Scientists Identify Potentially Habitable Planet 40 Light Years Away with Ideal Atmosphere

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Rocky, Earth-sized planets in our Milky Way may be surrounded by atmospheres, with new research indicating a strong possibility of liquid water on their surfaces, supporting the potential for life.

Two separate papers, to be released on Monday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, focus on the TRAPPIST-1 system, which contains seven rocky planets orbiting a single star. Both studies present initial findings from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, suggesting that one planet, TRAPPIST-1e, could possess a nitrogen-rich atmosphere, although further research is necessary to confirm this.

These findings represent significant progress in the search for extraterrestrial life both within our solar system and beyond.

Recently, NASA revealed that rock samples from Mars may harbor evidence of ancient microorganisms. Presently, Mars has a thin atmosphere made primarily of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon, but billions of years ago, it likely possessed a much thicker atmosphere that allowed liquid water to exist on its surface.

For quite some time, scientists have maintained that water is a crucial element for life.

For a planet or moon to retain water in liquid form, it must have an atmosphere that prevents instant evaporation into space. This makes the search for exoplanet atmospheres one of the most exciting and promising areas of astronomical research.

“Ultimately, our goal is to identify planets that can support life,” stated Ryan McDonald, an exoplanet astronomer at St Andrews University, Scotland, and co-author of both studies. “To do this, we first need to identify whether these planets have atmospheres.”

The TRAPPIST-1 system is located 40 light-years from Earth and has been extensively studied since its discovery in 2016, as some of its planets may have conditions suitable for extraterrestrial life.

One light year is approximately 6 trillion miles.

Specifically, TRAPPIST-1e is thought to reside in the so-called “habitable zone,” where liquid water could be present on the surface—not too close to the star to be scorching hot and not too far to freeze.

In a recent study, astronomers utilized NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to observe four “transits” of TRAPPIST-1e, which occur when the planet passes in front of its star. While the telescope did not directly detect the planet’s atmosphere, it measured how light passing through the atmosphere was absorbed, if one is present.

Like a prism, light can be split into different color bands across the spectrum, and variations in how particular colors are filtered or absorbed can help identify the presence of specific atoms or gas molecules.

For instance, if a specific color is absorbed, it may indicate a high concentration of carbon dioxide, while other color changes could suggest the presence of hydrogen, oxygen, methane, or nitrogen.

“If no color variation is present, the planet is likely just a barren rock,” McDonald noted. “Barren rocks won’t show any color changes in response to light.”

During the four transits, researchers found no signs of a hydrogen-rich atmosphere surrounding TRAPPIST-1e, nor did they observe any indications of a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere. However, observations from the Webb telescope suggest a potential nitrogen-rich atmosphere.

“This is an exciting development that will significantly narrow down the prospects for a more Earth-like atmosphere,” remarked Caroline Piaulett Graeb, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago who was not involved in the new research.

Earth’s atmosphere is composed of a significant amount of nitrogen gas. Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, has an atmosphere primarily made of nitrogen and is believed by NASA to harbor a vast underground sea. Although it may be habitable, the methane-rich environment of the moon differs greatly from conditions on Earth.

Piaulet-Ghorayeb, the lead author of a study published last month in the Astrophysical Journal, focused on another planet in the TRAPPIST-1 system, TRAPPIST-1d. This planet is also located within the habitable zone, but the study found no evidence of common Earth-like molecules such as water, carbon dioxide, or methane.

Studying these distant worlds poses significant challenges.

The TRAPPIST-1 star is small and exceptionally active, producing considerable background noise that complicates researchers’ efforts. McDonald and his team dedicated over a year to analyzing data from the Webb telescope in order to isolate and identify chemical signatures from TRAPPIST-1e and its star.

To confirm the presence of an atmosphere, McDonald and his colleagues plan to observe TRAPPIST-1e during an additional 15 transits over the coming years.

They are also looking into three other planets, TRAPPIST-1f, TRAPPIST-1g, and TRAPPIST-1h, which are located further out in the system.

This research aims to bring scientists closer to answering some of the most persistent questions regarding exoplanets and the existence of life.

“We have not yet reliably confirmed the atmosphere of rocky planets outside our solar system, but it opens the door to studying temperate planets,” said Piaulett-Ghorayeb. “However, there is still much to explore.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

The Galaxy Potentially Discovered by JWST Might Be the Earliest We’ve Ever Observed

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A potentially newly discovered galaxy from the James Webb Space Telescope

NASA, ESA, CSA, CEERS, G. Gandolfi

SEI 264756217 — A potentially newly discovered galaxy from the James Webb Space Telescope

NASA, ESA, CSA, CEERS, G. Gandolfi

Astronomers might have found galaxies that formed very early in the universe, approximately 200 million years apart from their closest counterparts, but they caution that alternative explanations could exist.

Giovanni Gandolfi from the University of Padua, along with his team, examined data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in search of distant cosmic formations from the universe’s 13.8 billion-year timeline.

The greater the distance of a galaxy from Earth, the longer it takes for its light to reach us, and it will be redshifted due to the universe’s expansion.

Until now, the earliest confirmed galaxy identified by JWST, named Mom-Z14, has a redshift of 14.4, indicating that it has been moving toward us since the universe was just 280 million years old. Gandolfi and his colleagues, however, have reported finding 32 intriguing objects with redshifts, placing them at a time when the universe was merely 90 million years old. They have named this discovery Capotauro after the Italian mountains.

“Capotauro could represent the most distant galaxy we’ve encountered,” states Gandolfi.

The team derived their conclusion from observing minor fluctuations in a deep JWST survey of the sky that resemble a distant galaxy. By utilizing various filters on the telescope, they were able to determine the redshift of the light emitted by the galaxy, arriving at a count of 32.

If validated, this object might represent a very young galaxy in formation, or potentially a primitive black hole enveloped by a dense atmosphere.

Nonetheless, this presumed galaxy appears uncommonly bright, akin to those observed in later redshift instances like Mom-Z14, suggesting it has a mass approximating a billion times that of the Sun.

For a galaxy to reach such mass, its efficiency in converting gas into stars must be near 100%, according to Nicha Reese Chawarit from the National Institute of Astronomy in Thailand, indicating that the stars cannot explode. Modelling, however, suggests that achieving 10-20% or even lower is plausible. “I believe there’s something amiss,” she remarks.

If this is not a galaxy, Gandolfi and his team propose that the object could alternatively be a brown dwarf (a star that didn’t ignite). These alternative theories are also compelling, Gandolfi notes, particularly if it is a cold brown dwarf or distant planet, possibly 6000 light years away and at room temperature.

“It could represent one of the first substellar objects ever formed in our galaxy,” adds Gandolfi.

To confirm this, the team requires additional observing time on the JWST to precisely analyze the light from the object. Leethochawalit supports the notion that it may not be a galaxy but also states that such follow-up research could still be worthwhile.

“If it turns out to be a galaxy with a redshift of 32, then a lot of our previous assumptions might be entirely wrong,” she states.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Is the AI Bubble on the Verge of Bursting, Potentially Triggering a Stock Market Crash? | Philip Inman

Posted on August 23, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

An increasing anxiety surrounds the possibility of a stock market collapse. The rise from minor dips to significant drops casts shadows as the initial excitement surrounding artificial intelligence begins to wane.

In recent weeks, U.S. tech stocks have faced a downward trend, suggesting that a stream of disappointing figures could become commonplace before the end of the month.

We may be looking at a scenario reminiscent of 2000, where the burst of the dot-com bubble could lead to a grim situation.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is among those policymakers responsible for guarding against impending crises. At the annual Jackson Hole meeting with central bank governors in Wyoming, he sought to reassure worried minds.

He expressed that the Fed is concerned about increasing inflation and is prepared to assist the economy in overcoming the uncertainties brought on by Donald Trump’s actions and the global economic slowdown.

With STAGFLATION looming, there’s a genuine threat as the U.S. economy decelerates and inflation rises. Powell has indicated to stock markets that interest rates may decrease, relieving pressure on companies dependent on debt.

The stock market draws Powell’s attention even more than usual, given the extent of U.S. personal pensions invested in publicly traded companies. Specifically, tech stocks are heavily investing in AI, despite not yet achieving a single dollar in profit.

A recent study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology uncovered that 95% of companies investing in generative AI have not yet realized financial returns.

This news follows remarks from Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, who cautioned that some company valuations appeared “unusual.”

“We are happy to announce Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at the currency trading firm Swissquote,” remarked Ipek Ozkardeskaya. Altman’s comments served as a wake-up call for investors, likely triggering a sharp decline in various high-flying stocks.

Earlier this week, stock values for data mining and surveillance companies with substantial government contracts dropped almost 10%. AI chip manufacturer Nvidia declined by more than 3%, while other AI-related stocks such as ARM, Oracle, and AMD also suffered losses.

Most pension funds are heavily invested in these tech firms, along with established names like Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), and Meta (Facebook).

Should fund managers consider withdrawing? That’s likely not a prudent choice.

The magnitude of investments in AI by companies like Google and Meta is vast, and while the technology’s potential is subject to much speculation, white-collar workers are already seeing expected benefits in their daily tasks.

Daily reports and suggestions for utilizing AI in presentation preparation are commonplace (though they come with the unspoken caveat that job openings remain unaddressed).

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Microsoft Co-Pilot and numerous other “assistance” AI tools are available.

If this trend has already gained momentum across various economic sectors, a soft landing may await the tech industry, despite the elimination of some unstable, speculative enterprises.

In fact, a recession could facilitate large corporations in seizing opportunities from struggling competitors and leveraging new, affordable technological innovations.

The ratio of Palantir’s price to acquisition is over 500. Many investors are anxious even at a 50 ratio. Nvidia’s price to return ratio stands at 56.

