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<img class="Image" alt="" width="1350" height="900" src="https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg" sizes="(min-width: 1288px) 837px, (min-width: 1024px) calc(57.5vw + 55px), (min-width: 415px) calc(100vw - 40px), calc(70vw + 74px)" srcset="https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=300 300w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=400 400w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=500 500w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=600 600w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=700 700w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=800 800w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=837 837w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=900 900w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=1003 1003w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=1100 1100w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=1300 1300w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=1400 1400w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=1500 1500w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=1600 1600w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=1674 1674w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=1700 1700w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=1800 1800w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=1900 1900w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/01134232/SEI_249423817.jpg?width=2006 2006w" loading="eager" fetchpriority="high" data-image-context="Article" data-image-id="2478769" data-caption="Dark chocolate is a particularly rich source of theobromine" data-credit="Studio-N/Shutterstock"/>
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<p class="ArticleImageCaption__Title">Dark chocolate is a notable source of theobromine, a beneficial chemical</p>
<p class="ArticleImageCaption__Credit">Studio-N/Shutterstock</p>
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<p>While chocolate may be associated with anti-aging benefits, it’s wise to be cautious before indulging. The beneficial compounds are predominantly found in dark chocolate, and the overall health impact of chocolate consumption remains uncertain.</p>
<p>"There are numerous aspects of dark chocolate, each with its pros and cons," says <a href="https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/90100-ramy-saad/publications">Rumy Sars</a> from University College London.</p>
<p>The substance in question, theobromine, is famously known to be toxic to dogs. However, that's just one aspect...</p>
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Stars and planets arise from swirling clouds of cosmic gas and dust, primarily composed of hydrogen and other molecular elements. On Monday, astronomers announced the discovery of the closest known cloud to Earth, a vast, crescent-shaped region teeming with potential for star formation.
This cloud, located approximately 300 light-years from our solar system, has been named after EOS, the Greek goddess of dawn. It is the first molecular cloud identified through hydrogen fluorescence, according to Blakeley Burkhart, an astrophysicist at Rutgers University.
“If you observe these clouds in the sky, they’re enormous,” Dr. Burkhart stated. The findings were published in conjunction with a colleague in the Nature Astronomy Journal. She also remarked, “It literally glows in the darkness.”
Investigating clouds like EO, especially regarding their hydrogen content, could reshape astronomers’ understanding of the galactic material available for planet and star formation. This research also provides insights into the rates of formation and destruction of the materials that fuel these processes.
“For the first time, we are observing this hidden reservoir of hydrogen that can create stars,” explained Thavisha Dharmawardena, an astronomer at New York University and co-author of the study. Following the discovery of EOS, astronomers expressed a desire to identify more hydrogen-rich clouds.
Molecular hydrogen, which consists of two hydrogen atoms, is the universe’s most abundant substance. This stellar nursery contains it abundantly. However, detecting these molecules from the ground is challenging because they emit light at wavelengths easily absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere.
In contrast, carbon monoxide—composed of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom—is simpler to detect. It emits light at longer wavelengths, making it accessible for observation with radio telescopes commonly used to identify star-forming clouds.
EOS eluded detection for a long time due to its unexpected nature and low carbon monoxide levels.
Dr. Burkhart identified the cloud while analyzing data from approximately 20 years earlier from the Far-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (FIMS), an instrument aboard a Korean satellite. She found molecular hydrogen signatures in areas where she believed no molecular cloud existed and collaborated with Dr. Dharmawardena for deeper investigation.
“At this stage, I was familiar with nearly every molecular cloud by name,” Dr. Dharmawardena noted. “I had no awareness of this particular structure; I couldn’t comprehend it.”
Dr. Dharmawardena confirmed the discovery against the 3D map of interstellar dust in our galaxy, which was developed using data from the now-retired Gaia Space Telescope. “EOS was distinctly outlined and visible,” she commented. “It’s a stunning structure.”
John Black, an astronomer at Sweden’s Chalmers Institute of Technology, lauded the methods used to unveil EOS, though he was not part of the research team.
“It’s remarkable to witness molecular hydrogen firsthand and trace the outline of this cloud,” Dr. Black remarked. He added that, compared to carbon monoxide, hydrogen reveals the “authentic shape and size” of EOS.
Utilizing molecular hydrogen data, astronomers estimated the mass of EO to be about 3,400 times that of our Sun, significantly exceeding the carbon monoxide-based estimate of 20 solar masses.
Dr. Burkhart suggested that similar carbon monoxide measurements may underrepresent the mass of other molecular clouds. She emphasized the significance of this finding in stellar formation, as larger clouds can spawn larger stars.
In a follow-up study, EOS, which remains unreviewed, revealed that the cloud has not produced a star previously. However, the future potential for star formation remains uncertain.
Dr. Burkhart collaborated with a team of astronomers to conceptualize a NASA spacecraft named EOS, which inspired the cloud’s name. This proposed space telescope aims to map molecular hydrogen content in clouds across the galaxy, including its namesake.
Such a mission could enhance our understanding of the potential for more concealed clouds and known stellar clouds to contribute to star and planet formation.
“I genuinely don’t know how stars and planets come into being,” Dr. Burkhart admitted. “By observing molecular hydrogen firsthand, we can gain insights into how the birthplaces of stars form and how they ultimately fade away.”
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UT for all episodes of Black Mirror’s seventh season is a play thing that stands out from me, and I’m suspicious of anyone else who played video games in the 1990s. It tells the story of Cameron Walker, a socially troublesome freelance game journalist. Cameron Walker steals the code to a new virtual pet sim named Thronglets from a developer intended to interview. When he returns home from the game, he discovers that the cute, intelligent little creature he cares for on-screen has darker ambitions than simply playing for his entertainment.
The episodes are interesting to me. But more importantly, too, did Charlie Brooker. He began his career writing satirical features and ferocious reviews of PC Zone Magazine, one of the perpetually fighting PC Mags of the era (I shared the office with other PC Gamers). In Plaything, it is the PC zone written by Cameron Walker, with several scenes taking place in the office. The program depicts it as a reasonably adult office space with an organized computer workstation and huge windows. I don’t think the production design team has gained this vision from Brooker.
“The zone had a much less corporate workplace feel than the episode showed, and it had the feel of a youth club and nightclub for children in the basement,” says Paul Presley, who worked in the PC Zone at the time. “It was just a handful of messy, messy desks stuck in the windowless basement office around Oxford Street (later Tottenham Court Road) and were killed because of floor-to-ceiling windows! on CD.”
For journalistic thoroughness, I also contacted Richie Shoemaker, a graduate of another PC Zone, for his recollections. “There were windows along one side, but they were below street level and are smudged with London stains,” he says. “Silles was breaking dusty magazines, broken joysticks, empty game boxes. It was a permanent night in the best parts of eight years.”
Children in the Underground… Mid-1990s PC Zone Magazine Office Photo: Richie Shoemaker
This episode was more accurate in the game itself. The first scene in the office shows Cam playing Doom when the editor appears. He shows the front cover of the latest issue of the magazine with system shocks on the cover. Then ask Cameron if he has finished his review of Bruflog’s classic adventure game Magic Carpet. “[Plaything] It’s a good thing on the timeline,” says Shoemaker. “Of course, playing Doom in the office was the norm. When I joined the team’s earthquake, it was a death-death at lunch and work. Magic Carpet reviews. did It was featured in the question after System Shock (which was actually Charlie’s first cover review), but it went from 93% to 96%, written by Launch Editor Paul Lakin, who continued to work in foreign offices. ” He also believes that the old editor of the episode’s Grizzled might have been inspired by then-associated editor Chris Anderson. Shoemaker believes that “he was a rather vampire character who seemed to be present in Tobacco and Ultima’s online diet.”
What appeals to me is the origin of inspiration for the Thronglets Virtual Pet game. Most reviewers refer to Tamagotchi, the keychain pet toy that stormed the world in the late 90s. Brooker himself refers to it in an interview. But the much more likely candidate was the 1996 title creature, with players caring for cute creatures for generations. It looked like a cute pet game, but it was actually a very sophisticated experiment in artificial life, created by cyberlife technology that clearly sounds sci-fi. Players had to try to establish breeding groups of creatures known as Norns, but their control was limited as they were encoded in advanced neural networks and functioned internal body systems that regulate behavior and physical abilities. Cyberlife has created a great deal of the complexity and experimental nature of the game. The box comes with a warning sticker that says “digital DNA is surrounded by” and the blurb in the back warned players that it would unleash the world’s first artificial life science experiment.
Cuteer than it looks… a creature. Photo: CyberLife Technologies
Creature creator Steve Grand has similarities with Play Things (and Vander Snatch) coder Colin Rittman. He was a programmer who was tired of traditional games and wanted to try something very new. He went on to write books about creatures and their development, creation, that is, life and how to make them, and later became an internationally famous robotist and developed the famous robot orangutan. Certainly the most black mirror career trajectory ever. In 2011 he began working on a mental follow-up to a creature named Grandroids. Thronglets was to develop a race for intelligent AI aliens. Grand launched Kickstarter in 2016. Fantasy. Everything is very interesting.
This is one of the things I like about Black Mirrors, and it’s actually the use of technology and video games in traditional dramas. This is an inexplicable world filled with quirky people that no one outside the industry has ever heard of, but it has a huge impact on the toys they make. Personally, I wanted to see more PC zones, as imagined in the program, but I understand that ominous flocks are the real focus. Maybe one day there will be a Silicon Valley-style drama series about the 1990s gaming industry. It was hell. For now, it’s interesting to see both Brooker and me living in a world that is used as a venue for dystopian fiction.
A new study by computational astrophysicist Ethan Nadler from the University of California, San Diego, shows that star formation can occur at halos in the solar masses of 10 million people through molecular hydrogen cooling.
Nadler calculated the percentage of dark matter halos above the critical mass required for star formation. Image credit: Xiaodian Chen.
All galaxies are thought to form at the center of the dark matter halo. This is a region of material coupled to gravity that extends far beyond the galaxy’s visible boundary.
Stars form when gravity within the halo of dark matter draws gases, but astrophysicists still don’t know if there is a dark halo of matter without stars.
“What is the halo mass threshold for the galaxy layer?” said Dr. Nadler.
“This question underlies the key areas of research in galaxy formation and cosmology, including when and how the first galaxy was formed, how galaxies promote the regeneration of the universe, and whether halos of “dark” (without galaxies) exist.
“Robust predictions of galaxy formation thresholds are important to provide future observations of faint galaxies and low-mass halos throughout the history of the universe.”
In his new study, Dr. Nadler calculated the mass that Halo cannot form stars.
His research was conducted using analytical predictions from galaxy formation theory and cosmological simulations.
“Historically, understanding of dark matter has been related to behavior in the galaxy,” Dr. Nadler said.
“When you detect a completely dark halo, a new window opens to study the universe.”
Previously, this threshold for star formation was thought to be between 100 million and 1 billion solar masses due to cooling of atomic hydrogen gas.
The current study shows that star formation can occur in the solar mass of 10 million people at halos via molecular hydrogen cooling.
“The Rubin Observatory will be coming online later this year and Webb is already making unprecedented observations of our universe, so we’ll soon have new data to test these predictions, revealing whether there’s a completely dark halo,” Dr. Nadler said.
“This could have widespread consequences for cosmology and the nature of dark matter.”
study It will be displayed in Astrophysics Journal Letter.
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Ethan O. Nadler. 2025. Effect of molecular hydrogen cooling on galaxy formation thresholds. apjl 983, L23; doi:10.3847/2041-8213/adbc6e
The Euclidean Mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) has just released its first significant batch of research data, offering a fascinating glimpse into the vast cosmos.
This newly revealed image, covering a 63-square patch of the sky (over 300 times the size of a full moon), showcases millions of galaxies in intricate detail.
But this is just the beginning. The Euclidean mission, aimed at mapping the universe and unraveling the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, which constitute 95% of the universe, has only just begun.
Launched in February 2024 and released in July 2023, Euclid is designed to survey a third of the sky, eventually capturing images of 1.5 billion galaxies. In just a week of observations, the mission has already spotted 26 million galaxies, some located an astounding 10.5 billion light years away.
Professor Carole Mandel, ESA’s director of science, described the release as “a treasure trove of information for scientists to delve into.” In an official statement, she highlighted Euclid’s role as the “ultimate discovery machine,” enabling astronomers to explore the grand structure of the universe with unparalleled precision.
The initial observations of the mission showcase Euclid’s capability to map the large-scale structures of the universe using high-resolution visible instruments (VIS) and near-infrared spectrometers (NISPs), capturing galaxies across vast distances and helping scientists track the intricate web-like structure of space.
This image shows not only light, gravity lenses within the cluster, but also a variety of huge galaxy clusters. The cluster near the center is called J041110.98-481939.3 and is almost 6 billion light years away. -ESA/EUCLID/EUCLID Image processing by CONSORTIUM/NASA, J.-C, Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi
“Euclid’s potential to unveil more about dark matter and dark energy from the massive structure of the Cosmic Web can only be realized once the entire survey is completed,” stated Dr. Clotilde Laigle, a scientist from the Euclidean Consortium.
“Nevertheless, this first data release offers a unique view into the vast organization of galaxies, providing insights into the formation of galaxies over time.”
