New Juno Data Reveals Jupiter is Smaller and More ‘Squeezed’ Than Previously Thought

Posted on February 5, 2026 by Igor Mitreski

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Leveraging high-precision radio occultation measurements from NASA’s Juno mission, planetary scientists have significantly refined the shape of Jupiter. Their findings reveal that the planet’s polar, equatorial, and mean radii are smaller than earlier estimates from NASA’s Pioneer and Voyager missions, with substantially reduced uncertainty.

This vibrant visible-light image of Jupiter was captured using the Hubble Wide-Field Camera 3 on January 11, 2017. Featured prominently are the Great Red Spot and a long brown feature known as the “Brown Barge,” stretching approximately 72,000 km (around 45,000 miles) from east to west, with Red Spot Junior (Oval BA) on the lower right. Image credits: NASA / ESA / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / Wong et al. / De Peyter et al. / M. Zamani.

“Jupiter, recognized as the largest planet in our solar system, is an almost oblate spheroid due to its rapid rotation of 9 hours, 55 minutes, and 29 seconds, causing a slight flattening at the poles and a bulge at the equator,” stated Dr. Eli Galanti of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

“This unique shape results from the gravitational forces pulling inward and centrifugal forces pushing outward from its rotation axis. Consequently, Jupiter’s equatorial radius is approximately 7% larger than its polar radius.”

“For celestial bodies with a uniform density, the shape is ideally ellipsoidal. However, Jupiter’s internal density varies significantly from the cloud layer of about 1 bar, where density is less than 1 kg/m³, to deeper layers reaching densities of several thousand kg/m³.”

“This density variation causes the planet’s shape to deviate from a simple ellipsoid by tens of kilometers, as reflected in fluctuations of the gravitational field across latitudes.”

“Additional alterations in Jupiter’s shape are induced by strong zonal winds detected at cloud level,” Dr. Galanti continued.

“These winds modify the centrifugal force, leading to variations of about 10 km mainly at lower latitudes.”

Historically, Jupiter’s dimensions were based on data from six radio occultation experiments conducted by NASA’s Pioneer and Voyager missions in the 1970s.

In this groundbreaking study, researchers reviewed radio occultation data collected during 13 close encounters between Juno and Jupiter, integrating the effects of zonal winds into their analysis.

“Radio occultation enables us to peer through Jupiter’s dense, opaque atmosphere to understand its internal structure,” the researchers elucidated.

“During the occultation experiment, Juno transmits radio signals to NASA’s Deep Space Network on Earth.”

“As these signals traverse Jupiter’s electrically charged ionosphere, they experience bending and delay.”

“By measuring the frequency changes caused by this bending, we can derive the temperature, pressure, and electron density at various atmospheric depths.”

The research concluded that Jupiter is approximately 8 km narrower at its equator and 24 km flatter at its poles.

“Including the effects of zonal winds significantly diminishes uncertainty in our understanding of Jupiter’s shape,” the researchers noted.

“At a pressure level of 1 atmosphere, we’ve determined a polar radius of 66,842 km, an equatorial radius of 71,488 km, and a mean radius of 69,886 km, which are smaller by 12 km, 4 km, and 8 km than previously estimated, respectively.”

For more details, view the findings published in this week’s Nature Astronomy.

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E. Galanti et al. Jupiter’s Size and Shape. Nat Astron published online on February 2, 2026. doi: 10.1038/s41550-026-02777-x

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Source: www.sci.news

New Findings Reveal Europa’s Ice Shell is Significantly Thicker Than Previously Believed

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Igor Mitreski

Recent microwave measurements from NASA’s Juno spacecraft indicate that Europa’s icy shell could extend nearly 29 kilometers (18 miles) deep, significantly altering planetary scientists’ understanding of how this intriguing moon facilitates the exchange of vital chemicals between its hidden ocean and surface.

Artist’s concept showing a cross-section of Europa’s icy shell. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / Koji Kuramura / Gerald Eichstädt.

Europa has captivated planetary scientists for over 40 years.

The question of whether Jupiter’s icy moons can support life has sparked extensive debate among researchers.

Interest in Europa’s potential habitability surged when NASA’s Galileo spacecraft revealed an ocean of saline water beneath its icy crust, complemented by surface cracks.

On September 29, 2022, NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew by Europa at an altitude of 360 km (220 miles).

During this flyby, Juno’s Microwave Radiometer (MWR), which is primarily designed to analyze Jupiter’s atmosphere, gathered brightness temperature data at various depths within Europa’s icy crust.

Juno project scientist Steve Levin and his team utilized this MWR data to conclude that the icy shell averages approximately 29 kilometers in thickness.

“The estimated thickness of 29 km pertains to the cold, dense, electrically conductive outer layer of Europa’s water ice shell,” Dr. Levin stated.

“If a slightly warmer convective layer exists beneath, the total thickness could be even greater.”

“Conversely, if the ice shell contains a moderate amount of dissolved salts, as some models suggest, the thickness could decrease by around 5 km (3 miles).”

“A thicker shell implies that oxygen and nutrients have longer distances to travel to connect Europa’s surface with its subsurface ocean, as indicated by the MWR data.”

Understanding this exchange process is crucial for future studies on Europa’s habitability.

Furthermore, MWR data shed light on the composition of Europa’s subsurface ice.

This technology uncovered “scatterers,” irregularities such as cracks, pores, and voids that scatter microwaves reflected off the ice.

These scatterers, estimated to be only a few inches in diameter, are believed to extend hundreds of feet below the surface.

The small size and shallow depth of these features suggest they are unlikely to serve as significant pathways for transporting oxygen and nutrients from the surface to the salty ocean beneath.

“The thickness of the ice shell, along with the presence of cracks and pores, adds complexity to our understanding of Europa’s potential for habitability,” remarked Scott Bolton, Ph.D., Juno’s principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute.

“These findings provide essential context for NASA’s Europa Clipper and ESA’s Juice missions, both en route to the Jupiter system.”

“The Europa Clipper is expected to arrive in 2030, followed by Juice the next year.”

The team’s new results were published in the Journal on December 17, 2025, in Nature Astronomy.

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S.M. Levin et al. 2026. Characterization of Europa’s ice thickness and subsurface structure using the Juno microwave radiometer. Nat Astron 10, 84-91; doi: 10.1038/s41550-025-02718-0

Source: www.sci.news

New Evidence Shows Humans Mastered Fire 400,000 Years Ago, Earlier Than Previously Believed

Posted on December 10, 2025 by

“This site, dating back 400,000 years, represents the earliest known evidence of fire not just in Britain and Europe but across the globe,” stated Nick Ashton, co-author of the study and curator at the British Museum. He noted that this discovery pushes back the timeline of when our ancestors might have first harnessed fire by approximately 350,000 years.

Researchers are uncertain about the uses of fire by these hominin ancestors. They may have roasted meat, crafted tools, or shared narratives under its glow.

Understanding when our ancestors mastered the use of fire is crucial to unraveling the complexities of human evolution and behavior.

One hypothesis suggests that the ability to start fire contributed to the increase in brain size among early humans, as cooking facilitates easier digestion and boosts caloric intake. Another theory posits that controlling fire may have fostered social gathering spots at night, boosting social behavior and cognitive evolution.

“We know brain size was increasing towards its current capacity during this period,” remarked Chris Stringer, research head in human evolution at London’s Natural History Museum and another author of the Nature study. “The brain is energetically costly, consuming about 20 percent of the body’s energy. Thus, the ability to use fire enhances nutrient absorption from food, provides energy for the brain, and allows for the evolution of larger brains.”

Stringer emphasized that this finding does not signify the beginning of fire usage among humans but is merely the earliest instance researchers can confidently point to. Other early indications of fire use have been found in regions of South Africa, Israel, and Kenya, though these are contentious and open to interpretation.

From an archaeological standpoint, it’s challenging to ascertain the cause of wildfires or whether they were initiated by humans.

“The key question is whether they collected it from a natural source, managed it, or created it themselves. On the surface, this appears to be a robust case suggesting that the group knew how to start fires,” noted Dennis Sandogyas, a senior lecturer in the archaeology department at Simon Fraser University in Canada, who was not part of the study.

In the recent Nature study, researchers highlight the presence of deposits with fire residue, fire-cracked stone tools including a flint hatchet, and two small fragments of pyrite likely brought to the site by humans for fire-making, as indicated by geological analysis.

The prehistoric hatchet stone tool was discovered near a 400,000-year-old fire site that researchers believe was frequently used by Neanderthals.
Road to Ancient Britain Project

Other outside researchers expressed skepticism.

Much of the evidence presented is “circumstantial,” wrote Will Loebloeks, a professor emeritus of paleolithic archaeology at Leiden University in the Netherlands, in an email.

Lowbrokes pointed out that later Neanderthal sites, dating to around 50,000 years ago, showed flint tools with wear signs indicating they had been struck against pyrite to produce sparks, an indication of humans creating fire. This evidence isn’t present in the current study.

“While the authors conducted thorough analysis of the Burnham data, they seem to be overstating claims by suggesting this is the ‘earliest evidence of a fire outbreak,'” Lobruks noted.

For our ancestors, fire was vital for warmth, nutrition, deterring predators, and even melting resins used in adhesives.

However, Sandgate emphasized that the evolution of fire-starting is not a straightforward path; it included sporadic adaptations and innovations. Evidence exists that early groups who learned to create fire sometimes lost that ability or ceased its use for cultural reasons.

“We must be cautious not to generalize any single instance … as proof that from this moment forward everyone will know how to start a fire,” Sandogyas remarked, referencing nearly 100 modern hunter-gatherer groups that have been meticulously observed. Some lacked the ability to generate fire.

“It’s probable that the art of fire-making was discovered, lost, rediscovered, and lost again across various groups over time. Its history is undoubtedly intricate.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Ancient DNA Reveals Greater Genetic Diversity in Mastodons Than Previously Thought.

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Research utilizing ancient DNA has shed light on the complex evolutionary ties and ecological responses of elephants and their relatives. In a recent study, scientists sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of various mastodons, including five specimens from Nova Scotia and the East Coast—one dating back approximately 500,000 years—as well as a unique specimen of Pacific Mastodon from Chulatin, Oregon, and a partial mitochondrial genome from North Ontario. Their findings indicate that Pacific mastodons belong to distinct and deep mitochondrial lineages, indicating this species’ range extended into western Canada and potentially even Mexico. Additionally, the authors discovered evidence of at least three separate expansions into the northeastern coastal region and identified two new groups of mastodons with clear, geographically coinciding specimens.

Adult Mastodon (Mammuthus sp.) consumes spruce branches, set against a backdrop that suggests periodic continental migrations related to climate change. During the Middle and Late Pleistocene, at least two types of mastodons roamed North America: the American mastodon, spanning from the East Coast to central regions, and the Pacific mastodon, found from central Alberta to central California. Image credit: Kathryn Kilukki.

Mastodons were originally classified into numerous separate species but were later consolidated into one, the American Mastodon (Mammut americanum).

Recent classifications have been updated to potentially recognize at least two distinct species: American mastodon and Pacific mastodon (Mammut pacificus), with ongoing debates regarding their division.

Genetic analyses confirmed that Pacific mastodons are ancient and belong to separate genetic lineages that extend further than previously thought.

Notably, Alberta emerged as a “hotspot” where Pacific and American mastodons may have gathered, expanding northward and hybridizing.

Samples collected from the East Coast and northern Ontario revealed two genetically distinct groups, referred to as mastodon clades, cohabiting the same geographic area.

Surprisingly, the eastern species exhibit significant diversity, reflecting at least three distinct waves of migration. This pattern is driven by repeated climatic warming events that opened new areas for glacial retreat and northward movement.

As temperatures decreased and glaciers expanded, mastodons were either forced southward or faced local extinction.

“The data reframes our understanding of the modern regions known as Alberta and the North, highlighting their role as migratory corridors for surrounding fauna,” the researchers noted.

Moreover, a unique and genetically distinct lineage of Mexican mastodon was identified, possibly representing a deeper evolutionary branch of the Pacific mastodon or even a brand-new third species.

During the Ice Age, the mastodon was among the largest terrestrial animals on the planet, traversing a range from Beringia (now Alaska and Yukon) through Nova Scotia and south to Central Mexico.

These creatures primarily foraged in wetlands, consuming shrubs and branches, and inhabited environments quite different from those of their well-known distant relatives, the woolly mammoths.

“This study marks significant milestones, including advancements in our understanding of the Pacific Mastodon,” stated Emil Kalpinski, a researcher at Harvard Medical School.

“It also raises numerous intriguing questions: How did these distant mastodon species interact within Alberta?”

“Did they compete for resources or, as our lab’s earlier research indicated for mammoths, engage in breeding?”

“These revelations, in conjunction with findings from our 2020 study, enrich our understanding of how mastodons migrated and diversified across North America, aiding contemporary conservation efforts in preparing for ongoing climate change and migratory species in the North,” the researchers concluded.

Their paper was published on September 12, 2025, in the journal Advances in Science.

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Emil Kalpinski et al. 2025. Repeated climate-driven dispersion and speciation in peripheral populations of Pleistocene mastodon. Advances in Science 11 (37); doi:10.1126/sciadv.adw2240

Source: www.sci.news

Carbon storage might be only a tenth as effective in fighting climate change as previously believed.