As stock prices align with realistic revenue prospects, the Palantir/Nvidia ratio might decline; however, even in the harshest stock market turbulence, companies are unlikely to go bankrupt.

Trump remains a significant proponent, paving the way for AI to delve deeper into corporate operations. His advocacy for cryptocurrencies, along with his support for deregulated social media platforms, reflects his ideological leanings.

AI may pose potential dangers to humanity, given that politicians and regulators lag behind the notable figures and tech giants championing AI.

However, for investors, AI is not an entity that will simply vanish, crash, or evade downfall.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Missouri Resident Hospitalized with “Brain-Eating” Infection Potentially Linked to Water Skiing, Officials Report

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A resident of Missouri has been admitted to the hospital following a potential water skiing incident at a local lake, which health officials have characterized as a fatal “brain-eating infection.”

The Missouri Department of Health’s Senior Services Office released a statement on Wednesday indicating that the unidentified patients seem to have been exposed to Naegleria fowleri.

The agency described Naegleria fowleri as “a microscopic single-celled free-living ameba capable of causing a rare and lethal brain infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), commonly referred to as the ‘brain-eating’ infection.”

Health officials noted that early investigations imply the patients may have been engaged in water skiing at the Ozarks lake, a reservoir situated in central Missouri, prior to falling ill.

According to the agency, Naegleria fowleri typically resides in freshwater, although PAM is “extremely rare.” The ameba usually enters the body through the nose and makes its way to the brain, inflicting damage on brain tissue.

“Individuals who engage in water recreation should operate under the assumption that Naegleria fowleri could be found in warm freshwater across the United States, although infections remain highly uncommon,” the agency stated.

The health department reported only 167 cases of infection in the United States from 1962 to 2024.

In a separate incident last month, 12-year-old Jasen Kerr tragically passed away after swimming at Lake Murray in South Carolina, subsequently diagnosed with PAM, according to a statement from the law firm representing Kerr’s family, shared on Facebook.

“We support this family not only in seeking the truth but to ensure that no other families have to endure such losses,” stated Bailey Law Office.

Initial symptoms of PAM include headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC warns that most individuals with PAM will succumb within 1 to 18 days after symptoms manifest, leading to coma and death within 5 days.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services advised residents to “steer clear of water-related activities in warm freshwater during elevated water temperatures, utilize nose clamps, and refrain from submerging their heads in the water.”

They also recommended avoiding the disturbance of wet sediments, as “Naegleria fowleri amebas are likely to inhabit sediments at lakes, ponds, and riverbeds.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

OpenAI Withholds GPT-5 Energy Consumption Details, Potentially Exceeding Previous Models

Posted on August 9, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In response to inquiries about Artichoke recipes made to OpenAI’s ChatGPT in mid-2023, whether for pasta or guidance on rituals related to Moloch, the ancient Canaanite deity, the feedback was quite harsh—2 watts—which consumes approximately the same energy as an incandescent bulb over two minutes.

On Thursday, OpenAI unveiled a model that powers the widely-used chatbot GPT-5. When queried about Artichoke recipes, experts suggest that the energy consumed for similar pasta-related text could be multiple times greater (up to 20 times).

The release of GPT-5 introduced a groundbreaking capability for the model to answer PhD-level scientific inquiries, illuminating rationales for complex questions.

Nevertheless, specialists who have assessed energy and resource consumption of AI models over recent years indicate that these newer variants come with a cost. Responses from GPT-5 may require substantially more energy than those from earlier ChatGPT models.

Like many of its rivals, OpenAI has not provided official data regarding the power consumption of models since announcing GPT-3 in 2020. In June, Altman discussed the resource usage of ChatGPT on his blog. However, the figures presented—0.34 watt-hours and 0.000085 gallons of water per query—lack specific model references and supporting documentation.

“More complex models like GPT-5 require greater power during both training and inference, leading to a significant increase in energy consumption compared to GPT-4.”

On the day GPT-5 launched, researchers from the University of Rhode Island AI Lab found that the model could consume up to 40 watts to generate a medium-length response of approximately 1,000 tokens.

A dashboard released on Friday indicated that GPT-5’s average energy use for medium-length responses exceeds 18 watts, surpassing all other models except for OpenAI’s O3 inference model launched in April, developed by Chinese AI firm Deepseek.

According to Nidhal Jegham, a researcher in the group, this is “significantly more energy than OpenAI’s prior model, GPT-4O.”

To put that in perspective, one watt of 18 watt-hours equates to using that incandescent light bulb for 18 minutes. Recent reports indicate that ChatGPT processes 2.5 billion requests daily, suggesting that GPT-5’s total energy consumption could match that of 1.5 million American households.

Despite these figures, experts in the field assert they align with expectations regarding GPT-5’s energy consumption, given its significantly larger scale compared to OpenAI’s earlier model. Since GPT-3, OpenAI has not disclosed the parameter count of any models. The earlier version contained 17.5 billion parameters.

This summer, insights from French AI company Mistral highlighted a “strong correlation” between model size and energy use, based on their internal systems research.

“The amount of resources consumed by the model size [for GPT-5] is noteworthy,” observed Xiao Len, a professor at the University of California Riverside. “We are facing a significant AI resource footprint.”

AI Power Usage Benchmark

GPT-4 was widely regarded as being 10 times larger compared to GPT-3. Jegham, Kumar, and Ren believe GPT-5 is likely to be even larger than GPT-4.

Major AI companies like OpenAI assert that significantly larger models may be essential for achieving AGI, an AI system capable of performing human tasks. Altman has emphasized this perspective, stating in February: “It seems you can invest any amount and receive continuous, predictable returns,” but that GPT-5 does not surpass human intelligence.

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According to benchmarks from a study performed in July, Mistral’s LE chatbot exhibited a direct correlation between model size and its resource usage regarding power, water, and carbon emissions.

Jegham, Kumar, and Ren indicated that while the scale of GPT-5 is crucial, other factors will likely influence resource consumption. GPT-5 utilizes more efficient hardware compared to previous iterations. It employs a “mixture” architecture, allowing not all parameters to be active while responding, which could help diminish energy use.

Moreover, since GPT-5 operates as an inference model that processes text, images, and video, this is expected to lead to a larger energy footprint when compared to solely text-based processing, according to Ren and Kumar.

“In inference mode, the resources spent to achieve identical outcomes can escalate by five to ten times,” remarked Ren.

Hidden Information

To assess the resource consumption of AI models, a team from the University of Rhode Island calculated the average time taken by the model to answer queries—such as pasta recipes or offerings to Moloch—multiplied by the average power draw of the model during operation.

Estimating the model’s power draw involved significant effort, shared Abdeltawab Henderwi, a Professor of Data Science at the University of Rhode Island. The team faced difficulties in sourcing information about the deployment of various models within data centers. Their final paper includes estimates detailing chip usage for specific models and the distribution of queries among different chips in the data centers.

Altman’s blog post from June affirmed their results, revealing that his indicated energy consumption for queries on ChatGPT, at 0.34 watt-hours, closely matches findings from the team for GPT-4O.

Other team members, including Hendawi, Jegham, and others emphasized the need for increased transparency from AI firms when releasing new models.

“Addressing the true environmental costs of AI is more critical now than ever,” stated Marwan Abdelatti, a Professor. “We urge OpenAI and other developers to commit to full transparency in disclosing the environmental impact of GPT-5.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

You Could Potentially Share Near-Infinite Quantum Entanglement

Posted on July 28, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Quantum entanglement can be treated as a shareable resource

Peter Julik/Aramie

Quantum entanglement, an enigmatic connection between particles, serves as a crucial asset for quantum computing and communication, and in some instances, can be shared almost limitlessly.

Numerous quantum operations, including the secure transfer of encrypted quantum data and computations on quantum systems, depend on multiple entangled particles. Ujjwal Sen and his team at the Harish Chandra Research Institute in India have inquired whether entanglements can be shared rather than created anew.

“We imagined a scenario where someone possesses an abundance, like money or treats, willing to distribute it among children, employees, or others,” he explains.

To explore this idea, his team formulated a mathematical model featuring two hypothetical researchers, Alice and Bob, who share entangled particles. When additional researchers, Charu and Debu, require entanglement but cannot generate their own, the first pair must assist.

Their calculations indicated that if Charu’s particles interacted with Alice’s, and Debu’s with Bob’s, the initial pair could transfer part of their entanglement to the latter pair. Kornikar Sen, another researcher at the Harish Chandra Research Institute, clarified that although Charu and Debu couldn’t interact with each other, they could utilize a shared “entanglement bank.”

In fact, the researchers concluded that this procedure for sharing entanglement could potentially accommodate an infinite number of successive pairs of researchers unable to create their own entangled states. Ujjwal Sen expressed that this revelation was surprising, as they had not anticipated the ability to share entanglement across so many pairs when they commenced their calculations.

Moreover, the team pinpointed how the experimenters would need to modify their operations on the particles to facilitate this sharing mechanism, although these specific methods have yet to undergo experimental validation.

Chirag Srivastava from the Harish-Chandra Research Institute added that each new experimenter obtaining entanglement from Alice and Bob would acquire a diminishing share, as some entanglement dissipates during interactions.

Consequently, while the sharing methodology could theoretically continue forever, in practice, it would sooner or later cease when some researchers receive insignificantly small portions of entanglement.

How this situation unfolds—and how it measures against other methods by which researchers can obtain entanglement from a single source—remains to be explored through ongoing experiments.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

X-ray Enhanced Fabric Potentially Alleviates Mammogram Discomfort

Posted on June 28, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Mammograms can be painful,

Dahlia Artemenko/Alamie

Getting X-rays can be quite uncomfortable. You might need to lie still while experiencing discomfort or as a part of your body is compressed. However, innovative flexible fabrics that enhance X-ray detection could alleviate this issue.