With an immense data stream – sending back 100 GB of data to Earth per day – scientists are challenged with cataloging and analyzing an unprecedented number of galaxies. To tackle this, AI algorithms, in collaboration with thousands of citizen scientists, have categorized over 380,000 galaxies in their initial dataset.
The AI model known as “Zoobot” was trained over a month on the Galaxy Zoo platform with the help of nearly 10,000 volunteers to enhance their galaxy classification skills.
Dr. Mike Walmsley, an expert in astronomical deep learning at the University of Toronto, highlighted the significance of AI in processing Euclid’s vast datasets.
While scientists are still grappling with this first data release, many are already envisioning the future.
“Euclid will truly revolutionize our understanding of the universe,” stated Professor Christopher Conselice from the University of Manchester. He depicted the results as just “the tip of the iceberg,” foreseeing Euclid’s revelations about dark energy and a complete picture of galactic evolution throughout the ages.
The mission is still in its nascent stages, with the released data accounting for only 0.4% of Euclid’s final investigation scope. Setting the stage for even more profound discoveries, the initial data release indicates that Euclid is poised to offer a remarkable new perspective on the universe. In October 2026, ESA is expected to release Euclid’s first major cosmological dataset, covering larger research areas and multiple deep field paths.
If this initial glimpse is any indication, the coming years promise a deluge of data and discoveries that could redefine our understanding of the universe.
The Mayall Telescope Star Trail in Arizona houses dark energy spectroscopy equipment
Luke Tyas/Berkeley Lab
Dark energy is one of the most mysterious features of our universe. We don’t know what it is, but it controls how the universe is expanding and its ultimate destiny. Now, the study of millions of heavenly objects reveals that they may have been thinking about all the wrong things that could potentially have dramatic consequences in the universe.
“This is the biggest hint we have about the nature of dark energy in the roughly 25 years since we discovered it,” he says. Adam Reese at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.
The results come from three years of data collected by Arizona’s Dark Energy Spectroscopy (DESI). By combining this data with other measurements such as background radiation in cosmic microwaves and maps of supernovas, the DESI team concluded that dark energy may have changed over time.
“This is the cutting edge of human knowledge,” says a member of the DigiTeam. It’ll be Percival At the University of Waterloo, Canada. “We see amazing things throughout the universe.”
Desi is attached to a telescope and works by measuring the “redshift” of light emitted from a distant galaxy, or how that wavelength of light extends as it travels through space. From now on, researchers can determine how much the universe has expanded during the journey of light and calculate how this expansion is changing. So far, the team has analyzed light from nearly 15 million galaxies and other bright objects in the sky.
For decades, physicists have agreed that the universe is expanding at a fixed acceleration. This is a cosmological constant known as the lambda, interpreted as the driving force of dark energy. However, in April 2024, Desi’s measurements provide the first hint that the universe may actually be decreasing faster over time, with the cosmological constants not so constant.
Riess, who is not part of the Desi team, says at the time they were not sure if the discovery would last with more data. In fact, it’s just getting stronger. “It’s very exciting for me to see that. [the team] After another year and after they added more data, no issues were found in the analysis. If anything, the outcome is more important,” he says.
That being said, this discovery still does not meet the “5-sigma” statistical levels traditionally used by physicists to discover it as authentic, rather than as a statistical fluke. Current analysis reaches a maximum of 4.2 sigma, but team members Mustafa Ishak Bouzaki At the University of Texas and Dallas, the team says they believe the results will reach five sigma within two years as Digi continues to acquire the data. “This outcome with dark energy is something we never thought it would happen in our lifetime,” he says.
One of the relief, according to Ishak-Boushaki, is that the discovery relies on Desi’s data as well as several other investigations in the universe. Riess compares the situa…To read more, visit Example Website.
New results from the collaboration of Digi (dark energy spectroscopy) reveal signs of time-varying dark energy.
Two “fans” corresponding to the two main areas were observed by Desi on top and bottom of the plane of the Milkyway Galaxy. Image credits: Desi Collaboration/DOE/KPNO/NOIRLAB/NSF/AURA/R. Proctor.
“The universe will never surprise us and will never surprise us,” said Dr Arjun Dei, a digiproject scientist at Noir Love and associate director of the Central Scale Observatory for Strategic Initiatives.
“By unprecedentedly revealing the evolving textures of our universe's fabrics, Digi and Mayall telescopes are changing our understanding of the future of our universe and nature itself.”
The DESI data, which is employed alone, is consistent with the standard model of the universe. In Lambda CDM, CDM is cold dark matter, and Lambda represents the simplest case of dark energy that acts as a cosmological constant.
However, when combined with other measurements, the effect of dark energy may be weaker over time, increasing indications that other models may be more appropriate.
Other measurements of them include light leftovers from the dawn of space (cosmic microwave background, or CMB), distance measurements of supernovae, and observations of how light from distant galaxies are distorted by the effects of dark matter gravity (weak lenses).
So far, the evolving dark energy preference has not risen to 5 sigma. This is the gold standard in physics that represents a commonly accepted threshold of discovery.
However, the various combinations of DESI data and CMB, weak lenses, and supernova sets range from 2.8 to 4.2 sigma.
This analysis used techniques to hide results from scientists to the end to reduce unconscious biases about data.
This approach sets new criteria for how data is analyzed from large-scale spectroscopic studies.
The Desi is a cutting-edge instrument mounted on the NSF Nicholas U. Mayall 4-M telescope of the NSF Noirlab program, Kitt Peak National Observatory.
Light from 5,000 galaxies can be captured simultaneously, allowing you to carry out one of the most extensive research to date.
The experiment is currently investigating the fourth sky in five years, with plans to measure around 50 million galaxies and quasars (very far but bright objects with black holes in their cores) and more than 10 million stars by the time the project is finished.
The new analysis uses data from the first three years of observations and includes nearly 15 million best measured galaxies and quasars.
This is a major leap, with the one used in Desi's initial analysis improving the accuracy of the experiment with more than twice as much data set, suggesting evolving dark energy.
Digi tracks the effects of dark energy by studying how matter spreads throughout the universe.
Very early cosmic events left subtle patterns in the way matter was distributed. This is a function called Barion Acoustic Vibration (BAO).
Its Bao pattern acts as a standard ruler, and its size is directly influenced by how the universe is expanding at different times.
Measuring rulers at different distances has shown the strength of dark energy throughout history by researchers.
DESI Collaboration begins work with additional analysis to extract more information from the current dataset, and Desi continues to collect the data.
Other experiments offered online over the next few years will also provide complementary data sets for future analysis.
“Our results are a fertile foundation for our theory colleagues looking at new and existing models, and we look forward to what they came up with,” says Dr. Michael Levi, Desi Director and Scientist.
“Whatever the nature of dark energy, it shapes the future of our universe. It is very noteworthy that we look up at the sky with a telescope and try to answer one of the biggest questions humanity has ever asked.”
“These are prominent results from very successful projects,” said Dr. Chris Davis, NSF Program Director at NSF Neil Love.
“The powerful combination of NSF Mayall Telescope and DOE's dark energy spectroscopy instruments demonstrates the benefits of federal agencies collaborating with fundamental science to improve our understanding of the universe.”
Physicists shared their findings in a A series of papers It will be posted above arxiv.org.
The Lambda-CDM (λCDM) model has been the basis of modern cosmology for some time, and it successfully explains the large-scale structure of the universe. It proposes that 95% of cosmos consists of dark matter (25%) and dark energy (70%). Dark energy, represented by the cosmic constant (λ), is thought to promote accelerated expansion of the universe, and maintains a constant energy density over time. However, new results from the dark energy research suggest a departure from this assumption, suggesting that dark energy may evolve over time.
This artist's impression shows the evolution of the universe, beginning with the Big Bang on the left. After that, you will see the microwave background of the universe. The formation of the first stars ends the dark ages of the universe, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss/Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
The Dark Energy Survey (DES) was carried out using a 570 megapixel energy-enhanced dark energy camera (decam) mounted on the NSF Víctor M. Blanco 4-M telescope from the NSF Neuroab program, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.
By obtaining data of 758 nights over six years, DES scientists mapped almost one-eighth area of the sky.
The project employs multiple observation techniques, including supernova measurement, galaxy clustering analysis, and weak gravity lenses, to study dark energy.
Two important DES measurements, baryon acoustic vibration (BAO) and explosive star distance measurements (type IA supernova) track the enlarged history of the universe.
Bao refers to a standard cosmic ruler formed by early universe sound waves, with peaks spanning approximately 500 million light years.
Astronomers can measure these peaks over several periods of universe history to see how dark energy has expanded the scale over time.
“By analyzing 16 million galaxies, DES discovered that the measured BAO scale is actually 4% smaller than predicted by λCDM,” says Dr. Santiago Avila, an astronomer at the Center for Energy and Environmental Technology Research (CIEMAT).
Type IA supernova acts as a standard candle. In other words, the essential brightness is known.
Therefore, its apparent brightness is combined with information about the host's galaxy to allow scientists to perform accurate distance calculations.
In 2024, the DES team released the most extensive and detailed supernova dataset to date, providing highly accurate measurements of space distance.
New discoveries from the combined supernova data and BAO data independently confirm the anomalies seen in the 2024 supernova data.
By integrating DES measurements with cosmic microwave background data, researchers infer the properties of dark energy, and the results suggest that they evolve time.
When verified, this implies a dynamic phenomenon in which the cosmological constant, dark energy, is not ultimately constant and requires a new theoretical framework.
“The results are interesting as they suggest physics beyond the standard models of cosmology,” says Dr. Juan Mena Fernandez, a researcher at the Institute of Subatomic Physics and Cosmology.
“If more data supports these findings, we may be on the brink of a scientific revolution.”
Although current results are still inconclusive, future analyses incorporating additional DES probes such as Galaxy Clustering and weak lenses could enhance the evidence.
Similar trends have emerged from other major cosmological projects, such as Dark Energy Spectroscopy (DESI).
“We've seen a lot of experience in our research,” said Jesse Muir, a researcher at the University of Cincinnati.
“There's still a lot to learn and it's exciting to see how understanding evolves as new measurements become available.”
TMC Abbott et al. (DES collaboration). 2025. Dark Energy Survey: Final Devalion Acoustic Vibrations and Impact on Cosmological Expansion Models from Supernova Data. Physical Review din press; Arxiv: 2503.06712
Fur colours, which serve many functions, are essential for the evolution of mammal behavior, physiology and habitat preferences. However, little is known about the colour of Mesozoic mammals that co-evolved with dinosaurs. In a new study, scientists from China, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK and the US used the dataset Melanosome (Melanin-Containing Organelle) We quantitatively measured the morphology and quantitatively measured hair colours of 116 live mammals to reconstruct the colours of six Mesozoic mammals, including the species Yuhalamiidan mammals that were not previously described.
Reconstructing the life of Shenshou Luian extinct squirrel-like euhalamidian species from the Jurassic region of central China. Image credit: Tamuranobu, http://spinops.blogspot.com.
From communication to camouflage, animal colour plays an important role in many behavioral ecological functions.
Some animals exhibit distinct and vivid arrangements like birds, but mammalian fur is generally limited to muted tones due to their dependence on the single pigment melanin.
Mammals lack palettes, but have evolved a diverse and distinctive coat pattern.
However, due to lack of data on pigmentation in extinct mammals, the evolutionary history of hairy colour is not well understood.
Recent studies have shown that melanosomes, which cause pigmentation, can be preserved in fossilized specimens.
A similar technique has successfully reconstructed the colours of dinosaurs, but despite well-preserved fur specimens, it has not been widely applied to fossil mammals.
In the new study, Dr. Ruoshuang Li, a colleague of the Chinese University of Earth Sciences and colleague, analyzed melanosomes in 116 living mammals and created a predictive model to reconstruct the hairy colour based on melanosome morphology.
The authors applied the model to six Mesozoic mammalian forms of fossilized melanosomes, including the newly described euhalamyidan species that lived 158.5 million years ago (Late Jurassic Epoch).
The authors found that the fur of these early mammals was primarily and uniformly dark in colour, with no stripes and spots that adorn many modern mammals.
This suggests that despite evolutionary differences in phylogenetics and ecology, the early mammalian melanin colored systems remained little different.
This is in stark contrast to the diverse melanosome structures found in feathered dinosaurs, early birds and pterosaurs, indicating a distinct evolutionary pattern of mammalian colour.
“The typical modern nocturne mammals, such as the dark, uniformly dull fur found in these species – moles, mice, rats and nocturne bats, support the previous hypothesis that early mammals are also largely nocturne and colored for camouflage,” the researchers said.
“In addition, the high melanin content of the fur may have been beneficial in providing mechanical strength for thermoregulation and protection.”
“Following the Cretaceous – Fat extinction event, mammals rapidly diversified into niches previously occupied by dinosaurs, leading to more diverse melanosome structures and new perage colour strategies that are more suited to a more diverse environment.”
Survey results It was published in the journal today Science.
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rushuang li et al. 2025. Mesozoic mammalian forms illuminate the origin of the colour of the hair. Science 387 (6739): 1193-1198; doi: 10.1126/science.ads9734
Greenland ice sheet algae absorb light and accelerate melting
Laura Halbach
Dark algae growing on the surface of the Arctic ice sheet are likely to expand future coverage, and tend to exacerbate melting, sea level rise and warming.
