Research lab identifies meteorites linked to specific asteroid with 75 main belts.

Posted on March 20, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers from SETI Institute, NASA’s Ames Research Center, and Curtin University have tracked the impact orbits of 75 observed metstone waterfalls to previously unidentified source regions of several of the main asteroid belt.

Impressions of an artist on a rocky asteroid. Image credits: Mark A. Garlick, Space-Art.co.uk / Warwick University / Cambridge University.

“This is a 10-year detective story, with each recorded metstone waterfall providing new clues,” said Dr. Peter Jenniskens, an astronomer at Seti Institute and NASA’s Ames Research Center.

“We currently have the first overview of the asteroid belt geological map.”

Ten years ago, Dr. Jenniskens and his colleagues were aiming to build a network of all ski cameras in California and Nevada.

“Others built similar networks that spanned the world, and together formed a fireball observatory around the world,” said Hadrian Devillepova, an astronomer at Curtin University.

“For many years, we have tracked the routes of 17 recovered metstone waterfalls.”

“More fireballs have been tracked by doorbells and dashcam video cameras from citizen scientists and other dedicated networks around the world.”

“Overall, this quest produced 75 laboratory classified metstones with impact trajectories tracked by video cameras and photo cameras,” Dr. Jennis Kens said.

“It has proven sufficient to start seeing some patterns in the direction of metstones approaching the Earth.”

Most metstones come from the asteroid belt, the region between Mars and Jupiter.

These rocks come from a few larger asteroids that have been broken in the collision.

Even today, asteroids collide and create remnant fields within these asteroid families known as clusters.

“We can see that the 12 metstones (h-cartilage) of ordinary chondrites, which are now rich in iron, come from a debris field called low colonies on the pristine main belt,” Dr. Jennis Kens said.

“These metstones arrived from low-coupled orbital periods that match this debris field.”

“By measuring the age of cosmic ray exposure in metstones, we can determine that three of these 12 metstones originate from kalin clasters of dynamic ages of 5.8 million years, and two come from Koronis2 clusters of dynamic ages of 100-15 million years.”

“Another metstone can measure the age of Koronis3 clusters, about 83 million years.”

The authors also discovered a group of H-chondrites on steep orbits that appear to originate from the Nere Asteroididae in the central main belt, with a dynamic age of approximately 6 million years.

The mean motion resonance with nearby 3:1 Jupiter can raise the slope to the observed people.

A third group of H cartilage with an exposure age of approximately 35 million years of age emerged from the medial main belt.

“In our opinion, these H-cartilages came from the low masalia asteroids on the inner main belt, as their families have clusters of that same dynamic era,” Dr. Jennis Kens said.

“Asteroid (20) Masalia, the asteroid that created the cluster, is a parent body of the H-chondrite type.”

Researchers have discovered that low iron (l cartilage) and very low iron (LL chondrite) metstones mainly come from the inner main belt.

“I propose that L cartilage comes from the Hertha Asteroid family, just above the Masalia family,” Dr. Jennis Kens said.

“The asteroid Elsa doesn’t look like its fragments. Hertha is covered in dark rocks of shock black, which exhibits unusually violent collisions. The L-chondrites experienced a very violent origin 468 million years ago, when these metstones bombarded the Earth with numbers found in geological records.”

Knowing from the remains of the asteroid belt, the birth of our metstones is important for our planetary defense efforts against asteroids on the near Earth.

The orbits of approaching asteroids can provide clues to the origin of the asteroid belt, just like the metstone orbit.

“Asteroids near Earth do not arrive in the same orbit as Metstones because it takes time for them to evolve into Earth,” Dr. Jennis Kens said.

“But they come from some of the same Astide family.”

Team’s paper Published in the journal Weather and Planetary Science.

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Peter Jenniskens & Hadrien ar Devillepoix. Asteroids, meteors, and meteor-shaped link reviews. Weather and Planetary SciencePublished online on March 17th, 2025. doi:10.1111/maps.14321

Source: www.sci.news

Research on Dark Energy Supports the Evolving Theory

Posted on March 20, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The Lambda-CDM (λCDM) model has been the basis of modern cosmology for some time, and it successfully explains the large-scale structure of the universe. It proposes that 95% of cosmos consists of dark matter (25%) and dark energy (70%). Dark energy, represented by the cosmic constant (λ), is thought to promote accelerated expansion of the universe, and maintains a constant energy density over time. However, new results from the dark energy research suggest a departure from this assumption, suggesting that dark energy may evolve over time.