“Picture scanning your child for injuries and conducting a painless breast examination without requiring the child to stay still,” says Li Xu from the Hong Kong Institute of Technology. She and her team have developed a fabric known as X-Wear, which emits light when exposed to X-rays.

X-rays typically utilize scintillation components, which are harder to detect than visible light, in both medical and industrial applications. For example, they can convert rays that penetrate your limbs into visible light, allowing for the creation of images that reveal internal details like fractures. However, the current scintillators are usually rigid, which makes them uncomfortable for use in devices where they are embedded.

To tackle this issue, researchers have reformulated scintillating materials, like reshaping gadolinium oxide sprinkled with europium into fine fibers, which are then integrated into fabrics.

Xu mentions that crafting these fibers to be flexible while ensuring they emit sufficient light for producing high-resolution images when exposed to X-rays poses a technical challenge. Her team has demonstrated that fabrics can be utilized for dental X-rays – in tests, X-Wear adapted to the shape of a clay mouth model and teeth. It has also been used for mammography, where an X-Wear bra was created to eliminate the need for compressing a person’s breasts during imaging, a common current practice.

Imalka Jayawardena from the University of Surrey in the UK emphasizes that X-Wear’s body-compliant nature is a significant advantage over other flexible scintillator designs, which tend to be film-like and inflexible. However, he notes that the light detectors paired with X-Wear are still flat, limiting the fabric’s potential applications.

Currently, researchers can produce about a quarter of a square meter of X-Wear samples, meaning production must be scaled up and adapted for industrial-grade equipment before it can be used widely, according to Xu.

The team is also exploring X-Wear’s potential for industrial use, envisioning small, flexible devices for inspecting electronics and identifying defects in pipelines. Xu also notes that first responders in disaster zones could utilize X-Wear, equipped with smartphones and compact X-ray sources, for conducting on-site scans.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Gastric Bypass Surgery Potentially Lowers Intestinal Cancer Risk

Posted on June 26, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Gastric bypass surgery is primarily utilized for weight loss, but it may provide other advantages

Portra/Getty Images

A widely recognized form of weight loss surgery may lower the risk of colorectal cancer by changing the levels of bile acids in the bloodstream. These findings could pave the way for new bowel cancer treatments.

During gastric bypass surgery, the stomach is surgically altered to create a small upper pouch and a larger lower pouch. The small intestine is then connected to the upper pouch, allowing food and digestive juices to bypass most of the upper stomach and small intestine. Post-surgery, patients often feel fuller and experience quicker weight loss.

Earlier research indicated that this procedure is associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer; however, the underlying reasons remained unclear. To investigate further, Rebecca Kesselling of the University of Freiburg, Germany, and her team fed mice a high-fat diet until they reached approximately 50% of their starting weight. They then performed a partial gastric bypass on some of the mice, while the remaining mice underwent a sham surgery that did not alter their digestive systems.

To isolate the weight-loss effects of gastric bypass surgery, the team grouped the gastric bypass mice alongside half of the sham-operated mice. Over six weeks, the gastric bypass mice lost about 20% of their body weight on average.

Subsequently, the researchers implanted colorectal cancer cells into the colons of the mice. After an additional six weeks, it was observed that colon tumors in the gastric bypass mice were two-thirds smaller than those in the mice that either continued gaining weight or lost weight solely through diet.

Additionally, cancer spread to the liver was seen in only one out of twenty gastric bypass mice, while it occurred in most of the sham-operated mice.

“Both sham groups exhibited similar tumor levels, but weight loss alone could not account for the lower cancer risk, suggesting that gastric bypass involves additional factors,” Kesselling explains.

The researchers speculated that this might be attributed to alterations in bile acids, which are compounds that aid in fat digestion. These molecules are typically produced by the liver, move through the gallbladder, stomach, and small intestine, and then return to the liver via the bloodstream.

“Bile acids are reintroduced into the small intestine during bypass surgery,” Kesselling states, implying that this process may lead to variations in intestinal bacteria that chemically modify these molecules.

The mice that underwent gastric bypass surgery displayed lower levels of specific bile acids, known as primary bile acids, in both their colon and bloodstream compared to the sham group.

To further explore whether changes in bile acids influenced cancer risk, the team conducted a similar experiment with another group of mice. Instead of gastric bypass, these mice had surgery that redirected bile acids to the latter part of the small intestine without altering the stomach.

Significantly, the team noted that this surgery also lowered primary bile acid levels in the bloodstream and decreased the size and spread of colorectal tumors as effectively as gastric bypass surgery. This was supported by an additional experiment, where they identified that primary bile acids promote the growth of colorectal cancer cells in laboratory settings.

The results indicate that focusing on primary bile acids may hold promise for cancer treatment. “We might be able to leverage various oral medications designed to reduce these bile acids to replicate some of the advantageous effects of gastric bypass surgery,” notes Vance Albaf from Louisiana State University.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Dark energy could potentially develop in unforeseen manners as time progresses

Posted on March 20, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

New results from the collaboration of Digi (dark energy spectroscopy) reveal signs of time-varying dark energy.

Two “fans” corresponding to the two main areas were observed by Desi on top and bottom of the plane of the Milkyway Galaxy. Image credits: Desi Collaboration/DOE/KPNO/NOIRLAB/NSF/AURA/R. Proctor.

“The universe will never surprise us and will never surprise us,” said Dr Arjun Dei, a digiproject scientist at Noir Love and associate director of the Central Scale Observatory for Strategic Initiatives.

“By unprecedentedly revealing the evolving textures of our universe's fabrics, Digi and Mayall telescopes are changing our understanding of the future of our universe and nature itself.”

The DESI data, which is employed alone, is consistent with the standard model of the universe. In Lambda CDM, CDM is cold dark matter, and Lambda represents the simplest case of dark energy that acts as a cosmological constant.

However, when combined with other measurements, the effect of dark energy may be weaker over time, increasing indications that other models may be more appropriate.

Other measurements of them include light leftovers from the dawn of space (cosmic microwave background, or CMB), distance measurements of supernovae, and observations of how light from distant galaxies are distorted by the effects of dark matter gravity (weak lenses).

So far, the evolving dark energy preference has not risen to 5 sigma. This is the gold standard in physics that represents a commonly accepted threshold of discovery.

However, the various combinations of DESI data and CMB, weak lenses, and supernova sets range from 2.8 to 4.2 sigma.

This analysis used techniques to hide results from scientists to the end to reduce unconscious biases about data.

This approach sets new criteria for how data is analyzed from large-scale spectroscopic studies.

The Desi is a cutting-edge instrument mounted on the NSF Nicholas U. Mayall 4-M telescope of the NSF Noirlab program, Kitt Peak National Observatory.

Light from 5,000 galaxies can be captured simultaneously, allowing you to carry out one of the most extensive research to date.

The experiment is currently investigating the fourth sky in five years, with plans to measure around 50 million galaxies and quasars (very far but bright objects with black holes in their cores) and more than 10 million stars by the time the project is finished.

The new analysis uses data from the first three years of observations and includes nearly 15 million best measured galaxies and quasars.

This is a major leap, with the one used in Desi's initial analysis improving the accuracy of the experiment with more than twice as much data set, suggesting evolving dark energy.

Digi tracks the effects of dark energy by studying how matter spreads throughout the universe.

Very early cosmic events left subtle patterns in the way matter was distributed. This is a function called Barion Acoustic Vibration (BAO).

Its Bao pattern acts as a standard ruler, and its size is directly influenced by how the universe is expanding at different times.

Measuring rulers at different distances has shown the strength of dark energy throughout history by researchers.

DESI Collaboration begins work with additional analysis to extract more information from the current dataset, and Desi continues to collect the data.

Other experiments offered online over the next few years will also provide complementary data sets for future analysis.

“Our results are a fertile foundation for our theory colleagues looking at new and existing models, and we look forward to what they came up with,” says Dr. Michael Levi, Desi Director and Scientist.

“Whatever the nature of dark energy, it shapes the future of our universe. It is very noteworthy that we look up at the sky with a telescope and try to answer one of the biggest questions humanity has ever asked.”

“These are prominent results from very successful projects,” said Dr. Chris Davis, NSF Program Director at NSF Neil Love.

“The powerful combination of NSF Mayall Telescope and DOE's dark energy spectroscopy instruments demonstrates the benefits of federal agencies collaborating with fundamental science to improve our understanding of the universe.”

Physicists shared their findings in a A series of papers It will be posted above arxiv.org.

Source: www.sci.news

How to potentially land a plane without any formal training

Posted on January 17, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Based on a highly reliable survey by YouGov in 2023, it was found that almost half of men believe they can successfully land a plane in an emergency situation. While we respect their confidence, it is crucial to acknowledge that landing an aircraft, especially a large commercial plane, is a complex task that requires experience.

There have been instances of small aircraft being guided to land by air traffic controllers and flight instructors on the ground. Nonetheless, it is essential to remember that pilots undergo extensive training before handling any type of aircraft.

Some large planes, like the Boeing 737, are equipped with an autoland feature that enables automatic landing in low visibility conditions. Although setting up this feature involves multiple steps and understanding of cockpit instruments, some experts believe that beginners can manage it with proper assistance.

In a detailed video on his YouTube channel, 737 instructor Petter Hernfeld outlines a 20-step emergency landing procedure that even non-pilots can follow. This process involves adjusting the plane’s speed, heading, altitude, and deploying flaps and landing gear. Additionally, Hernfeld emphasizes the challenge of gaining access to a locked cockpit during an emergency.

When it comes to smaller aircraft, the odds of successfully landing increase significantly. These planes have simpler controls and are easier to handle manually. In a 2022 incident, an inexperienced BBC journalist landed a two-seater plane with guidance from an instructor during a simulated emergency scenario.

Experts suggest that flight simulator games can offer a basic understanding of the skills required to safely land an aircraft in challenging situations.

