key.

“Now we can look for more brighter analogs in the Milky Way and study their chemical evolution without chasing these very faint stars,” Professor Froebel said.

The low chemical abundances of these stars suggest that they first formed between 12 and 13 billion years ago.

In fact, their low chemical signature was similar to what astronomers had previously measured for several ancient, ultra-dark dwarf galaxies.

Are the team’s star players from similar galaxies? And how did they come to exist in the Milky Way?

Based on a hunch, scientists studied the orbital patterns of stars and how they move across the sky.

The three stars are located in different locations throughout the Milky Way’s halo and are estimated to be about 30,000 light-years from Earth.

When astronomers used observations from ESA’s Gaia satellite to trace the movement of each star around the galaxy’s center, they noticed something strange. All three stars appeared to be in motion, compared to most of the stars in the main disk, which move like cars on a race track. Wrong way.

In astronomy, this is known as retrograde motion, and is information that the object was once accreted or pulled in from elsewhere.

“The only way to get a star wrong from other members is if you throw it the wrong way,” Professor Froebel says.

The fact that these three stars orbit in a completely different way than the rest of the galactic disk or halo, combined with the fact that their chemical abundances are low, suggests that these stars are actually It was strongly argued that it was ancient and once belonged to an earlier era, a small dwarf galaxy that fell into the Milky Way at a random angle and continued its stubborn orbit billions of years later.

The authors were interested in whether retrograde motion was a feature of other ancient stars in the halo that astronomers had previously analyzed, and they looked at the scientific literature and found similarly low strontium and barium contents, discovered 65 other stars that appear to be moving in retrograde motion as well. Galaxy flow.

“Interestingly, they are all traveling very fast, hundreds of kilometers per second, in opposite directions,” Professor Froebel said.

“They’re on the run! We don’t know why it happened, but this is the piece of the puzzle we need and we never expected it when we started.”

Researchers are keen to find other ancient SASS stars, and now have a relatively simple recipe for doing so. First, they look for stars with low chemical abundance, then track their orbital patterns for signs of retrograde motion.

Researchers hope this method will uncover a small but significant number of the universe’s oldest stars, out of the more than 400 billion stars in the Milky Way.

“I really enjoyed working with three female undergraduates. It was a first for me,” said Professor Froebel.

“This is just an example of the MIT way. It is. And anyone who says, ‘I want to participate,’ can do so, and good things happen.”

team’s paper Published in Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices.

_____

Hilary Diane Anders other. 2024. The oldest star with a small amount of neutron-capturing elements and originating from an ancient dwarf galaxy. MNRAS 530 (4): 4712-4729; doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae670

Source: www.sci.news

Physicists Investigate True Tauonium: The Heaviest and Smallest QED Atom

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) Atoms are composed of unstructured point-like lepton pairs held together by electromagnetic forces.

An artist's impression of a true tauonium. Image credit: Fu other., doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2024.04.003.

“QED atom “Like hydrogen, which is formed from protons and electrons, it is formed from lepton pairs through electromagnetic interactions,” said physicist Jinghan Hu of Peking University and colleagues.

“Their properties have been studied for things like testing QED theory, fundamental symmetries, gravity, and exploring physics beyond the Standard Model.”

“The first QED atom was discovered in 1951. It was in a bonded state and was named positronium.”

“The second one, discovered in 1960, was in a captive state and was named Muonium.”

“No other QED atoms have been discovered in the past 64 years.”

“A new collider is proposed to discover true muonium, which decays to its final state with electrons and photons,” they said.

“The heaviest and smallest QED atoms are tauonium, ditauonium, or true tauonium”

in new paper in a diary science bulletinphysicists introduce a new method to identify true tauonium.

“Tauonium, which consists of tauon and its antiparticle, has a Bohr radius of only 30.4 femtometers, which is about 1/1741 times smaller than the Bohr radius of a hydrogen atom,” the researchers said.

“This means that tauonium can test the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics and QED on a smaller scale, providing a powerful tool for exploring the mysteries of the microscopic world of matter.”

“We will observe taunium by collecting data at 1.5 ab-1, which is close to the threshold for tauon pair production, in an electron-positron collider and selecting signal events containing charged particles accompanied by undetected neutrinos carrying away energy. We have demonstrated that the significance exceeds 5σ.

“This provides strong experimental evidence for the presence of tauonium.”

“We also found that by using the same data, the accuracy of measuring the tau lepton mass can be improved to an unprecedented level of 1 keV, two orders of magnitude higher than the best accuracy achieved in current experiments.”

“This result not only contributes to the accurate verification of the electroweak theory in the Standard Model, but also has profound implications for fundamental physics questions such as the universality of leptonic flavors.”

_____

Jin Hung Fu other. A new method for determining the heaviest QED atoms. science bulletin, published online on April 4, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2024.04.003

Source: www.sci.news

Juno captures the reddest object in the solar system: Amalthea

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured these views of the small red moon Amalthea and its parent planet during a flyby on March 7, 2024.

These views of Jupiter, captured by Juno on March 7, 2024, during its 59th flyby of the giant planet, offer a good look at Jupiter’s colorful bands and swirling storms, including the Great Red Spot. can. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt.

Amalthea, also known as Jupiter V, is Jupiter’s third moon in order of distance from the gas giant.

Discovered in 1892 by American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard, the Moon is irregular and measures approximately 250 x 146 x 128 km (155 x 91 x 80 miles).

Amalthea orbits Jupiter at a distance of 181,400 km (112,717 miles) and takes 0.498 Earth days to complete one orbit.

Each time it orbits Jupiter, it rotates once on its axis, always keeping the same side facing the planet.

Amalthea is the reddest object in the solar system and appears to emit more heat from the Sun than it receives.

This is likely due to the fact that the moon’s core contains electrical currents as it orbits within Jupiter’s strong magnetic field.

Alternatively, the heat could be due to tidal forces.

These images from Juno show Jupiter’s small moon Amalthea. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt.

“Amalthea is potato-shaped and lacks the mass to pull it into a sphere,” the Juno scientists said.

“In 2000, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft revealed several surface features, including impact craters, hills, and valleys.”

“Amalthea orbits Jupiter inside the orbit of Io. Io is the innermost of Jupiter’s four large moons and takes 0.498 Earth days to orbit.”

“At the time the first of these two images was taken, Juno was approximately 265,000 kilometers above Jupiter’s clouds and at a latitude of approximately 5 degrees north of the equator,” the researchers added.

“Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstedt created these images using raw data from Juno’s JunoCam instrument and applied processing techniques that enhance the clarity of the images.”

Source: www.sci.news

Study shows ability to capture solar radiation at 1,922 degrees Fahrenheit

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

As the world focuses on decarbonizing power and transportation, reducing heat emissions from industrial processes remains a challenge. Although using solar energy is an attractive alternative, current solar converters have poor performance and are expensive when process temperatures above 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) are required. In a new study, scientists at ETH Zurich show that the heat-trapping effect caused by exposing common translucent materials (such as quartz or water) to solar radiation absorbs sunlight by suppressing radiation losses at high temperatures. We have shown how the viability of the photoreceiver can be increased. They demonstrated this effect experimentally at industrially relevant temperatures of 1,050 degrees Celsius (1,922 degrees Fahrenheit).

Casati other. The solar capture effect was experimentally demonstrated at temperatures as high as 1,050 degrees Celsius. They performed stagnation experiments under concentrated thermal radiation and achieved a steady-state temperature difference of about 600 degrees Celsius between the absorber and the outer surface by using quartz as a volumetric absorption medium.Image credit: Casati other., doi: 10.1016/j.device.2024.100399.

“To tackle climate change, we need to decarbonize energy in general,” said Dr. Emiliano Casati, a researcher at ETH Zurich.

“Electricity can only be thought of as energy, but in reality, about half of that energy is used as heat.”

Glass, steel, cement, and ceramics are at the heart of modern civilization, essential to the construction of everything from car engines to skyscrapers.

However, manufacturing these materials requires temperatures in excess of 1,000 degrees Celsius and relies heavily on the combustion of fossil fuels for heat. These industries account for approximately 25% of global energy consumption.

Researchers have been exploring clean energy alternatives using solar receivers that concentrate and store heat with thousands of sun-tracking mirrors.

However, this technology has difficulty transmitting solar energy efficiently at temperatures above 1,000 degrees Celsius.

To increase the efficiency of solar receivers, Dr. Casati and his colleagues turned to translucent materials such as quartz that can trap sunlight. This is a phenomenon called the thermal trap effect.

The researchers created a heat-trapping device by attaching synthetic quartz rods to opaque silicon disks as energy absorbers.

When the device was exposed to an energy flux equivalent to 136 solar rays, the absorber plate reached a temperature of 1,050 degrees Celsius, while the other end of the quartz rod remained at 600 degrees Celsius (1,112 degrees Fahrenheit).

“Previous studies have only been able to demonstrate heat-trapping effects up to 170 degrees Celsius (338 degrees Fahrenheit),” Dr. Casati said.

“Our research shows that solar heat capture works not only at low temperatures, but also at temperatures well above 1,000 degrees Celsius. This is very important to demonstrate its potential in real-world industrial applications. is.”

The scientists also simulated the heat-trapping efficiency of quartz under various conditions using a heat transfer model.

The model showed that the heat trap achieves the target temperature at a lower concentration with the same performance, or the same concentration and higher thermal efficiency.

For example, a state-of-the-art (unshielded) receiver has an efficiency of 40% at 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,192 degrees Fahrenheit) and a concentration of 500 suns.

A 300 mm quartz shielded receiver achieves 70% efficiency at the same temperature and concentration.

A concentration of at least 1,000 suns is required for equivalent performance with an unshielded receiver.

The authors are currently optimizing the heat trapping effect and investigating new applications of the method. So far, their research is promising.

By studying other materials, such as various fluids and gases, even higher temperatures could be reached.

They also noted that the ability of these translucent materials to absorb light and radiation is not limited to solar radiation.

“Energy issues are fundamental to the survival of our society,” Dr. Casati said.

“Solar energy is readily available and the technology already exists.”

“To truly accelerate industry adoption, we need to demonstrate the economic viability and benefits of this technology at scale.”

The team's results were published online today. journal device.

_____

Emiliano Casati other. Captures solar heat over 1,000℃. device, published online on May 15, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.device.2024.100399

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists say large-scale language models and other AI systems are already capable of fooling humans

Posted on May 15, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

In a new review paper published in journal pattern, researchers claim that various current AI systems are learning how to deceive humans. They define deception as the systematic induction of false beliefs in the pursuit of outcomes other than the truth.

