Research suggests that biological amino acids could potentially endure in the near-surface ice of Europa and Enceladus

Posted on July 19, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Europa and Enceladus are important targets for the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life in the solar system. However, the surfaces and shallow subsurfaces of these airless icy moons are constantly exposed to ionizing radiation that can degrade chemical biosignatures. Therefore, sampling the icy surfaces in future life-searching missions to Europa and Enceladus requires a clear understanding of the required ice depths where intact organic biomolecules may exist. A team of scientists from NASA and Pennsylvania State University conducted experiments exposing individual biological and abiotic amino acids in the ice to gamma radiation to simulate conditions on these icy worlds.

Europa's surface stands out in this newly reprocessed color image. The image scale is 1.6 km per pixel. Europa's north side is on the right. Image courtesy of NASA / JPL-Caltech / SETI Institute.

“Based on our experiments, a 'safe' sampling depth for amino acids on Europa is about 20 centimetres (8 inches) at high latitudes in the trailing hemisphere (the hemisphere opposite the direction Europa moves around Jupiter), in an area where the surface has not been significantly disturbed by meteorite impacts,” said Dr. Alexander Pavlov, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

“Detecting amino acids on Enceladus does not require subsurface sampling; these molecules survive radiolysis (breakdown by radiation) anywhere on Enceladus' surface, within a few millimeters (tenths of an inch) of the surface.”

Dr. Pavlov and his colleagues used amino acids in their radiolysis experiments as representative examples of biomolecules on icy moons.

Amino acids are produced by both living organisms and non-living processes.

But if certain types of amino acids were found on Europa or Enceladus, they could be a sign of life, as they may be used by life on Earth as building blocks of proteins.

Proteins are essential for life because they are used to create structures and to produce enzymes that speed up or control chemical reactions.

Amino acids and other compounds found underground in the ocean could be transported to the surface by geyser activity or the slow churning motion of the ice shell.

To assess the survival of amino acids on these planets, the researchers mixed amino acid samples with ice cooled to minus 196 degrees Celsius (minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit) in sealed, airless vials and exposed them to various doses of gamma rays (a type of high-energy light).

Because the ocean may harbor microorganisms, the researchers also tested the viability of amino acids contained in dead bacteria in the ice.

Finally, the researchers tested samples of amino acids in the ice mixed with silicate dust to see if meteorites or interior materials could be mixing with the surface ice.

This experiment provided vital data for determining the rate at which amino acids break down (called the radiolysis constant).

Using these, the scientists used the age and radiation environment of the icy surfaces of Europa and Enceladus to calculate drilling depths and where 10% of amino acids would survive radiolysis.

While experiments have been done before to test for the survival of amino acids in ice, this is the first to use low doses of radiation that don't completely break down the amino acids – changing or breaking them down would be insufficient to determine whether they were a sign of life.

This is also the first experiment to use Europa/Enceladus conditions to assess the survival of these compounds in microbes, and the first to test the survival of amino acids mixed with dust.

Scientists have found that amino acids break down faster when mixed with dust, but more slowly when they come from microorganisms.

“The slow rate of breakdown of amino acids in biological samples under surface conditions like those on Europa and Enceladus strengthens the case for future life detection measurements from lander missions to Europa and Enceladus,” Dr Pavlov said.

“Our results indicate that the decomposition rates of potential organic biomolecules are higher in the silica-rich regions of both Europa and Enceladus than in pure ice. Future missions to Europa and Enceladus should therefore be careful when sampling the silica-rich regions of these icy moons.”

“A possible explanation for why amino acids survive longer in bacteria is the way that ionizing radiation alters molecules, either directly by breaking chemical bonds or indirectly by creating nearby reactive compounds that alter or break down the target molecule.”

“It's possible that the bacterial cellular material protected the amino acids from reactive compounds produced by the radiation.”

Team paper Published in the journal Astrobiology.

_____

Alexander A. Pavlov others2024. Effects of radiolysis on biological and abiotic amino acids in shallow subsurface ice on Europa and Enceladus. Astrobiology 24(7); doi: 10.1089/ast.2023.0120

This article has been edited based on the original NASA release.

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists decipher the ginseng genome

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

A team of Chinese scientists has assembled a reference genome from telomere to telomere. Korean ginseng (Korean ginseng)A representative of traditional Chinese medicine.

Overview of morphological characteristics of Korean ginseng (Korean ginseng). Image credit: Song others., doi: 10.1093/hr/uhae107.

Ginseng is one of the most important medicinal plants and is cultivated in Northeast Asia, including China, Korea, Siberia, and Japan, and in smaller quantities in North America.

As recorded in the ancient Chinese text Shennong Benmatao Jing, the perennial root of ginseng has been used for thousands of years in traditional medicine and as a functional food and beverage with bodily and immune-boosting properties.

Ginseng has a very long history of being collected from the wild in fields, and cultivation began about 500 years ago. Since then, selective breeding has begun and cultivated varieties have become common.

“Like other herbs, medicinal ginseng has complex metabolites that are believed to be active compounds, of which triterpene saponins (ginsenosides) are the most important class,” said Wei Li, PhD, of the Shenzhen Institute of Agricultural Genomics, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and colleagues.

“Ginseng probably contains more than 100 types of ginsenosides, but the synthesis pathways of most of the ginsenosides remain unknown.”

In the new study, Dr. Lee and his co-authors assembled a ginseng reference genome from telomere to telomere.

“We used this intertelomeric reference genome to study the phylogeny and evolution of ginseng and to explore the asymmetric loss and biased expression of genes among its subgenomes,” they explained.

The authors identified 77,266 protein-coding genes in the 3.45 Gb ginseng genome.

The team also identified asymmetric gene loss and biased gene expression across the subgenomes, tracing the divergence back approximately 6.07 million years.

Their analysis revealed extensive expansion of gene families related to saponin biosynthesis and highlighted the importance of specific gene duplications in enriching these pathways.

Comparative genomic analysis with related species will provide further insight into the evolutionary strategies employed by ginseng to maximize its medicinal properties.

“The complete sequencing of the ginseng genome is a monumental achievement in plant research,” Dr Lee said.

“Not only will it broaden our understanding of the genetic complexity of medicinal plants, but it will also introduce sophisticated methods for cultivating ginseng varieties with superior health properties.”

“Comprehensive sequencing of the ginseng genome has laid the foundation for precision breeding techniques aimed at enhancing its medicinal properties.”

“This research not only has immediate applications in the intensification of ginseng cultivation, but also serves as a model for studying other medicinal plants, potentially revolutionizing pharmacology and crop intensification strategies with natural products.”

of result Published in the journal Horticultural Research.

_____

Song Yi-ting others2024. Telomere-to-telomere reference genome Korean ginseng Our focus is on the evolution of saponin biosynthesis. Horticultural Research 11 (6): uhae107; doi: 10.1093/hr/uhae107

Source: www.sci.news

Astronomers suggest a new way to classify planets

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The current definition, established by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, states that to be considered a planet, an object must be in the solar system and orbit the Sun. However, this definition is problematic in that it is not quantitative and excludes exoplanets. A proposed new definition states that an object can orbit one or more stars, brown dwarfs, or stellar remnants, and sets a mass limit that should apply to any planet.

Artist's impression of an exoplanet and its host star. Image courtesy of Sci.News.

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopted Resolution B5, which defines a planet as a celestial body that (a) orbits the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass so that its own gravity overcomes the forces of a rigid body, has a shape in hydrostatic equilibrium (approximately circular), and (c) is swept around its orbit.

“The current definition specifically mentions orbiting the sun,” said Professor Jean-Luc Margot of the University of California, Los Angeles.

“Thousands of planets are currently known to exist, but the IAU definition only applies to planets in our solar system.”

“We propose a new definition that can be applied to objects orbiting any star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf.”

Prof Margot and his colleagues argue that the requirement to orbit the Sun is too specific, while other criteria in the IAU definition are too vague.

For example, it says that the planet has “gone out of orbit,” but doesn't say what that means.

The proposed new definition includes quantifiable criteria that can be applied to define planets inside and outside the solar system.

Under the new definition, a planet is (a) an object that orbits one or more stars, brown dwarfs, or stellar remnants; (b) a mass greater than or equal to 10^{twenty three} kg, (c) is 13 times the mass of Jupiter (2.5 × 10²⁸ kg).

The authors ran mathematical algorithms on the properties of objects in the solar system to determine which ones are densely populated.

This analysis reveals groups of distinct properties common to planets in our solar system, which can be used as a starting point for creating a general classification of planets.

For example, if an object's gravitational force is sufficient to accumulate or eject smaller objects nearby to clear a path, the object is said to be dynamically dominant.

“All planets in the solar system are dynamically dominated, but other objects, including dwarf planets like Pluto and asteroids, are not, so this property can be included in the definition of a planet,” Prof Margot said.

Dynamic dominance requirements dictate a lower mass limit.

But it's also possible that the potential planet is too large to fit the new definition.

For example, some gas giants can grow so large that thermonuclear fusion of deuterium occurs, and the object becomes a star known as a brown dwarf, no longer a planet. This limit has been determined to be more than 13 Jupiter masses.

On the other hand, the current requirement that it be spherical is more problematic.

Distant planets are rarely observed in enough detail to determine their shapes with certainty.

The researchers argue that even though planets are generally round, the shape requirements would be so difficult to implement that they are virtually useless for definitional purposes.

“Fixing the definition to mass, the quantity that is most easily measured, eliminates debate about whether a particular object meets the criteria – this is a weakness of the current definition,” said Dr Brett Gladman, a researcher at the University of British Columbia.

“The good news is that in the solar system,^{twenty one} kg looks round.”

“Thus, any object that meets the proposed lower mass limit of 10^{twenty three} kg is expected to be spherical.”

Team paper Published in Planetary Science Journal.

_____

Jean-Luc Margot othersA quantitative criterion for defining planets. Planet Science Journal 5,159; doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ad55f3

Source: www.sci.news

Investigating the UK’s lack of preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

People demonstrate outside the UK COVID-19 Inquiry site in London in October 2023.

Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images

“The UK prepared for the wrong pandemic” This is the key conclusion from the first part of a government inquiry looking at the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular its preparedness and resilience.

“In 2019, it was widely believed, both in the UK and abroad, that the UK was not only well prepared to deal with a pandemic, but one of the best-prepared countries in the world. This belief proved dangerously wrong.” Heather HallettThe former judge leading the UK's coronavirus inquiry Video Statement Released at the same time Reports“The reality is that the UK was ill-prepared.”

“I have no hesitation in saying that the processes, plans and policies of the UK-wide civil emergency response arrangements have let down the people of all four countries,” Mr Hallett said. “There were serious errors on the part of the government and serious failings in the civil emergency system. This cannot be allowed to happen again.”

The main reason the UK was unprepared was because it planned on the assumption that the pandemic would be caused by a dangerous influenza strain or something similar, the report concluded, “which resulted in risk assessments being narrowly limited, excluding other types of pandemics.”

The next biggest mistake was assuming that because influenza spreads easily from person to person, there would be no way to stop the spread of a pandemic pathogen. “Plans were focused on dealing with the effects of the disease rather than preventing the spread of the disease,” the report said.

As a result, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no plans to implement measures such as border controls, lockdowns, testing people or contact tracing to identify people who may have the coronavirus and stop them from infecting others.

“There was no preparation whatsoever for the fact that hygiene measures at the border might be necessary to protect the population,” the former health minister said. Matt Hancock Part of the problem, the inquiry said, is that because responsibility for health measures has been devolved between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it is not clear who can implement such measures.

The UK government also did not consider the possibility of a lockdown being necessary: ”There was no plan to introduce a lockdown.” Mark Woolhouse “Lockdowns were an ad-hoc public health intervention devised in real time in the face of a rapidly evolving public health emergency,” researchers from the University of Edinburgh in the UK said in a study.

Testing and tracing was envisioned as part of any response to new pathogens, but the capacity to do so was limited because it was assumed that any new infectious diseases would only have a small number of cases.

“One of the first lines of defence against a pandemic is containment, and this requires a test, trace and isolate system that can be rapidly expanded to meet the demands of a large outbreak,” Mr Hallett said. “This did not exist in the UK when the COVID-19 pandemic began.”

“The UK government's only pandemic plan, developed in 2011, was outdated and inadequate,” she said. “The UK government never applied or adapted it, and the principles on which it was based were ultimately abandoned, along with the 2011 strategy itself.”

The report does not explore the consequences of those failures, but a summary released with the report states that “further preparations could have avoided some of the enormous financial, economic and human costs of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The inquiry will also look into decision-making and political governance in Westminster, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the impact on health systems across the UK, vaccines, medicines, anti-viral treatments, government procurement and PPE. [personal protective equipment]; the care sector, test and trace, the impact on children and young people, and the Government's business and finance response.

The latest report quoted a civil servant as saying: Chris Wormald “There's been a lot of discussion, of course, about countries like South Korea, who handled COVID very well. In fact, they had much higher standards of containment than we did, and that was a key difference.”

One of the aims of the review is to help the UK better prepare for the future. “The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that another, more infectious and deadly pandemic is likely in the near to medium term,” Hallett said. “This means that the UK will face another pandemic – one that, unless we prepare better, will cause untold suffering and huge economic loss, with the most vulnerable in society suffering the most.”