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Recent research indicates that the ability to safely store carbon is significantly lower than earlier estimates, being only a tenth of what was initially predicted. This finding constraints its viability as a solution to the climate crisis.

New estimates, published in Nature, reveal that carbon capture could lower global warming by just 0.7°C, a stark contrast to the previously estimated 6°C.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO)₂ from the environment or industrial processes, transporting it, and storing it deep underground to prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

The study cautions that many areas once considered suitable for CCS may pose significant risks. Concerns such as leaks, seismic activity, and water contamination could render numerous potential sites unsafe.

The researchers conducted an extensive analysis of local mapping areas for viable carbon storage locations. Their findings suggest that, in reality, CCS can store only about 146 billion tonnes of CO.₂, approximately 10 times less than previously thought.

“Carbon storage is often framed as a solution to the climate crisis,” stated the lead author, Matthew Guido, a senior researcher at IIASA and the University of Maryland, USA. “Our findings indicate that its effectiveness is limited.”

“With current trends hinting at a potential rise of up to 3°C this century, even maximizing the available geological storage won’t suffice to limit warming to 2°C.”

Co-author Jori Rogelgi, a senior researcher and director at the Grantham Institute, emphasized that carbon storage should not be perceived as an endless solution for climate preservation.

“Instead, geological storage sites should be viewed as a precious resource that must be managed responsibly to ensure a safe climate future for humanity,” he remarked. “It should be employed to halt and counteract global warming rather than wastefully offset ongoing, preventable CO.₂ emissions.”

Trees naturally absorb carbon, while carbon storage technology responsibly hides carbon deep underground – Credit: A. Martin UW Photos

The study also suggests that nations like the US, Russia, China, Brazil, and Australia, as major fossil fuel producers, might benefit from utilizing depleted oil and gas fields for carbon storage.

“This issue transcends mere technology,” remarked co-author Siddharth Joshi, a research scholar at IIASA. “It encompasses concepts of transgenerational and national justice.”

“Countries with the highest historical emissions should lead in utilizing this resource wisely as they hold the most practical carbon storage options.”

Experts not involved in this research are currently debating the accuracy of the paper’s figures and their implications for the future of carbon storage as astrategy to mitigate the climate crisis.

However, Professor Carrie Leah, a climate scientist at Cardiff University who was not part of the study, stated that the finite nature of carbon storage should redirect focus towards reducing fossil fuel usage.

“There is no solitary solution to climate mitigation,” Leah noted. “It’s akin to a pie comprised of multiple slices.

“This study illustrates that the CCS portion of the pie is significantly smaller than previously believed, highlighting the urgent need to address the larger slices of fossil fuel reduction.”

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Human eggs accumulate fewer mutations than previously believed.

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Like all cells, human eggs are subject to mutations

CC Studio/Science Photo Library

Research indicates that human eggs may be shielded from certain types of mutations associated with aging. In a recent study, scientists discovered that as women age, there are no signs of accumulating mutations in the mitochondrial DNA of their egg cells.

“When we consider age-related mutations, we typically think about older individuals having more mutations compared to younger ones,” notes Kateryna Makova from Pennsylvania State University. “However, this assumption doesn’t always hold true.”

Mitochondria, which provide the primary energy source for the body’s cells, are inherited solely from the mother. While mitochondrial DNA mutations are generally benign, they can sometimes result in complications that impact muscles and neurons, particularly due to their high energy demands. “Oocytes” [egg cells] serve as this biological reservoir,” explains Ruth Lehmann from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was not part of this study.

Prior research has shown that older mothers tend to pass down more chromosomal mutations, leading to the general assumption that a similar pattern exists with mitochondrial DNA mutations. To investigate this, Makova and her team utilized DNA sequencing to identify new mutations across 80 eggs sourced from 22 women aged 20 to 42 years.

The findings revealed that mitochondrial mutations in female eggs do not actually escalate with advancing age, unlike those found in salivary and blood cells. “It seems we have evolved a mechanism that mitigates the accumulation of mutations, allowing for their replication later in life,” remarks Makova.

Previous research has indicated that mitochondrial DNA mutations in macaque eggs showed an increase while their reproductive capacity remained stable until the animal reached about nine years of age. “It would be worthwhile to also study younger women. This could apply to humans as well,” comments team member Barbara Arbetuber from Penn State University.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Uranus May Be Warmer Than Previously Thought

Posted on July 19, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Recent studies published in the journal reveal that Uranus emits approximately 15% more energy than it receives from the Sun, as documented in Monthly Notices from the Royal Astronomical Society and Geophysical Research Book.

Composite image of Uranus. Image credit: Marcos Van Dam/Wm Keck Observatory.

Uranus distinguishes itself from other planets in our solar system by rotating on its side, causing each pole to face the Sun for 42 consecutive years during its “summer.”

This planet also rotates in a direction opposite to all other planets except Venus.

Data from the 1986 Voyager 2 flyby mission showed that Uranus has an unusually cold interior, prompting scientists to reconsider how the planet formed and its evolution within the solar system.

“Since the Voyager 2 flyby, there’s been an assumption that Uranus lacks internal heat,” said Dr. Amy Simon, a planetary scientist and co-author from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. First paper.

“However, explaining this has been challenging, particularly when compared to other giant planets.”

“The data regarding Uranus’s heat emissions originated from a single measurement made during the Voyager 2 mission,” Dr. Simon noted. “This reliance on one data point created a significant challenge.”

Through advanced computer modeling and analysis of decades of data, Dr. Simon and her colleagues discovered that Uranus does, in fact, generate internal heat.

To understand a planet’s internal heat, scientists compare the energy it receives from the Sun to the energy it radiates back into space as reflected light and emitted heat.

Other giant planets like Saturn, Jupiter, and Neptune emit more heat than they receive, suggesting that the excess heat originates from within.

The rate at which a planet releases heat can indicate its age; a planet that emits less heat than it absorbs is generally considered older.

Because Uranus was believed to emit an equal amount of heat to what it received, it was initially thought to lack internal heat.

This discrepancy puzzled scientists, leading them to speculate that Uranus might be significantly older than its neighbors, having completely cooled over time.

Some hypotheses suggested that a massive impact (possibly the same event that tilted the planet) may have stripped Uranus of its internal heat.

However, these theories did not satisfy researchers, motivating them to investigate what they termed the “Uranus cold case.”

“Did we mistakenly believe that Uranus has no internal heat?” asked Professor Patrick Irwin from Oxford University, the lead author of the first paper.

“We conducted extensive calculations to evaluate how much sunlight is reflected by Uranus, only to realize that it is actually more reflective than previously estimated.”

Researchers aimed to assess Uranus’s overall energy budget, exploring the total energy received from the Sun, the light reflected, and the heat emitted.

This required calculating the total light reflected from the planet from various angles.

“We need to consider light scattered across the planet’s surface instead of just direct reflections,” Dr. Simon explained.

To provide the most accurate energy budget estimate for Uranus, scientists created a computer model incorporating all available data on Uranus’s atmosphere from decades of ground- and space-based observations, including data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s infrared telescope in Hawaii.

This model accounts for factors like haze, cloud cover, and seasonal changes that influence how sunlight is reflected and heat escapes.

The findings reveal that Uranus emits about 15% more energy than it receives from the Sun, as reported in a second study.

These investigations suggest that Uranus possesses its own internal heat but emits more than twice the energy it receives, although still less than its neighbor, Neptune.

“Now we need to delve deeper into what the additional heat on Uranus signifies and improve our measurement techniques,” Dr. Simon concluded.

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Patrick GJ Irwin et al. 2025. Uranus’ bolometric binding albedo and energy balance. mnras 540(2): 1719-1729; doi: 10.1093/mnras/staf800

XINYUE WANG et al. 2025. Uranus’ internal heat flux and energy imbalance. Geophysical Research Book 52 (14): E2025GL115660; doi: 10.1029/2025GL115660

Source: www.sci.news

Water Could Be Even More Crucial for Alien Life Than Previously Believed

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The alien world found in their “habitable zone” of their stars may not be suitable for life yet

pandorumbs/alamy

Recent findings suggest the potential number of planets capable of supporting alien life may be fewer than previously assumed, largely due to advances in understanding planetary climates. When carbon dioxide levels in an atmosphere surpass a critical threshold, conditions can become inhospitable.

Life as we know it requires liquid water, prompting astronomers to target “habitable zones” around stars—regions where temperatures allow for water to exist in liquid form. However, Haskelle White-Gianella from the University of Washington and her research team have revealed that having liquid water alone does not guarantee habitability.

The researchers conducted nearly 10,000 simulations to determine how CO₂ levels fluctuate based on surface water amounts on planets that are Earth-sized. Their results indicate that at least 20% of Earth’s total water must be present for a planet to be potentially habitable.

This is largely due to the role rainfall plays in carbon storage within the ground through chemical reactions in rocks; insufficient rainfall could lead to CO₂ accumulation in the atmosphere, trapping heat and rapidly increasing temperatures beyond 126°C (259°F).

“We discovered that there exists a water threshold essential for maintaining a stable climate,” White-Gianella stated during the Goldschmidt Geochemical Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, on July 10.

This indicates that simply being in a habitable zone does not guarantee that a planet can support life, according to White-Gianella, necessitating a deeper examination of geological histories.

A parallel situation may elucidate how Venus transformed into the inhospitable environment we observe today, White-Gianella shared at the conference. While the increase in the sun’s brightness since the solar system’s inception is believed to contribute to Venus’ atmospheric changes and temperature rise, it alone doesn’t account for all observed transformations. By re-running models with a Venus-like amount of starlight, the team found that even planets with water levels similar to Earth’s could lose too much CO₂, leading to uninhabitability.

This provides a compelling rationale for how planets similar to Venus can become excessively hot, as noted by Benjamin Tutoro from the University of Calgary in Canada. Over time, reductions in CO₂ emissions complicate planetary climates, as recorded in geological data from Mars.

In the case of Mars, liquid water attracted carbon dioxide and sequestered it as carbonate minerals, which ultimately thinned its atmosphere and cooled the planet, according to Tutoro. White-Gianella stated that the team’s simulations focused on Earth-like planets, agreeing that conditions on planets like Mars could differ significantly.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Keylistbones Emerged in Bird Ancestors Millions of Years Earlier Than Previously Believed

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A group of paleontologists from Yale University and Stony Brook University made a significant discovery while studying dinosaur fossils, including two bird species found in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia.

This scene illustrates the oviraptorid dinosaur Citipati appearing astonished as it rests on sand dunes. The creature raises its arms in a threat display, exposing its wrists and emphasizing the small, relocated, closed carpal bones (highlighted in blue x-ray). Image credit: Henry S. Sharp.

For years, the identity of a particular carpal bone in the bird’s wrist was a scientific enigma, until researchers determined it functioned as a trap.

This bone, originally resembling a kneecap-like sesame bone, shifted from its original position in the wrist, replacing another carpal bone known as Urna.

Positions in modern birds indicate a link that enables the bird to automatically fold its wings when it bends.

The bone’s large V-shaped notch allows for the alignment of hand bones to prevent dislocation during flight.

Consequently, this bone plays a crucial role in the bird’s forelimb and is integral for flight.

“The carpal bone in modern birds is a rare wrist bone that initially forms within muscle tendons, resembling knee-like bones, but eventually takes the place of the ‘normal’ wrist bones known as Urna,” commented one researcher.

“It is closely associated with the muscle tissue of the arm, linking flying muscle movement to wrist articulation when integrated into the wrist.”

“This integration is particularly vital for wing stabilization during flight.”

In their recent study, Dr. Bhullar and his team analyzed two Late Cretaceous fossils: Troodontid (birds of prey, related to Velociraptor) and citipati cf. osmorusca (an oviraptorid with a long neck and beakless jaw).

“We were fortunate to have two rigorously preserved theropod wrists for this analysis,” said Alex Rubenstal, a paleontologist from Yale University.

“The wrist bones are small and well-preserved, but they tend to shift during decay and preservation, complicating their position for interpretation.”

“Observing this small bone in its correct position enabled me to thoroughly interpret the fossil wrists we had on hand, as well as those from previous studies.”

“James Napoli, a vertebrate paleontologist and evolutionary biologist at Stony Brook University, noted:

“While it’s unclear how many times dinosaurs learned to fly, it’s fascinating that experiments with flight appear only after they adapted to the wrist joint.”

“This adaptation may have established an automated mechanism found in present-day birds, although further research on dinosaur wrist bones is necessary to validate this hypothesis.”

Placing their findings within an evolutionary framework, the authors concluded that it was not merely birds but rather theropod dinosaurs that underwent the confinement of this adaptation by the origin of Penalaptra, a group of theropods that includes Dromaeosaurids and Oviraptorosaurs like Velociraptor.

Overall, this group of dinosaurs exhibited bird-like features, including the emergence of feathered wings, indicating that flight evolved at least twice, if not up to five times.

“The evolutionary replacement of Urna was a gradual process occurring much deeper in history than previously understood,” stated the researchers.

“In recent decades, our understanding of theropod dinosaur anatomy and evolution has expanded significantly, revealing many classical ‘bird-like’ traits such as thin-walled bones, larger brains, and feathers.

“Our findings suggest that avian construction is consistent with a topological pattern traced back to the origin of Penalaptra.”

