How Human Activity is Impacting Sex Change in Animals

Posted on January 31, 2026 by Igor Mitreski

Approximately 2% of the world’s fish species, or about 500 species, are known to change sex at some point during their adult life.

Some species, like the black-spotted fish (as shown above), switch from female to male periodically. Others, such as clownfish, can change from male to female, while species like coral-dwelling gobies switch genders based on environmental conditions.

This phenomenon is distinct in fish because, unlike mammals and birds, many fish species do not have their sex determined by sex chromosomes.

Environmental cues trigger changes in gene activity, influencing the production of essential hormones and enzymes. A key enzyme, aromatase, plays a critical role by converting male hormones into female ones and changing gonads into ovaries.

Social dynamics can also act as environmental signals. Clark clownfish, for instance, live among sea anemones in small groups during the breeding season. If a breeding female passes away, the largest subordinate male is known to change sex and assume her role.

Changes in water quality can signal a shift in gender as well.

Research indicates that pollutants entering rivers can induce male fish to exhibit female traits, such as spawning behaviors.

Furthermore, a 2008 study found that a mere 1 to 2 degrees Celsius increase in water temperature could skew the sex ratio of certain fish towards a higher male count.

Some sex changes are advantageous; for example, clownfish evolve to switch genders as a survival strategy to enhance reproduction. However, human activities are disrupting natural sex change processes.

Polluting rivers or warming oceans presents severe risks to future aquatic species.

This article addresses the question posed by Alex Jackson via email: “How can animals switch gender?”

For inquiries, feel free to email us at: questions@sciencefocus.com or connect with us Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and include your name and location.

Explore our ultimate fun facts and more fascinating science content

Read more:

This revision incorporates SEO-friendly practices while maintaining the HTML structure. It emphasizes key terms and enhances readability.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

3I/ATLAS Comet Awakens: Signs of Activity Intensify Post-Perihelion

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Igor Mitreski

NASA’s SPHEREx mission reveals that interstellar object 3I/ATLAS dramatically transformed into an active comet following its close approach to the Sun.

SPHEREx imaging of 3I/ATLAS taken from December 8th to 15th, 2025. Image credit: NASA / arXiv: 2601.06759.

SPHEREx monitored 3I/ATLAS from December 8 to 15, 2025, shortly after its perihelion, the closest approach to the Sun.

“In December 2025, SPHEREx reobserved 3I/ATLAS post-perihelion and found it to be far more active than previously observed. August 2025 SPHEREx pre-perihelion observations show significant evidence that it has completely sublimated its ice, transforming into a comet,” explained astronomer Carrie Risse from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

New SPHEREx data indicates a gas- and dust-rich coma, revealing emissions of cyanide (CN), water (H₂O), organic compounds (CH), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and carbon monoxide (CO).

“The emergence of cyanide and organic matter indicates their presence in the aqueous phase,” said Avi Loeb, a Harvard University professor not involved in this study.

Researchers noted a sharp increase in water activity, accompanied by a significant surge in carbon monoxide emissions.

“The H₂O gas signature, previously nearly undetectable in August, is now 20 times stronger, indicating complete sublimation of water,” added the researchers.

“CO emission rates have increased by 20 times, as the CO/CO₂ ratio has risen 15-fold as well.”

SPHEREx images further demonstrate that the object’s gaseous envelope has expanded significantly.

“The gas comas observed by SPHEREx are distinctly resolved, extending from 1 foot to 3 feet in radius; all but the CN and CH organic comas appear round relative to the Sun and orbital velocity,” scientists noted.

“In contrast, the dust and organic matter images in the SPHEREx continuum exhibit a pear-shaped morphology, with the ‘pear stalk’ directed toward the Sun.”

“These varying shapes suggest that CN and CH are sourced from dust, while H₂O, CO₂, and CO gases are distributed symmetrically around the atomic nucleus.”

“No visible jets or anti-solar tail structures were detected.”

SPHEREx’s observations indicate fundamental changes in the physical state of 3I/ATLAS.

“December 2025’s observations align with a comet that is fully active and sublimating water ice,” the authors concluded.

The composition now resembles that of typical Solar System comets, with ice content comparable to most comets.

Researchers attribute these changes to the object’s trajectory through the inner solar system.

“By December, 3I/ATLAS had spent 3.5 months within the solar system’s ice line, causing all comet components and volatile CO₂ ice to become active,” they stated.

“Consequently, the bulk material of the cometary matrix evaporated, releasing its contents.”

“Further observations are anticipated before 3I/ATLAS passes through SPHEREx’s investigation pattern again in April 2026,” they concluded.

For more information, refer to their paper, submitted for publication in AAS Research Notes.

_____

CM Lisse et al. 2026. SPHEREx reobservations of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS in December 2025: increased post-perihelion activity, detection of coma dust, and new gaseous emissions. RNAAS submitted for publication. arXiv: 2601.06759

Source: www.sci.news

Sexual Activity Might Alleviate Stress and Enhance Wound Healing

Posted on November 12, 2025 by

Regular intimacy may offer health advantages

Maria Kornieva/Getty Images

Engagement in sexual activity or even simple intimate contact might accelerate wound healing, especially when paired with oxytocin nasal spray.

Oxytocin, often dubbed the “love hormone” or “cuddle chemical,” is known for stimulating uterine contractions during childbirth and aiding breastfeeding. It’s also linked to social connections and intimacy. Previous studies suggest it can facilitate healing of conditions like oral ulcers, likely due to its anti-inflammatory properties.

Furthermore, a contentious relationship between partners may contribute to slower healing of blisters. Researchers, including Beate Ditzen from the University of Zurich, speculated whether a lack of oxytocin during these strained interactions could be a mediating factor.

To explore this, the team conducted a study involving 80 healthy heterosexual couples, averaging 27 years of age, all of whom had four small wounds created on their forearms through a suction device.

The couples were split into four groups, each assigned different interventions for the following week. One group received oxytocin nasal spray twice daily while engaging in a 10-minute Partner Appreciation Task (PAT) — a structured activity focusing on expressing gratitude and compliments up to three times a week.

The second group also used oxytocin but did not participate in PAT. The third group carried out PAT with a placebo spray, while the fourth group used a placebo without any PAT intervention.

Neither using oxytocin alone nor engaging in PAT with a placebo led to faster wound healing compared to the control group without spray and PAT. However, the combination of oxytocin and PAT showed some effectiveness in reducing scars’ size and depth, especially among couples who reported increased physical affection or sexual activity during the study week. This was also linked to lower cortisol levels, a stress hormone known to hinder immune function, observed in saliva samples.

“We observe enhanced wound healing in groups that incorporate PAT; however, the effects are significantly more pronounced when oxytocin is combined with spontaneous contact or intimate behaviors,”

Darryl O’Connor from the University of Leeds noted, “Our findings are intriguing as they imply that pairing oxytocin administration with positive interpersonal interactions might bolster physical recovery, opening promising avenues for future psychosocial interventions in healthcare settings.”

According to Anna Whitaker, researchers at the University of Stirling in the UK suggest that increased doses of oxytocin may yield similar benefits, particularly for older adults with generally weakened immune systems.

Topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Astronomers Discover Water Activity in Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS

Posted on October 8, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers have detected hydroxyl (OH) gas, a chemical indicator of water, from the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS using an ultraviolet/optical telescope on NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.

Stacked images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS obtained with NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory: the first was captured on July 31 and August 1, 2025 (visit 1, upper half), and the second was on August 19, 2025 (visit 2, lower half). Image credit: Xing et al., others, doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae08ab.

The identification of the third interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, on July 1, 2025, initiated a comprehensive characterization effort globally.

Learning from prior discoveries of interstellar objects 1I/Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, an observation campaign was implemented to swiftly measure its initial brightness, morphology, light curve, color, and optical and near-infrared spectra.

Given the apparent brightness and early extension of the coma, there was suspicion of a gas outburst, yet none was detected.

Investigating the early activity of interstellar objects is crucial for understanding their chemical and physical evolution as they approach the Sun, as this may signify the first notable heating during their extensive dynamic lifetimes.

“The discovery of water marks a significant step in our grasp of how interstellar comets evolve,” stated Dennis Bordewitz, an astronomer from Auburn University.

“For solar system comets, water serves as a baseline for scientists to gauge their total activity and track how sunlight stimulates the release of other gases.”

“This is the chemical standard against which all assessments of volatile ice in cometary cores are made.”

“Detecting the same signal in an interstellar object means we can for the first time position 3I/ATLAS on the same scale employed to study comets indigenous to our Solar System. This is a progress toward juxtaposing the chemistry of planetary systems throughout our Milky Way galaxy.”

“What’s fascinating about 3I/ATLAS is the location of this water activity.”

Swift noticed the hydroxyl groups when the comet was nearly three times further from the Sun than Earth (well beyond the area where water ice on the surface could easily sublimate), recording a water loss rate of approximately 40 kg per second. At such distances, most solar system comets remain inactive.

The robust ultraviolet signal from 3I/ATLAS implies there might be additional mechanisms at play. Possibly, sunlight is warming small ice particles expelled from the core, causing them to vaporize and contribute to the surrounding gas cloud.

Such extensive water sources have only been detected on a limited number of far-off comets, suggesting intricate layered ice that holds clues regarding their formation.

Every interstellar comet discovered to date has unveiled a distinct aspect of planetary chemistry beyond our Sun.

Collectively, these observations illustrate that the composition of comets and the volatile ice that constitutes them can vary considerably from one system to another.

These variations imply the diversity of planet-forming environments and how factors like temperature, radiation, and composition ultimately influence planetary formation and, in some instances, the materials that lead to life.

Capturing the ultraviolet signals from 3I/ATLAS was a technological achievement in itself.

Swift employs a compact 30 cm telescope, yet from its orbit above Earth’s atmosphere, it can detect wavelengths of ultraviolet light that are largely absorbed by the atmosphere.

Free from sky glare or air interference, Swift’s ultraviolet/optical telescope achieves the sensitivity comparable to that of ground-based telescopes with 4-meter apertures for these wavelengths.

Its rapid targeting abilities allowed astronomers to analyze comets just weeks after their discovery, well before they become too faint or too close to the Sun for space study.

“When we observe water from an interstellar comet or its subtle ultraviolet signature (OH), we are interpreting notes from another planetary system,” Bordewitz notes.

“This indicates that the components essential for life’s chemical processes are not exclusive to us.”

“All interstellar comets we’ve observed thus far have been unexpectedly intriguing,” remarked Dr. Zexy Shin, a postdoctoral fellow at Auburn University.

“‘Oumuamua was dry, Borisov was rich in carbon monoxide, and now Atlas is revealing water at a distance we didn’t anticipate.”

“Each of these cases is transforming our understanding of how planets and comets form around stars.”

A study detailing the survey findings was published on September 30th in Astrophysics Journal Letter.

_____

Zexy Shin et al. 2025. Water production rate of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. APJL 991, L50; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae08ab

Source: www.sci.news

New Research Confirms Multiple Instances of Water Activity in Jezero Crater

Posted on September 24, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Minerals constitute the building blocks of rocks, and the specific minerals and their chemical compositions reveal significant insights into rock formation and history. On Mars, NASA’s dedicated rover, equipped with X-ray lithochemistry (PIXL) instruments, produces geochemical maps of rock surfaces. A recent study examined over 90,000 chemical analyses collected by PIXL during its first 1,100 days on Mars, revealing that the minerals in Jezero Crater interact with various types of liquids over time. result This will be published in Journal of Geophysics: Planets.

This image from NASA’s Mars reconnaissance orbiter showcases the Jezero Crater on Mars. Image credits: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/MSSS/JHU-APL.

In this research, Eleanor Moreland, a Rice University graduate student, along with her team, utilized mineral identification through stoichiometry (MIST) algorithms to analyze PIXL data.

PIXL determines the chemical composition by bombarding Martian rocks with X-rays, yielding the most comprehensive geochemical measurements ever obtained from another planet.

“The minerals identified in Jezero Crater through MIST indicate that these volcanic rocks interacted with liquid water multiple times throughout Mars’ history, suggesting the potential for habitable conditions,” Moreland stated.

Minerals form under specific environmental conditions, such as temperature, pH, and the chemical composition of fluids, making them reliable narrators of planetary history.

Within Jezero Crater, 24 mineral species illustrate the volcanic characteristics of the Martian surface and their interactions with water over time.

Water chemically alters rocks, producing salt or clay minerals, with the specific minerals formed depending on environmental variables.

The minerals discovered in the crater showcase three different types of liquid interactions, each indicating distinct possibilities for habitability.

The first mineral suite, featuring green arilite, hizingerite, and ferroaluminoceradonite, shows localized high-temperature acidic fluids present only in crater bedrock, interpreted as among the oldest rocks studied.

The water involved in this scenario is regarded as the most conducive to life, given that research on Earth suggests high temperatures and low pH can harm biological structures.

“These hot, acidic conditions present the toughest challenges to life,” commented Kirsten Siebach, a researcher at Rice University.

“However, on Earth, life can thrive in extreme environments such as the acidic waters of Yellowstone, so this doesn’t negate the possibility of habitability.”

The second mineral suite favors more hospitable conditions and indicates a medium neutral fluid present over larger areas.

Minerals like Minnesotaite and Clinoptilolite were detected on both the crater floor and fan area, forming at lower temperatures with neutral pH, while Clinoptilolite was restricted to the crater floor.

Lastly, the third category represents a cold alkaline liquid, considered highly habitable from a modern Earth perspective.

Sepiolite, a common mineral change on Earth, was found to form under moderate temperature and alkaline conditions, widely distributed across all units explored by the rover.

The presence of sepiolite in all these units indicates multiple episodes of liquid water contributing to habitable conditions in Jezero Crater.

“These minerals demonstrate that Jezero Crater has undergone a transition from harsher, hotter, acidic liquid conditions to more neutral and alkaline environments over time.

Given that Mars samples cannot be prepared or scanned as accurately as Earth samples, the team developed an uncertainty propagation model to enhance the findings.

Using a statistical approach, MIST repeatedly assessed mineral identification while considering potential errors, analogous to how meteorologists predict hurricane paths by utilizing numerous models.

“Error analysis enables us to assign confidence levels to all mineral identifications,” Moreland remarked.

“MIST assists not just with the scientific and decision-making processes of Mars 2020, but also establishes a mineralogical archive of Jezero Crater, which will be invaluable if samples are returned to Earth.”

The findings affirm that Jezero Crater, once home to an ancient lake, has experienced a complex, dynamic aqueous history.

