Discovered by chance in 2019, Odd radio circles (ORCs) are circular regions of faint radio radiation with bright edges that are not visible to optical, infrared, ultraviolet, and X-ray wavelengths.
Some ORCs contain galaxies at their centers, while others do not, but what sets them apart is their size, which is significantly larger than normal galaxies. Some ORCs display a double ring structure, while others have a single ring. There are also some with internal arc-like structures that might be linked to galaxies surrounded by bubbles of radio emission.
While objects with high spherical symmetry are common in the universe, ORCs appear to be distinct from them all, prompting astronomers to classify them as a new type of object.
ORCs could potentially be a type of spherical shock wave generated by fast radio bursts, gamma-ray bursts, or neutron star mergers. If this is the case, they must be extremely ancient to have grown to such a large size.
Alternatively, they may be associated with material jets emanating from the central regions of radio galaxies, but explaining their size and the absence of central objects in all galaxies is challenging.
One intriguing theory suggests that ORCs are created by the fusion of two supermassive black holes in a central galaxy. The available data also support the idea that the shell is caused by a “shock termination” of high-energy particle winds from the central “starburst” galaxy.
Another hypothesis proposes that the ORC is the throat of a “wormhole,” a theoretical passage through spacetime. However, astronomers have yet to agree on the true nature of ORC.
This article addresses the question (by Bradford’s Brendan Owens): “What are strange radio circles?”
If you have any questions, please email us at:questions@sciencefocus.comor send us a messageFacebook,XorInstagramPage (remember to include your name and location).
Check out our ultimateInteresting informationMore amazing science pages.
On a daily basis, everyone naturally releases about 2.5 liters of gas through burps and farts. This gas originates from the air we breathe, the liquids we consume, and the bacteria in our digestive system. Our bodies expel this excessive gas through the mouth and anus. Sometimes, the gas may be released without notice, in small amounts, and without any detectable odor.
Unlike cows, methane is not the primary component of human farts. Therefore, when someone ignites a fart, it usually burns hydrogen gas.
Farting is a normal bodily function, but if you notice an increase in farting frequency, it may be due to an underlying medical condition.
Why do we fart?
Farting occurs because there is gas in our intestines that needs to be released.
A mixture of swallowed air and gas produced by digestive bacteria in the intestines eventually needs to be expelled through burps and farts.
The main gases in flatulence are hydrogen and carbon dioxide, while the unpleasant odor often comes from sulfur compounds present in small amounts.
Nerve endings in the anus help distinguish between gas buildup and solid stool, allowing gas to pass through without any issues.
Does everyone fart?
Every individual, without exception, passes gas through the large intestine due to swallowed air and intestinal bacteria. This gas mainly consists of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane, and trace amounts of smelly compounds.
Although everyone farts, some individuals may be more discreet about their flatulence.
Read more about flatulence:
Why do I fart so much?
It is normal for some people to fart more frequently than others. According to NHS, the average person farts between 5 and 15 times a day. However, certain medical conditions can lead to excessive farting.
Farting can be a symptom of conditions like celiac disease and lactose intolerance, as well as issues like constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and gastroenteritis.
If you are concerned about your farting frequency, it is advisable to consult a doctor.
If you try to suppress a fart, it might come out more quietly or get retained until your next trip to the bathroom. Eventually, the gas will find its way out!
What foods make you fart?
Beans, lentils, cabbage, broccoli, onions, prunes, and apples are among the foods that can cause flatulence. Consuming these foods, rich in soluble fiber, can lead to the production of gas during the fermentation process in the colon.
Do animals fart?
All humans fart, but not all animals do. Different animals have varying digestive systems that influence flatulence production.
Do rabbits fart?
Yes, rabbits fart due to their plant-based diet and digestive process involving fermentation in the cecum. Excessive gas buildup can be harmful to rabbits if not expelled properly.
Do spiders fart?
The possibility of spiders farting exists, but it has not been extensively studied. Their unique digestive system suggests gas production during liquid digestion.
Do birds fart?
Birds can fart, but evidence of this phenomenon is scarce. Some theories propose that birds may not fart frequently due to their rapid digestion process.
Did dinosaurs fart?
Dinosaurs, like other animals, did fart. Their historical flatulence played a role in the planet’s climate during the Mesozoic Era.
The federal government announced this week that grizzly bears will be reintroduced to Washington state’s North Cascade Mountains. The decision follows many years of intense and divisive debate.
But due to the complex process of capturing bears from British Columbia and northwestern Montana, transporting them by truck and helicopter, it will take many years before bears can venture into the remote and rugged terrain. It may also be costly.
“There’s a lot of work to do before we can schedule it,” said Jason Ransom, a wildlife biologist with North Cascades National Park. “Getting the planning right is critical to the success of a project like this.”
This reintroduction will restore a keystone species to the North Cascades, one of the most protected landscapes in the United States. Grizzlies once roamed throughout the region, but were extensively hunted for their fur. The National Park Service reports that there has not been a confirmed bear sighting since 1996.
Both agencies plan to release between three and seven bears each year with the goal of reaching a population of 200 bears within 60 to 100 years.
Ransom mentioned that grizzly bears play a vital role in turning soil, spreading seeds, and adapting to various habitats for reproduction. Their versatility makes them resilient to environmental changes, including those caused by climate change.
But opponents express concerns about the safety risks grizzly bears may pose to humans, as well as the potential conflicts with farmers and ranchers in the surrounding areas. The reintroduction project is addressing these concerns by selecting a release site in high-quality habitat far from populated areas.
The federal government has designated the project’s grizzly bears as a “nonessential experimental population” under the Endangered Species Act, providing legal flexibility to manage potential conflicts and protect both humans and bears.
The process of capturing and releasing bears involves using culvert traps, anesthesia, veterinary examinations, and radio collars for tracking purposes. The gradual reintroduction process aims to allow humans and bears to adapt to each other in an environment that has been bear-free for decades.
Starting with 25 bears allows the population to grow slowly, giving both humans and bears a chance to coexist in the area that has been without bears for a long time.
When it comes to apocalypse scenarios, nuclear destruction stands out as both fascinating to viewers and alarmingly realistic. From the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima, humanity has witnessed the devastating consequences of our current nuclear power usage.
But what impact does radiation actually have on the environment where it is released? Recent reports of thriving life at Chernobyl present a different perspective on the post-apocalyptic wasteland depicted in many fallout series.
“We live in an increasingly radioactive world,” says biologist Professor Timothy Mousseau, who has studied ecosystems in nuclear disaster sites for 25 years, as reported by BBC Science Focus.
“So, what we learn from places like Chernobyl, Fukushima, and atomic bomb test sites will ultimately have implications for humanity,” Mousseau adds.
The effects of radiation are usually dire
One thing that movies get right is that you definitely don’t want to be involved in a nuclear disaster if you can avoid it.
Mousseau explains that when radioactive events like Chernobyl happen, ionizing radiation is released into the environment, potentially damaging or altering DNA in exposed organisms. These genetic changes can lead to mutations, with some causing no harm, others resulting in severe issues like cancer or juvenile cataracts.
“Between these extremes, there are many mutations with small or partial effects, such as asymmetric individuals or odd growths,” Mousseau elaborates.
The effects of radiation are not limited to animals. Plants also feel the brunt of nuclear disaster impacts, with radioactive materials often being absorbed by the soil. The International Atomic Energy Agency notes that leaves around Chernobyl changed shape post-explosion, and the once green pine forest turned red, eventually being cleared due to the risk of radioactive clouds in case of a fire.
Though the original trees of the Red Forest have been cut down, the area remains highly radioactive. – Image credit: Getty
In conclusion, living in highly radioactive areas is not ideal, as Mousseau points out.
Superpowers are (probably) unlikely
While radiation-induced mutations can have negative impacts, some may also be advantageous. Mousseau mentions that scientists have found certain crops benefiting from mutations, resulting in increased yields and pest resistance. Even coffee trees resistant to fungal diseases have been developed using nuclear mutation breeding methods.
Naturally occurring beneficial mutations can also arise, as seen in Chernobyl’s tree frogs, which developed darker skin to protect against radiation-induced oxidative stress.
Despite the energy released in the Chernobyl disaster, tree frogs adapted with darker skin. – Image credits: German Orizaola and Pablo Burraco
However, Mousseau emphasizes that beneficial mutations are rare, and the chances of gaining any form of superpowers from radiation exposure are slim.
About our experts:
Timothy Mousseau, a professor at the University of South Carolina, has extensive research experience in genetic adaptations to environmental stresses, including radiation effects on organisms in nuclear disaster zones. His work has shed light on the implications for these environments on various species and their evolutionary responses. Mousseau has authored numerous scientific papers related to Chernobyl and Fukushima research.
The Ryusho orbital trace contains 12 bipedal orbitals, which are classified into two forms, distinguished by both size and shape.
The small footprints, approximately 11 cm (4.3 inches) long, belong to the long-known genus Ichno. Velociraptoricnus.
Large footprints up to 36 cm (14.2 inches) long Fujianipus inryangi.
Based on body size, this tracker was over 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall at the waist, comparable in size to the largest known deinonychosaurids. Austraptor and Utahraptor.
“When you think of raptor dinosaurs, you probably think of the muscular, human-sized, aggressive hunters from the movie Jurassic Park,’ said Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist at the University of Queensland. .
“But these traces were left by a much leaner and smarter group in the family. TroodontidaeIt appeared in the late Jurassic period about 95 million years ago. ”
“This raptor was about 5 meters long and had legs of 1.8 meters, far exceeding the size of the raptors depicted in Jurassic Park. Imagine coming.”
“The footprints were compared to other known bipedal dinosaur footprints found throughout Asia, the Americas, and Europe.”
details of Fujianipus inryangi Railway tracks preserved at the site of the Longxiang track in China. Image credit: Xing other., doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109598.
“We found this type of truck to be unique in shape and very unique,” he said.
“The concept of large troodontids has only recently emerged in paleontology.”
“The bones found in Alaska suggest a trend towards giantism near the ancient Arctic Circle, an area where long winter darkness may have led to less competition for species.”
“But our findings suggest that these raptor giants roamed much farther south and were more widely dispersed.”
“Interestingly, some of our research teams are also working on the world’s smallest dinosaur footprint, a Korean raptor footprint that is just one centimeter long.”
“This shows the amazing size range of raptor dinosaurs and highlights their adaptability and ecological diversity.”
a paper A description of the discovery was published in a magazine iscience.
_____
Rida Singh other. Deinonychosaurid footprints in southeastern China record a possible giant troodontid. iscience, published online on April 24, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109598
The avian influenza virus continues to spread among dairy cows in the United States, and the country’s health authorities are actively preparing for possible spread to humans.
“risk [of bird flu] “While the current rate remains low, we continue to be strongly prepared as new data becomes available,” Vivian Dugan of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said at a meeting of health officials on April 25. Stated.
The first priority is tracking the spread of the virus. So far, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed the H5N1 avian influenza virus subtype in dairy cows. 33 farms across 8 statessix cats on farms in three of those states.
Genetic sequencing has shown that out of 260 samples taken from sick dairy cows, only one has a mutation that suggests H5N1 is adapted to infect mammals, he said. Rosemary Chiffod At the Department of Agriculture during a meeting. However, this marker has been previously observed in other diseased mammals and did not affect the ability of the virus to transmit between mammals. Furthermore, her other 10 samples from the same herd from which this sample was collected did not have the same mutation.
“It hasn’t changed much and remains an avian virus…in other words, it hasn’t become an avian virus. [cow] It’s a virus,” Sifford said.
According to data presented at the meeting, the CDC tested 23 people who had close contact with the animals for the virus. Only one person tested positive, a dairy worker in Texas whose only symptom was bloodshot eyes. To increase testing capacity, the CDC recently increased funding to genetic sequencing centers in six states, Dugan said.
Another important measure being taken is to ensure the security of the milk supply in the United States. Milk from infected cows contains large amounts of the virus. Although milk from sick animals should not enter the milk supply, initial testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that: 1 in 5 milk samples Contains genetic signatures of avian influenza.
“Importantly, this does not mean the sample contains intact infectious virus.” donald prater At the FDA. The test method used detects any genetic material, including dead virus.