This article addresses questions like: “Could you actually land a plane in an emergency?” – Jack Childs, via email

To submit your questions, please email questions@sciencefocus.com or reach out to us via our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram Page (don’t forget to provide your name and location).

For more fascinating science content, visit our Ultimate Fun Facts page.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Archaeologists Uncover Potentially the Oldest 3D Map in the World

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The Paleolithic rock shelter at Segonyol 3 in the Paris Basin contains a miniature representation of the surrounding landscape, according to a team of archaeologists from the University of Adelaide and Paris Mines Paris PSL.

Segonyol 3 3D map display on the floor of the rock shelter. Image credit: Médard Thiry.

The Segonyol 3 Rock Shelter has been known since the 1980s for its artistic carvings of two horses in Upper Paleolithic style on either side of a female pubic statue.

In 2017, archaeologists discovered that Paleolithic people manipulated sandstone to reflect the female figure, opening cracks that allowed water to seep into the sandstone, resulting in runoff at the base of the pelvic triangle. I discovered something.

A new study shows that some of the sandstone shelter floors were shaped and adapted by Paleolithic peoples about 13,000 years ago, and modeled to reflect the area’s natural water flow and topographic features. It suggests that it has been converted.

“What we have described is not a map of distance, direction, and travel time as we understand it today, but a three-dimensional map that depicts features of the landscape, such as outflows and confluences from uplands to streams and rivers. It’s a miniature of the original. Dr Anthony Milnes, an archaeologist at the University of Adelaide, said:

“Perception of the direction of water flow and landscape features may have been more important to Paleolithic people than modern concepts such as distance and time.”

“Our study shows that anthropogenic changes to the hydraulic behavior in and around the shelter have extended to modeling natural water flow in the landscape of areas surrounding rock shelters. “

“These are exceptional discoveries that clearly demonstrate the mental, imaginative and engineering abilities of our distant ancestors.”

Thanks to extensive research into the origins of the Fontainebleau sandstone, the authors recognized several minute morphological features that could not have formed naturally and suggest that they were modified by early humans. Masu.

“Our research showed that Paleolithic humans carved sandstone to facilitate specific flow channels for infiltrating and directing rainwater, something previously recognized by archaeologists.” said Dr. Medard Tilly of Paris Mines – PSL.

“Perhaps this metal fitting has a deeper mythical meaning related to water.”

“The two hydraulic installations, the sexual sculpture and the miniature landscape, are located 2-3 meters apart from each other and certainly convey the deep meaning of the concepts of life and nature that are never accessible to us.”

Researchers discovered the existence of three-dimensional modeling by looking closely at fine-scale geomorphological features.

“This brand new discovery provides a better understanding and insight into the capabilities of these early humans,” said Dr. Tilly.

Prior to this discovery, the oldest known three-dimensional maps were understood to be large portable rock slabs carved by Bronze Age people some 3,000 years ago.

The map depicts the local river network and embankments, and reflects the concept of more modern maps used for navigation.

“Collaboration across disciplines, such as archaeology, geology and geomorphology, is vitally important in science,” Dr Milnes said.

“We believe that the most productive research results are at the boundaries between disciplines.”

“It is important to reevaluate field studies and conduct frequent site visits,” Dr. Tilley said.

“It is clear from our ongoing projects that insights and interpretations do not emerge immediately, but through new observations and interdisciplinary discussions.”

This finding is reported in the following article: paper in Oxford Archeology Journal.

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Medard Tilly and Anthony Mills. 2025. Paleolithic map carved to show the flow of water to the shelters of the Paris Basin. Oxford Archeology Journal 44 (1): 2-26;doi: 10.1111/ojoa.12316

Source: www.sci.news

Astronomers Discover Fewer Potentially Hazardous Asteroids Near Earth than Initially Predicted

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

astronomer using Zwicky Temporary Facility (ZTF) investigated. Taurus resonance groupa large interplanetary system containing Comet 2P/Encke, several meteor showers, and possibly numerous near-Earth asteroids.

This image taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows comet 2P/Encke running along a pebble trail of its debris. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Minnesota.

“We can take advantage of the unique opportunity that this asteroid swarm has to approach Earth to more efficiently search for celestial objects that may pose a threat to Earth,” said Dr. Kuanji Ye, an astronomer at the University of Maryland. ” he said.

“Our results suggest that the risk of impact from large asteroids in the Taurus group is much lower than we thought, which is good news for planetary defense.”

Prior to this study, astronomers had predicted that the Taurus resonance complex contained a significant number of large kilometer-sized space rocks, probably left behind by large objects up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) wide. I was guessing.

If a large object were to hit Earth, like the Chelyabinsk asteroid in 2013, it could cause regional damage.

Even larger objects can cause extinction-level events, like the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs more than 66 million years ago.

“Fortunately, we found that there are likely only a small number of asteroids in this large size class, perhaps only nine to 14, in this population,” Dr. Ye said.

“Judging by our findings, the parent object that first spawned the swarm was probably closer to 10 km (6.2 miles) in diameter, rather than a giant 100 km diameter object.”

“We still need to be cautious about asteroid impacts, but knowing this result will probably help us sleep better.”

The Taurus swarm holds important clues about planetary evolution, especially because of its association with Comet Encke.

This comet has the shortest orbital period of any known comet, at just 3.3 years.

It is also unusually large and dusty for a short-period comet that orbits the sun within 200 years.

Considering all available evidence, scientists believe that Encke has experienced significant fragmentation in the past and may continue to do so in the future.

“Studying the Taurus swarm helps us understand how small objects like comets and asteroids form and break up over time,” said Dr. Ye.

“Our research has implications not only for asteroid detection and planetary defense, but also for our broader understanding of the solar system's celestial bodies.”

The researchers presented their findings. findings this week's DPS56Annual Meeting of the Planetary Science Division of the American Astronomical Society.

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Yosenshi others. 2024. In search of potentially dangerous asteroids in the Taurus resonance group. DPS56

Source: www.sci.news

Astronauts Could Potentially Consume Asteroids in the Future

Posted on October 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Samples from asteroid Ryugu

JAXA

Future astronauts may be able to eat a nutritionally complete meal made from bacteria grown on crushed asteroids, creating a type of milkshake or yogurt.

Astronauts on the International Space Station are experimenting with growing salad leaves, but most of the food consumed in space comes from Earth. This will not be possible for more distant and longer duration space missions. joshua pierce and his colleagues at Western University in Ontario, Canada, decided to study the use of bacteria to convert carbon-containing compounds from asteroids into edible food.

Although they have not yet performed this process using real asteroids, Pearce and his team performed a similar experiment using bacteria that breaks down plastic from leftover military ration packets. To do this, they heated the plastic in the absence of oxygen, a process called pyrolysis, and fed this to a mixture of carbon-eating bacteria.

“If you look at the pyrolysis products that bacteria are known to eat and the materials found in asteroids, there's actually a pretty reasonable match,” Pearce said. “So I think this really works.”

The bacterial aggregates end up being “something like a caramel milkshake,” Pearce said, and the team is also experimenting with drying the material to make something like yogurt or powder.

Although it may not be very appetizing, Pearce says this bacteria is highly suited for human needs. “We did a nutritional analysis and found it to be a nearly perfect food,” he says. “We found that the bacterial consortium we were using was more or less allocating a third each to protein, carbohydrates, and fat.”

If this idea is correct, a 500-meter-wide asteroid similar to Bennu, which NASA visited in 2020, could feed between 600 and 17,000 astronauts for a year, Pierce said. say. The exact amount depends on how efficiently the bacteria can digest the asteroid's carbon compounds.

A fully operational asteroid food project would require an “industrial-sized supermachine” in space, but researchers will begin testing the idea on a small scale next year, starting with coal. He says he wants to move on to meteorites next. They are currently working on the proposal. “It's very expensive, so we have to destroy it.” [the meteorites]So when we made these proposals, the stone collectors were not happy,” Pearce says.

“There's definitely potential there, but it's still a very futuristic and exploratory idea,” he says. Annemiek Wargen At the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. “It's good to think about these things, but in terms of technology, there's still quite a bit of development to be done before we can use these methods.”

The success of this process depends on how much of the carbon compounds in the asteroid are suitable food for bacteria, Wagen said. Based on the composition of meteorites on Earth, it's likely somewhere in the middle of the range the researchers calculated, she says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Rapamycin could potentially enhance the safety of epilepsy medications in pregnant women

Posted on October 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Sodium valproate is an effective drug for epilepsy, but its consumption is not recommended during pregnancy

Miljan Zivković/Shutterstock

The drug rapamycin may prevent the epilepsy drug sodium valproate from causing developmental problems during pregnancy.

Sodium valproate is used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and sometimes migraines. Although effective, it is not recommended during pregnancy as it can cause birth defects such as spina bifida and lifelong learning disabilities.

Giovanni Pietrogrande Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia wanted to understand why sodium valproate could have such an effect. So they used stem cells to create mini-spinal cords called organoids in the lab. These mimic the spine of a fetus during early pregnancy.

When organoids were exposed to sodium valproate, their cells changed in ways that may be associated with risk of congenital disease.

The researchers looked for reasons for this and found that activity in one of the cell's signaling pathways, called mTOR, indicates that cells are aging. This is a process in which cells stop growing but do not die, but instead continue to release chemicals that can cause inflammation.

Rapamycin, which was initially developed as an immunosuppressant but has some promise for anti-aging effects, also targets the mTOR pathway.

In another experiment, researchers exposed a new set of spinal cord organoids to a combination of sodium valproate and rapamycin and found that no aging occurred. They then replicated this test in zebrafish larvae and found that the cells similarly did not undergo senescence and showed no signs of the changes that occur when exposed to sodium valproate alone.

Rather than doctors discontinuing sodium valproate if an epileptic patient is pregnant or may become pregnant, someday doctors may be able to prevent the negative effects of sodium valproate by combining it with rapamycin. Pietro Grande says. Human studies are needed to make this recommendation.

