Tag Archives: Anticipate

Exclusive: Climate Scientists Anticipate Solar Dimming Efforts by 2100

Posted on by
Reply

Solar geoengineering aims to block some sunlight.

PA Images/Alamy

A study by top climate scientists projects that by the end of this century, humanity will undertake significant measures to block sunlight as a desperate effort to safeguard Earth’s population from the escalating impacts of climate change, as reported by New Scientist.

“Solar geoengineering is a troubling concept, yet it is becoming more appealing as global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions fall short,” stated a respondent from Victoria University of Wellington, James Renwick.

According to the study, two-thirds of participants anticipate hazardous interventions will be employed to manage the atmosphere by the year 2100. Alarmingly, 52% believe these actions could be taken by irresponsible entities, including private firms, wealthy individuals, and nation-states, highlighting fears that attempts to cool the climate may proceed without comprehensive global governance to address decision-making or mitigate inherent risks.

“The potential for unintended consequences, political misuse, and abrupt climate impacts remains substantial,” a respondent remarked. Ines Camilloni of the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, noted these concerns.


New Scientist invited around 800 climate researchers, contributors to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest report, to participate in an anonymous online survey concerning solar geoengineering. The 120 respondents represented diverse academic fields from all continents, yielding one of the most extensive insights into the climate science community’s stance on solar geoengineering so far.

Since the 1960s, scientists have been exploring ways to enhance Earth’s albedo—the reflectivity of the planet—for a procedure known as solar geoengineering or solar radiation modification (SRM).

Cooling strategies might include the injection of particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect sunlight away from Earth, known as stratospheric aerosol injection. Another suggestion involves introducing salt particles into low-altitude ocean clouds, referred to as ocean cloud brightening (see “How does solar geoengineering operate?” below).

Solar geoengineering may involve injecting sea salt into ocean clouds.

San Francisco Chronicle/Yalonda M. James/eyevine

68% of respondents indicated that due to the global failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the last decade, the likelihood of deploying such measures has increased. “It reflects a growing realization that we are not addressing climate change effectively,” noted Sean Fitzgerald from the Center for Climate Change Remediation at the University of Cambridge. “What options do we have? We may not prefer them, but if we disapprove of the current situation, we must consider alternatives.”

While consensus exists regarding the potential for solar geoengineering, experts disagree on the triggers for such drastic measures. Just over 20% of respondents believe these measures should be considered should global temperatures be on track to rise more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, a scenario that is becoming increasingly likely with global warming surpassing the 1.5°C mark. Others argued that waiting for more extreme warming would be wiser, while over half felt current warming levels were insufficient to warrant serious consideration of atmospheric alteration.

Such actions could theoretically help lower global temperatures and provide time for emissions reductions, yet nearly all respondents recognized substantial risks associated with widespread implementation, including diminished motivation to cut emissions, disruption to vital agricultural rainfall patterns, and abrupt warming due to “termination shock” should these interventions cease.

The study further highlighted concerns regarding unilateral climate interventions by nations or individuals, with 81% of respondents agreeing that a new international treaty or framework is necessary to regulate all large-scale deployments, marking a significant consensus across the survey questions.

These findings reflect a cautious stance, according to Andy Parker from the Degrees Initiative. “This is a global technology. No nation can opt out of a geoengineered world. Similarly, no nation can choose to ignore a warmer world if geoengineering is rejected.”

Growing Interest in Geoengineering

New Scientist decided to undertake this research as interest in solar geoengineering grows amid escalating climate impacts. Hundreds of millions of dollars in funding are flowing into this area, with researchers presenting their findings at scientific forums, building a global research community. Earlier this year, the UK Government allocated £57 million in grants for solar geoengineering research via the Advanced Research and Inventions Agency (ARIA), supporting small-scale field experiments.