“These algae are not a new phenomenon.” James Bradley At the Institute of Oceanography in Marseille, France. “But if they bloom more intensely or the flowers bloom more widely, this is an important thing to consider in future projections of sea level rise.”
Greenland's ice sheets, which cover most of the island, are rapidly melting due to rising temperatures, making them the biggest contributor to sea level rise worldwide.
ancylonema Algae under a microscope
Natural Communication
ancylonema Algae species bloom in patches of ice called ablation zones, which are exposed as snow lines recede to the ice sheet every summer. Flowers darken the ice, reduce its reflectivity, absorbing more heat, thereby increasing melting in these regions by an estimated 10-13%.
To better understand this feedback loop, Bradley and his colleagues gathered ancylonema Samples from the southwest tip of the ice sheet were examined for cells using advanced imaging techniques.
The results reveal that algae are highly adapted to malnutritional conditions and suggest that they can invade ice at high elevations with low nutrients.
Global warming already causes snow lines to increase altitude over time, exposing more ice. Ice algae should add yet another layer to these interactions and explain it in future climate forecasts.
“We have been studying glacial algae flowers for several years, and one of the biggest questions that remains is that we can grow to such high numbers in such undernourished ice.” I say that. Christopher Williamson At the University of Bristol, UK, where he was not involved in the project. “A big part of understanding this puzzle is the amount of nutrients needed for glacial algae cells and whether it can efficiently take and store rare nutrients available in the system. This research is cutting edge. They do an amazing job of demonstrating these things using the methodology of
when I was growing up, the genre-defining dollhouse sim Sims was the ultimate escape. I built my dream home, grew the neighborhoods of strange and wonderful friends, and lived a fantasy adult life.
So when EA drops surprise Sims 1 and 2 Last weekend, all expansions are included to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the series (my 9 year old self dream) I was naturally forced to return to my happy place. Beginners, rooms, goths, and sometimes, I removed the pool ladders while swimming a bit, and only had the pauses I needed for my mommy roast dinner.
I’ve introduced familiar music, tragic pool accidents, and my own personal nostalgia of French maids, but there’s something lurking beneath the game’s quirky and hilarious look. Surprisingly, this game now feels more like a struggle simulator than a chance to live your dream life. (I forgot how much time the Sims spent playing chess.) Like the town of Picket Fence in Lynch, I realized that there was darkness lurking under the sheen of the suburbs.
The original Sims Game was more dystopian than the cheerful and brightly colored Sims 4 of today. Contrast is not just about aesthetics. Twenty years ago, Sims had no dreams or ambitions. Your virtual family has worked long hours for a pricey life, some of the most poignant music in the history of death and gaming.
Forget your personality, desires and preferences. Sims 1 is a capitalist nightmare where survival outweighs self-realization.
Be careful of ovens that burn spontaneously! …Sims 1 + 2.
I forgot the time my original Sim actually spent on work. They are doing boring and boring work from your vision. Create a simple message you get when they are oddly shocked (or handed over). It’ll probably be fired and kill you, heading towards the cheapest oven that’s offered that small wage packet. This is a game that punishes you for being poor. It means that, like the iconic Goth family of rich people, the poor remain in their stay in stone mansions, still surrounded by charming cemeteries while the poor are poor. I have learned that social mobility in Sims 1 is nearly impossible.
And do you live in a social life? Forget that at least when you’re at the bottom of your random career ladder. There’s no time to make friends. I didn’t remember from my time as a tween who was obsessed with Sims. I now find that the nasty EastEnders-level entanglements in my neighborhood are mostly scripted in my head. Instead, you should remove the ++ and –relationship scores until you’ve finally “played in bed” anti-climic. -olds. There’s nothing dark about that heart-shaped bed of extension. I still want that in real life.
Even these moments with the most meaningful love in my Sims life seemed to offer them nothing. They were transactions and no use was helpful other than unlocking new interactions. They are playing for my enjoyment, not for theirs.
Friendships are also very traded here. To improve your rank at work, you need a certain number. Keeping yourself alone will make you poor and you will likely die of having a cheap, spontaneously burning microwave. This is particularly sad for Sims, who live alone. I’m exhausted from work. If you don’t have time to call friends over the phone for hours, or if they refuse to come, your relationship will quickly break
It’s a capitalist nightmare, but still, it’s an escape… Relaise from Sims 1 + 2.
alleys. Like the award-winning No Deeve episode of Black Mirror, when you lose social credibility, the spiral will soon go downhill for your Sim.
And it’s not as fast as music that announces the stomachs of millennials of a sudden, terrifying robbery. It’s still terrifying 25 years from now, so I hope there was a foresight to spend a small savings on theft alarm. That’s before we enter from a visit from the harsh Grim Reaper and even from a creepy prank call. These unexpected callers scared me just as they did back then.
Perhaps my new, dark perspective on the game comes from the world we live in now. I’m finally living a fantasy adult life – I’ve been on the brink of less relaxation in my gothic apartment dream home, more overwork, lower wages, and spiral breakdowns I didn’t realize that it was. In a time of economic insecurity and burnout in 2025, Sims’ crushing feels brutal.
For all existential horrors, Sims 1 is still an escape. Certainly, it presents a kind of capitalist nightmare. But it’s a capitalism nightmare you can control. No matter how hard your daily slogans work, you can always enter your cheat code and click to wipe out any financial stress. This is the ultimate fantasy. It’s also strangely accurate. Just like in real life, external benefits (and systemic misconduct) are more likely to lead to success than shattering rules and following them.
Yes, Sims 1 was and remains a dystopian suburban treadmill, but there is also room for humor. Confusion is interesting, failure is temporary, and the worst tragedy can be reversed by clicking the mouse.
IIt started with an anonymous email. It read, “That's true. I'm sorry to have to contact you.” Below that word were three links to internet forums. “HUGE trigger warning…they contain vile photoshopped images of you.”
Jody (not her real name) froze. The 27-year-old from Cambridgeshire has had problems in the past with her photos stolen to set up dating profiles and social media accounts. She called the police, but was told there was nothing they could do and pushed it to the back of her mind.
However, I couldn't ignore this email that arrived on March 10, 2021. She clicked on the link. “It was like time stood still,” she said. “I remember screaming so loud. I just completely broke down.”
Forum, an alternative porn website, has hundreds of photos of her alone, on holiday and with friends and housemates, alongside a caption labeling them as 'sluts'. The comments included calling her a “slut” and “prostitute,” asking people to rate her, and asking her what kind of fantasies she had. they will.
The person who posted the photo also shared the invitation with other members of the forum. It involved using artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit “deepfakes,” digitally altered content, using fully clothed photos of Jodi taken from her private Instagram.
“I've never done anything like this before but I love seeing her being fake…happy to chat and show more of her too…:D,” they wrote. Ta. In response, users posted hundreds of composite images and videos of the woman's body and Jodi's face. One posted an image of her wearing high school girl clothes and being raped by a teacher in a classroom. Others showed her full “nude”. “I was having sex in every room,” she said. “The shock and devastation still haunts me.”
The now-deleted fake images show that a growing number of synthetic, sexually explicit photos and videos are being created, traded and sold across social media apps, private messages and gaming platforms in the UK and around the world. Masu. As well as adult forums and porn sites.
Inside the helpline office. Photo: Jim Wileman/Observer
Last week, the government announced a “crackdown” on blatant deepfakes, expanding current laws that make it a criminal offense not only to share images, but also to create them without consent, which will be illegal from January 2024. I promised. Someone making them for you – is not going to be covered. The government will also ask whether the crime was consensual (campaigners say it must be) or whether the victim can prove that the perpetrator had malicious intent. I haven't confirmed whether it is necessary or not yet.
At the Revenge Porn Helpline's headquarters in a business park on the outskirts of Exeter, senior practitioner Kate Worthington, 28, says stronger laws with no loopholes are desperately needed.
Launched in 2015, the helpline is a dedicated service for victims of intimate image abuse, part-funded by the Home Office. Deepfake incidents are at an all-time high, with reports of synthetic image abuse increasing by 400% since 2017. However, it remains small compared to overall intimate image abuse. There were 50 incidents last year, accounting for about 1% of the total. caseload. The main reason is that it's vastly underreported, Worthington says. “Victims often don't know their images are being shared.”
The researchers found that many perpetrators of deepfake image abuse appear to be motivated by “collector culture.” “A lot of times it's not with the intention of the person knowing,” Worthington said. “Buyed, sold, exchanged, traded for sexual gratification or for status. If you are finding this content and sharing it alongside your Snap handle, Insta handle, or LinkedIn profile. , you may receive glory.'' Many are created using the “Nude'' app. In March, a charity that runs a revenge porn helpline reported 29 such services to Apple, which removed them.
There have also been cases where composite images have been used to directly threaten or humiliate people. The helpline has heard cases of boys creating fake incestuous images of female relatives. A man addicted to porn creates a composite photo of his partner engaging in non-consensual sex in real life. Stories of people who were photographed at the gym and deepfake videos made to make it look like they were having sex. Most, but not all, of those targeted are women. Approximately 72% of the deepfake incidents identified by the helpline involved women. The oldest was in his 70s.
There have also been cases where Muslim women have been targeted with deepfake images of themselves wearing revealing clothing or without their hijabs.
Regardless of intent, the impact is often extreme. “Many of these photos are so realistic that your coworkers, neighbors, and grandma won't be able to tell the difference,” says Worthington.
Kate Worthington, Senior Helpline Practitioner. Photo: Jim Wileman/Observer
The Revenge Porn Helpline helps people remove abusive images. Amanda Dashwood, 30, who has worked at the helpline for two years, says this is usually a caller's priority. “It says, 'Oh my God, help me. I need to delete this before people see it,'” she says.
She and her colleagues on the helpline team, eight women, most under 30, have a variety of tools at their disposal. If the victim knows where the content was posted, the team will issue a takedown request directly to the platform. Some people ignore the request completely. However, this helpline has partnered with most of the major helplines, from Instagram and Snapchat to Pornhub and OnlyFans, and has a successful removal rate of 90%.
If the victim doesn't know where the content was posted, or suspects it's being shared more widely, they can send a selfie to be run through facial recognition technology (with their consent) or vice versa. Ask them to use image search. tool. Although this tool is not foolproof, it can detect material being shared on the open web.
The team can also advise you on steps to stop your content from being posted online again. They plan to direct people to a service called StopNCII. The tool was created by online safety charity SWGFL, which also runs a revenge porn helpline, with funding from Meta.
Users can upload real or synthetic photos, and the technology creates a unique hash and shares it with partner platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Pornhub, and Reddit (but not X or Discord). If someone tries to upload that image, it will be automatically blocked. As of December, 1 million images had been hashed and 24,000 uploads were proactively blocked.
Alex Wolff was found guilty of a derogatory nature.I'm posting images, not soliciting them. Photo: Handout
Some people call the police, but responses vary widely depending on the force used. Victims who try to report fraudulent use of composite images are told that police cannot cooperate with edited images or that prosecution is not in the public interest.
Helpline manager Sophie Mortimer recalls another incident in which police said: “No, that's not you. It's not you.” It’s someone who looks like you,” and refused to investigate. “I feel like police sometimes look for reasons not to pursue these types of cases,” Mortimer said. “We know it's difficult, but that doesn't negate the real harm that's being caused to people.”
In November, Sam Miller, assistant chief constable and director of the violence against women and girls strategy at the National Police Chiefs' Council, told a parliamentary inquiry into intimate image abuse that police lacked a “deep understanding of violent behavior”. I'm worried,” he said. Discrepancies in laws and precedents. “Yesterday, one victim told me that out of the 450 victims of deepfake images she has spoken to, only two have had a positive experience with law enforcement,” she said. Ta.
For Jodi, it is clear that there is a need to raise awareness of the misuse of deepfakes, not only among law enforcement but also the general public.
After being alerted to her deepfake, she spent hours scrolling through posts trying to piece together what happened.
She noticed that they were not shared by strangers, but by her close friends alex wolf, a Cambridge University graduate and former BBC Young Composer of the Year. He had posted a photo of her with a cut out of him. “I knew I hadn't posted that photo on Instagram and only sent it to him. That's when the penny dropped.”
A self-collapsing, self-interacting dark matter subhalo is a unique spur observed in GD-1, a stellar stream within the Milky Way’s galactic halo, according to a new study led by astronomers at the University of California, Riverside, and is responsible for the gap characteristics.
GD-1 exhibits spur and gap structures that may be attributed to its proximity with a dense substructure. Image credit: University of California, Riverside.
A stellar stream is a group of stars that collectively move along a shared orbit.
A gap refers to a local under-density of stars along the stream, whereas a spur refers to an excess of star density extending outward from the main body of the stream.
Because dark matter governs the movement of star streams, astronomers can use it to track the invisible dark matter in galaxies.
The Milky Way’s halo is a roughly spherical region surrounding our galaxy that contains dark matter and extends beyond the visible edge of our galaxy.
Astronomers discovered that the fulcrum and gap features of the GD-1 star stream cannot easily be attributed to the gravitational influence of the Milky Way’s known globular clusters or satellite galaxies.
However, these features may be explained by unknown perturbing objects such as subhalos.
But the object’s density would need to be significantly higher than that predicted by conventional cold dark matter (CDM) subhalos.