Most milk sold in the United States is pasteurized, a process that uses high heat to kill pathogens. Although no studies have evaluated the effectiveness of pasteurization against H5N1, research on similar influenza viruses suggests it may be effective, Prater said. This is why people should avoid consuming or touching raw dairy products.
Two vaccine candidates against H5N1 are also under development. Initial testing by the CDC showed both to be effective in laboratory tests on current strains of cattle, Dugan said.
As part of pre-established procedures, the US Office of Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) said it is stockpiling supplies for the avian influenza vaccine. david boucher At the ASPR conference. This involves producing a part of the vaccine called an antigen that triggers an immune response to the virus. He said ASPR and its commercial partners have already filled hundreds of thousands of bottles of H5N1 vaccine and can quickly supply it for clinical trials or emergency use if needed.
“Based on the CDC’s current situational risks, vaccination is not a necessary tool at this time. But we want to be prepared in case the situation changes,” Boucher said. Enough material is also stockpiled to produce 10 million more doses. And ASPR has contracts with vaccine manufacturers to further increase production as needed.
“If we need to pull any of these levers, we are ready to do so,” Boucher said.
Voyager 1 faced a critical issue when it was first discovered in November. NASA acknowledged that while the spacecraft was still in communication with Earth, the signals being received were indecipherable. This led to a concentrated effort over a month to identify and rectify the problem, saving the Voyager 1 mission.
Despite the challenges faced by the team, including the difficulty of troubleshooting a spacecraft over 15 billion miles away in interstellar space, there remained hope and determination to overcome the obstacles.
The main culprit was found to be a hardware failure in one of Voyager 1’s three computers, resulting in corrupted code that hindered the transmission of crucial updates and data. Unfortunately, the chip containing the problematic software was deemed irreparable.
However, a solution was devised by splitting and storing the code in different memory locations of the computer. This allowed for the affected sections to be reprogrammed, ensuring the continued functionality of the system.
Following meticulous verification and testing processes, Voyager 1 gradually resumed its normal operations, as confirmed by NASA’s recent update.
The Voyager missions, launched in 1977, have been instrumental in exploring the outer regions of our solar system. Voyager 1, now in interstellar space, continues to transmit valuable data and may well do so until the 2030s, serving as an enduring reminder of human exploration.
Both Voyager probes carry time capsules containing images and sounds representing Earth and its inhabitants, intended to be discovered by extraterrestrial beings in the distant future.
“Our silent ambassadors,” as Voyager 1 and 2 are affectionately known, will continue their journey for millennia, potentially reaching other stars and civilizations,” remarked Spilker.
Two of the researchers and several study participants with Laron syndrome
Jaime Guevara-Aguirre and Bartel Longo
People with rare genetic mutations that cause short stature and may even live longer are helping to understand the causes of aging.
People with unusual genetic mutations have some characteristics that protect them from heart disease, one of the most common causes of death, and this explains why their life expectancy exceeds that of the general population. You may have.
A signaling molecule called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) has long been suspected to be involved in longevity. Several animals, including worms and mice, have been shown to live longer when their levels of this compound are artificially lowered, such as through genetic modification. Centenarians also have slightly lower IGF-1 levels,on average.
In most species, IGF-1 promotes growth when the animal is young and influences how cells use energy later in life. One idea is that there is a trade-off between animals investing energy in further growth and maintaining health.
“As you get older and your body starts to break down, you want to spend your energy on preventing your body from breaking down instead of spending it on growth,” he says. Nir Barzilai from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York was not involved in the new study.
The question of whether this trade-off also occurs in humans is through a rare genetic disease called Laron syndrome, first identified in a group of Ecuadorians whose ancestors left Spain during the Inquisition centuries ago. can be researched.
This mutation causes people to have defective growth hormone receptors, leading to short stature. People with Laron syndrome also have low levels of IGF-1 because the release of IGF-1 is usually triggered by growth hormone.
The researchers found that more people with the disease were surviving longer than expected compared to the general Ecuadorian population. 'We know they are more common in older people' walter longo at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
In the latest study, Longo and his colleagues compared 24 people with Laron syndrome from Ecuador or the United States to 27 relatives who did not have the mutation. People with Laron syndrome appeared to be healthier on several heart-related measures, including blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and sensitivity to insulin, a hormone involved in controlling blood sugar levels.
People with this mutation also had higher levels of a compound called low-density lipoprotein. Low-density lipoproteins are also known as “bad cholesterol” because they are thought to make arteries more susceptible to plaque, which can lead to heart attacks. However, only 7 percent of Laron syndrome patients had such plaques, compared with 36 percent of their relatives.
The small number of people in the study means this difference may have arisen by chance, but it does suggest that their arteries appear less unhealthy than those of people without the mutation. suggests, Longo said.
This new finding supports the idea that somehow weakening the IGF-1 signaling pathway in later life can slow the aging process. Alexey Maklakov at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. “It's a matter of timing,” he says. “At critical stages of growth and development, you definitely don't want to do that. But later in life, it can interfere with the function of these pathways.”
The problem of consciousness is one of the greatest mysteries in science
Yuichiro Kayano/Getty Images
It's been two years since we opened our New York office, and we're excited to share it with you. New Scientist is launching a new live event series in the US. It starts in New York on June 22nd. A one-day masterclass on the science of the brain and human consciousness. To celebrate this, we've unlocked access to his five in-depth features that explore the mysteries of the human heart.
Perhaps there is no greater mystery in human experience than consciousness. In the simplest terms, it's about being aware of our existence. It is our experience of ourselves and the world.
It's less clear how and why this happens, and whether other living things, or indeed machines or forms of artificial intelligence, can experience consciousness in the same way that we do.
For much of human history, the idea that consciousness could somehow be explained or fully understood seemed fanciful and beyond the scope of scientific study. However, in recent decades, we have come closer than ever to identifying the physical structures, mechanisms, and neural networks responsible.
As neuroscientist Christoph Koch had to admit last year, we're not there yet. “When you're young, you have to believe that things are simple,” said Koch, who has been working with philosopher David Chalmers for 25 years to find out exactly which brain cells give rise to life by 2023. He admitted that he lost the bet. into our conscious experience of the world.
Still, Koch doesn't have to think too hard. We're always getting a little closer, from what happens inside our brains when we sleep and dream to how increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence is challenging the meaning of the world. It brings out fresh insights into everything. Be aware – and how can a machine even recognize this if it happens?
One day master class on consciousness
Join us on June 22nd in New York City for an instant expert event on the latest science of consciousness and the human brain.
A long exposure photo showing the trajectory of asteroid 2024 BX1 just before impact. Changes in brightness are caused by the asteroid’s rotation
L. Buzzi, Schiaparelli Observatory, Italy (MPC 204)
The asteroid that entered Earth’s atmosphere this year was spinning at a rate of 2.6 seconds per rotation, faster than any known asteroid.
The object, known as 2024 BX1, was likely less than one meter wide and entered Earth’s atmosphere on January 21. It disintegrated over Berlin, Germany. Some debris survived the fireball and was retrieved. This is a rare instance of a monitored asteroid fall, where the incoming rock was detected before impact, in this case, just three hours prior to impact.
Maxime Devogele and his team at the European Space Agency’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Center in Italy captured images of the asteroid before impact. Despite traveling at around 50,000 kilometers per hour, the elongated shape of the asteroid made changes in brightness due to rotation quite noticeable in these images.
These changes in brightness corresponded to a rotation time of 2.588 seconds, equivalent to approximately 30,000 rotations per day. “This is the fastest rotation we have observed to date,” Devogele remarked.
Asteroids rotate for various reasons, including early-life collisions. In general, a space rock larger than one kilometer cannot rotate more than once every 2.2 hours, as it would disintegrate. However, smaller asteroids like 2024 BX1 are more resilient and can withstand much faster rotations. “They have internal strength, allowing them to rotate at higher speeds,” Devogele explained.
Measuring the rotation of such objects could be beneficial for planetary defense, providing insights into the durability of small asteroids and their likelihood of surviving passage through Earth’s atmosphere. “If you have hard snow, it will react differently than if you have snow with no internal strength,” Devogele stated.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer’s treatment of rare genetic diseases and bleeding disorders, making it the company’s first-ever gene therapy. The approval came on Friday. This groundbreaking gene therapy, named Bekvez, is for adults with moderate to severe hemophilia B, meeting specific requirements. Pfizer spokesperson mentioned that the medication will be available by prescription to eligible patients this quarter with a hefty price tag of $3.5 million, making it one of the most expensive drugs in the United States.
More than 7,000 people in the US live with hemophilia B, primarily affecting men as it causes a lack of Factor IX, a crucial protein for blood clotting. Bekvez is designed as a one-time treatment to enable patients to produce their own Factor IX to prevent and control bleeding effectively.
Pfizer’s approval for Bekvez is a major milestone in the company’s efforts to diversify its portfolio after facing challenges due to the decline in its COVID-19 business. The company has heavily invested in anti-cancer drugs and gene and cell therapies, aiming to revolutionize the treatment of chronic diseases. Pfizer also acquired the rights to manufacture and market Bekvez in collaboration with Spark Therapeutics.
In addition, Pfizer is seeking FDA approval for marstasimab, an experimental antibody to treat hemophilia A and B. The company is also developing a gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Bekvez will be competing with similar gene therapies like Hemogenix from CSL Behring, which also comes with a significant price tag of $3.5 million in the US, marking a new era in the treatment of hemophilia.
Despite the high costs and logistical challenges associated with gene therapies, medical experts are hopeful that these one-time treatments can replace traditional lifelong treatments for chronic diseases, offering long-term benefits to patients.
A strain of avian influenza, known as H5N1 or highly pathogenic avian influenza, has sparked concerns in cattle herds across the United States in recent weeks. This development has raised significant alarm among health experts. The Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of the high mortality rate associated with the virus in humans.
As of now, the virus has affected more than 20 clusters in eight states of the U.S since a surge was initially reported last month.
The states that have been impacted so far include Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and South Dakota.
Moreover, on April 1st, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that the virus had spread further in Texas and had infected individuals who were exposed to dairy cows.
Experts are emphasizing the need for extreme vigilance, investigation, and situational assessment due to the rapidly changing individual risk scenarios.
Infection of cattle is unprecedented.
This virus is not new – H5N1 was initially detected in 1996 in waterfowl in southern China. A new version of the H5N1 virus became widespread in 2021 and has continued to infect both wild and domestic bird populations globally.
Spread to other animals has occurred occasionally as the virus has crossed into various mammalian populations, including foxes, seals, sea lions, and humans, according to the CDC.
While the spread to mammals is a concern and can be fatal, past cases have shown that avian influenza typically stops spreading when it reaches mammalian populations, particularly humans.
However, in October 2022, a significant shift occurred when the virus spread from mink to mink at a mink farm in Spain, deviating from the usual transmission from birds to mammals. The USDA has confirmed that cows have been infected for the first time, and cow-to-cow transmission has contributed to the recent spread of avian influenza in dairy farms.
There is still uncertainty about how the disease spreads through cattle populations, with reports suggesting that the virus may be transmitted through milk due to high concentrations of the virus being shed in milk.
Is it safe to drink milk?
Most dairy products are pasteurized, which effectively eliminates the virus, making milk consumption safe for the majority of individuals. Drinking unpasteurized milk poses some risk, but experts suggest that even unpasteurized milk may be safe if not consumed immediately after milking.
Experts recommend avoiding unpasteurized milk after high concentrations of the avian influenza virus are detected. – Image credit: Getty
The presence of the virus in milk raises questions about its transmission and impact on human health, as the virus is typically a respiratory disease.
How worried should I be?
The situation is under close monitoring by authorities, with several states implementing restrictions on dairy cow imports from affected regions. Scientists are analyzing virus sequences to identify genetic changes that could impact transmission and treatment effectiveness.
Concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of biosecurity measures on farms in controlling the spread of the virus. Experts emphasize the need for increased vigilance and monitoring to prevent further transmission.
Could H5N1 cause the next pandemic?
While there is uncertainty about the future, a widespread pandemic remains unlikely at this point. Authorities are prepared with stockpiles of vaccines and antiviral drugs effective against potential influenza strains.
There are two existing vaccine candidates against H5N1 available to manufacturers, along with several FDA-approved antiviral drugs. The focus remains on combating bird flu and preparing for any potential future outbreaks.