Through training, large language models and other AI systems have already learned the ability to deceive through techniques such as manipulation, pandering, and cheating on safety tests.

“AI developers do not have a confident understanding of the causes of undesirable behavior, such as deception, in AI,” said Peter Park, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“Generally speaking, however, AI deception is thought to arise because deception-based strategies turn out to be the best way to make the AI perform well at a given AI training task. Deception helps them achieve their goals.”

Dr. Park and colleagues analyzed the literature, focusing on how AI systems spread misinformation through learned deception, where AI systems systematically learn how to manipulate others.

The most notable example of AI deception the researchers uncovered in their analysis was Meta's CICERO, an AI system designed to play the game Diplomacy, an alliance-building, world-conquering game.

Meta claims that CICERO is “generally honest and kind” and has trained it to “not intentionally betray” human allies during gameplay, but the data released by the company shows that CICERO is “generally honest and kind” and has trained itself not to “intentionally betray” human allies during gameplay. It was revealed that he had not done so.

“We found that meta AI is learning to become masters of deception,” Dr. Park said.

“Meta successfully trained an AI to win at diplomatic games, while CICERO ranked in the top 10% of human players who played multiple games; We couldn’t train the AI.”

“Other AI systems can bluff professional human players in a game of Texas Hold’em Poker, fake attacks to beat an opponent in a strategy game called StarCraft II, or fake an opponent’s preferences to gain an advantage. Demonstrated ability to perform well in economic negotiations.

“Although it may seem harmless when an AI system cheats in a game, it could lead to a “breakthrough in deceptive AI capabilities'' and lead to more advanced forms of AI deception in the future. There is a sex.”

Scientists have found that some AI systems have even learned to cheat on tests designed to assess safety.

In one study, an AI creature in a digital simulator “played dead” to fool a test built to weed out rapidly replicating AI systems.

“By systematically cheating on safety tests imposed by human developers and regulators, deceptive AI can lull us humans into a false sense of security,” Park said. Ta.

The main short-term risks of deceptive AI include making it easier for hostile actors to commit fraud or tamper with elections.

Eventually, if these systems are able to refine this anxiety-inducing skill set, humans may lose control of them.

“We as a society need as much time as possible to prepare for more sophisticated deception in future AI products and open source models,” Dr. Park said.

“As AI systems become more sophisticated in their ability to deceive, the risks they pose to society will become increasingly serious.”

_____

Peter S. Park other. 2024. AI Deception: Exploring Examples, Risks, and Potential Solutions. pattern 5(5):100988; doi: 10.1016/j.patter.2024.100988

Source: www.sci.news

478-Million-Year-Old Fossil Illuminates the Diversity and Evolution of Early Euchelidae

Posted on May 15, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Euchericherata A large group of arthropods that includes horseshoe crabs, scorpions, spiders, mites, ticks, and the extinct sea scorpions and snails. Abundant cetapedites The new species of Euchelycerate, which lived in what is now Morocco during the Early Ordovician period 478 million years ago, bridges the gap between modern and Cambrian species.

rebuilding the life of Abundant cetapedites. Image credit: Elissa Sorojsrisom.

“Modern scorpions, spiders, and horseshoe crabs belong to a vast lineage of arthropods that appeared on Earth about 540 million years ago,'' said Lorenzo Lustri, a paleontologist at the University of Lausanne. Ta.

“More precisely, they belong to the subphylum, chelicerates, which includes organisms equipped with pincers used specifically for biting, grasping prey, and injecting venom, and therefore chelicerates ( Euchelicerata+Pycnogonida). But what is the ancestor of this very special group?

“This question has puzzled paleontologists ever since the study of ancient fossils began.”

“Among early arthropods, it has been impossible to identify with certainty which forms share enough similarities with modern species to be considered ancestral.”

“The mystery is further complicated by the dearth of available fossils from the critical period between 505 million and 430 million years ago. This has made genealogical research easier. must.”

Abundant cetapedites. Image credit: Lustri other., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-48013-w.

Dr. Rustri and his co-authors collected fossils of euchelicerate from the 478-million-year-old Fezouata Shale in Morocco, and found that the modern-day euchelicerate and the Cambrian (505 million-year-old) We identified a new species that binds the eucheris cerate.

with scientific name Abundant cetapeditesthe body length of this species was 0.5-1 cm.

“This animal makes it possible for the first time to trace the entire lineage of Euchelicerates, from the appearance of early arthropods to modern spiders, scorpions and horseshoe crabs,” Dr Rustri said.

“Initially, we just wanted to describe this fossil and give it a name.”

“I had no idea it would hold so many secrets.”

“It was therefore an exciting surprise to discover, after careful observation and analysis, that it also fills an important gap in the evolutionary tree of life.”

“Yet, this fossil has not yet revealed all its secrets,” he added.

“Indeed, some of its anatomical features allow for a deeper understanding of the early evolution of the eucherycerate group and perhaps link other fossil forms to this group, the similarities of which are still hotly debated. It is even possible.”

of result appear in the diary nature communications.

_____

L. Rustri other. 2024. Late Ordovician syndiphosrines reveal the diversity and evolution of early euchelicerates. Nat Commune 15, 3808; doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-48013-w

Source: www.sci.news

Can you trust a robot to care for your cat?

Posted on May 15, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Created by scientists and explosion theory artists from the University of Nottingham cat royale is a multispecies world centered around a custom-built enclosure where three cats and a robotic arm coexist for six hours a day during a 12-day installation period.

Professor Steve Benford from the University of Nottingham and colleagues said: “Robots are finding a place in everyday life, from cleaning houses to mowing the lawn, shopping around hospitals and delivering parcels.”

“In doing so, they will inevitably have interactions and encounters with animals.”

“They could be companion animals, pets that share a home, guide dogs that help people navigate public places, but they could also be wild animals.”

“Often these encounters are unplanned and incidental to the robot’s primary mission, such as navigating a world inhabited by cats riding Roombas, guide dogs confused by delivery robots, and lawn mowing robots. Such as a hedgehog.”

“But it could also be intentional. We could also design robots to serve animals.”

“Little is known about how to design robots for animals, even though such encounters are inevitable, whether planned or not. Can you do that?

“We present Cat Royale, a creative quest to design a domestic robot to enrich cats’ lives through play.”

schneiders other. It suggests we need more than carefully designed robots to care for cats. In addition to human interaction, the environment in which the robot operates is also important. Image credit: Schneiders other., doi: 10.1145/3613904.3642115.

Cat Royale was unveiled at the World Science Festival in Brisbane, Australia in 2023, has been touring ever since, and just won a Webby Award for its creative experience.

The installation centers around a robotic arm that provides activities to make cats happier, including dragging a “mouse” toy along the floor and raising a feathered “bird” into the air. , which included feeding the cat treats.

The team then trained the AI to learn which games cats liked best so they could personalize their experience.

“At first glance, this project is about designing a robot that can play with cats and enrich the lives of families,” Professor Benford says.

“But beneath the surface, we are exploring the question of what it takes to entrust robots to care for our loved ones, and in some cases, ourselves.”

By working with Blast Theory to develop and study Cat Royale, researchers gained important insights into robot design and interaction with cats.

They had to design a robot that would pick up toys and deploy them in a way that excited the cats, all while learning which games each cat liked.

They also designed an entire world for the cat and robot to live in, providing a safe space for the cat to observe and sneak around the robot, and decorating it so that the robot had the best chance of spotting the approaching cat. did.

This means that robot design involves not only engineering and AI, but also interior design.

If you want to bring a robot into your home to take care of your loved ones, you will likely need to redesign your home.

Dr Ike Schneiders, a researcher at the University of Nottingham, said: ‘As we learned through Cat Royale, to create a multi-species system where cats, robots and humans are all taken into account, you simply need to design robots. That’s not enough.”

“We needed to ensure the animal’s health at all times, while also ensuring that the interactive installation would attract a global (human) audience.”

“Many factors were considered in this, including the design of the enclosure, the robot and its underlying systems, the different roles of the humans, and of course the selection of the cat.”

The authors announced their results in CHI 2024 meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.

_____

Ike Schneiders other. Design multispecies worlds for robots, cats, and humans. CHI ’24: Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. article #593; doi: 10.1145/3613904.3642115

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists mapping Ceres’ cold traps

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The dwarf planet Ceres has permanently shadowed regions in its polar regions, and these regions are interesting, similar to Mercury and the Moon. Ceres’ permanently shadowed regions were mapped by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, and thanks to scattered sunlight, bright deposits were discovered in parts of the permanently shadowed regions. To understand more clearly the nature of Ceres’ cold-trapped ice deposits, researchers from the Planetary Science Institute and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center are investigating the nature of the crater, which forms a permanently shadowed region. An improved shape model was constructed.

A permanently shadowed region in the arctic region of Ceres. The color indicates the maximum inclination at which the position will be shaded throughout the trajectory. Image credit: Schorghofer other., doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ad3639.

“For Ceres, the story began in 2016, when the Dawn spacecraft, then orbiting around Ceres, glimpsed these permanently dark craters and saw bright ice deposits in some of them. “, said lead author and researcher Dr. Norbert Schorhofer. At the Planetary Science Institute.

“The 2016 discovery raised a mystery: many of the polar craters on Ceres are in shadow all year round, which lasts 4.6 Earth years on Ceres, so it remains extremely cold, but the ice Only a few of these craters hold deposits.”

“Soon, another discovery provided a clue as to why: Tides from the Sun and Jupiter cause Ceres’ axis of rotation to oscillate back and forth every 24,000 years.”

“When the Earth’s axial tilt is high and the seasons are strong, only a few craters remain in shadow throughout the year, and these craters contain bright ice deposits.”

To determine how big a shadow was inside the crater thousands of years ago, scientists created a digital elevation map and used it to perform ray-tracing calculations to cast images onto the crater’s floor. Theoretically reconstructs the shadows created by shadows.

The results are only as reliable as the digital shape model on which they are based. Note that the bottoms of these craters are always in shadow, so it is not easy to measure their depth.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has a very sensitive camera on board that was able to identify features on the shadowed crater floor.

Stereo images of sunny areas are often used to create digital elevation maps of sunny regions, but creating elevation maps of shaded terrain is a challenge that has rarely been addressed to date.

As part of their research, the authors developed a new technique to reconstruct heights even in shadowed parts of stereo image pairs.

These improved elevation maps can be used for ray tracing to predict the extent of cold, permanently shaded areas.

These more accurate maps yielded surprising results. The last time, about 14,000 years ago, when Ceres’ axial tilt reached its maximum, the crater on Ceres did not remain in shadow forever, and the ice within the crater quickly entered space. It must have sublimated.