Each new mineral discovery brings us closer to determining whether Mars has ever supported life, while also refining strategies for sample collection and return.

____

Eleanor L. Moreland et al. 2025. Multiple episodes of fluid changes in Jezero Crater indicated by the identification of MIST minerals in PIXL XRF data from the first 1100 SOL of the Mars 2020 mission. Journal of Geophysics: Planets 130 (9): e2024je008797; doi: 10.1029/2024je008797

Source: www.sci.news

The Pioneering Map of Mammalian Brain Activity Might Have Revealed Intuition

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Map of mouse brain showing 75,000 neurons

Dan Berman, International Brain Research Institute

The initial comprehensive activity map of the mammalian brain has unveiled groundbreaking revelations regarding decision-making processes.

For many years, neuroscientists aspired to capture neuronal activity throughout the brain at an individual level. However, challenges persist, including the limitations on the number of neurons an electrode can record, the number of electrodes deployable in a single brain, and the number of animals that a solitary lab can study.

To address these hurdles, a collaboration among 12 laboratories is underway, with each conducting identical experiments and recording duplicates to ensure consistency in collected data. This joint effort, tracking the activity of over 650,000 neurons, has resulted in the first comprehensive brain activity map related to complex behaviors.

“This research exemplifies a novel approach to addressing intricate inquiries in contemporary neuroscience,” stated Benedetto de Martino of University College London, who was not a part of this study. “Similar to CERN, which unites physicists to tackle profound issues in particle physics, this project will bring together global laboratories to confront challenges too expansive for individual teams.”

In each facility, mice were trained to maneuver a small LEGO steering wheel to direct a striped target towards the center of the display. The target was easily distinguishable when the stripes contrasted sharply. As contrast dwindled, the target nearly vanished, compelling the mice to rely on prior knowledge to respond accurately for a reward.

Bias was factored into the experiment, impacting the mice’s expectations about the target’s location. For instance, it could appear on either side of the screen. When the bias was inverted, the mice adjusted their expectations accordingly.

The resulting activity map indicates that decision-related processes are dispersed throughout the brain, rather than localized in one specific area. “Many assertions claimed, ‘this region is responsible for this function.’ However, our findings reveal that decision-making involves numerous regions collaborating through a consensus,” remarked team member Alexandre Pouget from the University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Furthermore, the findings support earlier research indicating that decision-related signals form long before an action is executed. Pouget noted that even prior to the commencement of individual experiments, signals linked to forthcoming decisions are evident. These signals accumulate when the target is presented, prompting the mice to move the wheels until a threshold is reached.

The second study reveals that beliefs regarding the target’s position are encoded very early in the brain’s activity. Researchers discovered that whether the signal emerged from the eye or journeyed to the thalamus, the brain’s relay center, advanced expectations regarding the target’s left or right positioning were already established.

This suggests that from the moment sensory information is processed by our brains, it is inherently influenced by knowledge, altering the conscious decision-making process unconsciously, according to Pouget. “While speculative, this may align with what we interpret as intuition,” he added.

Interestingly, the encoding not only captures recent sensory experiences but also seems to document the recent history of choices made. Lawrence Hunt from Oxford University pointed out, “This indicates that our actions and subjective experiences shape our perceptions, rather than the true objective reality.”

Does this imply our decisions are predestined? “The brain and its environment operate as a deterministic system. People often resist this idea, but it is accurate,” Pouget stated. “This means one can predict, to an extent, what actions will be taken before a decision is made. Nevertheless, when new information arises, expectations must be recalibrated, remaining unaware of how the surrounding world will evolve,” he explained.

Looking ahead, researchers are optimistic that the findings and collaborative methodologies will enhance the understanding of conditions like autism. A mouse model of autism suggests these animals struggle to update previous expectations with new information, according to Pouget, which resonates with our behaviors and perceptions.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Brain Activity May Indicate Future Friendships Among Strangers

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Movie nights may have deeper significance

South_agency/Getty Images

Research indicates that individuals are more inclined to forge friendships if their brains react similarly to movie clips, implying that neural responses can forecast relationships.

Humans typically gravitate toward others with similar mindsets, a phenomenon that helps to explain why prior studies have identified neural parallels among friends. However, the question remained whether these similarities emerged because friends experienced similar upbringings or were attracted to those with comparable thought processes.

Carolyn Parkinson and her team at UCLA gathered brain scans from 41 students before they entered a graduate program. During the scan, participants viewed 14 diverse film clips, ranging from documentaries to comedies, covering topics like food, sports, and science. The researchers then assessed neural activity across 214 regions of each participant’s brain.

Two months later, participants completed a survey along with an additional 246 students in the program. The findings showed that those who were closer to Mark in terms of friendship tended to display more similar neural responses than those further removed in the social network, particularly in areas of the left preorbital cortex associated with subjective value processing. This correlation held true even after accounting for personal tastes based on individual enjoyment and interest in the clips.

After two months, the neural similarity between friends remained consistent, suggesting that initial friendships may form based on proximity before evolving into closer relationships over time. This was further supported when the researchers analyzed changes in friendships over the interim. Participants approaching this phase exhibited notable neural similarities compared to those whose activity drifted among 42 brain regions. These connections remained significant even after considering variables such as age, gender, and hometown. “The sociodemographic factors seem to account for some variations observed, at least in terms of measurable factors,” stated Parkinson.

Many of these brain regions are part of networks that facilitate understanding narratives, which may explain the similarity in how individuals perceive the world around them. “Individuals with like-minded thought processes find it easier to connect,” noted Robin Dunbar from Oxford University. “When they communicate, they intuitively grasp what others are thinking because it’s aligned with their own thought patterns.”

Dunbar, who did not participate in the study, expressed that these results resonate with long-held assumptions. “It’s akin to random groups of people unintentionally forming bonds based on compatibility; they are inherently attracted to one another,” he explained. “In essence, close friendships are not merely coincidental; they are composed and cultivated.”

Topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Study: Neanderthal-Inherited Genetic Mutations Decrease Major Muscle Enzyme Activity

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

An AMPD1 variant from Neanderthals reduces enzyme activity by 25% in lab-produced proteins and up to 80% in muscles of genetically modified mice. This variant is present in all sequenced Neanderthals but absent in other species. It entered the modern human gene pool through interbreeding approximately 50,000 years ago, leading to its presence in up to 8% of today’s Europeans.

Maccak et al. Research indicates that genetic variants inherited from Neanderthals impair essential enzyme functions in muscle performance. Image credit: Holger Neumann/Neanderthal Museum.

The enzyme AMPD1 is crucial for muscle energy production and overall muscle function.

A decrease in its activity due to genetic mutations is the leading cause of metabolic myopathy in Europeans, with a prevalence of 9-14%.

In a recent study led by Dr. Dominik Macak from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, researchers compared ancient Neanderthal DNA with modern human genomes.

They discovered that all Neanderthals have specific AMPD1 variants absent in other species.

Enzymes produced in the lab with this variant exhibited a 25% decrease in AMPD1 activity.

In genetically modified mice, this reduction in muscle tissue activity reached 80%, negatively affecting enzyme performance.

Moreover, the study shows that modern humans acquired this variant from Neanderthals who lived in Europe and Western Asia before interacting with modern humans around 50,000 years ago.

Currently, approximately 1-2% of non-African individuals carry Neanderthal DNA.

The Neanderthal AMPD1 variant is found in 2-8% of Europeans today, indicating general acceptance in the gene pool.

“Interestingly, most individuals with these variants do not face serious health concerns,” noted Dr. McCuck.

“However, enzymes seem to significantly influence athletic performance.”

Analysis of over 1,000 elite athletes across diverse sports showed that those with non-functional AMPD1 are less likely to reach the highest athletic levels.

“Having defective AMPD1 enzymes decreases the chances of achieving elite athletic ability by half,” Dr. McCuck said.

While AMPD1 activity appears to have moderate significance in contemporary Western societies, it becomes crucial under extreme physical conditions, such as those faced by athletes.

Researchers highlight the need for studying genetic variation within physiological and evolutionary contexts to grasp biological implications.

“Cultural and technological advancements in both modern humans and Neanderthals may have lessened the necessity for extreme muscle performance,” explains Dr. Hugo Zeberg, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and Karolinska Institute.

“Understanding how current gene variants influence human physiology can yield valuable insights into health, performance, and genetic diversity.”

Survey results were published in the journal Natural Communication on July 10, 2025.

____

D. McCuck et al. 2025. Muscle AMPD1 exhibited reduced deaminase activity in Neanderthals compared to modern humans. Nat Commun 16, 6371; doi:10.1038/s41467-025-61605-4

Source: www.sci.news

Ancient Rocks Reveal the First Signs of Earth’s Structural Activity

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The Pilbara Craton in Western Australia features rocks that date back 3.5 billion years.

Elizabeth Czitronyi / Alamy

Rocks from Australia reveal that tectonic plates were shifting as far back as 3.5 billion years ago, a breakthrough that alters our understanding of the onset of plate tectonics over subsequent hundreds of millions of years.

Currently, along with roughly eight major hard rock plates on Earth’s surface, several smaller plates are interacting with the softer rock layer beneath. When these plates’ edges grind against one another, it can lead to sudden geological upheavals, such as earthquakes, and gradual processes like mountain range formation.

However, there is disagreement among geologists regarding the configurations of these ancient plates and their movements. Some researchers claim to have found indications of tectonic activity as far back as 4 billion years ago when the planet was significantly hotter; others argue that more compelling evidence is noted after 3.2 billion years ago.

Much of this data derives from the chemical compositions of rocks, which suggest past movements. Despite this, records detailing the interactions of early plates remain scarce, which is regarded as critical evidence supporting plate tectonics.

Recently, Alec Brenner and his team from Yale University claim to have uncovered substantial evidence of relative plate movement dating back 3.5 billion years in the eastern Pilbara Craton of Western Australia. They traced the magnetic orientation of rocks aligned with Earth’s magnetic field, observing shifts similar to how a compass needle changes direction when the ground moves.

Brenner and colleagues initially dated the rock using radioisotope analysis, establishing that at certain times, the rock’s magnetism remained unchanged. By observing this magnetization shift, they demonstrated that the rock mass progressively moved at a rate of several centimeters each year. They compared these findings to similarly examined rocks in the Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa, which exhibited no such movement.

“This suggests that some type of plate boundary must exist between these two regions to accommodate that relative movement,” remarked Brenner during his presentation at the Goldschmidt Geochemical Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, on July 9.

“Approximately 3.8 billion years ago, the Pilbara plate transitioned from medium to high latitudes, eventually reaching proximity to Earth’s magnetic poles and, possibly millions of years later, to the latitude of Svalbard.”

“If two plates are moving relative to one another, there must be various dynamic interactions happening between them,” noted Robert Hazen from the Carnegie Institute of Science in Washington, DC. “It cannot be an isolated event.”

Nonetheless, multiple interpretations exist regarding the underlying causes of this movement, according to Hazen. The variability in plate movement rates adds to the confusion, and existing data could align with various theories regarding Earth’s interior structure at that time.

At the very least, this discovery indicates the presence of structural boundaries, according to Michael Brown from the University of Maryland. However, he argues that the nature of rock movement appears dissimilar to contemporary understanding of plate tectonics. “Essentially, the Pilbara plate moved to higher latitudes to prevent stagnation, which is atypical within any current plate structural model.”

Brown posits that this aligns with the theory suggesting the Earth’s crust consisted of numerous smaller plates propelled by a thermal mantle plume during that period. He believes the remnants of these small plates examined by Brenner and his team provide evidence of movement; however, due to their limited representation of the crust, they may not accurately reflect broader Earth movements.

Brenner’s team also discovered indications that the Earth’s magnetic field underwent reversals around 3.46 billion years ago. Unlike today’s magnetic field reversals, which occur every million years, these ancient magnetic shifts seemed to happen much more frequently, over spans of tens of millions of years. This could imply a fundamentally different set of energies and mechanisms at play, as noted by Brenner.

Hazen emphasized that the scarcity of magnetic data leads to ongoing debates about the state of Earth’s magnetic field during that era of its evolution. “I believe this discovery raises the bar significantly,” he asserts. “It represents a vital breakthrough in understanding early magnetic reversals, shedding light on the core’s geomechanics in ways previously unexplored.”

Topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Deceptive Warmth: How Volcanic Activity Influenced the Past

Posted on June 23, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Geologists have identified rocks that originated in the deep sea during the early Jurassic era, around 180 million years ago, indicating a deficiency of oxygen in the ocean. These rocks were enriched with carbon atoms, specifically Carbon 12 compared to heavier carbon atoms, known as Carbon-13. Carbon-13 is denser than Carbon-12 due to having an additional neutron. Atoms belonging to the same element but with varying neutron counts are referred to as Isotopes, and the decrease in the ratio of carbon-13 to carbon-12 in rock samples is termed Negative carbon isotope distal.

Previous studies have demonstrated that during the early Jurassic, the release of photocarbon 12 into the atmosphere led to a doubling of carbon dioxide levels and an increase in ocean temperatures by 5°C, equivalent to about 9°F. This warming event is known as the Toarcian Marine Anoxia Event.

Sadly, the specific triggers for this carbon 12 release remain unclear, as there is no defined timeline for the Toarcian events. Previous estimates suggested that rock sections exhibiting low carbon isotopic ratios spanned between 300,000 to 1.5 million years. This uncertainty complicates comparisons between Toarcian warming events and more contemporary warming occurrences. Consequently, an international research team recently employed a high-precision dating technique to ascertain the exact duration of these events.

The team analyzed the Sakuradani tick section in the Tab Basin, Japan. During the early Jurassic, this region was accumulating sediment, including mud, sand, and organic matter near the coastline. The section, approximately 90 meters thick (or about 300 feet), contained layers with negative carbonate isotopic distals. Within the slope, these layers extend from around 33 meters deep to 45 meters deep.

Researchers also identified three layers of rock formed from volcanic ash both above and below the layer containing distal carbon isotopes. The upper ash layer is located about 16 meters within the rock section, while the lower ash layer can be found at approximately 49 and 51 meters. The researchers utilized volcanic ash minerals to accurately date the crystallization age of the layers. They reported that the volcanic ash layers are approximately 182.3 million, 182.5 million, and 182.9 million years old, from youngest to oldest.

These observations indicate that 62 meters (approximately 200 feet) of rock between the ash layers accumulated over a span of 400,000 years. Considering the sediment volume deposited during this time, the researchers concluded that the rock sections with distal carbon isotopes required more than 300,000 years to develop. They estimated that the duration of the Toarcian marine anoxic events was significantly shorter than earlier assumptions, lasting less than 417,000 years, with a minimum duration of 169,000 years.

