Rivers’ Inability to Preserve Coastal Wetlands: A Problematic Situation

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Salt marshes in Barnstable, Massachusetts show signs of erosion and submergence as sea levels rise (December 2, 2022).Credit: Erin Peck

Creating wetlands, which are being submerged by rising sea levels, remains a challenge, but scientists are now one step closer to identifying a solution.

Amid climate change, large-scale dam removal projects are gaining traction as a solution to the loss of coastal wetlands that reduce flooding, filter water, and provide habitat for wildlife. However, in a recently published paper, scienceresearchers concluded that this strategy does not work in most rivers in the United States.

Limited sediment supply hinders wetland recovery

The reason is that there is not enough sediment. Of the nearly 5,000 rivers analyzed, nearly three out of four were unable to transport enough sediment to keep up with sea level rise in the coastal regions they connect to. Nearly half were at least 10 times short of the required amount of sediment.

This is the first national study to examine how much watershed sediment can be deposited in coastal areas by rivers. So far, research has focused on a few very large rivers. mississippi,and, Elfa In Washington, they are not representative of most other areas of the continental United States.

Most watersheds in the United States are small and are not major sources of sediment buildup in wetlands, researchers said. It is on these small rivers that most dams are located.

Expert insights on dam removal and sediment supply

The study was led by Dr. Scott Ensign, a research scientist at the Stroud Water Research Center, a nonprofit organization that studies freshwater streams and rivers around the world. He said: “Elfa is the poster child for dam removal projects that restore coastal sediment, and for good reason: it liberated vast amounts of sediment and sand.

“However, rivers along the East and Gulf coasts are not as steep as the West Coast and there is less sediment that can reach the wetlands, so the wetlands are wider and require more sediment to keep them above the rising ocean.” is required.Basically, the numbers don’t add up.”

Dr. Christopher Craft, an Indiana University professor who focuses on wetland restoration and climate change, said, “The extensive and comprehensive spatial analysis conducted by the authors shows that sediment supply in most coastal basins is This strongly suggests that this is insufficient.” As sea levels rise, tidal wetlands appear. In other words, sediment cannot save them. ”

Methodology and findings

Ensign and her co-authors, Joanne Halls of the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Erin Peck of the University of Massachusetts, used publicly available data from the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to map watersheds to coastal wetlands. Sediment supply was modeled. Uses Esri’s ArcGIS Pro technology. They then compared their projections to previously reported rates of change for tidal wetlands across the United States.

“By and large, the sediment that saves most wetlands from drowning doesn’t come from upstream rivers. In many places on the East Coast, removing dams won’t help. You’ll have to look elsewhere.” explained the lieutenant.

Impact on wetland conservation

Dr. James Pizzuto, a professor of geological sciences who specializes in river science at the University of Delaware, said the researchers deftly addressed a complex problem. “These results, and the local variations documented by mapping the entire U.S. coastline, provide important guidance to managers and scientists, and future efforts to investigate other processes beyond basin sediments. “We are documenting where we should focus our efforts,” he said.

Such efforts include finding ways to retain more mineral deposits, plant material and organic carbon in wetland soils, said Donald F. Boesch, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. He explained that it was possible. “This is true both where sediment is being depleted and where it is being diverted to construct and maintain wetlands with relatively high rates of sea level rise, such as the Mississippi Delta,” he said. ” he said.

Future research and conservation strategies

Future research is needed to measure how much sediment is trapped behind a particular dam and accurately predict the impact on downstream tidal wetlands.

“In general, the most important action to protect tidal wetlands is to allow them to move up slopes. In some areas, we need to restore natural hydrology and protect lowlands,” said Ensign. Direct application of deposits and other engineering approaches may also be helpful at very local scales.”

References: Scott H. Ensign, Joanne N. Halls, and Erin K. Peck, “Catchment Sediments Cannot Offset Sea Level Rise in Most U.S. Tidal Wetlands,” December 7, 2023. science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.adj0513

The National Science Foundation funded the research.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Algorithm Successfully Deciphers Rogue Wave Pattern

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists used artificial intelligence to analyze more than 1 billion waves over 700 years and developed a breakthrough formula for predicting rogue waves. This groundbreaking research, which converts vast amounts of oceanographic data into equations for the probability of adverse waves, raises questions about previous theories and has significant implications for maritime safety. This research represents a major step forward in this field in terms of the accessibility of findings and the role of AI in enhancing human understanding.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Victoria used over 700 years of ocean wave data, including more than a billion wave observations, and advanced artificial intelligence techniques to predict the occurrence of these threatening sea giants. Previously thought to be a myth, these unusually large and rough waves can cause serious damage to ships and oil rigs. The research team leveraged AI to analyze the vast amounts of data and create a mathematical model that provides a way to predict the occurrence of rogue waves. This new knowledge contributes to making shipping safer, and has paradigm-shifting implications for the maritime industry.

Rogue waves, perceived as a part of sailor folklore for centuries, became scientifically documented when a 26-meter high wave hit the Norwegian oil platform His Draupner in 1995. Since then, research on these extreme waves has been ongoing, culminating in the breakthrough reached by the University of Copenhagen and the University of Victoria. The research team leveraged big data on ocean movements and AI techniques to map the causal variables that lead to rogue waves, ultimately developing a model which usess artificial intelligence to calculate the probability of rogue wave formation.

Incorporating data collection from buoys at 158 locations on U.S. coasts and overseas territories and over a billion waves across 700 years, the researchers were able to use AI to analyze the vast amount of data and predict the likelihood of being hit by a huge wave at sea. The AI techniques also helped the researchers discover the causes of rogue waves and translate them into an equation that describes the recipe for rogue waves. This study also challenged common perceptions about the causes of rogue waves, establishing the dominance of a phenomenon known as “linear superposition.” This new knowledge can help the shipping industry to plan routes in advance and mitigate the risk of encountering dangerous rogue waves.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Scientists Develop New “Cooling Glass” to Combat Climate Change by Channeling Heat from Buildings into Space

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Innovative “cooling glass” developed by researchers at the University of Maryland provides a groundbreaking, non-electrical solution for reducing indoor heat and carbon emissions, and significantly advances sustainable building technology. It shows great progress.

Applying new coatings to exterior surfaces can reduce air conditioning usage and help fight climate change.

Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed an innovative “cooling glass” designed to reduce indoor temperatures without using electricity. This revolutionary material works by harnessing the cold air of outer space.

New technology, microporous glass coating, described in paper published in the journal sciencecan lower the temperature of the material beneath it by 3.5 degrees. Celsius According to a research team led by distinguished professor Liangbing Hu of the university’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, it has the potential to reduce the annual carbon dioxide emissions of mid-rise apartments by 10%.

Cooling mechanism with two functions

This coating works in two ways. For one, it reflects up to 99% of solar radiation, preventing buildings from absorbing heat. Even more interestingly, this universe emits heat in the form of long-wave infrared radiation into the icy universe, whose temperature is typically -270 degrees Celsius, or just a few degrees warmer. absolute temperature.

In a phenomenon known as “radiative cooling,” spaces effectively act as heat sinks for buildings. They use new cooling glass designs and so-called atmospheric transparency windows (the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that passes through the atmosphere without increasing its temperature) to dump large amounts of heat into the infinitely colder sky beyond. Masu. (Although the emissions are much stronger than those from the new glass developed at UMD, the same phenomenon causes the Earth to cool itself, especially on clear nights.)

State-of-the-art durable materials

“This is an innovative technology that simplifies the way we keep buildings cool and energy efficient,” said research assistant Xinpeng Zhao, lead author of the study. “This could help us change the way we live and take better care of our homes and the planet.”

Unlike previous attempts at cooling coatings, the new glass developed by UMD is environmentally stable, withstanding exposure to water, UV light, dirt, and even flame, and withstands temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. can withstand. Because glass can be applied to a variety of surfaces such as tile, brick, and metal, the technology is highly scalable and can be adopted for a wide range of applications.

The research team could use finely ground glass particles as a binder, bypassing polymers and increasing long-term durability outdoors, Zhao said. We then selected a particle size that maximizes the release of infrared heat while reflecting sunlight.

Climate change solutions and global impacts

The development of cooling glass is in line with global efforts to reduce energy consumption and combat climate change, Hu said, adding that this year’s Independence Day could have been the world’s hottest day in 125,000 years. He pointed out recent reports that it was a day of sex.

“This ‘cooling glass’ is not just a new material, it’s an important part of the solution to climate change,” he said. “By reducing the use of air conditioners, we have taken a big step towards reducing energy usage and reducing our carbon footprint. This is because new technology is helping us build a cooler, greener world. It shows how it can help.”

In addition to Hu and Zhao, Jelena Srebric and Zongfu Yu, professors of mechanical engineering in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are co-authors of the study, each contributing expertise in CO2 reduction and structural design. There is. .

The team is now focused on further testing and practical application of the cooled glass. They are optimistic about its commercialization prospects and have formed a startup company, CeraCool, to scale and commercialize it.

Reference: “Solution-processed radiatively cooled glass” Xinpeng Zhao, Tangyuan Li, Hua Xie, He Liu, Lingzhe Wang, Yurui Qu, Stephanie C. Li, Shufeng Liu, Alexandra H. Brozena, Zongfu Yu, Jelena Srebric, Liangbing Written by Hu, November 9, 2023, science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.adi2224

Source: scitechdaily.com

The Absence of Flightless Bats: Unraveling the Mystery of Evolution

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Vampire bats are not only masters of flight, but also skillful walkers

Joel Sartor/Photo Arc/naturepl.com

Something begins to stir in the undergrowth of a New Zealand forest. Small furry animals run around on tree roots and in fallen leaves, looking for insects and fruit. He runs with a strange gait, as if he were on stilts. Is it a rat? bird? No, it’s a bat. The New Zealand brown bat, or more precisely, the Pekapeka toupoto.

Bats first took to the skies about 52 million years ago and have remained there ever since. There are approximately 1,300 species in the world, but not one of them is flightless. Most bats can’t even walk well. That’s why many of us are surprised by the behavior of Pekapekatupoto, a bat that is comfortable both in the air and on the ground.

However, why flightless bats do not exist is an evolutionary mystery. Birds, another great group of flying vertebrates, have evolved into flightless animals many times around the world. They frequent remote islands such as New Zealand, where there is little danger from ground-based predation (at least until humans show up, anyone else grilling dodos?). In such situations, flightlessness is a good adaptation because flight is energetically costly.

The world’s most land-dwelling bat, the pekapekatoupoto, has long been thought to hold the key to explaining the strange absence of flightless bats. But research over the past two decades has revealed the surprising fact that many other species of bats can walk, too. Inside…

Source: www.newscientist.com

JWST Captures Spectacular Image of Uranus Revealing 13 Rings and 9 Moons

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Uranus showing all its rings and 9 of the planet’s 27 moons

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

This amazing shot of Uranus taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) gives us the most complete view of Uranus yet, revealing its rings and turbulent atmosphere in stunning detail .

In April, JWST used infrared sensors to image Uranus, revealing more of the ice giant’s rock and dust rings, which have only been directly imaged twice before, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft and by Earth’s Keck Observatory. Now it can be observed clearly. Eleven of Uranus’s 13 known rings were visible in this image, but the last two were too dark to see.

JWST has now followed up on these observations using a wider field of view and more wavelengths of infrared light, revealing the rings in even more detail and showing us the elusive final two rings.

The diagram above also shows nine of Uranus’ 27 moons. These are all tilted away from the Sun at her 98 degree angle, the same as the planet itself. Another new image from JWST below shows five more moons (Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda, and Titania) shining like blue stars, bringing the total shown to 14.

This JWST photo of Uranus shows five more moons, shining like blue stars around the planet. They are (clockwise from top) Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda, and Titania.

STScI Copyright: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

The planet’s tilt causes long stretches of sunlight and darkness on different sides of Uranus, with each season lasting 21 Earth years and producing polar caps and atmospheric storms. Both can be seen more clearly in this picture. The storm lies just below the southern edge of the broad white polar cap, appearing as a white wisp against a blue background.

Although it takes Uranus 84 years to orbit the Sun, it only takes 17 hours to complete its rotation, allowing its atmosphere and moons to travel faster than standard telescopic exposures. Astronomers created the image above by combining long and short exposure times with JWST to smooth out the changing features.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Chimpanzees can remember and recognize photos of long-lost friends

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Chimpanzees at a zoo were shown photos of old group members to test their memory.

Johns Hopkins University

Bonobos and chimpanzees appear to be able to recognize photos of former group members, even animals they haven’t seen in over 20 years. This means that these apes have the longest social memory of any non-human animal.

Great apes such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos are known to have impressive memories. For example, some chimpanzees The exact location of a particular fruit tree In the forest, predict what will happen next in a previously seen movie. The researchers also found hints that great apes have long-term memories of individuals.

“When we went back to great ape populations that we had studied in the past, we noticed that they seemed to recognize and remember us,” he says. laura lewis at the University of California, Berkeley.

To investigate how long this social memory lasts in great apes, Lewis and her colleagues tested 12 bonobos and 15 chimpanzees living in zoos in the UK, Japan, and Belgium.

For each animal, the researchers flashed side-by-side photos of two different great apes on a screen for three seconds. One of the photos was of a monkey that had been living with them for at least a year, and the other was of a stranger.

Using eye-tracking technology, the researchers found that all participants looked on average about a quarter of a second longer at images of former group members than at images of strangers. As zookeepers say, former co-workers with whom they had a good relationship stay in the picture even longer.

This finding shows that these apes remember their acquaintances even after long periods of time. “It’s not that different from walking down the street in a big city and unexpectedly running into someone you went to school with and doing a double take,” team members say. Christopher Krupenier at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

In the most extreme case, a bonobo called Louise appeared to recognize her sister Loretta and nephew Erin after being separated for more than 26 years.

