In a groundbreaking development, researchers have designed a magnet small enough to fit in your palm that rivals the strength of the world’s most powerful magnets.
High-performance magnets are crucial in various scientific fields, being utilized in applications ranging from MRI machines and particle accelerators to advanced nuclear fusion research. The strongest magnets available typically use superconductors, which are materials that conduct electricity nearly without loss.
However, most superconducting magnets are sizable. Often, their smaller counterparts share similar dimensions with traditional superconductors. Take for instance Star Wars‘ R2D2; at its largest, it resembles a two-story structure. According to Dr. Alexander Burns from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, his team has engineered a superconducting magnet capable of matching the strength of larger counterparts, yet it’s only 3.1 millimeters in diameter. They achieved this by coiling a thin tape made of a ceramic known as REBCO, which becomes superconducting at cryogenic temperatures, generating a magnetic field when current flows through the coils.
Dr. Burns stated that the team procured REBCO tape from a commercial source, embarking on a rigorous exploration to determine the optimal magnet design, which involved creating and testing over 150 prototypes. “We adopted a ‘fail fast, fail often’ approach in our strategy,” he noted.
Design and Strength Comparison
Eventually, they refined a design using two or four pancake-shaped coils, achieving magnetic field strengths of 38 Tesla and 42 Tesla, respectively. To provide context, conventional refrigerator magnets typically generate fields less than 0.01 Tesla. The most powerful magnets currently in existence generate field strengths of around 45 Tesla, each weighing several tons and consuming up to 30 megawatts of power. In contrast, Burns and his team’s magnet is hand-sized and operates on less than 1 watt.
The ultimate goal for this groundbreaking technology is to enhance nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), a technique that utilizes magnetic fields to unveil molecular structures, including those of drugs and industrial catalysts. This technology has long been hindered by the large size and cost of traditional magnets, but the research team intends to democratize access to such advanced tools for chemists. Ongoing tests are being conducted to integrate the magnet into NMR setups.
“Historically, achieving magnetic fields exceeding 40 Tesla necessitated massive and costly facilities, making it crucial to utilize superconducting tape to attain similar strengths in a compact device,” stated Dr. Mark Ainslie from King’s College London. “This innovation indicates that ultra-high-field magnets may soon be accessible to a broader range of laboratories.”
Despite these advancements, several challenges remain before widespread adoption. Questions concerning how to maintain uniform magnetic fields and manage the electromagnetic behavior of the coils must be addressed.
A groundbreaking study conducted by paleontologists from the University of Bristol, the University of Manchester, and the University of Melbourne has uncovered that the giant ancestors of modern kangaroos possessed robust hindlimb bony and tendon structures, enabling them to endure the stress of jumping. This challenges the previous assumption that body size strictly limited this iconic locomotion.
Currently, red kangaroos represent the largest living jumping animals, averaging a weight of approximately 90 kg.
However, during the Ice Age, some kangaroo species reached weights exceeding 250 kg—more than double the size of today’s largest kangaroos.
Historically, researchers speculated that these giant kangaroos must have ceased hopping, as early studies indicated that jumping became mechanically impractical beyond 150 kg.
“Earlier estimates relied on simplistic models of modern kangaroos, overlooking critical anatomical variations,” explained Dr. Megan Jones, a postgraduate researcher at the University of Manchester and the University of Melbourne.
“Our research indicates that these ancient animals weren’t simply larger versions of today’s kangaroos; their anatomy was specifically adapted to support their massive size.”
In this new study, Dr. Jones and her team examined the hind limbs of 94 modern and 40 fossil specimens from 63 species, including members of the extinct giant kangaroo group, Protemnodon, which thrived during the Pleistocene epoch, approximately 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago.
The researchers assessed body weight estimates and analyzed the fourth metatarsal length and diameter (a crucial elongated foot bone for jumping in modern kangaroos) to evaluate its capacity to endure jumping stresses.
Comparisons were drawn between the heel bone structures of giant kangaroos and their modern counterparts.
The team estimated the strength of tendons necessary for the jumping force of a giant kangaroo and determined whether the heel bones could accommodate such tendons.
The findings suggest that the metatarsals of all giant kangaroos were adequate to withstand jumping pressures, and the heel bones were sufficiently large to support the width of the required jump tendons.
These results imply that all giant kangaroo species had the physical capability to jump.
Nevertheless, the researchers caution that giant kangaroos likely did not rely solely on hopping for locomotion, given their large body sizes, which would hinder long-distance movement.
They highlight that sporadic hopping is observed in many smaller species today, such as hopping rodents and smaller marsupials.
Some giant kangaroo species may have used short, quick jumps to evade predators. Thylacoleo.
“Thicker tendons offer increased safety but store less elastic energy,” said Dr. Katrina Jones, a researcher at the University of Bristol.
“This trait may have rendered giant kangaroo hoppers slower and less efficient, making them more suited for short distances rather than extensive travel.”
“Even so, hopping doesn’t need to be maximally energy-efficient to be advantageous. These animals likely leveraged their hopping ability to rapidly navigate uneven terrain or evade threats.”
University of Manchester researcher Dr. Robert Nudds remarks: “Our findings enhance the understanding that prehistoric Australian kangaroos exhibited greater ecological diversity than seen today, with some large species functioning as herbivores, akin to modern kangaroos, while others filled ecological niches as browsers, a category absent among today’s large kangaroos.”
For more details, refer to the study results published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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M.E. Jones et al. 2026. Biomechanical Limits of Hindlimb Hopping in Extinct Giant Kangaroos. Scientific Reports 16/1309. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-29939-7
Octopuses in shallow waters, such as the common octopus, typically possess larger brains.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Research suggests that the large brains of octopuses are influenced more by environmental conditions than by social interactions.
It is widely accepted that larger mammalian brains correlate with social behavior, a theory known as the social brain hypothesis. The premise is that the more social connections a species has, the larger their brains must be to handle those interactions. This trend is evident among primates, dolphins, and camelids.
In contrast, cephalopods—like octopuses, cuttlefish, and nautiluses—exhibit significant intelligence despite mostly living solitary lives, with limited parental care and minimal social learning.
To delve deeper into the reasons behind the substantial brain size of these creatures, Michael Muthukrishna and researchers from the London School of Economics analyzed data from 79 cephalopod species with available brain information. They quantified brain size based on the total volume of an animal’s central nervous system, considering that octopuses actually possess nine brains: one central brain and semi-independent brains in each of their eight arms.
“This species is a stark contrast to humans, showcasing unique appendages and behaviors,” Muthukrishna notes.
The findings revealed no direct correlation between brain size and sociability. However, they did uncover that cephalopods generally have larger brains when inhabiting shallow waters, where they encounter a wide array of objects to manipulate and use as tools, along with rich calorie availability. Conversely, species dwelling in featureless deep-sea environments tend to have smaller brains.
“The correlation is quite strong,” Muthukrishna states, “but it’s imperative to approach these findings cautiously,” as only about 10 percent of the existing 800 cephalopod species have brain data accessible.
“The absence of a social brain effect in octopuses is intriguing yet expected,” explains Robin Dunbar from Oxford University, who proposed the social brain hypothesis around three decades ago. He argues that because octopuses do not inhabit cohesive social groups, their brains lack the necessity to manage complex social dynamics.
Professor Paul Katz from the University of Massachusetts articulates the possibility that evolution may have led to smaller brain sizes each time cephalopods adapted to deep-sea environments. “It’s reminiscent of species dimensions reducing on isolated islands; the same could apply to species in the deep ocean,” he mentions.
Muthukrishna’s previous research proposed that brain size not only predicts the extent of social and cultural behaviors but also reflects ecological factors such as prey diversity. Thus, the parallel patterns between cephalopods, having diverged from vertebrates over 500 million years ago, and humans bolster the cultural brain hypothesis. According to Muthukrishna and colleagues, this hypothesis illustrates how ecological pressures and information acquisition lead to the development of larger, more complex brains.
“It’s not solely about social instincts when it comes to large brains,” Muthukrishna asserts.
“I wholeheartedly agree that exploring why humans possess large brains must be informed by our understanding of current species. However, unraveling the evolutionary history of large brains, particularly with cephalopods, is challenging, especially given the radically different predator-prey dynamics when their brains began evolving,” Katz explains.
Dunbar emphasizes that octopuses may require substantial brainpower for their independent-use of eight arms. “Understanding an octopus’s brain is complex due to its unique structure, but a significant part of its brain’s function is to manage its intricate body mechanics necessary for survival,” he states.
Furthermore, Dunbar notes that it is logical for larger brains to evolve in environments abundant in calories. “You can’t increase brain size without addressing energy consumption. Once you have a more substantial brain, its applications become vast, which is why humans can engage in writing, reading, and complex mathematics—skills not inherently present within our evolutionary contexts.”
a■ Australia is capitalizing on the AI boom, with numerous new investments in data centers located in Sydney and Melbourne. However, experts caution about the strain these large-scale projects may impose on already limited water resources.
The projected water demand for servicing Sydney’s data centers is anticipated to surpass the total drinking water supply in Canberra within the next decade.
In Melbourne, the Victorian government has pledged a $5.5 million investment to transform the city into Australia’s data center hub. Currently, hyperscale data center applications already exceed the collective water demands of nearly all of the top 30 business customers in the state.
Tech giants like Open AI and Atlassian are advocating for Australia to evolve into a data processing and storage hub. With 260 data centers currently operational and numerous others planned, experts express concern regarding the repercussions for drinking water resources.
Sydney Water projects that it will require as much as 250 megalitres daily to support the industry by 2035—more than the total drinking water supply in Canberra drinking water).
Cooling Requires Significant Water
Professor Priya Rajagopalan, director of RMIT’s Center for Post Carbon Research, points out that a data center’s water and energy requirements are largely dictated by the cooling technology implemented.
“Using evaporative cooling leads to significant water loss due to evaporation, while a sealed system conserves water but requires substantial amounts for cooling,” she explains.
Older data centers typically depend on air cooling. However, the increased demand for computational power means greater server rack densities, resulting in higher temperatures. Hence, these centers rely more heavily on water for cooling solutions.
Water consumption in data centers varies significantly. For instance, NextDC has transitioned to liquid-to-chip cooling, which cools processors and GPUs directly, as opposed to cooling entire rooms with air or water.
NextDC reports that while initial trials of this cooling technology have been concluded, liquid cooling is far more efficient and can scale to ultra-dense environments, improving processing power without a proportional increase in energy consumption. Their modeling suggests that the power usage efficiency (PUE) could decline to as low as 1.15.
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The data center sector measures its sustainability using two key metrics: water usage efficiency (WUE) and power usage efficiency (PUE). These metrics gauge the levels of water or power consumed per unit of computing work.
WUE is calculated by dividing annual water usage by annual IT energy usage (kWh). For instance, a 100MW data center that uses 3ML daily would yield a WUE of 1.25. A number closer to 1 indicates greater efficiency. Certain countries enforce minimum standards; for example, Malaysia recommends a WUE of 1.8.
Even facilities that are efficient can still consume substantial amounts of water and energy at scale.
NextDC’s last fiscal year’s PUE stood at 1.44, up from 1.42 the previous year. The company indicates that this reflects the changing nature of customer activity across its facilities and the onboarding of new centers.
Calls to Ban Drinking Water Usage
Sydney Water states that estimates regarding data center water usage are continually reassessed. To prepare for future demands, the organization is investigating alternative, climate-resilient water sources like recycled water and rainwater harvesting.
“Every proposed connection for data centers will undergo case-by-case evaluations to guarantee adequate local network capacity. If additional services are necessary, operators might need to fund upgrades,” a Sydney Water representative said.
In its submission to the 2026-2031 rate review in Victoria, Melbourne Water observed that hyperscale data center operators seeking connectivity “expect instantaneous and annual demand to surpass nearly all of Melbourne’s leading 30 non-residential customers.”
Melbourne Water mentioned, “This has not been factored into our demand forecasting or expenditure plans.”
The agency is requesting upfront capital contributions from companies to mitigate the financial burden of necessary infrastructure improvements, ensuring those costs do not fall solely on the broader customer base.
Documents show that Greater Western Water in Victoria has received 19 data center applications. See more from ABC provided to the Guardian.
The Concerned Waterways Alliance, composed of various Victorian community and environmental organizations, has expressed concerns regarding the potential diversion of drinking water for cooling servers when the state’s water supplies are already under stress.
Alliance spokesperson Cameron Steele emphasized that expanding data centers would create a greater reliance on desalinated water, thereby diminishing availability for ecological streams and possibly imposing costs on local communities. The group is advocating for a ban on potable water usage for cooling and demanding that all centers transparently report their water consumption.
“We strongly promote the use of recycled water over potable water within our data centers.”
Closed Loop Cooling
In hotter regions, like much of Australia during summer, data centers require additional energy or water to remain cool.