The team’s paper was published in the journal Nature on July 9, 2025.

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JG Napoli et al. Theropod wrist reorganization preceded the origins of bird flight. Nature, Published online on July 9, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09232-3

Source: www.sci.news

Study Reveals Cambrian Explosions Happened Millions of Years Sooner Than Previously Believed

Posted on June 27, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists have studied the body shapes of Ediacaran Cambrian organisms by utilizing trace fossils as a stand-in for body fossils.

Reconstruction of early Cambrian marine life in southern China. Image credit: Dongjing Fu.

The Cambrian explosion is often referred to as a pivotal period in Earth’s history when distinct animal body plans emerged.

Most researchers indicate that this event took place between 541 and 530 million years ago, marking the onset of the Cambrian period.

“The Cambrian explosion represents a significant era in the history of life that poses numerous unresolved questions,” stated Dr. Olmo Miguez Saras from the University of Barcelona at the Museum of Natural History in London, alongside Dr. Zekun Wang.

“In investigating biodiversity during this period, paleontological studies primarily concentrate on organisms with hard structures.”

“Nevertheless, microfossil investigations open avenues for understanding the activities of hard, soft-bodied, or skeletal-deficient organisms preserved in stratigraphic records.”

“The microfossil evidence is essential for shedding light on the evolutionary phases dominated by soft-bodied faunas.”

“Fossil traces mirror the behaviors of habitat-forming organisms, determined by their environment and reactions to ecological factors.”

“Consequently, these traces act as indicators of the paleoecological conditions experienced by the organisms that produced them.”

In their research, the authors concentrated on trace fossils from the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, a period of great paleobiological interest that represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of complex life on Earth.

This transition experienced substantial shifts in biodiversity as well as the structure of organisms and ecosystems.

“The Ediacaran fauna consisted mainly of complex, multicellular, flexible organisms,” noted Dr. Miguez Saras.

“The shift to the Cambrian era involved numerous extinctions within the Ediacaran fauna, accompanied by a rapid diversification of complex multicellular organisms possessing hard structures (e.g., exoskeletons).”

“This encapsulates the core of evolutionary development that led to the emergence of the most modern animal phyla, commonly referred to as the Cambrian Explosion.”

The research indicates that slender-bodied organisms thrived around 545 million years ago during the Ediacaran period.

“These organisms likely possessed a coelomic hydrostatic body with an anteroposterior axis, muscles, and perhaps segmented structures,” Dr. Miguez Saras explained.

“Additionally, these organisms may have exhibited directional movement and possessed sensory capabilities to navigate and feed on diverse substrates in environments dominated by microbial mats.”

“Thus, the so-called Cambrian explosion and its evolutionary significance could have arisen significantly earlier than previously thought.”

“These adaptations in body shape and mobility facilitated early animals in thriving within increasingly dynamic and complex environments, an ecological engineering process that could spur evolutionary innovation.”

The team’s study is slated for publication in the journal Geological.

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Zekun Wang & Olmo Miguez-Salas. Quantitative decoding of Ediacaran Motion Microfossil Morphology: Evidence for the appearance of elongated anteroposterior body profiles. Geological Published online on June 9th, 2025. doi: 10.1130/g53332.1

Source: www.sci.news

The Ancient Mammoth Task Boomerang is Twice as Old as Previously Believed

Posted on June 26, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Ancient artifacts crafted from mammoth tusks are the earliest recognized boomerangs

Talamo et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0

The earliest known boomerang could be over 22,000 years older than previously believed, indicating it was crafted during a time when early humans exhibited a rise in artistic expression.

In 1985, archaeologists discovered a 72-centimeter ivory boomerang buried beneath six layers of sediment within the Obwazwa Cave in Poland. Further analysis of sediment revealed bone beads from Homo sapiens, made from nearby thumb bones, antlers, fox teeth, and pendants. In the 1990s, radiocarbon dating estimated the thumbs to be 31,000 years old, while surprisingly, the boomerang dated only to 18,000 years ago—thousands of years younger than the associated crafts.

Sarataramo at the University of Bologna suspects contamination. “Even minor amounts of modern carbon from adhesives and maintenance can skew radiocarbon dates by tens of thousands of years,” she explains. The analysis of carbon-nitrogen ratios in the thumbs indicated collagen changes, suggesting that the samples were not suitable for reliable radiocarbon dating.

Redoing the dating on the contaminated boomerang would have wasted resources and unnecessarily harmed significant artifacts, according to Taramo. Instead, she and her team re-dated the human thumb bones and 13 nearby animal bones, using statistical modeling to reconstruct the timeline. Their findings indicated that the entire sediment layer—along with the boomerangs and thumb bones—dated to approximately 39,000 to 42,000 years ago.

“In a way, this serves as a reminder for museums; if you discover something extraordinary, avoid covering it with glue or any repair materials prior to completing thorough analysis,” she asserts.

This new timeline suggests that the ivory boomerang predates the second oldest known wooden boomerang created by Australian Indigenous peoples. Unlike other simpler throwing tools, like the 300,000-year-old wooden artifact found in Schoningen, Germany, the boomerang has a curved, aerodynamic design, although it may not always return when thrown, according to Taramo.

While it’s likely that these ancient boomerangs could fly, their size and construction likely meant they did not return to the thrower. They may have held symbolic or ritual significance, potentially related to their placement alongside the thumb bones within a decorative stone ring, which featured intricate carvings and reddish pigments, along with a smooth polished surface.

This discovery provides insight into the cognitive abilities and craftsmanship of early humans during a remarkable period of artistic growth, known as the early Aulignacian, which began around 40,000 years ago. This era saw the emergence of iconic artifacts, including mammoth ivory figurines, rock art, and aesthetically refined tools in Europe, notes Taramo.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

AI Analysis Suggests Some Dead Sea Scrolls Are Older Than Previously Believed

Posted on June 5, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Characterized by pale greening, a timeline of ancient handwritten manuscripts—like the scroll of death—is vital for reconstructing the progression of ideas. However, there is an almost complete absence of manuscripts with dates. To address this challenge, an international team of researchers developed an AI-driven date prediction model named Enoch, inspired by biblical figures.

Dead Sea Scroll 4Q7, fragment Genesis Wadi Qumran Cave4. ImageCredit: Ketefhinnomfan.

While some ancient manuscripts include dates, facilitating precise dating by archaeologists, many do not provide this information.

Researchers can estimate the age of certain undated manuscripts by analyzing the evolution of handwriting styles, but this requires a sufficient number of manuscripts with known dates for creating an accurate timeline.

In the recent study, the University of Groningen and Dr. Mladen Popović assessed the historical periods of manuscripts from various locations in contemporary Israel and the West Bank through radiocarbon dating and utilized machine learning to explore the handwriting styles of each document.

By merging these two datasets, they developed the Enoch program, which objectively estimates the approximate age range by comparing handwriting styles from other manuscripts in the area.

To validate the program, ancient handwriting specialists reviewed age estimates for 135 Ennochs from the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Experts concluded that around 79% of the AI-generated estimates were credible, while the remaining 21% were considered too old, too young, or uncertain.

Enoch has already aided researchers in uncovering new insights about these ancient manuscripts.

For instance, both Enoch and radiocarbon dating techniques estimated an older age for more Dead Sea scrolls compared to traditional handwriting analyses.

“While additional data and further investigation could enhance our understanding of the timeline, our findings offer novel perspectives on the creation periods of these documents,” the researchers stated.

“The Enoch tool serves as a gateway to an ancient world, akin to a time machine, permitting the exploration of biblical handwritten texts.

“It is thrilling to establish significant steps in developing new tools that can tackle the dating challenges of the Dead Sea Scrolls and examine other partially dated manuscript collections from history.”

“This achievement would not have been feasible without collaboration across diverse scientific fields and genuine teamwork.”

A paper detailing this study was published in the journal PLOS 1.

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M. Popovich et al. 2025. Dating ancient manuscripts using radiocarbon and AI-based writing style analysis. PLOS 1 20 (6): E0323185; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0323185

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists Reveal That Objects in Our Universe Dissipate Faster Than Previously Believed

Posted on May 14, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A 2023 study by Professor Haino Falk and his team at Ladbou University revealed that not just black holes, but all cosmic entities can “evaporate” through a mechanism akin to Hawking radiation. Following the publication, the researchers were inundated with inquiries regarding the duration of this process. Their latest findings estimate that the universe’s conclusion is approximately 10⁷⁸ years away. If only radiation, similar to Hawking radiation, is taken into account, the timeline shortens to just a few years. This represents the time required for a white dwarf—the most stable astronomical object—to collapse through a Hawking-like radiation process. Previous research, which overlooked this effect, had estimated the lifespan of white dwarfs to be around 10¹¹⁰⁰ years.

An artistic depiction of neutron stars undergoing gradual ‘evaporation’ through Hawking-like radiation. Image credits: Daniëlle Futselaar/Artsource.nl.

“Thus, the ultimate conclusion of the universe will arrive significantly sooner than anticipated; however, rest assured, it will still take an incredibly long time,” noted Professor Falk.

In 1975, physicist Stephen Hawking proposed that particles and radiation could escape black holes, challenging the conventional framework of relativity.

Near the edge of a black hole, two transient particles emerge; one gets drawn into the black hole while the other successfully escapes.

A notable outcome of Hawking radiation is the gradual disintegration of black holes into particles and radiation.

This finding stands in opposition to Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Professor Falk and his co-authors determined that the process of Hawking radiation applies to various objects with theoretically significant gravitational fields.

Their further calculations indicated that the “evaporation time” for an object is contingent entirely upon its density.

Surprisingly, neutron stars and stellar black holes have an identical decay time of 10⁶⁷ years.

This result was unexpected, given that black holes possess a more intense gravitational field.

“However, black holes lack a surface,” remarked Dr. Michael Wandrack, a postdoctoral researcher at Radboud University.

“They reabsorb parts of their own radiation, which inhibits the process.”

“We also explored how long it would take for humans and the moon to evaporate via Hawking-like radiation: about 10⁹⁰ years,” the researcher added.

“Naturally, other mechanisms could lead to faster disappearance for humans and the moon.”

“This research exemplifies an exciting interdisciplinary collaboration, merging astrophysics, quantum physics, and mathematics to yield new insights,” stated Professor Walter Van Suisilecom from Radboud University.

“By pursuing these inquiries and examining extreme scenarios, we aim to enhance our understanding of the theory. Hopefully, one day, we will unravel the enigma surrounding Hawking radiation.”

The new paper is set to be published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.

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Haino Falke et al. 2025. The lifetime limit of the star remnants from gravity pair generation. jcap in press; Arxiv: 2410.14734

Source: www.sci.news

Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquakes Could Be More Severe Than Previously Anticipated

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

As an earthquake ruptures along the Cascadia subduction zone fault, much of the US West Coast will experience intense shaking for five minutes, with tsunamis potentially generating waves up to 100 feet crashing towards the shore. However, this is only the onset of anticipated devastation.

Even if coastal communities in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington withstand the initial earthquake, recent research indicates that flooding could inundate many of these susceptible regions. This is due to an expected drop of 6½ feet in the entire coastal land when the earthquake strikes, according to a new study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNA).

Researchers examined earthquake and flood models to provide some of the most comprehensive predictions about how Cascadia earthquakes can lower or subside coastal land, potentially affecting over twice as many people, structures, and roadways as currently established. The exacerbating effects of climate change are projected to raise sea levels, compounding the issue over time.

“The repercussions of these hazards will linger for decades or even centuries following the earthquake,” stated Tina Dura, the study’s lead author. “Tsunamis will strike and have a considerable impact. Don’t misunderstand me; however, a lasting change in flood frequency… that is a critical concern.”

The team will operate the Vibracore Rig in Silets Bay, Oregon, collecting deep sediment cores in 2022 for tsunami deposits and paleoseismic analysis.
Tina Dura

Dura explained that geological fossil evidence suggests that previous Cascadia earthquakes resulted in a significant drop in land level, transforming once dry areas into tidal mud flats along the Pacific Northwest’s estuaries.

An assistant professor of geoscience at Virginia Tech, Dura noted: “This is how we have a harbor…and where we’ve established towns, yet that land will plummet by a maximum of two meters.”

The Cascadia subduction zone fault offshore of North America presents an imminent threat, capable of generating magnitude 9.0 earthquakes. Such events are expected to occur on average every 450-500 years, with the last major quake dating back to 1700.

The national seismic hazard model indicates a 15% chance of an earthquake measuring 8.0 or higher occurring along the zone within the next 50 years.

When the fault ruptures, experts assert that it could lead to the most catastrophic natural disaster in the nation’s history. Simulations from 2022 predict that the Cascadia earthquake could damage around 620,000 buildings in the Pacific Northwest, including 100 hospitals and 2,000 schools, resulting in over 100,000 injuries and approximately 14,000 fatalities.

Recent findings emphasize that coastal planners must seriously consider not only the immediate threats of strong shaking and tsunami waves but also the long-term impacts of land reshaping and rapid subsidence of the coastline itself.

“There will be the flooding itself, as well as enduring changes in land elevation along the coast, greatly affecting community planning,” remarked Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Coast Earthquake Network and professor at the University of Washington. “Where will schools and hospitals be built? Where will transportation networks be established? A long-term perspective is vital.”