This represents a significant pivot for a field traditionally sidelined within climate science. Daniele Visioni has led numerous SRM modeling projects at Cornell University in New York. “This topic has transitioned from being loosely discussed by a small group of scholars to becoming a global issue.”

Just over one-third of the respondents from New Scientist‘s survey asserted that due to humanity’s ongoing struggle to cut emissions, they now support SRM research, albeit not necessarily its implementation. A notable 49% are in favor of conducting small-scale outdoor experiments to better understand the associated risks and benefits.

Accelerated cloud cooling could lead to drought in East Africa.

Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images

“There is growing acceptance of the necessity of SRM research,” Parker states, tying it directly to the increased pessimism surrounding climate change outcomes.

“Given that most surveyed experts believe solar radiation management is probable within the next century, we must collect comprehensive real-world data regarding the feasibility and potential impacts of these cooling strategies,” asserts Mark Symes, director of ARIA’s Climate Cooling Program.

However, support is by no means unanimous, with approximately 45% of respondents deeming this a contentious or taboo research area. A third opposed outdoor experimentation with any countermeasures, and 11% refrained from contributing to solar geoengineering studies to protect their professional reputation.

“Many of these climate scientists see that the initial vision of climate science—to heed the warnings of the Earth and reduce emissions—has failed,” according to Visioni.

Much hesitance regarding solar geoengineering stems from the multitude of potentially catastrophic risks associated with large-scale sunlight-reflecting efforts.

Almost all respondents noted that implementation might dampen motivation to reduce emissions as one of the most critical risks. Other significant threats included social and political unrest, severe disruptions to agriculture and food security, harm to delicate ecosystems, and public health crises. “Modifying the entire climate system through SRM is a considerable risk,” cautioned Shreekant Gupta at the Center for Social and Economic Progress in Delhi, India.

For instance, research indicates that enhancing cloud cooling effects over the Indian Ocean could mitigate droughts in North Africa while triggering droughts in East Africa. Additional studies suggest that aerosol injections into the stratosphere could damage the ozone layer and potentially reduce monsoon rainfall in parts of Africa by up to 20%.

However, the ambiguity of “unknown consequences” emerged as the most commonly mentioned risk. One survey participant pointed out that “human efforts to rectify damaged systems have often met with limited success.”

Three primary techniques for solar geoengineering include:

1. Stratospheric aerosol injection
This technique involves dispersing tiny liquid particles called aerosols from high-altitude aircraft to reflect sunlight. Over 60% of survey respondents identified this as the method most likely to be adopted.

2. Thinning of cirrus clouds
This method utilizes aerosols such as nitric acid to thin cirrus clouds, permitting more heat to escape into space. However, excessive aerosol spraying can thicken clouds and produce the opposite effect. Only a minority of respondents believed this method or land-based strategies for enhancing global albedo could be pursued.

3. Brightening ocean clouds
This approach involves spraying minute seawater droplets onto clouds, enhancing their brightness and increasing sunlight reflection. It was trialed in a small experiment in 2024 aimed at protecting the Great Barrier Reef. Approximately 16% of respondents felt this technique would likely be adopted.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

“Here’s the Interrupted Animation: Not What You’d Anticipate”

Posted on by
Reply

Are there any forms of suspended animation? If you consider how animals hibernate during winter, that’s a natural example. However, if we reference the science fiction concept of stasis—where an individual is placed in a pod and frozen to endure an interstellar voyage—then it’s more of a fantasy.

That said, there are several realistic applications, particularly if we can address the challenges of preserving human tissues through freezing.

For decades, the possibility of employing cold temperatures to slow down biological processes has been recognized, and we’ve recently started using this method as a critical life-saving intervention.

For instance, patients experiencing a heart attack can undergo what is formally termed “suspended animation for delayed resuscitation,” wherein they are rapidly cooled to induce hypothermia. This process slows bodily functions and safeguards vital organs, especially the brain, albeit at the cost of disrupting blood circulation.