Experts continue to monitor the situation closely and emphasize the importance of staying informed and prepared for any developments.
About our experts
Jeremy Rothman is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Virology at the University of Kent. His research focuses on infectious diseases’ pathogenesis and has been published in various scientific journals.
Matthew Hayek is an assistant professor at New York University, specializing in the impact of food production on climate change, ecological processes, and the spread of zoonotic diseases.
Humanity has always dreamed of traveling beyond our solar system to the stars, but the vastness of the universe has kept us grounded. Our closest star, Proxima Centauri, is a staggering 4.24 light years away, which is too far for us to wait patiently.
Recently, on April 23, NASA launched the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System from New Zealand, a system that uses lightweight sails to propel spacecraft instead of traditional rockets. This development has excited both experts and science fiction fans, as it opens up possibilities for long-distance space travel.
How solar sail works
Instead of using thrusters and fuel like traditional spacecraft, solar sail systems use reflective sails to absorb momentum from photons emitted by the sun. This technology enables spacecraft to gain acceleration without the limitations of fuel. In space, where there is no air resistance, a slight push from the sun is all that’s needed for propulsion.
Solar sails operate similar to sailing ships, utilizing the momentum of photons for movement. By harnessing the sun’s energy, spacecraft can travel far distances at manageable speeds.
How fast can an interstellar probe travel with a solar sail?
The speed of a solar sail system depends on factors like the size of the sail, spacecraft mass, and distance from the sun. With creative maneuvers like slingshot maneuvers and potential laser boosts, spacecraft using solar sails can achieve speeds close to 20% of the speed of light.
Future solar sail systems could reach speeds up to 20 percent of the speed of light. – Image credit: NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart
Will humanity ever be able to sail to another planet?
Potentially, solar sail technology could pave the way for human interstellar travel in the future. However, there are challenges, such as sustaining long-term missions for generations and addressing relativistic effects caused by near-light speed travel.
What exactly is NASA's solar sail mission?
NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is a demonstration of solar sail technology that aims to test a new lightweight boom made of flexible materials. The mission involves a CubeSat deploying an 80 square meter sail in orbit to gather data for future solar sail missions.
About our experts
patrick johnson is an associate professor at Georgetown University with expertise in quantum mechanics. He authored the book “Star Wars Physics” and has contributed to scientific journals like Physical Review.
Using sensitive instruments aboard ESA’s International Gamma-ray Astrophysics Laboratory (Integral) mission, astronomers GRB231115A Taken from the center of Messier 82 (M82, NGC 3034, or the Cigar Galaxy). Messier 82 (M82, NGC 3034, or Cigar Galaxy) is a starburst irregular galaxy located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. They say the spectral and timing characteristics of GRB 231115A, as well as the lack of X-ray and optical observations and gravitational wave signals several hours after the event, indicate that this outburst was the result of a giant flare from a magnetar. Suggests. They conclude that starburst galaxies like Messier 82, which are known to produce magnetars, could be promising targets for studying giant flares.
On November 15, 2023, Integral detected a burst of gamma rays that lasted just one-tenth of a second. The detection was sent to the Integral Science Data Center, where software determined it came from the nearby galaxy Messier 82. A small square on Integral's map indicates the location of the burst. Blue circles on the two cropped images indicate corresponding locations. Image credit: ESA / Integral / XMM-Newton / INAF / TNG / M. Rigoselli, INAF.
Giant flares are short explosive events that release very large amounts of energy as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs).
Only three such flares have been observed from magnetars in our Milky Way galaxy and the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud in the past roughly 50 years.
Observations of giant flares from distant magnetars are hampered by the fact that at long distances it is difficult to identify the source of the energy burst.
“Some young neutron stars have very strong magnetic fields, more than 10,000 times stronger than a typical neutron star. These are called magnetars. They emit energy as flares, and sometimes these flares can be huge,” said ESA astronomer Dr. Ashley Climes.
“However, in the past 50 years of gamma-ray observations, huge flares from our galaxy's magnetars have only been observed three times.”
“These explosions are extremely powerful. The explosion detected in December 2004 came from 30,000 light-years away from us, but was still powerful enough to affect the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere. It's like a solar flare coming from much closer to us.
“The flare detected by Integral is the first confirmation of the existence of a magnetar outside the Milky Way,” said Dr. Sandro Meleghetti, an astronomer at the National Institute of Astrophysics.
“We suspect that some of the other 'short gamma-ray bursts' revealed by Integral and other satellites are also giant flares from magnetars.”
“This discovery will begin the search for other extragalactic magnetars. If we can find more stars, we will be able to understand how often these flares occur and how the stars lose energy in the process. We can begin to understand that,” Dr. Cromes said.
“However, such short-lived explosions can only be caught by chance if the observatory is already pointing in the right direction,” said Dr. Jan-Uwe Ness, a scientist at the Integral project.
“This makes Integral, with its wide field of view more than 3,000 times the area of the sky covered by the Moon, extremely important for these detections.”
“Messier 82 is a bright galaxy in which star formation occurs,” the authors said.
“In these regions, massive stars are born, live short, turbulent lives, and leave behind neutron stars.”
“The discovery of magnetars in this region confirms that magnetars are likely young neutron stars.”
“The search for additional magnetars will continue in other star-forming regions to understand these extraordinary objects.”
of findings It was published in the magazine Nature.
_____
S. Meleghetti other. A giant magnetar flare in the nearby starburst galaxy M82. Nature, published online March 7, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07285-4
Recovering ancient records of the Earth's magnetic field is difficult because the magnetization of rocks is often reset by heating during burial due to tectonic movements over a long and complex geological history. Geoscientists from MIT and elsewhere have shown that rocks in West Greenland's Isua supercrustal zone have experienced three thermal events throughout their geological history. The first event was the most important, heating rocks to 550 degrees Celsius about 3.7 billion years ago. His two subsequent phenomena did not heat the region's northernmost rocks above 380 degrees Celsius. The authors use multiple lines of evidence to test this claim, including paleomagnetic field tests, metamorphic mineral assemblages across the region, and temperatures at which the radiometric ages of observed mineral assemblages are reset. They use this body of evidence to argue that an ancient record of Earth's magnetic field from 3.7 billion years ago may be preserved in the striated iron layer at the northernmost edge of the magnetic field. .
Earth's magnetic field lines. Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
In a new study, Professor Claire Nicholls from the University of Oxford and colleagues examined a range of ancient iron-bearing rocks from Isua, Greenland.
Once locked in place during the crystallization process, iron particles effectively act as tiny magnets that can record both the strength and direction of a magnetic field.
Researchers found that 3.7 billion-year-old rocks exhibited magnetic field strengths of at least 15 microteslas, comparable to modern magnetic fields (30 microteslas).
These results provide the oldest estimates of the strength of Earth's magnetic field derived from whole rock samples, providing a more accurate and reliable estimate than previous studies using individual crystals.
“It's very difficult to extract reliable records from rocks this old, so it was really exciting to see the primary magnetic signals start to emerge when we analyzed these samples in the lab,” Professor Nichols said. said.
“This is a very important step forward in our efforts to understand the role of ancient magnetic fields in the creation of life on Earth.”
Although the strength of the magnetic field appears to remain relatively constant, the solar wind is known to have been significantly stronger in the past.
This suggests that surface protection from the solar wind may have strengthened over time, thereby allowing life to leave the protection of the oceans and migrate to the continents.
The Earth's magnetic field is created by the mixing of molten iron within a fluid outer core, driven by buoyancy as the inner core solidifies, forming a dynamo.
During the early stages of Earth's formation, a solid inner core had not yet formed, leaving unanswered questions about how the initial magnetic field was maintained.
These new results suggest that the mechanisms driving Earth's early dynamo were as efficient as the solidification processes that generate Earth's magnetic field today.
Understanding how the strength of Earth's magnetic field has changed over time is also key to determining when Earth's interior solid core began to form.
This helps us understand how fast heat is escaping from the Earth's deep interior, which is key to understanding processes such as plate tectonics.
A key challenge in reconstructing Earth's magnetic field back in time is that any event that heats rocks can change the preserved signal.
Rocks in the Earth's crust often have long and complex geological histories that erase information about previous magnetic fields.
However, the Isua supercrustal zone has a unique geology, sitting on a thick continental crust and protected from extensive tectonic movements and deformation.
This allowed scientists to build clear evidence for the existence of magnetic fields 3.7 billion years ago.
The results may also provide new insights into the role of magnetic fields in shaping the development of Earth's atmosphere as we know it, particularly regarding the release of gases into the atmosphere.
“In the future, we hope to expand our knowledge of Earth's magnetic field before oxygen increased in the Earth's atmosphere about 2.5 billion years ago by examining other ancient rock sequences in Canada, Australia, and South Africa. “We believe that this is the case,” the authors said.
“A better understanding of the strength and variability of ancient Earth's magnetic field will help determine whether the planet's magnetic field was important for harboring life on the planet's surface and its role in the evolution of the atmosphere. Masu.”
of study Published in Geophysical Research Journal.
_____
Claire IO Nichols other. 2024. Possible Archean record of geomagnetism preserved in the Isua supercrustal zone of southwestern Greenland. Geophysical Research Journal 129 (4): e2023JB027706; doi: 10.1029/2023JB027706
WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency issued a rule on Thursday that will require coal-fired power plants to capture smokestack emissions or shut down. This new regulation aims to limit greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants, which are a major contributor to global warming. It is part of President Joe Biden’s pledge to eliminate carbon pollution from the power sector by 2035 and the entire economy by 2050.
The rule includes measures to reduce toxic wastewater pollutants from coal-fired power plants and safely manage coal ash in unlined retention ponds. EPA Administrator Michael Regan stated that the rule will reduce pollution, protect communities, and improve public health while ensuring a reliable electricity supply for the nation.
Industry groups and Republican-leaning states are expected to challenge the rule, citing concerns about the reliability of the power grid. However, environmental groups have praised the EPA’s actions as crucial in combating climate change and protecting public health.
The rule sets standards for existing coal-fired power plants to control carbon emissions, with future plants required to capture up to 90% of their carbon pollution. Coal-fired power plants must reduce or capture 90% of their carbon emissions by 2032 to continue operating beyond 2039. Plants scheduled to be retired by 2039 will also face stricter standards.
The EPA rule does not mandate carbon capture and storage technology but sets a cap on carbon pollution that power plant operators must adhere to. The regulation also addresses toxic wastewater pollution from coal-fired power plants and the safe management of coal ash, a hazardous byproduct of coal combustion.
Overall, the EPA’s new rule represents a significant step in reducing carbon pollution, protecting public health, and moving towards a cleaner energy future for the United States.
“Get ready!” This immortal motto of the Scout movement will come to the mind of many readers who read the paper “Dynamics of bloodstain patterns in microgravity environment: Pilot study observations on the next frontier of forensic medicine.”
Reader Sarah Rosenbaum flagged feedback on the study’s first clearly stated purpose: “Investigating the ultimate violent criminal acts that occur outside of the global environment.”
This is the most futuristic forensic science. “It’s almost here.” The most effective approach is joint criminal investigation between the United Kingdom and the United States. The researchers are from Staffordshire University and Hull University in the UK, and the University of Louisville in Kentucky and Roswell Police in Georgia in the US.
“We hypothesize that the calculated impact angles would be more accurate if gravity were removed as a force acting on the blood droplet in flight,” they write.
They performed tests, or rather flew, aboard a parabolic flight research airplane that took off and landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. (Fort Lauderdale, like many cities in Florida, is no stranger to blood splatter. We see a steady increase in the number of violent crimes According to statistics reported by the local police department’s crime analysis department, it will occur between 2020 and 2023.)
In the experiment, “a 1 cc syringe containing a blood analogue was used to inject the liquid onto a flight path approximately 20 cm long, which was intercepted by a 16.5 cm x 16.5 cm target.” [made of] Fifty pound paper adhered to foam board backing.
The study found that droplets that hit paper at a 90-degree angle behaved as predicted by the traditional forensic blood droplet equation. But while this is a blood-stirring challenge for forensic scientists and true crime enthusiasts alike, someone needs to come up with a better equation for predicting what will happen from the other angle.
Thinking: Inside the box
Seeing sometimes leads to believing. Feeling, hearing, and reasoning are equally powerful when combined.