“This is the longest long-term social memory ever recorded in a non-human animal,” Lewis said.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Possibly the First Crater Found on Jupiter’s Moon Io

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

This could be the first impact crater discovered on Io

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/Kevin M. Gill, CC BY 2.0

Amateur astronomers may have discovered the first crater ever discovered on Jupiter’s moon Io. Io has never seen an impact crater before because it is very volcanically active and eruptions tend to erase impact craters.

Swedish amateur astronomer Jesper Sandberg discovered the apparent crater while examining archival images from the Galileo spacecraft, which orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003. It is relatively small, only about 100 meters in diameter, and is located on a large, flat area.

Source: www.newscientist.com

AI trained on extensive life stories has the ability to forecast the likelihood of early mortality

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Data covering Denmark’s entire population was used to train an AI that predicts people’s life outcomes

Francis Joseph Dean/Dean Photography/Alamy Stock Photo

Artificial intelligence trained on personal data covering Denmark’s entire population can predict people’s likelihood of dying more accurately than existing models used in the insurance industry. Researchers behind the technology say it has the potential to have a positive impact on early prediction of social and health problems, but must be kept out of the hands of large corporations. There is.

Sune Lehmann Jorgensen The researchers used a rich Danish dataset covering the education, doctor and hospital visits, resulting diagnoses, income, and occupation of 6 million people from 2008 to 2020.

They converted this dataset into words that can be used to train large-scale language models, the same technology that powers AI apps like ChatGPT. These models work by looking at a set of words and statistically determining which word is most likely to come next based on a large number of examples. In a similar way, the researcher’s Life2vec model can look at the sequence of life events that form an individual’s history and determine what is most likely to happen next.

In the experiment, Life2vec was trained on all data except for the last four years of data, which was kept for testing. Researchers took data on a group of people aged 35 to 65, half of whom died between 2016 and 2020, and asked Life2vec to predict who lived and who died. This was 11% more accurate than existing AI models and life actuarial tables used in the financial industry to price life insurance policies.

The model was also able to predict personality test results for a portion of the population more accurately than AI models trained specifically to do the job.

Jorgensen believes the model has consumed enough data that it has a good chance of shedding light on a wide range of topics in health and society. This means it can be used to predict and detect health problems early, or by governments to reduce inequalities. But he stresses that it can also be used by companies in harmful ways.

“Obviously, our model should not be used by insurance companies, because the whole idea of insurance is that if some unlucky person suffers some kind of incident, dies, loses their backpack, etc. ‘Because we share the lack of knowledge about what to do, we can share this burden to some extent,’ says Jorgensen.

But such technology already exists, he says. “Big tech companies that have large amounts of data about us are likely already using this information against us, and they are using it to make predictions about us. It is.”

Matthew Edwards Researchers from UK professional institutes the Institute of Actuaries and the Faculty of Actuaries say that while insurers are certainly interested in new forecasting techniques, the bulk of decision-making is based on a type of model called a generalized linear model. The research is done using AI, which he says is rudimentary compared to this research. .

“If you look at what insurance companies have been doing for years, decades, centuries, they’ve taken the data they have and tried to predict life expectancy from that,” Edwards said. “But we are deliberately conservative in adopting new methodologies, because when we are creating policies that are likely to be in place for the next 20 or 30 years, the last thing we want is to make any significant mistakes. . Everything can change, but slowly because no one wants to make mistakes.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Targeting the brain with Ozempic and Wegovy may lead to reduced inflammation

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Ozempic is a diabetes drug, but it is also often used for weight loss.

fcm82/shutterstock

Weight loss and diabetes injections such as Wigovy and Ozempic (both semaglutide) are more widely used than initially thought after studies in mice suggest they act on the brain and reduce inflammation throughout the body. Possible medical benefits.

This finding may explain why this class of drugs appears to reduce heart attacks more than would be expected from weight loss effects alone.

It also supports their use in combating a wide range of health conditions that involve inflammation, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, which is being studied in clinical trials.

Semaglutide works by mimicking a gut hormone called GLP-1. Normally released after a meal, GLP-1 reduces appetite, makes you feel full, and triggers the release of insulin, a hormone involved in blood sugar regulation.

Some studies suggest that semaglutide not only reduces weight, but also reduces inflammation, and is a mild increase in certain types of immune system activity.Lowers levels of a compound in the blood called C-reactive protein (CRP) is a well-established sign of inflammation. Daniel Drucker At the University of Toronto, Canada.

A growing body of research suggests that inflammation is involved in many conditions not previously associated with the immune system, such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease, but this does not yet lead to new treatments available in the clinic. has not been applied.

Because obesity is also associated with inflammation, semaglutide’s effect on CRP may simply be a side effect of weight loss, rather than the drug itself reducing inflammation.

To find out, Drucker and his colleagues investigated how several GLP-1 mimics affect inflammation in mice. First, they injected bacteria from the mice’s intestines into other parts of their abdomens, causing bacterial infections in their blood. This triggers a strong immune response and causes inflammation.

Some mice were also injected with GLP-1 mimics, either semaglutide or another member of this drug class called exenatide.

GLP-1 mimics reduced the animals’ inflammatory response to infection, but this did not occur when the researchers used mice genetically modified so that their brain cells lacked receptors for GLP-1. Ta.

The researchers also found no reduction in inflammation when they tested genetically normal mice whose brains were injected with compounds that block GLP-1 receptors.

Taken together, these results show that GLP-1 mimetics such as Ozempic act on brain cells to reduce inflammation, and that this is not just a side effect of weight loss.

“Losing weight is good, but you don’t need to lose weight to be effective,” Drucker says. For example, in Wegovy’s recent randomized trial, he says, the drug started preventing heart attacks within the first few months, before people lost significant weight.

“It was known that these drugs acted on inflammation,” he says. Ivan Koichev at Oxford University. “This paper is helpful because it reveals the underlying mechanism.”

In theory, anti-inflammatory drugs could cause people to develop additional infections, but this has so far not been observed in people who received the shots for weight loss or diabetes, Koychev says. .

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Harvard University Researchers Decipher Enigmas of the Brain

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

A new study led by Harvard Medical School has revealed the neurological foundation of daydreaming. Conducted in mice, the study found that neurons in the visual cortex fired in patterns similar to those seen during the viewing of images, indicating daydreaming. This was especially pronounced during early daydreams and could predict future brain responses to visual stimuli, implying a role in brain plasticity. The study suggests that daydreaming may play a role in learning and memory processes in mice and potentially in humans. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

However, most neuroscientists do not understand what happens in the brain during daydreaming. A team of researchers at Harvard Medical School used mice to investigate the activity of neurons in the visual cortex of the brain during quiet wakefulness and found that these neurons fire in patterns similar to when the mouse views images, indicating that the mouse was daydreaming about the image. Furthermore, the brain showed the same firing pattern during daydreams as when it was seeing an image, suggesting that the mouse was imagining the image. These daydreams occurred only when the mouse was relaxed and had a calm behavior and small pupils.

The researchers found that mice were biased towards daydreaming about recently viewed images, and this daydreaming was more prominent at the beginning of the day. The daydreams influenced the brain’s future responses to images, indicating a role in brain plasticity. The two regions of the brain, the visual cortex and the hippocampus, were also found to communicate during daydreaming. Subsequent research with imaging tools will examine how these connections change when the brain sees an image.

While it remains an open question whether human daydreams involve similar patterns in the visual cortex, preliminary evidence suggests that a similar process occurs during the recall of visual images. The findings suggest that giving the mind waking downtime is crucial for daydreams, which is important for brain plasticity. This research was published on December 13th in Nature.

Source: scitechdaily.com

The Potential of Acupuncture for Managing Chronic Urticaria

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

A recent study of more than 300 chronic spontaneous attack urticaria (CSU) patients found that acupuncture may provide limited symptom relief, but the clinical significance remains unclear. . An accompanying editorial highlights the potential of acupuncture in the treatment of non-painful conditions and the need for widespread clinical openness to its use.

A randomized controlled study of more than 300 participants diagnosed with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), or hives, suggests that acupuncture may provide some symptom relief. However, the clinical significance of these results remains unclear. This study was recently published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

CSU is the most common form of chronic urticaria and is characterized by recurrent itching, skin lesions, or swelling that lasts for more than 6 weeks in the absence of a specific provoking factor. More than 90 percent of CSU patients require urgent treatment to relieve itching. Therefore, itch management is one of the main goals in the treatment of CSU.

Effect of acupuncture on CSU

Researchers at Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine randomly assigned 330 people diagnosed with CSU to either 4 weeks of acupuncture, 4 weeks of sham acupuncture, or a waiting list (control), and 4 weeks after treatment. Patients were followed for weeks to see if the acupuncture treatment improved. It leads to the improvement of CSU symptoms. Symptom changes were measured using the Weekly Urticaria Activity Score (UAS7).

Patients in the acupuncture group reported improved UAS7 compared to sham acupuncture and waitlist management. However, the clinical significance of the observed reduction in itch severity scores is unclear, as the difference between intervention and control did not meet the minimum clinical difference (MCID) threshold. The incidence of adverse events was highest in the acupuncture group, but the adverse events were mild and transient.

Editorial insights and broader implications

An accompanying editorial by Mike Cummings of the British Medical Acupuncture Society highlights that these trial results are interesting because they illustrate the effectiveness of acupuncture in conditions not characterized by pain.

Although the clinical significance of this finding was not clear, the authors believe that clinicians may use acupuncture as an adjunct to influence outcomes, even in more severe disease states. This suggests that you should always keep this in mind. The editorial suggests that acupuncture is often ignored as a treatment because it lacks commercial support compared to other modern interventions.

Reference: “Efficacy of acupuncture treatment for chronic spontaneous urticaria” Hui Zheng, Xian-Jun Xiao, Yun-Zhou Shi, Lei-Xiao Zhang, Wei Cao, Qian-Hua Zheng, Feng Zhong, Ping-Sheng Hao, Ying Written by Huang, Ming – Ling Chen, Wei Zhang, Si-Yuan Zhou, Yan-Jun Wang, Chuan Wang, Li Zhou, Xiao-Qin Chen, Zuo-Qin Yang, Zi-Hao Zou, Ling Zhao, Fan-Rong Liang, Ying Li, 14 November 2023 Annual report of internal medicine.
DOI: 10.7326/M23-1043

“Acupuncture for Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria” by Mike Cummings, November 14, 2023, Annual report of internal medicine.
DOI: 10.7326/M23-2713

Source: scitechdaily.com

Moving Beyond the Authority of the Doctor: Highlighting the Importance of Patient Input in Diagnosis

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

A comprehensive study highlights the importance of assessing patient experience with medical diagnosis, especially in complex diseases such as neuropsychiatric lupus. This suggests a shift to a more collaborative approach between patients and clinicians to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient satisfaction.

Research highlights the need to incorporate patients’ lived experiences into medical diagnosis and advocates for a more collaborative relationship between patients and clinicians to enhance diagnosis. Accuracy and patient satisfaction.

Experts today called for more value to be given to patients’ “lived experiences” after a study of more than 1,000 patients and clinicians found multiple instances of patient underreporting. There is.

The study, led by a team from the University of Cambridge and King’s College London, found that clinicians ranked patients’ self-assessment as the least important in making diagnostic decisions, and patients were more likely to overestimate or underestimate their symptoms. It was found that patients were evaluated more frequently than patients reported doing so.

One patient shared a common sentiment that disbelief is “degrading and dehumanizing,” adding: As if I don’t have authority over it and what I’m feeling isn’t valid, in which case it’s a very dangerous environment…When I tell them the symptoms, they think the symptoms are I would say wrong, otherwise I could not feel the pain there or in that way. ”

Diagnostic issues of neuropsychiatric lupus

In a study published today (December 18th), RheumatologyUsing the example of lupus neuropsychiatric, an incurable autoimmune disease that is particularly difficult to diagnose, researchers examined the different values clinicians place on 13 different types of evidence used in diagnosis. . This includes evidence such as brain scans, patient views, and observations of family and friends.

Less than 4% of clinicians ranked patient self-assessment among the top three types of evidence. Clinicians ranked themselves among the highest despite admitting that they often lack confidence in diagnoses that involve less visible symptoms such as headaches, hallucinations, and depression. It has been reported that such “neuropsychiatric” symptoms can lead to poor quality of life and early death, and are more often misdiagnosed and therefore not treated correctly than more visible symptoms such as rashes. It has been.

Aiming for a collaborative relationship between patients and clinicians

Sue Farrington, co-chair of the Rare Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases Alliance, said: “We are moving away from the paternalistic and often dangerous ‘doctor knows best’ mentality and towards patients with lived experience. “The time has come for experienced physicians to move towards a more equal relationship.” The learned experience works more collaboratively. ”

Almost half (46%) of the 676 patients reported never or rarely being asked about their self-assessment of their illness, while others were very positive. I talked about my experiences. Some clinicians, particularly psychiatrists and nurses, value patient views, with a Welsh psychiatrist explaining: “Patients often arrive at the clinic having undergone multiple evaluations, researched their condition to a very high level, and worked hard to understand what’s going on with their body. …They are often expert diagnosticians in their own right.”

Lead author Dr Melanie Sloan, from the University of Cambridge’s School of Public Health and Primary Care, said: After all, these are people who know what it’s like to live with their condition. However, we also need to ensure that clinicians have time to fully investigate each patient’s symptoms, which is difficult within the constraints of our current healthcare system. ”

Gender and ethnicity in diagnosis

It was felt that the personal characteristics of patients and clinicians, such as ethnicity and gender, could influence the diagnosis, and there was a recognition that women in particular were more likely to be told that their symptoms were psychosomatic. The data showed that male clinicians were statistically more likely to state that patients were exaggerating their symptoms. Patients were more likely than clinicians to say that their symptoms were directly caused by the disease.