With this information, the team sought to connect the Toarcian warming event and the associated carbon isotope distal to its source. They hypothesized that the event was at least partially related to volcanic activity during the early Jurassic period, which altered the composition of the surface rocks. This surge of magma to the surface could have caused the rocks to emit carbon dioxide and methane, leading to a rise in global temperatures and releasing 12 photocarbons.

The researchers concluded that volcanic activity was likely responsible for the marine anoxia events during the Toarcian period. They noted that earlier scientists had proposed volcanic mechanisms for other warming events of a similar nature. They recommend that future studies explore the direct impacts of the marine anaerobic events during the Toarcian and quantify the extent of carbon release that occurred.

Post view: 138

Source: sciworthy.com

Alma Identifies Molecular Activity in the Largest Known Oort Cloud Comet

Posted on June 18, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers from the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (Alma) have made observations of comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein).

Artist depiction of Comet C/2014 UN271. Image credits: NSF/AUI/NSF/NRAO/M.WEISS.

C/2014 UN271 was identified by astronomers Pedro Berner Dinnelli and Gary Bernstein through images captured in 2014 as part of dark energy research.

The comet spans approximately 140 km (85 miles) in diameter, making it over ten times larger than any known comet.

To date, little has been understood about the behavior of such cold, remote celestial bodies.

Recent findings from Alma revealed the intricate and dynamic jets of carbon monoxide gas erupting from the comet’s nucleus, offering the first direct evidence of what drives its activity in relation to the sun.

“With these measurements, we can understand how this massive, icy world functions,” stated Dr. Nathan Ross, an astronomer affiliated with a U.S. university and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

“We are observing explosive outgassing patterns that raise new inquiries about the comet’s evolution as it journeys deeper into the inner solar system.”

Alma observed C/2014 UN271 by detecting light from carbon monoxide gas in its atmosphere and thermal radiation when the comet was still distant from the sun.

Thanks to Alma’s exceptional sensitivity and resolution, scientists were able to focus on the very faint signals emitted from such cold and far-off objects.

Building on previous Alma observations that characterized the comet’s substantial nucleus size, the new findings measured the thermal signal to accurately assess the size of the comet and the dust surrounding its nucleus.

Their measurements for the nucleus size and dust mass are in line with earlier Alma observations, affirming it as the largest cloud comet ever identified.

Alma’s precision in measuring these signals enabled this research, providing a clearer understanding of this distant, icy giant.

“This discovery not only represents the first detection of molecular outgassing in a record-setting comet but also offers a rare glimpse into the chemical and dynamic processes of objects from the farthest reaches of the solar system,” the astronomer added.

“As C/2014 UN271 approaches the sun, we anticipate more frozen gases will start to evaporate, revealing further insights into the comet’s primitive composition and the early solar system.”

“Such discoveries help address fundamental questions about the origins of Earth and its waters, as well as the formation of life-supporting environments elsewhere.”

The team’s research paper was published in Astrophysics Journal Letters.

____

Nathan X. Ross et al. 2025. Initial detection of molecular activity in the largest known OORT cloud comet: Alma Imaging of The Sun at C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein). apjl 986, L22; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/add526

Source: www.sci.news

NOAA Forecasts Above-Average Atlantic Hurricane Activity

Posted on May 23, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The National Marine and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) anticipates an active Atlantic hurricane season, expecting more storm activity than usual.

“We’re really monitoring a typical season,” stated Ken Graham, a meteorologist and director of the National Weather Service. “We’re expecting a range of storms with names, from 13 to 19.”

A storm receives its name when wind speeds reach 39 mph or more. The forecast indicates 6 to 10 storms may develop into hurricanes, with wind speeds exceeding 74 mph. NOAA also predicts the occurrence of major hurricanes in category 3 or higher.

While the forecast does not specify whether a hurricane will make landfall, where it will do so, or how many will impact the U.S. coast, it is crucial to prepare now, according to meteorologists.

“This is a good time to gather your supplies and prepare your kit,” Graham advised. “We need to be prepared; currently, there are no long lines for supplies, gas, plywood, or water.”

Graham noted that the above-average forecasts are influenced partly by warmer ocean temperatures, a trend linked to climate change.

“The warm ocean temperatures align with our expectation of a more active season,” he explained during a news conference.

Forecasters have also predicted increased activity from the West African monsoon, suggesting that storms may develop off the African coast and travel across the Atlantic towards the U.S.

This hurricane forecast arrives as many National Weather Service offices face staffing shortages, following staff cuts and voluntary retirement programs initiated during the Trump administration.

In the early months of 2025, nearly 600 personnel have left the National Weather Service, creating gaps in staffing. However, the agency’s leadership assured that the National Hurricane Center, a division of the National Weather Service, is adequately resourced.

“We are fully staffed at the Hurricane Center and prepared to respond; this is our top priority for this administration,” stated NOAA acting manager Laura Grimm.

The nation’s 122 local forecast offices have been significantly affected and face numerous vacancies. Many will be responsible for predicting regional impacts such as flooding and rainfall following hurricanes.

“Our office will ensure that the necessary resources are in place to issue warnings whenever there’s a hurricane threat,” Graham added, “and we are working on solutions to maintain long-term staffing.”

Hurricane season spans from June 1st to November 30th, generally peaking in late summer and early fall.

NOAA’s predictions are largely consistent with forecasts from various external research groups, including those from universities, government bodies, and private organizations.

On average, external research groups have forecasted eight Atlantic hurricanes for 2025. The website, managed by Colorado State University and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, monitors and compiles annual forecasts.

Last year, NOAA projected a record hurricane season, which featured 18 named storms and 11 hurricanes. Five hurricanes made landfall in the U.S., including Hurricane Helen, which impacted Florida’s Gulf Coast and caused severe inland flooding in North Carolina, resulting in over 150 fatalities.

Additionally, Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Siesta Key, Florida, spawning 46 tornadoes.

Both hurricanes experienced rapid intensification, a phenomenon where a storm strengthens significantly right before hitting land.

This intensification is increasingly likely due to global warming. High sea surface temperatures can enhance rapid strengthening, similar to trends observed recently. A 2023 study found that tropical cyclones in the Atlantic are about 29% more likely to rapidly intensify from 2001 to 2020 compared to 1971 to 1990.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Planetary Scientists Discover New Evidence of Venus’ Geological Activity

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Often referred to as the Earth’s “twin planet,” Venus presents a stark contrast in surface conditions, atmospheric composition, and structural characteristics. Gaining insight into the internal mechanisms that shape Venus’s surface remains a key objective in planetary science.

An artist’s impression of a volcanic eruption on Venus. Image credit: ESA/AOES Mediaab.

The Earth’s surface is perpetually reshaped through the continual movement and recycling of vast sections of the crust, known as tectonic plates, which float above the viscous mantle.

Unlike Earth, Venus lacks tectonic plates, but its surface is still influenced by molten material rising from beneath.

To better comprehend the processes underlying these transformations, scientists have examined structures known as corona.

With sizes ranging from dozens to hundreds of kilometers, coronae are primarily formed where hot, buoyant mantle material ascends and pushes against the lithosphere above.

These features generally exhibit an oval shape and are surrounded by a concentric fracturing pattern.

Researchers estimate that hundreds of coronae are present on Venus.

Utilizing archival data from NASA’s Magellan mission, Dr. Gael Cascioli from the University of Maryland and colleagues identified signs of surface or subsurface activity that significantly shaped many of Venus’s coronae.

“Coronae are not observable on Earth today. However, it is conceivable that our planet’s early history included formations before the advent of plate tectonics,” stated a recent paper published in the journal Advances in Science.

“By integrating gravity and topographical data, this research has provided critical new insights into the subterranean processes that likely continue to influence Venus’s surface today.”

Launched in 1989, Magellan employed a radar system to penetrate Venus’s dense atmosphere and create detailed maps of its mountainous and plain terrains.

Among the various geological features mapped, coronae were notably enigmatic, with their formation remaining initially unclear.

Since then, planetary scientists have detected numerous coronae in regions where the lithosphere is thin and geothermal activity is high.

“Coronae are plentiful on Venus, representing significant features, and over the years, multiple theories have been proposed concerning their formation,” remarked Dr. Anna Gürcher, a researcher at the University of Bern.

“The exciting aspect of our research is that we can now assert that ongoing activity processes driving their formation are highly probable.”

“We hypothesize that similar processes may have also taken place early in Earth’s history.”

Researchers have developed advanced 3D geodynamic models illustrating different scenarios for the formation of plume-induced coronae, which were then compared with Magellan’s gravity and topographic data.

Gravity data has proven instrumental in enabling researchers to detect low-density regions below the surface and identify buoyant structures at elevated temperatures, something that topographical data alone cannot reveal.

Of the 75 coronae analyzed, 52 exhibited buoyant mantle materials beneath them, suggesting potential for significant structural processes.

One critical process is subduction. On Earth, this occurs when one tectonic plate is pushed beneath another.

Friction between plates can induce earthquakes, and as older rocky material descends into the hotter mantle, those rocks melt and re-emerge at the surface through volcanic activity.

On Venus, various forms of subduction are suspected to happen around several coronae.

In this context, hot rock buoyancy within the mantle forces material into the lithosphere, resulting in surface material rising and spreading outward, colliding with surrounding areas and pushing some material back down into the mantle.

Additionally, another structural process known as lithosphere drip may exist, with denser cold materials sinking from the lithosphere into the heated mantle below.

Several locations have also been identified where a third process might be occurring, where molten rock plumes beneath thicker areas of the lithosphere could potentially drive volcanic activity above.

____

Frog Casioli et al. 2025. Spectra of structural processes in Venus’ coronae revealed by gravity and topography. Advances in Science 11 (20); doi:10.1126/sciadv.adt5932

Source: www.sci.news

Study: Spruce Trees Anticipate Solar Eclipses and Align Bioelectric Activity Timeframes

Posted on May 6, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Sure! Here’s a rewritten version of the content while maintaining the HTML tags:

Regular light cycles greatly influence organisms, and phenomena like solar eclipses trigger distinct physiological and behavioral responses. Although extensively studied in animals, plant behavior during solar eclipses remains relatively unexamined. Recent research conducted by scientists from Italy, the UK, Spain, and Australia explored the bioelectric responses of multiple Spruce trees (Picea abies) in relation to solar eclipses.

A study site in the Dolomite Mountains, Italy. Image credit: Monica Galliano / Southern Cross University.

Periodic sunlight fosters global weather patterns, seasons, and climates that sustain life on Earth.

The daily and seasonal rhythms of natural light align biological systems by synchronizing their internal clocks with the Earth’s geophysical cycles.

In an era marked by significant human-induced alterations to natural cycles, extraordinary astronomical events such as solar eclipses serve as natural experiments, offering crucial perspectives on how organisms react to sudden, rare environmental changes.

“Our study reveals that forests play a vital role in how species communicate and adapt, uncovering a new layer of complexity in plant behavior,” noted Professor Monica Galliano from Southern Cross University.

“It’s essentially evidence of the renowned ‘Wood Wide Web’ in action!”

This investigation employed an innovative remote measurement system to monitor multiple trees simultaneously within the forest.

This setup enabled researchers to assess whether and to what degree individual trees respond collectively to the solar eclipse, functioning as a larger living entity.

The study analyzed the electrical signals in spruce trees to characterize their bioelectrical activity during a partial solar eclipse that occurred in the Dolomite Mountains of northeastern Italy.

Results demonstrated that individual trees exhibited significant synchronization in their electrical activity before and after the solar eclipse, operating as an integrated living system that manages their reactions to external influences.

“Using advanced analytical techniques, including complexity measures from Quantum Field Theory,” stated Professor Alessandro Thioleoreo of the Italian Institute of Technology and the University of England, “we now regard forests not merely as individual collections but as ensembles of interconnected plants.”

“These findings reinforce the need to protect ancient trees,” Professor Galliano added.

“The fact that older trees are the first to react and possibly lead a collective response emphasizes their role as repositories of historical environmental knowledge.”

“This discovery underscores the critical importance of safeguarding old forests, which act as cornerstones of ecosystem resilience by conserving and sharing invaluable ecological insights.”

The study is published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

____

Alessandro Chiolerio et al. 2025. Bioelectric Synchronization of Picea abies During a Solar Eclipse. R. Soc. Open SCI 12(4): 241786; doi: 10.1098/rsos.241786

Feel free to make any additional adjustments!

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists induce Yellowstone seismic activity to analyze the volcano’s depth

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Researchers from the University of Utah and the University of New Mexico used artificial “earthquakes” to investigate the magma beneath Yellowstone, a closely monitored hypervolcano. The team deployed truck-mounted bibroseis, large mechanical vibrators, to generate seismic waves throughout the national park. By recording these waves with 650 ground sensors, scientists were able to examine the underground volcanic structures.

Dr. Jamie Farrell, a geologist at the University of Utah and study co-author, explained, “In a way, we’re causing our own earthquakes and recording all that data on seismometers. With so many sensors, we can obtain a clear image of what’s happening below the surface.” This investigation revealed that the top of the magma chamber is approximately 3.8 km below the surface, with 86% consisting of solid rock and 14% containing molten rock, gas, and liquid pockets.

Scientists deployed a portable seismometer called Geophone to measure vibrations from artificial earthquakes – Credit: Jamie Farrell, University of Utah

Professor Bill McGuire, an expert in Geophysical and Climate Hazards, noted that using artificial seismic waves to study underground geology is not new but has not been applied in Yellowstone for determining magma depth before. Despite the proximity of the magma to the surface, the study confirmed that an eruption is not imminent.

Mike Poland, the chief scientist at the US Geological Survey and Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, remarked, “Yellowstone provides valuable insights into volcano behavior worldwide. While another super eruption is possible elsewhere, Yellowstone is not currently at risk.”

For more information:

About our experts:

Professor Bill McGuire: Professor Emeritus of Geophysics and Climate Hazards at University College, London. McGuire is a science writer and broadcaster with a forthcoming book on how past events shape our future.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Human activity has profound impacts on the Earth’s upper mantle

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Ship cemetery in the desert of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan

s@owwl / alamy

Unsustainable irrigation and drought have caused changes that have empty almost all of the waters of the Aral Sea since the 1960s, extending all the way to the Earth’s upper mantle, the layer below the Earth’s crust. This is perhaps the deepest recorded example of human activity that will change the solid inner earth.