Shorey Croom, Hanbei Chow, and Chaz Firestone of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, explain this in the magazine. PNAS How did they try to answer the question “?” “Can you tell what another person is trying to learn just by observing their movements?”
They filmed a volunteer shaking an opaque box and attempting to measure i) the number of objects hidden inside, or ii) the shape of the objects inside. He then asked others to watch the video and tried to determine “who is shaking because of the numbers and who is shaking because of the shapes.” Most observers were pretty good at recognizing who was shaking and why.
Back in 2017, Milte Plesier of Delft University in the Netherlands and Jeroen Smeets of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam spoke to attendees of the IEEE World Haptics Conference in Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany, about a project they called “How many objects are in this box?”
Their method was simple. “We investigated how accurately participants could determine the number of wooden balls inside a box by shaking it.” They found that while they were able to perform the task accurately, they systematically underestimated the number of more spheres. The larger numbers they tested were 4 and 5. The situation with larger quantities remains theoretically unknown.
stick to fruit
Many scientists will not be able to determine whether the metal sticks to the fruit.
Generally speaking, if properly persuaded, they will. News about this can be found at “Reversibly attaching metals and graphite to hydrogels and tissues” by Wenhao Xu, Faraz Burni, and Srinivasa Raghavan of the University of Maryland.
writing in diary ACS Central Science “We have discovered that hard conductors (such as metals and graphite) can be bonded to soft aqueous materials (such as hydrogels, fruit, and animal tissue) without the use of adhesives.” The adhesion is caused by a low direct current electric field… [This] It can also be achieved underwater, where normal adhesives cannot be used.
“The experiment is very simple,” the study says, anticipating that many people would be surprised by such a simple, hitherto essentially unknown effect.
Accidental genital glow
Faraz Alam sent us the results of his research with colleagues at Imperial College London, published in the journal 2013. PLoS One “This is the paper on which I accidentally made my genitals glow in the dark.” The title is “Non-invasive monitoring of Streptococcus pyogenes vaccine efficacy using intravital optical imaging”. Those reproductive organs belonged to mice.
This spurred feedback that reminded me of a paper on humans published in 1950 by P. A. MacDonald and M. Sidney Margolese. Obstetrics and gynecology questionnaire. They called it “Luminous phenomenon of female external genitalia”.
These are both examples of how scientists perceive the wonders of biology.
Mark Abrahams hosted the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony and co-founded the magazine Annals of Improbable Research. Previously, he was working on unusual uses of computers.his website is impossible.com.
Have a story for feedback?
You can email your article to Feedback at feedback@newscientist.com. Please enter your home address. This week's and past feedback can be found on our website.
Mouse brain hippocampus (red) containing some rat cells
M. Kadish Imtiaz/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CC BY-NC-ND)
Rat cells grown in the brains of mice without a sense of smell have enabled them to acquire the sense of smell. This is the first time that one species has experienced the world through the sensory neurons of another species.
When cells of one species multiply within the body of another species, the resulting organism is known as an interspecies chimera. These have previously been used to study specific tissues, such as mice containing cells of the human immune system, to study disease responses. However, creating chimeras of other tissues, such as neural tissue, is more complex.
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center previously bred mice with parts of rat brains transplanted into them. Now, another team of researchers has shown that this cross-species chimerism may confer the ability to smell in mice genetically modified to lack scent-sensing neurons.
christine baldwin The researchers at Columbia University in New York injected these engineered mouse embryos with rat stem cells. Once the embryos became adult mice, the researchers monitored neuronal activity. The researchers discovered that these animals have functional neural pathways for sensing odors, made up of both rat and mouse cells that can communicate directly with each other.
When researchers tested these mice's sense of smell by searching for hidden mini Oreo cookies, they found that the mice that received stem cell injections found the food more easily, as opposed to the same genetically modified mice. It turned out that it was possible. It wasn't a chimera.
“This is a huge opportunity for human health, allowing us to better understand how to create cell replacement therapies for humans,” Baldwin said. “We can also create models in mice and rats for diseases that affect long-lived organisms.”
The fact that rat cells were able to facilitate food exploration in mice, which normally don't have a sense of smell, is very impressive, he says. walter lowe at the University of Minnesota. “Now, it is not yet clear whether something similar to this can occur in even different species, but at least [this study] Shows what's happening in two relatively close species [in evolutionary terms]” he says.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has announced the winners of this year’s Scientific Image Competition, which celebrates the hidden beauty of scientific research.
The contest is divided into four categories: “Subjects of Research,” “Locations and Equipment,” “Women and Men Scientists,” and “Video Loops.”
The winning entries include an image of the transparent abdomen of a glass frog taken by Francesca Angiolani-Larrea, a doctoral student at the University of Bern, who won first place in the “Research Subject” category.
Check out the winners and standout images from this year’s contest.
Distinguishing between locations and instrument categories – organized chaos
This operating room image was taken before pig surgery began. The purpose of this surgery was to evaluate the in vivo performance of a new vascular graft for aortic replacement. This treatment has the potential to improve patients’ life expectancy and quality of life after intervention. Photo credit: Georgios Lovas
Distinguishing research target categories – maize root microbiome
This image visualizes the corn root microbiome (the collection of microorganisms that live in or on the roots) and how they process the plant’s secondary metabolites. Photo credit: Lisa Tennen
Winners in the Research Subject Category – In Search of a Good Father
This image shows Hyalinobtrachium valerioi, a type of glass frog with a transparent stomach. Although child rearing in the animal kingdom has traditionally been seen as the job of the mother, it takes on a more diverse form in amphibians. This species is a good example. The female’s role is to select the best mate and lay eggs. Males stay close to their children and take care of them. Sometimes they hold up to seven animals at once. Photo credit: Francesca Angiolani-Larrea
Differentiating between video loop categories – Smapshot
“Smapshot” is a crowdsourcing project that allows citizens to localize historical photos using a virtual globe. Participants can georeference the image by clicking on points that appear within the image and on the virtual globe. Georeferenced images are of interest to researchers and the general public because they help visualize phenomena such as climate change and urbanization. Video stills by Jens Ingensand
Video Loop Categories Distinction – Tumor Cells…
A still image from a video showing how tumor cells extracted from patient tissue grow within a three-dimensional matrix. Video stills by Michele Gallioni
Male and female science winners – more than just wearing lab coats
In this photo, a veterinarian is auscultating a mini pig’s heart to make sure it’s healthy. Photo credit: Mariafrancesca Petrucci
Winner of the Video Loop Category – Wingtip vortex…
This shows the flow pattern in a wind tunnel test section that occurs downstream of an aircraft arched wing located near a solid surface. In classic flight conditions, high above the ground, a single vortex develops at the wing tip. In this case, a complex spiral system is seen. Video stills by Cyprien de Sepibus
Distinguishing research subject categories – Cerebrospinal fluid…
This supercomputing simulation shows how cerebrospinal fluid flows around the optic nerve. Cerebrospinal fluid flows from the brain to the optic nerve, nourishing it and removing toxic metabolites. Photos by Diego Rossinelli, Jatta Berberat, Jill Forsti
Location and Equipment Winner – Bees and Chips
This photo shows a close-up of a robotic device inhabited by bees, developed within the Mobile Robot Systems Group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). Trials were being carried out in Austria in collaboration with biologists from the University of Graz as part of the EU-funded Hiveopolis project. Photo credit: Raphael Balmak
Scientists Women and Men by Category – Wheat Harvest
Hundreds of research wheat fields must be threshed to study crop growth using sensors and high-tech equipment. This includes manual labor such as bagging and collecting seed samples for drying and further processing. Photo credit: Andreas Hund
Distinguishing between locations and equipment categories – UV reactors…
The photo shows the UV reactor used for photopolymerization. Photopolymerization is a process in which light induces the chemical assembly of short monomer molecules to form long polymer chains. The reactor is built with a 5-meter strip containing 300 LEDs wrapped inside an aluminum cylinder. Photo credit: Deborah Toney
Distinguishing women from men in science – the big stakes in the history of medicine
This photo was taken at the historic library and museum of the Saint-Louis Hospital in Paris, France. It has a collection of books on the history of medicine and dermatology, many of which are out of print and extremely rare. Photo by Alexandre Wenger and Radu Suciu
Video loop category differentiation – tumor growth simulation
This computer simulation shows how a malignant tumor grows from a single cell to a million cells. Each cell is colored according to its relative age, from red (young) to blue (old). Video stills by Roman Vetter
Classification of research subject categories – My voice in the video…
My Voice in Images is a photo-based participatory research method that gives children and young people the opportunity to express their views on social issues and public policies that interest them. The children who created this photo emphasized the need for a solid roof over their heads. Photo by Sylvia Garcia Delahaye and Lavinia Johnson.
Distinguishing between locations and instrument categories – Wandering eye
An ophthalmic microsurgeon practices surgical techniques for artificial eyes. The development of educational materials aims to create realistic conditions for surgical training workshops before it is possible to safely operate on live patients. Photo credit: Julien Boussette
Distinguishing research object categories – thin layer chromatography plates…
Thin layer chromatography plates in fluorescent dye synthesis. Chromatography is a technique for spatially separating the components of a mixture. This example image was generated during the purification of a complex fluorochrome, or fluorescent compound. Photo credit: Salome Puntenar
The night sky is a treasure trove of celestial wonders, and sometimes incredible events happen when no one is watching. Astronomers were thrilled when a satellite captured a rare explosion in space by chance, pointing in the right direction at the right time.
A massive eruption illuminated the galaxy known as M82, which is situated 12 million light-years away from Earth. Initially thought to be caused by a collision between two neutron stars, astronomers discovered that the explosion was actually the result of a superpowerful neutron star emitting an intense gamma-ray burst.
Neutron stars are the remnants of massive stars that exploded as supernovae, forming compact spheres with strong magnetic fields instead of collapsing into black holes.
The observed neutron star was identified as a magnetar due to its extremely powerful magnetic field, more than 10,000 times stronger than a typical neutron star. Magnetars are known to have the strongest magnetic fields in the universe and release energy through massive flares.
In November 2023, ESA’s INTEGRAL satellite accidentally detected an extragalactic flare which lasted only 10 seconds, triggering a gamma-ray burst alert that quickly reached astronomers worldwide.
Dr. Sandro Meleghetti, the lead author of the study published in the journal Nature, emphasized the significance of the burst coming from a nearby bright galaxy, and the subsequent observations failed to detect any visible light, X-ray, or gravitational wave signals.
This event confirmed the first magnetar flare outside the Milky Way, shedding light on the mysterious phenomena associated with these incredibly magnetic neutron stars.
Only three giant flares from galactic magnetars have been confirmed by scientists in the past 50 years, with the 2004 event being so powerful that it impacted Earth’s upper atmosphere akin to solar flares.
America is often described as the land of the free and the home of the brave. However, some parts of the country grapple with issues surrounding violent crime.
According to data from the FBI, dangerous cities are ranked based on the number of serious felonies reported per 100,000 people in a year. These felonies include murder, manslaughter, assault, and robbery.
Recent data indicates a general decline in violent crime across the United States. Technological advancements, such as real-time crime maps and gun detection software, are being utilized to enhance safety in urban areas. However, here are some of America’s most dangerous cities.
10. Indianapolis, Indiana
An aerial view of the downtown area of Indianapolis looking east-northeast. The Indiana State Capitol is visible in the foreground.Photo credit: TpsDave/Wikipedia
Indianapolis, known for hosting the Indy 500, boasts museums and green spaces. However, the city also struggles with a high incidence of violent crime, with 1,333.96 violent crimes per 100,000 people reported in 2019.
Efforts to lower violent crime rates include initiatives like the Indiana Crime Gun Task Force, which aims to combat the flow of firearms into the city.
9. Albuquerque, New Mexico
Monsoon season in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. This is the view from the Sandia Mountains of the Embud His Canyon Trailhead.Photo by Mona Makela/Getty Images
Albuquerque, known for its culture and history, faces a violent crime rate of 1,369.14 felonies per 100,000 people, placing it as the 9th most dangerous city. The number of crimes continued to rise from 2019 to 2023.
To address the high crime rate, funding has been increased for local law enforcement agencies to implement technology like video surveillance, live mapping, acoustic monitoring, and gunshot recognition technology.