Following the earthquake, Dura’s research predicts that towns along the Pacific Northwest coastline, such as Seaside, Oregon, Westport, Washington, and Aberdeen, Washington, will likely experience frequent flooding, at least once every century.

The study also highlights that climate change-induced sea level rise will accelerate, aggravating the consequences of post-earthquake flooding in the future.

A field team across the mouth of the Salmon River in Oregon will transport coring and surveying equipment to the next sampling site in 2023.
Mike Pridy

Global average sea levels have risen by approximately 8-9 inches since 1880, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Dramatic acceleration in sea level rise is anticipated in the coming decades due to global warming, with NOAA estimating an increase of 10-12 inches.

The impact of sea level rise varies depending on location and can significantly affect the coastline.

In places like Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, land is gradually sinking, a process termed subsidence, while portions of the Pacific Northwest are experiencing uplift due to continental movements. This uplift can offset some of the sea level rise.

The uplift is attributed to the stress build-up within the plates forming the Cascadia subduction zone. In this zone, the Juan de Fuca plate is forced beneath the North American plates, causing a slight upward movement of land.

Currently, the subduction zone faults remain inactive, accumulating stress. When the fault eventually ruptures, the released plate bow leads to rapid land-level subsidence, effectively negating the uplift for centuries.

“It all transpires in a matter of minutes, resulting in meter-level drops,” stated Dura. “The land continues to shift, and as I mentioned, this has ramifications that will last for decades and centuries. Consequently, the critical areas of the floodplain are significantly impacted.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Researchers may have just found a previously unknown form of life

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists have a passion for categorizing things, especially when it comes to life on Earth. The common categories are animals, plants, fungi, protists (like algae and amoeba), bacteria, and archaea (microscopic single-celled organisms).

However, recent studies have hinted that there might be more to the tree of life than we previously thought. This is due to a prehistoric cylindrical life form that some British scientists believe belongs to a unique branch of life.

The mysterious creature is known as Prototaxite and existed around 44-360 million years ago.

Professor Benjamin J.W. Mills, an expert in the evolution of the Earth system at Leeds University, mentioned that these creatures evolved during a time when Earth was becoming more habitable for organisms like them. The spread of plants and fungi on land increased oxygen levels in the atmosphere, leading to a surge in global photosynthesis.

These Prototaxite towers could reach heights of up to 8 meters and were often mistaken for massive tree trunks, despite only being a few inches wide.

Initially thought to be a type of fungus, recent research on Prototaxite suggests otherwise. By analyzing the fossilized bodies of Prototaxites Taiti found in Scotland, scientists concluded that it was a distinct life form rather than a fungus.

Unlike true fungi, the cells of P. Taiti contained lignin instead of chitin. This difference in molecular composition confirmed that it was not a fungus but rather a member of an extinct lineage.

The implications of these findings raise questions about the evolution of life and its impact on Earth’s atmosphere. The study of P. Taiti sheds light on the intricate relationship between organisms and their environment over time.

Experts like Professor Neil Gow from the University of Exeter emphasize the significance of such discoveries in understanding our planet’s history and potential habitability of other worlds.

To learn more about the experts involved in this research:

About our experts

Benjamin JW Mills is a biogeochemist and professor of the evolution of the Earth System at Leeds University. His work focuses on understanding the environmental changes that shaped Earth’s habitability and whether similar conditions could exist on other planets.

Neil Gow is a former professor of microbiology at the University of Exeter. His research on fungal diseases and cell wall structure has contributed to our understanding of life-threatening infections.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Venus Might Have More Surface Geologic Activity Than Previously Believed

Posted on April 1, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: www.sci.news

Researchers uncover a previously unknown species of Sauropodmorph dinosaur

Posted on February 22, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

meet xingxiulong yueorum A new species of early extermination Zauropodmorph dinosaurs that lived in present-day China during the early Jurassic period.

Fossilized skeleton of xingxiulong yueorum. Image credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences.

xingxiulong yueorum It belongs to Masopoda A large group of Sauropodomorph dinosaurs described in 2007.

The new species is merely the second member of the previous monopolar genus. xingxiulong.

“xingxiulong yueorum It is distinguished from xingxiulong chengi By owning a pendant-shaped fourth trochanter with a distal end, an Astragalus with a rear almost straight dorsal margin, and a Pedalgiet V with two factors” Paleonanthropology and Chinese Academy of Sciences University, and colleagues.

Partial postcranial skeletal structure of xingxiulong yueorum It was discovered in 2015 near the city of Lufen in Yunnan Province, China.

The specimen is Lufeng Layer.

“The Rufen Formation is one of the most important sedimentary units for understanding the evolution of early Jurassic sauropod dinosaurs,” the paleontologist said.

xingxiulong yueorum Estimated to reach lengths of 8-10 m (26-33 feet) – twice the size xingxiulong chengi.

“Both of both species xingxiulong There are usually four sacral vertebrae associated with delayed sauropods and sauropods, suggesting a complex early evolution of sauropods,” the researchers said.

According to the team, the discovery xingxiulong yueorum Adds diversity of Sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Lufeng Formation.

“This finding contributes to an understanding of the complex patterns that characterize the early evolution of Asian sauropods,” the authors concluded.

Their paper It was published in the journal on February 3, 2025 Historical Biology.

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Xiang-Yuan Chen et al. New species of xingxiulong (Dinosaur, Sauropodmorpha) from the lower Rufen Formation in the Jurassic region of Yunnan Province, China. Historical BiologyPublished online on February 3, 2025. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2458130

Source: www.sci.news

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

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Survey results It will be published in Astrophysics Journal Letter.

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

Source: www.sci.news

New research suggests WASP-121B may have originally formed much closer to its parent star than previously thought.

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomer using Immersed lattice infrared flash device (IGRINS) Gemini South Telescope devices looked at Wasp-121B, one of the most widely studied Ultra Hot Jupiter.

The artist's illustration indicates Wasp-121B, an alien world that has lost magnesium and iron gas from the atmosphere. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. OLMSTED, STSCI.

WASP-121B, discovered by astronomers using Wasp-South Survece in 2016, is 1.87 times that of Jupiter, 1.18 times large.

The host star, WASP-121 (TYC 7630-352-1) is an active F6 main sequence star about 1.5 times the size of the sun.

The WASP-121 system is about 881 light-years away to the puppy constellation.

WASP-121B is a so-called “hot jupiter” and takes only 1 for three days to get on WASP-121 on track. As it is very close to the parent's star, as it approaches, the gravity of the star begins to tear.

Astronomers estimate that the temperature of the planet is about 2,500 degrees (Hana 4,600 degrees), which is enough to boil some metals.

The new Iglin observation results have revealed something unexpected about the WASP-121B formation history.

With these observations, Peter Smith and his colleagues at the Arizona State University, for the first time, measured the ratio of passenger rocks and ice using a single instrument.

“Gemini South using IGRINS has actually measured individual chemical existence more accurately than even achieving a space -based telescope,” said Smith.

The spectroscopic data indicates that the WASP-121B has a high ratio of rock and ice, and indicates that excessive rocky materials have been accumulated during the formation.

This suggests a planet formed in the area of the protranetary disk that is too hot for the ice to condense.

“Our measurement means that this typical view must be reconsidered and the planetary formation model needs to be revisited,” Smith said.

Astronomers also discovered a remarkable feature of the WASP-121B atmosphere.

“The climate of this planet is extreme, not the earth's climate,” Smith said.

Since the planet daySide is very hot, elements that are generally considered “metal” evaporate in the atmosphere and can be detected by the spectroscopic method.

The strong wind blows these metals into the permanent night side of the planet. There, it is cool enough to condense and rain. This is an effect observed on Wasp-121B in the form of calcium rain.

“The sensitivity of our device can be used to examine the subtle wind speed by examining various areas, altitude, and long terms using these elements, revealing how dynamic this planet is. You can do it, “said Smith.

Survey results Will be displayed in Astronomy Journal。

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Peter CB Smith et al。 2025. Roasted marshmallow program with Gemini South Igulin. II. WASP-121 B has a ratio of superstar C/O and impact resistance and volatility. AJ 168, 293; DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/AD8574

Source: www.sci.news

Antarctic ice sheets may be more stable than previously thought

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Ronnes Ice Shelf in the Southwest Pole survived a long time ago

Modis/Zuma Wire/Shutterstock

The main ice shelves in Antarctica seem to have survived the hot period more than 120, 00 years ago. This indicates that the Westwest Pole ice sheet is not as vulnerable as it is thought to complete the complete collapse caused by climate change. You can raise the sea surface by one meter. However, great uncertainty remains.

“It's good news and bad news.” Eric Wolf At Cambridge University in the UK. “There was no worst scenario, but I can't say that it won't happen in the next century or the second century.”

The climate change caused by humans uncertains the future of the Ice bed in the Southwest Pole. If you continue to release high -level greenhouse gases, some models will completely disappear the ice sheet over the next few centuries. The most extreme scenarios projected by the inter -government panel on climate change in 2023 can lead to up to 2 meters up to the sea level by 2100.

Wolf and his colleagues looked at Ronne's ice shelves, a large part of the ice sheet that extends to the sea, to see how they behaved from 117, 00 to 126 to 00 years. Meanwhile, it was part of the last inter -glacier, and the change in the orbital of the earth increased the temperature of the Antarctica even higher than today.

In order to judge the range of Ronne's ice shelves during the warm period, researchers measured the concentration of the sea salt of the ice core about 650 km away from the end of the shelf. When the ice shelf melted between the last glacier, the edge was approaching the core. As a result, the researchers expected that the core was much closer to the ocean, so the core salt concentration would rise 8 times. “It would have been a seaside resort,” Wolf says.

Instead, they discover that the salt concentration between the last glacier is similar to today's concentration or even lower, indicating that the edge of the ice sheet remains far. Other measurements of the coat of water in the core, which maintain evidence of weather patterns affected by the change in the ice sheet, suggest that Ronne's ice shelves lasted during the last ice age.

Wolfff suggests that ice stability in the previous warm period is unlikely that climate change will be completely collapsed as the climate change increases the global temperature. However, he and other researchers say that the rise of the sea surface due to melting of ice is still a big risk.

“That means that there was no complete removal cation in the South Pole, but we do not provide enough information to relax.” Timothy Naish At Werrington Victoria University in New Zealand.

One is that the survival of Ronnes Ice Shelf does not mean that other ice areas such as Swaites and Pine Island have not melt. In fact, Wolf says the record of the core's water level suggests what they did. The ice score used by the researcher did not cover the warmth of the last ice age.

The dynamics of glacial warming between glaciers, which change in the region, are different from today's global warming, where the temperature is rising throughout the planet. For example, Wolf says that warm seawater that reaches Antarctica can accelerate melting by invading under ice.

“This is a really important observation, but I think it will take more time to understand what it means.” Andrea Duton At Wisconsin University Madison School. She emphasizes that researchers are spending 50 years and trying to think about what happened in the Westwest Pole in the last ice age.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Scientists claim that thousands of mounds in Mars’ Maurus Valley region were previously underwater.

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Study published in the magazine Natural Earth Science: Planetary researchers used high-resolution images and compositional data captured by orbiting satellites to understand the geology of thousands of kilometers of hills in the northern and western lowlands. Maurus Gorge, a plateau located on the highland side of the hemisphere bisection boundary of Mars.

Rising hundreds of meters above the surrounding lowlands, two Martian hills reveal bright areas rich in clay minerals. Image credits: ESA / TGO / CaSSIS / NASA / JPL / MSSS / Murray Lab.

A research team led by scientist Joe McNeil from the Natural History Museum in London found that the mounds are the remains of ancient highlands that retreated hundreds of kilometers after erosion carved out the landscape billions of years ago. .

These actions played a key role in shaping the Martian landscape, which separates the planet's low-lying northern hemisphere from its high-lying southern hemisphere.

This mound is made of layered deposits containing clay minerals, formed by water interacting with rock over millions of years.

These clay layers are sandwiched between older non-clay layers below and younger non-clay layers above, marking distinct geological events in Mars' history.

“These mounds are incredibly interesting because they preserve the complete water history of this area within an accessible, continuous rock outcrop,” Dr. McNeil said.

“They are prime locations for future missions aimed at determining whether Mars once had an ocean and whether life could exist there.”

The authors also found that these mounds are geologically connected to nearby plains. Oxia Planum -ESA's Rosalind Franklin spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2028 searching for signs of past and present life.

“Mars' lack of plate tectonics means it still has much of its ancient geology, so Mars is a model of what early Earth was like,” McNeil said. the doctor said.

“The more missions that visit Mars, the more we will be able to dig deeper into our planet's history and discover how life began.”

“As part of the Natural History Museum's mission to transform natural history science, our research focuses on providing solutions from and for nature.”

“This research is part of our Planetary Origins and Evolution research theme, which explores the origins and systems that underpin the evolution of the Earth, Moon, and planetary systems.”

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JD McNeil others. Dichotomous regression and aquatic alteration of Noachian Mars are recorded in highland remnants. Nat. Earth Science published online on January 20, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41561-024-01634-8

This article is based on a press release provided by the Natural History Museum, London.

Source: www.sci.news

The frequency of giant solar flares from the sun may be higher than previously believed

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

This relatively small solar flare that occurred in October (a bright flash at the center discovered by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory) would be dwarfed by a superflare.