“This is a most urgent report because we are still not fully prepared for the next pandemic.” Duncan Robertson Loughborough University, UK Post to X.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Cancellation of NASA’s VIPER lunar rover jeopardizes Artemis crewed landing in 2026

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

VIPER won’t go to the moon after all

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA has announced that a completed rover scheduled for launch to the moon next year will be dismantled due to budgetary issues, leading researchers to question whether the space agency is really committed to landing a crewed spacecraft on the moon in 2026 as it currently claims.

The Volatile Investigation Polar Rover (VIPER) would be sent to the moon’s south pole in September 2025 to search for water ice. The rover, equipped with a drill, would search for subsurface ice in several locations on the moon, including in craters that are permanently in shadow.

But on July 17, NASA announced it was canceling the mission. “Decisions like these are never easy,” Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. “But in this case, VIPER’s remaining projected costs would have forced us to cancel or terminate many other missions, so we have made the decision to abandon this particular mission.”

NASA has already spent $450 million on the rover, and canceling it is expected to save only $84 million. NASA says it welcomes “expressions of interest from U.S. industry and international partners” to purchase VIPER, but if this does not occur by August 1, VIPER will be dismantled with the aim of reusing its parts for future missions.

Phil Metzger Metzger of the University of Central Florida said canceling the mission would be a “huge mistake” for NASA, especially since the space agency has ambitious goals of landing humans on the moon’s south pole in 2026 as part of its Artemis program. It could also jeopardize plans to use lunar ice as a source of rocket fuel. “The rover with the drill is an absolutely essential part of the mission,” Metzger said. “It would definitely have some impact on plans for a human mission.”

The cancellation of VIPER could also give China an advantage in lunar resource exploration: The unmanned probes Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8, scheduled for 2026 and 2028, respectively, are set to head to the lunar south pole to search for water ice.

Grant Tremblay Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said the cancellations highlight the budgetary challenges facing NASA and other U.S. government agencies, which have Funding is down 8.5% this year The funding came in just under $25 billion, less than the requested amount. “This is a perfect example of how tight the budget is across the board at NASA,” Tremblay said. “NASA can’t print money.”

Other NASA missions, including the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Mars Sample Return mission, which would bring rocks from Mars, are also facing cuts or cancellations due to shrinking budgets. “More bad news is sure to follow,” Tremblay said.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Academics now pay close attention to details in the workplace

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Paying attention to small details

“Academics are often accused of ‘obsessing over the details,'” David Taylor told Feedback magazine. “This year my team and I have managed to do just that. We have built a machine that can literally split a single hair from end to end. This is the first time that anyone has been able to split a hair in a lab in a controlled environment and quantify the phenomenon. Were you planning any exciting beauty treatments like coloring or curling your hair? You’ll have to wait and see if this will cause split ends.”

He and his team called the adventure “Hair-splitting biomechanics“, published in Interface Focus.

This is based on research done in the 1980s by Y. K. Kamath and H.-D. Weigman, who sought to take a closer look at what happens when a hair splits.

in Journal of Applied Polymer Science “Fractographic analysis of human hairKamath and Weigman calmed their excitement and stated, “Electron microscopic evidence suggests that fracture propagation occurs via secondary cracks generated as a result of stress concentrations that build up around the primary crack.”

Water from the wreckage

Brazilian researchers have been searching outside the cemetery for the remains of people buried there. Their main question is whether the decaying bodies are sending a foul stench into the area’s deep groundwater. Elias Saba and his colleagues have summed it all up in a book with a macabre, geeky title: “The Deadly Sinisters: The Secrets of the Dead.”Assessing the impact of cemeteries on groundwater using multivariate analysis” “.

The team collected data from three “monitoring wells” dug at the cemetery and compared it with data from the local sewer company about water in nearby household cisterns. Multivariate analysis provided both good and not-so-good news.

The researchers explain that the soil, both inside and outside the cemetery, absorbs most of the problematic waste from the bodies, “preventing surface contaminants from reaching the aquifer.” That’s a good thing. But the problem is that water samples taken in areas outside the cemetery do not meet Brazil’s drinking water standards.

Grandma drinking alcohol

Ancestral water resources are not a new issue. Perhaps the most attention on this issue came in 2008. Journal of Environmental Health.

Reader Russ Hodge responded to the feedback with:Drinking Grandma: The Problem with Embalming” ,” by attorney Jeremiah Chiapelli and Ted Chiapelli, a health sciences professor at Western Carolina University in North Carolina.

The Chiappellis explain: “Modern embalming involves replacing organic blood with a variety of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, particularly formaldehyde. The embalmed body is then buried underground, but even when placed in a coffin, bodily fluids inevitably leak into groundwater. The reasons embalming was first undertaken, and the rationale for the continued practice, do not justify the potential public health and environmental risks posed by embalming.”

The Chiappellis also talk about research done by others about why so many people in the U.S. choose embalming: “In states that require funeral directors to be embalming technicians or have embalming facilities, cremation rates have decreased due to funeral director solicitation.”

settlement

Nothing livens up the social atmosphere at a strange pub like axe throwing, but the sport can pose dangers for some of those who approach it in a obliging, professional manner.

According to researchers Kusha Dabar, Arthur Jeng, and Suzanne Donovan, one such risk factor is blastomycosis, a fungal disease that “manifests as a pulmonary disease” but can also affect the skin, bones, and genitourinary tract.

For more details, please see the three people’s study “Criticism of endemic diagnosis: disseminated blastomycosis due to a new occupational exposure” “.

The patient “worked at an axe-throwing factory after moving to Los Angeles,” and “his work involved cutting wood for customers.”

Dabber, Jenn and Donovan claim that the disease is “not routinely diagnosed” in Southern California. They say: Blastomyces The fungus was present in the wood before entering the patient’s body.

Telltale Title

Below are two titles recently added to our collection of feedback, “The Title Says All You Need to Know.”

“The effect of wet underwear on thermoregulatory responses and thermal comfort in cold weather“”teeth, Ergonomics 1994.

and “The pain one may experience when executed in various ways“This probably surprised magazine readers. Sensing 1993.

If you’ve come across similarly impressive examples, please submit them along with citation details to Telltale titles, c/o Feedback.

Marc Abrahams is the founder of the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony and co-founder of the journal Annals of Improbable Research. He previously worked on unusual uses of computers. His website is Impossible.

Do you have a story for feedback?

You can submit articles for Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com. Please include your home address. This week’s and past Feedback can be found on our website.

Source: www.newscientist.com

The current understanding of symptoms in the nine US cases according to scientists

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

summary

Four poultry workers in Colorado recently fell ill with avian flu, bringing the total number of cases in the United States to nine.
Almost all of the infections have been reported since April, giving experts a preliminary idea of what symptoms the virus causes in people.
Cases have been fairly mild, with some typical flu symptoms and some reports of conjunctivitis.

Four poultry workers in Colorado recently fell ill with avian flu, bringing the total number of cases in the United States to at least nine.

Though the numbers are small, researchers say the commonalities between the cases — all but one of which were reported in the past four months — are enough to get a sense of how the virus affects people.

Cases in the US have been relatively mild and limited to farm workers who have handled infected animals, suggesting that the virus in its current form does not pose a significant threat to humans.

Some patients have reported typical flu symptoms such as fever, chills, cough, sore throat, and runny nose, while a few have also developed conjunctivitis and measles.

“One thing we can say is that the current strain of the virus is not adapted to infect humans and may not be adapted to infect the lower respiratory tract,” said Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic.

The cases have been attributed to the global outbreak of H5N1, a specific strain of avian influenza that swept through America’s poultry and dairy farms in 2020.

The first case in the country was reported in April 2022 in an inmate working on a farm in Colorado who was culling birds and whose only symptom was fatigue. Texas reported a second case in April, followed by two in Michigan and five in Colorado, the latest four of which were confirmed over the weekend.

The mild nature of these cases contrasts with the effect of influenza on birds and some mammals, such as seals, sea lions, foxes, skunks, and cats, which have died from the virus. There are over 99 million wild waterfowl, commercial poultry, and household chickens in the United States. Infected animals either died from the virus or were culled to prevent further infection. 160 dairy cows Since the virus was first detected in cattle in March, many cattle have become infected.

This H5N1 strain is considered highly pathogenic, which, when the term is used in the context of avian flu, means it has a high chance of killing chickens.

“It’s really scary to hear about such viruses, but the term is actually the USDA term for what happens to poultry,” said John Lednicky, professor of environmental and global health studies at the University of Florida. “Just because it’s highly pathogenic for birds doesn’t mean it’s highly pathogenic for mammals or for humans.”

Lednicky added that some H5N1 strains are deadly to humans, but others are not.

Since 1997, more than 900 total cases of H5N1 have been reported worldwide, about half of which were fatal. But the global mortality rate has fallen to about 27% over the past two years. Still, that figure largely reflects only those whose illness was severe enough to cause them to seek medical treatment.

Dr. Peter Parese, a professor of microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said the figures include patients “who were hospitalized and, in retrospect, came into contact with a lot of the virus.”

Palese’s 2012 StudyBlood samples from 12,500 people with no recorded history of avian flu infection were examined and found that 1% to 2% of them may have had a previous infection with H5N1.

But experts worry the virus could one day mutate and cause more severe illness or become more capable of spreading from person to person (all transmission so far has been from animals to people).

“The concern is that as it infects more animals and then infects more humans, the virus will change,” Binnicker said.

Why is conjunctivitis associated with bird flu?

At least four of nine people with avian flu in the United States reported having conjunctivitis.

This was the case in at least one recent case in Colorado, linked to an outbreak at a commercial farm in Weld County where workers were slaughtering poultry.

The state announced earlier this month that another patient Dairy workers People who came into contact with the infected cows also developed conjunctivitis.

A dairy farm worker in Texas was infected with avian influenza and developed conjunctivitis.
New England Journal of Medicine

Texas 1 The patient had conjunctivitis and no other symptoms. The patient worked with dairy cows and developed redness and discomfort in her right eye in March. New England Journal of Medicine Case StudyThe individual reported wearing gloves while working but no eye protection.

Conjunctivitis is not the most common human symptom of avian influenza, but It has been recorded by some people Examples of infection with different strains H7N7 virus that emerged in the Netherlands in 2003.

Scientists say there could be a few factors that explain the recent spread of the condition. One is that farm workers don’t always cover their eyes when handling sick animals, which could result in dairy farmers ingesting raw milk, which can lead to infection. Carrying the virus — That’s how it seemed to them.

Perhaps it is Michigan Dairy Workers He developed mild conjunctivitis in May and was confirmed to have been infected with avian influenza.

The virus can also get into a person’s eye through respiratory droplets or aerosols (tiny droplets in the air), or by workers who touch the eye after handling infected animals or contaminated raw milk.

“The receptors on cells that the virus needs to bind to are quite abundant on cells in the eye, which may be one reason why people with avian flu have conjunctivitis,” Binnicker said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends treating people infected with avian flu with antiviral drugs, and some U.S. patients have been given Tamiflu, a drug also used to treat seasonal flu.

“Studies conducted to date have shown that Tamiflu is effective in treating currently circulating strains of avian flu,” Binnicker said, “and to be most effective, it usually needs to be administered within 48 hours after symptoms begin.”

Infection spreads, tests increase, number of infected people increases

Scientists say the reason why all but one of the U.S. cases have been reported since April could come down to two factors: First, the virus is spreading quickly among birds; Sporadically infect other animalsPeople who have been in contact with infected animals, such as pet cats, are more likely to become infected. Second, health officials have begun monitoring and testing people who have been in contact with infected animals if they develop symptoms.

The CDC estimates: At least 10,600 people under surveillance for bird flu At least 375 people have been tested since the outbreak began in commercial poultry in 2022.

“There’s probably a much higher amount of virus out there now than there was a year ago, but we’re also seeing more cases because we’re doing more testing,” Binnicker said.

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical officer, said local health departments are conducting tests for people with even the most minor symptoms.

“I think that’s why we’re seeing milder cases,” she said, “because of the aggressive symptom surveillance that we’re doing.”

For example, a Michigan worker who had conjunctivitis did not even see a doctor before being tested for avian flu. Other cases Farm workers who cared for the infected cows reported sore throats, coughs, and stuffy noses to local health authorities.

Baghdasarian said the fact that Michigan has tested about 60 people but has only found two cases shows it takes a lot of contact for a person to get sick, and that the workers who tested positive were not wearing full personal protective equipment and were working on tasks like milking and hydrating cows, he said.

“We’re not talking about people who have had momentary contact with these animals, who pass by a barn or a pen,” Bagdasarian said. “We’re not talking about people who only touch a cow once.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Observing bees protect their nest by using their wings to ward off ants

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Japanese honeybees flap their wings to knock down ants that try to invade their nest.

Ants often invade honeybee hives to steal honey, prey on eggs, and kill worker bees. In defense, honeybees are known to fan their wings to blow ants away. Researchers have documented bees making contact with ants using their wings to physically knock them out of the hive, a behavior that has not been studied before.

High-speed camera footage shows guard wasps near the entrance of the hive leaning towards approaching ants, then flapping their wings to change direction and escape. If they hit the ant, it’s blown away.

Many beekeepers seem unaware of this strategy, as noted by Yoshiko Sakamoto. “I have never noticed this behavior in my nearly 10 years of beekeeping experience,” she says.

Researchers Yugo Seko and Kiyoto Morii from the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Tsukuba introduced three species of native ants to the entrances of two Japanese honeybee hives (Honeybees colonies) and captured footage of hundreds of insect duels.