“CDM subhalos typically lack the density necessary to produce the unique features observed in GD-1 streams,” said Haibo Yu, a professor at the University of California, Riverside.
“However, our study shows that a subhalo of collapsing self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) can achieve the required density.”
“Such a compact subhalo would be dense enough to exert the gravitational effects necessary to explain the observed perturbations in the GD-1 flow.”
The currently popular dark matter theory, CDM, assumes that dark matter particles have no collisions.
SIDM, a theoretical form of dark matter, proposes that dark matter particles self-interact through new dark forces.
In the study, Professor Yu and his colleagues used a numerical simulation called N-body simulation to model the behavior of a collapsing SIDM subhalo.
“Our team’s findings provide a new explanation for the lobes and gap features observed on GD-1, long thought to indicate close encounters with dense objects. ” said Professor Yu.
“In our scenario, the perturbation source is the SIDM subhalo, which perturbs the spatial and velocity distribution of stars within the star stream, producing the unique features seen in the GD-1 star stream.”
The discovery also provides insight into the nature of dark matter itself.
“This study opens a promising new avenue to study the self-interaction properties of dark matter through stellar streams,” Professor Yu said.
“This represents an exciting step forward in our understanding of dark matter and the dynamics of the Milky Way.”
The full study will appear in Astrophysics Journal Letter.
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Zhang Xingyu others. 2025. GD-1 Stellar Stream Parter Bar as a self-interacting dark matter halo with a collapsed core. APJL 978, L23; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ada02b
Dark energy, the unknown energy source accelerating the expansion of the universe, doesn't actually exist, according to a new study.
This artist's impression shows the evolution of the universe, starting with the Big Bang on the left and continuing with the emergence of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the Dark Ages of the universe, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Dark energy is generally thought to be a weak antigravity that acts independently of matter and accounts for about two-thirds of the mass-energy density of the universe.
The lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model, which has served as the standard cosmological model for a quarter of a century, requires dark energy to explain the observed acceleration in the expansion rate of the universe.
Astrophysicists base this conclusion on measurements of distances to supernova explosions in distant galaxies, which appear to be farther away than they should be if the expansion of the universe is not accelerating.
However, the current expansion rate of the universe is increasingly being questioned by new observations.
First, evidence from the Big Bang's afterglow (cosmic microwave background radiation) shows that the expansion of the early Universe is inconsistent with the current expansion, an anomaly known as the Hubble tension.
Furthermore, in an analysis of new high-precision data from the Dark Energy Spectrometer (DESI), the scientists showed that the ΛCDM model does not fit a model in which dark energy does not remain constant but evolves over time. I discovered it.
Both the Hubble tension and the surprises revealed by DESI are difficult to resolve with models that use the simplistic expansion law of the universe from 100 years ago, or the Friedman equation.
This assumes that the universe expands uniformly on average. It's as if you could put all the cosmic structures in a blender and make a nondescript soup without complex structures.
But the current universe actually contains a complex cosmic web of galaxy clusters of sheets and filaments that surround and thread a vast void.
“Our findings show that dark energy is not needed to explain why the universe appears to be expanding at an accelerating rate,” said Professor David Wiltshire.
“Dark energy is a misidentification of fluctuations in the kinetic energy of expansion, which is not uniform in the blocky universe we actually live in.”
“This study provides compelling evidence that may answer some of the key questions about the quirks of our expanding universe.”
“With new data, the universe's greatest mysteries could be solved by the end of the decade.”
New evidence supports the timescape model of the expansion of the universe, which says dark energy is not needed because the difference in the stretch of light is not a result of the universe's acceleration, but of how it adjusts time and distance. .
An ideal clock in empty space would tick faster than in a galaxy, since gravity slows time down.
This model suggests that the Milky Way's clock is about 35% slower than the same clock at its average location in the large cosmic void. That means billions more years have passed in the void.
This allows for further expansion of the universe, and as such a vast void grows to dominate the universe, it appears to be expanding faster and faster.
“We now have so much data that only in the 21st century can we begin to answer the question of how and why a simple mean expansion law emerges from complexity. ” said Professor Wiltshire.
“A simple law of expansion consistent with Einstein's theory of general relativity does not need to obey Friedman's equation.”
“ESA's Euclid satellite, launched in July 2023, has the ability to test and differentiate the Friedman equation from timescape alternatives.”
“However, this will require at least 1,000 independent high-quality supernova observations.”
of study Published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.
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antonia seifert others. 2025. Supernovae are evidence of fundamental changes in cosmological models. MNRASL 537 (1): L55-L60;doi: 10.1093/mnrasl/slae112
dark comet First Interstellar Object 1I/2017 U1 ‘A small object with no detected coma, similar to ‘Oumuamua, with large accelerations that can be explained by volatile outgassing. These objects represent a potentially widespread class of small objects that lie further in the continuum between asteroids and comets and whose active nature is inferred from their orbital motions. Michigan State University astronomer Darryl Seligman and his colleagues have now detected seven new dark comets, proving that there are two distinct populations of these objects.
This artist’s impression shows ‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar object discovered in the solar system. Recent observations show that the object is moving faster than predicted as it leaves the solar system. Astronomers speculate that the ejection of material from the surface due to solar heating is responsible for this behavior. This release of gas can be seen, in this artist’s impression, as a subtle cloud emitted from the side of the object facing the sun. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / ESO / M. Kohnmesser.
In 2003, astronomers noticed that asteroid 2003 RM’s orbit deviated slightly from its expected orbit. This motion cannot be explained by the acceleration typical of asteroids.
Then, in 2017, the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua passed through our solar system, leaving astronomers perplexed.
Like a typical asteroid or comet, it was moved in part by the gravity of other bodies in the solar system, such as the sun.
But astronomers also discovered that ‘Oumuamua is accelerating beyond that, likely due to the release of previously trapped gas.
The strength of the thrust added by such outgassing defied that of a typical asteroid and rivaled the speed of a comet.
problem? ‘Oumuamua lacked the bright dust tail that is characteristic of comets, so it could not be easily classified as an asteroid or comet.
In 2023, astronomers identified seven objects in our solar system that reflect the same unusual features as ‘Oumuamua.
These objects were classified into an entirely new class of objects: the first seven dark comets.
“One of the most important reasons we study small objects like asteroids and comets is because they tell us about how matter is transported around the solar system,” Seligman said. the doctor said.
“Dark comets are a new type of near-Earth object that may contain water, and could provide a new source of materials needed for the development of life to Earth.”
“The more we learn about them, the more we will understand their role in the origin of the Earth.”
Dr. Seligman and his co-authors not only discovered seven new dark comets, but also compared the total number of known comets and identified two different types.
The first type is called an outer dark comet. These are large objects with eccentric orbits similar to Jovian comets and may have originated outside the solar system.
The second type is called an internal dark comet. These are small celestial bodies with roughly circular orbits that move through the inner solar system close to Earth and may have originated in the asteroid belt.
“What’s interesting about these objects is that although they look like asteroids, their motion is similar to that of comets,” said Dr. David Farnochia, a navigation engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“This is a puzzle that challenges the way we have always classified objects as either asteroids or comets.”
Dr. Seligman said, “Expanding our knowledge of dark comets will help us understand the context in which ‘Oumuamua was a fortuitous event that has left the solar system and is no longer observable.”
“What many people might not normally think about is that the solar system is a chaotic place.”
“We don’t know where things came from, but with 14 currently known dark comets orbiting within our solar system, we will collect more data in the coming years and hopefully uncover answers. Opportunities are opening up: the formation of our own planet.”
This finding is reported in the following article: paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Darryl Z. Seligman others. 2024. Two distinct populations of dark comets, distinguished by orbit and size. PNAS 121 (51): e2406424121;doi: 10.1073/pnas.2406424121
The spiral arm of Messier 83, one of the most prominent spiral galaxies in the night sky, exhibits a high rate of star formation, with six supernovae observed, according to astronomers at NSF’s NOIRLab.
This DECam image shows the spiral galaxy Messier 83. Image credits: CTIO / NOIRLab / DOE / NSF / AURA / TA Chancellor, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF NOIRLab / D. de Martin, NSF NOIRLab / M. Zamani, NSF NOIRLab.
Messier 83 is located approximately 15 million light-years away in the southern constellation Hydra.
The galaxy, also known as the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, M83, NGC 5236, LEDA 48082, and UGCA 366, has a diameter of about 50,000 light-years, making it about twice smaller than the Milky Way.
With an apparent magnitude of 7.5, it is one of the brightest spiral galaxies in the night sky. May is the best month to observe with binoculars.
Messier 83 is oriented almost completely face-on from Earth, meaning astronomers can observe its spiral structure in great detail.
This galaxy is a prominent member of a group of galaxies known as the Centaurus A/M83 group, which also counts dusty NGC 5128 and irregular galaxy NGC 5253 as members.
It was discovered on February 23, 1752 by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille.
“Between 1750 and 1754, the French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille studied the night sky with the purpose of determining distances to planets,” NOIRLab astronomers said.
“During this period, he observed and cataloged 10,000 stars and identified 42 nebular objects, including Messier 83, which he discovered during an expedition to the Cape of Good Hope in 1752.”
“In 1781, Charles Messier added it to his famous catalog and described it as a ‘starless nebula’, reflecting the limited knowledge of galaxies at the time.”
“It wasn’t until the 20th century, thanks to the work of Edwin Hubble, that astronomers realized that objects like Messier 83 were actually in another galaxy far outside the Milky Way.”
New images of Messier 83 dark energy camera (DECam), mounted on NSF’s Victor M. Blanco 4-meter telescope at the Cerro Tororo Inter-American Observatory, a program of the NSF NOIRLab.
“This image shows Messier 83’s distinct spiral arms filled with clouds of pink hydrogen gas where new stars are forming,” the astronomers said.
“Interspersed between these pink regions are bright blue clusters of hot young stars whose ultraviolet radiation has blown away the surrounding gas.”
“At the center of the galaxy, a yellow central bulge is made up of old stars, and weak bars connect spiral arms through the center, funneling gas from the outer regions toward the center.”
“DECam’s high sensitivity captures Messier 83’s extended halo and the countless more distant galaxies in the background.”
“Just as Messier 83 is filled with millions of newly formed stars, this galaxy is also home to many dying stars,” they added.
“Over the past century, astronomers have witnessed a total of six stellar explosions called supernovae in Messier 83. Only two other galaxies can match this number.”
In 2006, astronomers discovered a mysterious feature at the center of Messier 83.
“At the center of this galaxy, we discovered a never-before-seen concentration of mass similar to a secondary nucleus, likely the remains of another galaxy being consumed by Messier 83 in an ongoing collision. , likely the same collision that caused the starburst activity,’ the researchers said.
“The two nuclei, which likely contain the black hole, are expected to coalesce into a single nucleus in another 60 million years.”
A long-term US study found that consuming at least 5 servings of dark chocolate per week (1 serving equals a standard chocolate bar/pack or 1 oz) was associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared to infrequent consumption. However, increased milk chocolate intake was associated with increased weight gain.
Consuming dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate may lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. Image credit: Sci.News.
The global prevalence of type 2 diabetes has increased significantly over the past few decades, with an estimated 463 million people affected worldwide in 2019 and projected to rise to 700 million by 2045. I am.
Type 2 diabetes is a multifactorial disease characterized by insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion, which can lead to a number of serious complications, including cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and vision loss.
A series of studies has highlighted the importance of lifestyle factors, such as a healthy diet, in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes.
Higher total dietary flavonoid intake, as well as specific flavonoid subclasses, is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
Randomized controlled trials have shown that these flavonoids exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and vasodilatory effects that may benefit cardiometabolism and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, but the data are inconsistent. It wasn’t.
chocolate made from beans cacao tree (Theobroma cacao)one of the foods with the highest flavanol content and a popular snack around the world.
However, the association between chocolate intake and risk of type 2 diabetes remains controversial due to inconsistent results obtained in observational studies.
For new research, Liu Binkai Researchers at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health combined data from three longitudinal U.S. observational studies of female nurses and male health care workers who had no history of diabetes, heart disease, or cancer at the time of recruitment. .
They investigated type 2 diabetes and total chocolate intake in 192,208 participants and 111,654 participants over an average 25-year monitoring period using food frequency questionnaires completed every 4 years. We analyzed the relationship between chocolate subtype (dark and milk) intake.
Because weight change strongly predicts type 2 diabetes risk, the researchers also used these food questionnaires to assess participants' total energy intake.
In the overall chocolate analysis, 18,862 people developed type 2 diabetes. After adjusting for personal, lifestyle, and dietary risk factors, the authors found that people who ate all types of chocolate at least five times a week were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who ate little or no chocolate. We found that the incidence was significantly lower by 10%. .
In the chocolate subtype analysis, 4,771 people developed type 2 diabetes. After adjusting for the same risk factors, those who ate dark chocolate at least five times a week had a 21% significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes, but there was no significant association with milk chocolate intake. was not found.
Researchers also found that each additional weekly intake of dark chocolate reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 3% (dose-response effect).
Increased milk intake was associated with long-term weight gain, but dark chocolate intake was not.
Dark chocolate has similar levels of energy and saturated fat as milk chocolate, but the high levels of flavanols found in dark chocolate reduce the risk of saturated fat and sugar for weight gain and other cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes. may offset the effects of
“Increased consumption of dark chocolate, but not milk, was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes,” the scientists said.