Daniel Francis, customer and policy manager at the Australian Water Works Association, highlights that there is no universal solution for the energy and water consumption of data centers, as local factors such as land availability, noise restrictions, and water resources play significant roles.
“We constantly balance the needs of residential and non-residential customers, as well as environmental considerations,” says Francis.
“Indeed, there is a considerable number of data center applications, and it’s the cumulative effect we need to strategize for… It’s paramount to consider the implications for the community.”
“Often, they prefer to cluster together in specific locations.”
One of the data centers currently under construction in Sydney’s Marsden Park is a 504MW facility spanning 20 hectares with six four-story buildings. The company claims this CDC center will be the largest data campus in the southern hemisphere.
Last year, CDC operated its data centers with 95.8% renewable electricity, achieving a PUE of 1.38 and a WUE of 0.01. A company representative stated that this level of efficiency was made possible through a closed-loop cooling system that does not require continuous water extraction, in contrast to traditional evaporative cooling systems.
“CDC’s closed-loop system is filled only once at its inception and functions without ongoing water extraction, evaporation, or waste generation, thereby conserving water while ensuring optimal thermal performance,” the spokesperson noted.
“This model is specifically designed for Australia, a nation characterized by drought and water shortages, focusing on long-term sustainability and establishing industry benchmarks.”
Despite CDC’s initiatives, community concerns regarding the project persist.
Peter Rofile, acting chief executive of the Western NSW Health District, expressed in a letter last June that the development’s proximity to vulnerable communities and its unprecedented scale posed untested risks to residents in western Sydney.
“This proposal does not guarantee that this operation can adequately mitigate environmental exposure during extreme heat events, potentially posing an unreasonable health risk to the public,” Rofile stated.
Really? A Christmas market at Buckingham Palace? Indeed! Picture a spacious avenue adorned with wooden stalls, creating a “stunning winter wonderland” filled with twinkling lights and festive trees, right at the palace’s forecourt.
Sounds almost too good to be real. Is that true? Just take a look at the images!
I. Where are those lights suspended from? They seem to float magically. That’s part of the allure.
And there’s snow on the ground. When was this picture taken? Don’t worry. You can check it out for yourself. There are many trains heading to London, and they are all free.
Wait – is this a prank? Yes, it has some elements typical of a hoax.
Like? AI-generated fake photos of the Buckingham Palace Christmas market are circulating on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
What’s the purpose? That remains unclear. Numerous accounts have shared various AI fabrications without any obvious intent.
Besides disappointing royalist Christmas enthusiasts? It certainly seems that way. Many visitors have reported encountering only locked gates, safety barriers, and remnants of water puddles.
So, is there any truth to this? Just around the corner from the palace gates, the Royal Mews gift shop is offering a festive pop-up, featuring royal-themed Christmas gifts and a single kiosk serving hot drinks at the back.
It’s not quite the same. The Royal Collection Trust feels the need to clarify: “There will be no Christmas market at Buckingham Palace,” it states.
Are these types of AI hoaxes becoming more frequent? It’s unfortunate. In July, it was reported that an elderly couple was misled to the Malaysian state of Perak by a video showcasing a non-existent cable car.
That’s hard to believe. Additionally, travel agency Amsterdam Experience is noting a rise in inquiries for trips to Amsterdam to see imaginary places in the Netherlands.
What about their iconic windmills? Windmills beside picturesque canals and tulip fields exist only in AI-generated visuals.
When will people learn? It appears not anytime soon. Tourists who rely on AI for travel planning could find themselves stranded on a secluded mountaintop in Japan or searching for an Eiffel Tower in Beijing.
I’m not usually one for quick judgments.Using AI for travel planning is quite misguided. Perhaps, yet currently, around 30% of international travelers are doing just that.
Remember to say: “Never travel without ensuring that the destination actually exists.”
And please don’t say things like: “I’m looking for the main entrance to Jurassic Park. Is it located behind the carpet warehouse?”
Astronomers have identified a faint planetary nebula during a spectroscopic examination of stars in NGC 1866, a vast young globular cluster within the Milky Way satellite galaxy, known as the Large Magellanic Cloud. This nebula, designated Ka LMC 1, is situated near the core of NGC 1866.
This image shows NGC 1866 overlaid with a false-color representation from the MUSE data cube, highlighting the ionized shell of planetary nebula Ka LMC 1 as a red ring. The grayscale inset details the sizes of the ionization shells of singly ionized nitrogen. [N II] and doubly ionized oxygen [O III]. A magnified Hubble image reveals a pale blue star at the center, likely the hot central star of Ka LMC 1. Image credit: AIP / MM Roth / NASA / ESA / Hubble.
NGC 1866 is located at the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud, approximately 160,000 light-years from Earth.
This cluster, also referred to as ESO 85-52 and LW 163, was discovered by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop on August 3, 1826.
Surprisingly, NGC 1866 is a young globular cluster positioned close enough for individual star studies.
In a recent spectroscopic investigation of NGC 1866, astronomers analyzed spectra captured by the MUSE Integral Field Spectrometer on ESO’s Very Large Telescope.
They made an unexpected and intriguing discovery: the ionized shell of a planetary nebula.
A subsequent study utilized images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to explore the nature of the object, which has been named Ka LMC 1.
“Planetary nebulae signify a late phase in a star’s evolution, during which the star consumes hydrogen for nucleosynthesis, expands as a red giant in a shell-burning phase, and eventually sheds most of its mass into a large, expanding shell. The remaining core then contracts and heats up, eventually cooling to become a white dwarf,” explained lead author Dr. Howard Bond, an astronomer at Pennsylvania State University and the Space Telescope Science Institute, along with his colleagues.
“Once the core surpasses 35,000 degrees, the shell ionizes and becomes visible through emission lines at specific wavelengths.”
The research team noted that Hubble images depict the hot central star of the Ka LMC 1 nebula.
“Ka LMC 1 is a genuine enigma. A young star cluster aged 200 million years implies that its progenitor star must be significantly massive,” noted astronomer Professor Martin Roth from the Potsdam Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics, the Institute for Physics and Astronomy at the University of Potsdam, and the German Center for Astrophysics.
“However, such a star would quickly evolve towards a cooling white dwarf stage.”
“Reconciling the age of the planetary nebula’s expanding shell with the theoretical evolutionary trajectory of its central star has been challenging.”
“This object undoubtedly demands further detailed observations to clarify its characteristics.”
“It presents a rare opportunity to observe star evolution over a timeframe that usually spans millions, if not billions, of years.”
“Yet, the evolution of massive central stars occurs in merely a few thousand years, making it possible to align with the timeline of the nebula’s expansion.”
According to a study published on November 7, 2025, in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
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Howard E. Bond et al. 2025. A faint planetary nebula was accidentally discovered in the massive young LMC star cluster NGC 1866. pasp 137, 114202; doi: 10.1088/1538-3873/ae1664
A newly identified honey bee species is part of the genus Apis. Megachile is associated with endangered flowering plant species, such as Marianthus aquilonalis.
Australia is undergoing a pollination crisis, compounded by limited understanding of plant pollinators and taxonomic challenges.
Many endangered plants lack known visitors, threatening efforts to safeguard their populations.
The native bee population in Australia is also at risk due to insufficient monitoring, with numerous regions unexplored and many native species still undescribed.
A new Megachile honey bee species was identified during the survey of Marianthus aquilonarius, which is exclusive to the Bremer Ranges in Western Australia.
Dr. Kit Prendergast, a researcher from the University of Southern Queensland and Curtin University, stated: “We found this species while assessing rare plants in Goldfields and observed that the bees were visiting both endangered wildflowers and adjacent Malayan trees.”
“DNA barcoding confirmed that the male and female belonged to the same species and did not match any known bees in the DNA database, nor did the specimens I collected morphologically correspond to any in museum collections.”
“This is the first new member of this bee group reported in over 20 years, highlighting how much life remains to be discovered, especially in areas threatened by mining like the Goldfields.”
Finding new species of Megachile emphasizes the necessity of understanding Australia’s unique bee habitats before they are irrevocably altered.
“Since the new species was found in proximity to the endangered wildflower, both are likely to be affected by threats such as habitat disturbance and climate change,” Dr. Prendergast said.
“Many mining companies still neglect to survey native honey bees, risking overlooking undiscovered species, including those that are endangered and essential for ecological health.”
“If we remain unaware of the native bees we have and the plants they rely on, we jeopardize both before we even realize they exist.”
This discovery is discussed in the following article: paper published this week in the Hymenoptera Research Journal.
Remarkably, Segue 1, an extremely faint dwarf galaxy, is positioned at the center of this image.
CDS, Strasbourg, France/CDS/Aladdin
Astoundingly, a supermassive black hole appears to reside at the heart of a nearby galaxy previously believed to be dominated by dark matter. Segue 1 is scarcely a galaxy, hosting merely around 1,000 stars compared to the Milky Way’s vast hundreds of billions. Yet, it seemingly contains a black hole with a mass approximately 10 times greater than the combined total of all its stars.
Segue 1 and similar dwarf galaxies lack sufficient stars to generate the gravitational force needed to hold them intact. To address this anomaly, physicists have long speculated that dark matter—a mysterious, invisible substance—fills the universe, contributing additional gravity.
Recently, Nathaniel Lujan and colleagues at the University of Texas at San Antonio began exploring computer models of Segue 1. They anticipated that the model yielding the best fit would be one characterized by dark matter. “After running hundreds of thousands of models, we were unable to find a viable solution,” Lujan remarks. “Eventually, we decided to experiment with the black hole mass, and that dramatically changed the results.”
The model that closely aligned with the observations of Segue 1 featured a black hole with a mass around 450,000 times that of the Sun. This discovery was particularly unexpected—not only due to the galaxy’s scarcity of stars but also considering its age. With so few stars, Segue 1 is estimated to have formed merely 400 million years following the universe’s initial star formation. Time constraints make it challenging for such a massive black hole to develop, especially since the much larger Milky Way likely consumed most of the gas that could have nourished Segue 1 shortly after its inception.
“This suggests there may be far more supermassive black holes than previously assumed,” Lujan states. If true, this could clarify some of the gravitational effects formerly attributed to dark matter, though it remains uncertain whether Segue 1 is typical of all dwarf galaxies. The quest for additional supermassive black holes continues.
Both avian and non-avian reptiles eliminate excess nitrogen as solid compounds known as “urate,” an evolutionary trait that aids in water conservation. Despite this adaptation, numerous questions regarding the composition, structure, and assembly of these biological materials remain unresolved. In a recent study, researchers from Georgetown University, the International Diffraction Data Center, Chiricahua Desert Museum, and Georgia State University investigated uric acid excretion in the desert. They focused on the ball python (python) along with 20 other reptile species, aiming to uncover efficient and versatile mechanisms for processing both nitrogenous waste and salts.
Thornton et al. investigated the solid urine of over 20 reptile species. Image credit: Thornton et al., doi: 10.1021/jacs.5c10139.
“All living organisms possess some form of excretory system. After all, what enters must eventually exit,” says the chemist from Georgetown University, Jennifer Swift, along with her colleagues.
“In humans, we eliminate excess nitrogen primarily through urine in the forms of urea, uric acid, and ammonia.”
“Conversely, many reptiles and birds efficiently package these nitrogenous compounds into solids, specifically urates, which are excreted through their cloaca.”
Scientists theorize that this process may have evolved to aid in water conservation.
“While crystallizing waste fluids may provide an evolutionary benefit for reptiles, it poses significant challenges for humans,” the researchers noted.
“Excess uric acid in the human body can crystallize in the joints, leading to painful conditions like gout, or form kidney stones in the urinary tract.”
In this recent study, the authors examined urate from over 20 reptile species to understand how these animals safely eliminate crystalline waste.
“Our research stems from a curiosity about how reptiles safely process this substance, and we hope it could inform new approaches to disease prevention and treatment,” Dr. Swift commented.
Microscopic analyses revealed that three species—the ball python, Angora python, and Madagascar tree boa—produce urate consisting of microscopically textured microspheres ranging from 1 to 10 micrometers in diameter.
X-ray examinations indicated that these spheres are comprised of even smaller nanocrystals of uric acid and water.
Furthermore, scientists have found that uric acid plays a crucial role in transforming ammonia into a less harmful solid state.
They hypothesize that uric acid may serve a similar protective function in humans.
“Our investigation of urate produced by various squamate reptiles sheds light on the sophisticated and adaptable systems they employ for managing nitrogenous wastes and salts,” the researchers stated.
“Understanding how dietary habits, environmental conditions, and aging impact sample analysis—along with advancements in instrumentation—offers a more comprehensive insight into the structure and function of biological urates.”
“The specifics of where and how these microspheres are created remain an intriguing question, yet their presence across different uric acid globule species suggests that this low-energy process is optimized under similar selective pressures.”
“Recognizing the role of uric acid in ammonia management could have significant implications for human health, although clinical research is required to verify this hypothesis.”