“To do something that will affect us [upper mantle] It’s like whoa.” Sylvain Barbott At the University of Southern California. “It shows how powerful it is to change the environment.”

The Aral Sea in Central Asia was once one of the largest waters in the world, covering almost 70,000 square kilometers. However, Soviet irrigation programs that began in the 1960s and later droughts empty the oceans. By 2018, it had shrunk by almost 90% and lost about 1,000 cubic kilometres of water.

Wang Ten At Peking University in China, I was interested in the Aral Sea after reading a book about the consequences of this environmental disaster on the surface of the earth. “We’ve noticed that these huge mass changes stimulate the deep Earth’s response,” he says.

He and his colleagues, including Barbot, used satellite measurements to track subtle changes in the elevation of the oceans that were empty between 2016 and 2020. Much of the ocean water disappeared decades ago, but it was found that the uplifts were underway, with on average rising surfaces about 7 millimeters a year.

Next, we used a model of the crust and mantle beneath the Aral Sea to test the mantle beneath the Aral Sea when it came to leading to the uplift of this observed pattern. “We found that the observations were perfectly compatible with a deep response to this change,” says Barbot.

When the weight of the water was removed, the shallow crust first responded, according to the model. This prompted a response at a depth of 190 km from the surface as the viscous rocks in the upper mantle creeped up to fill the blanks. “The uncurved things create space and the rocks want to flow into it,” Barbot says. This delayed reaction in hot, weak areas of the mantle, called the athenosphere, is why the uplift is ongoing, even decades after the water is removed, he says.

The upper mantle rebound is known to occur after other major changes in surface mass, such as glacier advancement and retreat, says Roland Bürgmann At the University of California, Berkeley. But the response to drainage in the Aral Sea may be the deepest example of human-caused changes on solid earth.

Other human-induced changes, such as filling large reservoirs and pumping groundwater, are said to have also caused rebounds. Manoochehr Shirzaei At Virginia Tech. But the wider range of the Aral Sea means the impact of emptying it is likely to run deeper, he says.

In addition to explaining the enormous scale of human activity, the uplift below the Aral Sea offers an extraordinary opportunity to estimate small differences in viscosity of the mantle, particularly under the interior of the continent, Bürgmann says. “It’s really important for people trying to understand plate tectonics to know how that layer behaves under the continent.”

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Venus Might Have More Surface Geologic Activity Than Previously Believed

Posted on April 1, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

It is called an unexpected phenomenon Convection It helps to explain many of the other features of the volcano and Venus landscape.

The artist’s impression is that a volcano erupts on Venus. Image credit: ESA/AOES Mediaab.

The University of Washington, Professor Slava Solomatov of St. Louis, said:

“Our calculations suggest that convection is possible and likely is likely. If so, it gives us new insight into the evolution of the planet.”

Convection occurs when the heated material rises towards the surface of the planet, and the cold material sinks, creating a constant conveyor belt.

On Earth, convection deep in the mantle provides the energy that drives plate tectonics.

The Earth’s crust, about 40 km thick on the continent and 6 km in the sea basin, is too thin to cool and cannot support convection.

However, Professor Solomatov and his colleague Dr. Chabi Jain of St. Louis suspected that Venus’ crust had a proper thickness (probably 30-90 km, and in some places 30-90 km), temperature and rock composition.

To confirm this possibility, researchers applied a new theory of fluid dynamics developed in the lab.

Their calculations suggested that Venus’ crust could indeed support convection. This is a whole new way of thinking about the geology of planetary surfaces.

In 2024, scientists used a similar approach to determine that convection would likely not occur in the mercury mantle. Because the planet is too small and has been cooled quite a bit since it formed 4.5 billion years ago.

Venus, on the other hand, is a hot planet both inside and outside. The surface temperature reaches 465 degrees Celsius (870 degrees Fahrenheit), and its volcano and other surface features show clear signs of melting.

Scientists have been wondering how heat from the interior of the earth is transferred to the surface.

“Crustal convection can be an important missing mechanism,” Professor Solomatov said.

“Convection near the surface can also affect the type and placement of volcanoes on Venus’ surface.”

The author hopes that future missions to Venus can provide more detailed data on crust density and temperature.

If convection occurs as expected, some areas of the crust must be warmer and less dense than others. This is a difference that can be detected using high-resolution gravity measurements.

But perhaps an even more interesting target is Plput, a frozen dwarf planet outside the solar system.

Images from NASA’s New Horizons mission revealed a prominent polygonal pattern in the Sputnik Planitia region of Pltune, which resembles the plate boundary on Earth.

These polygons are formed by the slow convection current in a 4-km thick layer of solid nitrogen ice.

“Pluto is probably the second planetary body in the non-Earth solar system, and the convection driving tectonics is clearly visible on the surface,” Professor Solomatov said.

“It’s an attractive system that we still need to understand.”

result Published in the journal Physics of the interior of Earth and Planets.

____

Viatcheslav S. Solomatov & Chhavi Jain. 2025. The possibility of convection in the Venus crust. Earth and Planet Physics 361:107332; doi:10.1016/j.pepi.2025.107332

Source: www.sci.news

Proxima Centauri exhibits intense flare activity and recent Alma observations reveal new insights

Posted on March 24, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

While Proxima Centauri’s flaring activity is well known to astronomers using visible wavelengths, new observations on Atacama’s massive millimeter/sub-millimeter arrays (ALMAs) highlight the extreme activity of stars at radio and millimeter wavelengths.

The concept of violent star flare artists from Proxima Centauri. Image credit: S. Dagnello, nrao/aui/nsf.

Proxima Centauri is a red star, about 4.24 light years away from the constellation of Centaurus.

Discovered in 1915 by Scottish astronomer Robert Innes, the star is invisible to the naked eye.

Its average luminosity is very low, very small compared to other stars, only about one eighth of the mass of the sun.

Proxima Centauri is also known as the Alpha Centauri C, as it is actually part of the Triple Star system.

The separation of the stars from their larger companions, Alpha Centauri A and B, is about 0.2 light-years, equivalent to 400 times the orbit of Neptune.

Proxima Centauri hosts the terrestrial exoplanet Proxima B in a habitable zone of 0.0485 Au.

The stars are well-established as highly active stars and are the primary targets for investigating the effects of star activity on the habitability of planets orbiting Red War.

In the new study, astronomer Kiana Burton at the University of Colorado and astronomer Meredith McGregor at Johns Hopkins University, and colleagues used archival data and new Alma observations to study millimeter-wavelength flare activity.

The small size and strong magnetic field of the Proxima Centauri show that its entire internal structure is convection (unlike the sun, which has both convective and non-reliable layers).

The magnetic field will twist and develop tension, and eventually snap, sending energy and particle flow outwards to what is observed as flares.

“Our solar activity does not remove the Earth’s atmosphere and instead creates beautiful auroras because it has a thick atmosphere and a strong magnetic field to protect the planets,” Dr. McGregor said.

“But we know that Proxima Centauri’s flares are much stronger and there are rocky planets in their habitable zones.”

“What are these flares doing to their atmosphere? Are there any large fluxes of radiation and particles that are chemically altered or perhaps completely eroding at the atmosphere?”

This study represents the first multi-wavelength study using millimeter observations to reveal a new appearance in flare physics.

A total of 463 flare events were reported with 50 hours of ALMA observations using both the full 12-meter array and the 7-M Atacama Compact Array (ACA).^{twenty four} On 10²⁷ ERG, and a short period of 3-16 seconds.

“When you see the flare with Alma, you see electromagnetic radiation, that is, light of various wavelengths,” Dr. McGregor said.

“But this radio-wavelength flaring also gives us a way to track the properties of those particles and understand what is free from the stars.”

To this end, astronomers characterized the stars (so-called flare frequency distribution) and mapped the number of flares as a function of energy.

Typically, the gradient of this distribution tends to follow the power law function. More frequent (lower energy) flares occur more frequently, but larger, more energy flares do not occur regularly.

Proxima Centauri experiences so many flares, researchers have detected many flares within each energy range.

Furthermore, they were able to quantify the asymmetry of the highest energy flares of stars, explaining how the attenuation phase of the flare is much longer than the initial burst phase.

Radio and millimeter wavelength observations help to constrain the energy associated with these flares and their associated particles.

“Millimeter flares look much more frequent,” Dr. McGregor said.

“It’s a different power law than what you see at optical wavelengths.”

“Looking only at the optical wavelengths is missing important information.”

“The Alma is the only millimeter interferometer that is sensitive enough to these measurements.”

Team’s Survey results It was published in Astrophysical Journal.

____

Kiana Burton et al. 2025. Proxima Centauri Campaign – First constraint on millimeter flare rate from Alma. APJ 982, 43; doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ada5f2

Source: www.sci.news

Solar heat may impact seismic activity on Earth

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

According to new research by scientists at Tsukuba University and the Japan National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, heat from our sun promotes changes in the atmosphere temperature on Earth and changes in the atmosphere temperature on Earth.

The sun is seen by solar orbiter in extreme ultraviolet rays from a distance of approximately 75 million km. This image is a mosaic of 25 individual images taken on March 7, 2022 by the high-resolution telescope of an extreme ultraviolet imager (EUI) instrument. The image, taken at a wavelength of 17 nanometers in the extreme ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum, reveals the corona, the upper atmosphere of the sun, with a temperature of about 1 million degrees Celsius. Image credits: ESA/NASA/SOLAR ORBITER/EUI Team/E. Kraaikamp, Rob.

Seismic studies have revealed many of the fundamentals of earthquakes: the tectonic plates move, strain energy accumulates, and that energy is ultimately released in the form of an earthquake.

However, when it comes to predicting them, there is still much to learn to evacuate cities before a catastrophe like the 2011 magnitude 9.0 Tōhoku earthquake

In recent years, research has focused on possible correlations between the sun or moon and seismic activity on Earth, with several studies pointing to tidal or electromagnetic effects that interact with the Earth's crust, core, and mantle.

In a new study, Matheus Henrique Junqueira Saldanha and his colleagues explored the possibility that solar-induced climate could play a role.

“Solar heat can promote changes in atmospheric temperature, which can affect rock properties and groundwater movements, among other things,” said Dr. Junqueira Saldanha.

“Such variations can make rocks more brittle and more prone to breaking, for example. And changes in rainfall and snow thaw can change the pressure on the boundaries of the tectonic plate.”

“Those factors may not be the main factors that cause earthquakes, but they may still play a useful role in predicting seismic activity.”

Using mathematical and computational methods, researchers analyzed seismic data along with solar activity records and surface temperatures on Earth.

Among other findings, they observed that when the surface temperature of the earth was included in the model, predictions of particularly shallow earthquakes are more accurate.

“That makes sense because heat and water mostly affect the upper layers of the Earth's crust,” said Junqueira Saldanha.

The findings suggest that solar heat transfer to the Earth's surface affects seismic activity, but this is only a small measure, and incorporating predictions of solar activity into a detailed earth temperature model could help issue seismic predictions.

“It's an exciting direction and I hope our research will shed some light on the larger picture of what causes earthquakes,” said Dr. Junqueira Saldanha.

study Today I'll be appearing in the journal chaos.

____

Matheus Henrique Junqueira Saldanha et al. The role of solar heat in seismic activity. chaos 35, 033107; doi:10.1063/5.0243721

Source: www.sci.news

Previously underestimated activity of ultra-large black holes discovered in the Milky Way

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

According to an analysis of new data from NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, the ejaculation ability that orbits Sagittarius a* emits a constant flow of flares with no period of rest. Some flares are faint flickering for a few seconds, while others are blindly bright eruptions that spit out every day. There is also slight flicker than the surges for several months at a time.

The artist's concept depicts an ultra-high Massive black hole in the heart of the Milky Way galaxy known as Sagittarius a*. Image credits: NASA/ESA/CSA/RALF CRAWFORD, STSCI.

“We expect flares to occur in essentially every super-large black hole, but our black holes are unique,” says Dr. Farhad Yousef Zadeh, an astronomer at Northwestern University. Ta.

“It's always bubbled up with activity and doesn't seem to reach a stable state.”

“We observed Sagittarius A* multiple times throughout 2023 and 2024, and noticed changes in all observations.”

“We saw something different each time, and that's really surprising. It didn't stay the same.”

Dr. Yousefzadeh and his colleagues used it Webb's nircam instrument Observe Sagittarius A* in total of 48 hours, increments of 8-10 hours over a year.

They expected to see the flare, but Sagittarius A* was more active than he had expected.

The accretion disk surrounding the black hole produced 5-6 large flares per day, during which several small subflares were generated.

“Our data showed constantly changing and bubbly brightness,” Dr. Yusef-Zadeh said.

“And boom! A huge explosion of brightness suddenly appeared. Then it settled down again. No patterns were found in this activity. It seems random. The activity profile of the black hole is what we see every time we see it. It was new and exciting.”

“It appears to be caused by two separate processes: short bursts and long flares. If the accretion disk is a river, the short, faint flicker is like a small ripple that fluctuates randomly on the surface of the river. .”

“But longer, brighter flares are like tidal waves caused by more important events.”

“Mild faults in the accretion disk can produce faint flickers. Specifically, turbulent fluctuations within the disk cause plasma (high-temperature charge gas) to be compressed and temporary. It can cause a burst of radiation.”

“This is similar to the way the solar magnetic fields gather together to compress and eject solar flares.”

“Of course, the environment around the black hole is much more energetic and extreme, so the process is more dramatic. But the surface of the sun also bubbles up with activity.”

Astronomers attribute large, bright flares to magnetic reconnection events. This is the process in which two magnetic fields collide and release energy in the form of accelerated particles. These particles, moving at a speed close to the speed of light, emit a burst of bright radiation.

“The magnetic reconnection event is like a static electricity spark, and in some ways it is also an electrical reconnection,” Dr. Yusef-Zadeh said.

The team wants to use Webb to observe Sagittarius A* for a long period of time.

“When you're watching such a weak flare event, you have to compete with the noise,” said Dr. Yousef Zadeh.

“If you can observe 24 hours a day, you can reduce the noise and see features that you didn't see before. That would be great. Also, these flares show periodicity (or repeat yourself) or really You can also check if it is random.”

Survey results It will be published in Astrophysics Journal Letter.

____

F. Yusef-Zadeh et al. 2025. Nonstop Variation of SgrA** Uses JWST at wavelengths of 2.1 and 4.8 microns: evidence of clear populations of faint and bright variable emissions. apjlin press; Arxiv: 2501.04096

Source: www.sci.news

Study reveals signs of recent seismic activity on far side of the moon.