This approach significantly reduces the chances of brain damage and proves incredibly effective, allowing individuals to survive without treatment for up to 90 minutes.

This form of suspended animation entails dropping body temperature to approximately 59°F (15°C), compared to the usual 98°F (37°C). Temperatures below this threshold can result in cellular death.

Once the temperature dips below freezing, the large volume of water within cells turns problematic. Ice forms and expands, creating sharp crystals that can damage delicate cells and blood vessels.

Those who have suffered frostbite can attest to the harmful effects of extreme cold on body tissues. Completely freezing a person would be fatal.

Nevertheless, we successfully freeze human embryos, which can remain frozen for as long as 19 years before being thawed and developing into healthy infants.

The suspended animation envisioned in science fiction remains a distant reality – Illustration credits: Daniel Bright

Embryos typically freeze at an early stage when they consist of only a few cells, and they survive thanks to prior preparation. Protective agents are used to draw out water and prevent the formation of ice crystals.

These embryos are then rapidly frozen in a tank of liquid nitrogen at -196°C (-320°F), allowing for prolonged storage in suspended animation.

North American Wood Frog employs a similar strategy to survive winter. As the temperature drops, it can inundate its cells with glucose (a natural antifreeze), effectively freezing itself until both heart and brain functions cease.

The frog’s organs are encased in ice, yet the glucose inhibits ice crystals from forming within its tissues.

As temperatures rise, it gradually thaws and resumes normal activity. This process is a complex challenge for humans; every body part would necessitate risky water extraction and chemical solutions.

Hibernation represents a different strategy. Small rodents, such as mice and hedgehogs, permit their body temperatures to drop significantly, leading to a marked decrease in breathing and heart rate.

Larger mammals don’t need to reduce their body temperatures as drastically. For example, American black bears may drop from 36°C to 30°C (96°F to 86°F), reducing their metabolic rate by about 25%. This is usually sufficient to avert bone and muscle loss resulting from prolonged inactivity.

Being frozen is far from ideal, and for large mammals, it may be more advantageous than suspended animation through a hibernation-like state.

This article responds to the inquiry (from Safia Hall via email) regarding whether suspended animation has ever been realized.

Please feel free to email your questions to Question @sciencefocus.com or message us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (don’t forget to include your name and location).

Explore our ultimate Fun Facts and more amazing science content.

Read more:


Source: www.sciencefocus.com

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

The Sixth Starship Launch: When is SpaceX’s Next Flight Test and What to Anticipate?

Posted on by
Reply

SpaceX said on its website that it aims to conduct Starship's sixth test flight as early as November 18.

space x

SpaceX is preparing for the sixth test flight of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket. The company has a “fail fast, learn fast” approach to research and development that is more akin to the world of Silicon Valley than the aerospace industry, and the pace of launches appears to only be accelerating.

When is the next flight?

SpaceX says on the website The company said it aims to conduct Starship's sixth test flight as early as November 18. This claim is supported by the Federal Aviation Administration issuing a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen). rocket launch warning SpaceX launch pad area in Boca Chica, Texas. The 30-minute launch slot opens at 4pm local time (10pm Japan time).

It took SpaceX 18 months to conduct Starship's first five test flights, with the fifth taking place in mid-October. When the airline launches its sixth flight next week, it will be just over a month since the last flight, making it the fastest flight ever.

What will SpaceX try with Flight 6?

In many ways, Flight 6 is a repeat of Flight 5, but with some key differences.

The booster stage will again attempt a “chopstick” landing, grabbing and securing the aircraft as it returns to the launch pad so it can be lowered to the ground. This approach is designed to ultimately allow boosters to be reused multiple times and significantly reduce the cost of putting payloads into orbit.

Starship during high altitude test flight

space x

The upper stage will reach space, complete a partial orbit, re-enter Earth's atmosphere and splash-land in the Indian Ocean. But this time, the upper stage will attempt to reignite one of the Raptor engines during its stay in space in order to gather valuable operational data. It also plans to test new heat shield designs during atmospheric reentry.