In most interactions, the bees hit the ants with their wings. However, this defense method is not always successful. Against some ants such as Pristomyrmex punctatus and Japanese street ants (Tsushima), the ants were blown away in about half to one third of attempts. This method was less effective against Japanese forest ants (Formica japonica), a larger and faster species.

Ants present varying levels of threat to bees, with some species being more aggressive than others. Bees may have evolved to use the wing-flailing defense tactic to avoid contact with more dangerous ants, while being more efficient against other species, according to the researchers.

The team plans to further study the bees’ responses to ant attacks and observe how the interaction between bees and ants evolves over time. They also aim to investigate whether the bees’ wing-beating skills improve as they gain experience. “There are still many mysteries surrounding this defensive behavior,” Morii says.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Why Autism could soon be identifiable through stool samples – the breakthrough explained

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

New Research has introduced an innovative and cost-effective method for diagnosing autism, potentially simplifying and speeding up the diagnostic process. Surprisingly, the new diagnostic test might involve analyzing stool samples rather than brain scans or psychiatric evaluations. Researchers have discovered consistent differences in the gut microbiome – the population of microorganisms in the intestine – between individuals with autism and those without.

Regularly collecting and analyzing stool samples could potentially enable doctors to identify autism at an earlier stage than current methods allow. This new approach is especially important given the diverse range of symptoms associated with autism, making diagnosis challenging.

“There is a pressing need to delay the diagnosis of autism in children, as the symptoms can vary widely,” according to the co-authors of the study. Professor Shu Qian Ng told BBC Science Focus.

Autism is a common condition, affecting approximately 1 in 100 individuals worldwide. While genetics is thought to play a significant role in autism, other factors such as birth complications, exposure to air pollution, and gender differences may also contribute.

Diagnosing autism currently relies on subjective behavioral assessments and developmental screenings, which can be time-consuming and depend on the availability of trained professionals. The average age of diagnosis in the United States is around 5 years old, resulting in delays in essential care and support for children with autism during crucial developmental stages.

The study, published in Nature Microbiology, analyzed stool samples from 1,627 children between 1 and 13 years of age, some of whom had autism. The researchers identified significant differences in gut bacteria between children with autism and those without, resulting in the identification of specific biomarkers for autism.

Utilizing machine learning algorithms, scientists could determine autism in children with up to 82% accuracy based on the biological function of several microorganisms in the digestive system. This innovative approach offers hope for a non-invasive and efficient diagnostic test for autism, expected to be available by the end of the year.

Read more:

How is the gut microbiome linked to autism?

Dr. Ng explains two primary differences in the gut microbiome of individuals with autism compared to neurotypical individuals. Firstly, individuals with autism tend to have reduced diversity in their gut microbiome, with fewer types of bacteria and viruses. Secondly, children with autism often have an abundance of pathogens in their gut, potentially contributing to their condition.

The ongoing research aims to determine whether interventions such as dietary modifications or probiotics can help improve gut diversity and health, potentially influencing autism symptoms. Early indications suggest that adjusting the microbiome can lead to symptom improvements in children with autism.

While promising, the research does not establish causation between gut biomarkers and autism. Clinical trials are underway to explore the potential of using stool samples as a diagnostic tool for autism in young children.

The study participants were predominantly Chinese, highlighting the need for further global studies to enhance diagnostic accuracy across diverse populations. Despite potential dietary influences, preliminary findings suggest consistent diagnostic performance regardless of dietary habits.

About our experts

Dr. Shu N, a Professor and Associate Dean at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, specializes in investigating the potential of gut microbiota for diagnosing and treating various diseases, including autism. Her research focuses on using microbial markers to predict disease risks and develop personalized interventions for improving health outcomes.

Read more:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Study reveals that Pompeii disaster survivors were killed by a second mysterious force

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

During the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., residents were trapped under ash and rock, unable to escape. Surprisingly, a new study shows that some people did survive, only to meet their end later due to a different natural disaster.

The eruption covered the city in ash and rock particles for 18 hours, preserving the Roman inhabitants in a protective shell of solidified ash. However, experts discovered two skeletons in a house buried on top of the ash, rather than beneath it, indicating a massive earthquake as the cause of death.

Researchers investigating the house, Casa dei Pittori al Lavoro, noticed the absence of typical volcanic signs in the excavation near Vesuvius. Further examination revealed that the two men found in the house, around 50 years old, suffered severe injuries and were crushed by a collapsing wall due to the earthquake.

Scientists have discovered two skeletons in the ruins of a building in Pompeii and concluded that the cause of death was the collapse of a wall caused by an earthquake. – Image courtesy of Pompeii Archaeological Park

Residents who survived the initial eruption likely thought they were safe and attempted to flee, only to be met with powerful earthquakes. The combination of volcanic and seismic effects made it difficult to study the coincident earthquakes occurring at that time.

Researchers suggest that seismic activity during the eruption played a significant role in the destruction of Pompeii and may have affected the decisions made by its inhabitants facing imminent death.

read more:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Stone tool marks discovered on ancient glyptodon bones in Argentina dating back 21,000 years

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Argentine archaeologists analyzed 21,000-year-old fossil remains bearing cut marks belonging to a specimen of the extinct glyptodon. NeosclerocalyptusThe discovery, made in the northeast of the Pampean region, on the banks of the Reconquista River, adds new insights into the earliest human settlements in southern South America, and in particular into the interactions between humans and local megafauna in the Pampean region during the last glacial period.

Paleo-Indians hunting a Glyptodon, a relative of the armadillo that lived in the Pleistocene era, by Heinrich Harder, 1920.

The timing of early human occupation in South America is a topic of intense debate and is highly relevant to studies of early human dispersal across the Americas and the potential role of humans in the end-Pleistocene large mammal extinction.

This debate is hampered by a general lack of direct archaeological evidence for early human presence or human-animal interactions.

In the current study, Dr Mariano del Papa from the National University of La Plata and his colleagues found evidence of butchery in Pleistocene mammal fossils discovered on the banks of the Reconquista River in the northeastern Pampeo region of Argentina.

The fossils examined by the team were: Neosclerocalyptus Glyptodon, a giant relative of the armadillo.

Cut marks on the pelvis, tail and parts of the armour matched known marks made by stone tools.

The placement of these marks was consistent with a slaughter procedure that targeted densely packed areas of meat.

“Radiocarbon dating has dated these fossils to approximately 21,000 years ago, approximately 6,000 years older than any other known archaeological evidence from southern South America,” the researchers said.

Distribution of cut marks on the tail vertebrae NeosclerocalyptusImage courtesy of Del Papa others., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304956.

The results are consistent with other recent studies showing early human presence in the Americas more than 20,000 years ago.

These fossils also represent some of the earliest evidence of human interaction with large mammals shortly before many of them went extinct.

“Our findings contradict the established dating framework for the earliest human occupation of southern South America, which was proposed to date back to 16,000 years ago,” the scientists said.

“Surprisingly, Recent Research “We now have reliable evidence of human habitation in Patagonia 17,300 years ago, indicating an even earlier initial settlement of southern South America.”

“Although traditional settlement models tend to support a later human migration into southern South America, we cannot exclude the possibility that humans were present and had associated cultural evidence much earlier than 16,000 years ago.”

“In this context, our findings support the growing body of archaeological evidence indicating an early human settlement in the Americas, especially the Southern Corn Islands.”

of Investigation result Published in the journal PLoS One.

_____

M. Delpapa others2024. Artificial cut marks on the bones of an extinct megafauna discovered in the Pampean region (Argentina) during the Last Glacial Maximum. PLoS One 19 (7): e0304956; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304956

Source: www.sci.news

Rare Amazonian Weasel Spotted on Camera in Bolivia

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Bolivian coffee growers Amazon Weasel (Neogare Africana) Surveys were conducted near shade-grown plots as part of a citizen science monitoring program.

Amazon Weasel (Neogare Africana): They have a distinctive, sharp, dark brown stripe running down the midline from their throat to their belly. Image credit: Bernal-Hoverud others., doi:10.15560/20.3.828.

The Amazonian weasel, also known as the tropical weasel, is a lesser known species of weasel native to South America.

It was first identified as a museum specimen that was mistakenly described as native to Africa, hence the specific name africana.

This species inhabits the tropical environment of the Amazon, where temperatures and rainfall are high throughout the year.

It is found in the Amazon River basin from north-central Brazil through Ecuador, south-central Peru and central Brazil, although its full range is unknown.

“I didn't know what it was, but I knew it was a rare animal,” said coffee grower Einar Quispe, who photographed the weasel near a natural spring on his farm.

“Biodiversity is an important part of our coffee history, so I did everything I could to film it. It's a wonderful surprise to see how important this observation is for Bolivia.”

The new observation in Bolivia represents the southernmost and highest elevation (1,400 metres above sea level) location of this species on record, and the 24th time the species has been recorded anywhere.

This video footage also marks the first time an Amazon weasel has been photographed.

Capturing this weasel for the first time is significant because it provides scientists and the public with their first live footage of this poorly understood carnivore.

“This is an invaluable audiovisual record of a virtually mythical carnivore that lives in the Amazon basin and a fantastic example of the value of citizen science,” said Dr Nuria Bernal, researcher at Texas Tech University.

“As more and more people use their smartphones and cameras to record their observations, we are sure that this is not the only noteworthy scientific contribution by Bolivian citizen scientists.”

“As soon as I saw the video I knew this was a creature we could only dream of observing,” Robert Wallace said. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

“WCS celebrates the importance of citizen science to our knowledge of biodiversity – Bolivia is now recognized as a global leader in the field – and we applaud the continued conservation work and innovation of APCERL's local partners.”

“Eco de las Aves from Bolivia has been our favorite coffee for a while now. How wonderful to know that as a consumer we are contributing to the preservation of Amazon forests and biodiversity while enjoying our morning cup of coffee.”

This observation: paper In the journal Checklist.

_____

N. Bernal Hoveld others2024. First Record Neogare Africana (Desmarest, 1818), Amazonian weasel (Carnivora, Mustelidae), Bolivia. Checklist 20 (3): 828-832; doi: 10.15560/20.3.828

This article is based on a press release provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Source: www.sci.news

Mongolia Unveils New Avian Dinosaur Discovery

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Harenadraco Prima It is the first species of troodontid dinosaur to be discovered in the Late Cretaceous Barungoyot Formation of Mongolia.

Reconstructing your life Harenadraco PrimaImage courtesy of Yusik Choi.

Harenadraco Prima It lived in what is now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous period, 72 to 71 million years ago.

This new species is TroodontidaeA group of bird-like theropod dinosaurs that lived from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous periods.

“Troodontids are a diverse group of theropod dinosaurs commonly characterized by large eye sockets, long hind limbs with asymmetrical metatarsals, enlarged claw bones in the second toe, and many bird-like features,” said paleontologist Seongjin Lee of Seoul National University and his colleagues.

“They have been found in Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous deposits in Asia and North America.”

Harenadraco Prima It was a small troodontid, about 1 metre (3.3 feet) long.

“Harenadraco Prima Like other troodontids, it was small and lightweight, but its tarsometatarsus was extremely thin. Phyllovenator “Among the zoonotic non-avian maniraptorans,” the paleontologists said.

“It also suggests a potentially adaptive high degree of mobility. Harenadraco Prima “It fits into an environment where potential prey, like mammals, and predators, like Eudromaeosaurus, are likely to be agile.”

Harenadraco PrimaThe incomplete skeleton of consists mainly of elements of the left hind limb, Barungoyot Formation In Hermin Tsav, Umnogovi Province, Mongolia.

“The Upper Cretaceous strata of the Gobi Desert are a rich source of many troodontid species, particularly the Nemegt and Djadokta Formations in the Nemegt Basin in Mongolia, and the Ulansuhai Formation in the Bayan Mandakh in China,” the researchers said.

“From the former, eight species of troodontids are now known.”

“However, the Barungoyot Formation is a puzzling exception, as no troodontids have been found in it, even though it is one of the major sedimentary formations in the Nemegt Basin and is interpreted as intermediate in age and environment between the Djadokta and Nemegt formations.”

“The faunal compositions of the Djadokta and Barungoyot Formations are so similar that the absence of troodontids in the latter is even more puzzling.”

Discovery Harenadraco Prima The presence of troodontids was confirmed in all three formations of the Nemegt Basin.

“The discovery Harenadraco Prima“It becomes clear that the ‘gaps’ in the troodontid record were a sampling artifact,” the scientists concluded.

“The fragile nature of the holotype Harenadraco Prima This is further evidence of this.”

“The presence of Harenadraco Prima “The discovery of the Barungoyot Formation also proves that troodontids in the Nemegt Basin were diverse enough to adapt to a variety of environments.”

Team work Published in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

_____

Lee Seong-jin othersThe first Troodontidae (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Barungoyot Formation in Mongolia. Journal of Vertebrate PaleontologyPublished online July 15, 2024; doi: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2364746

Source: www.sci.news

Record-breaking auction sees Stegosaurus skeleton sold for $44 million

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

summary

A nearly complete stegosaurus skeleton sold at auction on Wednesday for a record-breaking $44.6 million.
Sotheby’s, which handled the auction, said the fossil was the best-preserved specimen of a stegosaurus of its size ever found.
The identity of the buyer was not made public.