This artist's impression shows the evolution of the universe, beginning with the Big Bang on the left. After that, you will see the microwave background of the universe. The formation of the first stars ends the dark ages of the universe, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss/Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

The Dark Energy Survey (DES) was carried out using a 570 megapixel energy-enhanced dark energy camera (decam) mounted on the NSF Víctor M. Blanco 4-M telescope from the NSF Neuroab program, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.

By obtaining data of 758 nights over six years, DES scientists mapped almost one-eighth area of the sky.

The project employs multiple observation techniques, including supernova measurement, galaxy clustering analysis, and weak gravity lenses, to study dark energy.

Two important DES measurements, baryon acoustic vibration (BAO) and explosive star distance measurements (type IA supernova) track the enlarged history of the universe.

Bao refers to a standard cosmic ruler formed by early universe sound waves, with peaks spanning approximately 500 million light years.

Astronomers can measure these peaks over several periods of universe history to see how dark energy has expanded the scale over time.

“By analyzing 16 million galaxies, DES discovered that the measured BAO scale is actually 4% smaller than predicted by λCDM,” says Dr. Santiago Avila, an astronomer at the Center for Energy and Environmental Technology Research (CIEMAT).

Type IA supernova acts as a standard candle. In other words, the essential brightness is known.

Therefore, its apparent brightness is combined with information about the host's galaxy to allow scientists to perform accurate distance calculations.

In 2024, the DES team released the most extensive and detailed supernova dataset to date, providing highly accurate measurements of space distance.

New discoveries from the combined supernova data and BAO data independently confirm the anomalies seen in the 2024 supernova data.

By integrating DES measurements with cosmic microwave background data, researchers infer the properties of dark energy, and the results suggest that they evolve time.

When verified, this implies a dynamic phenomenon in which the cosmological constant, dark energy, is not ultimately constant and requires a new theoretical framework.

“The results are interesting as they suggest physics beyond the standard models of cosmology,” says Dr. Juan Mena Fernandez, a researcher at the Institute of Subatomic Physics and Cosmology.

“If more data supports these findings, we may be on the brink of a scientific revolution.”

Although current results are still inconclusive, future analyses incorporating additional DES probes such as Galaxy Clustering and weak lenses could enhance the evidence.

Similar trends have emerged from other major cosmological projects, such as Dark Energy Spectroscopy (DESI).

“We've seen a lot of experience in our research,” said Jesse Muir, a researcher at the University of Cincinnati.

“There's still a lot to learn and it's exciting to see how understanding evolves as new measurements become available.”

Team's paper It will be published in journal Physical Review d.

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TMC Abbott et al. (DES collaboration). 2025. Dark Energy Survey: Final Devalion Acoustic Vibrations and Impact on Cosmological Expansion Models from Supernova Data. Physical Review din press; Arxiv: 2503.06712

Source: www.sci.news

New research suggests that modern humans are descended from two ancestor groups

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Over the past 20 years, a general view of human evolutionary genetics is Homo sapiens It first appeared in Africa about 200,000 to 300,000 years ago, and descended from a single lineage. However, a new study from the University of Cambridge shows that modern humans are the result of two groups (potentially HOMO HEIDELBERGENSIS and Homo Erectus) It branched out 1.5 million years ago and gathered at a mixed event 300,000 years ago at an 80:20% ratio.

a HOMO HEIDELBERGENSISNeanderthals and Cromagnone. Image credit: Sinc/José Antonio Peñas.

“The question of where we came from has been something that has captivated people for centuries,” said Dr. Trevor Cousins of Cambridge University.

“For a long time, it has been assumed that we evolved from a single, consecutive ancestor lineage, but the exact details of our origins are uncertain.”

“Our research shows clear indications of the origins of our evolutionary being more complex, including various groups that have developed individually over a million years, and have since returned to form modern human species,” added Richard Durbin, a professor at Cambridge University.

Previous studies have already shown that Neanderthals and Denisovans are mated, but Homo sapiens About 50,000 years ago, new research suggests that a much more important genetic mixing occurred long before these interactions were about 300,000 years ago.

Unlike Neanderthal DNA, which makes up about 2% of the genome of non-African modern humans, this ancient mixed event contributes ten times its amount and is found in all modern humans.

The team's methods rely on analysis of modern human DNA rather than extracting genetic material from ancient bones, allowing us to infer the existence of ancestral populations that otherwise left no physical traces.