Conclusion: Emphasize patient contribution in diagnosis

While the study authors acknowledge that patients’ reasoning is sometimes inaccurate, there are many potential benefits to incorporating patients’ “attributional insights” and experiences into decision-making (diagnostic accuracy, They concluded that there is a high likelihood that this will result in a reduction in misdiagnosis, an increase in patient satisfaction, etc. diagnosis. This comes at a time when it is widely known that diagnostic tests for neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus, like many other autoimmune diseases and long-term COVID-19 infections, are “not enlightening,” according to one neurologist. Especially important.

Lead study author Dr Tom Pollack, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, said: mistaken. However, especially when diagnostic tests are not advanced enough to consistently detect these diseases, evaluating both perspectives in combination can reduce misdiagnosis, improve clinician-patient relationships, and improve symptom reporting. There could be more trust and openness. ”

Reference: “Attribution of neuropsychiatric symptoms and prioritization of evidence in the diagnosis of neuropsychiatric lupus: A mixed methods analysis of patient and clinician perspectives from the international INSPIRE study” Melanie Sloan, Laura Andreoli, Michael S. Zandi, Rupert Harwood, Melvi Pitkanen, Sloan by Sam, Colette Barea, Eftalia Massu, Chris Whincup, Michael Bosley, Felix Norton, Mandeep Ubi, David Jayne, Guy Leszziner, James Brimicombe, Wendy Dement, Kate Middleton, Caroline Gordon, David D’Cruz, Thomas A. Pollack, December 18, 2023, Rheumatology.
DOI: 10.1093/Rheumatology/kead685

This research was funded by The Lupus Trust and LUPUS UK.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Dragonfly: NASA’s Drone Mission Set for 2028

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

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Dragonfly Mission

An artist’s impression of a dragonfly flying over the dunes of Saturn’s moon Titan. NASA has cleared the mission team to proceed with development for a July 2028 launch.Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

The Dragonfly mission is moving toward building nuclear-powered drones. SaturnThe satellite Titan is aiming to be launched in 2028. The mission, which will involve extensive collaboration and technological advances, aims to investigate Titan’s organic matter and its potential links to life.

NASA’s Dragonfly mission team is moving forward with the next stage of development of an innovative car-sized nuclear-powered drone that plans to fly and land over the organic-rich sands of Saturn’s large moon Titan.

NASA has cleared Dragonfly to proceed with design and manufacturing work on its final mission, known as Phase C. The launch preparation date was revised to July 2028.

Artist’s impression of a dragonfly on the surface of Titan. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Overcome challenges and prepare for Titan: “The Dragonfly team successfully overcame many technical and programmatic challenges in this bold attempt to collect new science on Titan,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Dragonfly, NASA’s only mission to the surface of another oceanic world, is designed to probe the complex chemistry that is the precursor to life. It will be equipped with cameras, sensors and samplers to survey the area. The water froze on the surface of the ice.

Artist’s impression of a dragonfly flying over Titan. Credit: Johns Hopkins University/APL

Teamwork and technical milestones: “Dragonfly is a very bold experiment that has never been done before,” said Elizabeth “Zibi” Turtle, Dragonfly principal investigator at APL.

Saturn’s largest satellite that will collect data in 2028. Credit: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

Collaborative initiatives and future expectations: “The dedication of the Dragonfly team was nothing short of heroic,” said Bobby Brown, APL Director of Space Exploration.

APL manages NASA’s Dragonfly mission. The team includes key partners from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado; Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin Corporation. NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Marine Space Science Systems (San Diego, California); Honeybee Robotics, Pasadena, California; NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. French Space Agency (CNES) in Paris. German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, Germany. and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Tokyo.

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Source: scitechdaily.com

Fra Mauro: Transforming Cartography into a Science with the Epic Medieval Map

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Fra Mauro’s beautiful and intricate world map

History_docu_photo/Alamy

When I was in Venice a few years ago, I visited the Corer Museum to absorb the history of the city. Located in St. Mark’s Square, this museum features imposing statues and paintings of naval battles and ancient weapons. However, as I passed the last exhibition room, another artifact caught my eye, hanging alone in an alcove. It was a map of the world, or “mappa mundi” in Latin, and it was unlike any other map I had ever come across.

The world depicted here in an 8-foot-diameter gold frame is a combination of lapping blue ocean and off-white land, all covered in handwritten notes. It was one of the most beautiful, beautifully intricate things I’ve ever seen.

Created 550 years ago by a monk called Fra Mauro, the map was largely ignored for centuries, but it shows a level of accuracy not present in previous maps. Considering this, it is a deplorable situation. If you turn it upside down, you can recognize it as a map of Africa and Eurasia, with Mauro placed south at the top.

After visiting Venice, I decided to find out more about this map. This project culminated in my book. The dark sea begins here. I spent over a year researching his literature on world maps, poring over Mauro’s creations, and trying to understand what he was trying to say. It turned out to be part of the inflection point from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Can animals dream? And if they do, what do they think about?

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

One day in the fall of 2020, Daniella Ressler I drove home with a car full of jumping spiders. Her lab was closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, so Rosler had no choice but to take the specimens home after spending the day corralling them in a dry field. That night, when she happened to check on them, the spiders hanging and not moving “I’ve never seen this before,” says Rosler, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Konstanz in Germany. She immediately returned to the scene with her colleagues. “We started photographing them just out of curiosity,” she says.

They observed the same behavior, but only at night. Even stranger, a few months later, close monitoring of the lab using a night vision camera revealed that there wasn’t just a spider present. He was twitching slightly, but his eyes were moving.. This is similar to what happens when humans dream, and creates an irresistible expectation that spiders are dreaming too.

Jumping spiders aren’t the only non-human animal in which evidence of dream states has recently been discovered. Signs of dreams, and even nightmares, can be found in every species of the animal kingdom, from pigeons to octopuses. “Once you understand the functions involved in dreaming, it makes perfect sense that animals dream,” Ressler says. But still, questions remain. Do other animals dream like us, and if so, what are they dreaming about? This is not easy to understand, but it is worth doing, as it may help us understand the purpose of human dreams.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Spiral Galaxies Emitting “Forbidden” Emissions

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

This image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows MCG-01-24-014. It is a spiral galaxy with an active galactic nucleus located 275 million light-years away and is classified as a Type 2 Seyfert galaxy. Seyfert galaxies are often closer to Earth than quasars and are distinguished by their unique spectra, especially the “forbidden” emission of type 2 Seyferts.Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick

this swirl hubble space telescope This image shows a bright spiral galaxy known as MCG-01-24-014, located about 275 million light-years from Earth. MCG-01-24-014 is called an active galaxy because, in addition to being a well-defined spiral galaxy, it has a very energetic core known as an active galactic nucleus (AGN) .

More specifically, it is classified as a Type 2 Seyfert galaxy. Seyfert galaxies are home to one of the most common subclasses of AGNs, along with quasars. The exact classification of AGNs is nuanced, but Seyfert galaxies tend to be relatively nearby where the host galaxy can be clearly detected alongside the central AGN, whereas quasars are always very distant AGNs and their Its incredible brightness exceeds that of its host galaxy.

Understanding Seyfert galaxies and their spectra

Both Seyfert galaxies and quasars have further subclasses. For Seyfert galaxies, the main subcategories are type 1 and type 2. They are distinguished from each other by their spectra (the pattern created when light is split into its constituent wavelengths). The spectral lines emitted by Type 2 Seyfert galaxies are particularly associated with certain so-called “forbidden” emissions.

To understand why synchrotron radiation from galaxies is thought to be forbidden, it helps to understand why the spectrum exists in the first place. Spectra look the way they do because certain atoms and molecules absorb and emit light very reliably at very specific wavelengths.

The reason is quantum physics. Electrons (tiny particles orbiting the nucleus of atoms and molecules) can only exist at very specific energies, so electrons can only lose or gain very specific amounts of energy. These very specific amounts of energy correspond to specific wavelengths of light that are absorbed or emitted.

Discharge prohibition phenomenon

Forbidden emission lines are therefore spectral emission lines that should not exist according to certain rules of quantum physics. However, quantum physics is complex, and some of the rules used to predict quantum physics use assumptions that are appropriate for laboratory conditions on Earth.

Under these rules, this release is “prohibited” and ignored because it is unlikely. But in space, in the midst of incredibly energetic galactic nuclei, those assumptions no longer apply, and “forbidden” light has a chance to shine towards us.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Discovery of a direct correlation between elevated insulin levels and pancreatic cancer by scientists

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

A new study has proven a direct link between high insulin levels and increased risk of pancreatic cancer in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes. This landmark study shows how excess insulin overstimulates pancreatic acinar cells, leading to inflammation and precancerous cells, particularly in the case of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). These findings highlight the importance of maintaining healthy insulin levels and may lead to new strategies for cancer prevention and treatment, including lifestyle interventions and targeted therapies.

For the first time, we explain in detail why people with obesity and type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer.

A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine revealed a direct relationship between high blood pressure and high blood pressure. insulin This level is frequently observed in patients with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and pancreatic cancer.

This study cell metabolismprovides the first detailed explanation of why people with obesity and type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of pancreatic cancer. This study shows that excessive insulin levels overstimulate pancreatic acinar cells, which produce digestive juices. This excessive stimulation causes inflammation and transforms these cells into precancerous cells.

“In addition to rapid increases in both obesity and type 2 diabetes, we are also seeing an alarming increase in the incidence of pancreatic cancer,” said co-senior author and professor in the Department of Cellular Physiology Sciences and co-senior author of the study. said Dr. James Johnson, interim director of the agency. UBC’s Institute of Life Sciences. “These findings help us understand how this is happening and highlight the importance of keeping insulin levels within a healthy range. can be achieved through medication.”

Dr. James Johnson is a professor in the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences and interim director of the UBC Life Sciences Institute. credit:
UBC Faculty of Medicine

The study focused on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common type of pancreatic cancer and a highly aggressive disease with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent. The incidence of pancreatic cancer is on the rise. By 2030, PDAC is expected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths.

Role of insulin in pancreatic cancer

Although obesity and type 2 diabetes were previously established as risk factors for pancreatic cancer, the exact mechanisms by which this occurs remained unclear. This new study sheds light on the role of insulin and its receptor in this process.

… (content continues) …

Reference: “Hyperinsulinemia causes pancreatic cancer through acinar insulin receptors by increasing digestive enzyme production and inflammation” (Anni MY Zhang, Yi Han Xia, Jeffrey SH Lin, Ken H Chu, Wei Chuan K. Wang, Titine JJ Ruiter, Jenny) CC Yang, Nan Chen, Justin Choa, Shilpa Patil, Haoning Howard Sen, Elizabeth J. Rideout, Vincent R. Richard, David・F. Shafer, Rene P. Zahedi, Christoph H. Borchers, James D. Johnson, Janelle L. Kopp, October 31, 2023. cell metabolism.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.10.003

This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Lustgarten Foundation.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Webb finds small, free-floating brown dwarf in star-forming cluster IC 348

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

The newly discovered brown dwarf is estimated to have a mass three to four times that of Jupiter, making it a strong candidate for the lowest mass free-floating brown dwarf ever directly imaged.

This image from Webb’s NIRCam instrument shows the central portion of star cluster IC 348. Image credits: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / K. Luhman, Pennsylvania State University / C. Alves de Oliveira, ESA.

Brown dwarfs are cold, dark objects that are between the size of gas giant planets and Sun-like stars.

These objects, also known as failed stars, have star-like properties even though they are too small to sustain hydrogen fusion reactions in their cores.

Typically, their masses are between 11 and 16 Jupiter (the approximate mass that can sustain deuterium fusion) and 75 and 80 Jupiter (the approximate mass that can sustain hydrogen fusion).

“One of the basic questions you’ll find in any astronomy textbook is: What is the smallest star? That’s what we’re trying to answer,” said Kevin, an astronomer at Penn State University.・Dr. Luman said.

The newly discovered brown dwarf resides in IC 348, a star cluster 1,000 light-years away in the constellation Perseus.

The cluster, also known as Collinder 41, Gingrich 1, and Theia 17, contains nearly 400 stars and is about 5 million years old.

IC 348 is part of the larger Perseus star-forming region, and although it is normally invisible to the naked eye, it shines brightly when viewed at infrared wavelengths.

Dr. Luhmann and his colleagues used the following method to image the center of the star cluster. Webb’s NIRCam device Identify brown dwarf candidates based on their brightness and color.

They followed up on the most promising targets using: Webb’s NIRSpec microshutter array.

This process created three interesting targets with masses between three and eight Jupiters and surface temperatures between 830 and 1,500 degrees Celsius.

Computer models suggest that the smallest of these weighs just three to four times as much as Jupiter.

ESA astronomer Dr Catalina Alves de Oliveira said: “With current models, it is very easy to create a giant planet in a disk around a star.”

“But in this cluster, the object is unlikely to form as a disc, but instead as a star, with three Jupiters having a mass 300 times less than the Sun.”

“Then we have to ask how the star formation process takes place at such a very small mass.”

Two of the brown dwarfs identified by the research team exhibit spectral signatures of unidentified hydrocarbons, molecules that contain both hydrogen and carbon atoms.

The same infrared signature was detected in the atmospheres of Saturn and its moon Titan by NASA’s Cassini mission.

It has also been observed in the interstellar medium, the gas between stars.

“This is the first time this molecule has been detected in the atmosphere of an object outside our solar system,” Dr de Oliveira said.