A nearly complete 150-million-year-old stegosaurus skeleton sold at auction on Wednesday for a record-breaking $44.6 million.

Sotheby’s, which handled the New York auction, described the fossil as the “most complete” and “best-preserved” stegosaurus specimen of its size ever found. The massive skeleton, measuring 11 feet tall and 20 feet long, has been nicknamed “Apex.”

Dinosaur fossils It's estimated to be worth $6 million. But the price far exceeded expectations, setting a new world record for a fossil at auction after a bidding war that lasted more than 15 minutes, according to Sotheby’s representative Anna Tisci.

The identity of the buyer was not made public.

According to Sotheby’s, Apex’s skeleton was unearthed in 2022 near the town of Dinosaur in Moffat County, Colorado, on the private property of a paleontologist who discovered it but will remain anonymous. The bones were found in the Morrison Formation of sedimentary rock, which is centered in Colorado and Wyoming and extends to parts of 11 other states.

The auction house said the fossil was found with no other specimens nearby and no signs of injury, adding that signs of arthritis suggested the stegosaurus may have lived to an advanced age.

“Apex marks an enormous milestone as one of the finest fossils of its kind ever unearthed,” said Cassandra Hutton, Sotheby’s global head of science and popular culture. It said in a statement “Stegosaurus is one of the most widely known dinosaurs, and its unmistakable silhouette has fascinated and amazed people for generations,” the release said in a statement ahead of the sale.

Stegosaurus is a four-legged, armored dinosaur best known for the distinctive line of kite-shaped plates on its back.

The pointy-tailed dinosaurs lived during the Late Jurassic period, between about 155 million and 145 million years ago.

Another nearly complete stegosaurus fossil, known as Sophie, is housed at the Natural History Museum in London, but Apex’s skeleton is more than 30 percent larger, according to Sotheby’s.

The previous record for the most expensive fossil sold at auction was set in 2020 when a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton named “Stan” sold for $31.8 million.

The first dinosaur sold at auction was the now famous “Sue the T-Rex“The Great Gatsby” was auctioned in 1997 and purchased by the Field Museum in Chicago, where the painting is on display, for $8.4 million.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Small drones powered by solar energy could fly indefinitely

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

CoulombFly, a prototype of a small solar-powered drone

Wei Shen, Jingze Peng, and Mingjin Qi

Weighing just 4 grams, the drone is the smallest solar-powered aircraft ever to fly, thanks to special electrostatic motors that generate extremely high voltages and tiny solar panels. Though the hummingbird-sized prototype only lasted an hour, developers say the approach could lead to insect-sized drones that can remain airborne indefinitely.

Small drones are an attractive solution to a variety of problems in communications, espionage and search and rescue, but they suffer from short battery life, while solar-powered drones struggle to generate enough power to be self-sustaining.

When solar-powered drones are made smaller, the solar panels become smaller and the amount of available energy decreases. Minjin Chee Researchers from China's Beihang University say the efficiency of electric motors also declines as more energy is lost as heat.

To avoid this decay cycle, Qi and his colleagues developed a simple circuit that boosts the voltage generated by solar panels to between 6,000 and 9,000 volts. They powered the 10-centimeter rotors using an electrostatic propulsion system, rather than using electromagnetic motors like those used in electric cars, quadcopters, and a variety of robots.

The motor works by alternately attracting and repelling charged parts arranged in a ring, generating torque to spin a single rotor blade like a helicopter. The lightweight parts are made from ultra-thin carbon fiber covered with very delicate aluminum foil. The high voltage requirement is actually an advantage, as the current is reduced, resulting in very little heat loss.

“T“The motor generates very little heat because the operating current is very low for the same power output. The motor's high efficiency and low power consumption allow the vehicle to be powered by very small solar panels,” Qi said. “For the first time, we have successfully flown a micro air vehicle using natural light; previously, this was only achievable with very large ultralight aircraft.”

The machine, which the researchers call the “CoulombFly,” weighs just 4.21 grams and could fly for an hour before it failed. Qi says these weaknesses can be eliminated by design, and future versions could fly essentially indefinitely, using solar panels during the day and powering themselves from radio signals like 4G or Wi-Fi at night.

CoulombFly has a payload capacity of 1.59 grams, allowing it to carry small sensors, computers, and cameras, but with improved designs, the researchers believe this can be increased to 4 grams, and the fixed-wing version could carry up to 30 grams. An even smaller version of CoulombFly, with rotors less than 1 centimeter in diameter, is also in development.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Heparin, a blood-clotting drug, may help prevent snakebite victims from limb amputations

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The black-necked spitting cobra lives mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Luca Boldrini (CC BY-SA)

A commonly used blood-thinning drug could prevent hundreds of thousands of people bitten by cobras from having to have limbs amputated.

138,000 people die from snakebites each yearIt occurs mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, and a further 400,000 people suffer complications including the death of body tissue and subsequent amputations.

Focusing on complications from cobra bites, Thien Du Researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia and their team found that the venom targets a molecule called heparan sulfate that coats the surface of cells at the site of the bite, and a natural substance called heparin produced by certain immune cells.

The researchers then exposed human skin and blood cells to the venom of two African cobra species: the red cobra (Naja Parida And the Black-necked Spitting Cobra (Naja NigricolisAdding heparin, a commonly administered blood-thinning drug, prevented the toxin from killing the cells.

Similar experiments in mice also reduced the risk of tissue death, in which heparin “was able to almost completely block localized damage at the bite site,” the researchers said. Greg Neely The same is true at the University of Sydney.

Scientists believe that while the treatment may be effective against bites from many different types of cobras, it probably won't work on other species, unless their venom uses a similar chemical pathway to destroy cells.

Unlike existing antitoxins, heparin is stable at room temperature, which could make it easier to access when quick treatment is needed, which could be done via an auto-injector such as an EpiPen, Du said.

Another advantage of heparin is that existing antitoxins cannot prevent necrosis, Du said. Jeff Isbister Researchers from the University of Newcastle in Australia say that's probably because medicine isn't always available immediately after a snakebite.

“The paper didn't compare it to antitoxin, because it's likely that antitoxin would be just as effective,” he says. The mice were given heparin immediately, which may have helped, Isbister says. “But would it have an effect an hour, four hours or more later? [the] Does it take 24 hours to get from a remote part of Tanzania to a person who has been bitten by a cobra?

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Using light to control robotic jellyfish made from magnetic fluid

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

A jellyfish-shaped robot made from magnetic fluid can be controlled with light through an underwater obstacle course, and swarms of these soft robots could be useful for delivering chemicals throughout liquid mixtures or moving fluids through a lab-on-a-chip.

Ferrofluid droplets are made of magnetic nanoparticles suspended in oil, and can move across a flat surface and change shape when guided in different directions by a magnet. When these droplets are immersed in water and exposed to light, Sun Meng Meng, a researcher from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany, and his colleagues have succeeded in creating an object that defies gravity.

When ferrofluid absorbs light (and it’s particularly good at that, because it’s black), it heats up, causing tiny bubbles inside it to expand. This makes the droplets below the surface lighter and more buoyant, allowing them to float upwards, Sun says.

He and his colleagues built a soft robot with droplets of magnetic fluid encased in a jellyfish-shaped hydrogel shell, and then tested it. The researchers devised an obstacle course at the bottom of a tank of water that included a variety of platforms of different heights. They guided the robot through the course and had it navigate over the platforms.

In one experiment, they lined up three robotic jellyfish on the bottom of a tank and heated them with a laser, causing them to move upward one after the other. Sunlight focused by a magnifying glass had a similar effect, causing the jellyfish to float vertically.

Hamid Marvi, the Arizona State University researcher, says controlling an entire swarm of droplets simultaneously could one day be useful for delivering medicines or performing other functions in the human body. By encasing them in hydrogel, he says, light could be used to guide the ferrofluid droplets and move the hydrogel itself, enabling complex movements.

But Mulvey says many details need to be worked out before the ferrofluid can be used for medical purposes, such as whether it’s safe to ingest it. Sun and his colleagues hope to answer some of those open questions. For example, they hope to find a way to use optical fibers that can be inserted into the body to guide the robot, rather than lasers or sunlight.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Anti-inflammatory medication increases mice’s lifespan by 20%

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Inflammatory molecules (green) are found in liver tissue from aged mice.

Anissa A. Wijaya et al. 2024

Blocking an inflammatory molecule known as interleukin-11 (IL-11) extends the lifespan of mice, suggesting that drugs that block IL-11 may have anti-ageing effects in humans.

As we age, damage accumulates in our cells, triggering our immune system to release inflammatory molecules such as IL-11. While low levels of inflammation can protect us from disease and injury, excessive inflammation damages cells and is thought to accelerate aging.

“It's like pouring gasoline on a fire.” Stuart Cook Research from Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore suggests that reducing inflammation could help slow the decline in health that comes with aging.

To test this idea, Cook and his colleagues injected 37 mice with a drug that uses antibodies to block IL-11. The mice received injections every three weeks from the age of 75 weeks (equivalent to about 55 years in humans) until they died. Another group of 38 mice received a different antibody therapy that did not target IL-11.

The researchers found that blocking IL-11 extended the lifespan of both male and female mice by more than 20 percent, and in further experiments, animals that received anti-IL-11 therapy were less likely to develop cancer: fewer than 16 percent of treated rodents had tumors, compared with more than 60 percent of controls.

The therapy also reduced cholesterol levels, frailty and body weight, and improved muscle strength and metabolism in the treated animals. Together, these findings suggest that blocking IL-11 may ameliorate age-related decline in health and extend lifespan in mice.

But until clinical trials are conducted, Cook says it won't be clear whether the same is true in humans. Although several trials are underway testing anti-IL-11 therapies in people with certain inflammatory diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis, none are investigating their potential anti-aging effects, he said.

It's also important to remember that some inflammation is normal as we age. Shilpa Ravella Speaking at Columbia University in New York, she says the difficulty lies in knowing who might benefit from this type of anti-inflammatory therapy.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Hydrogel Extends Drug Shelf Life Beyond Refrigeration

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

When mixed with hydrogel, protein-based drugs can remain effective for longer at higher temperatures.

Shutterstock/Renko Alex

Many medicines need to be kept refrigerated or they become ineffective, but a new way of packaging protein-based drugs into a stiff gel could potentially extend their shelf life at room temperature.

If medicines are not stored properly, they can break down and become unsafe to use. For example, exposure to high temperatures can break down the chemical bonds that keep the medicine’s molecules in place, impairing their function. Shaking some medicines can cause the molecules to clump together, making them less effective. Matthew Gibson Researchers at the University of Manchester in the UK have been working to solve these challenges for almost 15 years.

He and his colleagues have developed a method to make working with protein-based drugs simpler and more practical. He said the new advances are Dave Adams Hydrogel-making researchers at the University of Glasgow in Scotland have found a way to mix proteins with gel ingredients to create hard, white structures that can be packed into a syringe. In this form, the proteins, which normally must be refrigerated at minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit), can withstand temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) and remain functional under those conditions for up to four weeks.

Hydrogels get their stiffness from small molecules bound together in large chains that break when force is applied. In a syringe, pushing down on the plunger breaks the molecular bonds, turning the gel-protein mixture into a liquid. The hydrogel remains too large to fit through the needle, so only the drug comes out.

The team tested the method with several compounds, including bovine insulin and beta-galactosidase, an enzyme commonly used in genetic biology, and mailed themselves boxes filled with tubs of hydrogel packed with the proteins, finding that the proteins could withstand the temperature and jolts that come with going through the postal system.

There are laboratory methods that can keep proteins stable for longer, but this approach may be better suited to leaving the lab and going into the clinic, he said. Alex Brogan The King’s College London researcher says the method would be most useful in countries and regions where refrigeration is scarce and prohibitively expensive. If the new method works for protein-based vaccines, it could make disease prevention more equitable, he says.

Gibson says he and his team are confident they can produce the hydrogel on an industrial scale, but want to study its longevity and safety further. Using it in a vaccine is on their wish list, but in the short term the method could also be used to store, transport and administer the diabetes and obesity drug semaglutide.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

The Importance of Thermal Storage in the Expansion of Renewable Energy

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

It's now well established that to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, we need to get to net zero carbon emissions as quickly as possible, which means getting more of our energy from renewable sources and finding ways to store energy for long periods of time to overcome the intermittency of wind and solar.

Giant battery farms and green hydrogen (using surplus renewable energy to split water) are often touted as the most promising storage solutions, and clever new ways to store excess electricity are emerging all the time (see “Giant CO2-filled domes could store surplus renewable power”), but the potential to store renewable energy as heat is often overlooked.

When we think of renewable energy, we tend to think of electricity. But heat is also a valuable commodity in its own right. About half of the world's total energy demand is for heat, whether it's to heat our homes or to power industrial production of food, medicines and materials. What's more, stored heat can be used to generate electricity when the sun stops shining and the wind dies down.

The good news is that, as we outlined in our feature “How Incredibly Simple Technologies Can Accelerate the Race to Net Zero”, a range of thermal storage technologies are emerging. Collectively known as thermal energy storage (TES), many of these innovations are incredibly simple, from baked bricks to molten salt. Crucially, they're affordable: early estimates suggest that these technologies could be as little as one-fifth the cost per kilowatt-hour of energy storage using green hydrogen. In a recent report, the International Renewable Energy Agency said TES offers “unique advantages”.