Another difference is that because the launch will take place later in the day, the landing of the upper stage in the Indian Ocean can be filmed during the day, allowing for more detailed shots. Previous missions had landed at night, so while the footage was cinematic and dramatic, it didn't provide engineers with as much insight as footage from daytime landings.

What happened during previous Starship launches?

During the first test flight on April 20, 2023, three of the 33 engines in the booster stage failed to ignite. The rocket then became uncontrollable and self-destructed.

During the second test flight on November 18, 2023, the flight progressed further and gained enough altitude to separate the booster and upper stage as planned. The booster stage ultimately exploded before reaching the ground, and the upper stage self-destructed before reaching space.

Test Flight 3 on March 14, 2024 was at least partially successful as the upper stage reached space again, but it did not return to Earth unscathed.

The next flight was on June 6, when the upper stage reached an altitude of more than 200 kilometers and flew at speeds of more than 27,000 kilometers per hour. Both the booster and upper stage completed a soft landing at sea.

Test Flight 5 was the most ambitious yet, with Starship's super-heavy booster dropping onto the launch pad and being safely caught by “chopsticks” on SpaceX's launch tower, known as Mechazilla. It is equipped with “chopsticks” that can be used to grab and fix a specific position on the aircraft and lower it to the ground.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Bisexual women anticipate achieving orgasms more frequently with women than with men

Posted on by
Reply

Women, especially straight men, report that they are less likely to reach orgasm during sex than straight men, a phenomenon known as the “orgasm gap.”

Zoonar GmbH / Alamy

Bisexual women expect to be more likely to orgasm when they have sex with another woman than when they have sex with a man, a study found.

Orgasm is usually a strong indicator of sexual satisfaction and often reflects satisfaction within a relationship. In a study of more than 52,000 adults in the United States, david frederick Chapman University in California and his colleagues. 95% of straight men say they usually always reach orgasm during sexcompared to 65 percent of straight women.

This difference is often referred to as the “orgasm gap,” and research suggests it almost completely disappears. Masturbating or By acts such as stimulation of the clitoris. In Chapman and his team's study, 86% of lesbian women and 66% of bisexual women said they usually always orgasm during sex.

If you would like to learn more about the orgasm gap, Grace Wetzel Researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey asked 481 non-transgender bisexual women to imagine themselves in hypothetical sexual scenarios. About half were asked to imagine themselves with a man, and the other half were asked to imagine themselves with a woman.

Participants were asked to rate their expectations for orgasm on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 indicating that they thought orgasm was very unlikely and 7 indicating that they thought it was very likely. The average score when imagining sex with a man was 4.88, compared to 5.86 when imagining sex with a woman. Although this may seem like a relatively small difference, statistical analysis suggests that the results are not due to chance.

In another part of the study, researchers asked an additional 476 women to complete an online survey about their sexual experiences with recent or current partners. There were no transgender women. Just under 60 percent of them were heterosexual, and the rest were lesbian.

Lesbian women had an orgasm 78 percent of the time, compared to 65 percent of straight women. They also reported having higher orgasm expectations before sexual encounters, more actively trying to reach climax during sex, and receiving more clitoral stimulation.

“Research shows that clitoral stimulation is the key to female orgasm,” says Wetzel. “So women have more orgasms when they're with other women because it involves more frequent clitoral stimulation.”

The study found that women who have sex with women expect more clitoral stimulation. “The dominant heterosexual script focuses on penetration rather than clitoral stimulation, which leaves fewer opportunities for female orgasm,” says Wetzel.

But “sexual scripts can be malleable,” she says. “Heterosexual couples can reduce the orgasm gap in their relationships by prioritizing the sexual activities that the woman needs to reach orgasm.”