“Increased milk intake was associated with long-term weight gain, but dark chocolate intake was not.”
“Further randomized controlled trials are needed to replicate these findings and further investigate the mechanisms.”
Earth-sized ovals at Jupiter's north and south poles, visible only at ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths, appear and disappear at seemingly random intervals, according to a study led by astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley.
False-color ultraviolet image of the entire planet showing a hood or cap of hydrocarbon fog covering the south pole. The edge of the arctic hood is visible at the top. Image credit: Troy Tsubota and Michael Wong, University of California, Berkeley.
Jupiter's dark ultraviolet ellipses are mostly located directly beneath bright auroral bands at each pole, similar to Earth's northern and southern lights.
This spot absorbs more ultraviolet light than the surrounding area, so it appears darker in images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
In annual images of the planet taken by Hubble between 2015 and 2022, dark ultraviolet ellipses appear 75% of the time at the south pole, but only in one in eight images taken at the north pole. A dark oval will appear.
The dark ultraviolet ellipses suggest that unusual processes are occurring in Jupiter's strong magnetic field. This magnetic field propagates all the way to the poles and deep into the atmosphere, much deeper than the magnetic processes that produce auroras on Earth.
The dark ultraviolet ellipse was first detected in the 1990s by Hubble at the North and South poles, and later also at the North Pole by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which flew close to Jupiter in 2000, but received little attention.
In a new analysis of Hubble images, University of California, Berkeley undergraduate student Troy Tsubota and his colleagues found that the oval shape is a common feature of Antarctica. They counted eight Southern Ultraviolet Dark Ovals (SUDOs) between 1994 and 2022.
In all 25 Hubble Earth maps showing Jupiter's north pole, only two northern ultraviolet dark ellipses (NUDOs) were found.
Most of the Hubble images were taken as part of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL).
“In the first two months, we realized that these OPAL images were kind of a gold mine. We quickly built this analysis pipeline and asked what we could get by sending all the images. We were able to confirm that,” says Tsubota.
“That's when we realized we could actually do good science and real data analysis and have conversations with our collaborators about why these things appear.”
The authors also aimed to determine the cause of these areas of dense fog.
They theorized that the dark ellipse was likely being stirred up from above by a vortex created when the planet's magnetic field lines rub at two very far apart locations. One is the friction in the ionosphere and the Earth's sheet, the rotational motion of which has previously been detected using ground-based telescopes. Hot ionized plasma around the planet emitted by the volcanic moon Io.
The vortex rotates fastest within the ionosphere and gradually weakens as it reaches deeper layers.
Like a tornado landing on dusty ground, the deepest parts of the vortex stir up the hazy atmosphere, creating the dense patches observed by astronomers.
It is unclear whether the mixing will dredge more haze from below or create additional haze.
Based on their observations, researchers believe that the oval shape may form over about a month and disappear within a few weeks.
Astronomer Dr Shih Zhang said: “The dark elliptical haze is 50 times thicker than typical concentrations. This is because this haze is due to the dynamics of the vortex, rather than a chemical reaction caused by high-energy particles from the upper atmosphere. This suggests that it is likely to have been formed by At the University of California, Santa Cruz.
“Our observations show that the timing and location of these high-energy particles do not correlate with the appearance of the dark ellipses.”
This discovery, which the OPAL project was designed to discover, will reveal how the atmospheric dynamics of the solar system's giant planets differ from what we know on Earth. .
“Studying the connections between different atmospheric layers is extremely important for all planets, whether exoplanets, Jupiter, or Earth,” said Dr. Michael Wong, an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley.
“We see evidence of processes connecting everything throughout the Jovian system, from internal dynamos to satellites, plasma torii, ionospheres, and stratospheric haze.”
“Finding these examples helps us understand the entire planet.”
of study Published in a magazine natural astronomy.
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TK Tsubota others. Jupiter's ultraviolet to dark polar ellipse shows the connection between the magnetosphere and atmosphere. Nat Astronpublished online on November 26, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02419-0
This article is adapted from the original release by the University of California, Berkeley.
a Brutal Scene: A shadowy figure forces someone into a high-voltage circuit box. The victim becomes unable to move at the moment of death, his body convulsing and sparks flying. Downstairs, everyone froze in shock the moment the lights went out. You must scrutinize this scene to determine who everyone is, where they are, why they are there, and, of course, who committed this murder. Examine faces and objects, search everyone’s pockets to see what’s inside, and read notes, signs, and letters for clues. Eventually you’ll piece it together and fill in the report with the missing words that describe exactly who, what, when, where, and why.
Rise of the Golden Idol is a 1970s alternate reality detective game where, when solved, individual scenes tell us something about a larger mystery. This is a sequel to The Case of the Golden Idol, set 300 years after the game’s Age of Exploration mystery, but following the trail of the same cursed object. Some of these scenes are relatively harmless and even funny, such as a drive-in cinema where an unexpected fire breaks out and cosplayed patrons rush for the exit. There are other scary things too. In the opening incident, the strangulation unfolds in an endless loop, like an Instagram boomerang story.
Intentionally grotesque art style…the rise of the Golden Idol. Photo: Color Gray Games
Solving these cases is very satisfying, but you better hope your memory for names and faces is good. Scenes could include 10 or more people and required a notebook to record them. There are more and more obvious hints offered when you get stuck, but as the game warns, using them takes away the fun of using deductive reasoning. Nevertheless, when I understood the gist of the case but couldn’t get someone’s last name correctly, I was glad that there was a button to show me which blanks in the report were incorrectly filled in. I thought.
The strangeness of Rise of the Golden Idol is what makes it so memorable. The art style is intentionally grotesque, with the characters’ asymmetrical faces and eyes moving like crazy, and the backgrounds filled with paint pens. The murders, robberies, and other crimes here are strange, and the picture becomes unsteady in its eternal two-second loop of movement. Until I solved the problem, the scene stuck in my head and I ended up staring at my phone screen for half an hour at a time, thinking, cross-referencing, and taking notes. Where is the character’s gaze leading me? Why is that rug in disarray? Where did that dirt come from?
The big story that comes from these details is worth all the effort. As the chapters change, the fill-in-the-blank incident report turns into a fill-in-the-blank summary of everything you’ve learned from several past cases, helping you draw connections that make the story full of intrigue. This is not a game you can play while thinking about something else. You have to pay close attention, focus your thoughts, and see what your brain can do. I was pleasantly surprised by my own reasoning skills.
The crime scenes are so bizarre that you never know where this game will take you, but there’s always something you need to solve.
Astronomers using the VLT survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile 283 million pixel image of the Dark Wolf Nebula.
This image was taken by ESO’s VLT survey telescope and shows the Dark Wolf Nebula. Image credit: ESO / VPHAS+ Team.
The Dark Wolf Nebula is located approximately 5,300 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.
“Dark nebulae are cold clouds of cosmic dust so dense that they obscure the light of stars and other celestial bodies behind them,” ESO astronomers said in a statement.
“As its name suggests, it does not emit visible light, unlike other nebulae.”
“The dust grains within it absorb visible light and only allow longer wavelength radiation, such as infrared radiation, to pass through.”
“Astronomers study these frozen dust clouds because they often contain new stars that are being born.”
“This image occupies an area of the sky equivalent to four full moons, but it is actually part of a much larger nebula called . gum 55” said the astronomers.
“If you look closely, the wolf may even be a werewolf, and its hands are trying to grab unsuspecting bystanders.”
“Of course, tracking the ghostly presence of a wolf in the sky is only possible because of its contrast with the bright background.”
“This image shows in stunning detail how the dark wolf stands out among the glowing clouds that form the stars behind it.”
“The colorful clouds are composed primarily of hydrogen gas, which glows with a reddish hue when excited by intense ultraviolet light from newborn stars.”
This image was taken as part of the VST Photometric Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge (VPHAS+), which is studying about 500 million objects in the Milky Way.
“Studies like this help scientists better understand the life cycles of stars in our home galaxy,” the researchers said.
According to the popular inflationary universe theory, at the beginning of the Big Bang, a mysterious energy caused an exponential expansion of the early universe, creating all known matter. That ancient energy shared important characteristics with the dark energy of the current universe. “Where in the later universe will we see gravity as strong as it was at the beginning of the universe?'' The answer lies at the center of a black hole. What happened during inflation could also be reversed, with the matter of a massive star becoming dark energy again during gravitational collapse – like a mini-Big Bang played in reverse. A new study strengthens the evidence for this scenario using recent data. dark energy spectrometer (DESI).
A view of the accretion disk surrounding a supermassive black hole and the jet-like structures flowing out of the disk. The black hole's extreme mass bends space-time so that the backside of the accretion disk can be seen as an image above and below the black hole. Image credit: Science Communication Lab, DESY.
“If a black hole contains dark energy, it could merge with the expanding universe and grow faster,” said Dr. Kevin Croker, an astronomer at Arizona State University.
“We can't know the details of how this is happening, but we can see evidence that it's happening.”
Data from the first year of DESI's planned five-year study shows intriguing evidence that the density of dark energy has increased over time.
This provides a compelling clue to support this idea of what dark energy is. Because that increase in time matches how the amount and mass of black holes has increased over time.
“When I first got involved in this project, I was very skeptical,” said Boston University professor Steve Arlen.
“But I remained open-minded throughout the process, and when I started doing the cosmological calculations, I said, 'This is a really cool mechanism for creating dark energy.'”
To look for evidence of dark energy from black holes, astronomers used tens of millions of distant galaxies measured by DESI.
The instrument looks into the past billions of years and collects data that can be used to determine with great precision how fast the universe is expanding.
Furthermore, these data can be used to infer how the amount of dark energy changes over time.
The researchers compared these data to how many black holes have been created by large star explosions throughout the history of the universe.
“The two phenomena were consistent with each other. When a new black hole was created by the death of a massive star, the amount of dark energy in the universe increased in the right way,” said Dr. Duncan Farrar, a physicist at New York University. said. Hawaii.
“This makes the theory that black holes are the source of dark energy more plausible.”
This study complements a growing literature investigating the possibility of cosmological coupling in black holes.
A 2023 study reported cosmological coupling in a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy.
This study encouraged other teams to investigate the effects of black holes in different parts of the universe.
“These papers explore the relationship between dark energy and black holes in terms of their growth rate,” said astrophysicist at Healthpeak Properties and former general counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. said Dr. Brian Cartwright.
“Our new paper links dark energy to when black holes are born.”
The main difference in the new paper is that most of the black holes involved are younger than those studied previously.
These black holes were born at a time when star formation, which tracks black hole formation, was well underway, not just beginning.
Professor Roger Windhorst from Arizona State University said: “This happened fairly late in the universe and is informed by recent measurements of black hole formation and growth observed by the Hubble and Webb Space Telescopes. ” he said.
“The next question is where are these black holes and how have they been moving around for the past eight billion years? Scientists are now working to suppress this,” Croker said. the doctor said.
Science needs more research and observation tools, and now that DESI is online, this exploration of dark energy is just beginning.
“Whether or not we continue to support the black hole hypothesis, this only brings further depth and clarity to our understanding of dark energy,” Professor Ahlen said.
“I think it's great as an experimental endeavor. You can have preconceptions or not, but we're based on data and observation.”
Regardless of what future observations yield, the research being conducted now represents a major shift in dark energy research.
“Essentially, whether black holes are dark energy is no longer just a theoretical question, coupled with the universe in which they live. This is now an experimental question,” said Gregory of the University of Michigan.・Professor Tarr said.
of study Published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.
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Kevin S. Crocker others. 2024. The temporal evolution of DESI dark energy is harvested by cosmologically coupled black holes. JCAP 10:094;Doi: 10.1088/1475-7516/2024/10/094
This article is adapted from the original release by the University of Michigan.
Evidence of antimatter in cosmic rays has been discovered by scientists, suggesting the potential existence of a new type of particle. These particles could be a part of dark matter, a mysterious substance that makes up 85 percent of the universe’s mass but has never been directly observed.
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A recent study indicates that antihelium particles, the antimatter form of helium, detected by instruments on the International Space Station may have originated from a new class of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). It is believed that dark matter could be made up of WIMPs.
“WIMP is a theoretical particle that could potentially be a perfect candidate for dark matter,” explained lead author Pedro de la Torre Luque, a physicist supporting research at the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Madrid. “Many proposed models have been ruled out, leaving only a few surviving theories.”
The antihelium core observed during cosmic ray research on the space station’s alpha magnetic spectrometer (AMS-02) may have been the result of two WIMPs colliding and annihilating each other. This collision could have generated matter, antimatter, and energy.
Antimatter is essentially the “mirror image” of normal matter, with the same mass but opposite properties such as charge.
While some antimatter may have been created during the Big Bang, researchers believe that additional antimatter is continuously generated by specific cosmic events, although it is challenging to observe.
“The observation of antihelium was thrilling because it indicates an unusual phenomenon occurring in the interstellar medium, where the production of antiparticles is unexpected,” stated De La Torre Luque.
“Theoretical forecasts suggest that even though cosmic rays interact with interstellar gas to produce antiparticles, the presence of antinuclei, particularly antihelium, should be extremely rare.”