“Models for brown dwarf atmospheres do not predict their existence. We are observing objects that are younger and have lower masses than ever before, and we are seeing something new and unexpected.” .”

a paper Regarding the survey results, astronomy magazine.

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KL Luman other. 2023. JWST survey of planetary mass brown dwarfs in IC 348. A.J. 167, 19; doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/ad00b7

Source: www.sci.news

Artificial Intelligence will bring about a revolution in the realm of complex problem-solving within logistics and beyond.

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Researchers at MIT and ETH Zurich have developed a machine learning-based technique that speeds up the optimization process used by companies like FedEx to deliver packages. This approach simplifies key steps in mixed integer linear programming (MILP) solvers and uses company-specific data to tune the process, resulting in 30-70% speedups without sacrificing accuracy. This has potential applications in a variety of industries facing complex resource allocation problems.

The research conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and ETH Zurich aims to address complex logistics challenges, including delivering packages, distributing vaccines, and managing power grids. The traditional software used by companies like FedEx to find optimal delivery solutions is called a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) solver, but it can be time-consuming and may not always produce ideal solutions.

The newly developed technique employs machine learning to identify important intermediate steps in the MILP solver, resulting in a significant reduction of time required to unravel potential solutions. By using company-specific data, this approach allows for custom tailoring of the MILP solver. This new technique results in speeding up the MILP solver by 30-70% without sacrificing accuracy.

Lead author Kathy Wu, along with co-lead authors Sirui Li, Wenbin Ouyang, and Max Paulus, highlights the potential of combining machine learning and classical methods to address optimization problems. The research will be presented at the Neural Information Processing Systems Conference. The team hopes to further apply this approach to solve complex MILP problems and interpret the effectiveness of different separation algorithms.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Research indicates that the canine teeth of marsupial carnivores grow continuously throughout their lives.

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

New research from the University of Tasmania also confirms important and fundamental morphological differences in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) compared to most other animals.

Young Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). Image credit: Keres H. / CC BY-SA 4.0.

There has long been interest in comparing the biology of placental and marsupial mammals and how different traits relate to adaptation and converging ecomorphological niches in different regions of the world. I’m here. One interesting feature is the tooth replacement pattern.

“Unlike humans, dogs and many other animals, which have a second set of baby teeth and adult teeth, we now know that the Tasmanian devil only has one tooth that serves them throughout their lives.” said researchers at the University of Tasmania. Professor Mena Jonesstudy author.

“When Tasmanian devil joeys are young, they have very small teeth that fit their small bodies.”

“Tasmanian devils are separated from their mothers when they are just one-third of their adult size, and at this point they must become independent and feed themselves.”

“Instead of spending time erupting into adult teeth like humans, the Tasmanian devil’s teeth simply ‘erupt’ from the jaw and gums, pushing out more and more to fill the Tasmanian devil’s large mouth and head. , they raise animals to hold meat and prey and for protection. ”

“This is a really cool fact about a really cool species, and it points to a completely different evolutionary solution to the formation of teeth in growing animals than we know.”

The same phenomenon is seen in local possums and possums, as well as in some ancient marsupials such as the giant volhyaenids and sabertooths of South America.

“This information will help researchers determine the age of the animals they are studying, including those monitored in the wild for Tasmanian devil facial tumor research,” Professor Jones said.

of study Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

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Mena E. Jones. 2023. Overbudding of teeth in marsupial carnivores: compensation for constraints. Procedure R. Soc. B 290 (2013): 20230644; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0644

Source: www.sci.news

Neanderthals May Have Been Early Risers, New Study Finds

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

When the ancestors of modern Eurasians migrated from Africa and interbred with the archaic humans of Eurasia, namely Neanderthals and Denisovans, the DNA of the archaic ancestors became anatomically integrated into the genomes of modern humans. homo sapiens. This process could accelerate adaptation to Eurasian environmental factors, such as reduced UV radiation and increased seasonal variation. In a new study, scientists from Vanderbilt University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California, San Francisco have discovered lineage-specific genetic differences in circadian genes and their regulatory elements between humans and Neanderthals. They found that the introgressed genetic variants were enriched with effects on circadian regulation and consistently increased morningness tendencies in Europeans. The results expand our understanding of how the genomes of humans and our closest relatives responded to environments with different light-dark cycles.

Velasquez Alsuley other. They found that genetic material from Neanderthal ancestors may contribute to the tendency of some people today to be early risers, the type of people who wake up early and go to bed more easily. Image credit: Holger Neumann / Neanderthal Museum.

All anatomically modern humans trace their origins to the African continent about 300,000 years ago, where environmental factors shaped many of their biological characteristics.

They arrived in Eurasia 70,000 years ago, but other humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans, lived there for more than 400,000 years.

These archaic humans diverged from anatomically modern humans about 700,000 years ago, and as a result, humans and archaic hominid ancestors evolved under different environmental conditions.

“Although there was considerable variation in the latitudinal range of each group, Eurasian hominids primarily lived at consistently high latitudes and were therefore exposed to larger amplitude seasonal fluctuations in photoperiod,” said the University of California. said the San Francisco school. Dr. John Capra and his colleagues.

“Given the influence of environmental cues on circadian biology, we hypothesized that these separate evolutionary histories produced differences in circadian traits adapted to different environments.”

Although previous studies have shown that many of the archaic ancestors of modern humans are not beneficial and have been removed by natural selection, some archaic hominin variants that remain in human populations has shown evidence of adaptation.

For example, archaic genetic variation is thought to be associated with differences in hemoglobin levels, immune resistance to new pathogens, levels of skin pigmentation, and fat composition among Tibetans at high altitudes.

Changes in patterns and levels of light exposure have biological and behavioral effects that lead to evolutionary adaptations.

Scientists have extensively studied the evolution of circadian adaptations in insects, plants, and fish, but humans have been less well studied.

The Eurasian environment where Neanderthals and Denisovans lived for hundreds of thousands of years is located at higher latitudes and has more variable daylight hours than where modern humans evolved before leaving Africa.

Dr. Capra and his co-authors therefore investigated whether there was genetic evidence for differences in circadian clocks between Neanderthals and modern humans.

Using a combination of literature searches and expert knowledge, they defined a set of 246 circadian genes.

They found hundreds of genetic variations unique to each strain that can affect genes involved in the circadian clock.

Using artificial intelligence techniques, they identified 28 circadian genes that contain mutations that could alter splicing in archaic humans and that may be differentially regulated between modern and archaic humans. identified 16 circadian genes.

This indicates that there may be functional differences between the circadian clocks of ancient and modern humans.

Eurasian modern humans and Neanderthal ancestors interbred, so some humans may have acquired circadian variation from Neanderthals.

To test this, researchers investigated whether introgressed genetic variants were associated with the body’s preferences for wakefulness and sleep in a large cohort of hundreds of thousands of people at UK Biobank. did.

They found a number of introgressed mutants that affected sleep preferences, and most surprisingly, they found that these mutants consistently increased morningness, or the tendency to rise early.

This suggests a directional influence on this trait and is consistent with adaptations to high latitudes observed in other animals.

Increased morning time in humans is associated with a shortened circadian clock period. This may be beneficial at high latitudes, as it has been shown that sleep and wakefulness can be coordinated more quickly with external timing cues.

Shortening of the circadian period is required to synchronize the long summer light period at high latitudes in Drosophila, and selection for a shorter circadian period results in a latitudinal shift with increasing latitude in natural Drosophila populations. There is a latitudinal gradient in which the period decreases.

Therefore, the bias toward morningness in introgressed mutants may indicate selection for shortened circadian periods in populations living at high latitudes.

The tendency to be a morning person may have been evolutionarily beneficial to our ancestors who lived in the high latitudes of Europe, and would have been a Neanderthal genetic trait worth preserving.

“By combining ancient DNA, extensive genetic studies in modern humans, and artificial intelligence, we discovered substantial genetic differences in the circadian systems of Neanderthals and modern humans,” Dr. Capra said. .

“And by analyzing fragments of Neanderthal DNA that remain in the genomes of modern humans, we discovered surprising trends, many of which influence the regulation of circadian genes in modern humans. These effects are primarily in the consistent direction of increasing Neanderthal tendencies.” Morning people. ”

“This change is consistent with the effects of living at high latitudes on animals’ circadian clocks, and changes in seasonal light patterns may allow them to adjust their circadian clocks more quickly. ”

“Our next steps include applying these analyzes to more diverse modern human populations and investigating the effects of the Neanderthal variants we identified on circadian clocks in model systems. and applying similar analyzes to other potentially adaptive traits.”

of the team paper It was published in the magazine Genome biology and evolution.

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Kayla Velasquez-Arsley other. 2023. Archaic genetic introgression shaped human circadian characteristics. Genome biology and evolution 15 (12): evad203; doi: 10.1093/gbe/evad203

Source: www.sci.news

Webb’s fresh perspective on supernovae, laser connections between space stations, and the Europa Clipper mission

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

New high-definition images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) reveal intricate details of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), which is struck by a gas outlet by a star before exploding. It shows an expanding shell of matter. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Ilse De Looze (UGent), Tea Temim (Princeton University)

NASAWebb Space Telescope observes newly exploded star…

The team prepares to install the moon rocket hardware…

And we completed NASA’s first bidirectional end-to-end laser relay system…

Some of the stories we want to share with you – this week at NASA!

Watch the web’s new high-definition exploded stars

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently captured this new image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. This image, taken with Webb’s near-infrared camera, shows the star’s explosion at a resolution previously unattainable at these wavelengths, giving astronomers a hint at the dynamic processes occurring. . It’s inside a supernova remnant.

NASA’s Artemis II mission is making final preparations for its SLS rocket at Kennedy Space Center. The Orion stage adapter, a critical component that connects Orion to his SLS, recently underwent critical installation work on its diaphragm at Marshall Space Flight Center. This adapter plays an important role in preventing hydrogen gas buildup and ensuring safety during launch.Credit: NASA/Sam Lott

Team prepares to assemble moon rocket and spacecraft connectors

A team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center recently flipped the Orion stage adapter over and prepared the adapter for diaphragm installation.

The stage adapter connects the Orion spacecraft to the Space Launch System rocket’s intermediate cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). The diaphragm helps prevent highly flammable hydrogen gas, which could leak from the rocket’s propellant tanks, from accumulating beneath Orion and its crew before and during launch.

NASA’s ILLUMA-T payload communicates with the LCRD via laser signals.Credit: NASA/Dave Ryan

Space station laser communication terminal achieves first link

NASA’s LCRD and the new space station technology experiment ILLUMA-T successfully exchanged data for the first time, establishing the first laser link between ILLUMA-T and an on-orbit laser relay system. LCRD and his ILLUMA-T teamed up to complete NASA’s first bidirectional end-to-end laser relay system.

Laser communications uses infrared light rather than traditional radio waves to send and receive signals, allowing spacecraft to pack more data into each transmission.

The “Message in a Bottle” campaign offers anyone the opportunity to stencil their name onto a microchip inscribed with U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s “Mystery Praise: A Poem to Europe.” The chip will be mounted on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, bound for Jupiter and its moon Europa. Credit: NASA

Add your name to join the European Clipper Mission

The deadline to participate in NASA’s European Clipper mission’s Message in a Bottle campaign is 11:59 p.m. EST, December 31, 2023. You can join the mission and carve your name on his Clipper spacecraft as it travels and explores 1.8 billion miles of Europe. Jupitericy moon, Europa.

For more information, visit go.nasa.gov/MessageInABottle.

What’s happening this week at @NASA!

Source: scitechdaily.com

Nighttime exposure to high levels of light linked with higher risk of anxiety and depression

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

A large-scale study involving 87,000 participants found that while excessive night-time light exposure increases the risk of mental illness, increasing daytime light can reduce these risks. This groundbreaking study highlights the importance of balancing light exposure for mental health and suggests simple lifestyle adjustments for better health.

Exposure to artificial light at night increases the risk of developing mental illnesses such as anxiety, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.PTSD), with a tendency toward self-harm.

The world’s largest study of the effects of light exposure on mental health, involving nearly 87,000 people, found that increased exposure to light at night increases the risk of mental health conditions such as anxiety, bipolar disorder and PTSD. Not only that, but it has also been shown that the possibility of self-injury increases. harm. Importantly, the study also found that enhancing exposure to natural light during the day may serve as a non-drug approach to reducing the risk of psychosis.

Day and night light exposure: a balancing act

People exposed to high amounts of light at night had a 30 percent increased risk of depression, while those exposed to high amounts of light during the day had a 20 percent decreased risk of depression. A similar pattern of results was found for self-harm, psychosis, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and PTSD. These findings demonstrate that the simple practice of avoiding light at night and seeking brighter light during the day may be an effective non-pharmacological means of alleviating serious mental health problems. is showing.

The study, led by Associate Professor Sean Kane from the Monash School of Psychological Sciences and the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health in Melbourne, Australia, was published today in the journal Nature Mental Health.

“Our findings have potentially significant societal impact,” said Associate Professor Kane.

“If people understand that light exposure patterns have a huge impact on their mental health, they can take some simple steps to optimize their health. Let in bright light during the day. , it is important to get darkness at night.”

The study’s 86,772 participants, all from UK Biobank, were tested for light exposure, sleep, physical activity and mental health. Associate Professor Kane said the effects of night-time light exposure were independent of demographics, physical activity, season and employment.

“And our findings were consistent when considering shift work, sleep, urban versus rural living, and cardiometabolic health,” he said.

Challenging human biology with modern lighting

Modern, industrialized humanity has literally turned our biological systems upside down. According to Associate Professor Cain, our brains have evolved to function best in bright light during the day and little to no light at night.