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A recent study by the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Maryland suggests that the rugged terrain of the moon may still be active in areas of current interest for future missions.

The small ridge on the other side of the moon (yellow) reveals evidence that the moon may not be as dormant as before. Image Credit: Smithsonian facility, Tomwattors

For decades, scientists have been studying the moon’s surface to better understand its complex geological and evolutionary history.

Evidence from the moon’s Maria, the dark and flat areas filled with solid lava, suggests that the moon underwent significant compression in its distant past.

Researchers initially believed that a large ridge near the moon was formed by shrinkage billions of years ago, leading to the conclusion that the moon’s Maria had been dormant since then.

However, new research indicates that there may be more dynamic activity beneath the moon’s surface.

Jaclyn Clark and her colleagues, researchers at the University of Maryland, discovered that the small ridge on the other side of the moon is significantly younger than previously studied ridges.

“Many scientists had previously thought that most of the moon’s geological activity occurred over two to three billion years ago,” Clark stated. “But it appears that these structural features have been active within the past billion years and may still be active today.”

“These small ridges formed within the last 200 million years, a relatively recent timeframe in lunar terms,” she added.

Using advanced mapping and modeling techniques, researchers uncovered a previously unknown small ridge on the far side of the moon.

The ridge consists of 10-40 volcanic groups likely formed 3.2 to 3.6 billion years ago in narrow areas with fundamental weaknesses on the moon’s surface.

To determine the age of these small ridges, researchers employed a crater count method and found them to be younger than surrounding features.

“The more craters present, the older the surface,” Dr. Clark explained. “Based on the number of craters, we estimate that these features have been structurally active within the last 160 million years.”

Scientists noted that the structure of the distant ridge resembles that seen near the moon, suggesting they were formed by similar forces.

A few decades ago, NASA’s Apollo Mission detected shallow moonquakes. Recent findings suggest that these small ridges may be related to similar seismic activity.

“I hope that future moon missions will include tools like terrestrial penetration radar to better understand the subsurface structure of the moon,” Clark expressed. “Knowing that the moon is still geologically active is crucial for planning human missions and infrastructure development on the lunar surface.”

The team’s paper was published this month in the Planetary Science Journal.

______

Ca Nypaver et al. 2025. Moon Distant Ridges and Antartica – Recent Structural Deformation of an Incongruous Basin. Planet. Sci. J 6, 16; DOI: 10.3847/PSJ/AD9EAA

Source: www.sci.news

Scalp tattoos can temporarily record brain activity

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Tattoos printed on a person’s scalp can detect electrical activity in the brain and transmit the signals to a recording device.

Lu Nanshu

Printing temporary tattoos on people’s heads could make it easier to analyze their brain waves.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method of measuring electrical activity in the brain through electrodes placed on the scalp. It can be used to test patients for neurological conditions such as epilepsy, tumors, and damage from stroke or head trauma.

Because human skulls vary in size and shape, technicians must spend considerable time measuring and marking the scalp to obtain accurate values. The gel helps the electrodes detect brain signals, but when it dries it stops working. The cables that connect to the electrodes can also cause discomfort and interfere with delicate electrical signals.

Lu Nanshu A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin hopes to get around this problem by printing temporary tattoos on test subjects’ scalps. Tattoo ink is made of two polymers called poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS). It has excellent conductivity and durability, and does not irritate the skin.

A computer program creates a personalized tattoo design based on a 3D scan of your scalp, and a printer controlled by a robotic arm applies ink directly to your scalp. The ink comes in two different formulations, one for the electrodes that receive brain signals and one for the connection that goes to the back of the neck. From there, physical wires transmit the signal to small devices that record the data.

“Our technology embodies the first hair-compatible temporary electronic tattoo that enables high-quality brain monitoring,” says Lu.

This tattoo has been found to work well on bald heads and people with buzz-cut hairstyles. “This method has not yet been extensively tested on long, thick, curly hair, but it could be possible in the future by changing the nozzle design or incorporating robotic fingers into the hair parting. “It could be possible,” she says. The researchers say it is also possible to make the process completely wireless by embedding a data transmitter into the tattoo.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Ancient Mars: Evidence of Hydrothermal Activity Uncovered by Meteorite

Posted on November 27, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists from Curtin University and the University of Adelaide analyzed 4.45 billion-year-old zircon particles from a famous Martian meteorite called North West Africa 7034 (NWA 7034) to determine the geochemistry of the water-rich fluid. They found a “fingerprint.”

Northwest Africa 7034. Image credit: NASA.

NWA 7034 weighs approximately 320 grams and is a regolith breccia from Mars.

This meteorite, better known as Black Beauty, was discovered in Morocco's Sahara desert in 2011.

NWA 7034 contains the oldest Martian igneous material ever discovered (approximately 4.45 billion years old).

Dr Aaron Cavosy from Curtin University said: “This discovery opens new avenues for understanding not only the past habitability of Mars, but also the ancient Martian hydrothermal systems associated with magmatic activity.” Ta.

“We used nanoscale geochemistry to detect elemental evidence of Martian hydrothermal waters 4.45 billion years ago.”

“Hydrothermal systems are essential for the development of life on Earth, and our findings show that Mars also had water, a key component of a habitable environment, during its early history of crustal formation.” It suggests that.

“Through nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy, the research team identified the elemental pattern of this unique zircon, including iron, aluminum, yttrium, and sodium.”

“These elements were added when zircon formed 4.45 billion years ago, suggesting that water was present during early magmatic activity on Mars.”

The authors show that water was present in the early pre-Noachian period before about 4.1 billion years ago, even though the Martian crust withstood massive meteorite impacts that caused large-scale surface deformation. showed.

“A 2022 Curtin study on the same zircon particle found that it had been 'shocked' by a meteorite impact, making it the first and only known shocked zircon from Mars. “It turns out,” Dr. Kavosie said.

“This new study identifies telltale signatures of water-rich fluids when the particles formed and provides geochemical markers of water in the oldest known Martian crust. This brings us one step closer to understanding early Mars.”

of findings appear in the diary scientific progress.

_____

Jack Gillespie others. 2024. Zircon trace element evidence of early hydrothermal activity on Mars. scientific progress 10(47);doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adq3694

Source: www.sci.news

The Earth has been warmed by 1.5°C due to human activity since 1700

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Bubbles trapped in Antarctic ice were used to estimate past temperatures

aldiami/Andreas Alexander/Alamy

Humankind has already caused around 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming since the start of the industrial revolution, according to new estimates based on temperature data collected from air bubbles trapped in ice.

Measuring anthropogenic global warming typically uses the period from 1850 to 1900 as a pre-industrial baseline. This is because this is the time when temperature records began. 2024 is almost certain to be the first year in which average temperatures rise by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above this baseline. This single-year data is influenced by naturally occurring factors such as the strong El Niño event, which has pushed up global temperatures.

When you remove this natural variation, scientists believe humans alone have caused 1.31°C of warming since the Industrial Revolution. But by 1850, the Industrial Revolution was already underway, and fossil fuel-powered engines were in use around the world.

Andrew Jarvis Lancaster University and Piers Foster Researchers at the University of Leeds, both in the UK, set out to establish a new pre-industrial baseline using data taken from Antarctic ice core samples. The pair analyzed the composition of air bubbles trapped in ice cores to establish atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations from 13 AD to 1700, before humans significantly influenced atmospheric temperatures. This CO2 data was then used to establish the average global temperature over the same period, assuming a linear relationship between CO2 and temperature increases.

Using this new pre-1700 baseline, humanity has caused 1.49°C of warming by 2023, meaning the 1.5°C level has been “effectively reached,” the researchers say in their findings. It is written in the paper to be reported. “We have provided a new, scientifically defensible way to derive a pre-industrial baseline for measuring global warming,” Jarvis told reporters at a press conference.

Jarvis said the new method would also help reduce the uncertainty in temperature estimates based on the current 1850-1900 baseline used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Using ice core data to establish a baseline between 1850 and 1900, the researchers say humans caused 1.31°C of warming. This is consistent with existing median estimates, but the range of uncertainty is significantly reduced, the researchers note.

“The problem with just looking at surface temperature observations is that the further back in time you go, the more uncertain those observations become,” Forster says. “We are now much more confident than before that the current temperature is around 1.3°C.”

Jarvis and Forster hope their new method will be adopted by scientists and policymakers as the primary way to judge humanity's progress against global climate goals. “I think there is still room in the policy and scientific communities to rethink the pre-industrial baseline,” Jarvis said. “We know that the estimates for 1850 to 1900 incorporate warming, simply because that was not the beginning of the industrial revolution. We provide a way to operate from a secure baseline.”

However, new methods may not be future-proof. The linear relationship between CO2 concentrations and global temperatures is likely to break down as the climate changes. For example, if a so-called tipping point is triggered in the Earth system that triggers a series of warming events.

The new methods won't change the effects of climate change that are felt on the ground, Forster said. “The impact on human life from Spain and the hurricanes we are experiencing today is exactly the same whether you call it 1.3°C above pre-industrial levels or 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. is” . Influence is influence. ”

Richard Betts The Met Office, the UK's meteorological agency, said the new method “provides a clear and easy way to provide an up-to-date estimate of the current level of anthropogenic global warming”. Part of the reason is that it can produce “real-time” estimates of human-induced warming, rather than relying on 10-year moving averages as current estimates do.

He said the approach could help provide policymakers with a more up-to-date picture of current levels of warming, but changing the baseline used in the assessment would be an “objective” for climate action. It warned that it could be considered as “moving.'' “Even without changing the baseline, it is clear that current warming is much closer to 1.5°C than expected using older 10-year averages,” he says .

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

New excavations shed light on early human activity in Laos’ jungles

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Archaeologists excavating Tam Parin (Monkey Cave) in northeastern Laos have discovered some of the earliest fossil evidence homo sapiens Presence in mainland Southeast Asia.

Excavation survey at Thamparin in northeastern Laos. Image credit: Hernandez others., doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108982.

“Using a technique known as microstratigraphy, we were able to reconstruct past cave conditions and identify traces of human activity in and around Tamparin,” said Flinders University's Ph.D. says. Candidate Vito Hernandez.

“This also helped us determine the exact conditions in which some of the earliest modern human fossils found in Southeast Asia were deposited at depth.”

Microstratigraphy allows scientists to study soils in minute detail, identifying structures and features that preserve information about past environments, as well as potential structures and features that were overlooked during the excavation process due to their small size. Even traces of sexual human and animal activity can be observed.

The hominin fossils discovered by archaeologists were deposited in Tamparin Cave between 86,000 and 30,000 years ago.

However, until now, no detailed analysis of the sediment surrounding these fossils has been conducted to understand how they were deposited in the cave or the environmental conditions at the time.

The new findings reveal that conditions within the cave varied dramatically, from a temperate climate with frequently wet ground conditions to a seasonally dry climate.

Dr Mike Morley from Flinders University said: “This environmental change would have affected the topography inside the cave and influenced how the deposits containing hominin fossils were deposited inside the cave.” said.

“How fast! homo sapiens The theory that they were buried deep inside the cave has long been debated, but our analysis of the sediments suggests that the fossils were pushed into the cave as loose sediment and debris that accumulated over time and were washed away by heavy rains. It has been shown that it was likely carried by water from the surrounding hillsides. ”

Researchers have also identified tiny traces of charcoal and ash preserved in the cave's sediments, indicating that forest fires occurred in the area during the dry season, or that humans visited the cave. This suggests that fire may have been used inside the cave or near the entrance. .

“With this study, our team gained unprecedented insight into the dynamics of our ancestors, who dispersed throughout Southeast Asia's ever-changing forest cover and during periods of regional climate instability.” ,” said Dr. Fabrice Demeter, a paleoanthropologist at the National Museum of Nature and Science. University of Copenhagen.

of result Published in a magazine dated October 10th Quaternary Science Review.

_____

VC Hernandez others. Late Pleistocene–Holocene (52–10 ka) microstratigraphy, fossil taphonomy, and depositional environment of Tam Parin Cave (northeastern Laos). Quaternary Science Reviewpublished online October 10, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108982

Source: www.sci.news

Research: Volcanic Activity on the Moon 123 Million Years Ago

Posted on September 6, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

There is plenty of geological evidence that the Moon had ancient volcanic activity, but it is unclear how long that activity lasted. Magma eruptions create volcanic glass, which has been found in lunar samples before. Dr. Li Qiuli of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and colleagues analyzed about 3,000 glass beads taken from lunar soil samples collected by China's Chang'e-5 mission. They identified three glass beads as being of volcanic origin based on their texture, chemical composition, and sulfur isotopes. Uranium-lead dating of these volcanic beads determined that they formed about 123 million years ago.

Volcanic eruptions that produced glass beads on the Moon. Image courtesy of T. Zhang & Y. Wang.

Samples collected by the Apollo, Luna and Chang'e-5 missions have so far shown that the Moon experienced widespread basaltic volcanic activity between about 4.4 billion and 2 billion years ago.

The findings suggest that, at least on small, localized scales, volcanic activity continued for much longer than previously thought.

“Dating of lunar volcanic basalt samples returned to Earth by the Apollo and Luna missions or delivered to Earth as lunar meteorites reveals that lunar basaltic volcanism continued at least 2.9 to 2.8 billion years ago,” the researchers said.

“However, analysis of lunar samples returned by the Chang'e-5 mission demonstrates that basaltic volcanism persisted at least 2 billion years ago.”

“Remote sensing observations suggest that there may have been more recent volcanic activity on the Moon during the Late Copernican epoch (less than 800 million years ago).”

“However, none of these remote sensing observations provide precise dates for possible volcanic activity.”

“Furthermore, the proposed Late Copernican Ocean basalt outbursts cover only a limited area, and no samples are available.”

“Eruptions of gas-rich magma can produce magma fountains that produce sub-millimeter glass beads.”

“These beads could be deposited over a wide area and then transported farther across the lunar surface by impacts.”

“Volcanic glass may be a trace component in existing samples.”

In their study, Dr Li and his co-authors sorted 3,000 tiny glass beads retrieved from lunar samples collected by Chang'e-5, examining the beads' chemical composition, physical texture, and sulfur isotopes to distinguish between volcanic glass and glass produced by meteorite impacts.

They identified three of the beads as being of volcanic origin and used radiometric dating to determine that the beads were formed 123 million years ago.

Volcanic beads are rich in potassium, phosphorus, and rare earth elements, known as KREEP elements, which can produce radioactive heat.

Localized heating by KREEP elements could melt rocks in the Moon's mantle, causing small amounts of magma to erupt to the surface.