8. Stockton, California
Stockton has one of the highest crime rates in California.Photo by Luis Cinco/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Stockton, a port city, with a relatively small population, faces a high violent crime rate of 1,414.56 felonies per 100,000 people, ranking it as the 8th most dangerous city.
The city declared bankruptcy in 2012, mainly due to real estate value decline and high unemployment rates from the 2008 financial crisis. Efforts to combat crime include additional taxes for police enforcement and anti-gang programs.
7. Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland waterfront on the Cuyahoga River, USA. Photo by Kenneth Sponsler/Getty Images
Cleveland, located on Lake Erie, is known for its port, heavy industry, and advancements in the medical field. Unfortunately, the city faces a violent crime rate of 1,556.76 crimes per 100,000 people.
While crime had been decreasing, there was a significant rise in crime rates in 2020 and 2021, attributed to increased poverty rates and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local police forces.
6. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
A police car drives down Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. Photo credit: Vincent Desjardins/Wikipedia
Milwaukee, famed for its beer and cheese, suffers from a declining population and a violent crime rate of 1,597.36 felonies per 100,000 people.
The city aims to attract residents back through new investments and building developments.
5. Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City skyline. Photo by Tony Dezenzio/Getty Images
Kansas City, famous for its barbecue and jazz, faces a rising crime rate with 1,724.31 violent crimes per 100,000 people recorded in 2019.
To combat crime, the Kansas City Police Department collaborates with community organizations to implement citywide strategies, addressing poverty, mental health, and violence prevention.
4. Memphis, Tennessee
A Memphis police car is parked on Beale Street in Memphis, USA. Photo courtesy of Zodebala/Getty Images
Memphis, known for blues and rock music, struggles with a high violent crime rate, recording nearly 400 murders in 2023.
Efforts to combat crime include federal funding and the Violent Crime Initiative, aiming to revitalize the city and improve safety.
3. Baltimore, Maryland
Contrast between residential and industrial areas on President Street in Baltimore, USA. You can see the downtown skyline in the distance. Photo credit: Alex Potemkin/Getty Images
Baltimore, a vital port city, faces a high violent crime rate of 2,027.01 felonies per 100,000 people.
New strategies implemented in 2021, treating violent crime as a public health issue, have significantly reduced crime rates and offer a promising future for residents.
2. Detroit, Michigan
An abandoned building on Franklin Street in downtown Detroit, USA.Photo by Ayman Heikal/Getty Images
Detroit, once thriving with industrial history, faces a violent crime rate of 2,056.67 crimes per 100,000 people due to population decline and economic challenges.
Recent improvements in wages, poverty levels, and crime rates are leading to a potential resurgence in Detroit.
1. St. Louis, Missouri
Goodfellow Boulevard (shown in this image) forms the boundary of what is known as “Hayden's Rectangle.” This is a rectangular piece of land in the northern part of the city, an area of high crime and poverty.Photo by Jahi Chikwendu/Washington Post/Getty Images
St. Louis is the most dangerous city, with 2,082.29 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2019, attributed to high poverty and racial disparities.
Efforts to combat crime include new camera technology to help reduce crime rates and create a safer environment for residents.
Cocoa swollen bud virus disease It is one of the most economically damaging cocoa tree diseases, accounting for almost 15-50% of crop losses in Ghana. This virus is transmitted when several species of mealybugs feed on cocoa plants.
A cacao tree with cacao fruit attached directly to the trunk or branches.Image credit: Gamera other., doi: 10.1094/PDIS-10-22-2412-FE.
Cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD) first observed Infected by farmers in the eastern region of Ghana in 1936, the nature of the virus was identified in 1939.
CSSVD is considered the most economically damaging cocoa virus disease and can cause yield losses of 15-50% when severe strains are involved in infection.
Cocoa swollen shoot virus (CSSV) is classified as a member of the plant-infecting pararetroviruses of the genus Cocoa swollen shoot virus. badnavirus It contains nonenveloped rod-like particles that encapsulate a circular double-stranded DNA genome.
Previously, isolates and strains were grouped according to severity of symptom onset and geographic origin.
CSSVD is currently known to be caused by the following causes: complex of badnavirus seed Based on molecular structure.
CSSV affects all parts of the cocoa plant. Symptoms seen on leaves include red vein stripes on immature “flush” leaves, green-green vein spots or stripes that can occur in angular spots, removal of green-green veins, and various shapes Includes mosaic symptoms.
The virus causes swelling of the stem (nodes, internodes, tips) and roots.
In some strains, the infected pods change shape, becoming rounder and smaller and with a smoother surface.
“This virus is a real threat to the world's chocolate supply,” said Professor Benito Chen Charpentier, a researcher at the University of Texas at Arlington.
“Pesticides are ineffective against mealybugs, so farmers try to prevent the spread of the disease by cutting down infected trees or breeding resistant trees. However, Ghana has lost more than 254 million cocoa trees in recent years.
Farmers can combat mealybugs by vaccinating trees with CSSV. But vaccines are expensive, especially for low-wage farmers, and vaccinated trees produce less cocoa, making the damage caused by the virus even worse.
Electron micrograph of swollen shoot virus particles in purified cocoa. Scale bar – 200 nm.Image credit: Gamera other., doi: 10.1094/PDIS-10-22-2412-FE.
Professor Chen Charpentier and colleagues have developed a new strategy. Use mathematical data to determine how far apart farmers can plant vaccinated trees to prevent mealybugs from jumping from one tree to another and spreading the virus That's what it is.
“Mealybugs have several ways of getting around, including moving from canopy to canopy, being carried by ants, and being blown by the wind,” Professor Chen Charpentier said.
“What we needed to do was create a model for cocoa farmers to vaccinate unvaccinated trees to prevent the spread of the virus while making costs more manageable for smallholders. The goal was to be able to know how far away a tree could be safely planted.”
By experimenting with mathematical patterning techniques, the authors create two different types of models that allow farmers to create a protective layer of vaccinated cocoa trees around unvaccinated trees. Did.
“Although still experimental, these models are exciting because they can help farmers protect their crops while achieving better yields,” said Professor Chen Charpentier.
“It’s good for farmers’ bottom lines and it’s good for the world’s chocolate addiction.”
a paper The findings were published online in the journal PLoS ONE.
_____
FB Agusto other. 2024. Cocoa Sustainability: The Case of Cocoa Swollen Bud Virus Co-infection. PLoS ONE 19 (3): e0294579; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294579
Messier 76also known as M76, NGC 650/651, or the Little Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula located approximately 3,400 light-years away in the northern constellation of Perseus.
This Hubble image shows Messier 76, a planetary nebula about 3,400 light-years away in the constellation Perseus. Image credit: NASA/ESA/STScI.
Since its launch in 1990, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has made 1.6 million observations of more than 53,000 celestial objects.
To date, the Space Telescope Science Institute's Mikulski Space Telescope Archive contains 184 terabytes of processed data.
Since 1990, 44,000 scientific papers have been published from Hubble observations.
Hubble is the most scientifically productive space astrophysics mission in NASA history.
Demand for the use of Hubble is so high that it is currently oversubscribed by a factor of 6 to 1.
Most of Hubble's discoveries, such as supermassive black holes, exoplanet atmospheres, gravitational lensing by dark matter, the presence of dark energy, and the abundance of interstellar planet formation, were not anticipated before launch.
To commemorate the 34th anniversary of Hubble's launch, astronomers took a snapshot of the planetary nebula Messier 76.
“Messier 76 is located approximately 3,400 light-years away in the northern constellation of Perseus,” Hubble astronomers said.
“It is classified as a planetary nebula, an expanding shell of glowing gas ejected from a dying red giant star. The star will eventually collapse into a super-dense, hot white dwarf.”
“Although planetary nebulae are not related to planets, they got their name because astronomers in the 1700s using low-power telescopes thought these types of objects resembled planets.”
“Messier 76 consists of a ring that is visible head-on as a central bar structure and two lobes located at openings on either side of the ring. Before burning out, the star ejected a ring of gas and dust. ”
“This ring was probably formed by the influence of a star that once had a binary companion.”
“This sloughed off material formed a thick disk of dust and gas along the orbital plane of the companion star.”
“The hypothetical companion star is not seen in the Hubble image, so it may have been later swallowed by the central star.”
“The host star has collapsed to form a white dwarf,” the researchers said.
“It is one of the hottest stellar remnants known, at a scorching 139,000 degrees Celsius (250,000 degrees Fahrenheit), 24 times the surface temperature of the Sun.”
“The blazing white dwarf is visible pinpointed in the center of the nebula. The stars visible projected beneath it are not part of the nebula.”
“Sandwiched by the disk, two clumps of hot gas escape from above and below the 'belt' along the star's axis of rotation perpendicular to the disk.”
“They are propelled by hurricane-like outflows of material from dying stars, tearing apart space at 2 million miles per hour.”
“That's fast enough to travel from Earth to the Moon in just over seven minutes.”
“This intense stellar wind is channeling cooler, slower-moving gas that was ejected during the star's early stages of life, when it was a red giant.”
“Intense ultraviolet radiation from superhot stars makes the gas glow. The red color is due to nitrogen, and the blue color is due to oxygen.”
“Given that our solar system is 4.6 billion years old, according to cosmological timekeeping, the entire nebula is a fleeting event. It will disappear in about 15,000 years.”
An extinct species of giant salmon called Oncorhynchus lastrosus They boasted a pair of front teeth that protruded like fangs from the sides of their mouths, according to new research.
Oncorhynchus lastrosus: (A) CT model of the holotype. (B) Holotype seen from the front of the skull, before complete preparation and CT scanning. (C) Artist-rendered male iconic fish skull with accurate spike-tooth configuration. (D) Artist's rendering of a complete female iconic fish with precise spike tooth configuration. Scale bar blocks – 1 cm each.Image credit: Clairson other., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300252.
Oncorhynchus lastrosus It lived along the Pacific coast of North America (California, Oregon, and Washington) about 11 million to 5 million years ago.
This extinct species was first described in the 1970s from fossils discovered in the freshwater Gateway locality of the Madras Formation near the town of Gateway, Jefferson County, Oregon.
The fish was 2.4 to 2.7 meters (7.9 to 8.9 feet) long and weighed, by some estimates, close to 177 kilograms (400 pounds), making it the largest known member of its family. Salmonidae To live forever.
This species migrated from the Pacific Ocean to inland rivers to spawn, much like salmon today. And it was placophagous based on its numerous gill rakes and few small teeth.
but Oncorhynchus lastrosus It had two upper teeth, 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) long.
Initially, paleontologists thought that these oversized teeth were oriented backwards in the mouth, like fangs, mainly because the tooth fossils were found separated from the rest of the skull. was. This led to the common name “saber-toothed tiger.”
However, through new CT scans and various analyses, Oncorhynchus lastrosus Using fossils collected over the years, Professor Kellyn Cresson of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and her colleagues were able to confirm that the fish's teeth did indeed point sideways out of its mouth, like a warthog.
“As a result, this species should be renamed 'spine-toothed salmon,'” the paleontologists said.
“It is unclear exactly what these teeth were used for, but it is likely that they were used for fighting other spiny-toothed salmon, for defense against natural predators, or as tools for digging nests. ”
“It is also possible that the teeth were used for multiple purposes,” the researchers added.
“However, the teeth were probably not used to capture prey. Oncorhynchus lastrosus It is believed that it was a filter feeder that fed on plankton. ”
“We've known for decades that these extinct salmon in Central Oregon were the largest of all time. Discoveries like ours mean they're probably more than just gentle giants. It shows that there was no such thing,” Professor Cresson said.
“The giant spines on the tips of their snouts would have helped them protect themselves from predators, compete with other salmon, and eventually build nests to incubate their eggs.”
“We are pleased to be able to give a new face to the giant spiny salmon and bring knowledge from the Oregon field to the world,” said University of Oregon researcher and director Dr. Edward Davis. Condon Collection, University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History.
“We also emphasize that females and males alike had huge fang-like teeth. So both sexes were equally terrifying,” said Professor Brian Sidlauskas, curator of fishes at Oregon State University. said.
team's result It was published in the magazine PLoS ONE.