The problem is that awareness of TES is relatively low, and investment even less. Private backers are starting to pour big dollars into pilot projects in the US and Europe. But for TES to live up to its promise as a relatively easy way to make a big impact on the problem of renewable intermittency, governments will need to step up. And if the price is as reasonable as it appears, there's no reason not to.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Scientists find a young exoplanet with a hot Jupiter in a highly eccentric retrograde orbit

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers have discovered an exoplanet that’s five times the mass of Jupiter and follows a very unusual orbit around its star.

Artist’s impression of TIC 241249530b. Image courtesy of NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. da Silva, Spaceengine.

TIC 241249530b was first detected in January 2020 by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

To confirm that the object is a planet, astronomers used two instruments on NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory’s WIYN 3.5-meter telescope, a program of NOIRLab.

They first harnessed the NN-EXPLORE Exoplanet and Stellar Speckle Imager (NESSI) with a technique that “freezes” atmospheric glitter, eliminating extraneous light sources that could confuse the signal source.

The team then used the NEID spectrometer to carefully observe how the host star’s spectrum, or the wavelengths of light it emits, changes as a result of the exoplanet orbiting TIC 241249530b, and measure the radial velocity of TIC 241249530b.

“NESSI provided much sharper images of the star than was possible with any other method, while NEID precisely measured the star’s spectrum and detected changes in response to the exoplanet orbiting it,” said Dr. Arvind Gupta, a postdoctoral researcher at NOIRLab.

“The unique flexibility of NEID’s observing schedule framework allows the team to quickly adjust their observing plans in response to new data.”

Analysis of the spectrum confirmed that TIC 241249530b has a mass about five times that of Jupiter.

The spectrum also revealed that the exoplanet orbits along a highly eccentric, or elongated, orbit.

The eccentricity of a planet’s orbit is measured on a scale from 0 to 1, with 0 representing a perfectly circular orbit and 1 representing an elliptical orbit.

The exoplanet’s orbital eccentricity is 0.94, higher than any exoplanet discovered so far by the transit method.

By comparison, Pluto orbits the Sun in an elliptical orbit with an eccentricity of 0.25. Earth’s eccentricity is 0.02.

If the planet were part of the solar system, its orbit would stretch from its closest point, ten times closer to the Sun than Mercury, to its farthest point, about the same distance as Earth.

This extreme orbit would cause the planet’s temperatures to vary from mild to hot enough to melt titanium.

In addition to the unusual nature of the exoplanet’s orbit, the team also discovered that it orbits in a retrograde direction, meaning it moves in the opposite direction to the rotation of its host star.

This is a phenomenon astronomers have not seen in most other exoplanets or in our own solar system, and it helps the research team interpret the history of exoplanet formation.

The exoplanet’s unique orbital properties also hint at its future trajectory.

Because its initial orbit is highly eccentric and it is so close to the star, the planet’s orbit is expected to become “circular” because the planet’s tidal forces will sap energy from the orbit, causing it to gradually shrink and become circular.

Discovering this exoplanet before this migration occurs is valuable because it will give us important insight into how hot Jupiters form, stabilize, and evolve over time.

“While we can’t hit the rewind button and watch the planetary migration process in real time, this exoplanet serves as a kind of snapshot of the migration process,” Dr Gupta said.

“Planets like this are extremely rare and hard to find, so we hope they will help shed light on how hot Jupiters form.”

“We’re particularly interested in what we can learn about the dynamics of the planet’s atmosphere after it gets so close to its star,” said Professor Jason Wright of Pennsylvania State University.

“With telescopes like the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope having the sensitivity to study atmospheric changes on newly discovered exoplanets undergoing rapid heating, there is still much more for research teams to learn about exoplanets.”

TIC 241249530b is the second exoplanet discovered so far that represents the pre-transitional stage of a hot Jupiter.

Together, these two examples provide observational support for the idea that high-mass gas giants evolve into hot Jupiters as they move from highly eccentric orbits to tighter, more circular orbits.

“Astronomers have been searching for exoplanets for over 20 years that could be precursors to hot Jupiters or intermediate products in the migration process, so I was very surprised and excited to find one – it’s exactly what I was hoping to find,” Dr Gupta said.

Team paper Published in today’s journal Nature.

_____

Arvind Gupta others2024. Hot Jupiter ancestor on a highly eccentric retrograde orbit. Naturein press; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07688-3

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

Source: www.sci.news

Astronomers Analyze Gas Flow in Uncommonly Bright Infrared Galaxy

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Ultraluminous infrared galaxies are the rarest and most extreme star-forming systems and are found only in the distant universe.

Radiative distribution of stars, cold gas, and ionized gas in the unusual HyLIRG Einstein ring PJ0116-24. Image courtesy of Liu others., doi:10.1038/s41550-024-02296-7.

“Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies (HyLIRGs) are incredibly luminous galaxies illuminated by extremely rapid star formation within their interiors,” said Dr Daizhong Liu from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and his colleagues.

“Previous studies had suggested that such extreme galaxies must have arisen through galactic mergers.”

“The collisions of these galaxies are thought to create regions of dense gas that trigger rapid star formation.”

“However, isolated galaxies could also become HyLIRGs through internal processes alone if star-forming gas flows rapidly toward the galaxy's center.”

In the new study, the astronomers focused on a gravitationally lensed HyLIRG galaxy known as PJ0116-24.

“PJ0116-24 is so distant that it took its light about 10 billion years to reach Earth,” the researchers said.

“By chance, the foreground galaxy acts as a gravitational lens, bending and magnifying the light from the background galaxy, PJ0116-24, and directing it towards the Einstein ring.”

“This precise configuration of space allows us to magnify very distant objects and see them with a level of detail that is very difficult to achieve any other way.

The researchers used ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study the motion of gas within PJ0116-24.

“ALMA tracks the cold gas which appears blue here, while the VLT with its new High Resolution Imaging Spectrograph (ERIS) tracks the warm gas which appears red,” the researchers say.

“Thanks to these detailed observations, we now know that the gas in this extreme galaxy rotates in an organized manner, rather than the chaotic state expected after a galaxy collision. A stunning result!”

“This convincingly shows that a merger is not necessarily required for a galaxy to become a HyLIRG.”

Team paper Published in the journal Natural Astronomy.

_____

D. Liu othersA detailed study of a rare, ultra-luminous rotating disk in a 10 billion year old Einstein ring. Nat AstronPublished online July 15, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02296-7

Source: www.sci.news

Cassini uncovers the properties of Titan’s hydrocarbon sea

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Saturn’s moon Titan was explored by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft between 2004 and 2017. Although Cassini revealed much about this Earth-like world, its radar observations provided limited information about Titan’s liquid hydrocarbon oceans: Kraken, Ligeia, and Punga Mare. New paper In the journal Nature CommunicationsCornell University researcher Valerio Poggiali and his colleagues reported the results of their analysis of data from the Cassini radar experiment on Titan’s polar oceans.

Artistic depiction of Kraken Mare, a giant ocean of liquid methane on Titan. Image courtesy of NASA John Glenn Research Center.

“The Cassini spacecraft explored Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, between 2004 and 2017, revealing an Earth-like world with a strange yet very familiar diversity of surface morphologies formed by a methane-based hydrological system operating in a dense nitrogen atmosphere,” said Dr Poggiali and his co-authors.

“Winds in the lower atmosphere move the sediments, forming the vast sand dunes that encircle Titan’s equator.”

“At mid-latitudes, flat, relatively featureless plains form the transition between the eolianite-dominated equator and the lacustrine-dominated poles.”

“In the polar regions, large oceans and small lakes of liquid hydrocarbons dominate the landscape.”

“The channels created by precipitation drain into the ocean, forming estuaries and sometimes deltas and other familiar coastal deposits.”

“Cassini has revealed much about Titan, but this discovery raises even more questions.”

For the study, scientists used data from four bistatic radar observations collected by Cassini during four flybys in 2014 (May 17, June 18, and October 24) and 2016 (November 14).

For each, surface reflections were observed when the probe was closest to Titan (approach) and when it was moving away (exit).

The authors analyzed data from outflow observations of Titan’s three large polar oceans: Kraken Mare, Ligeia Mare, and Punga Mare.

“In a bistatic radar experiment, a spacecraft directs a radio beam towards a target, in this case Titan, where the beam is reflected towards a receiving antenna on Earth,” the researchers explained.

“This surface reflection is polarized, which means it provides information gathered from two independent perspectives, as opposed to the perspective provided by monostatic radar data, where the reflected signal is sent back to the spacecraft.”

“The main difference is that the bistatic information is a more complete data set and is sensitive to both the composition of the reflective surface and its roughness.”

The team found that the composition of the ocean’s surface layers of hydrocarbons varies depending on latitude and location (for example, near rivers or estuaries).

Specifically, the southernmost parts of Kraken Mare exhibit the highest dielectric constant, a measure of a material’s ability to reflect radio signals.

For example, water on Earth is highly reflective and has a dielectric constant of about 80, while Titan’s ethane and methane oceans have a dielectric constant of about 1.7.

The researchers also determined that ocean conditions in all three areas were fairly calm during the flyby, with surface waves measuring less than 3.3 mm.

Slightly higher levels of roughness, up to 5.2 mm, were found in coastal areas, near estuaries and straits, which could be an indication of tidal currents.

“There are also indications that the rivers that feed the oceans are pure methane until they flow into the open ocean liquid, which is rich in ethane,” Dr Poggiali said.

“It’s the same as when freshwater rivers flow into the saltwater of the ocean on Earth and mix together.”

“This fits well with weather models of Titan, which predict that the ‘rain’ falling from Titan’s skies is almost pure methane, with traces of ethane and other hydrocarbons,” said Professor Philip Nicholson of Cornell University.

“Further studies of the data Cassini has collected during its 13-year exploration of Titan are already underway.”

“There’s still a mountain of data waiting to be fully analyzed in a way that will lead to further discoveries. This is just the first step.”

_____

V. Poggiali others2024. Surface characteristics of Titan’s ocean as revealed by the Cassini bistatic radar experiment. Nat Community 15, 5454; doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-49837-2

This article is a version of a press release provided by Cornell University.

Source: www.sci.news

Melting Ice Causing Earth’s Rotation to Slow and Axis to Shift, Research Finds

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

A recent study reveals that climate change is fundamentally reshaping the Earth, impacting its core. The melting of polar ice caps and glaciers due to global warming is causing a redistribution of water towards the equator, resulting in a shift in the Earth’s rotation and leading to increased daylight hours. This phenomenon is supported by new evidence suggesting that changes in the Earth’s ice could potentially affect its axis. These alterations create feedback loops within the Earth’s molten core, as highlighted in studies published in Nature Geoscience and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

According to Benedict Soja, an assistant professor at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, human activities are significantly influencing the Earth’s rotation. Changes in the planet’s shape and mass distribution, influenced historically by forces like the moon’s gravitational pull and rebounding of crust after ice age glaciers disappeared, are now being accelerated by rapid ice melting caused by climate change. Soja warns that continued carbon emissions could make ice loss a more significant factor in Earth’s rotation than the moon.

In addition to external factors like gravity and ice loss, fluid movements in the Earth’s core also play a role in affecting the planet’s rotation. These movements can speed up or slow down the Earth’s rotation and are currently compensating for the slowdown caused by climate change. The new study suggests that climate change is leading to small variations in polar motion due to changes in mass distribution, estimated to be about one meter per decade.

An iceberg in Antarctica on February 8th.
Şebnem Coşkun / Anadolu via Getty Images File

These changes in rotation are expected to have implications for space missions, navigation, and timekeeping. Understanding how Earth’s rotation and axis are affected by climate change will be crucial for accurate space exploration and maintaining global time standards. The research emphasizes the interconnectedness of surface processes with the Earth’s core, shedding light on the complex relationship between human activities and the planet’s inner workings.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

2024 Perseid Meteor Shower: A Guide to Witnessing the Spectacular Annual Event

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

2023 Perseid meteor shower observed in Chinese grasslands

Cynthia Lee/Alamy

The Perseid meteor shower is one of the best opportunities to see hundreds of shooting stars, and this year it will peak around August 12 and 13. The shower is expected to last from mid-July until the end of August, but the most meteors will be visible during the dawn hours near the peak.

What is the Perseid meteor shower?

Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes dust and debris drifting behind a comet. These tiny particles of debris slam into the atmosphere at incredible speeds, and friction with the atmospheric particles causes the dust to heat up and burn up, leaving only a flash of light in the air. This moving flash is called a shooting star or meteor.

The Perseid meteor shower is caused by the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the Sun every 133 years. Once a year, Earth passes through its debris trail, lighting up the sky with meteors.

When should you view the Perseid meteors?

The best days to view the Perseid meteor shower are within a few days of its peak – outside of that period you may see some, but they won’t be as impressive.

Meteors can be seen at any time of the night, but a bright moon can make them harder to spot. This year, a half moon will be visible at the peak, so the best time to look for meteors is midnight after the moon has set. This is true for observers around the world, but the best views of the Perseid meteor shower will be in the Northern Hemisphere due to the orientation of the Earth relative to the comet’s debris trail.

How many meteors can we see this year?

Typically, the Perseids emit between 50 and 100 meteors per hour during the peak of the meteor shower. They can also produce fireballs, which are bright meteors that are created when a large chunk of a comet impacts Earth’s atmosphere. The number of meteors visible from a particular location depends on the level of light pollution, so getting away from city lights is essential if you want to see as many meteors as possible.