“We anticipated discovering an antihelium event once every few decades, but the approximately 10 antihelium events observed by AMS-02 resulted from standard cosmic ray interactions. Therefore, these antihelium occurrences provide a promising clue to WIMP annihilation.”
Sensor array for the LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter experiment in South Dakota
Matthew Kapust/Sanford Underground Research Facility
The latest search for dark matter has so far been fruitless, but the good news is that it has allowed physicists to place the toughest constraints yet on the properties of this mysterious substance. New measurements from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment in South Dakota mean that we are closer than ever to finding dark matter particles, or that we have refuted the most likely explanation.
Dark matter is invisible to the naked eye because it does not interact significantly with normal matter or light. We only know that dark matter exists through its gravitational effects, which tell us that it makes up more than 80 percent of all matter. The leading explanation for dark matter has been that it is composed of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), but searches for these fundamental entities have yet to turn up anything.
LUX-ZEPLIN is a dark matter detector made of seven tonnes of liquid xenon buried 1.5 kilometres underground and is the most sensitive to date, but after 280 days of searching it has yet to find any WIMPs. “We are number one in the world at not finding dark matter,” says an LZ spokesman. Chamkaur Gag At University College London.
While this result may seem disappointing, it allows physicists to place tight constraints on the nature of dark matter, narrowing the range of properties it could have. The constraints are nearly five times tighter than the best known, significantly limiting the possibility of WIMPs. The work was presented at two physics conferences. TeV Particle Astrophysics In the United States lysine It will be held in Brazil on August 26th.
“It’s like they say there’s a magic fish in the ocean, but we don’t know where it is,” Gag says. “You go in and swim around, you get out, you snorkel around, and you still don’t find it, so you use a submarine.” If the magic fish is a WIMP, he says, researchers have explored about 75 percent of the oceans and still haven’t found it.
“This is the next big step forward, one in a long line of such steps.” Dan Hooper “It’s probably fair to say that at any of these steps forward we can’t expect to see anything, but it doesn’t seem unlikely that we’ll see something if we take enough of these steps,” said David G. Schneider, a researcher at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois who was not involved in the study.
At this point, many of the initially popular ideas for possible types of WIMPs have been ruled out. There are still a few left, but LZ isn’t done yet. It plans to observe for a total of 1,000 days before wrapping up in 2028. “If LZ doesn’t detect a WIMP, and our next-generation detector, XLZD, doesn’t detect a WIMP, then WIMPs are over,” Gag says. The XLZD project is still in the planning stages.
If WIMPs don’t constitute dark matter, it would be a major paradigm shift, but physicists aren’t giving up on finding dark matter entirely. “If you’re trying to solve a murder investigation and you have 20 suspects, 10 of them are unaware,” he says. [alibis]”We don’t go, ‘Oh, it looks like it wasn’t a murder.’ We just get a better idea of who the right suspects are,” Hooper said. “We take some suspects off our list, we narrow the scope of the investigation, we narrow the focus. That’s what progress looks like in this field.”
People with a craving for pathological romance could, if they so wished, write algorithms to select attractive, pathological prospective spouses or recreational dating partners.
Driven by curiosity, Coltan Scribner, inventor of the Morbid Curiosity Scale (Feedback, November 19, 2022), has explored new uses for the tool. He and two colleagues have study explains that “behavioral attraction predicts mating interest among morbidly curious women” toward men with risky personalities.
They cite previous research that shows those “women are aware of the potential costs associated with such men.” The new study aims to help those women, stating: “Despite the potential costs of men high on the dark triad, it may be beneficial for women with pathological curiosity to develop a preference for such men to fulfill short-term mating goals.
The study doesn’t delve into the obvious business potential here. Feedback envisions a new era dedicated to the making and use of morbid gadgets. Perhaps brighter days lie ahead for this industry, originally called “computer dating.”
(For those interested, Scribner has also created a simple way to measure where you stand on the scale: a free online Morbid curiosity test Before we begin, we’re told that “‘morbid’ doesn’t mean curiosity is bad, it simply refers to the fact that the topic is related to death in some way.”
The limits of curiosity
What are the limits of your curiosity? Is there a foolproof, easy way to find out? Here’s a test.
The feedback includes a copy of a paper published by Subhash Chandra Shaw and his colleagues. Indian Army Medical Journal The title of the study and your response may tell you something about yourself.
Some politicians seek success through extremely eloquent speeches, which give them a momentary sense of persuasion.
Feedback noticed a similarity between the flashy but empty speeches of these politicians and the flashy but empty texts generated by ChatGPT and similar artificial intelligence computer programs.
Michael Townsen-Hicks, James Humphreys and Joe Slater of the University of Glasgow in the UK said: ChatGPT is bullshit“”teeth, Ethics and Information Technology They argue that “describing AI misinformation as bullshit is a more useful and accurate way to predict and discuss the behavior of these systems.” As a classic example of bullshit, the team cites a political candidate saying certain things simply because those words “might create a positive impression on potential voters.”
The feedback at least celebrates the skill of politicians who, like ChatGPT, can deliver endless streams of easy-to-swallow but indigestible chatter. In some countries, some of the most successful ChatGPT-esque politicians also display a visual counterpart to their words, a momentarily plausible physical aspect: they adorn their heads with ChatGPT-esque hair, or what might be mistaken for hair for a moment. There is little published research on why and how this happens.
It’s not such a small thing
Feedback continues its quest to create a list of trivial psychic powers, with Aline Berry confessing and professing that she has a trivial psychic power, which may not be trivial at all.
She writes, “I believe I have a superpower that I’ve taken for granted my whole life: when someone complains that they’re looking around for something, I usually find it within five minutes. Somehow, like Sherlock Holmes, I filter out the obvious things they no doubt see and focus on the lost item that’s camouflaged in such a way that it can easily be overlooked if not seen.”
“Recently, a friend of mine asked me for help after frantically searching for her car keys all morning. I stopped, looked around, realized there was no point in looking everywhere, and asked her if she’d looked in the fridge. Her eyes lit up – she’d placed her keys on something cold to remind herself to take them with her, but promptly forgot.”
Another skill emerged during her childhood: “I started a new school a few weeks late and was given a geometry problem. I had never studied geometry before and didn’t know any of the rules. So I looked at a graph and wrote the answer down. I was right. The teacher accused me of cheating and gave me a problem that I had drawn myself, that no one had seen. I wrote the right answer again. As punishment, the teacher gave me ten problems that had to be solved the right way. I didn’t know the correct rules, so I was happy when I got the news that I was going to a different school.”
A whirlwind of interest
An exercise in dimensional scaling. Which is more powerful: a) a storm in a teacup, or b) a storm in a teapot? An experiment is the real way to answer this question. Survey your colleagues (at least 50 people) and submit the three survey results (number of respondents, storm, and tempest) to Swirl of interest, c/o Feedback.
Marc Abrahams is the founder of the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony and co-founder of the journal Annals of Improbable Research. He previously worked on unusual uses of computers. His website is Impossible.
Do you have a story for feedback?
You can submit articles for Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com. Please include your home address. This week’s and past Feedback can be found on our website.
TThe Crush House developer Nerial describes the game as a “first-person shooter,” which is a surprisingly accurate tagline. On the Malibu coastline, a grand vaporwave-and-neon mansion stands. Producer Jae sleeps in a bleak little basement below. Your job is to roam the house from behind the camera, filming the reality show’s hot and sexy cast. You pick a panel of 12 for each season, chase them around the glitzy grounds, and make sure they fight, kiss, or both to boost ratings and satisfy viewers. You’re free to move around, but you’re warned never to talk to the cast. As the tagline suggests, the game certainly has a first-person shooter vibe, but instead of a gun, you’re brandishing a camera. Think sexy Pokémon Snap.
Every night a different demographic tunes in, and all of them have very specific needs. Some want to see drama, some want to see art in the house, some want to see food being prepared, and of course some want to see detailed, zoomed-in looks at feet, lots of feet, or other body parts. Your job is to satisfy them all, or risk your show being canceled.
What a surprise…Crash House. Photography: Devolver Digital
This makes the play experience a fun and surprising cinematography simulator. Audience requests scroll across the screen, telling you where the cast sleeps, asking where you shower, asking if anyone will kiss you even once. They’re weirdos, but if you don’t listen to them, you’re fired. The script is sharp, funny, and sometimes a little shocking. Definitely one of the funniest games I’ve played this year. Conversations between cast members are algorithmically executed. Each of the 12 brings something slightly different to the table, and different possibilities for getting along or clashing with the other housemates. This means every combination is a surprise. If one set doesn’t work out, you can try a different combination in the next season. The housemates don’t care. You come back fresh, as if your memory has been wiped, or worse.
At night, when the housemates have retired to bed, the player re-enters the house and adds props to make it more interesting. These props (some of which match the interests of the housemates) cost money earned by running surreal advertisements during the day. Another challenge is finding a balance between the advertisements and the viewers who might enjoy them. Of course, more engaged viewers bring in more money, which might allow you to buy a sauna, a lighthouse, a saxophone, etc. – all things that make the house more interesting.
But as you set up your props after dark, you might bump into an escaped housemate who asks you for a favor: more airtime, a specific angle, a personal request to be filmed flirting with two people to really piss your mom off. It’s up to you to decide if you want to grant it or not. Going this route will reveal the stories behind the poolside fun and deep chats by the bonfire. Of course, there’s more going on than meets the eye. What fun it will be to discover the darkness that lingers behind the neon lights.
If The Crush House was simply a smart, funny photography and cinematography game, I would have been pleased and pleased. But the game offers players much more than that. Beneath the snappy text and playful design, it also has a quirky heart. It’s worth noting that the review build still had its moments of glitches, but the strength of the idea and execution far outweighs any technical issues. This in itself is remarkable. The Crush House is so much fun that I didn’t want to turn it off, even when some parts were a little broken. It’s a great way to spend the last cool evenings of summer, and the season ahead.
The two galaxy clusters, known as MACS J0018.5+1626, contain thousands of galaxies each and are located billions of light-years away from Earth. As the clusters hurtled towards each other, dark matter traveled faster than normal matter.
This artist's conceptual illustration shows what happened when two massive clusters of galaxies, collectively known as MACS J0018.5+1626, collided. The dark matter (blue) in the clusters moves ahead of the associated hot gas clouds, or regular matter (orange). Both dark matter and regular matter feel the pull of gravity, but only the regular matter experiences additional effects like shocks and turbulence that slow it down during the collision. Image courtesy of W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko.
Galaxy cluster mergers are a rich source of information for testing the astrophysics and cosmology of galaxy clusters.
However, the coalescence of clusters produces complex projection signals that are difficult to physically interpret from individual observation probes.
“Imagine a series of sand-carrying dump trucks colliding, and the dark matter would fly forward like sand,” says astronomer Emily Silich of the California Institute of Technology and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
This separation of dark matter and normal matter has been observed before, most famously in the Bullet Cluster.
In this collision, hot gas can be clearly seen lagging behind dark matter after the two galaxy clusters push through each other.
The situation that occurred in MACS J0018.5+1626 is similar, but the direction of the merger is rotated about 90 degrees relative to the direction of the Bullet Cluster.
In other words, one of the giant galaxy clusters in MACS J0018.5+1626 is flying almost straight towards Earth, while the other is moving away.
This orientation gave the researchers a unique perspective to map the speeds of both dark and normal matter for the first time, and unravel how they separate during galaxy cluster collisions.
“Bullet Cluster makes you feel like you're sitting in the stands watching a car race, taking beautiful snapshots of cars moving from left to right on a straight stretch of road,” said Jack Sayers, a professor at the California Institute of Technology.
“For us, it's like standing in front of an oncoming car on a straight stretch of road with a radar gun and measuring its speed.”
To measure the velocity of ordinary matter, or gas, in galaxy clusters, the astronomers used an observational technique known as the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect.
In 2013, they made the first observational detection of the kinetic SZ effect on an individual cosmic object, a galaxy cluster named MACS J0717.
The kinetic SZ effect occurs when photons from the early universe, or the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB), are scattered by electrons in hot gas on their way to Earth.
Photons undergo a shift called the Doppler shift due to the movement of electrons in the gas cloud along the line of sight.
By measuring the change in brightness of the CMB due to this shift, astronomers can determine the speed of the gas clouds within the cluster.
By 2019, the study authors had made these motional SZ measurements in several galaxy clusters to determine the velocity of the gas, or ordinary matter.
They also measured the speed of galaxies within the cluster, which gave them an indirect idea of the speed of dark matter.
However, at this stage of the study, our understanding of the cluster orientation was limited.
All they knew was that one of them, MACS J0018.5+1626, was showing signs of something strange going on: hot gas, or regular matter, moving in the opposite direction to dark matter.
“We saw a totally strange phenomenon where the velocities were in opposite directions, which initially made us think there might be a problem with the data,” Prof Sayers said.
“Even our colleagues simulating galaxy clusters had no idea what was going on.”
Scientists then used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to determine the temperature and location of the gas in the cluster, as well as the extent to which it is being bombarded.
“These cluster collisions are the most energetic events since the Big Bang,” Šilić said.
“Chandra will measure the extreme temperatures of the gas, which will tell us the age of the merger and how recently the galaxy cluster collision took place.”
The authors found that before the collision, the clusters were moving towards each other at about 3,000 kilometers per second, roughly 1 percent of the speed of light.