For further information, refer to the findings published today in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
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Alyssa M. Thornton et al. Uric acid monohydrate nanocrystals: an adaptable platform for nitrogen and salinity management in reptiles. J. Am. Chemistry Society published online October 22, 2025. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5c10139
Police have disrupted an international network believed to be smuggling tens of thousands of stolen phones from the UK, marking their most significant effort against phone theft in London, according to law enforcement officials.
The criminal organization is thought to have smuggled as many as 40,000 stolen mobile phones from the UK to China in the past year, claiming that up to 40% of all mobile phones stolen in the capital were involved.
The police initiated Operation Echosteep in December 2024 after intercepting a shipment containing about 1,000 iPhones destined for Hong Kong at a warehouse located near Heathrow Airport.
According to police, nearly all the recovered phones had been reported stolen.
Authorities intercepted additional shipments and utilized forensic evidence from the packages to identify suspects.
After apprehending a man with 10 stolen mobile phones at Heathrow on September 20, he was charged with possession of stolen goods, the police unit reported.
During the investigation, officers also found two iPads, two laptops, and two Rolex watches.
Further investigation indicated that the same individual had made over 200 trips between London and Algeria in the past two years, according to police.
Three days later, two other men in their 30s were arrested in northeast London on suspicion of possessing stolen property.
Numerous mobile phones were discovered in vehicles, with approximately 2,000 additional devices located at properties linked to the suspects.
These individuals were subsequently charged and detained, police confirmed.
Additionally, two more men in their 30s were arrested on September 25 on allegations of money laundering and handling stolen goods.
Officers also seized several stolen devices during their search operations.
Police mentioned that one man had indicated that further investigations were ongoing.
In total, officers have arrested 46 individuals over two weeks, including 11 arrests related to a criminal gang involved in the theft of new iPhone 17 delivery vans.
An additional 15 arrests were made last week on suspicions of theft, handling stolen goods, and conspiracy to commit theft, according to the Metropolitan Police.
More than 30 suspicious devices were also uncovered while searching 28 locations in London and Hertfordshire.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan expressed gratitude to the police for “addressing concerns in London,” noting a 13% and 14% decrease in crime rates this year.
“This operation is undeniably the largest of its kind in British history, and it was humbling to witness the Met’s efforts in targeting leaders of international smuggling operations as well as street-level robbers,” Khan commented.
However, he urged the mobile phone industry to collaborate with law enforcement to make it challenging for smugglers to utilize stolen devices.
“Criminals are profiting millions by reusing stolen mobile phones and selling them abroad, granting others access to cloud services,” he remarked. “The current situation is simply too simple and too lucrative.
“We will persist in urging the mobile phone industry to take rapid action to prevent this crime by making it impossible to use stolen devices.”
“To effectively combat this issue and create a safer London for all, we require coordinated global action.”
“We are pleased to report that we have made significant progress in understanding the importance of these efforts,” stated Det Insp Mark Gavin, Senior Investigation Officer at Operation Echosteep.
Gavin highlighted that smugglers are particularly targeting Apple products due to their high profitability overseas, with handsets fetching up to £300 and stolen devices selling for as much as $5,000 (£3,710) in China.
This increase in phone theft is mirrored in numerous cities globally, with around 80,000 devices reported stolen in London last year, according to the Met.
Commander Andrew Featherstone, the Met’s lead on phone theft, stated:
A stunning new image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals a star cluster known as N11, located within the expansive Magellanic Cloud.
This Hubble image depicts star cluster N11. Image credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble/C. Murray/J. Maíz Apellániz.
“This scene is part of the large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy situated approximately 160,000 light years from the constellations Dorado and Mensa,” the Hubble astronomer stated.
“With a mass equivalent to 10-20% of that of the Milky Way, the large Magellanic Cloud is the most substantial of the numerous small galaxies orbiting our galaxy.”
“These large Magellanic Clouds host various significant stellar nursery regions where gas clouds, like those portrayed in this image, converge to form new stars.”
This latest Hubble image illustrates a segment of N11, the second-largest star-forming region within the large Magellanic Cloud.
“The Tarantula Nebula, which ranks as the largest and most active star-forming region in the large Magellanic Clouds, is a frequent target for Hubble,” the astronomer noted.
“We observe bright young stars illuminating gas clouds and sculpting masses of dust using their powerful ultraviolet rays.”
“This image represents observations spaced about 20 years apart, highlighting Hubble’s enduring legacy,” they added.
“The initial observations took place between 2002 and 2003 and provided exceptional sensitivity and resolution with the new technology at the time, the Advanced Camera for Surveys.
“We directed Hubble towards the N11 Star Cluster and accomplished something unprecedented: cataloging all the stars in our young cluster, from those with 10% to 100 times the mass of the Sun.”
“The subsequent observations utilized Hubble’s latest instruments, specifically the Wide Field Camera 3.
“These new images emphasized the cluster-filled dusty clouds, offering a fresh perspective on cosmic dust.”
Influence of Uterine Hormones on Human Brain Development
Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
The human brain stands as one of the universe’s most intricate structures, potentially shaped by the surge of hormones released by the placenta during pregnancy.
Numerous theories have emerged regarding the evolution of the human brain, yet it remains one of science’s greatest enigmas. The social brain hypothesis posits that our expansive brains evolved to navigate complicated social interactions. This suggests that managing dynamics in larger groups necessitates enhanced cognitive abilities, and that species with strong social inclinations require increased brain development. Comparable highly social animals, like dolphins and elephants, possess significant brain sizes too; however, the biological mechanisms linking these features are still unclear.
Recently, Alex Tsompanidis from Cambridge University and his team propose that a placental sex hormone might be the key. The placenta, a temporary organ bridging the fetus and the mother, releases hormones crucial for fetal development, including sex hormones like estrogens and androgens.
“It may sound like a stretch, linking human evolution to the placenta,” notes Tsompanidis. “However, we’ve observed fluctuations in these hormone levels in utero and predicted outcomes regarding language and social development, among other areas.”
Recent studies indicate these hormones significantly impact brain development. For instance, a 2022 study revealed that administering androgens like testosterone to brain organoids—a simplified brain model derived from human stem cells—during crucial developmental stages led to an increased number of cortical cells and expansion in regions vital for memory and cognition. Other investigations involving brain organoids have highlighted the importance of estrogens in forming and solidifying neural connections.
Limited evidence suggests that humans experience greater exposure to these hormones during pregnancy compared to non-human primates. A 1983 study indicated that gorillas and chimpanzees excrete 4-5 times less estrogen than pregnant humans. Additionally, human placentas exhibit greater gene activity associated with aromatase—an enzyme converting androgens to estrogens—compared to macaques.
“These hormones appear crucial for brain development. Evidence indicates significantly elevated levels in humans, especially during pregnancy,” asserts Tsompanidis.
This influx of hormones may also clarify why humans form larger social networks. Some evolutionary biologists theorize that differences between sexes are subtler in humans than in other primates, fostering broader social connections. For instance, men and women exhibit greater size similarity in comparison to male and female Neanderthals, suggests Tsompanidis, likely a result of elevated estrogen levels in utero.
“High estrogen levels not only reduce masculinization but may also foster a more interconnected brain,” Tsompanidis explains. “Thus, the drive to elevate estrogen levels promotes social cohesion and interconnectedness, integral to human brain development.”
David Geary from the University of Missouri agrees that placental genes influence human brain development and its evolutionary path. However, he believes the significance of male-male competition in brain and cognitive evolution is often underestimated.
He notes that human males within the same groups tend to exhibit more coordination and less aggression compared to other primates—a trait that may have evolved due to intergroup conflicts. Enhanced teamwork and coordination could significantly benefit survival during life-threatening confrontations.
Our understanding of placental differences among primates remains limited. Many non-human primates, such as chimpanzees, consume their placenta post-birth, complicating research efforts, as Tsompanidis highlights.
Unraveling the factors that influenced human brain evolution is not merely an academic endeavor; it also brings insights into human nature.
“Not every human possesses extensive social or linguistic skills, and that’s perfectly acceptable—these traits don’t define humanity,” Tsompanidis remarks. Understanding the brain’s evolutionary journey can illuminate whether certain cognitive attributes come with trade-offs.
Astronomers utilizing the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope capture breathtaking views of a significant section of the nebula within the Large Magellanic Cloud, the largest of several small satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way.
This Hubble image illustrates a segment of the vivid nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy situated 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa. Image credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble/C. Murray.
This latest image was created using individual exposures captured across ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths. Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) was instrumental in this achievement.
“This portrayal of the dust-laden gas clouds within the Large Magellanic Cloud is made possible by Hubble’s advanced cameras, particularly the WFC3, which collected these observations,” stated Hubble astronomers.
“The WFC3 features an array of filters, each allowing light of a specific wavelength or color to pass through.”
“The image is a composite from five different filters, including one designed to capture ultraviolet and infrared radiation, which is invisible to the human eye.”
“The delicate gas clouds depicted resemble colorful cotton candy,” remarked the researchers.
“When encountering a cosmic scene with such vivid hues, it’s only natural to question the authenticity of these colors.”
“After all, the Hubble is equipped with a 2.4m diameter mirror and sophisticated scientific instruments, unlike typical cameras!”
“As image processing experts merge the raw filtered data into these multi-colored representations, they assign distinct colors to each filter.”
“Observations in visible light correspond to the colors passed through the respective filter.”
“Shorter light wavelengths, like ultraviolet rays, typically appear blue or purple, whereas longer wavelengths, such as infrared rays, are usually depicted as red.”
“This color scheme closely mirrors reality, revealing new insights from parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that are invisible to human eyes.”
“Nevertheless, countless color combinations can be employed to create images that are not only aesthetically striking but also scientifically valuable.”
Paleontologists looked at the teeth Teleoce’s major – Found in an extinct species of nasal bacteria that lived in North America from 17.5 million to 5 million years ago. Ash falling fossil bed Nebraska, USA. Here, over 100 Teleoce’s major The individual in a single hole died and was buried in ashes from the eruption of Yellowstone’s superintendent.
The flock of Teleotheras Sister. Image credit: Jay Matternes/Smithsonian Museum.
Since discovering the rhinoceros at Nebraska’s Ashwood Fossil Bed State Park in 1971, researchers have wondered what attracted so many animals in the same location.
Did they converge from afar? Perhaps they sought shelter from natural disasters that unfolded volcanic eruptions with those asphyxiation ash?
“We found out they weren’t moving much,” said Clark Ward, a researcher at the University of Minnesota.
“We found no evidence of seasonal migration or disaster response.”
Ward and colleagues looked at the ratio of strontium, oxygen and carbon isotopes Teleoce’s major Teeth tracking long, operating animal movements across the landscape.
“By studying the carbon of animals, we can reconstruct the carbon of our environment and understand what kind of vegetation lived there,” Ward said.
“You can use it to reconstruct how wet and dry the environment is.”
“And strontium tells us where the animals are forged because isotopic ratios are associated with soil and supporting bedrock.”
Teleoce’s major It was a one-horned rhino with a barrel-shaped body and sturdy hippo-like legs. Like hippos, they ate grass.
And, like hippos, researchers believe that these rhinoceros have spent a lot of time in and around the water.
Due to their vast size, they had few predators during the Miocene era.
However, their calves would have been vulnerable to predators like hyenas, known as bone-breaking dogs.
In fact, some of the specimens found on the Nebraska site have evidence that the scavenger removed some of the bodies after its death. And ancient trucks from a 45 kg (100 pound) dog are found there.
The giant Yellowstone volcano has erupted many times over the past 12 million years.
“The ashes from the eruption traveled 1,127 km (700 miles) in what is now Nebraska, where they piled up in snow, like snow,” Ward said.
“But the ashes that were blown by the wind continued to fall into Nebraska, long after the first eruption.”
“The ashes would have covered everything: grass, leaves, water.”
“Reconstructing how we equip the ancient landscapes that have disappeared provides an important context for understanding their paleoecology and sociality, and the environment in which they lived,” the scientists concluded.
Their paper Published in the journal Scientific Report.
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CT Word et al. 2025. Enamel carbon, oxygen and strontium isotopes reveal limited mobility in extinct rhinoceros in Ashford Fossil Bed, Nebraska, USA. Sci Rep 15, 11651; doi:10.1038/s41598-025-94263-z
The origin of life on Earth required the supply of phosphorus for the synthesis of universal biomolecules. The closed lake may have accumulated high concentrations of this element on the early Earth. However, it is not clear whether prebiotic sink in such settings was sustainable. New research by scientists from Eth Zurich, Cambridge University and the University of Science and Technology in China shows that high concentrations of phosphorus can be combined in steady states in large closed basin lakes.
Aerial view of Lake Mono. Image credit: Dick Lyon / CC by 4.0.
Phosphorus is an important component of all known forms of biochemistry and plays an important role in such polymers that encode metabolism, cell structure, and information.