“The volcanic glass beads contained large amounts of rare earth elements and thorium, which may indicate that recent volcanic activity is associated with local enrichment of heat-producing elements in the mantle source of magma,” the researchers said.

Their paper Published in a journal Science.

_____

Wang Biwen others2024. Samples brought back indicate volcanic activity on the moon 120 million years ago. Science 385 (6713); doi: 1077-1080; doi: 10.1126/science.adk6635

Source: www.sci.news

Podcast: Paranormal Activity Celebrities Share Haunting Stories of Possessive Spirits

Posted on August 8, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

a
Has the Olympics caused anyone else’s productivity to hit an all-time low? Like me, you’ve probably had that small but highly distracting iPlayer window open in the corner of your screen all day, gone straight home, watched athletics on TV, ignored the dirty dishes, and dozed off.

Surprisingly, what if you’re on the go? BBC Radio 5 Live and The official Olympic podcast. It’s great for catching up on the action away from the screen (you may have cried listening to the women’s triathlon on your commute to work), but these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pods extending the Paris 2024 journey. As medals are awarded and sporting heroes make their appearance, there are shows that take you even deeper into the personalities themselves.

Simone Biles said she thought America hated her after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Call her daddy. Keeley Hodgkinson is confident of winning the gold medal. High Performance Podcast. Tom Daley’s Desert Island Discs Pleasant to listen to. Mondo Duplantis on being a pole vault champion Mindset Victory. Jess Thom, the lead psychologist for the British team, speaks candidly to The Guardian’s Science Weekly about how to prepare athletes for failure and success, and what happens when they have to return to normal life. Plus, Adam Peaty has a deep and meaningful conversation with his father-in-law, Gordon Ramsay. About the Olympics.

But if you’re completely bored of sports, don’t worry: this week’s best podcasts offer a lovely escape, with the paranormal, celebrity fantasies, and strolls through Borough Market. We’ve also rounded up the top five podcasts featuring A-list stars (which will likely include Olympic superstars and viral sensations at some point). Kim Ye-ji, South Korean shooting silver medalist.

Holly Richardson
TV assistant editor

This week’s picks

Dreamspace presenter Gemma Cairney. Photo: Katherine Ann Rose/Observer

Paranormal Activity: True Stories of Possession
All episodes available on Audible
Fifteen years after Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat terrified a generation with the film Paranormal Activity, they’re doing it again in podcast form. Sloat is a big fan of spiritual exploration, so it’s only fitting that he introduces the story of the Watseka Wonder, in which a 14-year-old girl claims to have been possessed by a dead woman for 16 weeks. “Dad of the Witch” Griffin Ceddo expands on the possession in a surprisingly moving account.
Hannah Verdier

Source: www.theguardian.com

Neglecting easy methods to promote physical activity in our kids

Posted on July 25, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

As you prepare to settle in to watch the latest generation of Olympians and Paralympians display their incredible athletic abilities, the irony is unlikely to escape many, especially if you're watching with your kids.

In May, the World Health Organisation reaffirmed that the majority of young people around the world do not get enough exercise, with children in England and Wales being the most physically inactive in the world. As with so many other issues, screens are often the ones to blame here, but as some of our special issue on physical activity highlights (see 'How much exercise do kids really need, and what kind?'), the reality is more complex.

It's true that time spent in front of TVs, iPads, and other devices competes with opportunities for physical activity, and we know that spending time outdoors, in nature, and interacting with others has many benefits that kids who are glued to their screens miss out on. But there are plenty of other reasons why kids are inactive, and often these are easy problems to fix.

Earlier this year we reported that school uniforms may be contributing to the problem by being too restrictive, but this could be easily fixed by simply changing uniform policies. Meanwhile, the emphasis on competitive and elite sport in schools takes the fun out of physical activity and causes many children to lose interest.

This is especially true for girls, whose gender gap in physical activity emerges early in life and widens dramatically in the later grades. The fun gap These include issues with periods, embarrassment about performing in front of boys, etc. Providing separate sports sessions for boys and girls, with an emphasis on activity and play rather than competition, can be a big help.

So while events like the Olympics and Paralympics are inspiring, our conversation should focus less on competitive sport and exercise and more on fun, accessible activities that are easy to incorporate into everyday life for everyone.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

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

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Activity within brain networks appears to differ between boys and girls

People Images/Getty Images

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Study shows wave activity causing erosion along the coastlines of Titan’s largest lakes and oceans

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is the only known planet other than Earth that still retains liquid water. Liquid hydrocarbons fed by rain from Titan’s thick atmosphere form rivers, lakes, and oceans, most of which are found in the polar regions. In a new study, a team of MIT geologists surveyed Titan’s coastline and found that the moon’s large lakes and oceans were likely formed by waves.

Artist’s rendering of the surface of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Image by Benjamin de Bivort, debivort.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.

The existence of waves on Titan has been a somewhat controversial topic ever since NASA’s Cassini spacecraft discovered liquid puddles on Titan’s surface.

“Some people who have looked for evidence of waves haven’t seen any waves at all and have said, ‘The ocean is as smooth as a mirror,'” said Dr. Rose Palermo, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “Others have said they saw some roughness in the water but didn’t know if it was caused by waves.”

“Knowing whether there is wave activity in Titan’s oceans can provide scientists with information about the moon’s climate, including the strength of the winds that generate such waves.”

“Wave information could also help scientists predict how the shape of Titan’s ocean will change over time.”

“Rather than looking for direct signs of wave-like features in Titan images, we wanted to take a different approach and see if just looking at the shape of the coastline could tell us what it is that is eroding the coast.”

Titan’s oceans are thought to have formed when rising waters flooded a landscape crisscrossed by river valleys.

The researchers zeroed in on three scenarios for what happened next: no coastal erosion, wave-driven erosion, and uniform erosion caused by either dissolution, where liquids passively dissolve coastal material, or a mechanism where the coast gradually peels away under its own weight.

They simulated how different coastline shapes would change under each of the three scenarios.

To simulate wave erosion, the researchers took into account a variable called “fetch,” which describes the physical distance from one point on the shoreline to the other side of a lake or ocean.

“Wave erosion depends on the height and angle of the waves,” Dr Palermo said.

“We used the fetch to estimate wave height because the bigger the fetch, the further away the wind will blow and the bigger the waves will be.”

Cassini observed Titan’s surface with microwaves and found several grooves that are deep canyons filled with liquid hydrocarbons, including Vid Fulmina, a branching network of thin lines in the upper left quadrant of the image. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASI.

To test how coastline shape would differ between the three scenarios, the scientists started with a simulated ocean area with a flooded river valley all around it.

For wave erosion, we calculated the fetch distance from every point along the coastline to every other point and converted that distance to wave height.

They then ran simulations to see how waves would erode the original shoreline over time.

They compared this to how the same coastline would change due to erosion caused by uniform erosion.

The authors repeated this comparative modelling for hundreds of different initial shoreline configurations.

They found that the shape of the termini varies greatly depending on the underlying mechanism.

Most notably, uniform erosion produced a bulging shoreline that was evenly distributed all around, even in flooded river valleys, whereas wave erosion smoothed out portions of the shoreline exposed primarily to long downstream distances, leaving the flooded valleys narrow and rough.

“Although the initial coastline was the same, we found that uniform erosion and wave erosion resulted in very different final shapes,” Dr Perron said.

“Although it looks like a flying spaghetti monster because of the flooded river valley, the endpoints created by the two types of erosion are very different.”

This image is a composite of images taken during two flybys of Titan in 2006. A large circular feature near the center of Titan’s disk may be the remnant of a very old impact basin. The mountain range southeast of the circular feature and the long, dark linear feature northwest of the old impact site may be the result of deformation of Titan’s crust caused by energy released when the impact occurred. Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.

Dr. Perron and his colleagues verified their results by comparing their simulation results with actual lakes on Earth.

They found the same shape differences between Earth’s lakes known to have been eroded by waves and those affected by homogeneous erosion, such as dissolved limestone.

Their modelling revealed distinct and distinctive shapes depending on the mechanism by which the shoreline evolved.

So they wondered: Where does Titan’s coastline fit into these distinctive shapes?

In particular, they focused on four of Titan’s largest and best-mapped oceans: Kraken Mare, which is comparable in size to the Caspian Sea; Ligeia Mare, which is larger than Lake Superior; Punga Mare, which is longer than Lake Victoria; and Lake Ontario, which is about 20% the size of the land-based lake of the same name.

The researchers used Cassini’s radar images to map the coastlines of each of Titan’s oceans, and then applied their model to the coastlines of each ocean to see which erosion mechanisms best explain their shape.

They found that all four oceans fit closely to the wave-induced erosion model, meaning that waves created the closest coastlines to Titan’s four oceans.

“We found that when the shoreline is eroding, its shape is more consistent with wave-driven erosion than uniform erosion or no erosion,” Dr Perron said.

Scientists are trying to figure out how strong Titan’s winds would need to be to churn up waves strong enough to repeatedly scrape away the shoreline.

They also hope to learn from the shape of Titan’s coastline which direction the winds primarily blow from.

“Titan shows us that this case is completely pristine,” Dr. Palermo said.

“It may help us learn more fundamental things about how coasts erode without human influence, which in turn may help us better manage coastlines around the world in the future.”

of Investigation result Published in today’s journal Scientific advances.

_____

Rose V. Palermo others2024. Evidence of wave erosion on Titan’s coast. Scientific advances 10(25); Source: 10.1126/sciadv.adn4192

Source: www.sci.news

Volcanic Activity on Jupiter’s Moon Io Discovered by Large Binocular Telescope

Posted on June 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

how to use SHARK-VIS device Using the Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham in Arizona, US, astronomers have captured the highest-resolution optical images of Io ever taken by a ground-based telescope. The new images allow the astronomers to confirm that large-scale surface changes are occurring around Pele, one of Io's most well-known volcanoes.

Taken with the SHARK-VIS camera on the Large Binocular Telescope on January 10, 2024, this image is the highest resolution image of Io ever taken by an Earth-based telescope. The image combines three spectral bands: infrared, red, and green to highlight the reddish ring around Pele volcano (below and to the right of the Moon's center) and the white ring around Piran Patera to the right of Pele. Image credit: INAF / Large Binocular Telescope Observatory / Georgia State University / SHARK-VIS@LBT / PIF Pedichini / D. Hope / S. Jefferies / G. Li Causi.

Io is slightly larger than Earth's Moon and is the most volcanically active body in the solar system.

It is the innermost of Jupiter's Galilean moons, which besides Io include Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

Io is caught in a gravitational tug-of-war between Jupiter, Europa, and Ganymede, and is constantly compressed, causing frictional heat to build up inside it, which is thought to be the cause of sustained and widespread volcanic activity.

By monitoring Io's surface eruptions, planetary scientists hope to gain insight into the thermal movement of material beneath the moon's surface, its internal structure, and ultimately the mechanisms of tidal heating that drive Io's intense volcanic activity.

Io's volcanic activity was first discovered in 1979, when Linda Morabito, an engineer for NASA's Voyager missions, spotted plumes of smoke in one of the images the spacecraft took during its famous Grand Tour of the outer planets.

Since then, countless observations have been made, both from space and from telescopes on Earth, documenting Io's restless nature.

“Io offers a unique opportunity to learn about the powerful eruptions that contributed to shaping the surfaces of the Earth and Moon long ago,” said Dr Al Conrad, an astronomer at the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory.

The new images, taken with the large binocular telescope SHARK-VIS, are so detailed that they enabled the team to identify a major resurfacing event in which the plume deposits around a prominent volcano known as Pele, located near the equator in Io's southern hemisphere, have been covered by eruption deposits from a neighboring volcano, Piran Patera.

A similar series of eruptions was observed by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, which explored the Jovian system from 1995 to 2003.

“We interpret this change as dark lava deposits and white sulfur dioxide deposits from the Piran Patera eruption partially covering Pele's red sulfur-rich plume deposits,” said Dr. Ashley Davis, principal scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“Before SHARK-VIS, it was impossible to observe these resurfacing events from Earth.”

“The visible light images are absolutely stunning,” said Imke de Patter, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Pele appears to be erupting continuously, spewing plumes of volcanic gases about 300 kilometers above Io's surface, high enough to have been photographed by Voyager, Galileo and Hubble.”

“Gases in the plume erupting from the lava lake freeze and are deposited on the surface as a conspicuous, wide, reddish, sulfur-rich ring.”

“Piran Patera, on the other hand, appears to erupt intermittently, leaving lava surrounded by a white ring of frozen sulfur dioxide.”

“The new images show that the white sediments obscure Pele's reddish sediments, but perhaps only for a short time.”

“Images of Io taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft in April 2024 will show a nearly perfect orange ring, with perhaps a faint hint of red where the Piran deposits were located.”

“It's like a race between Piram and Pele to see how much and how fast each can deposit.”

“Once Piran stops completely, it will be covered again with Pele's red deposits.”

of Investigation result It will be displayed in journal Geophysical Research Letters.

_____

Al Conrad othersIn 2024, LBT SHARK-VIS observes a large-scale re-emergence event on Io. arXiv: 2405.19604

Source: www.sci.news

Study confirms recent volcanic activity on Venus

Posted on May 29, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Using radar data NASA’s Magellan Project Planetary scientists have detected volcano-related flow features in two different regions of Venus: on the western slope of Sif Mons and in western Niobe Planitia.

This image shows the Schiffmons region with active volcanic areas highlighted in red. Image courtesy of Davide Sulcanese, IRSPS – Università d’Annunzio.

Venus’s thick atmosphere makes it difficult to make direct observations of the planet’s surface.

However, although global radar mapping performed by the Magellan spacecraft in the 1990s showed that Venus’s surface is covered with many volcanoes and was likely formed by extensive volcanic activity in the past, the role of volcanism in Venus’s geological present remained unclear.

However, 2023 Magellan data confirmed evidence of more recent activity from one volcanic vent on the planet’s surface.

In the new study, Davide Sulcanese, a researcher at D’Annunzio University, and his colleagues analyzed two sets of Magellan radar data taken in 1990 and 1992 to look for evidence of volcanic activity.

They found surface changes that could indicate volcanic activity in two areas with volcanic-related features: on the western slope of Mount Sif and in western Niobe Planitia.

After analyzing a range of possible causes, the authors suggest that these fluctuations were likely caused by fresh lava flows.

They suggest that not only is Venus currently a geologically active planet, but that volcanic activity is currently quite widespread.

They also suggest that volcanic activity on Venus is comparable to that on Earth, indicating that Venus is more volcanically active than previously thought.