“Then there is only one plausible explanation left: the ice deposits must have formed more recently,” Scholghofer said.

“The results suggest that all of these ice deposits were accumulated within the past 6,000 years.”

“That’s a surprisingly young age considering Ceres’ age is well over 4 billion years.”

“Ceres is an ice-rich body, but very little of this ice is exposed on the surface. The only exposed ice is in the aforementioned polar craters and a few small patches outside the polar regions. However, Ice is everywhere at shallow depths, so even small dry impactors can cause some of that ice to evaporate.”

“About 6,000 years ago, an asteroid fragment may have impacted Ceres, creating a temporary water atmosphere.”

“Once a water atmosphere was created, the ice would condense in the frigid crater, forming the bright deposits we still see today.”

“Alternatively, the ice deposits could have formed by an avalanche of ice-rich material. This ice would survive only within the cold, shaded crater.”

“In any case, these events are very recent on an astronomical time scale.”

The researchers also investigated the possibility that other types of ice besides water ice were trapped in these unusual craters on Ceres.

On our moon, some of the polar craters are so cold that even carbon dioxide ice and some other chemical species can remain inside them for billions of years.

Because Ceres is farther from the Sun, its polar craters are expected to be even colder than those on the Moon.

Scientists have calculated the temperature inside Ceres’ polar crater, something that has never been done before.

The answer was surprising. These craters are cold enough to hold water ice, but too warm to hold other common types of ice. Two circumstances contribute to this.

First, Ceres’s axial tilt is currently 4 degrees, higher than the Moon’s 1.5 degrees, allowing sunlight to hit more of the crater rim and scattering more light onto the crater floor.

Second, Ceres has no permanently shadowed craters in the immediate vicinity of its north pole, unlike the moon, which has one crater almost exactly at its south pole.

For these reasons, temperatures on Ceres are not as cold as on parts of the moon’s surface.

“Whatever the history of ice accumulation, it does not result from events much older than human civilization,” Dr. Scholghofer said.

of findings will appear in Planetary Science Journal.

_____

Norbert Schorghofer other. 2024. History of Ceres cold traps based on sophisticated geometric models. planet. Science. J 5(99); doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ad3639

Source: www.sci.news

New bovid fossil found by paleontologists at Cradle of Humankind site

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

chrome dry A Pliocene-Pleistocene ruin in South Africa, the cradle of humanity. It has produced a diverse and rich animal community as well as important human specimens, including: Paranthropus robustus and early homo. Paleontologists have unearthed bovid fossils from 2.9 to 1.8 million years old at Kromdraai, revealing the existence of an unknown species that once roamed this ancient grassland with our ancestors.

Hanon other. It vividly depicts a landscape dominated by vast grasslands and suggests the complex interactions of life that flourished in this region during the Pliocene and Pleistocene periods. Image credit: Wits University.

Dr Raphael Hannon, a researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand, said: “When we think of paleontology, images of dinosaurs often come to mind, but the study of modern animals such as the bovidae is also important.''

“Bovids are diverse and successful in Africa, providing insight into both ancient and modern ecosystems.”

“Their evolutionary history is intertwined with ours. They have been an important part of landscapes and human societies since the Miocene epoch, about 23 million years ago.”

Bovidae is a member of the family Bovidaemodern water buffalo, antelope, and gazelle.

Their diversity and abundance at the Kromdraai site provides a glimpse into the diet and behavior of both large carnivores and our ancient relatives.

As prey, these animals shaped the predation patterns of the region's megafauna and, in turn, influenced the survival strategies of hominids. Paranthropus robustus and early homo seed.

Discovery of extinct species such as gazelles Gazella giant gazella and the existence of an as-yet-unnamed buffalo closely related to it Sincerus acoelotus It represents a grassland-dominated environment.

This finding is supported by comparisons with other Plio-Pleistocene sites across South Africa, suggesting that different hominid species are associated with different habitats.

meanwhile Australopithecus Early on, it seemed to prefer forests and closed, moist environments. homo The species is found in areas adapted to open, dry conditions.

Diverse bovids related to paranthropusHowever, it has been suggested that these hominids have a wide range of environmental adaptability.

“One of the biggest challenges was the small buffalo skull (Sinceras sp.),” Dr. Hannon said.

“The skull was discovered as dozens of small broken bone fragments, but we spent many hours and were able to put most of the pieces back together, allowing us to determine what animal it belonged to. I did it.”

“Even after reinstalling all the parts, it was very fragile and difficult to manipulate and locate.”

“The fossil record of African buffalo is poor, especially in South Africa, so finding relevant information to help identify the skull was difficult.”

The significance of these discoveries extends beyond the mere identification of ancient animals.

The bovid community of Kromdraai is a mix of older Pliocene and younger Pleistocene taxa, providing a window into the changing landscape of ancient Africa.

These changes recorded in bovid bones and teeth reflect the dynamic nature of Earth's ecosystems and the adaptability of life in the face of changing climate and habitat.

Furthermore, studies of these fossils provide a chronological marker for this site, with biochronology showing that Kromdraai Unit P accumulated between 2.9 and 1.8 million years ago.

This range is critical to understanding the timeline of human evolution in this region and provides potential insights into the emergence of humans. Paranthropus robustus and other important species of southern Africa.

“The Kromdraai ruins continue to be evidence of the richness of our Earth's past, inviting scientists and enthusiasts alike to ponder the complex relationship between Earth's history and our origins. “We invite you,” the authors said.

Regarding this research, paper in diary Quaternary Science Review.

_____

Raphael Hannon other. 2024. New fossil bovidae (Mammalia: Artiodactyla) discovered from Cromdraai Unit P, South Africa and their implications for biochronology and human paleoecology. Quaternary Science Review 331: 108621; doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108621

Source: www.sci.news

The Hubble Space Telescope zooms in on the heart of NGC 4753

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

NGC 4753 is characterized by a bright white core and distinct dust lanes around the core.

This Hubble image shows part of the lenticular galaxy NGC 4753, about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / L. Kelsey.

NGC4753 It is located approximately 60 million light years away in the constellation Virgo.

Also known as LEDA 43671, UGC 8009, or IRAS 12498-0055, this lenticular galaxy was discovered by German-born British astronomer William Herschel on February 22, 1784.

NGC 4753 is a member of galaxy group NGC 4753 in the Virgo II cloud, a collection of at least 100 galaxy clusters and individual galaxies extending from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster.

“NGC 4753 is thought to be the result of a galaxy merger with a nearby dwarf galaxy about 1.3 billion years ago,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.

“The unique dust lanes around the galactic cores are thought to be formed by this merging event.”

“Most of the galaxy's mass is now thought to reside within a slightly flattened spherical halo of dark matter.”

“Dark matter is a type of matter that cannot currently be directly observed, but it is thought to make up about 85% of all matter in the universe,” the researchers said.

“It is called 'dark' because it does not appear to interact with electromagnetic fields and therefore does not appear to emit, reflect, or refract light.”

“This object is also of scientific interest for testing various theories about the formation of lenticular galaxies, given its low-density environment and complex structure.”

“Additionally, this galaxy has experienced two known Type Ia supernovae.”

“These types of supernovae are very important because they are caused by the explosion of a white dwarf star with a companion star and always peak at the same brightness, or 5 billion times brighter than the Sun.”

“Knowing the true brightness of these events and comparing it to their apparent brightness gives astronomers a unique opportunity to measure distances in the universe.”

This new image of NGC 4753 consists of observations from Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) found in the ultraviolet and optical parts of the spectrum.

Two filters were used to sample different wavelengths. Color is obtained by assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.

Source: www.sci.news

Titan’s underground ocean revealed by Cassini observations

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, harbors an ocean of low-density water or ammonia inside, according to an analysis of archival data from NASA’s Cassini mission.

A representation of Cassini’s orbit used to calculate Titan’s gravity. The colored part of the orbit shows the distance from Cassini to Titan, with the minimum distance shown in red. A cross-section of Titan shows the moon’s different layers and blue oceans. In the background you can see Saturn with its rings and ring shadows. Image credit: Britt Griswold, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

“Liquid water is one of the prerequisites for life,” said Dr. Sander Goossens of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and colleagues.

“Water is rarely liquid on the surfaces of planets, but many moons of the solar system, such as Titan, have underground oceans.”

“These probably formed a long time ago, which begs the question why they haven’t already frozen in a cold environment far from the sun.”

“Our study supports the explanation that ammonia extended the life of Titan’s liquid oceans. Additionally, it also provides insight into Titan’s deeper layers.”

NASA’s Cassini mission explored Saturn and its icy moons for more than a decade.

Among its many instruments, Cassini carried a radio science subsystem that enabled radiation tracking of Earth-based spacecraft by the Deep Space Network.

These data were used to determine the gravitational field and internal structure of some of Saturn’s moons and Saturn itself. Cassini data was also used to determine Titan’s tidal response.

“The Cassini space probe flew around Saturn from 2005 to 2017,” the researchers said.

“Probes have been sent close to the moon many times to accurately measure Titan’s gravity.”

“Cassini needed to skim past Titan at exactly the right time to properly map the changes in gravity.”

“This is because Titan’s deformation is due to Saturn’s tidal forces, and the tidal forces depend on the distance between Titan and Saturn.”

“Measurements taken when Titan was close to Saturn and when it was far away maximized the difference in Titan’s deformation, and therefore its impact on gravity.”

Scientists calculated Cassini’s speed from precise radar measurements and calculated changes in gravity and the resulting deformation of Titan.

They carefully examined the tidal effects on Titan at each location on the spacecraft’s orbit and concluded that the deformation was smaller than previously calculated.

According to numerical simulations of the moon’s deformation for different internal structures, the most likely scenario is that the ocean has a density similar to water and contains small amounts of ammonia.

“The subsurface ocean may help transport organic matter from the moon’s rocky core to the surface,” the authors said.

“It was thought that Titan’s thick layer of ice between its ocean and its core made this difficult.”

“Our analysis suggests that the ice layer may be thinner than previously thought, and that material exchange between the rock and the ocean is more likely.”

“The organic molecules this produces are considered important ingredients for the emergence of life.”

of study It was published in the magazine natural astronomy.

_____

S. Goossens other. A low-density ocean inside Titan estimated from Cassini data. Nat Astron, published online March 21, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02253-4

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists discover a previously unknown species of fake scorpion trapped in 50-million-year-old amber

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists have reported fossils of a new genus and species of pseudoscorpion from the Eocene Cambay amber of western India.

Geogaranya variensis. Image credit: Agnihotri other, doi: 10.26879/1276.

pseudo scorpion It is the earliest order of arthropods to colonize Earth’s land during the early Devonian period.