However, the environmental conditions that provided sufficient phosphorus available in aqueous solutions to promote the chemical origin of life are uncertain.
“Large soda lakes with no natural runoff can maintain phosphorus concentrations for a long enough long, even if life begins to exist at some point, and could continually consume phosphorus.”
“Such lakes lose water only by evaporation. This means that phosphorus is left in the water, not washed away through rivers or streams.”
“As a result, very high concentrations of phosphorus can accumulate in these soda lakes.”
Not all soda lakes are suitable. Researchers rule out small ones.
“As soon as life develops within them, the supply of phosphorus will deplete faster than it is replenished. This will snag both chemical reactions and developing life,” Dr. Walton said.
“On the other hand, in large soda lakes, phosphorus concentrations are high enough to maintain both basic chemical reactions and life over the long term.”
“These high concentrations are achieved by the large amounts of influential river water, including phosphorus, but the water only leaves the lake by evaporation.”
“Phosphorus doesn’t evaporate easily, so it accumulates in the lake and accumulates.”
In their study, Dr. Walton and colleagues focus on Lake Mono in California, with high phosphorus concentrations at steady state despite extremely high biological productivity.
“This is important because in small lakes, phosphorus is exhausted before new quantities form,” they said.
They consider the large soda lake, which had a constant high phosphorus supply in the early history of the Earth, to be an ideal environment for the origin of life.
They assume that life is more likely to have been born in such a larger body of water than in a small pool, as Charles Darwin suspected.
Therefore, the origin of life may be closely related to the special environment of large soda lakes, which provide ideal conditions for prebiotic chemistry due to the balance of geological environment and phosphorus.
“This new theory will help us solve another part of the puzzle of the origins of life on Earth,” Dr. Walton said.
a paper A description of the findings was published in the journal Advances in science.
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Craig R. Walton et al. 2025. Large, closed basin lakes provided sustained phosphates during the origin of life. Advances in science 11(8); doi:10.1126/sciadv.adq0027
The mass of the ultra-large black hole in the heart of the large Magellan cloud, a small milky satellite galaxy, is approximately 600,000 solar mass.
Impressions of the Hyper Belt Lattist artist ejected from the large Magellan cloud (shown on the right). If the binary star system gets too close to an ultra-large number of black holes, intense gravity will tear the pair apart. One star is captured in tight orbits around a black hole, while the other is thrown outward at extreme speeds – often exceeding thousands of kilometers per second, making it a high-speed star. The inset diagram illustrates this process. The orbital path of the original binary is displayed as an interwoven line, one star is captured by a black hole (near the center of the inset), and the other is ejected into space (bottom right). Image credit: CFA/Melissa Weiss.
“Our Milky Way galaxy halo includes a few stars running faster than local escape speeds in orbit that carry them into intergalactic space,” said Dr. Jesse Han, Ph.D. of the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Colleagues.
“One mechanism for generating such ultrafast stars is the Hills mechanism. When a close binary star wanders near an ultrahigh Massive black hole, one star can be captured, while the other is ejected at a rate that reaches more than a second.”
In their new study, astronomers followed the path with ultrafine accuracy of 21 superfast stars in halos outside the Milky Way.
They confidently categorized these stars, finding that seven of them coincided with those born out of the center of the Milky Way.
However, the other nine stars coincided with those born from the centre of the large Magellan cloud, about 160,000 light years away from us.
“Cosmologically speaking, it's amazing to notice another super-large black hole just below the block,” Dr. Han said.
“Black holes are so stealthy that this has been under our noses this time.”
Researchers discovered a large Magellanic Cloud black hole using data from ESA's Gaia Mission.
They also used improved understanding of the orbital of the d-star galaxies around the Milky Way, which was recently obtained by other astronomers.
“We knew these superfast stars had been around for a while, but Gaia provided us with the data we needed to figure out where they actually came from,” says Dr. Kareem El-Badry, an astronomer at Caltech.
“Combining these data with a new theoretical model of how these stars move, we made this incredible discovery.”
“The only explanation we can come up with for these data is the presence of a monster black hole in the next Galaxy,” said Dr. Scott Lucchini, an astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Using Gemini South Telescope, NSF's Noirlab astronomers imaged a beautiful nebula around the young open cluster NGC 2040.
The nebula, including the NGC 2040, resembles the vivid roses in this image taken by a Gemini Southeres scope. Image credits: International Gemini Observatory / Neur Love / NSF / Aura / J. Miller & M. Rodriguez, International Gemini Observatory & NSF No Arab/TA Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF No Arab/NSF No Arab/NSF No Arab, NSF No Arab.
NGC 2040 It is about 160,000 light years away from Earth, the constellation of Dorado.
This cluster, also known as the Cal 60 or ESO 56-164, resides within the large Magellan cloud, a satellite d-star galaxy of the Milky Way.
NGC 2040 is a so-called OB association, usually a stellar group containing stars between 10 and 100 stars O and B.
“O- and B-spectral types of stars live a short life of just millions of years, burning very hot before they explode like supernovae during that time,” Noirlab astronomers said in a statement.
“The energy released by these massive star explosions will be fed into the formation of NGC structures in the 2040s, while the material emitted sowing the growth of the next generation of stars.”
Most of our galaxy stars are thought to have been born in the OB Association, as well as NGC 2040.
“NGC 2040 is part of a large structure of interstellar gas known as LH 88, one of the largest active star-forming regions within the large Magellan cloud,” the astronomer said. Ta.
“Thousands of new stars will be born in the region over the millions of years to come.”
“When stars O and B end their supernovae life, they enrich the clusters with elements like carbon, oxygen and iron,” they said.
“Along with the rich hydrogen in the cluster, these elements provide the components necessary for the formation of new stars, planets, and perhaps life.”
“The bright stars seen in the image are widely separated, but their movements through space are similar, indicating that they have a common origin.”
“The layered ambiguous structure of LH 88 is the remains of an already dead star.”
“The delicate leaves of the rose were formed by both the shock waves of the supernova and the stellar winds of the stars of O and B.”
The upcoming director of CERN stated that advanced artificial intelligence is revolutionizing basic physics and opening windows for the fate of the universe.
Professor Marktomson, a British physicist who will take on the leadership at CERN on January 1, 2026, envisions progress in particle physics comparable to the AI-driven prediction of protein structure that recently won Google Deepmind Scientists an award. Speculations suggest a potential Nobel Prize in October.
With the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) playing a key role, there is hope to unravel how particles obtained mass at the moment of the Big Bang and whether our universe is extraordinary. Professor Marktomson mentioned the adoption of a similar strategy to potentially avert a catastrophic collapse event.
Tomson emphasized, “These are not just incremental improvements, but rather significant strides achieved by embracing cutting-edge techniques.”
He also added, “The field will undergo a transformative change. Dealing with complex data like protein folding presents intricate challenges, and employing advanced AI technologies can lead to breakthroughs.”
CERN’s council anticipates a promising future with revolutionary advancements. Despite skepticism following the groundbreaking Higgs boson discovery in 2012, Professor Thomson believes that AI brings a fresh perspective to explore new frontiers in physics. The enhanced beam strength of LHC is expected to enable unprecedented observations of the Higgs boson, also known as the “God particle,” shedding light on other particles and the universe at large.
There is a particular focus on measuring the Higgs boson’s self-coupling, which plays a critical role in understanding how particles acquire mass and the evolution of the Higgs field post-Big Bang. Higgs’ self-coupling strength is crucial for determining the stability of the Higgs field and potential future transitions.
Dr. Matthew McCallow, a theoretical physicist at CERN, emphasized that the exploration of Higgs’ self-coupling is significant for advancing our understanding of the universe’s fundamental characteristics. Integrating AI into LHC operations has streamlined data collection and interpretation processes, enabling faster decision-making for experiments like the LHC ATLAS project.
Scientists have long sought to uncover dark matter using the LHC, considering it comprises a significant portion of the universe. With AI’s assistance, researchers hope to untangle this mystery. Thomson remarked, “AI allows us to pose more intricate and open-ended queries rather than merely searching for specific signals, hoping to uncover unexpected insights within the data.”
The newly discovered volcanic hot spot is larger than the Earth’s boss lake, and Beppo emits six times the eruption of the total energy of all worlds in the world.
On December 27, 2024, a huge hot spot is seen on the right side of the IO IO in this image taken by Jiram infrared imager on Jiram’s infrared image on December 27, 2024. Image credit: NASA / JPL-CALTECH / SWRI / ASI / INAF / Jiram.
“NASA’s Juno spacecraft had two very close frivaties in the extended mission,” said Dr. Scot Bolton, researcher of South West Research Institute.
“And each fly -alibi provided data on painful moon beyond our expectations, but this latest, farther, fry -drive data really blown out our hearts.”
“This is the most powerful volcanic event that has been recorded in the world of volcanoes in our solar system. It really says something.”
The IO, which is slightly larger than the moon on the earth, is the most active volcanic body in the solar system.
It is the most inner moon of Jupiter Gali Leans, including IO, EUROPA, GANYMEDE and CALLISTO.
IO has more than 400 active volcanoes, causing the tide heat, which is the result of gravity from Jupiter and other Jovian Moon.
During the extended mission, Juno’s trajectory passes through all other trajectory and flew every month.
Previously, the spacecraft created Flybys near IO in December 2023 and February 2024, and was within about 1,500 km (930 miles) from its surface.
The latest fly -ibai was held on December 27, 2024, and the spacecraft was within about 74,400 km (46,200 miles) of the month, and Ju -no Jovia’s infrared Auroral Mapper (Giram) instrument was trained in the IO Southern Hemisphere. Ta.
“Jiram detected an extremely infrared radiation luminance (huge hot spot) event in the Southern Hemisphere of IO, and saturated the detector,” said Dr. Alessandro Mura, a researcher at the Roman National Institute of Physics. I mentioned it.
“But what we detected was actually a hot spot with some close intervals that suggest a vast magma chamber system underground.”
“Data supports this is the most intense volcanic eruption recorded in IO.”
The team estimates that unknown functions will spans 100,000 km.2 (40,000 square miles).
The previous record holder was Loki Patera of IO, which is about 20,000 km of lava.2 (7,700 square miles).
The total power value of the new hot spot shine was much higher than 80 trillion watts.
This feature was also captured by the junocam Visible Light camera in the mission.
Researchers compared the junocam images of the previous two IO Flybys to the devices collected on December 27.
And these latest images have a low resolution due to JUNO far away, but the relative changes in the surface color around the newly discovered hot spot were clear.
Such changes on the IO surface are known to be related to hot spots and volcanic activities in the planetary science community.
The eruption of this size may leave a long life signature.
Other large eruptions of IO include thermal crushed sediment (a piece of rock exhaled in volcanic), small lava flows that can be supplied by cracks, volcanic plum sediments rich in sulfur and sulfur dioxide. We have created various characteristics.
JUNO uses IO’s Fly Bai on March 3 to look at the hot spot and search for changes in landscapes.
It is also possible to observe earth -based observations in this area of the moon.
“It’s always great to witness an event to rewrite a recordbook, but this new hot spot can potentially do much more,” said Dr. Bolton.
“Interesting features can improve the understanding of volcanism not only in IO but also in other worlds.”
Paleoanthropologists believe that the Columbian mammoth (mammoth colombi) are the largest contributor to the diet of the Clovis people, the earliest widespread hunter-gatherer group inhabiting North America, followed by elk and bison/camels, but the contribution of small mammals is There were very few.
An artist's reconstruction of Clovis life 13,000 years ago shows the Anzick 1 infant eating mammoth meat with his mother near the hearth. Another individual crafting tool, such as a dart launch point or an atlatl. A huge slaughterhouse can be seen nearby. Image credit: Eric Carlson / Ben Potter / Jim Chatters.
The Clovis people lived in North America about 13,000 years ago.
During that time, giant animals such as mammoths lived in both northern Asia and the Americas.
Because they traveled long distances, they became a reliable source of fat and protein for highly mobile humans.
Some researchers argue that the Clovisians were some degree of megafauna experts, with a particular focus on mammoths, while others argue that such adaptations were not viable and therefore They argue that Clovisians were extensive foragers, likely incorporating small amounts of food into their diets on a regular basis. Prey, plants, and perhaps fish.
“Focusing on mammoths helps explain how the Clovis people spread from across North America to South America in just a few hundred years,” said Dr. James Chatters, a researcher at McMaster University. said.
“What's surprising to me is that this corroborates a lot of the data from other sites,” said Ben Potter, a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
“For example, the animal parts left at the Clovis site are dominated by megafauna, and the firing points are large ones attached to darts, which were effective long-range weapons.”
In the new study, Dr Chatters, Professor Potter and their colleagues used stable isotope analysis to investigate the effects of 18-month-old children found at the 13,000-year-old Clovis site in Anzick, Montana, USA. I modeled the meal. state.
Their findings support the hypothesis that the Clovis people specialized in hunting large animals, rather than primarily foraging on small animals and plants.