“Humans today are challenging this biology, spending about 90% of their days under indoor electric lights that are too dim during the day and too bright at night compared to the natural light-dark cycle. It confuses our bodies and makes us feel sick,” he said.

Reference: “Day and night light exposure is associated with mental illness: an objective light study of over 85,000 people” Angus C. Burns, Daniel P. Windred, Martin K. Rutter, Patrick Olivier, Celine Vetter, Richa Saxena, Jacqueline M Lane, Andrew JK Phillips, Sean W. Kane, October 9, 2023; natural mental health.
DOI: 10.1038/s44220-023-00135-8

Source: scitechdaily.com

Recent study challenges previous beliefs about forest resilience

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Recent research has shown that trees in humid regions are more vulnerable to drought, challenging previous beliefs about tree resilience. The study, which included analysis of more than 6.6 million tree rings, revealed that trees in arid regions are surprisingly drought tolerant. This finding highlights the widespread effects of climate change on forests and suggests that genetic diversity in drier regions may be important for adapting to changing conditions. There is. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Scientists have flipped the script and revealed that trees in humid regions are more sensitive to drought.

This holiday season brings some surprising news about Christmas trees. Scientists have found that globally, trees that grow in wetter regions are more sensitive to drought. This means that if your tree was grown in a humid climate, it has likely been damaged over generations.

Debate over drought tolerance of trees

Scientists have long debated whether arid environments make trees more or less tolerant of drought. It seems intuitive that trees living at the biological margin are most vulnerable to climate change. Because even the slightest bit of extra stress can send a tree over the brink. On the other hand, these populations may be better able to withstand drought because they are adapted to harsher environments.

The trees of this lush temperate forest in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state may be less drought tolerant than trees in drier regions of the South.Credit: Joan Dudney

Insights from new research

According to a new study published in the journal science Increased water availability could “kill” trees by reducing their ability to adapt to drought, according to researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of California, Davis. “And that’s really important to understand when we think about the global vulnerability of forest carbon stocks and forest health.” said Joan Dudney, an assistant professor and ecologist. “You don’t want to be a ‘spoiled’ tree when faced with a major drought.”

Dudney and his co-authors predicted that trees growing in the driest regions would be more sensitive to drought because they were already living on the edge of their limits. Furthermore, climate change models predict that these regions will dry out more rapidly than wetter regions. This change in climate can expose trees to conditions beyond their ability to adapt.

Methodology: Tree ring analysis

To measure drought sensitivity, the authors analyzed 6.6 million tree ring samples from 122 trees. seed World wide. They measured whether a tree was growing faster or slower than average based on the width of its growth rings. They correlated these trends with historical climate data such as precipitation and temperature.

The team then compared different regions’ responses to drought. “As you move to the drier edge of a species’ range, trees become less and less sensitive to drought,” said lead author Robert Heilmeyer, an environmental economist with the Environmental Research Program and the Bren School. he said. “Those trees are actually very resilient.”

Dudney, Heilmeyer, and their co-author Frances Moore were partially inspired by UCSB professor Tamma Carleton’s research on the effects of climate change on humanity. “This paper highlights the value of interdisciplinary scientific research,” added Moore, an associate professor at the University of California, Davis. “We applied economics methods originally developed to study how people and businesses adapt to changing climate, and applied them to ecological contexts to study the sensitivity of forests to drought. could be applied to.”

“A heat wave is likely to kill more people in a cool place like Seattle than in a hot city like Phoenix,” Heilmeyer said. It’s already quite hot in the Southwest, with a scorching heatwave occurring. But cities in the region are adapted to extreme climates, he points out. We now know that forests exhibit similar trends.

Impact on warm regions

Unfortunately, temperate regions are expected to become disproportionately drier in the coming decades. “Significant parts of the species’ ranges will be faced with entirely new climates, a phenomenon that these species do not find anywhere else in their ranges today,” Heilmeyer explained. The authors found that in 2100, 11% of the average species’ range will be drier than the driest part of its historical range. For some species, this increases to 50% or more.

“Broadly speaking, our study highlights that very few forests will be immune to the effects of climate change,” Dudney said. “Even wet forests are under more threat than we realize.”

But there’s also the other side of the coin. This species stores drought-tolerant resources in drier parts of its range and has the potential to strengthen forests in wetter regions. Previous research UCSB researchers have revealed that many species have the ability to adapt to environmental changes. But these researchers also discovered that trees move slowly from one generation to the next. This means that human intervention, such as assisted migration, may be required to take advantage of this genetic diversity.

Christmas tree and the fate of the forest

Whether the Christmas tree lives in a dry or humid region, its growth may decrease in the future. But understanding how trees respond to climate change can help secure the future of Tannenbaum and its wild trees.

Reference: “Drought sensitivity of mesic forests increases vulnerability to climate change” by Robert Heilmeyer, Joan Dudney, and Frances C. Moore, December 7, 2023. science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.adi1071

Source: scitechdaily.com

Astrophysical mysteries unraveled by new dark matter theory

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Researchers have advanced our understanding of dark matter through simulations that support the self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) theory. This theory has the potential to resolve the discrepancy in dark matter density observed in different galaxies, poses a challenge to traditional cold dark matter (CDM) models, and highlights the dynamic nature of dark matter. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Dark matter may be more active than previously thought, reports a study from the University of California, Riverside.

Dark matter, which is thought to make up 85% of the matter in the universe, does not emit light and its properties are still poorly understood. Normal matter absorbs, reflects, and emits light, but dark matter cannot be seen directly, making it difficult to detect. A theory called “self-interacting dark matter” (SIDM) claims that dark matter particles self-interact with each other due to dark forces, causing them to collide strongly with each other near the centers of galaxies.

Among the works published in of Astrophysics Journal LetterA research team led by Haibo Yu, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Riverside, reports that SIDM can simultaneously explain two extreme astrophysical puzzles.

Understanding dark matter halos and gravitational lenses

“The first is a halo of dense dark matter in a giant elliptical galaxy,” Yu said. “The halo is detected by observations of strong gravitational lenses, and its density is so high that it is extremely unlikely under the prevailing cold dark matter theory. Second, the density of dark matter halos in superdiffuse galaxies is extremely low. is extremely low and difficult to explain using cold dark matter theory.”

A dark matter halo is an invisible halo of matter that permeates and surrounds a galaxy or galaxy cluster. Gravitational lensing occurs when light traveling across space from a distant galaxy is bent around a massive object. The cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm/theory assumes that dark matter particles do not collide. As the name suggests, superdiffuse galaxies have extremely low luminosity and a dispersed distribution of stars and gas.

Hai-Bo Yu is a theoretical physicist at the University of California, Riverside, with expertise in the particle properties of dark matter.Credit: Samantha Tiu

Yu was also joined in the study by Ethan Nadler, a postdoctoral fellow at the Carnegie Observatory and the University of Southern California, and Danen Yang, a postdoctoral fellow at UCR.

To show that SIDM can explain two puzzles in astrophysics, the research team presents a theory of cosmic structure formation with strong dark matter self-interactions at relevant mass scales for strong lenticular halos and superdiffuse galaxies. We conducted our first high-resolution simulation.

“These self-interactions cause heat transfer within the halo and diversify the halo density in the central region of the galaxy,” Nadler said. “In other words, some halos have higher center densities and others have lower center densities compared to their CDM counterparts, the details of which depend on the evolutionary history of the Universe and the environment of the individual halo.”

Challenges to the CDM paradigm and future research

According to the research team, these two puzzles pose a formidable challenge to the standard CDM paradigm.

“CDM takes on the challenge of explaining these mysteries,” Yang said. “SIDM is probably a good candidate for reconciling two opposing extremes. There are no other explanations in the literature. We now know that dark matter may be more complex and active than we expected. There is an interesting possibility that there is.”

The study also demonstrates the ability to investigate dark matter through astrophysical observations using computer simulation tools of cosmic structure formation.

“We hope that our study will encourage further research in this promising research area,” Yu said. “This is a particularly timely development given the expected influx of data in the near future from observatories such as the James Webb Space Telescope and the upcoming Rubin Observatory.”

Since around 2009, the work of Yu and his collaborators has popularized SIDM in the particle physics and astrophysics communities.

References: Ethan O. Nadler, Danen Yang, and Haibo Yu, “Self-interacting dark matter solutions for the extreme diversity of low-mass halo properties,” November 30, 2023. Astrophysics Journal Letter.
DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad0e09

This research was supported by the John Templeton Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Chia Genome Sequenced by Researchers, New Study Finds

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Cheer (salvia hispanica) It is one of the most popular nutrient-dense foods and pseudocereals of the Lamiaceae family Lamiaceae. Chia seeds are rich in protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, and antioxidants. A team of scientists at Oregon State University has sequenced the chia genome, providing a blueprint for future research to exploit the nutritional and human health benefits of the chia plant.

chia seeds. Image credit: Valeria Lu.

Chia is an annual herbaceous plant in the Lamiaceae family, which also includes popular culinary herbs.

It is grown in southern Mexico and Central America for its nutrient-rich seeds containing protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, antioxidants, and minerals.

Compared to dietary fiber sources such as soy, wheat, and corn, chia seeds contain approximately 54g of dietary fiber per 100g, of which 93% is insoluble fiber.

Similarly, 60% of the total fatty acids are composed of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and proteins constitute 18–24% of the seed mass.

Additionally, the health-beneficial effects of chia seeds on improving muscle lipid content, cardiovascular health, total cholesterol ratio, triglyceride content, and anti-carcinogenic properties have been demonstrated in humans and animals.

The high fiber content in chia seeds also helps to reduce hypoglycemic effects and stabilize blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Professor Pankaj Jaiwal from Oregon State University said, “Our study opens up the possibility for scientists to study chia seeds with a view to improving human health, while also expanding knowledge of chia’s full range of nutritional benefits.” We will continue to deepen our understanding.”

“Long-term food and nutritional security currently requires diversifying human diets through breeding and genetic improvement of nutrient-rich so-called minor crops like chia,” said Dr. Sushma Naisani of Oregon State University. We have reached a stage where this is necessary.”

In the study, the authors assembled a haploid chia genome with an estimated genome size of 356 Mb.

They identified genes and genetic markers in chia that could help agricultural researchers breed plants to amplify plant traits valuable to human health.

They discovered 29 genes involved in the biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids and 93 genes that aid chia seeds’ gel-forming properties.

They also found 2,707 genes highly expressed in the seeds that are likely to produce small biologically active peptides (biopeptides) derived from proteins.

When seed proteins are digested in the intestinal tract, these small biopeptides are released and absorbed into the body, with potential properties that may help alleviate human health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Masu.

“This is the first report in silico “Annotation of plant genomes for protein-derived small biopeptides associated with improved human health,” the researchers said.

of findings It was published in the magazine Frontiers of plant science.

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parul gupta other. 2023. Reference genome of the nutrient-rich orphan crop chia (salvia hispanica) and implications for future breeding. front.plant science 14; doi: 10.3389/fps.2023.1272966

Source: www.sci.news

New technology uses magnetism to control light sources

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Researchers have developed a new method to create transparent magnetic materials using laser heating. This breakthrough is crucial for the integration of magneto-optic materials and optical circuits, a major challenge in this field. This is expected to lead to advances in miniature magneto-optical isolators, miniature lasers, high-resolution displays, and miniature optical devices. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

A new laser heating technique by a Japanese research team enables the integration of transparent magnetic materials into optical circuits, paving the way for advanced optical communication devices.

In a major advance in optical technology, researchers at Tohoku University and Toyohashi University of Technology have developed a new method to create transparent magnetic materials using laser heating. This breakthrough, recently published in the journal Optical Materials, presents a new approach to integrating magneto-optic materials and optical devices, a long-standing challenge in the field.

“The key to this result is that we used a special laser heating technology to create a transparent magnetic material called cerium-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Ce:YIG),” said Taichi Goto, associate professor at Tohoku University’s Institute of Electrical Communication. he points out. (RIEC) and study co-author. “This method addresses the critical challenge of integrating magneto-optic materials into optical circuits without causing damage, an issue that has hindered progress in miniaturizing optical communication devices.”

Laser heating setup for preparing transparent magnetic materials.Credit: Taichi Goto et al.

Magneto-optical isolators in optical communications

Magneto-optical isolators are essential for achieving stable optical communications. These act like traffic lights at traffic lights, allowing movement in one direction but not the other. Integrating these isolators into silicon-based photonic circuits is difficult because they typically require high-temperature processes.

As a result of this challenge, Goto and his colleagues turned to laser annealing, a technique that selectively heats specific areas of a material with a laser. This allows precise control that affects only the target area without affecting the surrounding areas.

Previous work has exploited this to selectively heat bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi:YIG) films deposited on dielectric mirrors. This allows Bi:YIG to be crystallized without affecting the dielectric mirror.

However, problems arise when working with Ce:YIG, whose magnetic and optical properties make it an ideal material for optical devices, as exposure to air causes undesirable chemical reactions.

To get around this, the researchers designed a new device that uses a laser to heat the material in a vacuum, meaning without air. This made it possible to precisely heat small areas (approximately 60 micrometers) without changing the surrounding material.

Impact on optical technology

“Transparent magnetic materials created using this method are expected to greatly facilitate the development of compact magneto-optical isolators that are essential for stable optical communications,” Goto added. “It also opens the door to creating powerful miniature lasers, high-resolution displays, and miniature optical devices.”