This diverse order accounts for more than 3% of all known arachnid species.

“Pseudoscorpions are an ancient lineage of terrestrial arachnids that are morphologically similar to real scorpions, but lack the tail and stinger,” said Dr. Priya Agnihotri of DST’s Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleosciences and colleagues.

“Certain families have unique venom devices in the serrated digits of their palps, which evolved independently of the venom devices of scorpions and spiders.”

“Recent research also supports the inclusion of pseudoscorpions as a sister group to scorpions.”

“Due to their delicate bodies and small size, these fossils are mainly found in amber deposits around the world rather than in sediments,” they added.

“Forty-nine pseudoscorpion species have been recorded from Eocene Baltic amber and Rovno amber.”

Newly discovered pseudoscorpion species belongs to the small scorpion family Goridae.

named Geogaranya variensis showing strong similarities with extant genera. Geogalypus From Sri Lanka, India, and New Guinea.

“The Geogarypidae family is one of a group of bark-dwelling and leaf litter-dwelling species similar to the Geogarypidae family. Gallipidae It has a distinctive subtriangular carapace and eyes located near the leading edge,” the paleontologist said.

“This family includes more than 70 species with habitats suitable for tropical and subtropical regions, some of which have been reported from temperate biomes.”

“Geogarypidae are more common in Baltic and Rovno amber, and there are some records from Cretaceous Burmese amber.”

“Unlike the sparse record of fossils, their modern-day counterparts have been recorded in all major biogeographic regions, including Europe, Central Asia, North America, and North Africa.”

Amber from Cambay from 50 million years ago. Geogaranya variensis It was discovered in the open-pit Valia lignite mine, part of the Cambay Shale Formation, in the Cambay Basin of Gujarat, India.

“The Cambay Shale Formation overlies the Deccan Trap, and below it is the Paleocene to lower Eocene Vagadkol Formation,” the researchers said.

According to the team: Geogaranya variensis It is one of the smallest known adult pseudoscorpion fossils in amber from the Cambay Basin.

This discovery further strengthens the biodiversity of bark-dwelling arthropods identified in Eocene amber from western India.

“The discovery of the smallest known adult pseudoscorpion in Cambay Basin amber aligns it with fossil taxa recorded in Baltic Sea amber and Bitterfeld amber that survived the early Eocene. “This provides insight into similar bark-dwelling arthropod taxa,” the scientists concluded.

“Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed diagnostic features in the fossils, such as abnormally enlarged palps. This strengthened Foresy’s idea that species from non-arboreal habitats could be mistakenly This suggests that it may have been carried in amber and had a connection to a flying host.”

discovery of Geogaranya variensis is reported in paper in diary Old Trogia Electronica.

_____

priya agnihotri other. 2024. A new genus and species of fossil pseudoscorpion (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) discovered in Eocene amber from western India. Old Trogia Electronica 27 (2):a26; doi: 10.26879/1276

Source: www.sci.news

NASA reveals stunning visualization of a supermassive black hole’s event horizon

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Thanks to a new visualization created on a NASA supercomputer, we can now dive into the event horizon, the point of no return for a black hole.

“People often ask about this, but simulating these hard-to-imagine processes is the key to bringing the mathematics of relativity to reality,” said Dr. Jeremy Schnitman, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “It helps us connect this with real-world consequences in the universe.”

“So I simulated two different scenarios: one in which the camera, standing in for the daring astronaut, misses the event horizon and the slingshot recedes; This is a scenario in which your fate will be determined.

To create the visualization, Dr. Schnitman worked with scientist Brian Powell at Goddard Space Flight Center and used the Discover supercomputer at the NASA Climate Simulation Center.

It took about five days to generate about 10 terabytes of data and run on just 0.3% of Discover’s 129,000 processors. It would take a typical laptop more than a decade to do the same thing.

The destination is a supermassive black hole with a mass 4.3 million times that of the Sun, comparable to the monster at the center of the Milky Way.

“If I had a choice, I would want to fall into a supermassive black hole,” Dr. Schnitman said.

“Stellar-mass black holes, containing up to about 30 solar masses, have much smaller event horizons and stronger tidal forces, and can tear apart approaching objects before they reach the horizon.”

This occurs because the gravitational force at the edge of the object near the black hole is much stronger than at the opposite edge. Falling objects stretch like noodles, a process astrophysicists call spaghettification.

The simulated black hole’s event horizon spans about 16 million miles (25 million km), or about 17% of the distance from Earth to the sun.

A flat, swirling cloud of hot, glowing gas called an accretion disk surrounds it and serves as a visual reference as it falls.

The same goes for glowing structures called photon rings, which are formed near black holes by light that has circled the hole one or more times.

A starry sky background seen from Earth completes the scene.

As the camera approaches the black hole, approaching the speed of light itself, the glow from the accretion disk and background stars is amplified, similar to the pitch of the sound of an approaching race car increasing.

If you look in the direction of travel, the light will appear brighter and whiter.

The film begins with a camera located some 640 million km (400 million miles) away, and a black hole quickly fills the field of view.

In the process, the black hole’s disk, photon ring, and night sky become increasingly distorted, even forming multiple images as light traverses an increasingly distorted space-time.

In real time, the camera takes about three hours to fall to the event horizon, performing nearly two full 30-minute orbits along the way. But for those observing from afar, it will never get there.

As the space-time distortion increases as you approach the horizon, the camera’s image slows down and appears to stop in front of you. This is why astronomers originally called black holes “frozen stars.”

At the event horizon, even space-time itself flows inward at the speed of light, the speed limit of the universe.

Once inside, both the camera and the spacetime it moves through hurtle towards the center of the black hole. A one-dimensional point called a singularity, where the laws of physics as we know them no longer work.

NASA’s visualization shows a camera tracking a supermassive black hole, similar in mass to that at the center of our galaxy, as it approaches, briefly orbits, and crosses the event horizon (point of no return). Masu. Image credit: J. Schnittman & B. Powell, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

“Once the camera crosses the horizon, there are only 12.8 seconds left before spaghettification destruction,” Dr. Schnitman said.

From there, the singularity is only 128,000 km (79,500 miles) away. The last leg of this voyage is over in the blink of an eye.

In another scenario, the camera orbits close to the event horizon, but never crosses it and flees to safety.

If an astronaut were to fly this six-hour round trip, and her co-worker on the mother ship was far away from the black hole, she would return 36 minutes younger than her co-worker.

That’s because time slows down when you move near a strong source of gravity or at speeds close to the speed of light.

“This situation could become even more extreme,” Dr. Schnitman says.

“If a black hole were rotating rapidly, like the one shown in the 2014 movie, interstellar, she would return many years younger than the sailors. ”

Source: www.sci.news

Study reveals sperm whale communication is more intricate than previously believed

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Sperm whale (physeter macrocephalus) They are highly social mammals that use clicks to communicate. New research shows that, just like in human language, they can combine and coordinate different clicks and rhythms to create complex calls.

Sperm whale (physeter macrocephalus). Image credit: Gabriel Barathieu / CC BY-SA 2.0 Certificate.

Communication is important for social animals to make group decisions and coordinate collaborative tasks such as foraging and raising children.

Sperm whales are social mammals that communicate with each other by clicking repeatedly.

Little else is known about sperm whales' communication systems, although some of their clicks have previously been shown to communicate their identity.

“Cetaceans are an important group for studying evolution and the development of sophisticated communication systems,” said Pratyusha Sharma, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and colleagues.

“Among cetaceans, long-term observational studies of sperm whales describe both a culturally defined, multilayered matrilineal society and a socially transmitted communication system.”

“Sperm whales are known for their complex social and foraging behaviors, as well as their collective decision-making.”

“They communicate using codas, stereotypical sequences of three to 40 broadband clicks. Codas are exchanged when whales interact with each other and during long, deep dives foraging. .”

For the study, the authors Dominican Sperm Whale Projectthe largest repository of sperm whale data.

They analyzed the records of about 60 different whales from the eastern Caribbean sperm whale clan and used them to define a “sperm whale phonetic alphabet” of click combinations from this clan's records.

They discovered that whales' communication systems are more complex and have greater information-transfer capabilities than previously thought.

We found that the combination and structure of the generated click sequences depended on the context of the individual's conversation.

Scientists also identified a “combinatorial structure” in whale language. Whales can combine and coordinate different clicks and rhythms to create complex vocalizations, similar to human language.

“Although the function and meaning of the click combinations are still unknown, the sperm whale language could potentially express a large number of meanings,” the researchers said.

Their paper It was published in the magazine nature communications.

_____

P. Sharma other. 2024. Contextual and combinatorial structure in sperm whale calls. Nat Commune 15, 3617; doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47221-8

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists witness uncommon nuclear decay of potassium isotope

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Physicists are Potassium Decay (KDK) Collaboration. They directly observed for the first time a very rare but important decay pathway from potassium-40 to argon-40. Their results have the potential to improve current understanding of physical processes and increase the accuracy of geological dating.

Decay scheme of potassium 40. Image credit: Stukel other., doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.052503.

Potassium-40 is a ubiquitous natural isotope whose radioactivity has been used to estimate geological ages over billions of years, to theories of nuclear structure, and to the search for subatomic rare events such as dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay. influence.

The decay of this long-lived isotope must be precisely known for its use as a global clock and to explain its presence in low-background experiments.

Although potassium-40 has several known decay modes, the electron-capture decay predicted directly into the ground state of argon-40 has never been observed before.

“Some of the nuclei of certain elements radioactively decay into the nuclei of other elements. These decays can be helpful or annoying, depending on the situation,” the KDK physicists said. I am.

“This is especially true for potassium-40, an isotope that normally decays to calcium-40, but about 10% of the time it decays to argon-40.”

“This decay pathway involves a process called electron capture, which provides information about the nuclear structure.”

“Potassium-40 has a very long half-life, so it can even determine the age of geological objects on billion-year time scales.”

“Due to its long half-life, it is difficult to find another way for potassium-40 to break down.”

In a new study, researchers measured a rare decay branch of potassium-40 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Holyfield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility.

“Quantifying the decay rate of potassium-40 and its decay branches is difficult because it requires measuring the parent nucleus and a sufficient number of rare progeny nuclei,” the researchers said.

“We studied a subset of potassium-40 that decays to argon-40 by electron capture, which accounts for about 10% of all potassium-40 decays.”

“Although most potassium-40 electron-capture decays emit characteristic gamma rays that form the background of most experiments, a small subset of these decays occur without gamma ray emission.”

“This happens when potassium-40 captures an electron that goes directly to the ground state of argon-40.”