Professor Potter said: “Mammoth hunting provided a flexible way of life.”
“This allowed the Clovis people to move to new areas without relying on smaller, localized prey that could vary widely from region to region.”
“This mobility is consistent with what we are seeing with Clovis technology and payment patterns.”
“They were very mobile. They transported resources such as toolstone over hundreds of miles.”
“Isotopes provide a chemical fingerprint of a consumer's diet, and can be compared to the isotopes of potential dietary items to determine the proportional contributions of different dietary items,” said Dr. Matt Wooler of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It can be estimated.”
The researchers compared the mothers' stable isotope fingerprints with those obtained from different food sources from the same time and region.
They found that about 40% of her diet came from mammoths, with other large animals such as elk and bison making up the rest.
Although small mammals were sometimes considered an important food source, they played a very minor role in her diet.
Finally, the scientists compared the mother's diet to that of other omnivores and carnivores from the same period, including American lions, bears, and wolves.
The mother's diet was most similar to that of the scimitar cat, a mammoth specialist.
The discovery also suggests that early humans may have contributed to the extinction of Ice Age megafauna, especially as environmental changes reduced their habitat.
“If the climate is changing in a way that reduces suitable habitat for some of these megafauna, they potentially become more susceptible to human predation. These people are highly capable. He was a great hunter,” Professor Potter said.
“It was a combination of a very sophisticated hunting culture that responded to a simple, large animal group under environmental stress, and techniques honed over 10,000 years in Eurasia,” Dr Chatters said.
of the team result Published in today's diary scientific progress.
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James C. Chatters others. 2024. Mammoths featured heavily in the diet of western Clovis. scientific progress 10(49);doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adr3814
This image, taken by ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer’s GRAVITY instrument, shows the red supergiant star WOH G64. Image credit: ESO / Onaka others., doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202451820.
WOH G64 is located in the constellation Shira, about 160,000 light years away.
The star, also known as IRAS 04553-6825, 2MASS J04551048-6820298, or TIC 30186593, is part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the smaller galaxies orbiting the Milky Way.
WOH G64 is approximately 2,000 times larger than the Sun and is classified as a red supergiant star.
“We discovered an egg-shaped cocoon that tightly surrounds this star,” said Dr. Keiichi Onaka, an astrophysicist at Andres Bello University.
“We’re excited because this could be related to the rapid ejection of material from a dying star before it explodes into a supernova.”
“Astronomers have taken zoomed-in images of and characterized about two dozen stars in our Milky Way galaxy, but countless other stars exist in other galaxies. and were so far away that it was very difficult to observe one of them in detail.
Artist’s reconstruction of the red supergiant star WOH G64. Image credit: ESO/L. Calçada.
Dr. Onaka and his colleagues have been interested in WOH G64 for a long time.
In 2005 and 2007, they used VLTI to learn more about the star’s properties and continued their research in the years since. However, the actual appearance of this star remained elusive.
To achieve the desired photos, it was necessary to wait for the development of VLTI’s second generation equipment. gravity.
After comparing the new results with other previous observations of WOH G64, they were surprised to find that the star had become fainter over the past decade.
Professor Gerd Weigert, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, said: “We found that this star has undergone significant changes over the past 10 years, and this is a rare opportunity to witness the life of a star in real time.” he said. .
During the final stages of their lives, red supergiant stars like WOH G64 shed their outer layers of gas and dust in a process that lasts thousands of years.
Dr Jacco van Loon, director of the Kiel Observatory at Kiel University, said: “This star is one of the most extreme of its kind and any dramatic changes could bring it closer to an explosive demise. ” he said.
“These ejected materials may also be responsible for the dimming and the unexpected shape of the dust cocoon around the star,” the astronomers said.
The new image shows the cocoon elongating, surprising researchers who had expected a different shape based on previous observations and computer models.
They believe that the cocoon’s egg-like shape could be explained by the star’s molting or the influence of an as-yet-undiscovered companion star.
As the star dims, it becomes increasingly difficult to take other close-up photos, even VLTI.
Nevertheless, in the future, an update of the telescope’s instruments is planned. Gravity+I promise to change this soon.
“Similar follow-up observations using ESO’s instruments will be important for understanding what is happening inside this star,” said Dr. Onaka.
of the team paper Published in a magazine astronomy and astrophysics.
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Kento Ohnaka others. 2024. Image of the innermost circumstellar environment of the red supergiant star WOH G64 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. A&A 691, L15; doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202451820
Ethiopian wolf (canis mensis) Lick the nectar of the Ethiopian Red Hot Poker flower (Kniphofia foliosa). Image credit: Adrian LeSafre.
Ethiopian wolf too known as The red jackal, Ethiopian jackal, Abyssinian wolf, horse jackal, Simien jackal, or Simien fox, is the world's rarest wild canid.
The seeds are listed as endangered species IUCN, citing their small number and fragmented scope,
Found only in the highlands of Ethiopia, fewer than 500 individuals survive in 99 herds confined to six Afroalpine enclaves.
This large carnivore's main prey is the African mole rat, but it also eats other types of rats, hares, and sometimes geese and eggs.
Dr. Sandra Rai, a researcher at the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program and the University of Oxford, and her colleagues observed Ethiopian wolves foraging for wolf nectar. Kniphofia foliosa.
“Kniphofia foliosa is an endemic Ethiopian perennial found in the Bare Mountains and other high-altitude grasslands, where the endemic Ethiopian wolf, a top predator restricted to African alpine ecosystems, also lives.” said.
“Flowers from kniphofia This genus produces large amounts of nectar and attracts a variety of bird and insect pollinators. ”
The researchers say some Ethiopian wolves visit up to 30 flowers on a single trip, with multiple wolves from different packs exploiting this resource.
There is also evidence of social learning, with children being taken to flower gardens with adults.
By doing so, the wolf's muzzle becomes coated with pollen, which can be transferred from flower to flower as the wolf feeds.
This new behavior is probably the first known plant-pollinator interaction involving a large predator, and it is also the only large carnivorous predator ever observed to feed on nectar.
Professor Claudio Cirello of the University of Oxford, founder and director of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program, said: “I first discovered the nectar of the Ethiopian red hot poker when I saw shepherd children in the Bale Mountains licking the flowers.'' I learned of its existence,” he said.
“Soon I tasted it too. The honey had a pleasant sweetness.”
“When I later saw the wolves doing the same thing, I could see that they were having fun tapping into this rare energy source.”
“We are pleased to report that this behavior is common among Ethiopian wolves and to investigate its ecological significance.”
“These findings highlight how much we still have to learn about one of the world's most threatened carnivores,” Dr Lai said.
“This also shows the complexity of the interactions between the different species that inhabit Africa's beautiful roofs.”
“This extremely unique and biodiverse ecosystem remains under threat from habitat loss and fragmentation.”
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sandra rye others. Are canids pollinators? Nectar collection by Ethiopian wolves may contribute to wolf pollination. Kniphofia foliosa. ecologypublished online on November 19, 2024. doi: 10.1002/ecy.4470
Satellite images show that plumes of pollutants from large factories can cause snowfall and leave holes in widespread clouds.
It has long been known that fine particles of soot-like pollutants, known as aerosol pollution, can affect clouds in a variety of ways. Water vapor can condense on pollutant particles and cause cloud formation, and pollutants can also change the properties of existing clouds.
While researching these effects, Vere Thor Researchers at the University of Tartu in Estonia noticed that holes sometimes appear in clouds downwind of major pollution sources. He and his colleagues have now analyzed thousands of satellite images of North America and Eurasia and found 67 locations where this effect can be seen under the right atmospheric conditions.
Weather radar confirmed that these events were causing snowfall. In the largest example the researchers found, up to 15 millimeters of snow fell over an area of 2,200 square kilometers (850 square miles).
This happens because pollutant particles freeze around supercooled water droplets in the cloud, creating ice crystals that grow into snowflakes, Toll said. “And as the water comes out of the clouds as snow, you end up with fewer clouds.”
In the absence of particles, water droplets in clouds remain liquid even when the air is as cold as -40°C (-40°F).
This satellite image shows reduced cloud cover downwind of a Canadian copper smelter
Vere Thor
Most of the 67 sources of pollution found by the research team were oil refineries and factories producing metals, cement, and fertilizers. But surprisingly, the researchers occasionally observed similar effects near four nuclear power plants that do not produce any aerosol emissions.
This could be because the warm air rising from these power plants is picking up aerosol pollution from elsewhere, but the researchers have not confirmed this. “There's no clear explanation for that,” Toll said.
In theory, it's possible to intentionally induce snowfall using aerosol effects, but that would only work if a cloud of supercooled liquid water droplets was already present, Tolle said. say.
Paleontologists have recovered a fossilized jaw fragment and three isolated bones from a relatively large (by Late Cretaceous standards) new species of Metatheria in the Williams Fork Formation of northwestern Colorado, USA. Found a tooth.
artist’s depiction Heleochora piceanus In a Late Cretaceous wetland. Image credit: Brian Engh / LivingRelicProductions.com / Utah Natural History Field House.
” Metatheria “[Marsupials and their closest fossil relatives]consist of about 330 extant species in seven orders, most of which live in the Southern Hemisphere,” said Jaylin Eberle, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. said.
“However, this clade appears to have originated in the Northern Hemisphere during the Early Cretaceous.”
“By the end of the Cretaceous period, Metatheria had dispersed across Europe, Asia, and North America, and were more diverse and numerous than their contemporaneous eutherians.”
“Most of the Late Cretaceous Metatheria species are represented almost exclusively by isolated teeth and jaws recovered from fossil localities in the interior western United States.”
The fossilized remains of a new species of Metatherian have been discovered. williams fork formation It is located in Douglas Creek Arch between the Uintah and Piance Creek basins in northwestern Colorado.
named Heleochora piceanusThis animal lived approximately 70 to 75 million years ago (late Cretaceous period), a time when a vast inland sea covered much of the American West.
Weighing about 1 kg (2 lb), it was larger than most Late Cretaceous mammals.
Based on the tooth, Heleochora piceanus They probably ate plants mixed with insects and other small animals.
It coexisted with creatures such as turtles, duck-billed dinosaurs, and giant crocodiles.
“This area could have been similar to Louisiana,” says Dr. Rebecca Hunt-Foster, a paleontologist at Dinosaur National Monument.
“We see a lot of animals like sharks, rays and guitarfish that are very happy in the water.”
“Colorado is a great place to find fossils, but mammals from this era tend to be quite rare,” Eberle says.
“So it’s really amazing to see this piece of time preserved in Colorado.”
“Compared to much larger dinosaurs that lived at the time, such as Tyrannosaurus and its horned ancestors, triceratopsColorado’s newest fossil addition may seem small and insignificant. However, it was surprisingly large for a mammal of its time. ”
This finding is reported in the following article: paper in a diary PLoS ONE.
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J. Hebert others. 2024. A new Late Cretaceous Metatherian discovered from the Williams Fork Formation in Colorado. PLoS ONE 19 (10): e0310948;doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310948
Paleontologists have unearthed the fossils of two different large azhdarchoid pterosaurs. Inabatanin Arabia And previously known species Arambrugiana Philadelphia — Discovered in Upper Cretaceous deposits in Jordan, the fossils have led researchers to hypothesize that not only could the largest pterosaurs fly, but that they may have had a different style of flight.
Inabatanin Arabia (Top) Flying while flapping its wings Arambrugiana Philadelphia (Below) Soaring like a vulture. Image courtesy of Terrill Whitlatch.
Pterosaurs are an extinct group of flying reptiles that existed from the Late Triassic until the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period.
They evolved powered flight about 50 million years before flight feathers appeared in the fossil record, and some achieved wingspans twice that of the largest flying birds (12 metres versus 6 metres).
“Our team was very surprised to find a three-dimensionally preserved pterosaur bone, which is a very rare occurrence,” said University of Michigan paleontologist Kerstin Rosenbach.
“Because pterosaur bones are hollow, they are extremely fragile and, if preserved, are likely to be found flat like a pancake.”
Dr. Rosenbach and his colleagues discovered two azhdarchoid pterosaur specimens in Jordan, one of which corresponds to a giant species. Arambrugiana Philadelphia (wingspan about 10 meters) and the second is a new, smaller species. Inabatanin Arabia (Wingspan approximately 5 meters).
They used high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scans to analyze the internal structure of the wing bones.
“3D preservation is very rare, so we don’t have a lot of information about what the inside of a pterosaur bone looks like, so we wanted to do a CT scan,” Dr Rosenbach said.
“It’s entirely possible that nothing was preserved inside, or that the CT scanner was not sensitive enough to distinguish the fossil bone tissue from the surrounding matrix.”
“But fortunately, what we found was amazing, with exciting internal structures that were not only preserved but could be seen with a CT scanner.”