With a more complete picture of what's going on, they were able to work out why dark matter and normal matter appear to be moving in opposite directions.
They say it's hard to visualize, but the direction of the collision, combined with the fact that dark matter and normal matter separated from each other, explains the strange speed measurements.
It is hoped that more studies like this one will be conducted in the future, providing new clues about the mysterious properties of dark matter.
“This work is a starting point for more detailed studies into the nature of dark matter,” Šilić said.
“We now have a new type of direct probe that shows us how dark matter behaves differently from ordinary matter.”
Emily M. Silich others. 2024. ICM-SHOX. I. Methodology overview and discovery of gas-dark matter velocity separation in the MACS J0018.5+1626 merger. ApJ 968, 74; doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad3fb5
This article is a version of a press release provided by Caltech.
IIt’s a classic British comedy setup: an unknown young salesman from a major company is sent on a seemingly mundane trip to an eccentric town, and chaos ensues. This excellent game from small studio Coal Supper makes it clear from the start that it intends to stuff this setting with as much slapstick and surrealism as possible. Leaving the opening sequence set in a 10-storey office, the player is forced to climb out of a window, his fall prevented by the bus he must board for the rest of the journey.
When you arrive in the fictional northern English town of Barnsworth, a sort of gloomy reincarnation of early 1980s Barnsley, you’re supposed to meet the Mayor, but he’s busy, so you go out into the city. Here you encounter a bevy of odd characters, drawn in eerily bright colors and a deceptively childlike style. They usually greet you with a “nice to see you” and gather you together to deal with an absurd crisis. This might be a fat gentleman with his arm stuck in a drain, a fries shop owner whose fryer has broken, or an aging admiral who asks you to gather up some seagulls. But wherever you go, through the market, across the rooftops, down the lanes, you’ll encounter eccentrics doing odd jobs. The strange logic and spiraling…
A seemingly childish style…Thank you for having you here! Photo: Cole Sapper
As for comedic influences, the creators name-drop Reeves and Mortimer and The Mighty Boosh, but the interplay of slapstick, surrealism, and pop art also brings to mind Monty Python, Yellow Submarine, and the slightly subversive 1980s comics Whoopi and Wither and Chips. But don’t worry, you don’t need to know any of that to enjoy the game’s sheer exuberance and dark charm.
What might help is a little knowledge of northern working-class stereotypes: the number of shops with rhyming names (Doug’s Rugs, Nick’s Bricks and, my favorite, Raj’s Chargers, a mobile phone market stall), the unhealthy food offerings (fast food trucks selling Porky Nobbers, carts selling “Oily Bops”) and the almost psychotic competition between pie bakers.
An almost psychotic rivalry between pie makers…I’m so glad you’re here! Photo: Coal Supper/Panic Inc
But overlook these and plenty of other jokes emerge as you find keys and hammers, get a shy boy to beg for milk, or just enjoy the contributions of Matt Berry’s voice actor, who brings these eccentrics to life alongside the rest of the talented cast. In between the main quests, which build on top of each other like dominoes like the puzzles in Codemasters’ old Dizzy games, there are downright bizarre sequences that have you exploring the surface of a steak or collecting bubbles on a spirit level.
There’s also some light satire towards the games industry: graffiti on a wall depicts a man urinating on the word “Ludnarrative,” and in a filthy sewer area between the two locations is a sign that reads “Liminal spaces may not be as appealing as they seem.” Indeed, the game as a whole, with its relentless string of fetching tasks, could be interpreted as pasting the tedious conventions of open-world side quests.
The game’s three-hour runtime is packed with so many ideas, visual gags, wordplay, plants and rewards that you’ll need to play a few more times to take it all in. It’s great fun to play such a completely uncompromisingly silly game, but like a lot of the most ridiculous British humor, there’s also a quiet undertone of angst and despair in this one. The pie seller, the town drunk, the milk-scared child – they’re all trapped in their own quiet personal hells that just happen to be funny to the rest of us.
In the future, when the topic of the funniest comedy games of all time comes up, the usual names will likely pop up: Monkey Island, The Stanley Parable, Death Stranding (just kidding), etc. But now a new game will join them: Coal Supper has created perhaps the 21st century’s first fantastic abstract cartoon puzzle game set in Yorkshire. Thank goodness.
Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in the Pacific Ocean that challenges our understanding of Earth’s history and the origin of life. They have found evidence of oxygen production in the deep, lightless depths of the ocean.
The results of this study published in Nature Chemistry challenge the traditional belief that oxygen on Earth is solely produced through photosynthesis.
Lead by Professor Andrew Sweetman, researchers from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) made this discovery while exploring the depths of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, between Hawaii and Mexico.
Named “dark oxygen,” this mysterious phenomenon occurs at depths where light cannot penetrate. The researchers discovered the potential source of this oxygen production while studying polymetallic nodules on the ocean floor, rich in precious metals used in electronics.
These nodules may have the ability to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen through seawater electrolysis. This finding has significant implications for deep-sea mining activities and the protection of marine habitats.
Director of SAMS, Professor Nicholas Owens, described this discovery as one of the most exciting in marine science, prompting a reevaluation of the evolution of complex life on Earth.
This alternative source of oxygen production challenges the conventional view that cyanobacteria were the first oxygen producers on Earth. It calls for a reconsideration of how complex life evolved and the importance of protecting deep-sea habitats.
To learn more about the experts involved in this research, visit the About the Experts section below.
About the Experts
Andrew Sweetman: Research Group Leader for Benthic Ecology and Biogeochemistry at the Scottish Institute for Marine Science, with extensive experience in deep-sea ecology research.
Nicholas Owens: A marine scientist and Council Member of the Scottish Association for Marine Science, involved in environmental science research and education.
For more information, continue exploring this fascinating discovery and its implications for Earth’s history and marine ecosystems.
We don’t tend to dwell on the fact that we exist in three dimensions. Front to back, left to right, up to down – these are the axes along which we move through the world. When we try to imagine something else, we usually conjure up the most outlandish science fiction images of portals in the fabric of space-time and parallel universes.
But serious physicists have long been fascinated by the possibility of extra dimensions. Despite their intangibility, extra dimensions hold the promise of solving some big questions about the deepest workings of the universe. And just because they’re hard to imagine and even harder to observe doesn’t mean we can rule them out. “There’s no reason they have to be three-dimensional,” says David Schneider, a physics professor at the University of California, San Diego. Georges Obie At Oxford University. “It could have been two, it could have been four, it could have been ten.”
Still, there comes a time when any self-respecting physicist wants hard evidence. That’s why it’s so exciting that over the past few years, researchers have developed several techniques that may finally provide evidence of extra dimensions. For example, we might be able to detect gravity leaking into extra dimensions. We might see subtle signatures of it in black holes, or we might find its signature in particle accelerators.
But now, in an unexpected twist, Ovid and his colleagues claim that there is an extra dimension that is fundamentally different from any previously conceived. This “dark dimension” hides ancient particles whose gravity could solve the mystery of dark matter, the force that is thought to have shaped the universe. Crucially, this dimension is relatively…
Back in the spring of 2003, the Human Genome Project completed the monumental task of sequencing the human genome.
Even now, The Book of Life remains a captivating and complex subject for the world’s top geneticists, as they work to unravel its mysteries.
This achievement was not only a major milestone for science but for life on our planet, marking the first time any organism had documented its fundamental genetic makeup. This event sparked the ongoing genetic revolution but also presented profound questions.
Questions like, “Why is there so much genetic material?”
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One intriguing aspect of the human genome is that the majority of it seems to serve no apparent function. With around 3 billion nucleotide pairs (A, C, G, T), fewer than 2% (approximately 20,000) of these are genes responsible for coding proteins that direct cellular activity in the body. So, what purpose do the remaining genes serve?
Some have referred to these as junk DNA: seemingly meaningless genetic remnants accumulated over the course of evolution or like a convoluted word puzzle with little coherence.
However, ongoing research indicates that at least some of these regions are not simply genetic debris but have crucial regulatory and corrective roles in the human genome’s protein-coding genes. These DNA sequences are likened to the controls for gene expression.
For instance, enhancer sequences boost gene transcription from DNA to RNA, while silencers have the opposite effect.
The dark genome largely consists of lengthy repeat DNA sequences called Transposons, which play vital roles in gene expression, evolutionary processes, and environmental adaptation.
These “jumping genes” can relocate within the genome, potentially causing significant genetic mutations or inversions. Scientists posit that transposons are linked to evolutionary developments such as opposable thumbs in humans and the loss of tails in humans and apes.
In certain scenarios, transposons may contribute to the onset of tumors and genetic disorders like hemophilia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, stemming from repetitive DNA sequences associated with transposons.
As a result, the dark genome has become a focal point of medical research, with hopes that increased understanding over the next two decades will lead to revolutionary therapies for genetic diseases.
This content addresses the query of “What makes up the other 98% of DNA?” posed by Asa Mcintyre via email.
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The ancient Maya civilization of Central America has captivated researchers for centuries with its amazing astronomical calendar and impressive step pyramids.
Along with their rich culture, they are also connected with a darker aspect: human sacrifice. Recent studies reveal that this is indeed a grim reality.
New genetic analysis from the ancient Maya city of Chichen Itza indicates that many of the sacrificial victims were children, with a high number being identical twins.
El Castillo, also known as the Temple of Kukulkan, is the centerpiece of the Chichen Itza ruins in the Yucatan state of Mexico. – Image credit: Johannes Krauss
Published in the journal Nature, the research looked at human remains found in a xultun near the Sacred Cenote.
Radiocarbon dating suggests that the chultun was used between the 7th and 12th centuries AD.
“All individuals in the chultun were children aged three to six,” explained Dr. Rodrigo Barquera, the lead author of the study.
Genetic evidence showed that all 64 individuals tested were male, with about 25% being closely related, including two sets of identical twins.
The occurrence of male identical twins in such a small sample size is unusual.
Barquera noted that twins held significance in Mayan mythology, especially the story of heroic twins defeating the king of the underworld.
This suggests that sacrificing identical male twins was a way to honor the hero twins’ existence.
Detail of the reconstructed stone tzonpantli (skull house) at Chichen Itza. – Image courtesy of Christina Wariner
While this may not have been favorable for identical twins in Maya culture, it was a great honor for their families.
Barquera and his team aim to validate their findings by comparing them with other archaeological sites.
About our experts
Rodrigo Barquera is a postdoctoral researcher in the Archaeogenetics department at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. He has authored numerous research papers published in esteemed journals like Nature and Nature Communications Biology.
A team of physicists at the University of California, Berkeley has developed the most sophisticated instrument ever designed to search for dark energy, the mysterious force that is accelerating the expansion of the universe.
The results of their experiment were published today in a prestigious journal. Nature – targets a hypothetical particle known as the chameleon, which could hold the key to unlocking this mysterious cosmic force.
First identified in 1998, dark energy makes up about 70 percent of all matter and energy in the universe, and despite many theories, its true nature remains a mystery.
One leading hypothesis is that there is a fifth force that is distinct from the four fundamental forces known in nature (gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces).
This power is thought to be mediated by particles known as chameleons due to their ability to hide in plain sight.
In an experiment at the University of California, Berkeley, Professor Holger Muller utilizes an advanced atom interferometer combined with an optical lattice.
If that sounds technical, it is. Essentially, this setup allows for precise gravity measurements by holding free-falling atoms in place for a set period of time.
Physicists at UC Berkeley have clamped a small cluster of cesium atoms (the pink blob) in a vertical vacuum chamber and split each atom into a quantum state where half of the atom is close to the tungsten weight (the shiny cylinder) and the other half (the split sphere below the tungsten) is close to the tungsten weight. – Image credit: Cristian Panda/UC Berkeley
The longer we can keep the atoms there, the greater our chances of finding (or not finding) a trace of the chameleon.
“Atom interferometry is the technology and science that exploits the quantum properties of particles – their properties as both particles and waves. We split the waves so that the particles take two paths at the same time, and then we interfere with them at the end,” Muller said.
“The waves are either in phase and add, or out of phase and cancel each other out. The key is that whether they are in phase or out of phase depends very sensitively on the quantities you want to measure, such as acceleration, gravity, rotation, or fundamental constants.”
Whereas previous experiments have only been able to move atoms for a few milliseconds at a time, the new device can keep them in motion for much longer periods – from seconds to tens of seconds – a major improvement that improves the most precise measurements by a factor of five.
In a recent paper published in the journal Natural Physics Muller and his colleagues extended the hold time to a whopping 70 seconds.
To reveal whether chameleon particles are indeed the dark energy mastermind, scientists would need to find holes in the outcomes predicted by the accepted theory of gravity — something no one has managed to do since Isaac Newton formulated it 400 years ago.
Muller and his team found no deviations from Newtonian gravity in their recent tests, suggesting that if chameleons exist, their effects are quite subtle.
Still, the researchers are optimistic: The improved precision of their instruments means future experiments may provide the evidence needed to confirm or disprove the existence of chameleons and other hypothesized particles that contribute to dark energy.
About the Experts
Holger Muller At the age of 14, he successfully filed his first patent. He then wrote his undergraduate thesis under the supervision of Jürgen Mullinek at the University of Konstanz in Germany. He graduated from the Humboldt University in Berlin with Achim Peters as his supervisor. Müller received a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and joined Steven Chu’s group at Stanford University as a postdoctoral researcher. In July 2008, he joined the Physics Department at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is currently a Professor of Physics and Principal Investigator. He is currently the Principal Investigator of his research group, the Müller Group.