“We have directly measured this decay for the first time. This result indicates that other decay rates may also need to be reevaluated.”

“The rare decay branch we identified and measured provides unique experimental evidence for so-called forbidden beta decay, with implications for predictions of nuclear structure and for potassium-based geological and solar system age estimates. It removes years of uncertainty.”

“This discovery also improves our assessment of the background that exists in experiments that explore new physics beyond the Standard Model.”

The results are published in two papers (paper #1 and paper #2) in the diary physical review letter and diary Physical Review C.

_____

M. Stukel other. (KDK collaboration). 2024. 40,000 rare collapses with implications for fundamental physics and geochronology. Physics.pastor rhett 131 (5): 052503; doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.052503

L. Harias other. (KDK collaboration). 2024. Evidence of ground state electron capture at 40K. Physics. Rev.C 108 (1): 014327; doi: 10.1103/PhysRevC.108.014327

Source: www.sci.news

Newly Found Ancient Rock Art Ruins Unearthed in Sudan’s Eastern Desert

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Archaeologists from Macquarie University and the Polish Academy of Sciences' Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures have discovered 16 new rock art sites in Sudan's eastern desert, or 'Atobai'. Almost all of his newly discovered 4,000-year-old artwork depicts the presence of cows.

Rock art from the area around Gebel Nahoganet in the eastern desert of Sudan. Image credit: Cooper other., doi: 10.1177/03075133231211.

“Finding a cow carved into a desert rock face was puzzling, as cows require large amounts of water and acres of pasture, and cannot survive in today's arid conditions in the Sahara Desert.” said Macquarie University researcher Dr Julian Cooper.

“The presence of cows in ancient rock art is one of the most important pieces of evidence for a former 'Green Sahara.'”

Rock art found in eastern Sudan also depicts the desert as a grassy savanna filled with ponds, rivers, swamps, and waterholes and home to a variety of African savannah animals, including giraffes and elephants.

The idea of a “Green Sahara'' has been proven through previous archeological and climate fieldwork and research, and experts are calling this the “African Wet Period''. This is a period of increased summer monsoon precipitation that began about 15,000 years ago and ended about 5,000 years ago.

Depictions of humans alongside cows may indicate the act of milking, suggesting that the area was once occupied by cattle pastoralists until the 2nd or 3rd millennium BC.

After this point, reduced rainfall made cattle grazing impossible.

Currently, the region receives very little annual precipitation.

At the end of the “African Wet Period”, around 3000 BC, lakes and rivers began to dry up, dry pastures became covered with sand, and most of humanity left the Sahara Desert to seek refuge near the Nile River.

“The Atbai desert around Wadi Halfa, where new rock art was discovered, was almost completely depopulated. For those who remained, cattle were abandoned for sheep and goats,” the archaeologists said.

“This would have profoundly affected every aspect of human life, from diets and limited milk supplies to the movement patterns of nomadic families and the identity and livelihoods of those who depended on cattle.”

team's paper Published in Egyptian Archeology Journal.

_____

julian cooper other. 2023. Rock art research in the eastern desert of Sudan: Results of the 2018-2019 Atobai research project. Egyptian Archeology Journal 109 (1-2); doi: 10.1177/03075133231211

Source: www.sci.news

Detecting Iron in the Accretion Disk Around the Supermassive Black Hole of NGC 4151: XRISM Observations

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

NGC 4151 is a spiral galaxy located approximately 62 million light-years away in the northern constellation Hanabi.

This artist's concept shows possible locations for iron revealed in NGC 4151's XRISM X-ray spectrum. Image credit: Conceptual Image Lab, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

The X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), a joint effort between JAXA and NASA, with extensive participation from ESA, launched from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center on September 6, 2023.

After beginning science operations in February 2024, the spacecraft focused on the supermassive black hole at the center of NGC 4151.

“XRISM's Resolve instrument captured a detailed spectrum of the region around the black hole,” said researcher Brian Williams, Ph.D., of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

“The peaks and valleys are like chemical fingerprints that tell us what elements are present and can reveal clues about the fate of matter that approaches a black hole.”

NGC 4151's supermassive black hole holds more than 20 million times the mass of the Sun.

This galaxy is also active, meaning its center is unusually bright and changeable.

Gas and dust swirling toward the black hole forms an accretion disk around it, heated by gravity and frictional forces, creating fluctuations.

Some of the material at the edge of the black hole forms twin jets of particles that shoot out from either side of the disk at nearly the speed of light.

A bulging donut-shaped cloud of material called a torus surrounds the accretion disk.

XRISM's Resolve instrument captured data from the center of NGC 4151. The resulting spectrum reveals the presence of iron with a peak around 6.5 keV and a dip around 7 keV, thousands of times more energetic than the light visible to our eyes. Image credits: JAXA / NASA / XRISM Resolve / CXC / CfA / Wang et al. / Isaac Newton Telescope Group, La Palma Island / Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope / NSF / NRAO / VLA.

“In fact, NGC 4151 is one of the closest known active galaxies,” Dr. Williams and his colleagues said.

“Other missions, such as NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, are conducting research to learn more about the interactions between black holes and their surroundings, allowing scientists to study galaxies. Find out how the supermassive black hole at the center of time grows throughout the universe.

“This galaxy is unusually bright in X-rays, making it an ideal early target for XRISM.”

“The NGC 4151 spectrum in Resolve shows a sharp peak at energies just below 6.5 keV, an iron emission line.”

Astronomers believe that much of the power in active galaxies comes from X-rays emanating from hot, blazing regions near black holes.

When the X-rays reflect off the cold gas inside the disk, the iron there fluoresces, producing a specific X-ray peak.

This allowed for a more accurate depiction of both the disk and the eruptive region much closer to the black hole.

“The spectrum also shows some dips around 7 keV,” the astronomers said.

“The iron present in the torus caused these dips as well, but due to absorption rather than emission of X-rays, because the material there is much cooler than in the disk.”

“All of this radiation is about 2,500 times more energetic than the light we can see with our eyes.”

“Iron is just one of the elements that XRISM can detect. The telescope can also detect sulfur, calcium, argon, and more, depending on the source.”

“Each one tells us something different about the cosmic phenomena that litter the X-ray sky.”

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists investigate possible anomaly in the force of gravity in the universe

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

in paper Published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle PhysicsScientists have considered theoretical and observational cases of “cosmic glitches” in the universe's gravity.

Wen other. Specifically, we develop a model that modifies general relativity on a cosmological scale by introducing a "glitch" in the gravitational constant between the cosmological (superhorizon) and Newtonian (subhorizon) regions. Research. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

For the past 100 years, physicists have relied on Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity to explain how gravity acts throughout the universe.

General relativity, proven accurate by countless experiments and observations, suggests that gravity affects not just the third physical dimension, but also a fourth dimension: time. Masu.

“This gravity model has been essential to everything from theorizing the Big Bang to photographing black holes,” said Robin Wen, a researcher at the California Institute of Technology.

“But when we try to understand gravity at the cosmic scale, beyond galaxy clusters, we run into clear contradictions with the predictions of general relativity.”

“It's as if gravity itself is no longer fully consistent with Einstein's theory.”

“We call this contradiction a 'cosmic glitch.' When dealing with distances of billions of light years, gravity weakens by about 1%.”

For more than 20 years, researchers have been trying to create a mathematical model to explain the apparent contradictions in general relativity.

“Almost a century ago, astronomers discovered that the universe was expanding,” said Professor Nyaesh Afsholdi of the University of Waterloo.

“The further away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving, so much so that it appears to be moving at a speed close to the maximum speed of light allowed by Einstein's theory.”

“Our findings suggest that at precisely that scale, Einstein's theory may also be inadequate.”

The research team's “cosmic glitch” model modifies and extends Einstein's formula in a way that resolves some discrepancies in cosmological measurements without affecting existing successful uses of general relativity. This is what I did.

“Think of this as a footnote to Einstein's theory,” Wen says.

“Once we reach the cosmic scale, terms and conditions apply.”

“This new model may be the first clue to the cosmic puzzles we are beginning to solve across time and space,” Professor Afshodi said.

_____

Robin Y. Wen other. 2024. Anomalies in the gravity of the universe. JCAP 03:045; doi: 10.1088/1475-7516/2024/03/045

Source: www.sci.news

New research indicates that saber-toothed cats retained their baby teeth to support their iconic sabers.

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

new analysis of distinctive canine teeth saber-toothed tiger (Smilodon Fatalis) The deciduous teeth that precede each saber (the deciduous teeth that all mammals grow and lose by adulthood) remain in place for years to stabilize the growing permanent saber teeth, and perhaps adolescents break them off. This suggests that it was possible to learn how to hunt without having to hunt.

The canines of saber-toothed predators are among the most specialized tooth structures known. Hypotheses regarding the function of enlarged dogs range from exhibition and conspecific interactions, processing of soft foods to active prey acquisition. Recent studies on the ontogenetic timing of cranial traits have shown that adult dogs may take many years to fully erupt, but long-term implications for inferences of functional morphology in dogs. The impact of the eruption is missing from current discussions and remains unquantified. In his new study, Tseng evaluates hypotheses regarding bending strength and stiffness, respectively, in adult dogs during rash. Smilodon Fatalis. Image credit: Massimo Molinello.

This new study provides the first evidence that saber teeth alone were increasingly vulnerable to lateral breakage during eruption, but would have been more stable if they had primary or deciduous teeth next to them. .

The evidence consists of computer modeling of the strength and lateral bending stiffness of the saber tooth, as well as actual testing and failure of a plastic model of the saber tooth.

“This new study is confirmation through physical and simulation tests of an idea that several collaborators and I published several years ago. It is possible that the timing of the saber ejection is adjusted and the double fang phase “It's possible,” he said. Study author Dr. Jack Tseng is a paleontologist at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Imagine a timeline where the milk canine comes out, and once it finishes erupting, the permanent canine comes out, overtakes the milk canine, and eventually pushes out the milk canine.”

“What would happen if this baby tooth was in the mouth right next to this permanent tooth for 30 months?”

“Long after the saber's permanent teeth erupted, the baby dog's unusual presence protected it, while the adult tiger learned how to hunt without damaging the saber.”

“Eventually, the baby teeth will fall out and the adult will have learned how to use the saber, but they will lose the support of the saber.”

Paleontologists still don't know what saber-tooth preferences are Smilodon He hunted his prey without breaking his unwieldy saber.

Dr Tseng said: “The double fang stage is probably worth revisiting now that we have shown there is insurance potential and broader protection.”

“This allows our teenage equivalents to experiment, take risks, and essentially learn how to become fully grown, perfect predators.”