Reference: “Vacuum laser annealing of magneto-optical cerium-substituted yttrium-iron-garnet films” Hibiki Miyashita, Yuki Yoshihara, Kanta Mori, Takumi Oguchi, Pan Boy Lim, Mitsuteru Inoue, Kazushi Ishiyama, Taichi Goto, 2023. November 14th, optical materials.
DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2023.114530

Source: scitechdaily.com

Hydrogen Cyanide Detected in Enceladus’ Plume by Planetary Researchers

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Using data from NASA’s Cassini mission, planetary scientists have detected several compounds critical to the habitability of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus, including hydrogen cyanide, acetylene, propylene, and ethane. . These compounds may support living microbial communities or drive complex organic syntheses leading to the origin of life.

Diagram of Enceladus’ plume activity.Image credit: Peter other., doi: 10.1038/s41550-023-02160-0.

“Our study provides further evidence that Enceladus hosts some of the most important molecules for both producing the building blocks of life and sustaining life through metabolic reactions,” said Harvard University Ph.D. said Jonah Peter, a student in the program.

“Not only does Enceladus appear to meet the basic requirements for habitability, but we are also wondering how complex biomolecules are formed there and what kinds of chemical pathways are involved. I got an idea about it.”

“The discovery of hydrogen cyanide was particularly exciting because it is the starting point for most theories about the origin of life.”

As we know, life requires building blocks such as amino acids, and hydrogen cyanide is one of the most important and versatile molecules required for the formation of amino acids.

Peter and his colleagues refer to hydrogen cyanide as the Swiss Army knife of amino acid precursors because its molecules stack up in different ways.

“The more we tested alternative models and tried to poke holes in the results, the stronger the evidence became,” Peter said.

“Ultimately, it became clear that there was no way to match the plume composition without including hydrogen cyanide.”

Saturn’s moon Enceladus with plumes. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI / Kevin M. Gill.

In 2017, planetary scientists discovered evidence of chemistry on Enceladus that could help sustain life in the ocean, if it exists.

The combination of carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen in the plume suggested methanogenesis, a metabolic process that produces methane.

This process is widespread on Earth and may have been important for the origin of life on Earth.

Peter and his co-authors found evidence for additional energetic chemical sources that are far more powerful and diverse than methane production.

They discovered a series of oxidized organic compounds, showing scientists that Enceladus’ underground ocean potentially has many chemical pathways to support life. That’s because oxidation promotes the release of chemical energy.

“If methane production is like a small clock battery in terms of energy, then our findings suggest that Enceladus’ ocean could provide large amounts of energy for any life that might exist. This suggests that we may be able to provide something similar to car batteries,” said Dr. Kevin Hand, a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Unlike previous studies that used laboratory experiments and geochemical modeling to recreate the conditions Cassini found on Enceladus, the authors relied on detailed statistical analysis.

They examined data collected by Cassini’s ion and neutral mass spectrometers, which study the gas, ions, and ice grains around Saturn.

By quantifying the amount of information contained in the data, the authors were able to uncover subtle differences in how well different compounds explain the Cassini signal.

“There are a lot of potential puzzle pieces that can be put together when trying to reconcile observed data,” Peter said.

“We used mathematics and statistical modeling to identify the combination of puzzle pieces that best matched the plume’s composition and made the most of the data without over-interpreting the limited data set.”

of findings It was published in the magazine natural astronomy.

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JS Peter other. Detection of HCN and diverse redox chemistries in Enceladus plumes. Nat Astron, published online on December 14, 2023. doi: 10.1038/s41550-023-02160-0

Source: www.sci.news

Tracing the Sea Ice Highway: The Arrival of North America’s First Immigrants

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

New findings suggest that early humans arrived in North America earlier than 13,000 years ago, likely taking advantage of the “sea ice highway” along the Pacific coast. This theory is supported by paleoclimate data, challenges traditional migration theories, and emphasizes the adaptability of early humans. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

A new study suggests that some early Americans may have traveled down the coast from Beringia 24,000 years ago on winter sea ice.

One of the hottest debates in archeology is when and how humans first arrived in North America. Archaeologists have traditionally argued that people walked through temporary ice-free passages between ice sheets an estimated 13,000 years ago.

New evidence casts doubt on traditional theory

But a growing number of archaeological and genetic discoveries, such as human footprints in New Mexico dating back some 23,000 years, suggest that humans were on the continent much earlier. These early Americans likely migrated from Beringia along the Pacific coastline. Beringia is a land bridge between Asia and North America that appeared during the last ice age maximum when ice sheets trapped large amounts of water and caused sea levels to drop.

Now, in a study presented at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting (AGU23) in San Francisco on Friday, December 15th, paleoclimate reconstructions of the Pacific Northwest show that sea ice has grown even further south than humans. This suggests that it may have been a means of transportation.

Coastal migration theory

The idea that early Americans may have traveled along the Pacific coast is not new. People may have been south of the giant ice sheet that once covered much of the continent by at least 16,000 years ago. Given that ice-free corridors would not open for thousands of years before these early arrivals, scientists proposed that people instead migrated along a “kelp highway.” Along this path, early Americans slowly made their way down to North America by ship. Abundant supplies found in coastal waters.

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of coastal settlements in western Canada dating back 14,000 years. But in 2020, researchers noted that freshwater from melting glaciers at the time may have created strong currents, making it difficult for people to travel along the coast.

Sea ice in Nunavut, Canada. Credit: Grid-Arendel CC-BY-NC-SA

An icy highway crossing a dangerous sea

To get a more complete picture of ocean conditions during key periods of human migration, Summer Pretorius and colleagues at the U.S. Geological Survey examined climate proxies in marine sediments along the coast. Most of the data came from small fossilized plankton. Its abundance and chemistry help scientists reconstruct ocean temperatures, salinity, and sea ice cover.

Praetorius’ presentation is part of a session at AGU23 on the climate history and geology of Beringia and the North Pacific during the Pleistocene. This year, his week-long conference brought together 24,000 of his experts from all areas of earth and space sciences in San Francisco and 3,000 online participants.

Using climate models, Praetorius’ team found that at the height of the Last Glacial Maximum, about 20,000 years ago, ocean currents were more than twice as strong as they are today due to glacial winds and falling sea levels. Pretorius said it would have been very difficult to travel by boat in these conditions, although it was not impossible to row.

However, records show that much of the region had winter sea ice until about 15,000 years ago. As a cold-adapted people, “they may have been using the sea ice as a foothold instead of having to row against this terrible glacial current,” Pretorius said.

Sea ice as a migration path

People in the Arctic now travel along the sea ice on dog sleds and snowmobiles. Pretorius said early Americans may also have used the “sea ice highway” to travel and hunt marine mammals, slowly making their way into North America in the process. Climate data suggest that conditions along the coastal route may have been favorable for migration between 24,500 and 22,000 years ago and between 16,400 and 14,800 years ago, possibly due to the presence of winter sea ice.

Integration of old and new theories

It’s difficult to prove that people used sea ice for travel, given that most ruins are underwater, but the idea is that without land bridges or easy ocean travel, humans It provides a new framework for understanding how it arrived in North America.

And the Sea Ice Highway is not mutually exclusive with other human movements beyond it, Pretorius said. The researchers’ model shows that by 14,000 years ago, the Alaska Current had calmed down, making it easier for people to travel by boat along the coast.

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” she said. “We are always amazed by the ingenuity of ancient humans.”

Source: scitechdaily.com

Getting the Gateway to the Moon Ready

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

NASAThe Artemis II mission is making final preparations. SLS rocket. The Orion stage adapter, essential for connecting Orion to SLS and ensuring launch safety, has reached a key milestone. SLS is essential to NASA’s lunar exploration goals.

Elements of the super-heavy lift SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis II mission are undergoing final preparations before being shipped to NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida for stacking and pre-launch activities in 2024. It is being said.

orion stage adapter

A team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, recently installed the Orion Stage Adapter, a ring structure that connects NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the SLS rocket’s Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), in preparation for the installation of the diaphragm. rotated. The Nov. 30 installation is one of the final steps for the adapter before it is ready to be shipped to Kennedy on NASA’s Super Guppy cargo plane.

Diaphragm safety and functionality

“The diaphragm is a composite dome-shaped structure that isolates the volume above the ICPS from the volume below Orion,” said Brent, director of Orion Stage Adapter in Marshall’s SLS Program Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution Office. Gaddes said. . “This acts as a barrier between the two, allowing highly flammable hydrogen gas that could leak from the rocket’s propellant tanks to accumulate beneath the Orion spacecraft and its crew before and during launch. It prevents

Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, recently rotated, or “flipped” the smallest key element to attach critical components to NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on Nov. 30. I let it happen. 5 feet tall, 1,800 rockets. -Pond’s Orion stage adapter connects NASA’s Orion spacecraft to his SLS rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage and is manufactured entirely in Marshall. The recently installed diaphragm will act as a barrier to prevent gases generated during Artemis II’s launch from entering the spacecraft.Credit: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

The role of adapters in SLS Rocket

At 5 feet tall and weighing 1,800 pounds, the adapter is the smallest key element of the SLS rocket, which will generate more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to launch the four Artemis astronauts into the constellation of Orion around the moon. . This adapter is completely manufactured by Marshall’s engineering team.

SLS: Pillar of deep space exploration

NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s deep space exploration backbone, along with Orion and Gateway in lunar orbit and the Commercial Manned Landing System. SLS is the only rocket capable of sending Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the moon in a single launch.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Revealing an Innovative Approach to Cooling

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Schematic diagram showing cooling of nanopores by charge-selective ion transport. Credit: 2023 Tsutsui et al., Peltier Cooling for Thermal Management of Nanofluidic Devices, Devices, ed.

Groundbreaking work by Japanese researchers demonstrates nanopore-mediated cooling, revolutionizing temperature control in microfluidic systems and deepening our understanding of cellular ion channels.

Have you ever wondered how water boils in an electric kettle? Most people may think that electricity just heats a metal coil inside the kettle and transfers that heat to the water. . But electricity can do so much more. When electricity causes ions in a solution to flow, heat is generated. If all ions and surrounding molecules are free to move, this heating effect will be uniform throughout the solution. Now, Japanese researchers have investigated what happens if this flow is blocked in one direction.

Cooling with nanopore technology

In a recently published study, deviceA team led by researchers at Osaka University’s SANKEN (National Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research) has shown that cooling can be achieved by using nanopores (very small holes in membranes) as gateways that allow only certain ions to pass through. Through.

In general, when electricity is used to drive ions in a solution, positively charged ions and negatively charged ions are attracted in opposite directions. Therefore, the thermal energy carried by the ions travels in both directions.

Understanding ion flow and temperature control

If the path of the ions is blocked by a membrane that can only pass through the nanopores, it becomes possible to control the flow. For example, if the pore surface is negatively charged, negative ions can interact without passing through, and only positive ions will flow with energy.

“At high ion concentrations, we measured an increase in temperature as the power increased,” explains study lead author Mayu Tsutsui. “However, at low concentrations, the available negative ions interact with the negatively charged nanopore walls. Therefore, only positively charged ions passed through the nanopore and a decrease in temperature was observed. ”

Applications in microfluidics and cell biology

The demonstrated ionic cooling could potentially be used to cool microfluidic systems, setups used to move, mix, or interrogate very small volumes of liquids. Such systems are important across many fields, from microelectronics to nanomedicine.

Additionally, this discovery could help further our understanding of ion channels, which play a key role in the delicate balance mechanisms of cells. Such insights could be key to understanding function and disease and designing treatments.

Broader implications and future prospects

“We are excited about the breadth of the potential impact of our findings,” says Yuji Kawai, lead author of the study. “There is considerable scope to tune nanopore materials to tune cooling. Additionally, arrays of nanopores can be created to amplify the effect.”

The list of areas that could be enhanced by this discovery is indeed considerable, extending to the use of temperature gradients to generate electrical potentials. This has potential applications in temperature sensing and blue power generation.

References: “Peltier Cooling for Thermal Management in Nanofluidic Devices” by Mayu Tsutsui, Kazumichi Yokota, Wei Lung Su, Dennis Garoli, Hirofumi Oguji, and Yuji Kawai, December 5, 2023. device.
DOI: 10.1016/j.device.2023.100188

Source: scitechdaily.com

Next Phase of Human Clinical Trials for Revolutionary Sepsis Treatment Commences

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists have developed a promising treatment for sepsis, and clinical trials using sodium ascorbate, a vitamin C preparation, have shown effective results. The treatment has progressed into extensive clinical trials across Australia and demonstrated significant improvements in sepsis patients, including improved kidney function and reduced dependence on other drugs. This breakthrough, the result of decades of research, brings hope to a disease that is the leading cause of death in intensive care units around the world.

Flory Institute researchers, in collaboration with hospital intensivists, have demonstrated that sodium ascorbate, a pH-balanced formulation of vitamin C, is effective in treating sepsis.

Researchers at the Florey Institute have demonstrated that the formulation they have developed reduces deadly sepsis, and the next phase of clinical trials is set to begin across Australia next month.

Promising results from early clinical trial conducted at Melbourne’s Austin Hospital published in journal Critical carehave shown that sodium ascorbate, a pH-balanced formulation of vitamin C, is effective in treating sepsis.

Lead researcher Associate Professor Yugish Lankadeva said sepsis is notoriously difficult to treat and is often fatal.

LR Florey Professor Clive May, Austin Health Intensivist Professor Rinaldo Bellomo and Florey Associate Professor Yugish Rankadeva discovered that sodium ascorbate can be used to treat sepsis.Credit: Flory

Challenges in sepsis treatment

“Sepsis accounts for 35 to 50 percent of all hospital deaths. It is when the immune system is unable to fight the underlying infection, causing a life-threatening drop in blood pressure, multiple organ failure, and death. ,” said Associate Professor Lankadeva. In our clinical trial at Austin Hospital, sodium ascorbate was administered into patients’ bloodstreams, resulting in promising improvements in multiple organs. ”

Associate Professor Lankadeva, Florey’s research director for Systems Neuroscience, said of the next steps: $4.9 million government-funded research project Delivered in intensive care units in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Alice Springs and Sydney.