Frank Vajda The University of Melbourne says sodium valproate is “a critically important drug and the single most effective treatment for generalized seizures, where abnormal electrical activity begins in both halves of the brain at the same time.”

“I think this is a very important paper that could lead to a return to the level of importance that this drug had before its side effects were discovered,” he says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

NOAA forecasts 2024 to potentially be the warmest year ever recorded

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

July marked the 14th consecutive month of record-high global temperatures, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency predicts that this year is likely to be the hottest or near the hottest on record, with a 77 percent chance of being the hottest and nearly 100 percent chance of being among the top five hottest years. Karin Gleason, from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, reported that record temperatures were observed across nearly a fifth of the world’s land area in July.

Record temperatures were recorded in Europe, Africa, and Asia, making July their warmest month on record. North America experienced the second warmest July. The planet experienced its hottest July on record for two consecutive days, leading to heat warnings in the southwestern U.S. and triple-digit temperatures in Central California, where the Park Fire became the fourth-largest wildfire in state history.

NOAA predicts that most of the continental U.S. will experience above-normal temperatures in September, with the exception of coastal California and parts of the Pacific Northwest. Researchers attribute the extreme temperatures to the burning of fossil fuels and the continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The recent temperatures are also influenced by the natural weather pattern El Niño.

El Niño’s influence is expected to weaken, potentially making way for La Niña, which could develop in September, October, and November. La Niña is associated with cooler global temperatures, but it could also intensify hurricanes in the Atlantic. It may lead to wetter winters in the Pacific Northwest and drier conditions in the Southwest, potentially causing recurrent droughts.

The Copernicus project, which combines real-world observations with computer modeling, reported that July was the second-hottest on record. US and European scientists agree that this July’s temperatures were comparable to those of 2023 in terms of heat. Despite slight differences in data and methodologies, the consistency in global data sets suggests that the planet is approaching record levels of heat.

After 15 months of record-high sea surface temperatures, NOAA noted a slight easing in levels. Sea surface temperatures are still trending about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit above average, although below the record set in 2023.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

NHS: New online therapy may potentially double the number of individuals overcoming anxiety

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Research suggests that a new online therapy approved by the NHS could significantly increase the number of children and adults recovering from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. In England, it is estimated that 1 in 5 children and young people between the ages of 8 and 25 may have a mental disorder, while 1 in 4 adults experience a diagnosable mental health problem each year according to NHS England.

Due to long waiting lists for psychiatric care, a surge in demand, and challenges with face-to-face appointments, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended the use of online therapies across the NHS in their Early Value Assessment. Developed by Oxford University, four internet treatments will be implemented in various NHS trusts, mental health facilities, schools, and universities starting in September.

The University of Oxford has licensed Koa Health to deliver these online therapies, which are tailored for adults, adolescents, children with social anxiety disorder, and adults with PTSD. The treatments involve a series of online modules delivered through phone or video calls with therapists, available 24/7 to replicate in-person treatment.

Studies have shown positive results with these online therapies, with patients recovering as effectively as those receiving face-to-face treatment. Clinical trials have demonstrated significant benefits in treating social anxiety disorder and PTSD, showing promising recovery rates and improvements in quality of life.

The expansion of online therapy has been welcomed by mental health organizations, emphasizing the importance of patient choice in selecting the most suitable treatment. The NHS acknowledges the need to improve access to mental health care and recognizes the potential of digital tools to provide essential support to those in need.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ozempic and Wegovy could potentially aid individuals in smoking cessation

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Ozempic has the potential to treat many diseases, not just type 2 diabetes and obesity.

MySkin/Shutterstock

Another study showed that semaglutide (a drug found in Ozempic and Wegovi – It may help treat addiction: Researchers found that people prescribed the drug to treat type 2 diabetes were less likely to seek medical attention for smoking than those taking other diabetes medications.

Semaglutide helps treat obesity and type 2 diabetes by mimicking hormones that suppress appetite and regulate blood sugar levels. Previous studies have also shown that semaglutide reduces the incidence of diabetes. Cannabis Use Disorder and Alcoholism.

To find out the effect of semaglutide on tobacco addiction, Ron Shu Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio collected data from the electronic medical records of about 223,000 people in the US with type 2 diabetes and smoking habits, about 6,000 of whom had been prescribed semaglutide, and the rest were using one of seven other diabetes medications.

The researchers then tracked whether participants met with a health care provider about smoking or received smoking cessation counseling within a year of starting to take the smoking cessation medication.

After taking into account variables such as age, sex, race and certain health conditions, the team found that people using semaglutide were, on average, less likely to receive tobacco-related medical care than people taking other medications, which the researchers took to be an indication that these people may be more successful in quitting smoking.

For example, semaglutide users were 32% less likely to receive the treatment. Insulin 18% lower than users Metformin user.

People taking semaglutide may be less likely to seek medical care for their smoking, even though they didn’t necessarily stop using such products. But Xu said that because they all sought tobacco-related medical care at similar rates before they started taking type 2 diabetes medication, semaglutide may actually have helped them.

The study was not a randomized controlled trial, which is the highest level of medical evidence, so the results do not conclusively show that semaglutide is behind the effect, he said. Patricia Grigson Kennedy At Pennsylvania State University, however, other studies have shown that semaglutide reduces activity in areas of the brain involved in reward processing and craving, so there may be a causal relationship.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

The enigmatic black hole “parsec problem” could potentially be resolved

Posted on July 27, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Just like a runner hitting the wall at the end of a race, supermassive black holes face a similar challenge as they approach each other, coming to a virtual standstill in the final parsec.

Recent research indicates that dark matter could be the key to overcoming this last obstacle.

This is because researchers have identified a crucial behavior of dark matter that has been previously overlooked – its ability to interact with itself.

“The assumption of dark matter particles interacting is an additional component not present in all dark matter models,” explained the co-authors of the study. Dr. Gonzalo Alonso Alvarez. “Our argument is that only a model with these features can address the final parsec problem.”

What is the final parsec problem?

The final parsec problem refers to the challenge that slows down the black holes before they merge.

This discovery follows a previous study that detected gravitational waves resulting from the merging of supermassive black holes, each a billion times the mass of the sun.

In the new study published in Physics Review Letter, researchers found that the black holes came to a halt at just one parsec away from each other.

The question remains: if black holes cannot merge, how are gravitational waves produced?

The answer may lie in a better understanding of dark matter behavior, which may facilitate the merger of supermassive black holes over the final parsec.

When two galaxies collide, their supermassive black holes begin to orbit each other. Gravity slows them down, bringing them close to merging before their orbits shrink too much to support the final collapse. Interaction with a halo of dark matter then absorbs the remaining orbital energy, allowing the black holes to eventually merge.

This new model is supported by the Pulsar Timing Array, which detects gravitational waves originating from supermassive black hole mergers predicted by Alonso Alvarez and his team.

“Our study offers a new perspective on understanding the nature of dark matter particles,” said Alonso-Alvarez. “Observations of supermassive black hole mergers can provide insights into these particles.”

Read more:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Research suggests that biological amino acids could potentially endure in the near-surface ice of Europa and Enceladus

Posted on July 19, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Europa and Enceladus are important targets for the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life in the solar system. However, the surfaces and shallow subsurfaces of these airless icy moons are constantly exposed to ionizing radiation that can degrade chemical biosignatures. Therefore, sampling the icy surfaces in future life-searching missions to Europa and Enceladus requires a clear understanding of the required ice depths where intact organic biomolecules may exist. A team of scientists from NASA and Pennsylvania State University conducted experiments exposing individual biological and abiotic amino acids in the ice to gamma radiation to simulate conditions on these icy worlds.

Europa's surface stands out in this newly reprocessed color image. The image scale is 1.6 km per pixel. Europa's north side is on the right. Image courtesy of NASA / JPL-Caltech / SETI Institute.

“Based on our experiments, a 'safe' sampling depth for amino acids on Europa is about 20 centimetres (8 inches) at high latitudes in the trailing hemisphere (the hemisphere opposite the direction Europa moves around Jupiter), in an area where the surface has not been significantly disturbed by meteorite impacts,” said Dr. Alexander Pavlov, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

“Detecting amino acids on Enceladus does not require subsurface sampling; these molecules survive radiolysis (breakdown by radiation) anywhere on Enceladus' surface, within a few millimeters (tenths of an inch) of the surface.”

Dr. Pavlov and his colleagues used amino acids in their radiolysis experiments as representative examples of biomolecules on icy moons.

Amino acids are produced by both living organisms and non-living processes.

But if certain types of amino acids were found on Europa or Enceladus, they could be a sign of life, as they may be used by life on Earth as building blocks of proteins.

Proteins are essential for life because they are used to create structures and to produce enzymes that speed up or control chemical reactions.

Amino acids and other compounds found underground in the ocean could be transported to the surface by geyser activity or the slow churning motion of the ice shell.

To assess the survival of amino acids on these planets, the researchers mixed amino acid samples with ice cooled to minus 196 degrees Celsius (minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit) in sealed, airless vials and exposed them to various doses of gamma rays (a type of high-energy light).

Because the ocean may harbor microorganisms, the researchers also tested the viability of amino acids contained in dead bacteria in the ice.

Finally, the researchers tested samples of amino acids in the ice mixed with silicate dust to see if meteorites or interior materials could be mixing with the surface ice.

This experiment provided vital data for determining the rate at which amino acids break down (called the radiolysis constant).

Using these, the scientists used the age and radiation environment of the icy surfaces of Europa and Enceladus to calculate drilling depths and where 10% of amino acids would survive radiolysis.

While experiments have been done before to test for the survival of amino acids in ice, this is the first to use low doses of radiation that don't completely break down the amino acids – changing or breaking them down would be insufficient to determine whether they were a sign of life.