“If you look at sabertooth use and increased hunting through a mechanical lens, I think it's not a solution, but it's a refinement.”

The same canine stabilization system may have evolved in other saber-toothed animals, researchers say.

Although no examples of double tusks in other species have been found in the fossil record, some skulls have been found to have adult teeth elsewhere in the jaw and deciduous teeth where the saber grows. has been done.

“What we are seeing is that milk canines are preserved in specimens with adult dentition. This means that the adult teeth, the sabers, are erupting or are beginning to erupt. “This suggests that milk canines were retained over a long period of time,” Dr. Tseng said.

of study Published in anatomical record.

_____

Z. Jack Tseng.Changes in bending performance during long-term eruption of saber gingival canine teeth: a case study. Smilodon Fatalis. anatomical record, published online on April 8, 2024. doi: 10.1002/ar.25447

Source: www.sci.news

Galactic anomalies suggesting dark matter presence are more puzzling than anticipated

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

A dark matter halo (yellow) forms around the galaxy

Ralph Koehler/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

When you think of the Milky Way, “delicate” may not be the first word that comes to mind.But when Mariangela Lisanti She started tinkering with the Our Galaxy recipe, but found it surprisingly fragile.

Lisanti, a particle physicist at Princeton University, wonders what would happen if dark matter, a mysterious substance thought to make up more than 80 percent of all matter in the universe, was more exotic than researchers usually assume. I was simulating something. She replaced a small portion of standard dark matter with something more complex. “We thought we could just add 5% and everything would be fine,” she says. “And we destroyed the galaxy.”

There are good reasons for such interference. Since the 1980s, astronomical signs have shown that dark matter is a single type of slow-moving particle that does not interact with itself. Particle physicists have spent a great deal of effort searching for that particle. But decades later, it remains a no-show. Perhaps because dark matter is not what we tend to imagine.

Recently, a series of galactic anomalies have sparked a scramble to find alternatives. This “complex” dark matter can be as simple as subatomic particles bouncing off each other, or as complex as dark particles forming dark atoms, stars, and even galaxies. There are a number of mind-boggling possibilities.

But now observations of anomalies in our galaxy promise to finally help narrow down the options. and…

Source: www.newscientist.com

Research shows that foxes are less likely to sustain injuries while diving in the snow due to their elongated nose

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Certain fox species dive into the snow to catch prey. This is a hunting mechanism called rat hunting. Red fox (Vulpes Vulpes Vulpes) and arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) It can dive into the snow at a speed of 2-4m/s. Scientists at Cornell University have found in a new study that a highly curved, elongated snout generates less impact force when it penetrates the snow, reducing the chance of injury in a crash. This skull shape allows the fox to reach deep into the snow, giving it an advantage in catching small rodents at greater depths. As a result, the authors predict that red and arctic foxes living in snow-covered areas will have higher hunting success when hunting mice in the snow.

Yuku other. They studied a hunting technique employed by red foxes and arctic foxes known as mousing. In this hunting technique, they dive headfirst into the snow to capture their prey. Image credit: Yellowstone National Park.

The red fox and the arctic fox dive into the snow to catch their prey. This behavior is known as mouse trapping.

These foxes can locate animals under several feet of snow due to their excellent sensitivity to rustling sounds that peak at frequencies between 2 and 10 kHz.

The fox senses the location of its prey and quickly dives into the snow at 2 to 4 meters per second, catching it completely by surprise.

Previous studies investigated this mouse behavior in terms of diving mechanisms and success rates.

Red foxes tended to jump in a northeast direction, and hunting success was much higher when foxes jumped in this direction compared to all other directions, suggesting that foxes take advantage of the Earth's magnetic field. It was suggested that they were hunting.

However, the mechanical aspects of snow diving, which are also important for hunting success, are not well understood.

“The fox's sharp snout does not compact the snow significantly and penetrates it with little resistance,” said Professor Seong-Hwan Jeong, a researcher in Cornell University's Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering.

In the study, Professor Jung and his colleagues scanned the skulls of foxes and arctic foxes, as well as lynx and puma skulls.

They 3D printed skulls and attached sensors to each to measure impact forces.

The skulls were then dropped into both snow and water, and the researchers fed the data into a computer model to compare the effects of both.

Researchers found that the fox's sharp nose penetrates the snow with little resistance, minimizing potential tissue damage when diving headfirst.

Professor Chong said, “Despite the high-speed impact, snow behaves like water if it is not compressed very much.''

“However, the flattened feline's snout compacted the snow upon impact, creating significant and potentially damaging drag.”

When targeting mice in the snow, the fox's long snout allows it to reach its prey faster, since the mouse is very sensitive to surrounding movements and can quickly escape.

Other behavioral studies have shown that foxes listen for the rustling of mice and other animals beneath the snow by shaking their heads before plunging, thereby gauging the depth of the sound source.

“Although this is a very dangerous process, there have been no reports of foxes being injured,” Professor Chong said.

Regarding this research, paper inside Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

_____

Jisoo Yuk other. 2024. Effects of skull morphology on fox snowdiving. PNAS 121 (19): e2321179121; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2321179121

Source: www.sci.news

New computer model provides evidence for dark matter hypothesis

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

A new study led by the University of California, Irvine, addresses a fundamental debate in astrophysics: the existence of invisible dark matter is necessary to explain how the universe works. Is there an observation, or can physicists explain how things work based only on matter that we can know directly?

Dark photons are hypothetical dark sector particles that have been proposed as force carriers, similar to electromagnetic photons but potentially related to dark matter. Image credit: University of Adelaide.

“Our paper shows how a real-world observed relationship can be used as a basis for testing two different models for describing the universe,” said Dr. One Dr. Francisco Mercado said:

“We conducted robust tests to distinguish between the two models.”

“This test required us to run computer simulations using both types of matter, normal matter and dark matter, to account for the presence of interesting features measured in real galaxies.”

“The features we discovered in galaxies would be expected to appear in a universe with dark matter, but would be difficult to explain in a universe without dark matter.”

“We have shown that such features appear in observations of many real galaxies. If we take these data at face value, the dark matter model is the one that best explains the universe we live in. It is reconfirmed that.”

These features explain patterns in the movement of stars and gas within galaxies that appear to be possible only in a universe with dark matter.

“The observed galaxies appear to follow a close relationship between the matter we see and the dark matter we inferred to detect, hence what we call dark matter. Some have even suggested that this is actually evidence that our theory of gravity is wrong,'' New York University said. Professor James Block of Irvine, California;

“What we have shown is that dark matter not only predicts that relationship, but for many galaxies it can explain what we see more naturally than modified gravity.”

“I am even more convinced that dark matter is the correct model.”

This feature has also appeared in observations by proponents of a dark matter-free universe.

“The observations we looked at, the very observations that discovered these features, were made by proponents of the no-dark-matter theory,” said Dr. Jorge Moreno, a researcher at Pomona College. Ta.

“Despite their obvious existence, there has been little analysis of these functions by the community.”

“We needed scientists like us who work with both ordinary matter and dark matter to start the conversation.”

“We hope that this study will spark a debate within our research community, but such features can only be found in our planet if both dark matter and normal matter are present on Earth.” We also found that it appears in simulations, so there may be room for commonalities in the universe. “

“When stars are born and die, they explode into supernovae, which can form the centers of galaxies, providing a natural explanation for the existence of these features.”

“Simply put, the features we investigated in our observations require both the presence of dark matter and the incorporation of normal matter physics.”

Now that the dark matter model of the universe appears to be a promising model, the next step is to see whether it remains consistent across the dark matter universe.

“It will be interesting to see if this same relationship can even be used to distinguish between different dark matter models,” Dr. Mercado said.

“Understanding how this relationship changes under individual dark matter models could help constrain the properties of dark matter itself.”

of paper Published online on Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices.

_____

Francisco J. Mercado other. Hooks and bends in the radial acceleration relationship: Discrimination test between dark matter and MOND. MNRAS 530 (2): 1349-1362; doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae819

Source: www.sci.news

Madigen: Potential for Central Asia’s First UNESCO Geopark with these Incredible Rocks

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The Madigen Formation is one of the richest Triassic fossil beds in the world, but few people have ever heard of it.

geo explorers club

About 235 million years ago, in what is now Central Asia, a small reptile fell into a freshwater lake and settled in the soft mud at the bottom.Creatures – named longiskamaIt means “long scales” after the strange feather-like protrusions on its back. It probably lived in the nearby forest, along with many other interesting animals, including a flying reptile known as a flying reptile. Chalovipteryx and Giga Titana giant praying mantis-like insect.

as longiskama's body slowly rotted, gradually turning to stone, continents drifted away, lakes dried up and reformed again and again, and the landscape above changed. Later, in the 1960s, Soviet paleontologist Alexander Sharov discovered reptile fossils. scientifically spotlighted In this little-known corner of the Soviet Union.

Today, the region is located in southern Kyrgyzstan and is a dusty landscape of colorful rock outcrops and dry riverbeds, surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Turkestan Mountains. These rocks are the remains of layers of mud and silt that were deposited on the lake bed. longiskama This formation is called the Madigen Formation after a nearby village.Paleontologists recognize it as One of the richest Triassic fossil beds in the world and Lagerstätte –’s site A beautifully preserved specimen – But few others have heard of Madygen.

That's about to change. If all plans go well, this year the region will become the world's first global geopark.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Webb captures stunning image of the Horsehead Nebula

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have captured the most detailed images ever of the Horsehead Nebula, one of the most distinctive objects in our sky.

At the bottom of this Web/NIRCam image, a small portion of the Horsehead Nebula is visible up close as a curved wall of thick, smoky gas and dust. Above the nebula, various distant stars and galaxies can be seen all the way to the top of the image. Image credits: NASA / CSA / ESA / Webb / K. Misselt, University of Arizona / A. Abergel, IAS, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS.

The Horsehead Nebula is located in the constellation Orion, about 1,500 light-years from Earth.

Also known as Barnard 33, this nebula is visible only because its indistinct dust is silhouetted against the brighter nebula IC 434.

The Horsehead Nebula is just one small feature of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, with the glowing Flame Nebula dominating the center of this view.

The nebula was first recorded by Scottish astronomer Williamna Fleming on February 6, 1888.

The object is formed by a collapsing cloud of interstellar matter and shines in the light of a nearby hot star.

The gas cloud surrounding the horsehead has now disappeared, but the protruding columns are made of stronger material that is less erodible.

Astronomers estimate that the Horsehead Formation has about 5 million years left to collapse.

The new image from the web focuses on the upper illuminated edge of the nebula’s characteristic dust and gas structures.