How do you observe the Perseid meteor shower?

The best way to observe the meteor shower is to be in as dark a place as possible with as much sky as possible visible. The Perseid meteors appear to streak towards the constellation Perseus, but they will appear all over the sky. It may take up to 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t see anything at first. To allow your eyes to adjust, look at the sky as much as possible without looking at street lights, cell phones or even the moon. When you see a tiny point of light streaking across the sky for a few seconds or less, that’s the Perseid meteor shower.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Biologists find ancient giant virus inserted into genome of a single-celled parasite

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Amoebidium appalachenseViruses in protists closely related to animals weave remnants of ancient giant viruses into their genetic code, according to a new study led by Queen Mary, University of London. The discovery sheds light on how complex organisms acquire parts of their genes and highlights the dynamic interplay between viruses and their hosts.

Amoebidium appalachense A unique model for understanding the hybrid origin of eukaryotic DNA. Image courtesy of Alex de Mendoza.

In this study, Dr. Alex de Mendoza Soler and his colleagues Amoebidium appalachense A unicellular parasite first isolated from the epidermis of a freshwater arthropod.

They found a surprising amount of genetic material from giant viruses, some of the largest known to science.

The sequences of these viruses are highly methylated, a chemical tag that often silences genes.

“It's like a hidden Trojan horse. Amoebidium appalachense It’s the DNA of,” says Dr. de Mendoza Soler.

“These viral insertions are potentially harmful, but Amoebidium appalachense It seems like we are suppressing them by chemically silencing them.”

The researchers then investigated how widespread this phenomenon may be.

They are some Amoebidium appalachense Examination of the isolates revealed wide variation in viral content.

This suggests that the processes of viral integration and silencing are continuous and dynamic.

“These findings call into question our understanding of viruses and the relationship between them and their hosts,” said Dr de Mendoza Soler.

“Traditionally, viruses are thought of as invaders, but this study suggests a more complex story.”

“Viral insertions may have played a role in the evolution of complex organisms by contributing new genes.”

“And this can be done by chemically controlling the invader's DNA.”

moreover, Amoebidium appalachense It shows intriguing parallels to how our own genomes interact with viruses.

It's similar to Amoebidium appalachense Humans and other mammals carry remnants of ancient viruses called endogenous retroviruses built into their DNA.

These remnants were previously thought to be inactive junk DNA, but now it appears some may be beneficial.

but, Amoebidium appalachense Endogenous retroviruses are much smaller, while the human genome is significantly larger.

Future studies can explore these similarities and differences to understand the intricate interactions between viruses and complex life forms.

Team Investigation result Published in today's journal Scientific advances.

_____

Luke A. Saleh others 2024. DNA methylation enables recurrent internalization of giant viruses in animal relatives. Scientific advances 10(28); Source: 10.1126/sciadv.ado6406

This article has been edited from an original release from Queen Mary, University of London.

Source: www.sci.news

Titan, Saturn’s moon, boasts both freshwater rivers and saltwater oceans

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Titan’s north polar region, imaged using Cassini’s radar signature, shows blue hydrocarbon oceans.

NASA / JPL-Caltech / Italian Space Agency / USGS

The most detailed look yet at Saturn’s moon Titan’s strange lakes has revealed a diverse marine landscape similar to Earth’s, with a mix of freshwater rivers and saltwater oceans.

Unlike Earth’s watery oceans, Titan’s lakes are composed of methane and ethane, which are liquid at the planet’s average surface temperature, about −179 °C (−290 °F).

Radar measurements from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017, suggested differences in the lakes’ properties, including their composition and surface waves, but the signals didn’t contain enough information to distinguish between them.

now, Valerio Poggiali Poggiali and his colleagues at Cornell University in New York used a different radar technique to map the composition and surface of Titan’s oceans, revealing that the amount of ethane increases as you move south across the planet from the north pole. “The further north you go, the cleaner and purer the oceans become. They’re dominated by methane,” Poggiali says.

Previous radar measurements were made using signals sent and received at the same location on the Cassini spacecraft, which meant the reflected radio waves were polarized in one direction, or twisted.

The new study analyzed signals from Cassini’s radar that were reflected off the lake’s surface and picked up by NASA’s Deep Space Network, a radio antenna on Earth. The shallow angle of the reflected signal meant it contained two different polarized waves, giving Poggiali and his colleagues more information about the lake’s properties.

They found that many of the rivers and estuaries that feed the lake have rough surfaces caused by wind-driven waves, which could be a sign of active tides and currents feeding into the lake, Poggiali said. “Surface activity is very important if we want to plan future missions like a Titan submarine, but also to better understand Titan’s environment in terms of wind and atmospheric properties.”

Poggiali and his colleagues also found that the methane content was higher before the river flowed into the lake, which could help trace the methane and ethane cycle on Titan, Poggiali says. Ingo Muller-Wodarg “On Earth, when rivers flow into large, salty oceans, we find that the water becomes less saline near where the river flows in,” say researchers from Imperial College London. “Something similar is happening here, but it’s not the salinity that’s the problem, it’s the relative proportions of methane and ethane.”

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Physicists at CERN study the characteristics of enigmatic particles

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Physicists have been intrigued by χc1(3872), also known as X(3872), since its discovery two decades ago. They have been exploring whether it is a conventional charmonium state composed of two quarks or an exotic particle made up of four quarks. The LHCb collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) set out to find the answer.

Artist's impression of a tetraquark, made up of two charm quarks and an up and down antiquark. Image courtesy of CERN.

In the quark model of particle physics, there are heavy particles (composed of three quarks), mesons (consisting of quark-antiquark pairs), and exotic particles (comprising an unusual number of quarks).

To determine the composition of χc1(3872), physicists must measure properties like mass and quantum numbers.

According to theory, χc1(3872) could be a standard charmonium state made of a charm quark and an anticharm quark, or it could be an exotic particle consisting of four quarks.

These exotic particles could be tightly bound tetraquarks, molecular states, cc-gluon hybrid states, vector glueballs, or a combination of various possibilities.

Recent measurements by LHCb physicists revealed that its quantum number is 1++, and in 2020 they obtained precise data on the particle’s width (lifetime) and mass.

They also examined low-energy scattering parameters.

Their findings indicated that the mass of χc1(3872) is slightly less than the combined masses of the D0 and D*0 mesons.

These results have sparked debate within the theoretical community, with some proposing that χc1(3872) is a molecular state made up of spatially separated D0 and D*0 mesons.

However, this hypothesis faces challenges, as physicists anticipate molecular matter to be suppressed in hadron-hadron collisions, yet significant amounts of χc1(3872) are produced.

Other theorists suggest that the particle contains “compact” components, indicating a smaller size and potentially consisting of tightly bound charmonium or tetraquarks.

One method to uncover the composition of χc1(3872) is to calculate the branching ratio, which involves the probabilities of decay into different lighter particles.

By comparing the decay into a photon of the excited charmonium state, physicists can gain insights into the nature of the particle.

A key theoretical indicator is a non-zero ratio, suggesting the presence of compact components and countering a purely molecular model.

Using data from LHC Run 1 and Run 2, LHCb scientists found significant ratios beyond six standard deviations, ruling out a pure D0D*0 molecular hypothesis for χc1(3872).

Instead, the results support various predictions based on alternative hypotheses for the structure of χc1(3872, such as a mix of conventional (compact) charmonium, tetraquarks, light quarks, or molecules with a substantial compact core element.

Thus, the findings provide compelling evidence in favor of a χc1(3872) structure including a compact component.

_____

R. Aiji others (LHCb Collaboration). 2024. Probing the properties of the χc1(3872) state using radiative decay. arXiv: 2406.17006

This article is based on the original release from CERN.

Source: www.sci.news

Webb verifies persistent temperature contrast on WASP-39b between morning and evening

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to obtain and analyze morning and evening transmission spectra of the hot Saturn exoplanet WASP-39b, which orbits a star about 700 light-years away in the constellation Virgo. The spectrum is best explained by a model in which the evening boundary is 177 K hotter than the morning boundary.

This diagram shows what WASP-39b might look like, based on our current understanding of planets. Image credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/Webb/J. Olmsted, STScI.

WASP-39b is a hot gas giant that orbits the G7 type star WASP-39 every 4.1 days.

First discovered in 2011, this alien world has roughly the same mass as Saturn, but is 50% larger.

The planet's extreme expansion is due in part to its high temperature (about 900 degrees Celsius or 1,652 degrees Fahrenheit).

“WASP-39b has become a kind of benchmark planet for the Webb mission's exoplanet atmospheric studies,” said Dr. Nestor Espinoza, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute.

“The planet has a bulging, puffy atmosphere, so the signal coming from the starlight passing through the planet's atmosphere is quite strong.”

Webb spectra of WASP-39b's atmosphere released so far have revealed the presence of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, water vapor, and sodium, and show the entire day/night boundary, without any detailed attempt to distinguish one from the other.

Now, the new analysis constructs two different spectra from the terminator region, essentially splitting the day/night boundary into two semicircles: one from the evening and one from the morning.

According to Webb's data, evenings will be much hotter, reaching a scorching 800 degrees Celsius (1,450 degrees Fahrenheit), before easing into a cooler 600 degrees Celsius (1,150 degrees Fahrenheit) in the morning.

“It's really amazing that we were able to resolve this small difference, and this is thanks to Webb's sensitivity to near-infrared wavelengths and its extremely stable photometric sensor,” said Dr. Espinoza.

“Any movement of the instrument or the observatory while collecting data would severely limit our ability to make this detection. This has to be exceptionally precise, and Webb is just that precise.”

“We don't have a planet like this in our solar system, but most of the planets we observe orbiting distant stars have shorter orbits and are closer to us, like WASP-39b,” said Dr James Kirk, astronomer at Imperial College London.

“Now we can test theories about these planets and, for the first time, directly measure the morning and evening sides of an exoplanet across a wide range of wavelengths.”

This transmission spectrum, taken with Webb's NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrometer) PRISM in Bright Object Time Series mode, shows the amount of different wavelengths (colors) of near-infrared stellar light blocked by WASP-39b's atmosphere. The spectrum shows clear evidence of water and carbon dioxide on the exoplanet, as well as morning and evening temperature variations. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / R. Crawford, STScI.

Extensive modeling of the resulting data will also allow researchers to investigate the structure of WASP-39b's atmosphere, its cloud cover, and why it's hotter in the evenings.

While the team plans to next investigate how cloud cover affects temperature, and vice versa, the astronomers confirmed that the main cause of WASP-39b's temperature difference is the circulation of gas around the planet.

For highly irradiated exoplanets that orbit relatively close to their stars, like WASP-39b, researchers typically expect gas to shift as the planet rotates around the star: a strong equatorial jet stream should move hotter gas on the dayside from the evening to the nightside.

Because the temperature difference is so large, the pressure difference is also large, resulting in faster wind speeds.

Using the General Circulation Model, a 3-D model similar to those used to predict weather patterns on Earth, the astronomers found that on WASP-39b, prevailing winds tend to move from the nightside across the morning boundary, around the dayside, across the evening boundary, and then back around the nightside.

As a result, the morning side of the boundary is cooler than the evening side.

In other words, the morning side is hit by winds of air cooled by the night side, and in the evening it is hit by winds of air heated by the day side.

The study suggests that wind speeds on WASP-39b could reach thousands of kilometers per hour.

“This analysis is particularly interesting because it provides previously unavailable 3D information about the planet,” Dr Espinoza said.

“The fact that it's hotter on the evening edge means that it's a bit bulging, which means that in theory there's a little swell at the boundary approaching the night side of the planet.”

of study Published in this week's journal Nature.

_____

N. Espinosa othersThe uneven boundary surface of exoplanet WASP-39b. NaturePublished online July 15, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07768-4

This article is based on press releases from NASA and Imperial College London.

Source: www.sci.news

The frequency of bowel movements reflects one’s health status

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

We all have to deal with the uncomfortable topic of bowel movements, and the frequency at which we have them can vary greatly from person to person. Recent research suggests that the frequency of our bowel movements may have implications for our long-term health, revealing that there is an ideal amount of poop for a healthy individual.

A study conducted by scientists from the US Systems Biology Institute categorized individuals based on the frequency of their bowel movements:

Constipation (one or two bowel movements per week)
Low to normal (3-6 bowel movements per week)
High normal (1–3 bowel movements per day)
Diarrhea

Research indicates that the “Goldilocks Zone” for bowel movement frequency is having one to two bowel movements per day, which falls within the high normal range. This frequency is associated with the thriving of fiber-fermenting gut bacteria, suggesting that individuals in this zone may have similar gut microbiomes.

To achieve this ideal frequency, individuals are encouraged to adopt a high-fiber diet, ensure proper hydration, and engage in regular exercise. These habits are common among individuals in the Goldilocks Zone for bowel frequency.

The study, published in Cell Report Medicine, examined 1,400 healthy adults and explored the relationship between bowel movement frequency, age, sex, genetics, and gut microbiota. Results revealed that age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) significantly influence bowel movement frequency, with younger individuals, females, and those with lower BMI having more frequent bowel movements.

Irregular bowel movements can lead to issues as stool stagnates in the intestines, causing gut microbes to ferment proteins, potentially releasing harmful toxins into the bloodstream. This can contribute to organ damage and increase the risk of chronic diseases. Individuals with constipation were found to have higher levels of harmful by-products of protein fermentation, while those with diarrhea exhibited patterns indicative of liver damage.