NASA/SDO

The sun can produce extremely powerful bursts of radiation more often than we think. According to research on stars similar to the Sun, such “superflares” appear to occur about once every 100 years, and are particle storms that can have a devastating effect on electronic equipment on Earth. may be accompanied by The last major solar storm to hit Earth was 165 years ago, so we may be hit by another solar storm soon, but how similar is our Sun to these other stars? is unknown.

Direct measurements of solar activity did not begin until the mid-20th century. In 1859, our star produced a very powerful solar flare, or emission of light. These are often associated with subsequent coronal mass ejections (CMEs), bubbles of magnetized plasma particles that shoot into space.

In fact, this flare was followed by a CME that crashed into the Earth, causing a violent geomagnetic storm. This was recorded by astronomers at the time and is now known as the Carrington phenomenon. If this were to happen today, communications systems and power grids could be disrupted.

There is also evidence that there were even more powerful storms on Earth long before the Carrington incident. Assessment of radiocarbon content in tree rings and ice cores suggests that extremely high-energy particles occasionally rained down on Earth over several days, but this could be attributed to a one-time, massive solar outburst. It is unclear whether this is the case or whether it is due to several solar explosions. something small. It’s also unclear whether the Sun can produce such large flares and particle storms in a single explosion.

The frequency of these signs on Earth, and the frequency of superflares that astronomers have recorded on other stars, suggests that these giant bursts tend to occur hundreds to thousands of years apart. .

now, Ilya Usoskin Researchers from the University of Oulu in Finland studied 56,450 stars and found that stars similar to the Sun appear to emit superflares much more frequently.

“Superflares in stars like the Sun occur much more frequently than previously thought, about once every century or two,” Usoskin said. “If we believe this prediction for the Sun is correct, we would expect the Sun to have a superflare about every 100 to 200 years, and the only extreme solar storms we know of occur about once every 1500 or 2000 years. There will be a mismatch.”

Using the Kepler Space Telescope to measure the brightness of stars, Usoskin and colleagues detected a total of 2,889 superflares in 2,527 stars. The energies of these flares were 100 to 10,000 times the size of the Carrington event, the largest flare measured from the Sun.

Usoskin said it remains to be seen whether such large flares also cause large-particle phenomena, such as there is evidence for on Earth, but current solar theory cannot explain such large flares. That’s what it means. “This raises questions about what we’re actually seeing,” he says.

“It’s very impressive for a stellar flare survey,” he says. Matthew Owens At the University of Reading, UK. “They’ve clearly developed a new way to detect flares with increased sensitivity.”

Owens says it’s even harder to determine how much this tells us about the Sun’s flaring activity, in part because it’s difficult to accurately measure the rotation rates of other stars. It is said that it is for the sake of “The devil is in the details,” he says.

“The rotation rate is important because it is related to how the star generates its magnetic field, and magnetic fields are related to flare activity,” Owens said.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Super-Earths and Sub-Neptunes have significantly higher water content than previously believed

Posted on August 24, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Water is a key component of exoplanets, and its distribution – on the surface or deep inside – has a fundamental impact on the planet’s properties. A new study suggests that for Earth-sized planets and planets with more than six times Earth’s mass, the majority of water resides deep within the planet’s core.

Most of the water isn’t stored on the surface of exoplanets, but deep within their cores and mantles. Image courtesy of Sci.News.

“Most of the exoplanets known to date are located close to their stars,” said Professor Caroline Dohn of ETH Zurich.

“That means they consist mainly of hot worlds with oceans of molten magma that haven’t yet cooled enough to form a solid mantle of silicate rock like Earth’s.”

“Water is very soluble in these magma oceans, unlike, say, carbon dioxide, which quickly outgasssssssssssss and rises into the atmosphere.”

“The iron core is beneath a molten silicate mantle. So how does water partition between the silicates and the iron?”

“It takes time for the iron core to form. Most of the iron is initially contained in the hot magma soup in the form of droplets.”

“The water trapped in this soup binds to these iron droplets and together they sink to the center. The iron droplets act like a lift force, being carried downward by the water.”

Until now, such phenomena were known to occur only under moderate pressures, which also exist on Earth.

It was not known what would happen on larger planets with higher internal pressures.

“This is one of the key findings of our study,” Professor Dorn said.

“The larger and more massive the planet, the more likely the water is to be integrated into the core, together with the iron droplets.”

“Under certain circumstances, iron can absorb up to 70 times more water than silicates.”

“But because of the enormous pressure at the core, the water no longer exists in the form of water molecules, but in the form of hydrogen and oxygen.”

The research was sparked by an investigation into the Earth’s water content, which four years ago led to a startling result: the Earth’s surface oceans contain only a tiny fraction of the planet’s total water.

More than 80 of Earth’s oceans may be hidden within it.

This is shown by simulations that calculate how water would have behaved under conditions when the Earth was young, so experiments and seismological measurements are compatible.

New discoveries about the distribution of water within planets will have a dramatic impact on the interpretation of astronomical observational data.

Astronomers can use telescopes in space and on Earth to measure the weight and size of exoplanets under certain conditions.

They use these calculations to create mass-radius diagrams that allow them to draw conclusions about the planet’s composition.

“Ignoring water solubility and distribution, as has been done in the past, can lead to a massive underestimation of the water volume, by up to a factor of ten,” Prof Doern said.

“There’s a lot more water on the planet than we previously thought.”

The distribution of water is also important if we want to understand how planets form and develop: any water that sinks to the core will remain trapped there forever.

However, dissolved water in the mantle’s magma ocean can degas and rise to the surface as the mantle cools.

“So if we find water in a planet’s atmosphere, there’s probably even more water in its interior,” Prof Dorn said.

Water is one of the prerequisites for life to develop, and there has long been speculation as to whether water-rich super-Earths could support life.

Calculations have since suggested that too much water could be detrimental to life, arguing that on such a watery world, an alien layer of high-pressure ice would prevent vital exchange of materials at the interface between the ocean and the planet’s mantle.

Current research has come to a different conclusion: Most of the water on super-Earths is locked away in their cores, rather than on their surfaces as previously assumed, so planets with deep aqueous layers are probably rare.

This has led astronomers to speculate that planets with relatively high water content could potentially form habitable environments like Earth.

“Their study sheds new light on the possibility that worlds rich enough in water to support life may exist,” the authors said.

of study Published in the journal Natural Astronomy.

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H. Luo othersThe interior as the main water reservoir of Super-Earths and Sub-Neptunes. Nat AstronPublished online August 20, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02347-z

Source: www.sci.news

Finds from the Bronze Age indicate that market economics may have originated earlier than previously believed

Posted on July 29, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Bronze Age metal hoard from Weisig, Germany

J. Lipták/Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen

Bronze Age Europeans earned and spent money in much the same way we do today, indicating that the origins of the “market economy” are much older than expected.

That’s the controversial conclusion of a new study that challenges the view that elites were the dominant force in Bronze Age economies and suggests that human economic behaviour may not have changed much over the past 3,500 years or more.

“We tend to romanticize European prehistory, but the Bronze Age was not just a fantasy world where townsfolk and peasants served their needs as a backdrop for great lords,” he said. Nicola Ialongo “It was a very familiar world, with family, friends, social networks, markets, jobs, and ultimately having to figure out how to make ends meet,” says Professor at Aarhus University in Denmark.

Bronze Age Europeans, from 3300 to 800 BCE, were not meticulous bookkeepers like people in other ancient societies, such as those in Mesopotamia. But Ialongo and Giancarlo Lago Researchers at the University of Bologna in Italy suggest that the treasure trove of metal they left behind may hold important insights into their daily lives and the roots of modern economic behavior.

Lago and Ialongo analyzed more than 20,000 metal objects from Bronze Age burials in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and Germany. These metal objects came in many different forms, but around 1500 B.C. they began to be standardized by weight, which is how they were classified. Many experts These are distinguished as a type of pre-monetary currency.

“The discovery of widespread systems of measurement and weight allows us to model things that have been known for centuries in ways that have never been modeled before,” Ialongo says. “This not only gives us new answers to old questions, but it also gives us new questions that no one has asked before.”

The team found that the weight values in their vast sample followed the same statistical distribution as the daily expenses of a modern Western household: small everyday expenses, represented by lighter pieces, dominated the consumption pattern, while larger expenses, represented by heavier pieces, were relatively rare. This pattern is similar to that found in the average modern wallet, with many small bills and very few large bills.

Lago and Ialongo interpret their find as evidence that the Bronze Age economic system was regulated by market forces of supply and demand, with everyone participating in proportion to how much they earned. This hypothesis contrasts with the influential view put forward by anthropologist Karl Polanyi in the 1940s, who characterized the modern economy, based on monetary gain, as a new phenomenon distinct from ancient economies centered on barter, gift exchange, and social status.

Richard Brunton A researcher from Purdue University in Indiana called the study credible: “I think this argument will stimulate debate among archaeologists and economic anthropologists who have been based for decades on erroneous assumptions about the antiquity of market economies,” he said.

“I think this paper adds useful fuel to that criticism,” Brunton says, “and to me it sheds entirely new light on the function of bronze deposits and the potential use of bronze coins as a unit of exchange.”

but, Erica Schonberger Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland are skeptical of the team’s conclusions. “It’s dangerous to assume that ordinary people in premodern times used money in normal economic activities,” says Schonberger. “For example, medieval English peasants only got money for selling their produce when lords began to demand money in lieu of rents or taxes in kind. They gave most or all of that money directly to the lords. They sold to get money, but they didn’t use it to buy things they needed. We’re still a long way from modern economic behavior.” [in the Middle Ages].”

Lago and Ialongo hope that their work will inspire other experts to carry out similar studies on artefacts from different regions and cultures. They suggest that market economies are a natural development across time and cultures, and that such systems are not something new or unique that has emerged in Western societies over the past few centuries.

“Technically, we haven’t proven that the Bronze Age economy was a market economy,” Ialongo says, “we simply have no evidence that it wasn’t. And we’re just pointing out a contradiction: why is everyone so convinced that there wasn’t a market economy when everything we see can be explained by a market economy model? In other words, if the simplest explanation works well enough, why should we have to imagine a more complex one?”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Researchers find previously unknown species of prehistoric crocodile

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

New species of early crocodile named Asiatosuchus oenotoriensis was discovered by a team of paleontologists from Spain’s National University of Distance Learning and the University of Salamanca.

Skull Asiatosuchus oenotoriensis Type specimen from the Middle Eocene site of Casaseca de Campean, Spain. Image credit: Narváez others., doi: 10.1002/ar.25422.

The newly identified crocodile lived on Earth during the Middle Eocene Epoch, between 48 and 41 million years ago.

Prehistoric animals Asiatosuchus An extinct genus of crocodilian crocodiles that lived in Europe and Asia during the Paleogene (66 to 23 million years ago).

“During the Palaeogene, a variety of crocodilians with common snouts (i.e. non-elongated snouts) inhabited Europe. The Middle Eocene is particularly notable for its relative abundance and diversity, but also includes fossils from the Late Paleocene and possibly the Early Oligocene and Late Neogene,” said lead author Dr Ivan Narváez and his colleagues.

“Many of the Eocene crocodile fossils are from the Asiatosuchus-like complex.”

“Genus Asiatosuchus was Established The species was defined in 1940 by paleontologist Charles Mook. Asiatosuchus grangeli It is based on an incomplete lower jaw and several skull fragments from the Middle Eocene of the Irdin Mankha Formation in Mongolia.”

“After the definition Asiatosuchus grangeli Several other eupteran forms, generally represented as isolated or rare fossils, have been described from the Paleocene to Oligocene of Europe, Asia and North America and have recently been Asiatosuchus It’s a complex like that.”

Two fossils Asiatosuchus oenotoriensis A similarly sized specimen was discovered at the La Laguna archaeological site in Spain in the 1980s.

The specimen includes a nearly complete skull and a nearly complete left lower jaw.

“The La Laguna fossil site is located in the Tierra del Vino region of the province of Zamora, Spain, approximately 20 kilometres south of the city of Zamora and approximately one kilometre north of the village of Casaseca de Campean,” the paleontologists said.

“The area forms part of the western part of the Duero Basin (Ciudad Rodrigo Basin).”

“The Duero Basin is the largest continental Cenozoic basin on the Iberian Peninsula.”

According to the authors: Asiatosuchus oenotoriensis Increase knowledge of diversity and distribution of Asiatosuchus Crocodile-like complex.

“Asiatosuchus oenotoriensis “This adds valuable information to our knowledge of the systematics of the relatively diverse crocodile fauna of the Duero Basin in Spain,” the researchers said.

Team paper Published in Anatomy record.

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Ivan Narvaez others A new crocodilian superfamily from the Middle Eocene of Zamora (Duero Basin, Spain). Anatomy record Published online March 5, 2024; doi: 10.1002/ar.25422

Source: www.sci.news

New understanding suggests LUCA, the last common ancestor of all life, emerged earlier than previously believed

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Illustration showing LUCA possibly being attacked by a virus

Scientific Graphic Design

The organisms that gave rise to all life on Earth evolved much earlier than previously thought – just a few hundred million years after Earth formed – and may have been more sophisticated than previous assessments had suggested.