“We will recruit 300 adult sepsis patients who will receive either our formulation or a placebo in addition to their usual hospital care. These results will provide additional data to determine the efficacy of the formulation. It will help in collection,” said Associate Professor Lankadeva.

Flory scientists have created a special formulation of sodium ascorbate to treat sepsis.Credit: Flory

Insights into previous trials

Professor Rinaldo Bellomo, director of intensive care research at Austin Hospital, said the first part of the trial at his department involved 30 adult sepsis patients between October 2020 and November 2022.

While in intensive care in the hospital, half of the patients were randomly assigned to receive sodium ascorbate, and the other half received a placebo.

This study found that patients with sepsis treated with sodium ascorbate:

Signs that more urine is produced and kidney function has improved
Less need for noradrenaline, a drug used clinically to restore blood pressure

He showed signs of improved function in multiple organs.

“Sepsis is the number one cause of death in intensive care units in Australia and around the world,” Professor Bellomo said. “In many cases, the disease progresses so rapidly that by the time patients reach us, they are already seriously ill. It will be a huge change.”

Decades of research bear fruit

Professor Clive May, Florey Senior Research Fellow on the project, has been researching how sepsis causes organ failure, particularly damage to the brain and kidneys, for more than 20 years.

“By showing decreased oxygen levels in the tissues of sepsis, we found that sodium ascorbate was a possible treatment.

“We have seen dramatic results in preclinical studies, where extremely high doses of sodium ascorbate caused complete recovery within just three hours with no side effects. It’s heartening to see that it’s paying off and bringing treatments into the hands of patients,” said Professor Clive May.

Surviving sepsis: The patient’s perspective

Longtime Flory staffer Brett Purcell serves as the consumer representative for the MEGASCORES research program, providing a valuable perspective from sepsis survivors.

“In 2011 I was taken to the hospital by ambulance with high fever and delirium. I was suffering from the early stages of sepsis. My condition gradually worsened and I was transferred to a larger hospital after 12 days. By that time My heart was severely infected and I was in septic shock. Six months ago I had a successful aortic valve replacement. Unfortunately the valve was infected.

“The surgical team repaired the damage in a six-hour operation, but my condition deteriorated to critical condition. I was told it would be an hour. It was the good decision-making of the surgical team and ICU intensivist that saved me. I was put on life support with an ECMO machine and dialysis, and my symptoms rapidly worsened. Improved.

“After almost eight weeks in the hospital, I’m home. I’m really lucky to be alive and hope this new research using sodium ascorbate is less invasive, faster, and extremely effective in fighting sepsis.” We hope to provide hospitals with a new and effective life-saving tool.”

Reference: “Ultra-dose sodium ascorbate: pilot, single-dose, physiological effects, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial” Fumitaka Yanase, Sofia Spano, Akinori Maeda, Anis Chaba, Thummaporn Naorungroj, Connie Pei Chen Ow , Yugeesh R. Rankadeva, Clive N. May, Ashenafi H. Betley, Darius JR Lane, Glenn M. Eastwood, Mark P. Plummer, Rinaldo Bellomo, October 12, 2023. Critical care.
DOI: 10.1186/s13054-023-04644-x

Source: scitechdaily.com

Volcanoes: Not as calm as they seem – Explosive secrets unveiled

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Researchers are analyzing the Chomadul volcano to comprehend the sudden eruption of a long-dormant volcano. The chemical and mineral composition of magma has been the focus of research to gain insight into volcanic reactivation and prediction of eruptions. This has underscored the potential hazards of inactive volcanoes. The dormant period of a volcano could potentially be interrupted by a rapid and hazardous eruption. The study by Hungarian researchers has helped uncover warning signs before the eruption of long-dormant volcanoes. They focused on the Chomadul volcano in the Carpathian-Pannonian region. The team used mineralogical and chemical composition data to understand magma evolution and infer the structure of the volcanic subsurface magma chamber. The study revealed that the volcanic activity during the last active period was mainly explosive. The eruption of Chomadul volcano was analyzed in terms of its eruptive history. The researchers were able to determine the causes and processes that control the eruption style of volcanic activity through a detailed study of rock-forming minerals. The key mineral, amphibole, played a crucial role in the study. It suggested that water-rich recharge magmas played an important role in triggering explosive eruptions. The research also highlighted the importance of quantitative volcanic petrology studies in understanding pre-eruption signals and enhancing eruption prediction capabilities. The study of Chomadul volcano has attracted international attention and is significant in identifying potential dangers associated with long-dormant volcanoes.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Breathing Easy: The World Can Now Relax.

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Washington University in St. Louis published a new study on December 17, 2023, examining the health risks of PM2.5 and global reduction efforts. The study found that global PM2.5 exposure has decreased since 2011, mainly due to China’s efforts. The researchers emphasize the health benefits of exposure reduction and emphasize the need for continued monitoring and mitigation efforts, especially in densely populated areas.

The study, conducted by researchers at Washington University, quantified changes in air pollution from 1998 to 2019 and concluded that further mitigation efforts are still needed.

PM2.5, which is 2.5 micrometers or smaller, poses a significant global environmental health risk. It can lead to respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis, cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and high blood pressure, and permanent developmental problems in children. Exposure to PM2.5 is also associated with an increased risk of premature death.

To address these negative effects, several countries, including China, have reduced their exposure to PM2.5. Yet, the study raises questions about the effectiveness of these efforts and which regions are making the most progress in driving PM2.5 reductions.

The research, led by Randall Martin, examined PM2.5 data from 1998 to 2019 and found that China’s strict air quality controls were the biggest cause of the global reversal in PM2.5 exposure. This reduced exposure resulted in 1.1 million fewer premature deaths in China between 2011 and 2019, as well as improved health outcomes more generally.

Overall, the study underscores the need for continued reductions in PM2.5 exposure globally and emphasizes the importance of sustained monitoring, especially in poorly monitored but highly populated regions such as South Asia and the Middle East. The success in PM2.5 reduction demonstrates the benefits of mitigation efforts and provides motivation for further progress.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Unraveling Subtle Mysteries with “Donut” Rays

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Researchers at the University of Boulder have advanced the field of ptychography by innovating a new imaging method using donut-shaped light beams. This technique enables detailed imaging of small regularly patterned structures such as semiconductors, overcoming previous limitations of conventional microscopy. This advance promises significant improvements in nanoelectronics and biological imaging. (Artist’s concept) Credit: SciTechDaily.com

In a new study, researchers at the University of Boulder used a donut-shaped beam of light to take detailed images of objects too small to be seen with traditional microscopes.

Advances in Nanoelectronic Imaging

This new technology could help scientists improve the inner workings of a variety of ‘nanoelectronics’, including miniature ones. The semiconductor inside a computer chip. This discovery was featured in a special issue on December 1st. Optics and Photonics News called Optics in 2023.

Ptychography: A Lens into the Microscopic World

This research is the latest advance in the field of ptychography, a challenging yet powerful technique for seeing very small things. Unlike traditional microscopes, ptychography tools do not directly observe small objects. Instead, it shines a laser at a target and measures how the light is scattered. This is a bit like making shadow puppets on a wall when viewed through a microscope.

A scattering pattern produced by donut-shaped rays of light reflecting off an object with a regularly repeating structure. Credit: Wang et al., 2023, optica

Overcoming Ptychography Challenges

So far, the approach has worked surprisingly well, with one major exception, said Margaret Mahne, the study’s lead author and distinguished professor of physics.

“Until recently, we had been completely unsuccessful with highly periodic samples or objects with regularly repeating patterns,” says the UW-Boulder and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) collaboration. Margaret, a fellow at JILA, said, “That’s a problem because this has a lot of nanoelectronics in it.”

She pointed out that many important technologies, such as some semiconductors, are made up of atoms such as silicon and carbon bonded in regular patterns, like small grids or meshes. So far, it has proven difficult for scientists to observe these structures up close using ptychography.

Donut-shaped beams of light scatter from incredibly small structures. Credit: Wang et al., 2023, optica

A Breakthrough in Donut-Shaped Light

But in a new study, Murunet and colleagues have come up with a solution. Instead of using a traditional laser in a microscope, they generated a donut-shaped beam of extreme ultraviolet light.

The researchers’ new approach can collect precise images of small, delicate structures that are around 10 to 100 nanometers in size, or many times smaller than a millionth of an inch. In the future, researchers expect to be able to zoom in and observe even smaller structures. The donut beam, or angular momentum beam of light, also does not damage small electronic equipment during the process, as existing imaging tools such as electron microscopes do.

“In the future, this method could be used to inspect polymers used in semiconductor manufacturing and printing for defects without damaging the structure during the process,” Mahne said. Stated.

Bin Wang and Nathan Brooks, who received their PhDs from JILA in 2023, are the lead authors of this new study.

Pushing the Limits of Microscopy

Mahne said this research pushes the fundamental limits of microscopy. Because of the physics of light, lens-based imaging tools can only see the world to a resolution of about 200 nanometers, which is not precise enough to capture many viruses. For example, those that infect humans. Although scientists can freeze viruses to death and view them with powerful cryo-electron microscopes, they still cannot capture the activity of these pathogens in real time.

Ptychography, developed in the mid-2000s, could help researchers break through that limit.

How ptychography works
To understand how, go back to shadow puppets. Imagine that a scientist wants to collect stylized images of very small structures, perhaps the letters that spell “CU.” To do this, they first shine a laser beam on the text and scan the text multiple times. When light hits “C” and “U” (in this case the dolls), the light rays break and scatter, creating a complex pattern (shadow). Scientists record those patterns using sensitive detectors and analyze them using a series of mathematical formulas. Given enough time, they will perfectly recreate the shape of the doll from the shadow it casts, Mahne explained.

Evolution to Finer Details

Stated. Bin Wang and Nathan Brooks, who received their PhDs from JILA in 2023, are the lead authors of this new study. Other co-authors of the new study include physics professor and JILA fellow Henry Kaptein, current and former JILA graduate students Peter Johnsen, Nicholas Jenkins, Yuka Esashi, Iona Binney, Includes Michael Tanksalvara.

Reference: “High-fidelity ptychographic imaging of highly periodic structures enabled by vortex harmonic beams” Michael Tanksalvala, Henry C. Kapteyn, Bin Wang, Peter Johnsen, Yuka Esashi, Iona Binnie, Margaret M. Murnane, Nicholas W. Jenkins, and Nathan J. Brooks, September 19, 2023, optica.
DOI: doi:10.1364/OPTICA.498619

Source: scitechdaily.com

NASA’s Exciting Test Phase for Dream Chaser

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

NASA and Sierra Space are making progress toward the company’s Dream Chaser spacecraft’s maiden flight to the International Space Station. The unmanned cargo spaceplane is scheduled to begin demonstration missions to orbital complexes in 2024 as part of NASA’s commercial resupply services. Credit: Sierra Space

NASA and Sierra Space are testing the Dream Chaser spacecraft at the Neil Armstrong Test Facility, with a focus on environmental simulation for future ISS missions. After testing, the spacecraft will head to Kennedy Space Center for launch in 2024.

NASA and Sierra Space are preparing for the maiden flight of their Dream Chaser spacecraft. international space station. Dream Chaser and its accompanying cargo module “Shooting Star” NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility It will fly in Sandusky, Ohio, for environmental testing, scheduled to begin in mid-December ahead of its first flight scheduled for early 2024.

State-of-the-art testing equipment

The Neil Armstrong Test Facility, part of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, has multiple test facilities including the Space Environment Complex and the Space Propulsion Facility, both of which will be home to Dream Chaser. The complex includes a mechanical vibration facility that exposes test articles to the harsh conditions of launch.

During Armstrong’s stay, the Dream Chaser winged spacecraft will be stacked atop the Shooting Star cargo module on a vibration table, experiencing vibrations similar to those experienced during liftoff or atmospheric re-entry.

Rigorous space simulation

After vibration testing, Dream Chaser will be moved to the propulsion facility for thermal vacuum testing. Dream Chaser is placed in a vacuum and exposed to low ambient pressure, low background temperature, and simulated dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the spacecraft will encounter during its mission. This facility is the only facility capable of testing full-scale upper stage rockets and rocket engines under simulated space conditions and conducting high-temperature fires.

After testing at Armstrong, Dream Chaser will be transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for further launch preparations, and is currently scheduled to launch in the first half of 2024.

Source: scitechdaily.com

A cluster of stripped helium stars found in the Magellanic Cloud by astronomers

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Removing the hydrogen-rich layer from a main-sequence star exposes the helium-rich core. Such stripped helium stars are known at high and low masses, but not at intermediate masses, despite theoretical predictions that they should be common. In a new study, astronomers at the University of Toronto and elsewhere used ultraviolet photometry to identify candidates for stripped helium stars in two nearby dwarf galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. We observed 25 such candidate stars using optical spectroscopy. Most of these systems have been shown to be binary systems, with the companion star likely stripping the helium star of its outer hydrogen-rich layer.

An artist’s impression of a large-scale binary system. Image credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser / SE de Mink.

The hydrogen-rich outer layers of massive stars can be removed by interactions with binary companions.

Theoretical models predict that this separation would produce a population of hot helium stars with masses between two and eight times the mass of the Sun, but only one such system has been identified to date.

“This was a very large and noticeable hole. If these stars turn out to be rare, it could affect supernovae, gravitational waves, light from distant galaxies, and our theories for all these different phenomena. The whole framework is wrong,” said Dr Maria Draut, an astronomer at the university. of Toronto.

“This discovery shows that these stars actually exist.”

“In the future, we will be able to perform even more detailed physics on these stars.”