Further research is being conducted to understand the connection between bowel movement frequency and mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. Dr. Sean Gibbons, the corresponding author of the study, emphasizes the importance of maintaining optimal bowel frequency for overall health and wellness.

Understanding the impact of bowel movements on various bodily systems can help identify early signs of organ damage and inform strategies to improve health and prevent chronic diseases in both healthy and at-risk populations. To learn more about this fascinating topic, visit Dr. Sean Gibbons’ profile.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

An Ambitious New Space Mission on a Collision Course with an Approaching Asteroid

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

To prevent a fate similar to the dinosaurs, The European Space Agency (ESA) has initiated work on a groundbreaking planetary defense mission known as the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Security (RAMSES).

RAMSES is designed to rendezvous with 99942 Apophis, an asteroid the size of a cruise ship, and accompany it as it approaches Earth in April 2029.

Apophis, with a diameter of about 375 meters, will pass within 32,000 kilometers of Earth’s surface on April 13, 2029. This rare event will be visible to the naked eye in parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia, attracting global attention. An asteroid of this size only comes this close once every 5,000 to 10,000 years.

undefined

Astronomers believe that Apophis is unlikely to collide with Earth in the next 100 years, but the 2029 flyby will provide scientists with a unique opportunity to observe a close encounter.

The ESA’s Ramses spacecraft is set to reach Apophis two months before the closest approach, allowing monitoring of any physical changes to the asteroid caused by Earth’s gravity.

Ramses is scheduled to launch in April 2028 and arrive at Apophis by February 2029. The mission aims to observe and study how Earth’s gravity affects Apophis, potential landslides, and any new material beneath the asteroid’s surface.

Patrick MichelGerry McClellan, CNRS Director of Research at the Observatory of the Côte d’Azur, emphasized the significance of the mission, stating: “There is much we still don’t know about asteroids, but now, nature is bringing one to us to conduct the experiment itself. All we need to do is watch as Apophis is stretched and compressed by powerful tidal forces.”

Ramses will utilize a variety of scientific instruments to comprehensively study Apophis, analyzing its shape, surface, orbit, rotation, and more.

The collected data will be closely examined by scientists to understand the asteroid’s composition, structure, and how to deflect potentially hazardous asteroids in the future.

Experts predict that Earth’s tidal forces could alter the asteroid’s rotation, potentially causing earthquakes and landslides. They hope that Ramses’ flyby will offer detailed observations of how Apophis is affected by the close encounter.

Additionally, NASA is redirecting its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft (now renamed OSIRIS-APEX) towards Apophis, set to arrive about a month after the 2029 flyby.

OSIRIS-REx was the first US mission to collect samples from an asteroid, returning material from Bennu to Earth in September 2023. After successfully delivering the sample, the spacecraft was renamed OSIRIS-APEX for its new mission to explore Apophis.

“Ramses will demonstrate humanity’s capability to deploy a reconnaissance mission to rendezvous with an approaching asteroid in just a few years,” said Richard Moisle, head of ESA’s Planetary Defence Division.

A decision on the full implementation of Ramses will be made at ESA’s Ministerial Council meeting in November 2025. If approved, Ramses will not only enhance knowledge of asteroid deflection but also provide valuable scientific insights into the solar system’s formation and evolution.

read more:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

A dinosaur from the Pseudopterygota group that inhabited the Panthalassa Ocean’s coast

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

US paleontologists have described a new genus and species of extinct crocodile relative based on a partially articulated skeleton found in the Middle Triassic Fossil Hill Formation of the Fabre Formation in Nevada, a pelagic region of the eastern Panthalasan Ocean rich in ammonites and giant ichthyosaurs.

Bengwigiwishingasucus Elemical Minis Pansarasan Sea coast. Image courtesy of Jorge Gonzalez.

Newly identified species Pseudobranchial reptiles It lived during the Middle Triassic period, between 247.2 million and 237 million years ago.

Named Bengwigiwishingasucus Elemical MinisThe animal probably reached a length of around 1.5-1.8 metres (5-6 feet).

It probably stayed fairly close to shore. Its limbs are well developed and well preserved, with no signs of aquatic life such as fins or changes in bone density.

“This intriguing new species provides evidence that pseudobranchs occupied coastal habitats worldwide during the Middle Triassic,” said Dr. Nate Smith, Gretchen Augustine Director and Curator of the Dinosaur Institute at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

“The area containing the Fabre Formation, which captured fossil life from the Triassic Eastern Panthalassa Ocean, is known for the fossils of marine creatures such as ammonites, as well as marine reptiles such as giant ichthyosaurs. Cymbospondylus youngholm — Newly written Bengwigiwishingasucus Elemical Minis It was a bit of a shock.”

“Our first reaction was, ‘What is this?'” said Dr Nicole Klein, a paleontologist at the University of Bonn.

“We expected to find something like a marine reptile. We couldn’t understand how a land animal could be so far out in the ocean amongst ichthyosaurs and ammonites.”

“It wasn’t until I actually saw the almost perfectly prepared specimen that I was convinced it was indeed a land animal.”

Although pseudopterygian archosaurs have been unearthed from coastal fossil beds in the Tethys Ocean, this is the first to be found in the Panthalassa Ocean and along the coasts of the Western Hemisphere, revealing that close relatives of these crocodiles were present in coastal environments worldwide during the Middle Triassic.

Interestingly, these coastal species do not all belong to the same evolutionary group, suggesting that Pseudobranchia (and Archosaurs more broadly) were uniquely adapted to life along the coast.

“Essentially, it seems like a very different group of archosaurs came together in the Middle Triassic and decided to dip their toes in the water,” Dr Smith said.

“What’s interesting is that many of these ‘independent experiments’ don’t seem to have led to a wider spread of semi-aquatic groups.”

Archosaurs appeared in the Triassic Period and split into two groups, with two representative species surviving: birds, which were descendants of dinosaurs, and pseudo-crocodile archosaurs such as crocodiles (alligators, crocodiles, and gharials). Bengwigiwishingasucus Elemical Minis.

Today’s crocodiles are similar enough to mistake them for other reptiles, but ancient species of crocodiles differed greatly in size and lifestyle.

Evolutionary relationships Bengwigiwishingasucus Elemical Minis and its relatives suggest that pseudobranchs gained great diversity very rapidly after the end-Permian mass extinction, but the extent of this remains to be elucidated in the fossil record.

“The recent and growing number of discoveries of Middle Triassic pseudobranchs suggests that there was underappreciated morphological and ecological diversity and experimentation taking place early in the group’s history,” Dr Smith said.

“Much of the public interest in the Triassic has been focused on the origin of the dinosaurs, but it was the pseudobranchs at the beginning of the Mesozoic that were actually doing interesting things.”

Discovery Bengwigiwishingasucus Elemical Minis It has been reported paper In the journal Biology Letters.

_____

Nathan D. Smith others2024. A new pseudobranch discovered in Nevada’s Fabre Formation indicates that archosaurs inhabited coastal regions around the world during the Middle Triassic. violet 20(7); Source: http://www.doi.gov/doi/2020240136 Source: 10.1098/rsbl.2024.0136

This article is based on a press release from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

Source: www.sci.news

New Images of Arp 142 Captured by Webb Show Stunning Detail

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have captured new infrared images of two interacting galaxies. Alp 142.

This Webb image shows two interacting galaxies known as Arp 142. On the left is NGC 2937, nicknamed “The Egg” because of its appearance, and on the right is NGC 2936, nicknamed “The Penguin” because of its appearance. Image courtesy of NASA/ESA/CSA/Webb/STScI.

The interacting pair, Arp 142, is located about 326 million light-years away in the southern constellation Hydra.

This system is ARP Catalog of Peculiar Galaxies It was observed by astronomer Halton C. Earp in the 1960s.

It contains the star-forming spiral galaxy NGC 2936 and its elliptical companion galaxy NGC 2937 at the lower left, which bears a striking resemblance to a penguin guarding its eggs.

The “penguin” part of the pair, NGC 2936, was probably once a relatively ordinary-looking spiral galaxy – flat like a pancake, with smoothly symmetrical spiral arms.

Because of the abundance of newly formed, hot stars, its shape is twisted and distorted by the gravitational forces of nearby stars.

The twin “egg,” NGC 2937, is a collection of much older stars and, in contrast, is largely featureless.

The absence of glowing red dust features indicates that it long ago lost its reservoir of gas and dust from which new stars could form.

“The two asteroids first came close to each other between 25 million and 75 million years ago, triggering 'fireworks' – the formation of new stars – in the constellation of Penguin,” astronomer Webb said in a statement.

“In the most extreme cases, galaxy mergers could result in the formation of thousands of new stars every year for millions of years.”

“In the case of penguins, studies have found that they form around 100-200 stars per year. By comparison, in our own Milky Way galaxy (which is not interacting with a galaxy of a similar size), around six to seven new stars form per year.”

“This gravitational rocking also changed the penguins' appearance,” they noted.

“The spiral arms uncoiled, pulling gas and dust in different directions like confetti.”

“When galaxies interact, it's rare for individual stars to collide (the universe is huge), but the intermingling of galaxies disrupts the orbits of stars.”

“Currently, the centre of the Penguin's galaxy looks like an eye inside its head, and the galaxy has a prominent star trail in the shape of a beak, spine and fanned-out tail. A faint but noticeable dust ribbon stretches from the beak to the tail.”

“Although the Penguin Galaxy appears much larger than the Egg Galaxy, the two galaxies have roughly the same mass,” the astronomers said.

“This is one of the reasons why the tiny looking egg hasn't merged with the penguin yet.”

“Because the elliptical egg is filled with old stars and contains very little gas or dust, it doesn't emit its own 'streams' or tidal tails, and instead maintains its compact elliptical shape.”

“If you look closely, the Egg has four noticeable diffraction spikes – it's glowing because of a high concentration of stars from the galaxy.”

“Now, find the bright, edge-on galaxy in the upper right. It may look like it's crashing the party, but it’s not close by.”

Cataloging No. 1237172It lies nearly 100 million light-years from Earth. It is relatively young and not covered by dust, making it virtually invisible in Webb's mid-infrared images.”

Source: www.sci.news

Southern Europe saw the arrival of early humans approximately 1.3 million years ago.

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

a New Researchpublished in the journal Geoscience Reviewhelps resolve one of the longest-running debates in paleoanthropology: when did early humans arrive in Europe?

Ancient humans. Image courtesy of Ninara / CC BY 2.0.

“chronology Homo “Migration out of Africa has expanded substantially over the past 40 years,” said paleoanthropologist Luis Hibbert of the University of Barcelona and his colleagues.

“In 1982, Homo The Asian volcano has been paleomagnetically dated to 900,000 years ago in Java and 700,000 years ago in Italy, Europe.

“Forty years later, the early Homo Outside of Africa, the South Caucasus dates back 1.8 million years, China 1.7-2.1 million years ago, and Java 1.5-1.3 million years ago.

“In Europe, several sites are found to have layers of paleomagnetic polarity reversal several metres deep, indicating that they are more than 770,000 years old.”

In the study, the authors used magnetostratigraphic dating, a method that uses the state of the Earth's magnetic field at the time the sediments were deposited, to date five paleontological localities in the Orce region of Spain.

“The technique is a relative dating method based on the study of the planet's magnetic pole reversals due to the dynamics of the Earth's interior,” they explained.

“These changes have no particular periodicity, but they are recorded in minerals and it is possible to establish periods from various magnetic events.”

“What's unique about these sites is that they are layered and sit within a very long sedimentary layer, over 80 metres long,” Dr Zibert said.

“Typically these sites are found in caves or within very short geological sequences, so it's not possible to develop long paleomagnetic sequences where you can find the different magnetic reversals.”

Global distribution of humans before 1 million years ago (orange) with major dated sites showing potential dispersal routes. The diagram shows Oldowan sites over 2 million years ago in Africa and over 1 million years ago in Eurasia (black dots). White dots indicate the earliest Acheulean sites in Africa (over 1.5 million years ago) and Eurasia (1 million to 800,000 years ago). The oldest Oldowan and Acheulean tools have been found in East Africa, over 2.5 million years ago and over 1.7 million years ago, respectively. In Asia, the oldest Oldowan and Acheulean tools have been found in the Caucasus (7) at 1.8 million years ago and in the Levantine Corridor (9) at 1.2 million years ago, respectively. In Europe, the oldest Oldowan and associated humans have been found in Spain (1, 2) and are debated to be between 1.6 and 900,000 years ago. Images/Photos Courtesy of: Gibert others., doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2024.104855.

The oldest remains at the Orce site, which have no evidence of human activity, date to 1.6 million and 1.35 million years ago, according to the study.

The top three sites containing evidence of early humans are dated 1.32 million years ago (Venta Misena), 1.28 million years ago (Barranco Leon 5), and 1.23 million years ago (Fuente Nueva 3).

These chronologies suggest that the Strait of Gibraltar acted as a filter bridge for African species such as hominins. Theropithecus Oswaldand the early Pleistocene hippopotamus.

“This new dating adds to other evidence and supports European colonization through the Strait of Gibraltar rather than the alternative route back to the Mediterranean via Asia,” the scientists said.

“We also support the hypothesis that they arrived from Gibraltar, as no older evidence has been found elsewhere along the alternative route.”