The DNA of all living organisms today is E. coli There are many similarities in the evolution leading up to the blue whale, suggesting that we can trace our origins back to a universal common ancestor, LUCA, billions of years ago. While many efforts have been made to understand LUCA, studies taking a broader approach have revealed surprising results.

“What we're trying to do is bring together representatives from different disciplines to develop a comprehensive understanding of when LUCA existed and what its biological characteristics were,” he said. Philip Donahue At the University of Bristol, UK.

Genes that are currently present in all major lineages of life may have been passed down uninterrupted from LUCA, which could help us understand what genes our ancient ancestors had. By studying how these genes changed over time, we should be able to estimate when LUCA lived.

In reality, this is a lot more complicated than it sounds, as genes are lost, gained, and swapped between branches. Donohue says the team created a complex model that took this into account, to work out which genes were present in LUCA. “We've found a much more sophisticated organism than many have previously claimed,” he says.

The researchers estimate that 2,600 protein-coding genes come from LUCA, up from previous estimates of as few as 80. The team also concludes that LUCA lived around 4.2 billion years ago, much older than other estimates and surprisingly close to the formation of Earth 4.5 billion years ago. “This suggests that the evolution of life may have been simpler than previously claimed, because evolution happened so quickly,” Donohue says.

The earlier date is largely due to the team's improved methodology, but also because, unlike others, they don't assume that LUCA could have existed only after the Late Heavy Bombardment, when Earth was hit so hard by space debris that any new life that emerged could have been wiped out. Based on rocks returned from the Moon, the period has been put at 3.8 billion years ago, but there's a lot of uncertainty around that number, Donohue says.

Their reconstruction suggests that LUCA had genes that protected it from ultraviolet damage, which leads them to believe that it likely lived on the ocean's surface. Other genes suggest that LUCA fed on hydrogen, which is consistent with previous findings. The team speculates that LUCA may have been part of an ecosystem with other types of primitive cells that are now extinct. “I think it's extremely naive to think that LUCA existed on its own,” Donohue says.

“I think this is compelling from an evolutionary perspective.” Greg Fournier “LUCA is not the beginning of the story of life, but merely the state of the last common ancestor that we can trace back to using genomic data,” say researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The results also suggest that LUCA had a primitive version of the bacterial defense system known as CRISPR to fight viruses. “Even 4.2 billion years ago, our earliest ancestors were fighting viruses,” the team members say. Edmund Moodyalso at the University of Bristol.

Peering into the distant past is fraught with uncertainty, and Donohue is the first to admit that his team may have missed the mark. “We've almost certainly got it all wrong,” he says. “What we're trying to do is push the envelope and create the first attempt to synthesize all of the relevant evidence.”

“This won't be the last word,” he said, “and it won't be our last word on this subject, but we think it's a good start.”

Patrick Forter Researchers at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France, who coined the term LUCA, also believe that the organism did not live in isolation. “But the claim that LUCA lived before the Late Heavy Bombardment 3.9 billion years ago seems to me completely unrealistic,” says Forterre. “I'm convinced that their strategy for determining the age and gene content of LUCA has several flaws.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Meteoroids hit Mars more often than previously believed

Posted on June 29, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

A recent study indicates that the impact rate on Mars may be two to ten times higher than previously thought, depending on the size of the meteorite.

Mars. The entire Valles Marineris system is visible in the center of the scene. Image courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

“Mars may be more geologically active than previously believed, which could have implications for the age and evolution of its surface,” stated Dr. Ingrid Dover of Brown University.

“Our findings, although based on a limited number of examples, suggest that current estimates of the impact rate on planets are much higher than what can be observed from images alone.”

Dr. Dauber and his team utilized sensitive seismometers on NASA’s InSight lander to discover eight new impact craters caused by meteorites that were previously unknown from orbit.

The frequency of these cosmic impacts challenges existing notions of how frequently meteorites collide with the Martian surface and indicates the need to revise current Martian crater models to accommodate higher impact rates, particularly from smaller meteorites.

This revelation has the potential to reshape our understanding of the Martian surface and the impact history not only of Mars but of other planets as well, as the Martian surface continues to be shaped by small meteorite impacts.

“This will necessitate a reassessment of the models used by the scientific community to estimate the ages of planetary surfaces across the solar system,” Dr. Dover added.

Of the craters discovered, six were in close proximity to the stationary InSight lander’s location.

The two distant impacts identified in the data were the largest ever detected by scientists, even after years of observation from orbit.

These two larger impacts, each resulting in football field-sized craters, occurred just 97 days apart, underscoring the increased frequency of such geological events.

“An impact of this magnitude might be expected once every few decades or even once in a lifetime, but to have it occur twice within 90 days is highly unusual,” Dr. Dover remarked.

“It’s possible it’s a mere coincidence, but the likelihood of that is slim.”

“It’s more probable that the two large impacts are linked, or the impact rate on Mars is significantly higher than previously assumed.”

“Planetary impacts occur regularly throughout the solar system.”

“Our interest lies in studying these impacts on Mars to compare and contrast them with those on Earth.”

“This is crucial for understanding our solar system, its constituents, and the population of objects that impact it – not just as a threat to Earth, but historically as a hazard to other planets too.”

Published in today’s edition of Scientific Advances.

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Ingrid J. Dover et al. 2024. Seismologically detected craters on Mars: Enhanced recent impact flux? Scientific Advances 10(26); doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adk7615

Source: www.sci.news

Dark energy could be even more mysterious than previously believed

Posted on June 25, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The choice to name a new project the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) may come across as presumptuous. Dark energy, you see, is completely unseen; it does not emit any detectable light for a spectrometer to analyze. In fact, dark energy has never been directly observed and has managed to evade capture despite efforts made using the most advanced telescopes and detectors available.

As far as we understand it, dark energy is invisible, uniformly spread throughout space, does not interact with matter or light, and serves the sole purpose of accelerating the universe’s expansion through a mechanism that remains a mystery to us.

So, with the recent announcement of DESI’s initial data release, are we witnessing a shift in our comprehension of dark energy, as promised?

In the search for elusive dark energy, our observations offer limited insights: dark energy merely stretches space-time. To investigate different theories about dark energy, we must examine how this stretching occurred over cosmic time.

One method is to observe the universe’s expansion history, while another involves examining how matter accumulated within galaxies and clusters at various junctures in the universe’s past.

Efforts to measure the expansion rate often involve constructing a precise 3D map of the universe’s matter. By studying the spectra of light, we can determine how much it has stretched due to the universe’s expansion. By combining this information with accurate physical distances, we gain valuable insights into the universe’s evolution.

DESI’s new model has stirred speculation by proposing that dark energy may have a more intricate history than previously believed. If these indications prove to be accurate, they could revolutionize our understanding of not just the universe’s past, but also its eventual fate.

The Concordance Model of Cosmology outlines the prevailing model of the universe and its components. In this model, dark energy is viewed as a cosmological constant, providing a minimal flexibility to every part of space.

DESI and other surveys commonly report their dark energy findings in terms of an “equation of state” parameter denoted as w. A value of w = -1 is expected if dark energy behaves as a cosmological constant. Any deviation from this value implies a different characteristic for dark energy.

The recent DESI findings present a puzzling scenario: while a constant w of -1 aligns well with the results, a scenario where w is variable suggests a different interpretation. When combined with data from other sources, these results hint at a changing w, implying a varying impact of dark energy on the universe over time.

While the implications of these findings remain uncertain, they raise intriguing possibilities about the future course of the universe and the role of dark energy within it. Though still preliminary, these results suggest that dark energy may continue to surprise us in unforeseen ways in the future.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

There is a possibility that dark energy is even more mysterious than previously believed.

Posted on June 22, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Naming a new project the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) may come across as overly confident. This is because dark energy is undetectable and cannot be examined or analyzed through traditional methods like spectroscopy. Despite numerous attempts, dark energy has never been directly observed and remains a mystery in the realm of astrophysics.

Dark energy is believed to be a uniform force throughout the universe that does not interact with matter or light in any discernible way. Its primary function is to expand space at an accelerating rate, a process that baffles scientists due to its unknown underlying mechanism.

The recent release of data from DESI has sparked interest and debate in the scientific community. This project aims to shed light on the behavior of dark energy by mapping the expansion history of the universe. By studying the motion of galaxies and measuring the stretching of light emitted from distant objects, researchers can gain insights into the evolution of the cosmos.

The current prevailing model of cosmology suggests that dark energy exists as a static cosmological constant, affecting the fabric of space uniformly. However, DESI’s findings hint at a more complex history for dark energy, challenging conventional theories about its nature and implications for the future of the universe.

As researchers delve deeper into the mysteries of dark energy, they may uncover new discoveries that challenge existing paradigms and push the boundaries of our understanding of the cosmos. The DESI project represents an important step towards unraveling the enigma of dark energy and its profound impact on the universe.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

The Milky Way’s most recent major merger occurred billions of years later than previously believed

Posted on June 7, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The discovery was made possible by ESA’s Gaia spacecraft, which is mapping more than a billion stars across the Milky Way galaxy and beyond, tracking their motions, brightness, temperature, and composition.

This image visualizes the Milky Way and its surrounding halo of stars. New Gaia data reveals that the wrinkles seen in the Milky Way are likely the result of a dwarf galaxy colliding with the Milky Way about 2.7 billion years ago. Our galaxy’s two major satellite galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, are visible at the bottom right. Image credit: ESA / Gaia / DPAC / Donlon other./ Stephen Payne Waldenaar.

The Milky Way galaxy has grown over time as other galaxies have approached, collided, been torn apart, and been swallowed up.

Each collision still sends ripples through different groups of stars, influencing their movements and behavior in space.

One of Gaia’s goals is to study these wrinkles to unravel the history of our Milky Way galaxy. It does this by pinpointing the positions and motions of more than 100,000 stars close to Earth, a tiny fraction of the roughly 2 billion objects it observes.

“As we age, we tend to get more wrinkles, but our research shows that the opposite is true in the Milky Way – it’s like a cosmic Benjamin Button, and it gets less wrinkled over time,” said Dr. Thomas Donlon, an astronomer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Alabama.

“By looking at how these wrinkles fade over time, we can trace when the Milky Way last experienced a major collision — and it turns out this happened billions of years later than we thought.”

The Milky Way’s halo contains many stars with unusual orbits, many of which are thought to have been incorporated into the galaxy in an event that astronomers call the last great merger.

As the name suggests, this is the last time the Milky Way has experienced a significant collision with another galaxy, which is proposed to have been a giant dwarf galaxy that smothered the Milky Way with stars passing very close to the center of the Milky Way.

Astronomers estimate that the merger occurred between 8 and 11 billion years ago, when the Milky Way was still in its infancy, and is known as Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus.

But data from Gaia’s Data Release 3 suggests that another merger could have resulted in the unusually behaving star.

“For the stellar wrinkles to be as clear as we see in the Gaia data, the stars would have had to have appeared on Earth less than 3 billion years ago — at least 5 billion years later than previously thought,” said Dr. Heidi Jo Neuberg, also of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

“Every time a star passes back and forth through the center of the Milky Way, a new stellar wrinkle forms.”

“If they had merged with us 8 billion years ago, there would have been so many wrinkles next to each other that we wouldn’t be able to see them as separate features.”

This discovery suggests that these stars did not result from the ancient Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger, but must have arisen from a more recent event called the Virgo radial merger, which occurred less than 3 billion years ago.

“The history of the Milky Way is currently being constantly rewritten, thanks in large part to new data from Gaia,” Dr. Donlon said.

“Our image of the Milky Way’s past has changed dramatically since even 10 years ago, and I think our understanding of these mergers will continue to change rapidly.”

“This finding that most of the Milky Way galaxy joined Earth within the last few billion years is quite different from what astronomers previously thought.”

“Many prevailing models and ideas about the growth of the Milky Way predict that a recent head-on collision with a dwarf galaxy of this mass would be extremely rare.”

“The Virgo radial merger likely pulled in a group of other small dwarf galaxies and star clusters, all of which joined the Milky Way at about the same time.”

“Future exploration will reveal which of these small objects previously thought to be related to the ancient Gaia sausage Enceladus are in fact related to the recent Virgo radial merger.”

of Investigation result Appears in Monthly Bulletin of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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Thomas Donlon otherThe year is 2024. The remains of the “last great merger” are dynamically young. MNRAS 531(1):1422-1439; doi:10.1093/mnras/stae1264

Source: www.sci.news

Cyprus settled by hunter-gatherers much earlier than previously believed

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

With persistent stories of isolation, inaccessibility, and unattractiveness, one of the eastern Mediterranean islands was first populated by an influx of agricultural populations from the mainland under demographic pressures. It is generally considered to be a Neolithic phenomenon that began with. New research led by Professor Corey Bradshaw from Flinders University shows Cyprus may have been settled by hunter-gatherers by about 14,000 to 13,000 years ago, earlier than previously recognized. . This process must have involved a small number of large-scale migration events (hundreds to thousands of people), which infers the intentions and organization of these early humans.

Bradshaw uses the latest archaeological data, afterthought climate projections, and demographic models of age structure to other. They demonstrate evidence of an early arrival on Cyprus (14,257-13,182 years ago), within two to three major events occurring within 100 years, to ensure the risk of extinction is low. They expected a large group (1,000 to 1,375 people) to arrive.Image credit: Bradshaw other., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2318293121.