New specimens Arambrugiana Philadelphia Its wingspan was determined to be 10 metres, and the first details about the reptile’s skeletal structure were revealed.
CT scans revealed that the humerus is hollow inside, with a series of spiral ridges running up and down the bone, similar to the internal structure of a vulture’s wing bones.
The spiral ridges are thought to resist the torsional loads associated with soaring (sustained powered flight that requires flapping wings to launch and maintain).
The Inabutinin Arabian specimen is one of the most complete pterosaurs ever discovered in Afro-Arabia.
CT scans revealed that the structure of its flight bones is completely different from that of Arambourgiania philadelphiae.
The interior of the flight bone was crossed with an arrangement of struts that matched those seen in the wing bones of modern flapping birds.
This indicates that it was adapted to withstand the bending loads associated with flapping flight, and so it is likely that Inabatanin flew in this way, although it does not exclude the possibility that other flight styles may have been used from time to time.
” Inabatanin Arabia “It’s not uncommon, but it’s fun to see,” Dr. Rosenbach said.
” Arambrugiana Philadelphia It was totally unexpected and at first I had no idea what I was looking at.”
“Being able to see the entire 3D model, Arambrugiana PhiladelphiaI was really excited to see the spiral ridges on the humerus.”
The discovery of diverse flight styles among different sized pterosaurs is extremely exciting as it gives clues about how these animals lived.
It also raises intriguing questions, such as to what extent flight style correlates with body size and which flight style is more common among pterosaurs.
“We have very limited information about the internal structure of pterosaur bones over time, so it’s hard to say with any certainty which style of flight emerged first,” Dr Rosenbach said.
“If you look at other groups of flying vertebrates, birds and bats, you’ll find that wing flapping is by far the most common flight behavior.”
“Even soaring and gliding birds need some flapping to take to the air and continue flying.”
“This leads us to suggest that if flapping flight was the default state and was advantageous for a population of pterosaurs in a particular environment, in this case the open ocean, then soaring behaviour probably evolved later.”
a paper The paper on the survey results is Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
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Kirsten L. Rosenbach othersNew pterosaur fossils from the Afro-Arabian Late Cretaceous provide insight into the flying capabilities of large pterosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate PaleontologyPublished online September 5, 2024; doi: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2385068
Historical and ethnographic sources document that portable pole-hafted weapons, or spears, were used for hunting and defense against large game in North and South America, Africa, Eurasia, and Southeast Asia for several millennia during the Late Holocene. Given the dominance of large game in North America during the Late Pleistocene, centuries when Clovis points emerged and spread across much of the continent between 13,050 and 12,650 years ago, pole-hafted weapons may have been used for hunting large herbivores or for defense against large carnivores.
A Clovis point with distinctive grooved flake scars. Image courtesy of S. Byram.
“This ancient Native American design was a remarkable innovation in hunting strategy,” said Dr Scott Byrum, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.
“This unique indigenous technology provides a window into hunting and survival techniques that have been used for thousands of years in many parts of the world.”
The team's discovery may help solve a mystery that has plagued archaeological communities for decades: how North American communities actually used Clovis stone tools, the most commonly unearthed remains from the Ice Age.
Clovis Points are named after the town of Clovis, New Mexico, where they were first discovered about a century ago. Clovis Points are formed from rocks such as chert, flint, and jasper.
They range in size from the size of a person's thumb to the size of a medium-sized iPhone, and have a clearly defined, sharp edge and grooved indentations on either side of their base.
Thousands of fossils have been discovered across the United States, some of which have been unearthed within preserved mammoth skeletons.
“Clovis points are often the only part recovered from a spear,” said Dr. June Sunseri of the University of California, Berkeley.
“The elaborately engineered bone hafts at the ends of the weapons are sometimes found, but the wood at the bases of the spears, and the rosin and string that made them work as a complete system, have been lost over time.”
“Furthermore, research silos limit such systems thinking about prehistoric weaponry, and if stone experts are not bone experts they may not get the full picture.”
“We need to think beyond simple artifacts. The key here is looking at this as an engineered system that requires multiple types of expertise in our field and in other fields.”
Building tools into powerful and effective systems would have been a priority for communities 13,000 years ago.
Tools had to be durable; there were only a limited number of suitable rocks that people could use to cross the land.
They might travel hundreds of miles without obtaining a long, straight stick suitable for making a spear.
“So obviously you don't want to risk throwing or breaking your gear when you're not sure if you're going to catch the animal,” Dr Byrum said.
“People who analyse metal military artefacts know about it because it was used to halt horses in war.”
“But before that, it wasn't really known for other situations, like wild boar hunting or bear hunting.”
“It's a common theme in literature, but for some reason it hasn't been talked about much in anthropology.”
To evaluate their spear hypothesis, the researchers built a test platform to measure the force that the spear system could withstand before the tip broke off or the shaft stretched.
A low-tech, static version of an animal attack using reinforced replica Clovis point spears allowed us to test how different spears reach their breaking point and how their extension systems respond.
This builds on previous experiments in which researchers fired stone-tipped spears into clay and ballistic gel, which may have been as painful as a needle prick to a nine-tonne mammoth.
“The energy that a human arm can generate is completely different from the energy that a charging animal can generate. It's an order of magnitude different,” Dr Jun said.
“These spears were designed to protect the wielder.”
“The sophisticated Clovis technology, developed uniquely in North America, is a testament to the ingenuity and skill used by indigenous peoples to coexist with ancient lands and now-extinct megafauna,” said Kent Lightfoot, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
RS Byram others2024. Clovis projectile points and foresharps subjected to reinforced weapon compression: modelling the encounter between Stone Age spears and Pleistocene megafauna. PLoS One 19 (8): e0307996; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307996
This article is a version of a press release provided by the University of California, Berkeley.
Over the past 50,000 years, terrestrial vertebrate faunas have experienced severe declines in large species (megafauna), with most extinctions occurring during the Late Pleistocene and early to mid-Holocene. Importantly, this extinction event is unique in its strong size bias compared to other Cenozoic extinctions (past 66 million years). For example, of 57 species of large herbivores (weighing over 1,000 kg), only 11 have survived to the present day. Debate regarding the causes has continued for over two centuries.
Svenning othersGlobal extinction patterns, as well as fine-scale spatiotemporal and mechanistic evidence, show little evidence of a significant climate influence. Conversely, there is growing evidence of strong human pressure as the primary driver of these extinctions, with the initial onset linked to pre-global warming.Homo sapiens Hominins before the Late Pleistocene. Image courtesy of Svenning others., doi: 10.1017/ext.2024.4.
“The massive and selective disappearance of large animals over the past 50,000 years is unprecedented in the past 66 million years,” said Professor Jens Christian Svenning from Aarhus University.
“Past climate changes have not led to large-scale selective extinctions, arguing that climate played a major role in the extinction of large animals.”
“Another important pattern supporting the lack of a role for climate is that recent megafauna extinctions have hit climatically stable regions as hard as climatically unstable regions.”
Archaeologists have found traps designed to hunt very large animals, and isotope analysis of protein residues on ancient human bones and spear points reveals that they hunted and ate the largest mammals.
“Early modern humans were able to effectively hunt even the largest animal species and clearly had the capacity to reduce large animal populations,” Prof Svenning said.
“These large animals were and remain especially vulnerable to over-exploitation because they have long gestation periods, give birth to very small litters and take many years to reach sexual maturity.”
The analysis found that human hunting of large animals, such as mammoths, mastodons and giant sloths, was widespread and consistent around the world.
It also shows that the species went extinct at very different times and at different rates around the world.
In some areas it happened quickly, but in others it took more than 10,000 years.
But everywhere, it happened after the arrival of modern humans or, in the case of Africa, after human cultural advancement.
Species became extinct on every continent except Antarctica, and in every type of ecosystem, from tropical forests and savannas to Mediterranean and temperate forests and steppes, to Arctic ecosystems.
“Many extinct species could have thrived in a variety of environments,” Prof Svenning said.
“Therefore, their extinction cannot be explained by climate change that caused the disappearance of certain ecosystem types such as the Mammoth Steppe, which also contained only a few large animal species.”
“Most species live in temperate to tropical climates and would have actually benefited from the warming at the end of the last ice age.”
The researchers say the decline of large animals has serious ecological implications.
Macrofauna play a central role in ecosystems by influencing vegetation structure (e.g. the balance between dense forest and open areas), seed dispersal and nutrient cycling.
Their disappearance has led to major changes in ecosystem structure and function.
“Our findings highlight the need for active conservation and restoration efforts,” Professor Svenning said.
“Reintroducing large mammals can help restore ecological balance and maintain the biodiversity that evolved in ecosystems rich in large animals.”
of study Published in the journal Cambridge Prism: Extinction.
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Jens Christian Svenning others2024. Late Quaternary megafauna extinctions: patterns, causes, ecological impacts and implications for ecosystem management in the Anthropocene. Aarhus University. Cambridge Prism: Extinction 2: e5; doi: 10.1017/ext.2024.4
This article has been edited based on the original release from Aarhus University.
Illustration of the newly identified species, Haliskia petersenii
Gabriel Ugueto
A 100-million-year-old pterosaur fossil discovered in Australia may have had the largest, most muscular tongue of its kind.
The fossil was discovered in 2021 by Kevin Pietersen, curator at Kronosaurus Corner, a museum near the Queensland outback town of Richmond.
Typically, with a pterosaur, a flying reptile that lived on Earth at the same time as the dinosaurs, you’d find just one bone, Petersen said. “But as we started digging, we started finding more and more bones, and we realized we had to work very carefully,” he said.
Nearly a quarter of the skeleton has been recovered, making it the most complete pterosaur yet discovered by Australian scientists.
The entire lower jaw, part of the upper jaw, vertebrae, ribs, leg and foot bones were preserved, but most surprising was the preservation of an extremely delicate throat bone, just a few millimetres in diameter, which Petersen says reminded him of spaghetti.
Lead team Adele Pentland Researchers from Curtin University in Perth identified the fossil as belonging to an entirely new genus and species of pterosaur in the Anhangeria family, which are found around the world. The creature had an estimated wingspan of 4.6 metres. In Petersen’s honour, the fossil has been named “Anhangeria”. Haliskia petersenii.
Though it wasn’t related to any bird, Petersen said it would have looked a bit like a giant pelican, but Pentland said it would have been a “devil pelican” because of its mouth full of sharp teeth.
What sets it up H. Petersenyi What sets this dinosaur apart from other known pterosaurs is that it had much larger throat bones, indicating it had a huge, muscular tongue, Pentland said.
The team believes that the tongue was used to capture and hold prey, possibly slippery animals such as squid or fish. Once the prey was grasped in the jaws, H. Petersenyi Pentland says the dinosaur’s teeth would have closed like a zipper or cage, preventing escape.
Like pelicans, it likely swallowed its prey whole, she says, and its tongue would have also been used to shove the food down its throat.
In the Cretaceous H. Petersenyi At the time, what is now inland Queensland was covered by sea, which served as hunting grounds for pterosaurs.
“It’s truly breathtaking to look at the remains of these fossil animals and imagine the wealth of life that must have been there at that time and how different it must have been to what we see in outback Queensland today,” Pentland says.
how to use SHARK-VIS device Using the Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham in Arizona, US, astronomers have captured the highest-resolution optical images of Io ever taken by a ground-based telescope. The new images allow the astronomers to confirm that large-scale surface changes are occurring around Pele, one of Io's most well-known volcanoes.
Taken with the SHARK-VIS camera on the Large Binocular Telescope on January 10, 2024, this image is the highest resolution image of Io ever taken by an Earth-based telescope. The image combines three spectral bands: infrared, red, and green to highlight the reddish ring around Pele volcano (below and to the right of the Moon's center) and the white ring around Piran Patera to the right of Pele. Image credit: INAF / Large Binocular Telescope Observatory / Georgia State University / SHARK-VIS@LBT / PIF Pedichini / D. Hope / S. Jefferies / G. Li Causi.
Io is slightly larger than Earth's Moon and is the most volcanically active body in the solar system.
It is the innermost of Jupiter's Galilean moons, which besides Io include Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
Io is caught in a gravitational tug-of-war between Jupiter, Europa, and Ganymede, and is constantly compressed, causing frictional heat to build up inside it, which is thought to be the cause of sustained and widespread volcanic activity.
By monitoring Io's surface eruptions, planetary scientists hope to gain insight into the thermal movement of material beneath the moon's surface, its internal structure, and ultimately the mechanisms of tidal heating that drive Io's intense volcanic activity.
Io's volcanic activity was first discovered in 1979, when Linda Morabito, an engineer for NASA's Voyager missions, spotted plumes of smoke in one of the images the spacecraft took during its famous Grand Tour of the outer planets.
Since then, countless observations have been made, both from space and from telescopes on Earth, documenting Io's restless nature.
“Io offers a unique opportunity to learn about the powerful eruptions that contributed to shaping the surfaces of the Earth and Moon long ago,” said Dr Al Conrad, an astronomer at the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory.