“Our results show a dating gap between the earliest occupation of Asia, 1.8 million years ago, and the earliest occupation of Europe, 1.3 million years ago. This means that African humans arrived in southwestern Europe more than 500,000 years after they first left Africa around 2 million years ago.”

“These differences in human expansion can be explained by the fact that Europe is isolated from Asia and Africa by difficult-to-surmount biogeographical barriers both to the east (the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara) and to the west (the Strait of Gibraltar),” Dr. Zibert said.

“When humans arrived in Europe, they had the technology necessary to cross the maritime barrier, just as happened a million years ago on the Indonesian island of Flores.”

“In this sense, the Gibraltar route currently requires crossing a sea channel of up to 14 kilometres, although in the past this distance could have been shorter at certain times due to the tectonically active nature of the region and sea-level changes favourable for migration.”

“We found that African animals were migrating through Gibraltar both 6.2 million years ago and 5.5 million years ago, when the Strait of Gibraltar was very narrow.”

_____

Lewis Guibert othersMagnetic strata dating of Europe's oldest human remains. Geoscience ReviewPublished online July 2, 2024; doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2024.104855

Source: www.sci.news

Researchers find previously unknown species of prehistoric crocodile

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

New species of early crocodile named Asiatosuchus oenotoriensis was discovered by a team of paleontologists from Spain’s National University of Distance Learning and the University of Salamanca.

Skull Asiatosuchus oenotoriensis Type specimen from the Middle Eocene site of Casaseca de Campean, Spain. Image credit: Narváez others., doi: 10.1002/ar.25422.

The newly identified crocodile lived on Earth during the Middle Eocene Epoch, between 48 and 41 million years ago.

Prehistoric animals Asiatosuchus An extinct genus of crocodilian crocodiles that lived in Europe and Asia during the Paleogene (66 to 23 million years ago).

“During the Palaeogene, a variety of crocodilians with common snouts (i.e. non-elongated snouts) inhabited Europe. The Middle Eocene is particularly notable for its relative abundance and diversity, but also includes fossils from the Late Paleocene and possibly the Early Oligocene and Late Neogene,” said lead author Dr Ivan Narváez and his colleagues.

“Many of the Eocene crocodile fossils are from the Asiatosuchus-like complex.”

“Genus Asiatosuchus was Established The species was defined in 1940 by paleontologist Charles Mook. Asiatosuchus grangeli It is based on an incomplete lower jaw and several skull fragments from the Middle Eocene of the Irdin Mankha Formation in Mongolia.”

“After the definition Asiatosuchus grangeli Several other eupteran forms, generally represented as isolated or rare fossils, have been described from the Paleocene to Oligocene of Europe, Asia and North America and have recently been Asiatosuchus It’s a complex like that.”

Two fossils Asiatosuchus oenotoriensis A similarly sized specimen was discovered at the La Laguna archaeological site in Spain in the 1980s.

The specimen includes a nearly complete skull and a nearly complete left lower jaw.

“The La Laguna fossil site is located in the Tierra del Vino region of the province of Zamora, Spain, approximately 20 kilometres south of the city of Zamora and approximately one kilometre north of the village of Casaseca de Campean,” the paleontologists said.

“The area forms part of the western part of the Duero Basin (Ciudad Rodrigo Basin).”

“The Duero Basin is the largest continental Cenozoic basin on the Iberian Peninsula.”

According to the authors: Asiatosuchus oenotoriensis Increase knowledge of diversity and distribution of Asiatosuchus Crocodile-like complex.

“Asiatosuchus oenotoriensis “This adds valuable information to our knowledge of the systematics of the relatively diverse crocodile fauna of the Duero Basin in Spain,” the researchers said.

Team paper Published in Anatomy record.

_____

Ivan Narvaez others A new crocodilian superfamily from the Middle Eocene of Zamora (Duero Basin, Spain). Anatomy record Published online March 5, 2024; doi: 10.1002/ar.25422

Source: www.sci.news

There are caves on the moon that scientists believe could be used as shelters

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Caves on the moon have been identified by scientists not too far from where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed 55 years ago. They speculate that there could be hundreds more caves that could be suitable for future astronauts to inhabit.

A team of researchers led by Italians reported on Monday that they have evidence of a large cavern accessible through the deepest hole on the moon’s surface. This cavern is situated in Mare Tranquility, just 250 miles (400 kilometers) from the Apollo 11 landing site.

The hole, like over 200 others found in that area, was created by the collapse of a lava tube.

The researchers examined radar measurements from NASA’s lunar rover and compared their findings to lava tubes on Earth. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Scientists state that the radar data has only uncovered the initial section of the underground chamber, which they estimate to be at least 130 feet (40 meters) wide and potentially even longer.

Leonardo Carrell and Lorenzo Bruzzone from the University of Trento expressed their excitement in an email saying, “The lunar caves have remained a mystery for more than 50 years, so it’s exciting to finally be able to prove their existence.”

Most of the holes on the moon seem to be situated in the ancient lava plains, and there might also be caves at the moon’s south pole, where NASA intends to send astronauts in 10 years. A crater in perpetual shadow there is believed to contain frozen water that could be used for drinking or as rocket fuel.

NASA’s Apollo program successfully landed 12 astronauts on the moon, starting with Armstrong and Aldrin on July 20, 1969.

These findings suggest that the Moon could have numerous caves and lava tubes, providing natural shelter for astronauts and shielding them from cosmic rays, solar radiation, and micrometeorite impacts. Constructing habitats from scratch would be more time-consuming and challenging, even if cave walls need reinforcement to prevent collapse.

The rocks and other materials in these caves, unaffected by the harsh surface conditions for hundreds of millions of years, could also help scientists gain a better understanding of how the Moon evolved, especially in terms of its volcanic activity.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Seeing Shooting Stars: A Step-by-Step Guide

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

summary

The annual Perseid meteor shower has begun, reaching its peak on the night of August 12th.
It's typically one of the most dramatic meteor showers of the year, producing a high rate of shooting stars per hour.
The Perseid meteor shower occurs when dust particles and debris from a comet known as 109P/Swift-Tuttle burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

One of the best meteor showers of the year is underway, giving you a chance to see shooting stars in the summer night sky.

The annual Perseid meteor shower began on Sunday and will run through late August. This year's meteor shower will peak on the night of August 12 and into the early morning of August 13.

The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most dramatic phenomena due to the high number of bright meteors that appear per hour. At the peak of the meteor shower, up to 100 meteors per hour can be seen from a dark location (weather permitting).

This is a popular event as meteor showers occur in the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, allowing people to enjoy stargazing in warm weather.

Meteors are often called “shooting stars,” but the celestial phenomenon occurs when tiny pieces of debris from outer space burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

The Perseid meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through a cloud of dust particles and debris from a comet known as 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The streaks of light are produced when pieces of debris impact the atmosphere and vaporize, leaving bright trails as they disintegrate.

The Perseid meteor shower gets its name from the fact that shooting stars appear to stream down from a certain point in the constellation Perseus. According to NASA:The constellation will rise in the northeast, but if conditions are right, meteors should be visible across the entire sky.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to observe the Perseid meteor shower is from around midnight after the moon has set until dawn.

For the best viewing, observers should choose a dark, unobstructed location away from city lights and other light pollution.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Physicist working on project to construct a telescope larger than Earth

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

We live in the age of black hole photography. In 2019, the first photograph of a black hole was published. Naturally, it was difficult to capture. In fact, it required a telescope almost as large as the Earth. But for researchers like Alex Lupsaski of Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, that wasn't enough. Lupsaski and his colleagues aim to capture a more detailed image, but to achieve that, they will need an even larger telescope.

The 2019 groundbreaking photo was taken by a network of radio observatories dotted around Earth, collectively known as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). Eight observatories worked together to produce an image as sharp as a single dish larger than anything we could actually build. Lupsaski is part of a team planning the launch of the Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) telescope, which will extend this network 20,000 kilometers from Earth into space, effectively creating a receiver larger than Earth. This, he says, will give researchers the precision they need to measure a mysterious part of a black hole called the photon ring. In this case, the photon ring is produced by the supermassive black hole M87* in a nearby galaxy that appeared in the first photo.

LupsaskaAs deputy project scientist for the BHEX mission, he's a theorist specializing in the physics of extreme environments like the heart of a black hole. He tells us why this is our best hope of beating Albert Einstein's theory of gravity, and why an ambitious space mission is the key to finally unlocking that theory.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Possible Discovery of Lunar Cave Entrance Deep Hole on the Moon

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Proposed underground geometry of the Mare Tranquillitatis on the Moon

Wagner and Robinson

A network of caves may be hidden just beneath the Moon's surface, and researchers may have finally discovered an access point. These caves have long been predicted, but until now it has been difficult to prove their existence or find a way to directly explore them with future missions.

The Moon's surface is dotted with holes, or so-called skylights, which are openings in the ceilings of caves that are thought to have been formed by the collapse of ancient lava tubes – tunnels formed when lava flows beneath the solid crust. Leonardo Carrell Researchers from the University of Trento in Italy have discovered that the deepest part of these formations, the “The Pit of the Sea of TranquilityThese images were taken by NASA's Lunar Rover in 2010.

By comparing their simulations with lava tubes on Earth, the researchers found that the Mare Tranquillitatis hole appears to open into a large cavern buried at least 400 feet (130 meters) underground. The cave appears to be about 150 feet (45 meters) wide and at least 100 feet (30 meters) long, but could be much larger.

Caves like these could offer a unique window into the evolution of the Moon, says Carell. “Analyzing rocks from lunar caves, which have not been altered by the harsh lunar environment, could provide important insights into key scientific questions, such as the timeline and duration of volcanic activity on the Moon and the actual composition of the Moon's mantle,” Carell says.

The same stone ceiling that protects the cave rocks from the intense radiation experienced on the surface could also provide valuable shielding for future human explorers on the Moon. “Unlike the surface of the Moon, where temperatures change dramatically between day and night, [the caves] “It has a stable internal temperature, and it's also a natural shield against radiation and impacts,” Carrell says.

The idea of using natural caves like these as lunar base camps has long been popular, and future astronauts may one day call the Sea of Tranquility home.

topic:

Moon/
Space Exploration

Source: www.newscientist.com

Brain activity can be used by AI to determine a child’s gender

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Activity within brain networks appears to differ between boys and girls

People Images/Getty Images

Artificial intelligence can now distinguish the brain patterns of 9- to 10-year-old boys and girls according to their sex and even gender, but not everyone is convinced of the accuracy of the results.

The prevalence of pain, headaches, heart disease, and other illnesses Varies by genderHowever, little is known about neurological variation in this regard or among sexes, particularly among children.

You can learn more and Elvisha Damara Researchers at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York analyzed thousands of sets of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from more than 4,700 children, roughly equal in gender, all aged 9 to 10, who were participating in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Project.

Sex was defined based on “anatomical, physiological, genetic and hormonal structures at birth,” while gender was determined based on “an individual's attitudinal, emotional and behavioral characteristics.”

Parents weren't asked directly about their thoughts about their child's gender, but were assessed with a series of questions, such as how often their child imitates male or female characters on TV or in movies, whether they wanted to be a girl or a boy, whether they said they disliked their genitals, etc. All these questions were weighted equally and combined into a score.

A separate score was created from questions that asked the children themselves, such as whether they felt like a boy or a girl.

The researchers did not disclose the different genders the children identified as, or how many of the children had a gender that was different from their own gender. “We thought of gender as a continuum, not a binary,” Damala said. “We did not limit our analysis to gender categories, so we cannot comment on how many children had a gender that was different from their own gender.”

The researchers first looked at the relationship between brain networks and sex, and then looked at the relationship between these networks and sex for each assigned sex. They found that sex and gender differences were associated with distinct patterns of functional connectivity, a measure of communication between distant brain regions.

Gender was associated with connectivity between the visual cortex, which controls movement, and the limbic system, a group of deep brain structures involved in regulating emotion, behavior, motivation, and memory. These networks were “important in distinguishing participants based on their gender,” Damala said.

Gender-related networks were widespread throughout the cerebral cortex (the outer layer of the brain that is also associated with memory, movement, sensation and problem solving), both when using gender scores constructed from responses to parental questions and when using separate scores constructed by asking questions of the children themselves.

“In assigned females, sex mapped to networks involved in attention, emotion processing, motor control, and higher-order thinking,” Damala says. “In assigned males, the same relationships existed, but there were additional networks involved in higher-order thinking and visual processing. Although there was some overlap between sex- and gender-related brain networks, they were very distinct from each other.”

Once the researchers trained an AI model on some of the MRI data, it was able to identify a child's gender based on brain connectivity patterns in other datasets. It could also predict gender, but this was much less accurate and was based solely on the gender reported by parents, not the child themselves.

A better understanding of how brain activity patterns differ by sex could help scientists learn more about conditions that affect boys and girls at different rates, such as ADHD, Damala said.

The findings could also have implications for how human brain research is conducted, she says: “This shows that sex and gender need to be considered separately in biomedical research. This applies to how data is collected, how it is analyzed, and how results are interpreted and communicated,” Damala says.

but Ragini Verma The University of Pennsylvania researcher says the study tells us little about the neurological basis of gender. Because of the study's large sample size, the team was likely only able to find signals of different brain activity patterns between the sexes, but “any variability in gender predictions is based on low precision,” she says.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com