In researching when Cyprus was first occupied by humans, Professor Bradshaw and his colleagues discovered that the large Mediterranean islands were an attractive and preferred destination for Paleolithic people.

Their findings contradict previous research that suggested Mediterranean islands would have been inaccessible and inhospitable for Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies.

Archaeologists used archaeological data, climate estimates, and demographic modeling to uncover Cyprus's early people.

Analysis of archaeological dating from the 10 oldest sites across Cyprus suggests that first human habitation dates between 14,257 and 13,182 years ago, which is longer than previously thought. It is also much older.

“The islands were then rapidly settled. Climate modeling shows that this early hominin population was able to survive in tandem with increases in temperature, precipitation, and environmental productivity sufficient to sustain large hunter-gatherer populations. “We show that this is the case,” the researchers said.

Based on demographic models, we believe that large groups of hundreds to thousands of people arrived in Cyprus over two or three major migration events within 100 years.

“This settlement pattern suggests systematic planning and the use of advanced vessels,” Professor Bradshaw said.

Within 300 years, or 11 generations, Cyprus' population grew to a median of 4,000 to 5,000 people.

Dr Theodora Muzio, an archaeologist at James Cook University and the University of Cyprus, said: “This result suggests that Cyprus, and perhaps other Mediterranean islands, were more likely to be inhospitable places for Paleolithic hunter-gatherer societies. “This suggests that it would have been an attractive destination.”

“The dispersal and settlement of humans in Cyprus and other eastern Mediterranean islands was due to rapid climate change, with coastal regions inundated by post-ice age sea level rise and farmers forced to move to new locations. , it is argued that this is due to demographic pressures on the mainland, an area of necessity rather than choice.”

“This interpretation has arisen as a result of significant gaps in the archaeological record of Cyprus, resulting from differences in the preservation of archaeological materials, bias in preservation, uncertainties associated with dating, and limited DNA evidence. '' said Australian Museum of Archaeology's archaeologist Dr Christian Liebmeyer. Australian Biodiversity and Heritage Research Council Center of Excellence, German Institute of Archaeology, and James Cook University.

“Our research, based on more archaeological evidence and advanced modeling techniques, changes that.”

“New findings highlight the need to reconsider the question of early human migration in the Mediterranean and test the validity of the perceived early settlement dates in the light of new technologies, field survey methods and data. ' said Professor Bradshaw.

Regarding this research, paper Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Corey J.A. Bradshaw other. 2024. Demographic models predict the onset of the late Pleistocene and rapid expansion of pre-agro-pastoralism in Cyprus. PNAS 121 (21): e2318293121; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2318293121

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists discover a previously unknown species of fake scorpion trapped in 50-million-year-old amber

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists have reported fossils of a new genus and species of pseudoscorpion from the Eocene Cambay amber of western India.

Geogaranya variensis. Image credit: Agnihotri other, doi: 10.26879/1276.

pseudo scorpion It is the earliest order of arthropods to colonize Earth’s land during the early Devonian period.

This diverse order accounts for more than 3% of all known arachnid species.

“Pseudoscorpions are an ancient lineage of terrestrial arachnids that are morphologically similar to real scorpions, but lack the tail and stinger,” said Dr. Priya Agnihotri of DST’s Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleosciences and colleagues.

“Certain families have unique venom devices in the serrated digits of their palps, which evolved independently of the venom devices of scorpions and spiders.”

“Recent research also supports the inclusion of pseudoscorpions as a sister group to scorpions.”

“Due to their delicate bodies and small size, these fossils are mainly found in amber deposits around the world rather than in sediments,” they added.

“Forty-nine pseudoscorpion species have been recorded from Eocene Baltic amber and Rovno amber.”

Newly discovered pseudoscorpion species belongs to the small scorpion family Goridae.

named Geogaranya variensis showing strong similarities with extant genera. Geogalypus From Sri Lanka, India, and New Guinea.

“The Geogarypidae family is one of a group of bark-dwelling and leaf litter-dwelling species similar to the Geogarypidae family. Gallipidae It has a distinctive subtriangular carapace and eyes located near the leading edge,” the paleontologist said.

“This family includes more than 70 species with habitats suitable for tropical and subtropical regions, some of which have been reported from temperate biomes.”

“Geogarypidae are more common in Baltic and Rovno amber, and there are some records from Cretaceous Burmese amber.”

“Unlike the sparse record of fossils, their modern-day counterparts have been recorded in all major biogeographic regions, including Europe, Central Asia, North America, and North Africa.”

Amber from Cambay from 50 million years ago. Geogaranya variensis It was discovered in the open-pit Valia lignite mine, part of the Cambay Shale Formation, in the Cambay Basin of Gujarat, India.

“The Cambay Shale Formation overlies the Deccan Trap, and below it is the Paleocene to lower Eocene Vagadkol Formation,” the researchers said.

According to the team: Geogaranya variensis It is one of the smallest known adult pseudoscorpion fossils in amber from the Cambay Basin.

This discovery further strengthens the biodiversity of bark-dwelling arthropods identified in Eocene amber from western India.

“The discovery of the smallest known adult pseudoscorpion in Cambay Basin amber aligns it with fossil taxa recorded in Baltic Sea amber and Bitterfeld amber that survived the early Eocene. “This provides insight into similar bark-dwelling arthropod taxa,” the scientists concluded.

“Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed diagnostic features in the fossils, such as abnormally enlarged palps. This strengthened Foresy’s idea that species from non-arboreal habitats could be mistakenly This suggests that it may have been carried in amber and had a connection to a flying host.”

discovery of Geogaranya variensis is reported in paper in diary Old Trogia Electronica.

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priya agnihotri other. 2024. A new genus and species of fossil pseudoscorpion (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) discovered in Eocene amber from western India. Old Trogia Electronica 27 (2):a26; doi: 10.26879/1276

Source: www.sci.news

Study reveals sperm whale communication is more intricate than previously believed

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Sperm whale (physeter macrocephalus) They are highly social mammals that use clicks to communicate. New research shows that, just like in human language, they can combine and coordinate different clicks and rhythms to create complex calls.

Sperm whale (physeter macrocephalus). Image credit: Gabriel Barathieu / CC BY-SA 2.0 Certificate.

Communication is important for social animals to make group decisions and coordinate collaborative tasks such as foraging and raising children.

Sperm whales are social mammals that communicate with each other by clicking repeatedly.

Little else is known about sperm whales' communication systems, although some of their clicks have previously been shown to communicate their identity.

“Cetaceans are an important group for studying evolution and the development of sophisticated communication systems,” said Pratyusha Sharma, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and colleagues.

“Among cetaceans, long-term observational studies of sperm whales describe both a culturally defined, multilayered matrilineal society and a socially transmitted communication system.”

“Sperm whales are known for their complex social and foraging behaviors, as well as their collective decision-making.”

“They communicate using codas, stereotypical sequences of three to 40 broadband clicks. Codas are exchanged when whales interact with each other and during long, deep dives foraging. .”

For the study, the authors Dominican Sperm Whale Projectthe largest repository of sperm whale data.

They analyzed the records of about 60 different whales from the eastern Caribbean sperm whale clan and used them to define a “sperm whale phonetic alphabet” of click combinations from this clan's records.

They discovered that whales' communication systems are more complex and have greater information-transfer capabilities than previously thought.

We found that the combination and structure of the generated click sequences depended on the context of the individual's conversation.

Scientists also identified a “combinatorial structure” in whale language. Whales can combine and coordinate different clicks and rhythms to create complex vocalizations, similar to human language.

“Although the function and meaning of the click combinations are still unknown, the sperm whale language could potentially express a large number of meanings,” the researchers said.

Their paper It was published in the magazine nature communications.

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P. Sharma other. 2024. Contextual and combinatorial structure in sperm whale calls. Nat Commune 15, 3617; doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47221-8

Source: www.sci.news

Discovery of a previously unknown Jurassic Shuotheriid species illuminates early mammalian evolution

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

In a new study, a team of paleontologists examined the structure of teeth. Feredkodon Chowi aims to better understand the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary paths of a new species of Xuozalaid mammal that lived in what is now China during the Jurassic period.

rebuilding the life of Feredkodon Chowi (right) and Dianoconodon Yonggi (left). Image credit: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Professor Patricia Vickers-Rich, a researcher at Monash University and Museums Victoria, said: “Our study challenges current theory and provides a new perspective on the evolutionary history of mammals.”

“By describing the complex tooth shapes and occlusal patterns, we provide important insights into the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary trajectory of the family Xenodiaceae, which was largely unknown until its recent discovery in China. ”

Shoeteraid a mammal-like animal from the Jurassic period, has baffled scientists because of its unique dental features.

These creatures have so-called pseudoclaws (basin-like structures) located in front of the triangular teeth of the mandibular molars, and the claws seen in modern therian mammals are similar to the triangular teeth of the lower molars. It is different from the claw-like pattern located at the back.

“This unique tooth pattern hinders our understanding of schootelid relationships and the first steps in the evolution of mammalian species,” Professor Vickersrich said.

Professor Vickers Rich and her colleagues examined the pseudotribosphene tooth of a new Jurassic schiotelid. Feredkodon Chowi represented by two skeletal specimens.

They were able to more completely dissect the tooth structure using a variety of analyses, and the results suggested that the tooth structure of schootherids is very similar to that of docodontans. Ta.

This study suggests that there are no true trigonids present in the basal teeth of Xuozalidae, indicating that they are more closely related to Docodontans than previously thought.

This reassessment of tooth structure not only resolves outstanding interpretations but also triggers a reconsideration of evolutionary connections within mammals.

“In 1982, a single small Jurassic mandible with four teeth was placed at a single point in the mammal family tree,” said Dr Thomas Rich, also from Monash University and Museums Victoria.

“We now have two virtually complete specimens analyzed in different ways, all of which place them in very different positions on the mammal family tree.”

“Additional specimens and different methods suggest different interpretations. Science often works like this.”

Based on new data, the Xuozidae appears to belong to a separate clade, the Docodontiformes, separate from the Auscutolibospheniformes, and are therefore grouped as follows: docodontance.

This finding highlights the importance of pseudotribosphenic characters in elucidating the initial diversification of mammals.

“This study highlights the presence of a huge variety of tooth morphologies in early mammals, demonstrating unique ecomorphological adaptations throughout the evolutionary development of mammals,” Professor Vickersrich said. Ta.

of findings Published in today's diary Nature.

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F. Mao other. The Jurassic family Xenotheliidae represents the earliest dental diversification of mammals. Nature, published online on April 3, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07258-7

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists uncover five previously unknown hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists on board the research vessel atlantis Five new deep-sea hydrothermal vents have been discovered on the ocean floor at a depth of 2,550 meters (1.6 miles). All exhaust fluids are hotter than 300 degrees Celsius (570 degrees Fahrenheit).

vehicle carried by humans alvin Arrived at the ocean floor. Image credits: J. McDermott, Lehigh University / T. Barreyre, CNRS / R. Parnell-Turner, Scripps Institution of Oceanography / D. Fornari, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution / National Deep Diving Facility / Alvin Group.

Hydrothermal vents are rich in chemicals that provide energy for animal life, fueling rich and productive ecosystems.

The location of the new hydrothermal vent was discovered by a team of scientists during a research expedition funded by the National Science Foundation.

They are located on the East Pacific Ridge near 10 degrees north latitude and are part of the trans-Earth mid-ocean ridge volcanic mountains, where two tectonic plates are breaking apart at a rate of about 11 cm (4.3 inches) per year.

Expedition researchers used underwater robots to map the area at night guard.

rear guard Retrieved each morning, high-resolution maps from the vehicle’s sensors were used to plan the day’s dives by the manned vehicle. alvinThis gives scientists a first-hand look at the complex and ever-changing environments of places like the East Pacific Rise.

“High-resolution maps are guard There is a possibility that new hydrothermal areas will be discovered soon guard will be back on deck,” said Dr. Jill McDermott, a researcher at Lehigh University.

“This gives us great goals such as: alvin And the opportunity to make multiple discoveries in one dive.”

scientists infiltrate alvin He first discovered a hydrothermal vent in 1977 while exploring an oceanic ridge north of the Galapagos Islands.

The discovery has reshaped scientists’ understanding of the conditions that can support life on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system.

“Mid-ocean ridges account for more than 75% of all volcanic activity on Earth,” said CNRS researcher Dr. Thibault Valley.

“There are thousands of these deep-sea hot springs, which together extract 10 percent of the Earth’s total internal heat.”

“We want to better understand how hydrothermal vents release heat and chemicals as they flow beneath the ocean floor, impacting global oceans.”

“new guard “Using the map, we can see vital details of lava flows erupting in the deep ocean and target them for rock sample collection, just as geologists do on land.” said Dr. Daniel Fornari, a researcher at the institute.

“These new perspectives and analysis of rock samples will help us understand how fast the lava erupted, how far it traveled, and how deep-sea lava eruptions affect hydrothermal eruptions. I guess.”

“By working together these two state-of-the-art deep-sea submersibles, we will make surprising new discoveries about how the deep sea floor is constructed in some of the harshest environments on Earth. Yes, we can,” said Dr. Ross Parnell Turner., a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Source: www.sci.news

Astronomers find previously unknown quasar in far-off galaxy cluster

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and NSF’s Carl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to locate H1821+643, the closest quasar hosted by a galaxy cluster, about 3.4 billion light years away. The quasar was found to be more powerful than many supermassive black holes in other galaxy clusters.