This is also the first experiment to use Europa/Enceladus conditions to assess the survival of these compounds in microbes, and the first to test the survival of amino acids mixed with dust.

Scientists have found that amino acids break down faster when mixed with dust, but more slowly when they come from microorganisms.

“The slow rate of breakdown of amino acids in biological samples under surface conditions like those on Europa and Enceladus strengthens the case for future life detection measurements from lander missions to Europa and Enceladus,” Dr Pavlov said.

“Our results indicate that the decomposition rates of potential organic biomolecules are higher in the silica-rich regions of both Europa and Enceladus than in pure ice. Future missions to Europa and Enceladus should therefore be careful when sampling the silica-rich regions of these icy moons.”

“A possible explanation for why amino acids survive longer in bacteria is the way that ionizing radiation alters molecules, either directly by breaking chemical bonds or indirectly by creating nearby reactive compounds that alter or break down the target molecule.”

“It's possible that the bacterial cellular material protected the amino acids from reactive compounds produced by the radiation.”

Team paper Published in the journal Astrobiology.

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Alexander A. Pavlov others2024. Effects of radiolysis on biological and abiotic amino acids in shallow subsurface ice on Europa and Enceladus. Astrobiology 24(7); doi: 10.1089/ast.2023.0120

This article has been edited based on the original NASA release.

Source: www.sci.news

Can ‘iron snow’ potentially sustain life in Europa’s oceans?

Posted on June 7, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The only example of life in the universe is Earth, a rocky planet with over 70% water on its surface. As far as we know, all life on Earth relies on water to survive and thrive, so scientists refer to other planets where liquid water is known to exist as “habitable.”

But scientists also know that a puddle of water alone is not enough to sustain life. Life depends on a constant flow of electrons between molecules, which Electronic GradientTo create energy, electrons move away from areas of high electron density. Reducelow density areas, so-called Oxidize.

Scientists have found several planets and moons in our solar system that have liquid water. Researchers are particularly intrigued by Jupiter's moon Europa, because remote sensing has revealed that it has a salty liquid ocean about 100 kilometers (60 miles) deep on top of a crust of iron-rich rock, with a layer of ice about 10 kilometers (6 miles) thick on top of that.

Europa has no atmosphere to protect it from the sun's radiation, which allows chemical reactions to take place that consume electrons on its surface, creating an oxidizing environment. In contrast, its iron-rich crust creates a reducing environment beneath its oceans. This means that an electron gradient naturally forms along the path from Europa's oxidizing surface to its reduced ocean floor. Scientists want to know if life could harness this electron gradient to obtain enough energy to sustain itself and survive.

Researchers studying Europa From the data Cassini and Galileo The mission found that Europa's ocean temperatures range from 0 to -13 degrees Celsius, or 32 to 9 degrees Celsius. They found that the hottest temperatures are found closest to the ocean floor, where heat is generated by reactions between water and rock, similar to Earth's hydrothermal systems. They also found that some of the most abundant molecules near Europa's surface are all oxide molecules, such as carbonates and sulfates.

Based on these temperature constraints and the amount of energy provided by oxidizing molecules on Europa's surface, a team of researchers from the University of Akron and the University of Southern California calculated the amount of energy available for life in Europa's ocean and investigated whether three types of Earth microorganisms could live beneath Europa's ocean. The microorganisms they tested generate energy using carbonates, sulfates, or iron particles. They reasoned that because all three of these oxidizing molecules are found on Europa's icy surface, if delivered to the ocean floor, the organisms could combine with reducing molecules on the ocean floor to generate energy.

The researchers calculated that in Europa's environment, molten iron near the surface layer of ice would form solid particles when exposed to penetrating radiation from the sun, and slowly fall to the ocean floor — like snow falling from the sky on Earth, except instead of water ice particles, the ocean rains down in the form of rust-like, reddish iron particles.

The scientists calculated that iron oxide snow would provide a larger electron gradient than carbonates or sulfates, ultimately generating more energy for life. They estimated that iron snow could provide up to 2.5×10²⁶ More than 100 microbial cells are found on Europa's ocean floor per year, which represents about 0.1% of the total number of microbial cells currently living in Earth's oceans.

However, the authors caution that only around 10% of the energy produced by organisms on Earth is used to generate cells — the remaining 90% is used to maintain metabolism, meaning that the number of cells that microbial life could actually generate from Europa's underwater iron pathways would be much lower than the authors estimate.

Nevertheless, the authors suggest that these cell count calculations could be used to design missions to search for life on Europa: When future satellites orbit Europa, researchers could estimate how much cell mass we might expect from microbes living in the iron passages on the Europa ocean floor.

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Source: sciworthy.com

The groundbreaking project aiming to decipher and potentially reverse menopausal age

Posted on April 24, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

From the moment you begin as an immature egg in your grandmother’s womb, your fertility journey is limited. However, scientists at Cambridge University may soon change that reality in their bright labs.

Dr. Staša Stankovic is one of these scientists. Her research at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge has uncovered valuable data in the field. Now, Stankovic is focused on unraveling the mysteries surrounding fertility and menopause.

Women’s ovaries hold a finite supply of eggs that represent their fertility. Stankovic compares this concept to an hourglass, where the sand (eggs) can only flow in one direction until it runs out, signaling the onset of menopause.

“In science, we aim to control the hourglass’s middle part,” she explains. “Our goal is to limit the eggs’ loss over time, preserving the highest quality eggs for as long as possible.”

Working with a team for five years, Stankovic is developing a method to predict the natural fertile period and age of menopause with 65% accuracy, aiming for 80% accuracy in clinical practice.

Additionally, the team is exploring potential drug solutions to address infertility and potentially delay menopause. The onset of menopause is influenced by the ovarian reserve and the rate at which eggs deplete over a woman’s lifetime, typically occurring around age 50 with fewer than 1,000 eggs left.

For women experiencing early menopause or premature menopause, these drug treatments could be life-changing.

Your Menopausal Age

Researchers are studying genetic factors using a blood sample rather than physical examinations to understand how genes impact fertility and menopause.

The research team analyzed data from over 200,000 women in the UK Biobank, which provided insights into menopause, fertility, and overall health metrics. This data will help researchers make connections with other health outcomes like dementia and diabetes.

By identifying over 300 genetic variations linked to menopause, researchers foresee potential solutions for ovarian diseases and early menopause using drug interventions.

Stankovic cautions against relying solely on IVF and egg freezing as magical solutions, emphasizing the need for more effective treatments with higher success rates.

Effects of Delaying Menopause

The research team is hopeful about developing infertility drugs that not only address symptoms but also regulate ovarian function. While the drug’s availability is estimated within the next decade, rigorous testing and validation are still required.

The team’s focus is on identifying crucial genes, conducting testing in ovarian models, and formulating drugs that maintain egg quality and quantity as women age.

Ultimately, the goal is to delay menopause and extend reproductive lifespan. Preliminary studies on mice have shown promising results, but further research is needed before human trials can begin.

Aside from fertility benefits, delaying menopause could also impact women’s overall health, offering insights into various diseases associated with menopause.

About Our Experts

Dr. Staša Stanković is an ovarian genomicist with a PhD in reproductive genomics from the University of Cambridge. Her groundbreaking research has been published in top scientific journals, shedding light on the biological mechanisms behind ovarian aging and menopause.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Signs of Potentially Weakening Dark Energy

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Slice of the universe's largest 3D map showing the fundamental structure of matter

A collaboration between Leah Raman and DESI. Custom colormap package with cmastro

The largest 3D map of the universe ever created offers hints about the evolution of the universe and suggests we may be wrong about the behavior of dark energy, which makes up most of the universe. I am. This mysterious power may weaken over time.

“If it can be maintained, this is a very big deal,” he says Adam Rees Johns Hopkins University in Maryland discovered the first evidence of dark energy 25 years ago. That's because the standard model of cosmology, called the lambda CDM, suggests that the intensity of dark energy should not change over time.

Dark energy is thought to cause the accelerated expansion of the universe. If it is not static, it could also have major implications for our ideas about the universe's beginning, its size, and ultimate fate. Mr. Reese, who was not involved in the new work, said the impact was that “we… [our understanding of] “Gravity and Field”.

This strange finding comes from the Dark Energy Spectroscopy Instrument (DESI) in Arizona, where even DESI collaborators say data suggests dark energy may be weakening in recent times. I don't really know what to make of that fact. A DESI spokesperson said: “Whether this is interesting or not, this is all we have been talking about in this collaboration for months.” Kyle Dawson at the University of Utah.

DESI researchers investigated the strength of dark energy by measuring the large-scale structure and distribution of galaxies in the universe, revealing how the universe has expanded over time. The researchers then combined this information with three sets of data about supernovae. Supernovae act as so-called “standard candles” that determine the distance to cosmic objects thanks to their predictable brightness.

Surprisingly, each of the three supernova samples gave a different answer to the changing rate of expansion of the universe over time. All three suggest that the influence of dark energy may have declined in recent years, but the strength of these suggestions varies, so researchers wonder how to interpret the data. I don't really understand.

“Two of the supernova samples don't match each other, but they are very similar,” Dawson said. “We don't know which one is correct. The truth may lie somewhere in between, but the real difference seems to be in the method.” [the supernova researchers] We evaluated the data. ”

Model discrepancy is indicated by a coefficient called sigma. Sigma measures the likelihood that similar collisions will occur by chance when the models do not match each other. “About 3 sigma is the level at which we typically sit and pay attention and call it a 'sign' of something,” Reese says. Values lower than that are usually not of particular interest to researchers. It would be too likely a simple coincidence.

The discrepancies between the lambda CDM and combined supernova and DESI measurements ranged from 2.5 sigma to 3.9 sigma. “Both opinions are true. There's enough tension and it's interesting. And there's not enough tension to say that something is definitely there,” says Dawson.