The choice to name a new project the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) may come across as presumptuous. Dark energy, you see, is completely unseen; it does not emit any detectable light for a spectrometer to analyze. In fact, dark energy has never been directly observed and has managed to evade capture despite efforts made using the most advanced telescopes and detectors available.
As far as we understand it, dark energy is invisible, uniformly spread throughout space, does not interact with matter or light, and serves the sole purpose of accelerating the universe’s expansion through a mechanism that remains a mystery to us.
So, with the recent announcement of DESI’s initial data release, are we witnessing a shift in our comprehension of dark energy, as promised?
In the search for elusive dark energy, our observations offer limited insights: dark energy merely stretches space-time. To investigate different theories about dark energy, we must examine how this stretching occurred over cosmic time.
One method is to observe the universe’s expansion history, while another involves examining how matter accumulated within galaxies and clusters at various junctures in the universe’s past.
Efforts to measure the expansion rate often involve constructing a precise 3D map of the universe’s matter. By studying the spectra of light, we can determine how much it has stretched due to the universe’s expansion. By combining this information with accurate physical distances, we gain valuable insights into the universe’s evolution.
DESI’s new model has stirred speculation by proposing that dark energy may have a more intricate history than previously believed. If these indications prove to be accurate, they could revolutionize our understanding of not just the universe’s past, but also its eventual fate.
The Concordance Model of Cosmology outlines the prevailing model of the universe and its components. In this model, dark energy is viewed as a cosmological constant, providing a minimal flexibility to every part of space.
DESI and other surveys commonly report their dark energy findings in terms of an “equation of state” parameter denoted as w. A value of w = -1 is expected if dark energy behaves as a cosmological constant. Any deviation from this value implies a different characteristic for dark energy.
The recent DESI findings present a puzzling scenario: while a constant w of -1 aligns well with the results, a scenario where w is variable suggests a different interpretation. When combined with data from other sources, these results hint at a changing w, implying a varying impact of dark energy on the universe over time.
While the implications of these findings remain uncertain, they raise intriguing possibilities about the future course of the universe and the role of dark energy within it. Though still preliminary, these results suggest that dark energy may continue to surprise us in unforeseen ways in the future.
Naming a new project the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) may come across as overly confident. This is because dark energy is undetectable and cannot be examined or analyzed through traditional methods like spectroscopy. Despite numerous attempts, dark energy has never been directly observed and remains a mystery in the realm of astrophysics.
Dark energy is believed to be a uniform force throughout the universe that does not interact with matter or light in any discernible way. Its primary function is to expand space at an accelerating rate, a process that baffles scientists due to its unknown underlying mechanism.
The recent release of data from DESI has sparked interest and debate in the scientific community. This project aims to shed light on the behavior of dark energy by mapping the expansion history of the universe. By studying the motion of galaxies and measuring the stretching of light emitted from distant objects, researchers can gain insights into the evolution of the cosmos.
The current prevailing model of cosmology suggests that dark energy exists as a static cosmological constant, affecting the fabric of space uniformly. However, DESI’s findings hint at a more complex history for dark energy, challenging conventional theories about its nature and implications for the future of the universe.
As researchers delve deeper into the mysteries of dark energy, they may uncover new discoveries that challenge existing paradigms and push the boundaries of our understanding of the cosmos. The DESI project represents an important step towards unraveling the enigma of dark energy and its profound impact on the universe.
The ancient Maya civilization of Central America has fascinated scholars for centuries with its incredible astronomical calendar and magnificent step pyramids.
But alongside their glorious culture, they are also associated with another dark cultural phenomenon: human sacrifice. And according to recent research, very It's certainly dark.
New findings from an analysis of ancient DNA from the ancient Maya city of Chichen Itza suggest that many of those sacrificed were children, including a high proportion of identical twins.
El Castillo, also known as the Temple of Kukulkan, is the centerpiece of the Chichen Itza ruins in the Yucatan state of Mexico. – Image credit: Johannes Krauss
Published in a journal NatureThe study looked at human bones found in a xultun, or underground cistern, located near a large sinkhole known as the Sacred Cenote.
Radiocarbon dating (when scientists use decaying radioactive carbon to estimate the age of organic remains) suggests that the chultun was used between the early 7th century AD and the mid-12th century AD.
“The only people in Chultung were children between the ages of three and six.” Dr. Rodrigo BarqueraThe lead author of the study is BBC Science Focus“Until now, we haven't had the opportunity to report the sex of these individuals because when they are that young, you can't determine their biological sex based on the bones alone.”
Moving quickly on from how bleak a hole filled with 100 children looks, DNA evidence revealed that all 64 people tested were male, and about 25% were close relatives, including two sets of identical twins.
The chance of having identical twins is about 1 in 250, so two sets of male twins in such a small sample size is unusual.
Barquera explained that twins had a special meaning to the Mayans because one of their most important myths involves heroic twins who defeat the king of the underworld.
The team believes that unlike other sacrificial rituals that were intended as offerings, the sacrifice of identical male twins may have been undertaken to honour the existence of hero twins.
Detail of the reconstructed stone tzonpantli (skull house) at Chichen Itza. – Image courtesy of Christina Wariner
While that's not great news for identical twins in Mayan culture, as Barquera says, it would have been a huge honor for the family: “It was more like, 'Wow, the gods or the powers that be have chosen us to be the guardians of these children who will one day participate in this magical ceremony.'”
“We know this because the site has been there for over 500 years. This isn't something that happened once or twice; it's been a widely held belief for at least five centuries,” he said.
Next, Barcela and his team hope to confirm their findings by comparing them with other similar archaeological sites.
About our experts
Rodrigo Barquera He is a postdoctoral researcher in the Archaeogenetics department at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. He has authored nearly 200 academic research papers, which have been published in such renowned journals as: Nature and Nature Communications Biology.
Xbox has faced some challenges this year. Leaked announcements in January and February about games previously exclusive to Xbox coming to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch caused uproar among fans, leading to concerns about Microsoft’s commitment to Xbox exclusivity. However, only four games remained exclusive, as clarified by Xbox executives. In May, Xbox closed two popular studios, Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin. Meanwhile, sales of Xbox Series X/S consoles have been slow, with analysts noting a significant increase in PlayStation 5 sales.
The Xbox Games Showcase aimed to turn the tide for Microsoft, featuring big-budget games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, a new Indiana Jones game, and the return of Gears of War. Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which offers a monthly library of games, received a $1 billion investment. Following the merger with Activision Blizzard, Microsoft now boasts a vast number of game studios.
Exclusive Xbox games showcased included Perfect Dark and State of Decay 3, among others. The event also featured trailers for upcoming games like Fable, STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, and Flight Simulator. The show ended with a reveal of Gears of War: E-Day, set against an alien invasion.
The showcase also featured independent games like Mixtape and FragPunk, offering a diverse range of gameplay experiences. Overall, the event was well-received by Xbox fans and provided a positive outlook for the company after a challenging year. Compared to PlayStation’s game lineup, Xbox’s offerings for 2024 and 2025 appear more robust.
In the spring of 2003, the Human Genome Project completed the task of sequencing the human genome, marking a significant moment for science and life on Earth. The genetic revolution that followed raised questions about the meaning of the genome, particularly the fact that most of it seems to be non-coding. Less than 2% of the genome consists of genes that code for proteins, while the rest was once considered junk DNA.
However, recent research has shown that this “dark genome” plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression and has evolutionary significance. Long repeat sequences like transposons can impact genetic mutations and adaptation, leading to the development of features like opposable thumbs and the loss of tails in humans and apes. Understanding these once-neglected parts of the genome is now a focus of medical research for potential therapies for genetic diseases.
This article addresses the question of what makes up the other 98% of DNA, shedding light on the hidden functions of the dark genome. If you have further questions or want more information, you can reach out on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
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Illustration of the Chang’e 6 spacecraft landing on the moon
Source: cnsa.gov.cn
China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft has successfully landed on the far side of the moon and has begun taking lunar rock samples from that area for the first time.
After orbiting the Moon for three weeks, the probe landed on a relatively flat area of Apollo Crater within the South Pole-Aitken impact basin at 6:23 a.m. Beijing time on June 2.
The landing sequence was largely autonomous, as the far side of the moon has no direct communications link with Earth, but engineers were able to monitor the situation and send instructions using the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, which was launched in March this year and is currently in lunar orbit.
Footage from the spacecraft’s camera as it approaches the landing site
Source: cnsa.gov.cn
Once the lander and its attached ascent module separated from the orbital portion of the spacecraft, its engines began a controlled descent, using obstacle avoidance systems and cameras to detect rocks and stones and select a smooth landing area. About 100 meters above the lunar surface, laser scanners selected the final location, after which the engines were shut down and the craft made a cushioned landing.
The lander is currently collecting samples, using a robotic scoop to collect surface material and a drill to extract rocks from about two metres underground, in a process that will take 14 hours over two days, according to the China National Space Administration.
The collected samples will be loaded onto an ascent vehicle and sent through the lunar exosphere to the orbiter module, which will then return to Earth and release the sample-laden re-entry capsule on June 25, which will land at Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia.
A dark matter halo (yellow) forms around the galaxy
Ralph Koehler/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
When you think of the Milky Way, “delicate” may not be the first word that comes to mind.But when Mariangela Lisanti She started tinkering with the Our Galaxy recipe, but found it surprisingly fragile.
Lisanti, a particle physicist at Princeton University, wonders what would happen if dark matter, a mysterious substance thought to make up more than 80 percent of all matter in the universe, was more exotic than researchers usually assume. I was simulating something. She replaced a small portion of standard dark matter with something more complex. “We thought we could just add 5% and everything would be fine,” she says. “And we destroyed the galaxy.”
There are good reasons for such interference. Since the 1980s, astronomical signs have shown that dark matter is a single type of slow-moving particle that does not interact with itself. Particle physicists have spent a great deal of effort searching for that particle. But decades later, it remains a no-show. Perhaps because dark matter is not what we tend to imagine.
Recently, a series of galactic anomalies have sparked a scramble to find alternatives. This “complex” dark matter can be as simple as subatomic particles bouncing off each other, or as complex as dark particles forming dark atoms, stars, and even galaxies. There are a number of mind-boggling possibilities.
But now observations of anomalies in our galaxy promise to finally help narrow down the options. and…
A new study led by the University of California, Irvine, addresses a fundamental debate in astrophysics: the existence of invisible dark matter is necessary to explain how the universe works. Is there an observation, or can physicists explain how things work based only on matter that we can know directly?
Dark photons are hypothetical dark sector particles that have been proposed as force carriers, similar to electromagnetic photons but potentially related to dark matter. Image credit: University of Adelaide.
“Our paper shows how a real-world observed relationship can be used as a basis for testing two different models for describing the universe,” said Dr. One Dr. Francisco Mercado said:
“We conducted robust tests to distinguish between the two models.”
“This test required us to run computer simulations using both types of matter, normal matter and dark matter, to account for the presence of interesting features measured in real galaxies.”
“The features we discovered in galaxies would be expected to appear in a universe with dark matter, but would be difficult to explain in a universe without dark matter.”
“We have shown that such features appear in observations of many real galaxies. If we take these data at face value, the dark matter model is the one that best explains the universe we live in. It is reconfirmed that.”
These features explain patterns in the movement of stars and gas within galaxies that appear to be possible only in a universe with dark matter.
“The observed galaxies appear to follow a close relationship between the matter we see and the dark matter we inferred to detect, hence what we call dark matter. Some have even suggested that this is actually evidence that our theory of gravity is wrong,'' New York University said. Professor James Block of Irvine, California;
“What we have shown is that dark matter not only predicts that relationship, but for many galaxies it can explain what we see more naturally than modified gravity.”
“I am even more convinced that dark matter is the correct model.”
This feature has also appeared in observations by proponents of a dark matter-free universe.
“The observations we looked at, the very observations that discovered these features, were made by proponents of the no-dark-matter theory,” said Dr. Jorge Moreno, a researcher at Pomona College. Ta.
“Despite their obvious existence, there has been little analysis of these functions by the community.”
“We needed scientists like us who work with both ordinary matter and dark matter to start the conversation.”
“We hope that this study will spark a debate within our research community, but such features can only be found in our planet if both dark matter and normal matter are present on Earth.” We also found that it appears in simulations, so there may be room for commonalities in the universe. “
“When stars are born and die, they explode into supernovae, which can form the centers of galaxies, providing a natural explanation for the existence of these features.”
“Simply put, the features we investigated in our observations require both the presence of dark matter and the incorporation of normal matter physics.”
Now that the dark matter model of the universe appears to be a promising model, the next step is to see whether it remains consistent across the dark matter universe.
“It will be interesting to see if this same relationship can even be used to distinguish between different dark matter models,” Dr. Mercado said.
“Understanding how this relationship changes under individual dark matter models could help constrain the properties of dark matter itself.”
of paper Published online on Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices.
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Francisco J. Mercado other. Hooks and bends in the radial acceleration relationship: Discrimination test between dark matter and MOND. MNRAS 530 (2): 1349-1362; doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae819
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