This composite image shows quasar H1821+643.Image credit: NASA / CXC / University of Nottingham / Russell other. / NSF / NRAO / VLA / SAO / N. Walk.

Quasars are a rare and extreme class of supermassive black holes that violently pull matter inward, producing intense radiation and sometimes powerful jets.

This quasar, known as H1821+643, is about 3.4 billion light-years from Earth and contains a black hole with a mass of 4 billion solar masses.

Most growing supermassive black holes pull matter in at a slower rate than quasars.

Astronomers have been studying the effects of these more common black holes by observing black holes at the centers of galaxy clusters.

Periodic explosions from such black holes prevent the massive amount of superheated gas embedded in the black hole from cooling down, increasing the number of stars forming in its host galaxy and the fuel pouring toward the black hole. limit the amount of

Little is known about how much influence quasars within galaxy clusters have on their surroundings.

“Our research shows that quasars appear to have given up much of the control imposed by slower-growing black holes. The appetite of black holes is unmatched in their influence,” Nottingham said. University astronomer Dr Helen Russell said.

To reach this conclusion, Russell and his colleagues used Chandra to study the hot gas surrounding H1821+643 and its host galaxy.

But the bright X-rays from quasars have made it difficult to study the weaker X-rays from hot gases.

“To reveal the effects of a black hole, we had to carefully remove the X-ray glare. Then we found that it actually had little effect on its surroundings,” says Harvard University. said Dr. Paul Nalsen, an astronomer at the Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Using Chandra, astronomers discovered that the density of gas near the black hole at the center of a galaxy is much higher than in more distant regions, and the temperature of the gas is much cooler.

Researchers believe that when there is little or no energy input (usually from an explosion from a black hole), hot gas behaves this way to prevent it from cooling and flowing toward the center of the cluster. Expect.

“The supermassive black hole generates far less heat than other black holes at the center of galaxy clusters. This allows the hot gas to cool rapidly and form new stars, which fuel the black hole. It also acts as a source,” said Dr Lucy Crews, an astronomer at the Open University.

The researchers determined that the equivalent of about 3,000 solar masses per year of hot gas has cooled to the point where it is no longer visible in X-rays.

This rapid cooling easily supplies enough material for the 120 solar masses of new stars observed to form each year within the host galaxy and the 40 solar masses consumed by black holes each year. be able to.

The scientists also investigated the possibility that radiation from quasars directly causes cooling of the cluster's hot gases.

This involves photons of light from the quasar colliding with electrons in the hot gas, increasing the energy of the photons and causing the electrons to lose energy and cool down.

This study showed that this type of cooling is probably occurring within the cluster containing H1821+643, but is too weak to explain the large amount of gas cooling seen.

Dr Thomas Braben, an astronomer at the University of Nottingham, said: “This black hole may not be producing enough because it isn't pumping any heat into its surroundings, but the current situation won't last forever.'' ” he said.

“Ultimately, the rapid uptake of fuel by the black hole should increase the jet's power and strongly heat the gas.”

“After that, the growth of the black hole and its galaxy should slow down significantly.”

team's paper will be published in Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices.

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HR Russell other. 2024. Cooling flow around low-redshift quasar H1821+643. MNRAS, in press. arXiv: 2401.03022

Source: www.sci.news

Europa’s oxygen production is lower than previously believed

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Using data from Jupiter aurora distribution experiment (JADE) Instrument equipped NASA spacecraft Junoplanetary scientists calculated that the proportion of oxygen produced on Jupiter's icy moon Europa is significantly lower than in most previous studies.

This diagram shows charged particles from Jupiter impacting Europa's surface, splitting frozen water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen molecules. Scientists believe that some of these newly produced oxygen gas may migrate toward the moon's subsurface ocean, as depicted in the inset image. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SWRI / PU.

With an equatorial diameter of 3,100 km (1,940 miles), Europa is the fourth largest of Jupiter's 95 known moons and the smallest of the four Galilean moons.

The moon has an internal liquid ocean and potentially habitable conditions beneath its frozen crust.

Its surface is constantly bombarded with radiation, which breaks down the icy crust into oxygen and hydrogen, most of which is either released from the surface and escapes into space, or remains and forms Europa's atmosphere.

The abundances of these atmospheric gases and ions, and consequently their production rates at the Earth's surface, are inferred primarily from remote sensing observations and are subject to large uncertainties.

“Europa is like an ice ball that slowly loses water in a flowing river,” said Dr. Jamie Zareh, a JADE scientist and researcher at Princeton University.

“However, the flow in this case is a fluid of ionized particles that are swept around Jupiter by Jupiter's unusual magnetic field.”

“When these ionized particles hit Europa, they break up the water ice on the surface molecule by molecule, producing hydrogen and oxygen.”

“In a sense, the entire ice shell is being continuously eroded by the waves of charged particles being launched.”

In the new study, Zarai and colleagues analyzed data from a flyby of Europa conducted by the Juno spacecraft on September 29, 2022. On this flight, the spacecraft flew 353 kilometers (219 miles) above Europa's surface.

They used a JADE instrument to extract abundant amounts of different pickup ions. Pick-up ions are charged particles produced by the destruction of atmospheric neutrals when they collide with high-energy radiation or other particles.

From these data, they calculate that about 12 kg of oxygen is produced every second on Europa's surface.

This is at the lower end of the range of 5 to 1,100 kg per second estimated from previous models.

The results suggest that Europa's surface may have less oxygen than previously thought, meaning that Europa's oceanic habitat is narrower. .

“Flying so close to the Galileo satellite during its long-duration mission allowed us to begin working on a wide range of science, including the unique opportunity to contribute to the study of Europa's habitability,” Juno Principal Investigator said researcher Dr. Scott Bolton. Southwest Research Institute.

“And we're not done yet. More moon approaches and the first exploration of Jupiter's close rings and polar atmosphere are still to come.”

of findings It was published in the magazine natural astronomy.

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JR Zarai other. Production of oxygen by dissociation of Europa's water and ice surfaces. Nat Astron, published online March 4, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02206-x

Source: www.sci.news

There May Be Less Oxygen in Europa’s Ocean, the Essential Fuel for Life, Than Previously Believed

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Jupiter’s moon Europa is covered with an icy shell

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology

Jupiter’s moon Europa may not be as ripe for life as we think. Beneath the icy shell is an ocean of water, but as we know, the frigid moon may lack the oxygen needed to support life.

On Europa, oxygen is produced when radiation hits the surface and breaks down the water ice there into its constituent parts hydrogen and oxygen. Models of this process suggest that oxygen production rates can range from 5 kilograms per second to more than 1000 kilograms per second.

Jamie Zareh Researchers at Princeton University made the new estimate using data from the Juno spacecraft, which flew just 353 kilometers above Europa’s surface in 2022. They discovered that oxygen is only produced at a rate of about 12 kilograms per second at the Earth’s surface. This corresponds to the lower bound of previous estimates.

“In a sense, the shell is like Europa’s lungs. It’s continually producing oxygen,” Zaray says. “That said, we can’t say what happens after the oxygen is produced at the surface. How much of the oxygen makes it into the ocean remains a question.”

But if less oxygen is produced in the first place, less oxygen will enter European waters. As a result, researchers may be less likely to discover organisms similar to those living on Earth.

One of the next steps is to figure out how much of that oxygen can penetrate through the alien moon’s icy shell. NASA’s European Clipper mission, scheduled to launch in October, should help solve that problem. It is hoped that this will allow researchers to measure the thickness of the ice and determine whether elements and compounds useful for life can pass through it.

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satellite/
extraterrestrial life form

Source: www.newscientist.com

Research shows that binary star systems contain a higher number of habitable exoplanets than previously thought

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

In a new study, astronomers from Yale University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology examined the coupled distribution of spin and orbital orbits of exoplanets in binary and triple star systems.

An artist's impression of a giant exoplanet and its two parent stars. Image credit: Sci.News.

An important subset of all known exoplanet systems include host stars with one or more bound stellar companions.

These multistar systems can span a vast range of relative configurations and provide rich insights into the processes by which stars and planets form.

“We showed for the first time that a system where everything is coordinated stacks up unexpectedly,” he said. Dr. Malena Ricean astronomer at Yale University.

“The planet orbits in exactly the same direction as the first star rotates, and the second star orbits its system in the same plane as the planet.”

Dr. Rice and his colleagues used a variety of sources, including the Gaia DR3 catalog of high-precision stellar astronomical measurements, the planetary system composite parameter table from the NASA Exoplanet Archive, and the TEPCat catalog of spin-orbit angle measurements of exoplanets. to create a 3D geometric shape. Number of planets in a binary star system.

Astronomers found that nine of the 40 star systems they studied were in “perfect” locations.

“This could indicate that planetary systems prefer to move toward ordered configurations,” Rice said.

“This is also good news for life forming in these systems.”

“A star's companion star with a different alignment can wreak havoc on a planetary system, overturning the planet or flash-heating the planet over time.”

“And what would the world look like on a warmer Tatooine?”

“During some seasons of the year, there would be continuous daylight, and one star would illuminate one side of the Earth, and another star would illuminate the other side.”

“But that sun's light isn't always scorching, because one of the stars is farther away.”

“At other times of the year, both stars will illuminate the same side of the Earth, and one star will appear much larger than the other.”

of study will be published in astronomy magazine.

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Malena Rice other. 2024. Orbital geometry and stellar inclination of multistar systems hosting exoplanets. A.J., in press. arXiv: 2401.04173

Source: www.sci.news

Forest plantations may not provide as many climate benefits as previously thought

Posted on February 22, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Planting trees helps reduce global warming

PG Alfexado / Alamy

Planting forests helps reduce further global warming by absorbing some of the carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere. But the global climate benefit could be about 15 to 30 percent smaller than previously estimated, due to other influences such as sunlight absorption by trees.

“We're not saying don't plant trees,” he says. james webber at the University of Sheffield, UK. It's just that the climate benefits aren't as big as we thought, he says.

The impact of trees will depend in part on what other actions are taken to address climate change. Weber and his colleagues showed that the more forests are planted, the greater the benefits. “It’s more positive and efficient to do other things at the same time,” he says.

It has long been known that plants have both warming and cooling effects. In particular, dark foliage can have a warming effect by absorbing light that would otherwise be reflected into the space. This effect is strongest when trees are replaced by snow or ice, but can occur in other situations as well.

Plants also release volatile organic compounds into the air. “Those are the chemicals that create the smell of the forest,” team members say james king also at the University of Sheffield.

These biogenic compounds can affect the climate in a variety of ways. One important example is that it can react with chemicals in the atmosphere that react with methane. “So the methane stays around longer, and methane is a powerful greenhouse gas,” Weber said.

Compounds emitted by plants can also react with nitrogen oxides to form ozone, another greenhouse gas.

These effects will lead to further warming. However, compounds of biological origin can also form aerosol particles that reflect sunlight and have a cooling effect.

To understand the overall climate impact of afforestation, the researchers incorporated these and other processes into a climate model in which all available land is forested. This means, for example, trees that are located in areas that are currently grasslands, but not in farmland or urban areas.

“To our knowledge, this is the first time this has been done on a global scale and based on a plausible reforestation scenario,” King said.

The researchers modeled two scenarios. For one, little is being done to tackle climate change other than planting trees. In this case, the warming avoided by CO2-absorbing forests is reduced by 23 to 31 percent, once other forest impacts are taken into account.

In the second, more optimistic scenario, strong action is taken to limit further warming. In this case, avoided warming was reduced by 14 to 18 percent.

One reason for the difference is that reducing fossil fuel emissions reduces aerosols from air pollution. In a polluted world, adding more aerosols from forests won't make much of a difference, but in a cleaner world, the cooling effect will be greater.

The team acknowledges that the model is still incomplete and does not include all feedback effects. For example, it includes the greenhouse effect of ozone, but not its effects on vegetation. High levels of ozone can kill trees, meaning less CO2 is removed from the atmosphere. The model also does not include the effects of wildfires.

“It's very complicated,” King says. “It's not really possible to consider all feedback in one study.”

“Importantly, this study shows that preventing deforestation is a much more efficient way to mitigate climate change compared to reforestation, and therefore should be prioritized. It’s a necessity,” he says. Stephanie Law Climate Scientist at WWF in Washington, DC.

Another feedback missing from the model is the cooling effect of water evaporating from leaves, which can be greater in tropical regions, Roe says. So the climate benefits of tree planting may be overestimated, she says, but the study doesn't yet tell the full story.

Additionally, tree planting has many other benefits for humans and wildlife, including reducing erosion, maintaining water supply and quality, providing food and jobs, and reducing extreme heat in the region. “Afforestation, especially reforestation in forest biomes with native species, is absolutely worth pursuing,” says Lo.

“We've always known that forests have a warming effect under certain conditions and a cooling effect under others. What this study shows is that forests have an overwhelming net The effect is a cooling effect.” thomas crouser in ETH Zurich Swiss.

“But most importantly, even if the effects of cooling were not as great, we still need to conserve our natural forests to support the planet's biodiversity and the billions of people who depend on it.” “There is,” he says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com