Dark energy makes up nearly 70 percent of the universe, so errors in our understanding of its properties can have far-reaching implications for physics. However, more precise measurements will be needed in the coming years to prove whether the error really exists.

“if [this is] “Certainly, this is the first real clue we've had about the nature of dark energy in 25 years,” says Rees.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

New Study Suggests That Venus’ Clouds Could Potentially Support Life

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Planetary scientists have long speculated that Venus' potential habitability lies not in its hot surface but in a cloud layer at an altitude of 48 to 60 kilometers, where temperatures match those of Earth's surface. However, it is commonly believed that Venusian clouds cannot support life because their chemical composition is concentrated sulfuric acid, a highly aggressive solvent. In the new study, chemists studied 20 biogenic amino acids across a range of sulfuric acid concentrations and temperatures in the Venus cloud. After four weeks, the researchers found that 19 of the biogenic amino acids tested were either unreactive or chemically modified only in their side chains. Their main discovery is that the amino acid backbone remains intact in concentrated sulfuric acid.

This composite image taken by JAXA's Akatsuki spacecraft shows Venus. Image credit: JAXA / ISAS / DARTS / Damia Bouic.

“What is quite surprising is that concentrated sulfuric acid is not a universally hostile solvent for organic chemistry,” said MIT researcher Dr. Janusz Petkowski.

“We found that the building blocks of life on Earth are stable in sulfuric acid, which is very interesting as we consider the possibility of life on Venus,” said Sarah Seager of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. the professor added.

“That doesn't mean life there will be the same as it is here. In fact, we know it's unlikely. But this study suggests that Venus' clouds support the complex chemicals necessary for life. We advance the idea that there is a possibility that

The search for life in Venus' clouds has gained momentum in recent years, spurred by the detection of the controversial molecule phosphine, a molecule thought to be a signature of life, in the planet's atmosphere. There is.

Although the discovery remains debated, the news reignited old questions about whether life could actually exist on Earth's sister planet.

In search of answers, scientists are planning several missions to Venus. That includes the first largely privately-funded mission to Venus, backed by California-based launch company Rocket Lab.

The mission, for which Professor Seeger is the principal scientist, aims to send a spacecraft into the planet's clouds and analyze their chemistry for signs of organic molecules.

Ahead of the mission's launch in January 2025, Professor Seager and his colleagues will test various materials in concentrated sulfuric acid to find out whether debris from life on Earth might be stable in Venus' clouds. I've been testing molecules. The most acidic place on earth.

“People have a perception that concentrated sulfuric acid is a very aggressive solvent that will tear everything apart, but we are finding that this is not necessarily true,” Dr. Petkowski said.

In fact, the authors have previously shown that complex organic molecules, such as some fatty acids and nucleic acids, are surprisingly stable in sulfuric acid.

They are careful to emphasize, as they do in the current paper, that complex organic chemistry is of course not life, but without organic chemistry there is no life.

In other words, if certain molecules can survive in sulfuric acid, Venus' highly acidic clouds are probably habitable, if not necessarily habitable.

In the new study, researchers focused on 20 biogenic amino acids, amino acids that are essential for all life on Earth.

They dissolved each type of amino acid in a vial of sulfuric acid mixed with water at concentrations of 81% and 98%, representing the range found in Venus' clouds.

They then used a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer to analyze the structure of the amino acids in sulfuric acid.

After analyzing each vial several times over a four-week period, they found that the basic molecular structure, or “skeleton,” of 19 of the 20 amino acids was stable and unaltered, even under highly acidic conditions.

“Just because this skeleton was shown to be stable in sulfuric acid does not mean there is life on Venus,” said Dr. Maxwell Seager, a researcher at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

“But if we had shown that this spine was compromised, there would have been no possibility of life as we know it.”

of study Published in this week's magazine astrobiology.

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Maxwell D. Seeger other. Stability of 20 biogenic amino acids in concentrated sulfuric acid: Implications for the habitability of Venusian clouds. astrobiology, published online March 18, 2024. doi: 10.1089/ast.2023.0082

Source: www.sci.news

The gravitational force of Mars could potentially disturb Earth’s oceans

Posted on March 12, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The planets are doing a gravitational dance around the sun

Shutterstock/Johan Swanepoel

Mars’ gravitational pull could be strong enough to shake up Earth’s oceans and shift sediment as part of a 2.4 million-year climate cycle, researchers claim.

It has long been recognized that wobbles in Earth’s orbit around the sun affect Earth’s climate, and these Milankovitch cycles operate at intervals measured in thousands of years. Now, Adriana Dutkiewicz and his colleagues at the University of Sydney say they have discovered a 2.4-million-year “great cycle” that is driven by Mars and has dramatically affected the flow of Earth’s oceans for at least 40 million years. It is believed that it has been given.

Evidence for this cycle comes from approximately 300 deep-sea drill cores, revealing unexpected fluctuations in marine sediment deposition. During periods of stable ocean currents, oceanographers expect sediment to be deposited in stable layers, but when abnormal currents or eddies occur, sediment can be deposited elsewhere.

The researchers say the gaps or hiatus in the sediment record coincide with the period when Mars’ gravity exerts its greatest force on Earth, exerting subtle effects on the stability of Earth’s orbit. This changes solar radiation levels and climate, manifesting as stronger currents and eddies in the ocean.

team members Dietmar MullerResearchers, also from the University of Sydney, acknowledged that the great distance between Earth and Mars makes it unlikely that there is any significant gravitational force at work. “But there is so much feedback that even the slightest change can be amplified,” he says. “Mars’ influence on Earth’s climate is similar to the butterfly effect.”

benjamin mills Researchers from the University of Leeds in the UK say the drill core provides further evidence of the existence of “megacycles” in global environmental change.

“Many of us have seen these multimillion-year cycles in various geological, geochemical, and biological records, such as during the famous Cambrian explosion of animal life,” he said. says. “This paper helps solidify these ideas as an important part of environmental change.”

but matthew england A professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney welcomed the study and said he believed it would improve our understanding of climate cycles on a geological scale, but said he was not convinced by the paper’s conclusions.

“I’m skeptical about the Mars connection, given that Mars’ gravitational pull on Earth is very weak, only about a millionth of the Sun’s gravitational pull,” he says. “Even Jupiter has a stronger gravitational field than Earth.”

The UK also points out that even if there is an impact from Mars, it will be negligible compared to human-induced climate change. “By comparison, greenhouse gas forcing is like a sledgehammer and has no effect on our current climate, where melting ice sheets are reducing ocean circulation.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Jeff Bezos could potentially save $600 million in taxes by relocating to Florida.

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Billionaire Jeff Bezos and his fiance Lauren Sanchez saved $600 million in taxes just by moving to Florida.

The accounting windfall resulted from the $2 billion sale of Amazon stock.

Bezos, 59, who is in a three-way race with Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Tesla’s Elon Musk to become America’s richest man, announced in November that he would be leaving Seattle, where he has worked for 30 years. –This is what he said on the outside: in an instagram postto be closer to his parents, and his Blue Origin rocket is launched at Cape Canaveral.

“I’ve lived in Seattle longer than anywhere else and have so many great memories here. This move is both exciting and an emotional decision for me. Seattle, you will always be my It’s a part of my heart,” he wrote.

But on Tuesday, Financial News Network CNBC provided another clue In response to his move, Washington two years ago introduced a new 7% capital gains tax on the sale of stocks and bonds worth more than $250,000.

However, Florida does not tax income or capital gains.

Since 1998, Bezos has been involved in projects such as his philanthropic project Blue Origin, new homes on Miami’s “billionaire bunker” island Indian Creek and a $500 million, 417-foot home, the newspaper reported. The company has reportedly sold billions of dollars in Amazon stock to raise money for splashy acquisitions such as Amazon. Megayacht Col.

Last year, after the new tax was introduced, Bezos halted sales of Amazon stock until he notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that he planned to sell 50 million shares by January 31, 2025, at a current value of That’s equivalent to $8.7 billion.

With the first $2 billion tranche last week, Bezos saved $140 million in taxes he would have paid to Washington state. If Amazon stock continues to rise, total sales over the next two years will be about $610 million or more. This savings is enough to cover Kuro’s expenses.

The cost of relocating to Miami was in itself daunting for the couple, who have so far purchased two homes in Indian Creek, near the mansions of quarterback Tom Brady, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner. It has invested $47 million. Investor Carl Icahn.

Real estate brokers in Miami say Mr. Bezos will likely demolish two homes and build new ones. He is also said to be considering other properties on the island, which is itself a municipality and has a mayor.

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Kobi Karp, an architect who has worked in Miami “since the days of Miami Vice and Scarface,” told Bloomberg that the island’s biggest draw is privacy. paul george, History Miami Museum He told the media that the island was “inhabited only by very wealthy people, billionaires.”

Karp added: “We’re not going to lose hundreds of millions more.”

But Bezos’ personal real estate projects may not fully account for the costs involved in moving the billionaire, his fiancée and their support staff across continents. Shortly after Bezos announced the couple’s move to Miami, Amazon announced it was looking for 50,000 square feet of office space near Brickell.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Spotify reportedly seals new deal with Joe Rogan potentially worth $250 million

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Spotify Technology announced a new multi-year deal with comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan on Friday, with the goal of leveraging the show’s popularity to increase advertising revenue.

The estimated $250 million multi-year deal with Rogan includes a guaranteed minimum upfront payment and a revenue-sharing agreement based on ad sales. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the company declined to confirm the terms of the deal, but stated that the reported value was incorrect.

The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast, which premiered in 2009, has been exclusively available on Spotify since 2020 and is promoted as the most listened to podcast globally.

Spotify also announced plans to make Joe Rogan’s show available on other platforms, including Apple, Amazon, and YouTube.