The authors developed a computational algorithm called Cobraa, which models the methods that ancient populations fell apart and later integrated.

They tested the algorithm using simulated data and applied it to real human genetic data from the 1000 Genomes project, a global initiative that sequences DNA from populations in Africa, Asia, Europe and America.

Researchers were able to identify these two ancestral populations, but also identified some impressive changes that occurred after the two populations were initially decomposed.

“At the moment the two ancestral populations split, we see a serious bottleneck in one of them, suggesting that it had been reduced to a very small size before slowly growing over a million years,” said Professor Aylwyn of Cambridge University.

“This group later contributed to about 80% of modern human genetic material and also appeared to be a population of ancestors that diverged the Neanderthals and Denisovans.”

“However, some of the population genes that contributed to our small numbers of genetic material, especially those associated with brain function and neural processing, may play an important role in human evolution,” Dr. Cousins said.

This is a reconstruction of the artist Homo Erectus. Image credit: Yale University.

Scientists also found that genes inherited from the second population are often separated from the genome regions associated with gene function, suggesting that they may be less compatible with numerous genetic backgrounds.

This suggests a process known as the cleansing of selection, in which natural selection removes harmful mutations over time.

So who was our mystical human ancestors? Fossil evidence suggests species such as Homo Erectus and HOMO HEIDELBERGENSIS Although he lived in both Africa and other regions during this period, becoming a potential candidate for these ancestral populations, more research (probably more evidence) is needed to identify which genetic ancestors correspond to which fossil groups.

The authors hope to refine the model to explain more progressive genetic exchanges between populations rather than sharp divisions or reunions.

They also plan to explore how their findings relate to other anthropology discoveries, such as fossil evidence from Africa, suggesting that early humans may have been much more diverse than previously thought.

“It's amazing to see today's DNA and reconstruct events that were hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago,” Professor Scally said.

“And we can tell you that our history is much richer and more complicated than we imagined.”

study It was published in the journal today Natural Genetics.

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T. Cousins et al. The structured coalescence model reveals the deep ancestral structure shared by all modern humans. Nat GenetPublished online on March 18th, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41588-025-02117-1

Source: www.sci.news

New research suggests that protein may have a significant impact on treating Parkinson’s disease

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Parkinson’s disease is rapidly becoming one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative conditions globally, impacting over 10 million individuals worldwide. It ranks as the second most common neurodegenerative ailment following Alzheimer’s disease. As of now, there is no known cure. However, recent advancements have raised hopes for the development of new treatments in the near future.

The disease is closely associated with a protein known as Pink1, which carries a mutation in the Park6 gene responsible for encoding this protein.

Malfunctions in Pink1’s functioning are directly linked to Parkinson’s disease, especially in individuals with early onset, affecting 1.2% of Parkinson’s patients in the UK.

Recent scientific progress has shed light on the interaction between Pink1 and mitochondria. Mitochondria, known as the powerhouse of cells, produce energy within the cells of all organisms.

From left, Professor David Commander, Dr. Nicholas Kirk, Dr. Sylvie Karegari and Dr. Alisa Grukova stand before the discovery of Pink 1. – Wehe

The link between Pink1 and Parkinson’s disease has long been recognized, but its potential as a cure for Parkinson’s disease has only recently been explored.

When mitochondria are damaged, Pink1 signals the need for their removal. However, in Parkinson’s patients, mitochondrial defects accumulate unnoticed, releasing toxins that eventually lead to cell death.

Currently, researchers at the Parkinson’s Center for Research in Walter and Eliza Hall (WEHI) in Australia have elucidated the structure and activation process of Pink1. Their findings on how Pink1 interacts with dysfunctional mitochondria are published in Science today.

“This is a significant milestone in Parkinson’s disease research,” stated corresponding author Professor David Commander, head of WEHI’s ubiquitin signaling division. “Understanding Pink1’s binding to mitochondria is truly groundbreaking.”

Lead author and Senior Researcher at WEHI, Sylvie Callegari, explained that Pink1 functions in four distinct steps, with the first two being newly discovered in this study.

Furthermore, Pink1’s role in detecting mitochondrial damage and initiating the process of mitophagy, the recycling of damaged mitochondria, is crucial for addressing Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease is associated with physical tremors, as well as other symptoms like language and vision impairments – Credit: Witthaya Prasongsin

In conclusion, understanding the Pink1-mitochondrial relationship is crucial for developing therapies for Parkinson’s disease, a condition characterized by the decline of brain cells.