Artist’s impression of an erupting volcano on Venus. Image courtesy of ESA / AOES Medialab.

“These maps suggest that Venus may be much more volcanically active than previously thought,” Dr Sulcanese said.

“Analysis of lava flows observed at two locations on Venus suggests that volcanic activity on Venus may rival that on Earth.”

“We interpret these signals as flows along the slopes and volcanic plains that, like fluids, may bypass obstacles such as shield volcanoes,” added Dr Marco Mastrogiuseppe, a researcher at Sapienza University of Rome.

“After ruling out other possibilities, we determined that the best interpretation is that these are new lava flows.”

“These new findings about Venus’s recent volcanic activity provide compelling evidence for the types of regions NASA’s upcoming VERITAS mission should target when it arrives at Venus,” said Dr. Suzanne Smrekar, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and VERITAS principal investigator.

“Our spacecraft has a suite of approaches to identify surface changes with much more comprehensiveness and resolution than Magellan’s images.”

“Finding evidence of activity even in the low-resolution Magellan data has great potential to revolutionize our understanding of this mysterious world.”

of result Published in this week’s journal Natural Astronomy.

_____

D. Sulcanese othersEvidence of ongoing volcanic activity on Venus revealed by Magellan radar. Nat AstronPublished online May 27, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02272-1

Source: www.sci.news

Io, one of Jupiter’s moons, has been a hotbed of volcanic activity for billions of years.

Posted on April 18, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Io, Jupiter’s innermost moon, is the most volcanically active object in the solar system.

Joshimer Binas/Alamy Stock Photo

Jupiter’s moon Io has been continually modified by volcanic eruptions over billions of years, probably since it first formed.

Io is the most volcanically active object in the solar system, with many volcanoes spewing plumes of sulfurous material that can be seen from Earth. Astronomers now know this is caused by so-called tidal heating, in which the gravity of Jupiter and its nearby moons deforms Io, but they wonder if it’s always been this way or if there was a more benign past. It was unclear whether it was there or not.

now, Catherine de Clear Caltech researchers have discovered that Io has probably been spewing lava for almost the entirety of its history. They did this by measuring the ratio of her two isotopes of sulfur in the atmosphere.

The most common stable form of sulfur contains 16 protons and 16 neutrons in each atom, but a heavier stable form called sulfur-34 has two extra neutrons. On Io, volcanoes continually spew both isotopes into the atmosphere and onto the ground. The top layer of the atmosphere, rich in lighter sulfur atoms, is lost to space as the moon moves around Jupiter, changing the ratio of these isotopes.

De Kleer and colleagues used observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a series of radio telescopes in Chile, to measure the proportions of Io’s atmosphere. Then, by modeling how much sulfur Io loses each year, the researchers were able to see at what point Io’s sulfur ratios are similar to the rest of the solar system. Although it is not possible to say exactly how long the volcano has been active, it appears that it has been erupting for between 2.5 billion and 4 billion years.

Because Io’s volcanic activity is due to tidal heating by Jupiter and other moons such as Europa and Ganymede, the results can also be used to infer the configuration of the Jupiter system billions of years ago. “The length of Io’s volcanic activity is a direct reflection of how long this orbital structure has existed,” de Clare says.

If Io has been consistently volcanically active for billions of years, this also means that its deep geological formations have been recycled many times, they say. Lionel Wilson At Lancaster University, UK.

Sampling the ejected material will provide a rare opportunity to learn about the chemical composition of Io’s deeper layers, such as the mantle beneath its outer shell. “If these volcanoes have continued to erupt essentially throughout the history of the solar system, even if we look at the composition of what’s erupting and find that it’s actually a snapshot of Io’s entire mantle, It’s safe,” Wilson said.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Using sleeping birds’ vocal muscle activity to create artificial songs

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

During sleep, we can sporadically find patterns of neural activity in areas of the bird's brain that are activated during song production. Recently, it was found that patterns of activity during these silent plays can be detected in the vocal muscles of sleeping birds. In a new study, researchers from the University of Buenos Aires and CONICET employed a dynamic systems model for song production in suborder birds. Tyrani This is to convert the vocal muscle activity during sleep into a synthetic song.

Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulfuratus) July 2011, Beeville, Texas, USA. Image credit: Tess Thornton / CC BY-SA 3.0 Deed.

“Dreams are one of the most intimate and elusive parts of our existence,” said Dr. Gabriel Mindlin, senior author of the study.

“It's very moving to know that we share something with species so far away. And the possibility of entering the mind of a dreaming bird – of hearing the sounds of its dreams. is a temptation that cannot be resisted.”

A few years ago, Dr. Mindlin and his colleagues discovered that these patterns of neuronal activity were transmitted to the syringe muscle, the bird's vocal organ.

They are able to capture sleeping birds' muscle activity data via recording electrodes called electromyograms and convert it into a synthetic song using a dynamical systems model.

“For the past 20 years, I have been studying the physics of bird calls and how muscular information is translated into calls,” Dr. Mindlin said.

“In this way, we can use the muscle activity patterns as time-dependent parameters in a bird song production model and synthesize the corresponding song.”

Trill electromyographic activity recorded during sleep and synthetic sounds generated by a dynamic model.Image credit: Doppler other., doi: 10.1063/5.0194301.

Many birds have complex muscle structures, so translating syringe activity into calls is a bit difficult.

“For this first piece, we chose Wonderful Kiskadi (Pitangus sulfuratus)“It's a member of the flycatcher family, a species for which we recently discovered the physical mechanism of its song and showed some simplifications,” Dr. Mindlin said.

“In other words, we selected species for which the first steps of this program were viable.”

The authors heard the sound emerge from the data of birds dreaming of territorial battles by raising the tops of their wings, a gesture reminiscent of calls used during daytime conflicts. I was incredibly moved.

“Imagining that lonely bird reenacting its territorial battles in my dreams really resonated with me. We have more in common with other species than we often realize.” said Dr. Mindlin.

This study presents biophysics as a new exploratory tool that can open the door to the quantitative study of dreams.

“We are interested in interacting with dreaming birds using these syntheses that can be implemented in real time,” Dr. Mindlin said.

“And for species that learn, to address questions about the role of sleep during learning.”

of study It was published in the magazine chaos.

_____

Juan F. Doppler other. 2024. Bird dream synthesis was featured. chaos 34 (4): 043103; doi: 10.1063/5.0194301

Source: www.sci.news

There is a bizarre phenomenon occurring with Earth’s seismic activity: Here’s why

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

In the realm of earthquakes, one should always anticipate the unexpected. This is the message conveyed by seismologists Professor Eric Curry from Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris, and Jean François Ritz, the Director of CNRS Laboratoire Géosciences in Montpellier.

At the core of their counsel lies the fact that earthquakes can occur in unexpected places. These enigmatic occurrences, known as intraplate earthquakes, manifest in geologically tranquil locations, distant from the active boundaries of tectonic plates.

The French scientists are dedicated to comprehending and elucidating these phenomena.

Unpredictable and Destructive

The blocks of rock forming the fragile outer shell of our planet move gradually across the Earth’s surface, at a pace akin to the growth rate of a human fingernail.

While the majority of geological activity of note transpires where plates converge, intraplate earthquakes diverge from this norm, occurring within plates, far from their peripheries.

Curry and Ritz have a compelling motive to shine a light on this topic, given that intraplate earthquakes are infrequent, with a limited number of notable occurrences compared to earthquakes at plate boundaries. Professor Curry noted that only around 20 earthquakes measuring 6 or more in magnitude have been recorded since 1974. This amounts to less than half the percentage of similar-sized earthquakes observed at plate edges during the same timeframe. Their scarcity and protracted duration render them challenging to forecast, yet they have the potential to inflict considerable devastation on unprepared urban centers that have never viewed earthquakes as a pressing concern.

Intraplate earthquakes can transpire wherever geological faults exist within the Earth’s crust. Over the past centuries, they have been documented in locations as diverse as Basel, Switzerland, New York, Boston in the United States, and the St. Lawrence River in Canada.

More recently, they wrought havoc in the Australian city of Newcastle, as well as in Botswana and Puebla, Mexico in 2017, resulting in nearly 400 fatalities in the latter.

The Magnitude of the Problem

Curry and Ritz garnered attention for a magnitude 5 earthquake near the Rhone Valley village of Le Teil in 2019, while a magnitude 5.2 earthquake shook the Lincolnshire town of Market Larsen in England in 2008. Termed the “Larsen Earthquake” by local newspapers, it caused one injury and incurred damages estimated at around £20 million. The seismic events in the UK and France tend to be minor, contrasting with occurrences in other global regions.

The most devastating intraplate earthquake of modern times took place in 2001, with a magnitude of 7.6, striking Bhuj, Gujarat, India. This catastrophic event razed an estimated 300,000 edifices and claimed the lives of up to 20,000 individuals. Looking back to 1886, a around magnitude 7 earthquake hit Charleston on the US east coast, resulting in 60 casualties and widespread devastation. A few years later, the New Madrid, Missouri area endured three potent intraplate earthquakes measuring up to magnitude 7.5, inducing violent tremors across the vicinity.

The rarity of these seismic episodes, combined with their potential for extensive destruction, underscores the urgency for a deeper understanding of intraplate earthquakes.

Increasing Tension

Both intraplate and plate margin earthquakes share a common operational mechanism. Essentially, strain builds up over time on geological faults within the Earth’s crust until it reaches a critical threshold, leading to fault rupture or slippage, thereby generating earthquakes. The release of this built-up energy in the form of seismic waves alleviates the strain. However, the process begins anew as strain accumulates again. Although the process mirrors itself in both types of earthquakes, the triggers that prompt rupture likely differ.

Curry and Ritz propose that while fault rupture at plate margins is predominantly instigated by plate movements, intraplate earthquakes within the plate’s interior are spurred by discrete triggers that occur rapidly on geological time scales. Such triggers could encompass various phenomena such as unloading due to ice sheet melting, surface erosion, rain infiltration, or fluid displacement from the Earth’s mantle.

Intraplate Complexity

It’s worth noting that a fault primed for rupture can be triggered by an equivalent pressure to a handshake. Consequently, even though millions of years may have been necessary for strain to accumulate on ancient intraplate faults, their activation could unfold swiftly over a brief period. Curry and Ritz explored the Le Teil earthquake of 2019 and concluded that it was probably triggered by the shedding of the upper crust following the region’s glacier recession post the Ice Age, possibly triggered by a nearby quarry.

The unloading and deformation of the Earth’s crust post the rapid melting of colossal ice sheets about 20,000 to 10,000 years before the present epoch is presumed to have catalyzed numerous intraplate earthquakes, including those at New Madrid, Charleston, and Basel. At the decline of the Ice Age, Norway and Sweden witnessed a surge in seismic events as the 3 km thick Scandinavian ice sheet melted rapidly, unburdening intraplate faults underneath it, and releasing accumulated strain over thousands of years.

This period witnessed several sizable earthquakes with one heaving about 8,200 years ago, instigating a massive underwater landslide off Norway’s coast, engendering a North Atlantic Ocean tsunami with crest heights reaching 20 meters across the Shetland Islands and 6 meters along Scotland’s eastern coastline.

Prediction Problems

The intricacies of predicting intraplate earthquakes pose a formidable challenge, as Curry highlights, stating, “For these peculiar earthquakes, calculating future risk is highly intricate, particularly given their sporadic nature in specific locales. Objective indicators for evaluating future intraplate seismicity are lacking.”

Despite the convolutions associated with predicting intraplate earthquakes, research concerning the peril posed by these events in historically affected regions is critical. The burgeoning urbanization in areas with past intraplate earthquake history is cause for concern.

Currently, more than half of the global populace resides in urban centers, with cities in regions susceptible to intraplate earthquakes witnessing substantial expansion. Basel, Switzerland, for instance, the nation’s second-largest urban conurbation with a populace of approximately 500,000, serves as a key hub for banking and the chemical sector. In the event of an earthquake akin to the one in 1356, the outcomes would be significantly more severe, portending thousands of casualties and severe property damages.

Similarly, Charleston in the United States, with a population exceeding 550,000, now finds itself at the heart of a bustling city characterized by stone and concrete edifices, rendering it vulnerable to calamitous consequences if struck by an earthquake akin to the 1886 event.

Looking towards the future, the specter of global warming looms large, with the potential to increase intraplate seismic activity as glacial and ice sheet melts diminish the underlying crust’s load, sparking fault ruptures and strain release accumulated over millennia.

The ramifications of such seismic events reverberate across a broad cross-section of society, driving home the importance of preparedness and vigilance in regions prone to intraplate earthquakes.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Brain activity during sleep linked to Alzheimer’s disease, say researchers

Posted on March 12, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological disease that impairs brain functions such as memory and reasoning, and there is currently no known cure. People with this disease begin with basic forgetfulness, gradually lose control of their motor skills, and eventually become unable to complete normal daily activities.

Scientists have discovered that abnormal proteins that accumulate in and around brain cells are the main cause of Alzheimer’s disease. They also discovered that the disease depends on genetics, aging, and lifestyle choices such as being active and eating a healthy diet. However, it is not known how other disorders, such as sleep disorders, may exacerbate symptoms.

Scientists have hypothesized that brain activity during sleep may be related to Alzheimer’s disease because many important memory-related events occur during sleep. Scientists are therefore hoping to find out whether disruptions in brain function during sleep are related to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis recently tested whether Alzheimer’s disease is related to electrical activity that occurs in the brain during sleep. Most people experience changes in brain activity early in the night as the body relaxes and goes to sleep. Each of these changes sleep vibration event, lasts about 20-40 minutes. The researchers hypothesized that the interactions of brain circuits during sleep oscillations are different in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease and could be used for diagnostic purposes.

To test their hypothesis, the scientists used a machine that measures electrical activity in the brain. electroencephalograph, or brain waves.They chose 205 political partiesParticipants who have previously completed at least 3 nights of EEG measurements, 1 night of home sleep apnea testing, and clinical dementia testing.Based on dementia testing, most One participant had no cognitive impairment, some participants had very mild cognitive impairment, and one participant had mild cognitive impairment.

The researchers asked participants to wear the EEG as a headband while they slept, allowing them to measure brain waves during the sleep oscillation phenomenon. The three types of sleep oscillatory events they measured during the experiment were: theta burst, sleeping spindleand slow waves.

The researchers explained that theta bursts occur when humans are in light sleep and help process information and form memories. Sleep spindles occur during non-rapid eye movement sleep and are involved in memory consolidation. Slow waves occur during deep sleep, slowing heart and breathing rates, and also play a role in memory development.