Joe Rogan interviews prominent politicians, businessmen, and celebrities on his podcast, such as director Quentin Tarantino, singer Miley Cyrus, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The Sweden-based company is focused on increasing advertising revenue on its platform through the Spotify Audience Network, an advertising marketplace for podcast publishers and creators.

“Since podcasts became exclusive to Spotify, overall podcast consumption on the platform has increased by 232%,” the company stated, noting that revenue from the previous year had risen by 80% compared to 2021.

Spotify first introduced podcasts in 2015 and has since made significant investments in the medium. It acquired podcast networks Gimlet Media and Anchor FM in 2019 and secured exclusive contracts with reality TV star Kim Kardashian and former US President Barack Obama. However, the company has since scaled back its ambitions and laid off 200 Gimlet Media employees.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Potentially the heaviest neutron star ever observed found in mysterious object

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

A neutron star is the collapsed core of a massive star

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg3005

Some 40,000 light-years away, a strange object could be either the heaviest neutron star or the lightest black hole ever seen, and it resides in a mysterious celestial void that astronomers have never directly observed. .

Neutron stars form when a star runs out of fuel and collapses due to gravity, creating a shock wave called a supernova and leaving behind an extremely dense core. Astrophysical calculations show that these nuclei must remain below a certain mass, about 2.2 times the mass of the Sun, or they will collapse further to form a black hole.

However, black holes have only been observed to have a mass more than five times that of the sun, leaving a gap in scale between neutron stars and black holes. Gravitational-wave observatories have observed several dense objects in this gap, but astronomers have never discovered them with conventional telescopes.

now, Ewan Barr Researchers at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy discovered an object with 2.5 times the mass of the Sun by observing pulsars orbiting around it. A pulsar is a neutron star that emits pulses of light at regular millisecond intervals due to a strong magnetic field.

As predicted by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, pulsars emit light with great regularity, but very large nearby objects can distort these rhythms. Dr. Barr and his team were able to calculate the mass of the pulsar's partner by observing the pulsar's pulses for more than a year using his MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa.

“What we've discovered in this binary system appears to go beyond that [upper limit for neutron star mass]This suggests that there is some new physics going on here and that this is either a new type of star, or simply a black hole, the lightest stellar-mass black hole yet discovered. “There will be,” Barr said.

Pulsars are located in globular clusters, which are dense regions of stars and some rare objects that can pass close to each other. These unusual interactions could explain the mysterious object, Barr said.

If it's a black hole, researchers will be able to test theories of gravity that weren't possible before. “A pulsar is just a ridiculously accurate measuring device in orbit around a black hole, but it's not going anywhere. It's going to be around for the next billion years,” Barr says. “So this is an incredibly stable and natural test bed for investigating the physics of black holes.”

“If it's a neutron star, it would be more massive than any neutron star we've ever seen,” he says. Christine Dunn At Durham University, UK. “This actually tells us about the ultimate density that a star can support before it collapses under its own gravity and becomes a black hole. We need to understand the physics of matter at such extreme densities. I don't know what the limits are.”

Barr and his team plan to observe the pulsar with other telescopes over the next few years, looking for clues about what the object is. If it were a black hole, we would see the pulsar's orbit change over time, as the black hole dragged through spacetime around it, much like a ship dragging a small boat behind it. Or if it's a neutron star, more sensitive instruments might be able to detect the light.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

IMF Chief Predicts AI will Affect 40% of Jobs and Potentially Exacerbate Inequality

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

According to the Director-General of the International Monetary Fund, artificial intelligence will impact 40% of jobs around the world, and countries need to build social safety nets to reduce the impact on vulnerable workers. “Very important.”

AI, a term that refers to computer systems capable of performing tasks typically associated with a level of human intelligence, is poised to significantly change the global economy, with a growing risk of disrupting developed economies.

Analysis by IMFThe last international financial institution says that around 60% of jobs in developed countries such as the US and UK are exposed to AI, and half of them could be adversely affected. But as AI improves performance, the technology could also help some humans become more productive, the report said.

According to the IMF, the safest jobs at risk are those that are “highly complementary” to AI, meaning that the technology supplements rather than completely replaces jobs. This includes roles that involve a high degree of responsibility and interaction with people, such as surgeons, lawyers, and judges.

High-risk jobs that are “low complementarity” (i.e., could be replaced by AI) include telemarketing or cold calls to solicit people to offer goods or services. According to the IMF, low-exposure occupations include dishwashers and performers.

According to the IMF, AI will account for 40% of job opportunities in emerging market countries (defined by the IMF as countries including China, Brazil, and India) and 26% in low-income countries, for a total of just under 40%.

Generative AI (a term used to describe technologies that can generate highly plausible text, images, and even audio from simple manual prompts) has emerged on the political agenda since the advent of tools such as ChatGPT chatbots.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the ability of AI to impact high-skilled jobs means developed countries face greater risks from the technology. She added that in extreme cases, jobs could be lost in some major economies.

“About half of the exposed jobs could benefit from AI integration and increase productivity,” Georgieva said in a blog post accompanying the IMF study. “For the other half, AI applications could perform key tasks currently performed by humans, which could reduce demand for labor and lead to lower wages and fewer jobs. In extreme cases, some of these jobs may disappear.”

He added that in most scenarios, AI would likely exacerbate inequality across the global economy and could cause social tensions without political intervention. AI is expected to be high on the agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, where top technology industry leaders are expected to attend.

“It is important for countries to establish comprehensive social safety nets and provide retraining programs for vulnerable workers,” Georgieva said. “Doing so can make the transition to AI more inclusive, protect livelihoods, and limit inequality.”

According to the IMF's analysis, high-wage workers in jobs that are highly complementary to AI can expect to see higher incomes, which could lead to higher inequality.

“This will further widen income and wealth inequality resulting from higher returns to capital accruing to high-income earners,” the IMF report said. “Countries' choices regarding fiscal policy, including the definition of AI property rights and redistribution, will ultimately shape the impact on the distribution of income and wealth.”

The report found that the UK workforce, with a high proportion of university graduates, is under no obligation to do so, although older workers may struggle to adapt to new jobs, move on to new jobs or retrain. They say they may be ready to switch from a job that risks leaving them to a job that is “highly complementary.”

Last year, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said the occupations most at risk from AI automation are high-skilled occupations, which account for about 27% of all agency jobs. 38 member countriesThis includes the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, United States, Australia, and Canada. He said skilled professions such as law, medicine and finance are most at risk.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Controversy Surrounds Identification of Tiny Tyrannosaur Fossil as Potentially Another Species

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Illustration of Nanotyrannus fighting a young Tyrannosaurus Rex

raul martin

tyrannosaurus rex After all, it may not have been the only large carnivore that ruled North America during the Late Cretaceous. Reinterpretation of some fossils of small dinosaurs sometimes classified as young dinosaurs tyrannosaurus This adds weight to the controversial idea that it is a separate small species called . Nanotyrannus lansensislived with the dinosaur king.

“This is the most famous fossil animal in the world,” he says Nicholas Longrich At the University of Bath, UK. “A lot of people are watching. And we can't agree.”

This debate has divided paleontologists for decades. A paper from the 1960s revealed that a skull excavated 20 years earlier in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana was tyrannosaurus that died before reaching full maturity. However, in the 1980s, others argued that the differences between the skull and known skulls were: tyrannosaurus The specimen showed that this fossil was actually an adult of another species, and they named it Nanotyrannus lansensis.

Recent studies based on additional fossils dispute this, arguing that the differences between miniature and full-sized fossils are: tyrannosaurus The fossils were not of different species, but of different times. This discussion has implications for understanding the ecology and diversity of dinosaurs in the period just before their extinction.

Now, with Longrich Evan Saitta Researchers at the University of Chicago have compiled six pieces of evidence that support identifying the smaller fossils as: Nanotyrannus. This includes cataloging more than 150 individual features that differ between the fossil in question and the known fossils. tyrannosaurus Fossils include things like a narrower snout and smoother teeth. They argue that all this cannot change between boys and adults. tyrannosaurus.

The researchers also analyzed the patterns of bone growth rings, which form when bones stop growing each year. As the animal grows slower, the distance between the growth rings decreases. Researchers say they found these rings to be tightened, suggesting that the smaller fossils represent young adults. Nanotyrannus Rather than a boy tyrannosaurus They rate these adults Nanotyrannus Their weight would be between 1,000 kg and 2,000 kg, equivalent to a quarter of an adult. tyrannosaurus 8000 kg. “No matter how you graph the data, you can’t turn it into an animal. tyrannosaurus” Longrich says.

The latest evidence is a fossilized frontal bone (located between the eye and skull) that Longrich unearthed from the archives of the University of California Museum of Paleontology, which researchers interpret as a juvenile fossil. tyrannosaurus Because it is definitely different from the hypothesis, Nanotyrannus fossil. “It's an animal smaller than a human.” Nanotyrannus But it is tyrannosaurus Morphology,” Longrich says.

Some outside researchers say they remain unsure that the tiny fossil is actually a separate species. “No problem Nanotyrannus If science proves it, it’s real.” holly woodward At Oklahoma State University written Juvenile species were identified in a tree ring survey conducted in 2020. tyrannosaurus explanation. “We’re not convinced that their interpretation is any more accurate than ours,” she said, adding that the fully grown animal specimens were “unusual.” Nanotyrannus It will be necessary to resolve different interpretations.

thomas carr A professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin has long argued that the fossil is a juvenile. tyrannosaurus, adding that the front bone found at Berkeley was too incomplete to sway him. “I don’t take this seriously at all,” he says.

scott parsons Professors at the College of Charleston in South Carolina are more welcoming of what he says is a new perspective on a long-stalled rift among paleontologists. “This new paper doesn’t settle this debate, but I’m optimistic that it will be a game-changer,” he says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

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New Study Suggests That Venus’ Clouds Could Potentially Support Life

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