The new images, taken with the large binocular telescope SHARK-VIS, are so detailed that they enabled the team to identify a major resurfacing event in which the plume deposits around a prominent volcano known as Pele, located near the equator in Io's southern hemisphere, have been covered by eruption deposits from a neighboring volcano, Piran Patera.
A similar series of eruptions was observed by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, which explored the Jovian system from 1995 to 2003.
“We interpret this change as dark lava deposits and white sulfur dioxide deposits from the Piran Patera eruption partially covering Pele's red sulfur-rich plume deposits,” said Dr. Ashley Davis, principal scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“Before SHARK-VIS, it was impossible to observe these resurfacing events from Earth.”
“The visible light images are absolutely stunning,” said Imke de Patter, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
“Pele appears to be erupting continuously, spewing plumes of volcanic gases about 300 kilometers above Io's surface, high enough to have been photographed by Voyager, Galileo and Hubble.”
“Gases in the plume erupting from the lava lake freeze and are deposited on the surface as a conspicuous, wide, reddish, sulfur-rich ring.”
“Piran Patera, on the other hand, appears to erupt intermittently, leaving lava surrounded by a white ring of frozen sulfur dioxide.”
“The new images show that the white sediments obscure Pele's reddish sediments, but perhaps only for a short time.”
“Images of Io taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft in April 2024 will show a nearly perfect orange ring, with perhaps a faint hint of red where the Piran deposits were located.”
“It's like a race between Piram and Pele to see how much and how fast each can deposit.”
“Once Piran stops completely, it will be covered again with Pele's red deposits.”
The pink lapacho tree is one of approximately 300,000 species of flowering plants
Roberto Okamura Tetsuo/Shutterstock
Botanists have used genome data from more than 9,500 species to map evolutionary relationships among flowering plants. The newly compiled Tree of Life will help scientists piece together the origins of flowering plants and inform future conservation efforts.
Approximately 90 percent of plants that live on land are flowering and fruiting plants called angiosperms. These flowering plants are essential to maintaining Earth's ecosystems, including storing carbon and producing oxygen, and they make up a large portion of our diet.
“Our very existence depends on them,” he says. william baker At the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England. “That's why we need to really understand them.”
For the past eight years, Baker and his colleagues have been working to complete the Tree of Life, which describes the evolutionary relationships between all genera of plants and fungi.
Starting with flowering plants, the researchers designed molecular probes to search for 353 specific genes found in the nucleus of all angiosperms. “The nuclear genome is huge,” Baker says. “So we needed to focus on a specific set of genes.”
Researchers have so far sequenced the genes of 9,506 species of flowering plants, primarily using specimens from collections and public databases around the world. This represents nearly all known angiosperm families and approximately 8,000 of the 13,400 recorded genera.Some of the specimens collected in the analysis are more than 200 years old; Arenaria globifloraand many Guadalupe Island olives (Espererea Palmeri).
By comparing the similarities in the gene sequences of different flowering plants, researchers were able to figure out where they fit on the tree of life.
Baker says this is the most comprehensive survey of angiosperms to date. “We often liken it to the periodic table of elements,” he says. “It's the basic framework for life.”
angiosperm tree of life
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Angiosperms emerged about 140 million years ago and have rapidly flourished, overtaking flowerless gymnosperms to become the world's dominant plant species. The sudden appearance of the diversity of flowering plants in the fossil record has baffled scientists for the past few centuries, and Charles Darwin called it “a hideous mystery.”
Now, the Tree of Life confirms that about 80 percent of the major flowering plant lineages that still exist today were part of this early boom in angiosperm diversity. “We can't say we've solved this 'damn mystery,' but at least we can say it really does exist,” Baker said.
The tree of life also highlights a further surge in diversity that occurred around 40 million years ago, possibly caused by a drop in global temperatures at the time.
In the future, he says, the Tree of Life could also help in the search for plants with pharmaceutical properties for new drugs. Ilia Leech, another member of Cue's team. It also helps scientists identify new species and assess which species are most vulnerable to climate change.
“This is the latest and greatest evolutionary framework for conducting new research that approaches the mechanisms that have allowed flowering plants to take over the world,” he says. ryan falk at Mississippi State University.
A large number of stars are born in the center NGC4383where a unique galaxy is located 74 million light years It is located beyond the constellation Coma. The largest lose mass through powerful winds over their lifetime, eventually exploding into violent supernovae. These stellar winds and supernovae drag away some of NGC 4383's gas reservoir. The bright red filaments indicate hydrogen gas ejected at least 20,000 light-years from the galaxy. This process controls the rate at which stars form within the galaxy, as this gas is carried away from the galactic center rather than remaining to form the next generation of stars.
watt other. We mapped the chemical composition and motion of NGC 4383's outflow in detail, providing insight into the mechanisms that caused the dramatic outflow seen in this image from ESO's Very Large Telescope.Image credit: ESO / Watts other.
Gas outflow is important for controlling the rate and duration at which galaxies continue to form stars.
The gas ejected by these explosions can pollute the space between stars within galaxies and even between galaxies, becoming permanently suspended in the intergalactic medium.
Dr Adam Watts, an astronomer at the University of Western Australia's node at the International Radio Center, said: “This outflow is the result of a powerful stellar explosion at the center of the galaxy, potentially spewing out huge amounts of hydrogen and heavy elements. There is a gender,” he said. Astronomical Research (ICAR).
“The mass of gas released is equivalent to more than 50 million suns.”
“Spills are very difficult to detect, so very little is known about the physics of spills and their properties.”
“The ejected gas is extremely rich in heavy elements, providing a unique insight into the complex process by which metals mix with hydrogen in the ejected gas.”
“In this particular case, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and many other chemical elements were detected.”
astronomers are muse (Multi-unit Spectroscopic Explorer) Turn on the instrument ESO's super large telescope (VLT) Created a high-resolution map of NGC 4383 in northern Chile.
Data were collected as part of VLT/MUSE's larger program MAUVE (MUSE and ALMA Unveiling the Virgo Environment).
“We designed MAUVE to investigate how physical processes, such as gas outflow, help stop star formation in galaxies,” said West, also at the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). said Professor Barbara Catinella of the Australian University of Nord.
“NGC 4383 was our first target because we thought something very interesting might be happening, and the data exceeded all expectations.”
“In the future, we hope that MAUVE's observations will reveal in great detail the importance of gas outflow in the local universe.”
team's paper Published in Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices.
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Adam B. Watts other. 2024. Mauve: A 6 kpc bipolar outflow launched from NGC 4383, one of the most Hi-rich galaxies in the Virgo cluster. MNRAS 530 (2): 1968-1983; doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae898
Using data from ESA’s Gaia mission, astronomers discovered a nearby binary system of massive stars orbiting a dormant star-derived black hole over a period of 11.6 years. The black hole’s estimated mass (33 solar masses) is significantly larger than all known stellar-mass black holes in the Milky Way and within the mass range of extragalactic black holes detected by gravitational waves.
Locations of the first three black holes discovered in the Milky Way by ESA’s Gaia mission. Image credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC.
The binary star system in question is named Gaia BH3 and is located 1,926 light-years from Earth in the constellation Aquila.
Also known as Gaia DR3 4318465066420528000, LS II +14 13, and 2MASS J19391872+1455542, it consists of an old, very metal-poor giant star and a dormant stellar-mass black hole.
Gaia BH3 is the third dormant black hole discovered by ESA’s interstellar mapping satellite Gaia.
“This is the kind of discovery that only happens once in a research career,” said Dr. Pasquale Panuzzo, an astronomer at the CNRS and the Paris Observatory.
“So far, black holes this large have only been detected in distant galaxies by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration, thanks to observations of gravitational waves.”
The average mass of the known stellar-origin black holes in our galaxy is about 10 times the mass of the Sun.
Astronomers face the pressing problem of explaining the origin of black holes as large as Gaia BH3.
Our current understanding of how massive stars evolve and die does not immediately explain how this type of black hole could be born.
Most theories predict that as massive stars age, a significant portion of their material is shed by powerful winds. Eventually, it will be partially blown into space when it explodes as a supernova.
The remainder of the core shrinks further, becoming either a neutron star or a black hole, depending on its mass.
It is extremely difficult to explain a core large enough to eventually become a black hole 30 times the mass of the Sun. But the clues to solving this mystery may lie very close to Gaia BH3.
The star, which orbits Gaia BH3 at about 16 times the distance between the Sun and Earth, is quite unusual and is an ancient giant that formed during the first two billion years after the Big Bang, when our galaxy began to form. It’s a star.
It belongs to the family of galactic stellar halos, which move in the opposite direction to the stars in the galactic disk.
Its orbit indicates that the star was probably part of a small galaxy, or globular cluster, that was swallowed up by the Milky Way more than 8 billion years ago.
This companion star contains almost no elements heavier than hydrogen or helium, indicating that the massive star that became Gaia BH3 may also have been extremely poor in heavy elements.
For the first time, the theory that the massive black holes observed in gravitational wave experiments were created by the collapse of primordial massive stars lacking heavy elements has been confirmed.
These early stars may have evolved differently from the massive stars we see in our galaxy today.
The composition of the companion star can also reveal the formation mechanism of this surprising binary system.
“We were surprised that the chemical composition of the companion star is similar to that seen in older, metal-poor stars in the Milky Way,” said Dr. Elisabetta Cuffo, an astronomer at the CNRS and the Paris Observatory.
“There is no evidence that this star was contaminated by material ejected from the supernova explosion of the massive star that became BH3.”
“This may suggest that the black hole acquired a mate from another star system for the first time after its birth.”
of the team paper be published in a magazine astronomy and astrophysics.
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P. Panuzzo other. (Gaia collaboration). 2024. Gaia astronomical measurements prior to release discovered a dormant black hole with the mass of 33 solar masses. A&A, in press. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202449763
This artist's impression shows the orbits of both a massive stellar black hole and its companion star
ESO/L. Calzada
Astronomers have discovered Gaia-BH3, the largest stellar black hole ever discovered. It has a mass 33 times that of the Sun and is dwarfed only by supermassive black holes and black holes formed by merging with other black holes.
At about 2000 light-years away, Gaia-BH3 is also the second closest black hole to Earth ever discovered. george seabroke Researchers at University College London used the Gaia Space Telescope to discover this stellar black hole, formed from a star that has reached the end of its life.
Because light cannot escape from a black hole, most black holes are discovered by looking for the glow of hot material orbiting around them and falling. However, BH3 is in a dormant state and does not phagocytize substances. Instead, researchers made their discovery by noticing the strange movement of a star that appeared to be orbiting a part of empty space.
The star itself is also unusual, being made almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. Most stars contain at least some heavy elements, which formed in the cores of massive stars and were distributed throughout the universe by supernovae. However, the first generation of stars would have had very low amounts of heavy elements. The composition of BH3's partner star suggests that the massive star that eventually collapsed to form BH3 was also one of these primitive objects and evolved differently from the way massive stars do today. suggests that it is possible. This would explain how black holes became so huge. If it had evolved like a normal star, it would be difficult to explain its size.
The discovery of such a massive black hole was not a complete surprise. Experiments looking for gravitational waves (ripples in space-time caused by the motion of heavy objects) have found signs of them in other galaxies.
“These gravitational wave measurements should lead us to expect that such a black hole exists in our galaxy, but until now it hasn't,” Seabrook said. And this should be just the beginning, he says. “This star is very bright, so if you find a star this bright, you generally expect to find many fainter stars.”
Sarah Wiggard and Ralf Sommer / Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen
Tiny soil insects called nematodes usually feed on bacteria and algae and have small mouths to accommodate their diet. However, when baby nematodes are fed the fungus, their mouths double in size, giving them the ability to cannibalize their mates.
that’s what ralph sommer Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology in Tübingen, Germany, made the discovery while studying the development of predatory soil nematodes. Allody Progaster Sudhouushi.when the larvae are raised Penicillium Some of them ate fungi and cheese and grew into cannibals with giant mouths. “We were shocked,” he says.
The researchers knew that the different mouth shapes seen in this species resulted from different feeding habits. Nematodes that feed on bacteria have narrow mouths, while nematodes that feed on much smaller nematode species have slightly wider mouths. But this extreme variant, which the researchers called “teratostomia,” or Te morphology, had not been previously documented.
Sommer and colleagues investigated the genetics underlying these different mouth shapes and found that all three were controlled by the same sulfatase gene. But that activity only seems to result in a giant, gaping mouth. A. Sudaushi. The species’ complete set of genetic instructions was duplicated only recently in its evolution, Sommer said, so the doubling of gene pairs may have facilitated the origin of the worm’s giant mouth. That’s what it means.
Because the fungi’s diet was low in nutrients and more Te forms were found in high-density conditions, the researchers found that Te forms and their associated cannibalistic habits may have evolved as a response to the stresses of starvation and crowding. That’s what I think.