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

This robot can anticipate your smile and respond with its own

Posted on by
Reply

Emo robot imitates human facial expressions

Yuhan Fu

A humanoid robot can predict one second in advance whether someone will smile and match the smile on its own face. The creators hope this technology will make interactions with robots more realistic.

Artificial intelligence is now able to imitate human language to an impressive degree, but interacting with physical robots often falls into the “uncanny valley.” One reason for this is that robots cannot reproduce the complex nonverbal cues and mannerisms that are essential to communication.

now, Hod Lipson Researchers at Columbia University in New York have developed a robot called Emo that uses AI models and high-resolution cameras to predict and attempt to reproduce people's facial expressions. It predicts whether someone will smile about 0.9 seconds in advance and smiles accordingly. “I'm a jaded roboticist, but when I see this robot, I smile back,” Lipson says.

Emo consists of a face with a camera in its eyeball and a flexible plastic skin with 23 individual motors attached by magnets. This robot uses her two neural networks. One looks at people's faces and predicts their expressions, and her other one figures out how to create expressions on her own face.

The first network was trained on YouTube videos of people making faces, while the second network was trained by watching the robot itself make faces on a live camera feed. “You learn what your face looks like when you pull all your muscles,” Lipson says. “It's like being in front of a mirror. Even if you close your eyes and smile, you know what your face looks like.”

Lipson and his team hope Emo's technology will improve human-robot interaction, but first they need to expand the range of expressions robots can perform. Lipson also wants to train his children to express themselves in response to what people say, rather than simply imitating others.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Alphabet management informs employees to anticipate more job reductions this year

Posted on by
Reply

Google’s CEO told employees to expect additional layoffs this year following recent layoffs that affected 1,000 employees.

In a memo to staff on Wednesday, Sundar Pichai said departments within the tech company continue to make changes and “some roles may be affected.”

Pichai’s memo acknowledged further layoffs reported last week, with the Alphabet Union, which represents workers within Google and its parent company Alphabet, announcing that 1,000 employees were affected.

“We have ambitious goals and will invest in big priorities,” he said in a memo reported by technology news website The Verge. “The reality is that we have to make hard choices to create this investment capacity.”

Pichai said the difficult choices so far include job losses at Google’s divisions, which include search, ad sales and the YouTube platform.

He noted that Alphabet cut 12,000 jobs across Alphabet in January last year, and said the job cuts would not reach that level. The company employed 182,000 people as of September 30 last year, according to its latest quarterly results.

“These role reductions are not at the scale of last year’s reductions and will not affect all teams,” Pichai wrote. “But I know it’s very difficult to see your colleagues and teams affected.”

Pichai announced the layoffs last year, saying Alphabet experienced a hiring boom as demand for tech companies surged during the coronavirus pandemic. He acknowledged that the company had overexpanded and wrote that it “hired for a different economic reality” than the one Alphabet faces now.

Pichai’s Wednesday memo was not on par with 12 months ago, when Microsoft, Salesforce, Amazon and Meta made tens of thousands of layoffs to adapt to the post-lockdown economy, sent to employees against the background of technical layoffs elsewhere. In December, Spotify announced it would cut 17% of its global workforce, while Amazon cut hundreds of employees in its Prime Video and Studio divisions, as well as about 500 employees at live streaming platform Twitch announced that he would be fired.

According to a website that tracks job losses in the technology industry. layoff.fyi, the sector has made 7,785 job cuts globally so far this year. By the same time last year, tech companies had laid off even more employees, about 38,000.

Skip past newsletter promotions

Pichai said Wednesday that the latest job cuts are focused on “reducing tiers to simplify execution and increase speed in some areas,” with more role cuts to come. Stated.

“While many of these changes have already been announced, we want to say upfront that some teams will continue to make specific resource allocation decisions throughout the year as needed and some roles will be affected. “There is a possibility that we will be subject to this,” he added.

Google declined to comment.

Source: www.theguardian.com