_____
KM watercress other. 2024. From the saber to the spike: Reconstruction of an ancient giant sexually dimorphic Pacific salmon from a new angle. Oncorhynchus lastrosus (Salmonidae: Salmonini). PLoS ONE 19 (4): e0300252; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300252
In 1980, Disney World in Orlando, Florida, began developing a new method of generating electricity for its theme parks that would reduce the use of increasingly expensive oil. The solid waste-to-energy conversion plant took garbage, including plastics, and converted it into flammable gas using a method called pyrolysis. It opened in 1982 but closed a year later due to high operating costs.
Today, environmentalists cite the Disney story that shatters the reputation of a series of new technologies collectively known as advanced recycling, which takes plastic waste and turns it back into brand new plastic.
Their argument is dishonest. The failure of the Disney plant had more to do with the subsequent drop in oil prices than with any technical or environmental issues. Pyrolysis has improved significantly since the 1980s. In any case, Disney’s factory is designed to produce fuel, not classified as advanced recycling.
Advanced recycling is rapidly innovating with the potential to help solve the global plastics crisis, as reported in our feature “A surprising new technology that could recycle all plastics forever.” It has the potential to capture millions of tonnes of waste plastic and turn it back into a clean, fresh state by breaking it down into its molecular components. The goal is a circular economy that eliminates the need to make “virgin” plastic from oil.
It’s not a panacea. These factories produce toxic waste, have problems with their energy use, and perpetuate traditional plastics ahead of newer, greener alternatives. Campaigners are right to argue that it would be better to do away with plastic altogether. However, given practical considerations, they are not going away anytime soon, and most advanced recycling technologies are better for the environment than their alternatives.
There should be serious discussion about advanced recycling, especially whether it should be incorporated into future global treaties on plastic pollution. Make sure it’s based on fact and not a Disney story.
A diver injects vinegar into crown-of-thorns starfish as part of a culling program.
CSIRO
A culling program has successfully protected key areas of the Great Barrier Reef from voracious coral-eating starfish. Scientists who analyzed the results say efforts need to be scaled up to further protect coral reefs.
Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) are persistent predators of almost all types of coral within Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Each starfish reaches a diameter of 1 meter and eats 10 square meters of coral reef each year.
Starfish live on coral reefs, and it is believed that increased nutrient input into reef waters due to agriculture and other human factors is increasing their numbers and exacerbating coral destruction. Between 1985 and 2012, they accounted for 40 percent of coral losses in the region.
When starfish erupted across the reef from 2012 to 2022, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority conducted a massive culling program. A team of divers injects the starfish with a single shot of vinegar or cow bile, which kills the starfish and prevents it from releasing its larvae.
Roger Beeden The Park Service and colleagues found that in areas where timely removals were carried out, outbreaks were limited and coral cover recovered and increased by up to 44%. Where no culling occurred, coral losses were severe. The study also confirmed that by preventing outbreaks on strategically important coral reefs, the larvae do not spread to other reefs on ocean currents, reducing further outbreaks.
To date, the program has focused on 500 of the marine park’s 3,000 reefs scattered throughout the park, which have significant value to the tourism industry or are home to starfish. were chosen because they are known to be important for the spread of
“The results we found in this study are the result of using integrated pest management. [the starfish] Just like managing plague locusts and other pest species, it needs to be done at the right time and on the right reef,” says Beeden.
But researchers recommend expanding the program from the current fleet of five to seven ships to 10 to 15 ships. “At any given time, about a third to a half of his 500 cases are involved in the current outbreak,” Beeden said.
Terry Hughes Researchers at James Cook University in Townsville do not agree that culling programs are worthwhile. “It is becoming increasingly clear that attempts to protect Great Barrier Reef corals by culling crown-of-thorns starfish on a few reefs are just a drop in the ocean,” he says.
Mr Hughes said geographical differences in starfish numbers and coral abundance – which the study attributed to levels of culling in different parts of the Great Barrier Reef – could be explained by which areas had suffered from recent cyclones and coral mass destruction. Events they say could be explained by who is most affected by large-scale bleaching. Professor Beeden acknowledges that it is difficult to separate these factors from the effects of selection, but he says: “Our results are strengthened and are not confounded by the fact that the increase in coral cover in the Townsville region was achieved despite two large-scale bleaching events in 2020 and 2022. do not have” “
Instead, Hughes says the priority should be to tackle global warming, which is accelerating the frequency and intensity of coral bleaching. “Each time there is a bleaching event, the Australian government announces additional funding to eliminate starfish from some coral reefs, shifting the focus away from addressing the causes of these outbreaks and reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.” he says.
Triangular gold flakes can be manipulated using mysterious quantum forces
George Zograf
A tiny gold device for controlling light is built using strange quantum effects hidden in seemingly empty space.
In 1948, physicist Hendrik Casimir theorized that when objects are brought close together in space, some objects experience a very weak gravitational pull due to imperceptible flickering of quantum fields in the gaps between them. Ta. Researchers then confirmed this Casimir effect in the laboratory. Betul Kyucukoz and his colleagues at Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology have found a way to make this useful.
They wanted to build a cavity that would trap the light using two pieces of gold placed parallel to each other, so that the light would bounce back and forth between them and would not be able to escape. First, we created the bottom edge of the cavity by transferring triangular gold flakes ranging in size from 4 to 10 microns onto a small piece of glass. The top end of the cavity also contained a triangular gold flake, but instead of holding it in place with an instrument, the researchers attached it to the glass in a salt water solution containing an additional triangular gold flake. The gold flakes were then dipped in and then allowed to develop. Instead, work naturally.
One of those forces was the electrostatic force caused by the charge associated with the dissolved salt. Another is the Casimir effect. Kyuchkoz said he observed the experiment under the microscope many times and could always see the Casimir effect in action. This causes the floating gold flakes to move towards the gold flake where one is imprinted on the glass, and then he moves over the imprinted gold flake until the triangular footprints of the two flakes match. It was rotated.
This completes the assembly of a cavity that can trap light. The researchers were able to significantly control the cavity formation process, Kyucukoz said. For example, by using different concentrations of salt, we can adjust the strength of the electrostatic force so that the distance between the flakes is different for each cavity, creating cavities with slightly different dimensions of 100-200 nanometers. It can trap colored light.
Raul Esquivel Sirbento The professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico said the idea of self-assembly, likened to throwing a Lego set into a pot and a structure emerges without having to manually press the pieces together, is not new. But he said his team’s experiment was more detailed and controlled than previous attempts to exploit the Casimir effect for similar purposes. But the Casimir effect can be very subtle, so there may be other effects here as well that haven’t been detected yet, Esquivel Servent said.
In the future, Küçüköz and his colleagues hope to use the cavity as part of more complex experiments with light, such as placing objects inside the cavity between two gold flakes.
The SLIM lander continues to take photos of the moon's surface.
JAXA
Somehow, Japan's Smart Lunar Survey Lander (SLIM) survived three lunar nights. This is an amazing feat. The moon's nights are so cold that the spacecraft's batteries and electronics fail, so a lunar lander can typically survive one day on the moon, or about two weeks on Earth.
The lunar lander is built to withstand the moon's nighttime temperatures, which can drop to -133°C (-208°F). SLIM is no exception. There are no heaters or special insulation designed to keep the spacecraft's electronics warm.
The original plan was for the lunar night to mark the end of the lander's mission, so no one expected to wake up again when night fell less than two weeks after SLIM's January 19 landing. I wasn't expecting it. But on February 25, the sun rose over SLIM's resting place near the moon's south pole, lighting it up again.
Alarmed, the SLIM operations crew on Earth began instructing the lander to image and measure its surroundings until the next lunar night, when the mission would truly end. In late March, the sun rose again and the lander powered on and began transmitting data to Earth.
By all standards, the mission was a shocking success, even after a difficult landing left the spacecraft tilted. But yet another surprise awaited – three nights later on April 23, SLIM was revived again.
X's SLIM official account Posted“SLIM maintained its primary functionality even after a three-night stay, which was not envisioned at the time of its design.” New photos of the lunar surface accompanying that post show that the lander once again understands the moon. It also shows that they are working hard to collect data that will not only help them do this, but also help them create a spacecraft that can withstand moonlit nights.
Fusion reactions have overcome two important barriers to operating in the “sweet spot” needed for optimal power production: increasing plasma density and keeping a denser plasma confined. This milestone marks another stepping stone toward fusion power, although commercial reactors are likely still years away.
One of the main avenues being considered in efforts to achieve fusion power generation is the use of tokamak reactors. These have donut-shaped chambers in which plasma, hotter than the surface of the sun, is trapped by giant magnets.
It was thought that there was a point known as the Greenwald limit, beyond which the plasma could not become denser without escaping the influence of the magnets, potentially damaging the reactor. However, experiments have shown that the power of a tokamak reactor increases proportionally to the square of the fuel density, so increasing the density is important to increase the power.
now, Siye Din General Atomics in San Diego, California, and colleagues have shown that there is a way to increase plasma density and have shown that plasma density can be stabilized. DIII-D National Fusion Facility The tokamak reactor was operated for 2.2 seconds at an average density 20 percent above the Greenwald limit. This barrier has been crossed before with low stability and short duration, but this experiment was importantly also performed with a metric greater than 1, known as H98(y,2).
H98(y,2) states that it is a complex combination of measurements and values that indicate how well the plasma is confined in the magnet. gianluca sarri At Queen's University Belfast, a value of 1.0 or higher indicates normal plasma retention.
“He's starting to show some sort of stable behavior where he can consistently be in the sweet spot,” Sarri says. “This was done on a small machine. If we extrapolate these results to a larger machine…we would expect to find a situation where we can achieve gains and significant power production over a significant period of time.”
Sarri said the DIII-D experiment relied on a combination of approaches that are not new in themselves, but that their combination appears to have produced a promising approach. The researchers increased the power by increasing the density in the center of the donut-shaped plasma, while allowing the plasma to sink at the end closest to the containment vessel, avoid plasma leakage. They also injected deuterium gas into the plasma to calm the reaction in certain areas.
DIII-D's plasma chamber has an outer radius of just 1.6 meters, but it remains to be seen whether the same method will work for ITER, the next generation tokamak being built in France. ITER has a radius of 6.2 meters and is expected to be completed. It is planned to generate plasma by 2025 at the earliest.
“These plasmas are very complex,” Sarri says. “Small changes in circumstances lead to large changes in behavior. Experimentally, it was a trial-and-error kind of approach, trying out many different configurations and basically seeing which one worked best. It was all about It's about forcing the plasma to do something that is completely against its nature and that it doesn't actually want to do.”
Ding says the experiment bodes well for the future of fusion power generation. “Many reactor designs require high confinement and high density at the same time. Experimentally, this is the first time this has been achieved,” he says. “Next steps will be costly and research is currently moving in many directions. We hope this document will help focus efforts around the world.”
Sarri says this work is another step toward a practical fusion power plant, but no one should expect a commercial reactor to be completed within the next five or even 10 years.
The pink lapacho tree is one of approximately 300,000 species of flowering plants
Roberto Okamura Tetsuo/Shutterstock
Botanists have used genome data from more than 9,500 species to map evolutionary relationships among flowering plants. The newly compiled Tree of Life will help scientists piece together the origins of flowering plants and inform future conservation efforts.
Approximately 90 percent of plants that live on land are flowering and fruiting plants called angiosperms. These flowering plants are essential to maintaining Earth's ecosystems, including storing carbon and producing oxygen, and they make up a large portion of our diet.
“Our very existence depends on them,” he says. william baker At the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England. “That's why we need to really understand them.”
For the past eight years, Baker and his colleagues have been working to complete the Tree of Life, which describes the evolutionary relationships between all genera of plants and fungi.
Starting with flowering plants, the researchers designed molecular probes to search for 353 specific genes found in the nucleus of all angiosperms. “The nuclear genome is huge,” Baker says. “So we needed to focus on a specific set of genes.”
Researchers have so far sequenced the genes of 9,506 species of flowering plants, primarily using specimens from collections and public databases around the world. This represents nearly all known angiosperm families and approximately 8,000 of the 13,400 recorded genera.Some of the specimens collected in the analysis are more than 200 years old; Arenaria globifloraand many Guadalupe Island olives (Espererea Palmeri).
By comparing the similarities in the gene sequences of different flowering plants, researchers were able to figure out where they fit on the tree of life.