Nicholas Levis Indiana University points out that a similar phenomenon is seen in several other species. For example, the tadpoles of spadefoot toads and some salamanders can develop into cannibalistic carnivores depending on environmental conditions, Levis says.
But even in such cases, animals often avoid eating their own kind. Te nematodes are nondiscriminatory and prey on genetically identical neighbors. Levis says this is a “surprising finding” that could indicate that the development strategy is “really hopeless.”
“This discovery…made me wonder how much more diverse there is in the natural world than what we see,” Levis says. “How many other hidden ‘monsters’ are there waiting to be discovered under the right environmental conditions?”
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured detailed images of the globular star cluster NGC 1651 in the constellation Mensa.
This Hubble image shows the globular cluster NGC 1651 about 162,000 light-years away in the constellation Mensa. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / L. Girardi / F. Niederhofer.
Globular clusters are densely packed spherical clusters of hundreds of thousands or even millions of stars.
They are among the oldest known objects in the universe and are preferentially associated with the oldest components of galaxies.
There are at least 150 such objects in our Milky Way, and several more may be hidden behind the galaxy's thick disk.
NGC1651 is part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, the largest and brightest of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies.
beginning discovered Discovered by British astronomer John Herschel on November 3, 1834, this globular cluster is located approximately 162,000 light-years away in the constellation Mensa.
NGC 1651, also known as ESO 55-30 or LW 12, has a diameter of 120 light years.
“A remarkable feature of this image is that NGC 1651 nearly fills the entire image, even though the globular cluster is only about 10 to 300 light-years in diameter,” Hubble astronomers said. Masu.
“In contrast, there are many Hubble images that feature entire galaxies, tens or even hundreds of millions of light-years in diameter, that more or less fill the entire image.”
Color images of NGC 1651 consist of observations from. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 Found in the near-infrared and optical portions of the spectrum.
“A common misconception is that Hubble and other large telescopes can observe objects of vastly different sizes by zooming in, much like we would with special cameras on Earth,” the astronomers said. Ta.
“However, while smaller telescopes may have the option to zoom in and out to some extent, larger telescopes do not.”
“Each telescope instrument has a fixed 'field of view' (the size of the area of the sky that can be observed in a single observation).”
“For example, WFC3's ultraviolet/visible light channel, the channel and instrument used to collect the data used in this image, has a field of view that is approximately one-twelfth the diameter of the moon as seen from Earth. Masu.”
“Every time WFC3 makes an observation, it becomes the size of the region of sky it can observe.”
“There are two reasons why Hubble is able to observe objects with such widely different sizes,” the researchers said.
“First, the distance to an object determines how big that object appears from Earth, so an entire galaxy that is relatively far away is compared to a relatively nearby globular cluster like NGC 1651. could take up the same amount of space as the sky.''
“In fact, a distant spiral galaxy lurks just to the left of the cluster in this image. It's undoubtedly much larger than the cluster, but here it appears small enough to blend in with the foreground stars.”
“Second, multiple images across different parts of the sky can be mosaicked to create a single image of an object too large for Hubble's field of view.”
Numerous countries in western and central Africa are currently experiencing a lack of internet service due to reported outages in several submarine cables.
The cause of the cable outage on Thursday remains unknown.
Seacom, an African submarine cable operator, has confirmed the downtime on their West African cable system, leading to rerouting of affected customers who used their cables, which are part of the Google Equiano cable.
According to NetBlocks, disruptions due to cable damage have been a recurring issue in Africa, but the current situation is considered one of the most severe instances.
Data transmissions have shown significant disruptions at the international shipping points of the submarine network, impacting at least a dozen countries, with a major threat to critical services in countries like Ivory Coast.
Africa, known for a high proportion of internet traffic on mobile devices, relies heavily on internet connectivity for various business operations.
Several countries, including Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso, were heavily affected by the outage, as reported by NetBlocks.
Cloudflare also highlighted ongoing internet disruptions in countries like Gambia, Guinea, Namibia, Lesotho, and others, pointing out a disruptive pattern from north to south in Africa.
South African carrier Vodacom attributed connectivity issues to an undersea cable failure affecting network providers in South Africa.
Mehta emphasized that the impact of such cable failures could escalate as networks try to prevent damage, resulting in reduced capacity for other countries.
“While the initial disruption may be physical, further technical issues could arise,” she added.
Albanian mine where hydrogen naturally seeps through rocks
FV.Donze
The largest flow of natural hydrogen gas ever recorded has been measured deep in an Albanian mine. The discovery could help locate underground reserves of this clean fuel.
“The lather is really intense,” he says. Laurent Truche Researchers at France’s Grenoble-Alpes University measured gas in a pool of water about a kilometer underground. “It’s like a jacuzzi.”
Companies are currently searching for natural hydrogen deposits around the world as a source of clean fuel, but there is scant evidence that this “golden hydrogen” has accumulated in large quantities. Most claims about vast subsurface hydrogen deposits rely on extrapolation rather than direct measurements.
In search of more substantive evidence, Truche and his colleagues descended on Albania’s Balkizekromite mine. There, hydrogen gas escaping from the rocks has caused several explosions. The mine is also located in an outcrop of iron-rich rocks known as ophiolites. In other places, such as Oman, water is known to react with such rocks to produce hydrogen.
The researchers found that more than 80% of the gas bubbling out of the pool was hydrogen, mixed with methane and small amounts of nitrogen. That gas was flowing at a rate of 11 tons per year, almost an order of magnitude more than any other gas. Flow of hydrogen gas measured from a single point source elsewhere on the Earth’s surface.
To determine the source of the gas, the researchers also modeled various geological scenarios that could produce such flows. They found that the most likely scenario is that the gas is coming from a deeper reservoir of hydrogen accumulated in faults beneath the mine. Based on the geometry of the fault, they estimate that the reservoir contains at least 5,000 to 50,000 tons of hydrogen.
“This is one of the largest amounts of natural hydrogen ever measured,” he says. Eric Gaucher an independent geochemist focused on natural hydrogen.
But he says it’s still not a huge amount. Jeffrey Ellis At the U.S. Geological Survey. But evidence of stable hydrogen accumulation supports the idea that there is more hydrogen stored underground, he says. “We need to look deeper.”
Vacuum chamber that cools four-atom molecules to near absolute zero
Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics
The four-atom molecule is the largest uncooled molecule to just 100 billionths of a degree below absolute zero.
Techniques researchers use to cool individual atoms, such as applying lasers or magnetic forces to them, have little effect on molecules. This is especially true for molecules made up of many atoms. Because to be very cold, the molecules must be very still. The more moving parts a molecule has, the more opportunities it has to move and heat up.
“There's a joke that we study molecules not because they're easy, but because they're difficult,” he says. Luo Xinyu at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany. He and his colleagues were able to make a four-atom molecule even cooler than before.
They started with thousands of molecules made up of one sodium atom and one potassium atom, trapped them in an airless chamber, and cooled them, or made them very still, with magnetic forces and bursts of light.of lowest possible temperature 0 Kelvin, or absolute zero; these molecules were only 97 billionths of a billionth of a degree Kelvin.
To turn these diatomic molecules into tetraatomic molecules, the researchers needed to combine them in pairs without warming them up. They used microwave fields to “glue” the molecules together, based on the following theoretical calculations. Tao Xi and Suey Chinese Academy of Sciences. “I didn't really know if I could put these molecules together, but Tao's team did the calculations and he said to me, 'This is possible, give it a try.'” says Luo.
Their attempt was successful. The researchers created about 1,100 molecules, each containing two potassium atoms and two sodium atoms, at a temperature of 134 billionths of a billionth of a kelvin. This is the largest molecule ever to reach this cryogenic temperature.
“One of the reasons we make molecules ultracold in the first place is so we can have more control over them, and this is a big step forward in that sense,” he says. john bourne At the University of Colorado Boulder. This new experiment is important not only because the molecules are at unprecedented temperatures, but also because at the coldest temperatures molecules can enter known quantum states and be forced into other states or processes. accuratelyhe says.
Luo says the atoms in these molecules are not “glued” to each other as strongly as the atoms in molecules at room temperature. But making them is a necessary step in studying complex chemical reactions, which are easier to observe when they are very cold and slow.
Next question is Is there something else, perhaps an even larger molecule? Using similar microwave technology, it could be made from similarly frigid materials at extremely low temperatures, he said. sebastian will At Columbia University in New York. “I think we are looking at exciting new opportunities in quantum chemistry!” he says.
Use of Mid-infrared measuring instrument With (MIRI) aboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have captured stunning images of N79, a region of interstellar ionized hydrogen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
This Hubble image shows star-forming region N79 located 163,000 light-years away in the constellation Sera. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / M. Meixner.
N79 is a massive star-forming complex spanning about 1,630 light-years in the generally unexplored southwestern region of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring dwarf galaxy about 163,000 light-years from us.
This region is usually considered a younger version of the 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula.
N79 has a star formation efficiency more than twice that of Doradas 30 over the past 500,000 years.
This particular image centers on one of three giant molecular cloud complexes called N79 South (S1 for short).
The distinctive “starburst” pattern surrounding this bright object is a series of diffraction spikes.
“All telescopes that use mirrors to collect light, like Webb, have this form of artifact resulting from the design of the telescope,” Webb astronomers said.
“For Webb, the six largest starburst spikes appear due to the hexagonal symmetry of Webb's 18 primary mirror segments.”
“Such patterns are only noticeable around very bright and compact objects, where all the light comes from the same place.”
“Most galaxies appear very small to our eyes, but we don't see this pattern because they are dimmer and more spread out than a single star.”
“At the longer wavelengths of light captured by MIRI, Webb's view of N79 shows glowing gas and dust in the region.”
“This is because mid-infrared light can reveal what's going on deep within the cloud (whereas shorter wavelength light is absorbed or scattered by dust particles within the nebula). Still embedded Some protostars also appear in this region.”
Star-forming regions such as N79 are of interest to astronomers because their chemical composition is similar to that of giant star-forming regions observed in the early universe.
“The star-forming regions of our Milky Way galaxy are not producing stars at the same ferocious rate as N79 and have a different chemical composition,” the astronomers said.
“Webb now offers us the opportunity to compare and contrast observations of star formation in N79 with deep telescopic observations of distant galaxies in the early universe.”
“These observations of N79 are part of the Webb program to study the evolution of circumstellar disks and envelopes of forming stars over a wide range of masses and at different evolutionary stages.”
“Webb's sensitivity allows us to detect for the first time disks of planet-forming dust around stars of the same mass as the Sun at distances in the Large Magellanic Cloud.”
Samsung’s popular folding screen foldable phone now has a larger outer screen in its fifth generation, making it even easier to use, while still maintaining a stylish look with a sleek design that leaves no gaps when closed.
The new Z Flip 5 costs £1,049 ($999/AU$1,649), £50 more than last year’s model. It also comes with double his initial capacity of storage and a number of small but meaningful upgrades. There’s no question that folding technology still commands a premium price, with prices similar to high-end Android and iPhones.
The Flip 5 feels like a gorgeous piece of technology and is more sophisticated than previous versions. The new hinge allows the two halves of your phone to close flush on one end without leaving any gaps, which looks great and prevents pocket lint.
In contrast to the wedge shape and gap of flip 4 (left), flip 5 (right) closes flat and flush. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The new design also makes the phone thinner and slightly reduces the size of the screen crease, similar to the one seen on the Oppo Find N2 Flip. You can still feel the indentation in the center of the fold and see it in the glare of light, but it is usually not noticeable during use.
The large 6.7-inch screen is great: bright, crisp, smooth, and responsive. Samsung says the screen is 25% more durable than previous models, but it’s still made of softer materials than traditional phones, so it needs to be handled more carefully to avoid scratches. That’s what it means.
A big new 3.4-inch cover screen on the outside of the phone is the standout feature. It shows the time, notifications, and other types of information typical of a regular cell phone’s always-on display. There’s also an eight-button quick settings panel for toggling Wi-Fi and other bits, which is useful but annoyingly not customizable. When you have a notification, you’ll see a retro little red dot. There are many ways to customize the look of your display with different designs, images, and animations.
Spotify’s cover screen mini player is great (top left), with widget options like calendar, weather, and timer, as well as apps like Google Maps and YouTube (bottom right). Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The cover screen also has a collection of useful widgets, and you can also access a full keyboard to reply to messages and run a handful of apps like WhatsApp without opening your phone.
specification
Main screen: 6.7-inch FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED Infinity Flex display (425ppi)
Cover screen: 3.4 inch AMOLED
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 2nd generation
Ram: 8GB
storage: 256 or 512GB
operating system: One UI 5.1 based on Android 13
camera: Dual 12MP rear, 10MP front
Connectivity: 5G, nano sim+esim, wifi6E, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, GNSS
water resistance: IPX8 (30 minutes at a depth of 1.5 meters)
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