“For example, predictions of how many neutron star mergers we will see depend on the properties of these stars, such as how much material is ejected by stellar winds.”

“In the past, people have estimated it, but now for the first time they will be able to measure it.”

Dr. Drout and her colleagues designed a new study to look at the ultraviolet part of the spectrum, where very hot stars emit most of their light.

Astronomers used data from the Swift Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope to collect the brightness of millions of stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, the two closest galaxies to Earth.

They developed the first wide-field UV catalog of the Magellanic Clouds and used UV photometry to detect systems with unusual UV emissions indicating the possible presence of stripped stars.

They acquired optical spectroscopy with the Magellan Telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory from 2018 to 2022 and conducted pilot studies on 25 objects.

These stripped stars had high temperatures (60,000 to 100,000 K), high surface gravity, and hydrogen-depleted surfaces. Sixteen stars also showed binary motion.

Drout and his co-authors propose that these stars will eventually explode as hydrogen-depleted supernovae.

These objects, like the gravitational wave-emitting objects detected from Earth by the LIGO experiment, are also thought to be necessary for the formation of neutron star mergers.

In fact, researchers believe that some of the objects in the current sample are neutron stars or stripped stars with black hole companions.

These objects are on the verge of becoming double neutron stars or neutron star and black hole systems that may eventually merge.

“Many stars are part of a cosmic dance with partners, orbiting each other in binary star systems,” says Dr. Bethany Ludwig. He is a student at the University of Toronto.

“They are not solitary giants, but part of a dynamic duo, interacting and influencing each other throughout their lives.”

“Our research sheds light on these fascinating relationships, revealing a universe far more interconnected and active than previously imagined.”

“Just as humans are social beings, stars, especially massive stars, are rarely lonely.”

of result appear in the diary science.

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MR Drought other. 2023. Observed population of intermediate-mass helium stars separated by binaries. Science 382 (6676): 1287-1291; doi: 10.1126/science.ade4970

Source: www.sci.news

Researchers Utilize ‘Mobile Observers’ to Uncover Previously Uncharted Air Pollutants

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

A groundbreaking study conducted by the University of Utah and EDF used Google Street View vehicles to closely monitor air quality in the Salt Lake Valley. This study revealed highly localized pollution hotspots, highlighted issues of environmental justice, and represents a major advance in understanding and addressing the uneven impacts of urban air pollution.

In the Salt Lake Valley, vehicles equipped with advanced air quality measurement tools similar to Google Street View vehicles drove through neighborhoods and collected highly detailed air quality data. This comprehensive sampling revealed clear variations in pollution levels within different regions. Additionally, new atmospheric modeling techniques have been developed to accurately identify these sources of pollution emissions.

In 2019, a team of atmospheric scientists at the University of Utah, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund and other partners, introduced an innovative approach to air quality monitoring in the Salt Lake Valley. They equipped two Google Street View cars with air quality measurement tools, creating mobile air pollution detectors capable of identifying hyper-local pollution hotspots.

Over the next few months, John Lin, a professor of atmospheric science at the university, developed a breakthrough modeling technique. The method combined wind pattern modeling and statistical analysis to trace pollutants to their exact source. This technology provided a level of detail in pollution tracking that exceeded the more extensive and less accurate methods of traditional air quality monitoring, which typically assessed air quality across urban areas.

According to a study led by the United States and the Environmental Defense Fund (EFD) recently published in the journal atmospheric environment, the results are out. “With mobile vehicles, you can literally send them anywhere you can drive and find out more about pollution, including off-road sources that traditional monitoring has missed,” said Lin, who is also deputy director of the Wilkes Climate Science Center. “We can put up a map,” he said. policy. “I think the idea of patrolling lifeguards is pretty viable in many cities.”

Researchers equipped vehicles with air quality instruments and asked drivers to explore their neighborhoods street by street, taking air samples once every second, from May 2019 to March 2020. This created a huge dataset of air pollutant concentrations in the Salt Lake Valley. It is the highest-resolution map showing pollution hotspots at a detailed scale, with data capturing fluctuations within 200 meters, or about the width of two football fields.

The air quality pattern was as expected, with higher pollution around traffic and industrial areas. Neighborhoods with lower average incomes and higher proportions of black residents had more pollutants, confirming well-known issues of environmental justice. This pattern traces its legacy to his century-old redlining policy, in which Homeowner’s Loan Corp. created maps outlining “dangerous” areas in red ink.

“Air quality is not a new problem. It’s been around for decades, and it was probably worse back then,” Lin said. “The Interstate 15 corridor runs along red-light districts. And sadly, there is quite a bit of research supporting the fact that the red-light districts of 80 years ago are still important. These areas still struggle with air quality issues. These areas tend to be underinvested, so the legacy of racism remains.”

Research-grade equipment in Google Street View vehicles measures the ambient air that is pumped in from the surrounding area and detects major emissions. The researchers tested Lin’s new atmospheric modeling approach using two case studies of well-known pollution sources. The model was then applied to analyze previously unknown areas of PM elevation.2.5

The authors hope to use atmospheric models for projects such as Air Tracker, a web-based tool developed in partnership with EDF and Carnegie Mellon University that helps users find possible sources of air pollution in their neighborhood.

This research was funded by the Environmental Defense Fund. Other authors of this article are also cited, and the study utilized the resources of the National Center for High Performance Computing.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Proxima B’s Explosive Cryovolcano and Habitable Subsurface Ocean

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers at NASA and the University of Washington estimated the total internal heating rate and depth to potential subsurface oceans for 17 potentially cold ocean planets. These planets are low-mass exoplanets with surface temperatures and densities consistent with icy surfaces and large amounts of water. content. Like the icy moons of our solar system, these planets could be astrobiologically important worlds with habitable environments beneath their icy surfaces.

This artist’s impression shows Proxima b orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our solar system at just 4.23 light years. The double star Alpha Centauri AB also appears in the image between the exoplanet and Proxima itself. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Ocean planets have been proposed as a class of low-density terrestrial exoplanets with significant liquid water layers.

They exist in different climatic states, including ice-free, partially ice-covered, and completely frozen surfaces.

“Our analysis suggests that the surfaces of these 17 alien worlds may be covered in ice, but they are affected by internal heating due to the decay of radioactive elements and tidal forces from their host stars,” said NASA Goddard researcher Dr. Lynne Quick. “We predict that it will receive enough water to maintain its internal ocean.” Space flight center.

“Due to the amount of internal heating the planets experience, all the planets in our study may also exhibit polar volcanic eruptions in the form of geyser-like plumes.”

Dr. Quick and his colleagues examined the status of 17 confirmed exoplanets. These planets are roughly Earth-sized but less dense, suggesting they may have significant amounts of ice and water instead of dense rock.

Although the exact composition of these planets remains unknown, all initial estimates of surface temperatures from previous studies indicate that they are much cooler than Earth, and their surfaces may be covered with ice. This suggests that there is a possibility that

The authors improved their estimates of each exoplanet’s surface temperature by recalculating them using the known surface brightness and other properties of Europa and Enceladus as models.

They also estimated the total internal heating of these exoplanets by using the shape of each exoplanet’s orbit to capture the heat generated from the tides and adding it to the heat expected from radioactive activity. did.

Because oceans cool and freeze at the surface while being heated from within, estimates of surface temperature and total heating provide information about the thickness of each exoplanet’s ice layer.

Finally, they compared these numbers to Europa’s and used Europa’s estimated level of geyser activity as a conservative baseline for estimating the exoplanet’s geyser activity.

They predict surface temperatures will be up to 33 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than previous estimates.

Artist’s impression of the planetary system LHS 1140. Image credit: Sci.News.

Estimated ice shell thicknesses ranged from approximately 58 m (190 ft) for Proxima b and 1.6 km (1 mi) for LHS 1140b to 38.6 km (24 mi) for LHS 1140b. MOA-2007-BLG-192Lbcompared to an estimated European average of 29 km (18 mi).

The estimated geyser activity was only 8 kg/s for Kepler 441b, 2,000 kg/s for Europa, 290,000 kg/s for LHS 1140b, and 6 million kg/s for Proxima b.

“Our models predict that oceans could be found relatively close to the surfaces of Proxima b and LHS 1140b, and that geyser activity rates could exceed those of Europa by hundreds to thousands of times. “The telescope has the best chance of detecting geological activity on these planets because of their presence,” said Dr. Quick.

“This activity can be seen when an exoplanet passes in front of its star. Certain colors of the star’s light can be dimmed or blocked by water vapor from geysers. there is.”

“If water vapor is detected sporadically and the amount of water vapor detected changes over time, it would suggest the presence of a cryovolcanic eruption.”

“Water may contain other elements and compounds, which could reveal whether it can support life.”

“Elements and compounds absorb light of certain characteristic colors, so analysis of starlight allows scientists to determine the composition of geysers and assess the potential habitability of exoplanets. Become.”

a paper Regarding the survey results, astrophysical journal.

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Lynne C. Quick other. 2023. Prospects for polar volcanic activity on cold ocean planets. APJ 956, 29; doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ace9b6

Source: www.sci.news

The Threat of Cool Star’s Strong Winds to Exoplanets

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Artist’s illustration of a stellar planetary system. You can clearly see the stellar wind orbiting the star and its effect on the planet’s atmosphere.Credit: AIP/ K. Riebe/ J. Fohlmeister, editor

A groundbreaking study reveals that cold stars with strong magnetic fields generate powerful stellar winds, providing important information for assessing the habitability of exoplanetary systems.

A study led by scientists at the Potsdam Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics (AIP) uses cutting-edge numerical simulations to systematically characterize the properties of stellar winds in a sample of cold stars for the first time. Ta. They found that stars with stronger magnetic fields generate stronger winds. These winds create unfavorable conditions for the survival of planetary atmospheres, thus affecting the habitability of these systems.

Cool star classification

The Sun is one of the most abundant stars in the universe, known as “cool stars.” These stars are divided into four categories (F-type, G-type, K-type, and M-type) that differ in size, temperature, and brightness. The Sun is a fairly average star and belongs to category G. Stars that are brighter and larger than the Sun belong to category F, while K stars are slightly smaller and cooler than the Sun. The smallest and faintest star is the M star, also known as a “red dwarf” because of the color in which it emits most of its light.

Solar wind and its effects

Satellite observations have revealed that, apart from light, the sun continuously emits a stream of particles known as the solar wind. These winds travel through interplanetary space and interact with the planets of our solar system, including Earth. The beautiful displays of the Northern Lights near the North and South Poles are actually produced by this interaction. But these winds can also be harmful, as they can erode Earth’s stable atmosphere. Mars.

We know a lot about the solar wind, thanks in part to missions like Solar Orbiter, but the same isn’t true for other cool stars. The problem is that we can’t see these stellar winds directly, so we’re limited to studying their effects on the thin gas that fills the cavities between stars in galaxies. However, this approach has some limitations and can only be applied to a small number of stars. This has encouraged the use of computer simulations and models to predict various properties of stellar winds without the need for astronomer observations.

Pioneering research on the properties of stellar winds

In this regard, in collaboration with Cecilia Garaffo of the Harvard University Center for Astrophysics, doctoral student Judy Chevely of AIP’s Stellar Physics and Exoplanet Division, and scientist Julián D. Alvarado Gomez Dr. Katja Poppenhager, head of the department, assisted. The Smithsonian Institution conducted the first systematic study of the expected stellar wind properties for F, G, K, and M stars.

To this end, they performed numerical simulations using one of the most sophisticated models currently available, driven by the observed large-scale magnetic field distributions of 21 well-observed stars. I used it. The simulations were performed at the AIP and Leibniz-Rechenzentrum (LRZ) supercomputing facilities.

The research team investigated how star properties such as gravity, magnetic field strength, and rotation period affect the properties of the wind in terms of velocity and density. The results include a comprehensive characterization of stellar wind properties across spectral types and, in particular, challenge previous assumptions about stellar wind speeds when estimating associated mass loss rates from observations. This indicates that it needs to be reconsidered.

In addition, the simulations can predict the expected size of the Alfvén surface, the boundary between the stellar corona and the stellar wind. This information is the basis for determining whether planetary systems are affected by strong magnetic star-planet interactions. This interaction can occur when a planet’s orbit enters or is completely embedded in the Alfvén surface of its host star.

Impact on planetary systems

Their findings show that stars with magnetic fields larger than the Sun have faster winds. In some cases, stellar wind speeds can be up to five times faster than the average solar wind speed (typically 450 km/s). The study revealed how strong these stars’ winds are in their so-called “habitable zone,” defined as the orbital distance at which a rocky exoplanet can maintain liquid water on its surface and provide an Earth-like atmospheric pressure. It was evaluated as being strong. They found milder conditions around F- and G-type stars, comparable to those experienced by Earth around the G-type Sun, and increasingly harsh wind environments around K- and M-type stars. discovered. Such intense stellar winds have a strong impact on any atmosphere a planet might have.

Broader implications for exoplanet research

This phenomenon is well documented in heliophysics between rocky planets and the Sun, but not in exoplanetary systems. This requires estimates of stellar winds to assess processes similar to those seen between the solar wind and planetary atmospheres. This study is important from the perspective of habitability, as no information on stellar winds has been known for main-sequence stars F to M until now.

Although the study presented in this paper was performed on 21 stars, the results are general enough to apply to other cool main sequence stars. This study paves the way for future studies of stellar wind observations and their effects on planetary atmosphere erosion.

References: Judy J Chebly, Julián D Alvarado-Gómez, Katja Poppenhäger, and Cecilia Garraffo, “Quantifying the wind properties of cool main-sequence stars,” July 19, 2023. Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices.
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad2100

Source: scitechdaily.com