This Webb/MIRI image is more than half filled from bottom to top with a small section of the Horsehead Nebula. Image credits: NASA / CSA / ESA / Webb / K. Misselt, University of Arizona / A. Abergel, IAS, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS.

“The Horsehead Nebula is well known. photodissociation region (PDR),” astronomer Webb said.

“In such regions, ultraviolet light from young massive stars creates a region of warm, nearly neutral gas and dust between the fully ionized gas around the massive star and the clouds they are born into. .”

“This UV radiation has a strong effect on the gas chemistry in these regions and acts as the most important heat source.”

“These regions occur where the interstellar gas is concentrated enough to remain neutral, but not dense enough to prevent the transmission of deep ultraviolet light from massive stars.”

“Light emitted from such PDRs will be used to study the physical and chemical processes that drive the evolution of the interstellar medium in our galaxy and throughout the universe from the early days of active star formation to the present day. We provide unique tools for

“The Horsehead Nebula, due to its close proximity and near-edge-on geometry, provides an opportunity for astronomers to study the physical structure of the PDR and the evolution of the chemical properties of gas and dust within their respective environments and transition regions. is an ideal target for “among them. “

“This is considered one of the best objects to study how radiation interacts with the interstellar medium.”

“Thanks to Mr. Webb. mm (mid-infrared measuring instrument) and NIRCam “We used (near-infrared camera) equipment to reveal for the first time small-scale structures at the end of an illuminated horsehead,” they said.

“We also detected a network of stripes extending perpendicular to the PDR front and containing dust particles and ionized gas entrained in the nebula's photoevaporative flow.”

“These observations allowed us to investigate the effects of dust attenuation and ejection, and to better understand the multidimensional shape of the nebula.”

“Next, we will study the spectroscopic data obtained from the nebula to demonstrate the evolution of the physical and chemical properties of the material observed throughout the nebula.”

of result appear in the diary astronomy and astrophysics.

_____

A. Abergel other. 2024. His JWST observations of the horsehead photon-dominated region I. First results from multiband near-infrared and mid-infrared imaging. A&A, in press. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202449198

Source: www.sci.news

A New Study Estimates the Volume of Water Flowing Through Earth’s Rivers

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Accurate assessments of global river flows and water storage are important to inform water management practices, but current estimates of global river flows represent a significant spread, and river storage Estimates remain sparse. Estimates of river flow and water storage are hampered by uncertainty in land runoff, an unobserved quantity that provides water withdrawal to rivers. In a new study, geoscientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and elsewhere leverage an ensemble of global streamflow observations and land surface models to create a globally gauge-corrected monthly streamflow and storage dataset. Generating. They estimate the average global river storage capacity to be 2,246 km .³ (This is equivalent to half of the water in Lake Michigan, about 0.006% of all fresh water, which itself is equivalent to 2.5% of the Earth's volume) and 37,411 km of the world's continental streams.³ per year.

collins other. Estimates flows through 3 million river segments characterized by intense human water use, including the Colorado River, Amazon River, Orange River, and parts of the Murray-Darling River basin (shown here in gray) identified locations around the world. Image credit: NASA.

Rivers are considered the most renewable, most accessible, and therefore most sustainable sources of fresh water.

Therefore, several studies have attempted to quantify the world's river waters.

However, surprisingly little is known about the average and temporal variation in global river water storage, and even more so, about the temporal variation in global river discharge.

“Over the years, researchers have made numerous estimates of how much water flows from rivers to the ocean, but estimates of how much water rivers collectively hold (known as water storage) “There are fewer and more uncertainties,” said Dr. Cedric David. A researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“We don't know how much water we have in our accounts. Population growth and climate change are further complicating the problem.”

“There are many things we can do to manage our water usage and ensure there is enough water for everyone, but the first question is: How much water do we have? It's the basis of everything else. is.”

In this study, Dr. David and colleagues used a new methodology that combines flow meter measurements with computer models of about 3 million river segments around the world.

They identified the Amazon Basin as the region with the most river water storage, with approximately 850 km of water storage.³ Water amount – approximately 38% of global estimates.

The same basin discharges the most water into the ocean: 6,789 km³ per year. This corresponds to 18% of the emissions into the world's oceans, which average 37,411 km.³ Years from 1980 to 2009.

Although it is impossible for a river to have a negative flow rate, the study's computational approach does not take into account upstream flows, but it is possible that some river segments receive less water than they enter. It may leak.

Researchers found similar findings in parts of the Colorado, Amazon, and Orange river basins, as well as the Murray-Darling basin in southeastern Australia. These negative flows mainly indicate heavy water use by humans.

“These are places where we see evidence of water management,” says Dr. Elissa Collins, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

of study Published in a magazine natural earth science.

_____

Elle Collins other. Global patterns of river water storage dependent on residence time. nut.earth science, published online March 15, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41561-024-01421-5

Source: www.sci.news

Australia invests A$1 billion into PsiQuantum for quantum computing efforts

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

PsiQuantum silicon photonic chips

Psi Quantum

The Australian government has announced it will invest nearly A$1 billion in developing quantum computers, staking its claim in a race currently dominated by the United States and China.

Headquartered in the US, PsiQuantum was co-founded by a team including two Australian researchers and has received funding from both the Australian Federal and Queensland Governments of A$470 million, for a total of A$940 million ($600 million). The project will receive funding of $13 million. In return, the company will build and operate a next-generation quantum computer in Brisbane, Australia.

stephen bartlett Researchers at the University of Sydney said the announcement amounted to Australia asserting sovereign capabilities in quantum computing and building a quantum technology ecosystem.

“What I'm really excited about about this is that the size of the investment means we're serious,” Bartlett says. Big technology companies such as IBM, Google and Microsoft are investing billions of dollars in quantum computing, but Australian funding makes PsiQuantum one of the world's largest dedicated quantum computing companies.

Quantum computers offer the possibility of completing some tasks much faster than regular computers. So far, such capabilities have only been demonstrated in non-practical problems, but as research teams in the U.S., China and elsewhere race to build larger and less error-prone machines, they are becoming increasingly common. It is hoped that this will begin to prove useful.

Many teams have built quantum computers based on superconductors, but PsiQuantum's approach involves particles of light called photons, which were thought to be difficult to scale up. However, ahead of the Australian announcement, PsiQuantum Published a paper The paper details how standard semiconductor manufacturing equipment, of the type used to make regular computer chips, could be used to build the photonic chips needed for quantum machines.

Australia has exported generations of quantum researchers, including the co-founders of PsiQuantum. Jeremy O'Brien and Terry Rudolph. Mr Bartlett said government investment could allow these scientists to return to Australia and start building their careers here. “Australia is saying we have a seat at the big table when it comes to quantum computing.”

topic:

Australia/
quantum computing

Source: www.newscientist.com

How to address deficiencies in plant-based diets that cannot be reversed

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Are you or someone you know transitioning to a plant-based diet? The number of vegetarians and vegans is on the rise, with an estimated 7% in the UK and 5% in the US cutting down on meat. However, this dietary shift comes with a downside – the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency.

Contrary to popular belief, the issue is not protein but rather a lack of vitamin B12. Around 1 in 5 vegan and vegetarian diets lack essential micronutrients, and this deficiency only increases with age. Transitioning from a vegetarian to a vegan diet can exacerbate the issue, as vegan diets are naturally low in vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 plays a critical role in blood cell formation, cell metabolism, nerve function, and DNA production, making it essential for overall health. Without adequate intake, irreversible neurological consequences can occur.

While supplements and certain foods may help, the lack of regulation in the market and insufficient research can complicate finding a solution. The best approach, according to science, is…

The High Risks of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Vitamin B12 is primarily found in animal products like fish, meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy. Even meat-eaters may struggle to meet their daily B12 requirements, as certain meats contain minimal amounts of the vitamin. Dairy products also offer B12 but in limited quantities.

While some plant-based sources like certain mushrooms and algae may contain B12, they are not reliable as a sole source of the vitamin. Among plant foods, Seaweed is noted to have some B12 content.

The more ethical your diet, the higher your risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. – Credit: University of Surrey

Individuals not consuming the right animal products or adequate plant-based sources are at risk of missing out on their required daily B12 intake. Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to conditions like folate deficiency anemia, affecting the body’s ability to supply oxygen to tissues.

Although studies vary on the prevalence of deficiency, vegan diets have a higher likelihood of falling short on B12 requirements. Symptoms of deficiency include various health issues, and prolonged deficiency can lead to irreversible neurological damage.

For pregnant individuals, a lack of vitamin B12 increases the risk of neural tube defects in the baby. Proper supplementation is crucial, especially during pregnancy, to prevent complications.

How Can Plant-Based Diets Obtain Vitamin B12?

Given the importance of vitamin B12 in animal products, vegetarians and vegans are advised to consider supplementation. High-quality B12 supplements and fortified foods can help meet daily requirements.

Look for GMP-approved supplements, as they ensure effectiveness and quality. In addition to supplements, fortified foods like plant-based milk alternatives, yogurts, and cereals can also be sources of B12, albeit in trace amounts.

It’s crucial to ensure adequate intake of vitamin B12 through supplements and fortified foods for those following plant-based diets. Deficiencies are avoidable with proper supplementation and dietary choices.

About our expert Kourosh Ahmadi

Kourosh Ahmadi is a renowned expert in precision nutrition and vitamin B12 deficiency. He provides insights and guidance on addressing the risks associated with vitamin B12 deficiency.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

The Effects of Death on the Human Body

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Studying corpses can provide valuable insights. Observing the decomposition process can enhance our knowledge of the nuances involved, aid in locating and identifying the deceased more accurately, and help determine the time of death.

Following death, the body undergoes a breakdown into simpler organic matter through biological and chemical processes. The duration of this process varies from weeks to years depending on several factors.

Chemical reactions in decomposition accelerate with rising temperatures. Conversely, bodies can remain relatively “fresh” for longer in cold conditions or during winter. Certain factors, like burial or placing the body in a coffin, can slow down decomposition. Insecticides near bodies may not deter insects but can delay their arrival, thus slowing decomposition indefinitely.

A study from Australia’s first ‘body farm’ revealed surprising movement in corpses during decay. Limbs, including arms, were seen to change positions even in advanced decomposition stages. Researchers suggest this movement is linked to the decomposition process as the body mummifies and ligaments dry out.

Stage 1: Rigor begins

The “fresh” phase lasts from days to a week. Pallor after death, where the body turns blue due to poor circulation, is the first visible change. Rigor mortis sets in approximately 2 to 6 hours after death, stiffening the body, then dissipates around 36 hours later.

If left unattended, insects arrive shortly after death, typically within 10 minutes.