Baker says this is the most comprehensive survey of angiosperms to date. “We often liken it to the periodic table of elements,” he says. “It's the basic framework for life.”
angiosperm tree of life
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Angiosperms emerged about 140 million years ago and have rapidly flourished, overtaking flowerless gymnosperms to become the world's dominant plant species. The sudden appearance of the diversity of flowering plants in the fossil record has baffled scientists for the past few centuries, and Charles Darwin called it “a hideous mystery.”
Now, the Tree of Life confirms that about 80 percent of the major flowering plant lineages that still exist today were part of this early boom in angiosperm diversity. “We can't say we've solved this 'damn mystery,' but at least we can say it really does exist,” Baker said.
The tree of life also highlights a further surge in diversity that occurred around 40 million years ago, possibly caused by a drop in global temperatures at the time.
In the future, he says, the Tree of Life could also help in the search for plants with pharmaceutical properties for new drugs. Ilia Leech, another member of Cue's team. It also helps scientists identify new species and assess which species are most vulnerable to climate change.
“This is the latest and greatest evolutionary framework for conducting new research that approaches the mechanisms that have allowed flowering plants to take over the world,” he says. ryan falk at Mississippi State University.
This image of an Inca city on Mars was taken on February 27, 2024 by the high-resolution stereo camera on board ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.
“The Martian ‘spiders’ are not actual spiders, but form when spring sunlight falls on layers of carbon dioxide deposited during the dark winter,” said a member of the Mars Express team.
“Sunlight turns the carbon dioxide ice at the bottom of the layer into gas, which then accumulates and breaks through the ice sheet above.”
“During Mars’ spring, the gas explodes, dragging black material down to the surface as it progresses and shattering layers of ice up to a meter thick.”
“The resulting gas, laden with black dust, erupts through cracks in the ice in the form of tall fountains and geysers, before falling down and sinking to the surface.”
This creates a dark spot 45 m to 1 km (148 to 3,280 ft) in diameter.
This same process carves a distinctive “spider-shaped” pattern beneath the ice. Therefore, these black spots are evidence that a spider may be lurking underneath.
“Dark spots can be seen throughout the Mars Express image. But most of them can be seen as small specks in the dark region on the left, located just on the outskirts of a part of Mars called Inca City.” said the researchers.
“The reason for this name is no mystery: the network of linear, almost geometric ridges recalls Inca ruins.”
More formally known as Angustus Labyrinth. Inca City was discovered in 1972 by NASA’s Mariner 9 spacecraft.
“We still don’t know exactly how Inca cities formed. Sand dunes may have turned to stone over time,” the scientists said.
“Perhaps materials such as magma or sand are seeping through fractured sheets of Martian rock. Alternatively, the ridges could be ‘eskers,’ tortuous structures associated with glaciers.”
“The ‘walls’ of Inca cities appear to be part of a larger circle, 86 km (53.5 miles) in diameter.”
Scientists suspect that Inca City is located inside a large crater formed when rocks from space collided with the planet’s surface.
“This impact may have caused the fault to ripple in the surrounding plains, which was then filled with rising lava and then worn away over time,” the researchers said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is providing millions of dollars to help traditionally underserved coastal communities combat climate change. This funding includes a significant stretch of 12,000 square miles of land spanning from North Carolina to Florida, known as the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. Designated by Congress in 2006, this land increases the wealth of the Gullah-Geechee by allowing communities along the corridor to utilize federal funds for programs and projects and receive technical and financial assistance from the National Park Service, all in an effort to protect and preserve their history and culture.
In April 2023, NOAA also announced over $265 million in funding for 38 new projects aimed at strengthening the climate resilience of coastal ecosystems and communities. These projects include initiatives in South Carolina to accelerate living shoreline projects in underserved communities, as well as collaborations with the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor to create living shoreline projects in these communities. Additionally, the funding includes $6.2 million for programs supporting the Regional Ambassador Program for Coastlines.
NOAA-recommended projects involve hiring new staff to assist restoration organizations in building relationships with the Gullah-Geechee community, identifying resiliency priorities for community members, and establishing local relationships to support future restoration efforts. Moreover, $536,000 has been allocated to form an advisory committee.
A Gullah woman weaves a sweetgrass basket, circa 1930. H. Armstrong Roberts/Classic Stock/Getty Images
Tia Clark operates Casual Club with Tia in Charleston, South Carolina, focusing on catching blue crabs, a staple in Gullah-Geechee cuisine. She participates in a conservation effort to build oyster reefs and create habitat for marine life to thrive, as rising temperatures are endangering crab habitats. With blue crab populations at an all-time low in South Carolina in 2023, Clark emphasizes the need to protect these resources from further decline.
Clark collaborates with state agencies and local schools to educate students about the importance of preserving water resources for future generations, emphasizing the impacts of climate change on the environment and wildlife.
Numerous federal programs support the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, emphasizing the importance of combatting climate change to protect the land, water, and way of life cherished by those living along the corridor.
“We are dedicated to ensuring the survival and continuation of our traditions as native Gullah Geechee,” said Queen Couette. “We are committed to preserving our heritage for generations to come.”
Sulfur and chlorine isotopes in Io’s atmosphere indicate that Io has been volcanically active throughout the solar system’s 4.57 billion-year history.
This global map of Io was obtained in January 1999 by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.
Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system.
Io’s volcanic activity is the result of tidal heating due to friction that occurs within the moon’s interior as it is pulled between Jupiter and its neighboring moons Europa and Ganymede.
However, it is not fully understood how long this moon has hosted such extensive volcanic activity.
Due to the Moon’s current level of volcanic activity, Io’s surface is constantly being reworked, leaving only the most recent 1 million years of its geological record.
Stable isotope measurements of volatile elements in Io’s atmosphere could provide information about Io’s volcanic history.
“Io is a moon of Jupiter and is the most volcanically active body in the solar system,” says Dr. Ellie Hughes, a volcanic fluid geochemist at GNS Science.
“Io is in orbital resonance with Jupiter’s other two large moons, Europa and Ganymede.”
“For every time Ganymede orbits Jupiter once, Europa orbits twice and Io orbits four times.”
“This configuration causes Io’s orbit around Jupiter to be elliptical rather than circular, causing Jupiter’s gravity on Io to change periodically.”
“This change in gravity causes something called tidal heating on Io, just as the moon causes ocean tides on Earth, which causes volcanic activity.”
“However, it is unclear whether volcanic activity has occurred on Io over a long period of time or how this activity has changed over Io’s 4.57 billion year history.”
“Io has experienced so much volcanic activity that its surface is constantly being updated, leaving little trace of its past.”
“Fortunately, we can study Io back in time by studying sulfur and its isotopes.”
In the new study, Hughes, Caltech researcher Catherine de Clare, and colleagues used the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe gases in Io’s tenuous atmosphere. , we measured stable isotope radio waves of sulfur and chlorine. Carries molecules.
Scientists believe that both elements have lower concentrations of heavier isotopes compared to the solar system average due to the loss of lighter isotopes from the upper atmosphere as material is continually recycled between Io’s interior and atmosphere. I discovered that it is very plentiful.
The findings show that Io lost 94% to 99% of its sulfur through this outgassing and recycling process.
This would require that Io maintained its current level of volcanic activity throughout its lifetime.
“Sulfur is released into the atmosphere from Io’s interior by tidal heating from volcanic activity,” Hughes said.
“Some of the sulfur is lost to space by Jupiter’s magnetosphere, a bundle of charged particles swirling around Jupiter that continuously bombards Io’s atmosphere.”
“The sulfur that is left behind will eventually be buried back inside Io, ready to start the cycle again.”
“Isotopes of the same element have different weights from each other, so they can behave slightly differently during this cycle.”
“We found that the sulfur lost to space on Io is a little lighter isotopically than the sulfur that is recycled into Io’s interior.”
“Thus, over time, the sulfur left on Io becomes isotopically heavier and heavier. How heavy it gets depends on how long the volcanic activity has been occurring.”
“We found much more isotopically heavy sulfur in Io’s atmosphere than the solar system average. This requires that Io has lost almost all of its original sulfur.”
“Based on numerical modeling, this means that Io has been volcanically active for billions of years, and that tidal heating and orbital resonance have also occurred for most of Io’s history.”
“In the future, variability in atmospheric sulfur isotopic composition may help quantify Io’s average tidal heating rate.”
From the moment you begin as an immature egg in your grandmother’s womb, your fertility journey is limited. However, scientists at Cambridge University may soon change that reality in their bright labs.
Dr. Staša Stankovic is one of these scientists. Her research at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge has uncovered valuable data in the field. Now, Stankovic is focused on unraveling the mysteries surrounding fertility and menopause.
Women’s ovaries hold a finite supply of eggs that represent their fertility. Stankovic compares this concept to an hourglass, where the sand (eggs) can only flow in one direction until it runs out, signaling the onset of menopause.
“In science, we aim to control the hourglass’s middle part,” she explains. “Our goal is to limit the eggs’ loss over time, preserving the highest quality eggs for as long as possible.”
Working with a team for five years, Stankovic is developing a method to predict the natural fertile period and age of menopause with 65% accuracy, aiming for 80% accuracy in clinical practice.
Additionally, the team is exploring potential drug solutions to address infertility and potentially delay menopause. The onset of menopause is influenced by the ovarian reserve and the rate at which eggs deplete over a woman’s lifetime, typically occurring around age 50 with fewer than 1,000 eggs left.
For women experiencing early menopause or premature menopause, these drug treatments could be life-changing.
Your Menopausal Age
Researchers are studying genetic factors using a blood sample rather than physical examinations to understand how genes impact fertility and menopause.
The research team analyzed data from over 200,000 women in the UK Biobank, which provided insights into menopause, fertility, and overall health metrics. This data will help researchers make connections with other health outcomes like dementia and diabetes.
By identifying over 300 genetic variations linked to menopause, researchers foresee potential solutions for ovarian diseases and early menopause using drug interventions.
Stankovic cautions against relying solely on IVF and egg freezing as magical solutions, emphasizing the need for more effective treatments with higher success rates.
Effects of Delaying Menopause
The research team is hopeful about developing infertility drugs that not only address symptoms but also regulate ovarian function. While the drug’s availability is estimated within the next decade, rigorous testing and validation are still required.
The team’s focus is on identifying crucial genes, conducting testing in ovarian models, and formulating drugs that maintain egg quality and quantity as women age.
Ultimately, the goal is to delay menopause and extend reproductive lifespan. Preliminary studies on mice have shown promising results, but further research is needed before human trials can begin.
Aside from fertility benefits, delaying menopause could also impact women’s overall health, offering insights into various diseases associated with menopause.
About Our Experts
Dr. Staša Stanković is an ovarian genomicist with a PhD in reproductive genomics from the University of Cambridge. Her groundbreaking research has been published in top scientific journals, shedding light on the biological mechanisms behind ovarian aging and menopause.
Hamsters, horses, and humans all do it, so it’s no surprise that gorillas, one of our closest living relatives, also fart a lot.
Farting is the body’s natural way of expelling unwanted gases produced by intestinal bacteria. These gases include odorless ones like carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and methane, as well as smelly sulfur compounds that can sometimes create a noxious odor.
There are two types of gorillas, the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, both found in the forests of equatorial Africa. These large primates, weighing up to 190 kg (420 lb), primarily eat fiber-rich plants. They typically consume around 20 kg (44 lb) of nettles, wild celery, and other plants daily through foraging.
When gorillas are not eating, they are usually resting, allowing their bodies to digest. Gorillas in the wild are known to have a lot of flatulence, especially during certain times of the year.
A recent BBC series titled spy in the wild revealed how much gas gorillas produce. Using a remote-controlled camera, researchers captured footage of mountain gorillas in Uganda. They observed that gorillas tend to vocalize while eating, and there is a constant tramping sound between meals.
Researcher Jordi Galvani Casals, who studies mountain gorillas, stated that gorillas always have a significant amount of flatulence.
This article was written in response to the question asked by Alan Rose via email: “Are gorillas permanently bloated?”
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at:questions@sciencefocus.com or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter, or our Instagram page (don’t forget to include your name and location).
Explore more interesting science topics on our website.