The researchers categorized each patient’s individual slow-wave events by how often they coincided with sleep spindles and theta bursts. They classified sleep spindle and slow wave events that occur within 1.5 seconds of each other as coupled events. They also classified theta burst and slow wave events that occurred within 0.5 seconds of each other as coupled events.

The researchers found that people with cognitive impairment had weaker electrical activity during theta bursts and greater differences in brain electrical activity during theta bursts and slow waves. They also found that people with cognitive impairment and other biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease had fewer slow waves with theta bursts and sleep spindles. The researchers interpreted their results to confirm that disruptions in brain circuits involved in memory function during sleep may be associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers concluded that the EEG pattern of sleep oscillatory events could be used as a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers suggested that early signs of the neurodegenerative process associated with Alzheimer’s disease could be detected in sleeping patients’ brain waves, even before they develop cognitive symptoms. They also believe that the results may provide an accessible and cost-effective tool for monitoring brain health and early Alzheimer’s disease, allowing for earlier responses and improved patient treatment. suggested something.

Post views: 1,185

Source: sciworthy.com

AI is able to detect the position of a mouse by analyzing its brain activity

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Micrograph of a cross-section of a mouse brain highlighting neural pathways (green)

Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute/Scientific Photo Library

By analyzing a mouse’s brain activity, scientists can tell where the animal is and the exact direction the mouse is looking. With further research, the findings could one day help robots navigate autonomously.

The mammalian brain uses two main types of neurons for navigation. “Head direction cells” indicate where the animal is facing, and “grid cells” help provide her two-dimensional brain map of where the animal is located.

To learn more about the firing of these neurons, Vasilios Marlas and colleagues at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, worked with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to analyze data from previous studies.

In this experiment, probes were inserted into the brains of several mice. They then combined data about their neural firing patterns with video footage showing their position and head position as they moved around their open environment.

Because of this, Marlas and his colleagues developed an artificial intelligence algorithm that can figure out where the mouse is looking and where it is.

In practice, it’s similar to the drop pins and directional arrows on your smartphone’s map app, except instead of connecting to GPS satellites, scientists analyze the subjects’ brain activity.

“This method eliminates the reliance on updating GPS coordinates based on preloaded maps, satellite data, etc.,” Marulas says. “In a sense, the algorithm ‘thinks’ and perceives space in the same way as a mammalian brain.”

AI could eventually allow intelligent systems to move autonomously, he says. “In other words, we are taking advantage of the way the mammalian brain processes data and incorporating it into the architecture of our algorithms.”

Adam Hines Researchers from Australia’s Queensland University of Technology say the smartphone app analogy is helpful. “The location information (drop pin) and the direction (blue arrow) match, and during navigation, as he moves, the two pieces of information are constantly updated. Grid cells are like GPS, heading cells are It’s like a compass.”

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Webb discovers evidence of hydrothermal activity within Ellis and Makemake

Posted on February 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Methane ice of unknown origin exists on the surfaces of the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake. Analysis of data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows that Ellis and Makemake have rocky cores that have undergone significant radiation heating and are still hot/hot enough to produce methane. There is a possibility.

grain other. Researchers have discovered evidence of hydrothermal or metamorphic activity deep within the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake. Image courtesy of Southwest Research Institute.

“We're seeing some interesting signs of a hot period in a cool place,” said Dr. Christopher Grein, a planetary researcher at the Southwest Research Institute.

“I approached this project thinking that because the cold surfaces of large Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) can store volatile materials like methane, they should have ancient surfaces with material inherited from the proto-solar nebula. I participated.”

“Instead, Webb had a surprise for us! We found evidence of a thermal process producing methane from inside Ellis and Makemake.”

Dr. Grein and his colleagues used the Webb to observe isotope molecules on the surfaces of Ellis and Makemake for the first time.

These so-called isotopologues are molecules containing atoms with different numbers of neutrons. These provide data that helps us understand the evolution of planets.

The astronomers measured the composition of the dwarf planet's surface, specifically the ratio of deuterium (deuterium, D) to hydrogen (H) in methane.

Deuterium is thought to have formed in the Big Bang, and hydrogen is the most abundant atomic nucleus in the universe.

The D/H ratio of planetary bodies provides information about the origin, geological history, and formation routes of hydrogen-containing compounds.

“The moderate D/H ratio observed by Mr. Webb discredits the existence of primordial methane on the ancient Earth's surface. The D/H ratio of primordial methane would be much higher,” Dr. Grein said. I did.

“Instead, the D/H ratio indicates the geochemical origin of the methane produced deep inside. The D/H ratio is like a window. You can use it to look into the subsurface.”

“Our data suggest that temperatures in the cores of these world rocks could increase and methane could be cooked.”

“Nitrogen molecule (N₂) may be generated as well, and this has also been confirmed in Eris. ”

“Hot cores may also indicate a potential source of liquid water beneath the surface of the ice.”

“If Eris and Makemake harbored, or perhaps still harbor, warm or hot geochemistry in their rocky cores, then the surface of these planets is probably geologically recent, due to cryogenic volcanic activity. could be supplied with methane,” said Dr. Will Grundy. Astronomer at Lowell Observatory.

“We discovered the carbon isotope ratio (¹³C/¹²C) suggests that the surface has been resurfaced relatively recently. ”

“Following NASA's New Horizons flyby of the Pluto system, and with this discovery, the Kuiper Belt turns out to be much more alive than we imagined in terms of hosting a dynamic world.” said Dr. Grein.

“It's not too early to start thinking about sending spacecraft to fly close to other of these objects to put Webb's data into geological context. I'm sure we'll see the surprises that lie ahead. I think you’ll be surprised!”

of study It was published in the magazine Icarus.

_____

Christopher R. Grein other. 2024. Moderate D/H ratios in the Ellis and Makemake methane ices indicate evidence of hydrothermal or metamorphic processes in the interior: a geochemical analysis. Icarus 412: 115999; doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2024.115999

Source: www.sci.news

New research indicates that early Mars experienced both tectonic and volcanic activity.

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Mars' relatively well-preserved ancient crust provides a natural window into early planetary evolution not visible on Earth. Mars has generally been thought to be a monolithic basaltic planet, but recent evidence suggests that magmatic evolution leading to a felsic crust may have occurred sporadically. A new study shows multiple lines of evidence for diverse volcanic activity and complex volcanic tectonics in Mars' southern highlands in and around the Eridanian basin 3.5 to 4 billion years ago.

Topographic map of the Eridanian region of Mars. The volcanic structure described by Michalski et al. Classified by morphology and morphometrics. Image credit: Michalski other., doi: 10.1038/s41550-023-02191-7.

In contrast to Earth, Mars today has little volcanic or tectonic activity.

Additionally, nearly half of Earth's surface is more than 3.5 billion years old, and since then it has undergone extensive tectonic recycling (a phenomenon typically caused by Earth-like tectonic movements, in which surface material is recycled into the mantle). This shows that there is no such phenomenon.

Recent discoveries suggest that this is not always the case, but geological activity during the first billions of years after Mars' formation is still unknown.

“Geological exploration of other rocky planets provides clues to early crustal evolution and volcanic tectonic processes,” said Dr. Joseph Michalski of the University of Hong Kong. “This is an example of an equivalent Earth system with a changing composition.”

“Looking through the lens of different gravitational fields, bulk planetary compositions, and heat flows allows us to test models of crustal resurfacing and discover the steps that led to plate tectonics and other forms of crustal recycling.” It will be possible to do so.”

“Mars represents a particularly valuable piece of the puzzle in this regard.”

The authors studied the morphology and mineralogy of the Eridanian region in Mars' southern hemisphere.

They analyzed remote sensing data from a variety of orbiting satellites, including NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The Eridanian region contains the most powerful crustal remains of Mars' ancient magnetic field and various traces of volcanic activity.

The researchers identified 63 examples of four different types of volcanoes (volcanic domes, stratovolcanoes, pyroclastic shields, and caldera complexes), and there are likely hundreds more in the Eridanian region alone. , these are probably the remnants of a period of active geological activity about 3.5 billion years ago.

This set of observations is consistent with the existence of early Martian tectonic cycles driven by vertical tectonics, a type of tectonic process precursor to full plate tectonics on Earth.

Such diverse volcanic structures may be more widespread on ancient Mars than previously thought.

“The observed remnants of this activity may be the closest analog on Earth to the proposed hydrothermal origin of life scenario for Earth,” the scientists said.

Their paper Published in an online journal today natural astronomy.

_____

JR Michalski other. Diverse volcanic activity and crustal circulation on early Mars. Nat Astron, published online on February 12, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41550-023-02191-7

Source: www.sci.news

Solar Activity Brings NASA’s NEOWISE 10-Year Mission to a Close

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

NEOWISE Mission

This artist’s concept shows the Wide Field Infrared Surveyor (WISE) spacecraft orbiting the Earth. The NEOWISE mission will find and characterize asteroids.
Credit: NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology

Infrared space telescopes searching for asteroids and comets have collected vast amounts of observations, but are now at the mercy of the sun, which is accelerating their demise.

NASA’s Neowise It’s been a busy 10 years. Since its resumed mission began on December 13, 2013, the space telescope has discovered once-in-a-lifetime comets, observed more than 3,000 near-Earth objects, strengthened international planetary defense strategies, and It has helped other NASA missions rendezvous with distant space. asteroid. This is just a partial list of achievements.

But all good things must come to an end. Solar activity is pushing NEOWISE (short for Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) out of orbit. By early 2025, the spacecraft is expected to have fallen far enough into Earth’s atmosphere that it will become unusable. Eventually it will re-enter the atmosphere and burn up completely.

Approximately every 11 years, the Sun goes through a cycle of increasing activity, peaking during a period called solar maximum. Explosive events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections will become more frequent, heating the Earth’s atmosphere and causing it to expand. Atmospheric gases increase the drag on satellites as they orbit the Earth, slowing them down. Now, as the Sun approaches its next maximum, NEOWISE will no longer be able to maintain its orbit above the atmosphere.

Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE is a composite of several heat-sensitive infrared images taken by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission on March 27, 2020. Appears as a blurry red dot.
Credit: NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology

“The mission has been planning for this day for a long time. After several years of lull, the sun is waking up again,” said NEOWISE co-principal investigator and researcher at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. said Joseph Masiello, a scientist with the organization IPAC. “With us at the mercy of solar activity and no means of staying in orbit, NEOWISE is now slowly spiraling back to Earth.”

wise beginnings

The past decade has meant a second life for the spacecraft. Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, NEOWISE is part of another mission launched in 2009, the Wide-Field Infrared Surveyor (wise). Data from WISE and NEOWISE is used to study distant galaxies, cold stars, and explosions. white dwarf Stars, gas-emitting comets, near-Earth asteroids, etc.

In 2010, WISE achieved its scientific goal of conducting an all-sky infrared survey with far greater sensitivity than previous surveys. WISE mission also discovered tens of millions of actively feeding supermassive black holes across the sky.through disc detective In this project, citizen scientists used WISE data to find circumstellar disks, which are clouds of gas, dust, and debris that rotate around stars.

Infrared wavelengths, which are invisible to the naked eye, are emitted by warm objects. To ensure that the heat generated by WISE itself does not interfere with observations in infrared wavelengths, the spacecraft relied on cryogenic coolant. NASA put the spacecraft into hibernation in February 2011 after it ran out of coolant and WISE mapped the sky twice.

Without the coolant, space telescopes could no longer observe the coldest objects in the universe, but they could still see near-Earth asteroids and comets heated by the sun. So NASA restarted the spacecraft in 2013 with a more specialized role in mind. The goal is to support planetary defense efforts by investigating and studying objects that may wander into Earth’s orbit and pose a potential collision hazard.

In addition to relying on missions to explore these objects, astronomers use that data to understand the object’s size, albedo, or how much sunlight its surface reflects, and the composition of its structure. You can also collect clues about the minerals and rocks you find.

“NEOWISE demonstrates the importance of deploying infrared space exploration telescopes as part of NASA’s planetary defense strategy while also monitoring objects in our solar system and beyond,” said lead researcher Amy, from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Mainzer said. .

Mainzer also leads NASA’s future plans. NEO surveyor, built on the NEOWISE tradition. The next generation of infrared space telescopes will search for celestial objects close to the Earth, such as dark asteroids and comets that do not reflect much visible light, or objects that approach the Earth from the direction of the sun. Sun. The launch is scheduled for 2027. JPL-Managed missions will also explore objects known as Earth Trojans – asteroids that lead or follow our planet’s orbit. The first one is wise discovery In 2011.

Comet NEOWISE and beyond

Since becoming NEOWISE, the mission has scanned the entire sky more than 20 times and made 1.45 million infrared measurements on more than 44,000 Solar System objects. This includes over 3,000 near-Earth objects, 215 of which were discovered by his NEOWISE. Data from the mission helped refine the orbits of these objects, while also measuring their sizes.

Its strength is in revealing the characteristics of asteroids near the Earth. In 2021, NEOWISE became a key component of an international planetary defense exercise focused on the dangerous asteroid Apophis.

The mission also discovered 25 comets, including long-period comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE). The comet was a dazzling object visible in the Northern Hemisphere for several weeks in 2020, making it the first comet to be visible to the naked eye since 2007, when Comet McNaught was primarily visible in the Southern Hemisphere.

Future researchers will use WISE in 2010, long after observations were made to characterize the asteroid Dinkinesh, in support of NASA’s Lucy mission before the October 2023 encounter. Just as we used the data, we will continue to rely on the vast archive of NEOWISE observations to make new discoveries.

“This is a bittersweet moment. We are sad to see this pioneering mission come to an end, but we know there are even more treasures hidden in the survey data,” Masiello said. “NEOWISE has a vast archive that covers a very long period of time and will inevitably advance the science of the infrared universe long after the spacecraft leaves.”

Mission details
NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor are part of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The NASA Authorization Act of 2005 directs NASA to discover and characterize at least 90% of near-Earth objects larger than 140 meters (460 feet) in diameter that come within 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) of Earth’s orbit. did. An object of this size could cause significant damage to the region, and it would be even worse if it crashed into Earth.
JPL manages and operates PDCO’s NEOWISE mission within the Science Mission Directorate. The Astrodynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah, built the scientific instrument. Ball Aerospace & Technologies of Boulder, Colorado, built the spacecraft. Scientific data processing will take place at IPAC at the California Institute of Technology. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

Source: scitechdaily.com