Stage 2: Bloating

When gut bacteria multiply due to lack of control, they produce gas that causes bloating. In warm climates, bloating can occur within 2-3 days.

Stage 3: Skin falls off

Internal pressure causes fluid to push between skin layers, leading to skin sloughing off.

Stage 4: Marbling

Absence of oxygen leads hemoglobin to bind with sulfur, resulting in arteries and veins filled with a greenish-black substance – known as “marbling.”

Stage 5: Evacuation of liquefied organs

Increased pressure forces fluids and liquefied organs out of available openings, potentially causing eyeballs to protrude and even body explosions.

Stage 6: Insects multiply.

Chemicals released by the body attract flies, which lay eggs in and around openings, leading to maggot infestation feeding on flesh and organs.

Stage 7: Scavenger arrives

Other insects, beetles, birds, and carrion eaters are attracted to the body for consumption.

Stage 8: Skeletonization

Finally, bones undergo ossification with the complete loss of soft tissue. Bone bleaching and flaking typically begin about 9 months after exposure, with further separation over months and years due to environmental factors.

Explore more on the topic of death:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Efforts to Reduce Emissions are Crucial for Success of Plastic Pollution Treaty

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

People rally in Ottawa to support ending plastic pollution

The Canadian Press/Shutterstock

Representatives from nearly every country will gather in Canada to hammer out the details of a global treaty to tackle rising plastic pollution. One source of disagreement at the summit, which concluded on April 29, was how to address greenhouse gas emissions produced by the production and use of plastics, which are increasingly not recognized as a cause of climate change. was.

“When people think of plastic, they think of something visually visible,” he says. Vermilion Alice At the University of Toronto, Canada. However, the extraction and processing of fossil fuels and other chemicals used to make plastics produces large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, as does the generation of the energy needed to make plastic products. Plastics currently account for about 10% of total oil and natural gas demand. Coal is also increasing Used to power plastic production.

Incineration of plastic waste is also a source of greenhouse gas emissions. As plastics in the environment degrade, they can emit carbon dioxide and methane. Plastics may even reduce the amount of carbon that ecosystems can store, although the effects have not been well quantified, Zhu said.

The emissions numbers associated with plastic production are more clear-cut.in study Published this month, Nihang Kalari Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California estimated that plastic production produced 2.24 billion tons of CO2 in 2019, accounting for about 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is roughly four times the emissions produced by aviation that year.

They found that as plastic production increases, these emissions could triple by 2050, assuming no changes in the way plastics are made. Most of the emissions are related to the extraction and processing of fossil fuels and other chemicals used to make plastics, so decarbonizing the electricity grid will have a small impact on projected emissions. It also became clear that

The global plastics deal currently under discussion could offer a “historic” chance to limit these emissions, the researchers write. In 2022, more than 175 countries have agreed to join a legally binding treaty to tackle plastic pollution throughout the lifecycle of materials, with final details expected to be agreed by the end of this year.

But a group of oil-producing countries, including China and Russia, said during negotiations that the treaty should only address plastic waste through cleaning and recycling, and that production, which is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions from oil, would They argued that it should not be restricted or changed. plastic.country group Including UK and EU argued that the treaty should include provisions to reduce production to keep emissions in line with global climate goals.

“There's a lot on the agenda, but climate certainly isn't talked about much,” he says. neil nathan Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, attended the conference to advocate for an ambitious treaty.

according to modeling We've heard from Nathan and others that a strong treaty that takes measures such as limiting production and requiring plastic products to contain a high proportion of recycled content could keep emissions at current levels. Probably. He said the Plastics Treaty would be a “failure” if it did not address production.

Sarah-Jeanne Royer Researchers at the University of California, San Diego suggest that even if the treaty did not reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there would be more sustainable options for making plastics, such as recycled or captured CO2, such as bioplastics or captured CO2. It said the switch would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the use of new plastics. Expressly.

but, paul stegman Dutch research institute TNO has warned that plastic alternatives such as steel can generate more emissions, depending on how they are reused and recycled. “Ultimately, we need policies that reduce the impact on society as a whole, not just move the problem elsewhere,” he says.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Climate change could impact cicada cycles, scientists warn

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The cicadas that synchronize their emergence with others have a better chance of survival. Scientists believe that the simultaneous emergence of insects is an evolutionary strategy. Predators like birds and raccoons can only consume a limited amount, so the more cicadas emerge together, the higher their chances of survival, reproduction, and passing on their genes. “They have a strategy of safety in numbers,” explains Chris Simon, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut.

On the other hand, rare cicadas that emerge out of sync are often referred to as “strays.” These stragglers are usually preyed upon and struggle to survive. “Natural selection favored those that waited, because those that couldn’t wait were eaten,” Simon said.

This summer, two cicada broods are expected to emerge simultaneously, leading to a particularly large population of periodic cicadas. The last time such an event occurred was in 1803. The organization behind the Cicada Safari app, which aims to track cicada sightings and help scientists study these insects, has already recorded over 1,000 sightings in Georgia and hundreds more in North Carolina and Alabama.

Periodic cicadas are categorized into two groups based on their emergence period: those that appear every 13 years and those that appear every 17 years. While temperature seems to trigger their emergence, the exact mechanism behind how they synchronize their emergence remains somewhat mysterious. Scientists have observed changes in cicadas’ emergence patterns, speculating that rising temperatures due to climate change may be impacting their internal clocks.

Entomologist Gene Kritsky notes that global warming is causing cicadas to emerge earlier in the year due to higher average temperatures. This shift in emergence time has been observed to be approximately 10 days to two weeks earlier than in 1940. Researchers like John Cooley predict that cicadas’ distribution will shift northward as the climate warms and their preferred plant species move north.

There has been an increase in reports of stragglers, intriguing researchers in the field. Simon and her colleagues believe that climate change may be influencing the emergence of cicadas earlier than usual, leading to the formation of new populations among stragglers. This adaptation is seen as a response to a warming climate and extended growing seasons.

Simon proposes a theory that rising temperatures may prolong the development of cicadas underground, resulting in the emergence of more stragglers sooner than expected. Eventually, the population as a whole may adapt and change its timing. She predicts that the 17-year cicada broods may transition to a 13-year cycle and possibly even emerge every nine years.

If proven correct, this theory would be another example of how climate change is disrupting natural rhythms in the environment. Periodic cicadas, harmless to humans, range across the eastern United States to the Midwest and emerge in special events rather than yearly like annual cicadas.

While scientists continue to study how cicadas coordinate their mass emergence, they have yet to discover a precise explanation for their successful synchronization. A recent study suggests that underground communication could be a potential factor worth investigating further. “No one has ever studied this,” Simon said.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Two new species of pachycephalosaurids discovered by paleontologists

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists have discovered the fossilized remains of two new small pachycephalosaurs. Formation of dinosaur park Alberta and another province Hell Creek Formation of Montana.

Sphaerotorus Buchholzee A small species that fights beneath large pachycephalosaurs in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, USA. Image credit: ABelov2014 / CC BY-SA 3.0 Certificate.

One of the new species of dinosaur named. Sphaerotorus rionsii lived in what is now Canada 75 million years ago.

the other one is, Sphaerotorus triregnum lived in the United States about 67 million years ago.

Both species belong to Sphaerosolos a genus of small dinosaurs of the subfamily Pachycephalosauridae within the family Pachycephalosauridae.

“Despite being poorly represented in the fossil record, including a thickened frontoparietal dome and hypothetical head-butting behavior, pachycephalosaurids are some of the most iconic dinosaurs,” lead authors Philip and Patricia・Dr. Carrie Woodruff, a paleontologist at the Frost Museum, said: Science and the Museum of the Rockies and its friends.

“While the true function of their unusual cranial domes remains debated, considerable research has focused on their ontogeny and diversity.”

“This study is complicated by the unusual fossil record, which consists mostly of unsegmented skull remains, and associated skeletons are extremely rare.”

“This pattern may be the result of small body size and taphonomic bias against delicate skeletal preservation and recovery, as well as the robust and diagnostic nature of the bones that make up the cranial dome.”

Holotype of left flat bone Sphaerotorus triregnum. Scale bar represents 1 cm. Image credit: Woodruff other., doi: 10.1002/spp2.1535.

Sphaerotorus rionsii and Sphaerotorus triregnum Each is represented by an isolated squamous epithelium the skull found in most reptiles, amphibians, and birds.

The holotype of Sphaerotorus rionsii “It was collected north of the Red Deer River in the northeastern part of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada,” the researchers said.

The holotype of Sphaerotorus triregnum It was collected from the lower half of the Hell Creek Formation, approximately 45 km southwest of the town of Jordan, Garfield County, Montana, USA. ”

“The specimens were collected from the same channel complex and within 500 meters of the location of the dromaeosaur holotype.” Acheloraptor temeltyorum”

“These two new specimens are about the same size as the squamosal. Sphaerotorus Buchholzee and has several overlapping forms. Sphaerosolos Genus. ”

These new species fill a morphological gap in the pachycephalosaur fossil record and show that multisegment forms were more diverse than previously realized.

“Description of two new species of small pachycephalosaurs of the same genus Sphaerosolos “This provides further insight into the evolution of North American pachycephalosaurs,” the scientists said.

“Aspects of the phylogeny of pachycephalosaurs remain unresolved and disputed, in part due to the incomplete nature of their remains, and this analysis focuses on two small North American pachycephalosaur phylogenies. This is the first time we have identified evolutionary potential in different lineages.”

Holotype of right flat bone Sphaerotorus rionsii. Scale bar represents 1 cm. Image credit: Woodruff other., doi: 10.1002/spp2.1535.

“Sphaerotorus rionsii and Sphaerotorus triregnum Please provide the following evidence:

(i) Small-bodied dinosaur species have not yet been discovered in well-sampled geological formations.

(ii) pachycephalosaur diversity in the Dinosaur Park and Hell Creek formations is richer than previously thought, and pachycephalosaur diversity in North America is likely to continue to increase;

(iii) Species with ornaments consisting of multisegment rows are indeed more numerous and diverse throughout the Pachycephalosauridae than previously known.

(iv) North American pachycephalosaurs appear to have remained relatively diverse throughout the Maastrichtian period, which is consistent with dinosaurs throughout the latest Cretaceous period of North America up to the end-Cretaceous extinction event. Implications for understanding the dynamics of evolution and diversity. ”

of findings appear in the diary paleontology papers.

_____

D. Cary Woodruff other. 2023. His two new species of small pachycephalosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of North America (Dinosauria, Aminocephala) suggest hidden diversity in well-sampled strata. Masu. Paleontology Papers 9 (6): e1535; doi: 10.1002/spp2.1535

Source: www.sci.news