Five giant dinosaur footprints discovered in southeastern China were made by the largest birds of prey ever recorded. The predator was probably 5 meters tall from nose to tail, about half the length of a school bus. It probably used its giant “killer claws”, one on each foot, to attack its prey.
Most raptors (technically known as deinonychosaurs) were small. Velociraptor For example, it was about the same size as a turkey. However, some of these dinosaurs were larger. Utahraptor and dakota raptor both reached approximately 5-6 meters in length.
scott parsons Now professors at the College of Charleston in South Carolina have added another giant raptor to the list. they named it fujianips is said to have lived in East Asia about 96 million years ago.
We still know little about fujianips. That’s because Parsons and his colleagues have yet to discover any parts of the skeleton. Instead, they found several footprints measuring 36 centimeters in length. “The preservation conditions were good for the footprints, but not so good for the bones,” he says. But they are confident that the footprints are from a bird of prey because each footprint has only two finger prints. This is consistent with the structure of a raptor’s foot, in that he has three toes, but one toe is off the ground to protect the large claw at the tip from abrasion.
People say fujianips. This study shows that raptors had the potential to grow even larger and compete with the largest carnivorous dinosaurs living here at the time, the allosaurids, some of which were over 10 meters long. He added that the Raptors may have had a key advantage over these rivals: “They were fast.”
But in the end, the raptor became slightly larger fujianips. Parsons says this may be because a third group of dinosaurs, the tyrannosaurids, was beginning to become dominant. “Many of the tyrannosaurids were fast, so it was much harder to compete with the tyrannosaurids,” he says.
Nearly 40% of Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution, and the U.S. is set to regress in air-cleaning progress as the effects of climate change intensify, according to a new report from the American Lung Association. It’s coming. The group’s report, its 25th annual analysis of the nation’s “state of the air,” estimates that between 2020 and 2022, 131 million people will live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution. It turned out that it was. This number is an increase of nearly 12 million people from the previous survey a year ago. The report also found that people in the United States are experiencing the most “very unhealthy” or “hazardous” air quality day in the study’s history. Katherine Pruitt, national senior director of clean air policy at the American Lung Association, said the process has been in place for decades through the Clean Air Act, a federal law passed in 1963 to regulate air pollution and set air quality standards. He said that the cleanup efforts that have been made are gradually being undermined by climate change.
“Climate change, including heat, drought and especially wildfires, is starting to undo some of the progress we’ve made,” Pruitt said. “It’s sad to know that so many people live with air quality that threatens their health.” Wildfires are a rapidly growing source of pollution that policymakers are struggling to address. Climate scientists predict that wildfire smoke will increase in the future as greenhouse gas emissions raise temperatures. The Lung Association’s analysis reached the same conclusion as a peer-reviewed study published last year in Nature. The study’s author, Marshall Burke, suggested that wildfire smoke has undone about 25% of the Clean Air Act’s progress.
“If you take a step back and think about what the root cause is, it’s the burning of fossil fuels,” says Dr. Lisa Patel, a pediatrician and clinical associate professor at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. “We don’t have to be in this situation. We have the technology and the federal investment to harness renewable energy. What we need now is the political will.”
Each year, the “State of the Air” report analyzes air quality data from the past three years. This analysis focuses on ozone exposure and short-term and annual exposure to particulate pollution. The report issues a rating for each measure and summarizes the number of areas that passed or failed for each rating. According to the report, nearly 44 million people currently live in areas that do not meet all three criteria.Small particles are a serious concern because they can enter a person’s lungs, circulate in the bloodstream, and affect other organs. Although these particles are only a fraction of the size of a human hair, they have been shown to increase the risk of asthma, lung cancer, chronic lung disease, premature birth, and miscarriage. Patel, who is also executive director of the Medical Societies Consortium on Climate and Health, has noticed an increase in preterm births during wildfire seasons and is educating parents about how heat and smoke are risk factors during pregnancy. He said he has started giving advice.
“After several weeks of poor air quality, more people will become pregnant and give birth before 37 weeks,” Patel said, adding that parents may wonder whether their actions led to premature birth. He added that he often thinks about this. “When people ask me about the risk of premature birth, I say climate change. Heat and wildfires are both risk factors. They are not within your control.” Additionally, Patel said she has noticed that when wildfire smoke incidents occur in California, patients at her pediatric clinic often complain of nasal infections, eye irritation, and asthma exacerbations, among other ailments. Pruitt said concerns about particle pollution used to be concentrated in the industrial Midwest and Northeast. But in this report, for the first time, all 25 cities with the highest daily particle pollution are in the West. Most were in California.
“Early in our history, we had a lot of particulate pollution coming from coal-fired power plants, transportation sources, and industrial processes,” Pruitt said. “Particle pollution problems in the eastern United States are less severe because the Clean Air Act has cleaned up these sources. But Western countries, of course, have similar access to regulation and cleanup; We are also affected by climate change and wildfires.” Daniel Mendoza, an assistant professor of atmospheric science at the University of Utah, said many communities in Western states are dealing with acute, short-term pollution episodes rather than long-term chronic exposure. Scientists are still trying to figure out how much damage wildfire outbreaks cause compared to long-term exposure from industrial sources. “Not all bad air pollution is created equal,” Mendoza said. Pollution from traffic and industrial sources could continue to decline if the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed stricter standards could be implemented.
Last year, the EPA proposed a rule that would require nearly all coal and large gas plants in the country to reduce or capture about 90% of their carbon emissions by 2038. In March this year, the agency introduced stricter rules to reduce tailpipe emissions from passenger cars. Another EPA policy aimed at curbing nitrogen oxide pollution that spreads across states was challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2022, the Supreme Court limited the government’s ability to use the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is one bright spot in this report. That means ozone pollution continues to improve dramatically. Compared to last year, about 2.4 million fewer people live in areas with unhealthy ozone pollution. Since this analysis was completed, wildfire smoke has gotten even worse.
Americans in 2023 inhaled more wildfire smoke than in any other year on record, Stanford University researchers found last year.
A fossil shark that thrived during the Cretaceous period has been found and has shed light on how sharks hunted and their place on the evolutionary tree.
Fossil shark teeth Ptychodus have been in museums for over 200 years. While some members of this group grew to be enormous, the anatomy of others was largely unknown.
This lack of information left researchers uncertain about the shark’s overall appearance and feeding habits, but the wide, flat teeth suggest it was capable of eating hard-shelled prey.
Recently, Professor Roman Vullo at the University of Rennes in France discovered six well-preserved full-body fossils of Ptychodus in Mexico, placing the shark in the order Lamniformes alongside modern shark species like great whites and basking sharks.
What makes this discovery interesting is that while modern white sharks are known for hunting in open waters, Ptychodus were fast swimmers and voracious eaters in the open ocean, preying on armored pelagic fish like large ammonites and sea turtles.
Despite the small size of the studied specimens, estimated to be less than 3 meters long, researchers believe some members of the genus reached lengths of about 9.7 meters – twice the size of a great white shark. Females tended to be larger, measuring between 4.6 and 4.9 meters in length.
During the Cretaceous period, Ptychodus sharks played a significant role in the marine food chain. They likely competed with large marine reptiles with crushing dentition, which may have led to their extinction before the end-Cretaceous extinction event.
Enterobacter bugandensis It is mainly present in clinical specimens such as the human gastrointestinal tract.
Example workflow illustrating the process of comparative genomics analysis Enterobacter bugandensis, its prevalence and metabolic interactions within the microbial community, and assess its adaptation success within the ISS habitat. Image credit: Sengupta other., doi: 10.1186/s40168-024-01777-1.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a testament to humanity's achievements in space exploration.
Despite a highly controlled environment characterized by microgravity, increased carbon dioxide levels, and increased solar radiation, microorganisms occupy a unique niche.
These resident microbial bacteria play an important role in influencing the health and well-being of astronauts.
One particularly interesting microorganism is the Enterobacter bugandensis, a Gram-negative bacterium notorious for its multidrug resistance.
“Microorganisms in the built environment have a significant impact on the health of residents,” says the lead author Dr. Kastri Venkateswaran by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and colleagues.
“The ISS is a highly controlled built environment with extreme conditions such as microgravity, solar radiation, and elevated carbon dioxide levels, providing a unique location to study microbial survival and adaptation. .”
“Recent studies have demonstrated that microorganisms exposed to microgravity acquire antibiotic resistance and become more virulent through rapid mutation and horizontal gene transfer.”
“Prolonged space travel in microgravity can compromise astronauts' immune systems and increase their vulnerability to disease.”
“The microbial population on the ISS can influence the astronauts' microbiome and could be replenished by the arrival of new crew members.”
“Understanding microbial colonization, inheritance, and interactions is therefore critical to ensuring the health of astronauts and managing microbial risks in isolated and confined human habitats.”
In the new study, the authors analyzed 13 bacterial strains. Enterobacter bugandensis It is isolated from the ISS.
Their results show that under stress these strains mutated and became genetically and functionally distinct compared to their terrestrial counterparts.
These strains were able to persist in large numbers on the ISS for long periods of time.
They coexisted with multiple other microorganisms, and in some cases may have helped those microorganisms survive.
“Our comprehensive analysis reveals not only how these interactions shape microbial diversity, but also the factors that may contribute to the potential dominance and inheritance of microorganisms. Ta. Enterobacter bugandensis within the ISS environment,” the researchers said.
“The implications of these findings are twofold,” they added.
“First, we shed light on the behavior, adaptation, and evolution of microorganisms in extreme and isolated environments.”
“Second, it highlights the need for strong precautions to ensure the health and safety of astronauts by mitigating risks associated with potential pathogen threats.”
P. Sengupta other. 2024. Genomic, functional, and metabolic enrichment in multidrug-resistant patients. Enterobacter bugandensis Facilitate survival and succession on the International Space Station. microbiome 12, 62; doi: 10.1186/s40168-024-01777-1
A large number of stars are born in the center NGC4383where a unique galaxy is located 74 million light years It is located beyond the constellation Coma. The largest lose mass through powerful winds over their lifetime, eventually exploding into violent supernovae. These stellar winds and supernovae drag away some of NGC 4383's gas reservoir. The bright red filaments indicate hydrogen gas ejected at least 20,000 light-years from the galaxy. This process controls the rate at which stars form within the galaxy, as this gas is carried away from the galactic center rather than remaining to form the next generation of stars.
watt other. We mapped the chemical composition and motion of NGC 4383's outflow in detail, providing insight into the mechanisms that caused the dramatic outflow seen in this image from ESO's Very Large Telescope.Image credit: ESO / Watts other.
Gas outflow is important for controlling the rate and duration at which galaxies continue to form stars.
The gas ejected by these explosions can pollute the space between stars within galaxies and even between galaxies, becoming permanently suspended in the intergalactic medium.
Dr Adam Watts, an astronomer at the University of Western Australia's node at the International Radio Center, said: “This outflow is the result of a powerful stellar explosion at the center of the galaxy, potentially spewing out huge amounts of hydrogen and heavy elements. There is a gender,” he said. Astronomical Research (ICAR).
“The mass of gas released is equivalent to more than 50 million suns.”
“Spills are very difficult to detect, so very little is known about the physics of spills and their properties.”
“The ejected gas is extremely rich in heavy elements, providing a unique insight into the complex process by which metals mix with hydrogen in the ejected gas.”
“In this particular case, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and many other chemical elements were detected.”
astronomers are muse (Multi-unit Spectroscopic Explorer) Turn on the instrument ESO's super large telescope (VLT) Created a high-resolution map of NGC 4383 in northern Chile.
Data were collected as part of VLT/MUSE's larger program MAUVE (MUSE and ALMA Unveiling the Virgo Environment).
“We designed MAUVE to investigate how physical processes, such as gas outflow, help stop star formation in galaxies,” said West, also at the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). said Professor Barbara Catinella of the Australian University of Nord.
“NGC 4383 was our first target because we thought something very interesting might be happening, and the data exceeded all expectations.”
“In the future, we hope that MAUVE's observations will reveal in great detail the importance of gas outflow in the local universe.”
team's paper Published in Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices.
_____
Adam B. Watts other. 2024. Mauve: A 6 kpc bipolar outflow launched from NGC 4383, one of the most Hi-rich galaxies in the Virgo cluster. MNRAS 530 (2): 1968-1983; doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae898
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