Given the increasing prevalence of Parkinson’s disease over the past 25 years, the need for effective treatments is more urgent than ever. The researchers behind this study aim to accelerate drug development and halt the progression of Parkinson’s disease.

Read More:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

New research suggests early mammals possessed dark, dim greyish brown fur

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Fur colours, which serve many functions, are essential for the evolution of mammal behavior, physiology and habitat preferences. However, little is known about the colour of Mesozoic mammals that co-evolved with dinosaurs. In a new study, scientists from China, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK and the US used the dataset Melanosome (Melanin-Containing Organelle) We quantitatively measured the morphology and quantitatively measured hair colours of 116 live mammals to reconstruct the colours of six Mesozoic mammals, including the species Yuhalamiidan mammals that were not previously described.

Reconstructing the life of Shenshou Luian extinct squirrel-like euhalamidian species from the Jurassic region of central China. Image credit: Tamuranobu, http://spinops.blogspot.com.

From communication to camouflage, animal colour plays an important role in many behavioral ecological functions.

Some animals exhibit distinct and vivid arrangements like birds, but mammalian fur is generally limited to muted tones due to their dependence on the single pigment melanin.

Mammals lack palettes, but have evolved a diverse and distinctive coat pattern.

However, due to lack of data on pigmentation in extinct mammals, the evolutionary history of hairy colour is not well understood.

Recent studies have shown that melanosomes, which cause pigmentation, can be preserved in fossilized specimens.

A similar technique has successfully reconstructed the colours of dinosaurs, but despite well-preserved fur specimens, it has not been widely applied to fossil mammals.

In the new study, Dr. Ruoshuang Li, a colleague of the Chinese University of Earth Sciences and colleague, analyzed melanosomes in 116 living mammals and created a predictive model to reconstruct the hairy colour based on melanosome morphology.

The authors applied the model to six Mesozoic mammalian forms of fossilized melanosomes, including the newly described euhalamyidan species that lived 158.5 million years ago (Late Jurassic Epoch).

The authors found that the fur of these early mammals was primarily and uniformly dark in colour, with no stripes and spots that adorn many modern mammals.

This suggests that despite evolutionary differences in phylogenetics and ecology, the early mammalian melanin colored systems remained little different.

This is in stark contrast to the diverse melanosome structures found in feathered dinosaurs, early birds and pterosaurs, indicating a distinct evolutionary pattern of mammalian colour.

“The typical modern nocturne mammals, such as the dark, uniformly dull fur found in these species – moles, mice, rats and nocturne bats, support the previous hypothesis that early mammals are also largely nocturne and colored for camouflage,” the researchers said.

“In addition, the high melanin content of the fur may have been beneficial in providing mechanical strength for thermoregulation and protection.”

“Following the Cretaceous – Fat extinction event, mammals rapidly diversified into niches previously occupied by dinosaurs, leading to more diverse melanosome structures and new perage colour strategies that are more suited to a more diverse environment.”

Survey results It was published in the journal today Science.

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rushuang li et al. 2025. Mesozoic mammalian forms illuminate the origin of the colour of the hair. Science 387 (6739): 1193-1198; doi: 10.1126/science.ads9734

Source: www.sci.news

Exploring the Potential for a Black Hole’s Singularity to Herald a Fresh Start: Research

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

According to a new study by a physicist at the University of Sheffield and a certified officer at the University of Madrid, black holes can migrate into white holes, eject matter, and even return to space.

Steffen Gielen & Lucía Menéndez-Pidal Research Quantum dynamics of planar black holes require the unification of conjugation of natural time coordinates. Image credit: Sci.News.

According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, anyone trapped within a black hole falls towards the center and is destroyed by immeasurable gravity.

Known as a singularity, the center is a point where the problem of the giant star, thought to have collapsed to form a black hole, is crushed by an infinitely small point.

This singularity breaks down understanding of physics and time.

New research, a fundamental theory that uses the laws of quantum mechanics to explain the nature of the universe at the level of atoms and even smaller particles, proposes a fundamentally different theoretical perspective that may represent a new beginning, rather than a singularity that means an end.

“It is said that black holes often suck everything including time, but new papers theorize that white holes act inversely, bringing energy and time back into space,” said Dr. Stephen Gillen of the University of Sheffield and Dr. Lucia Menendez Pidal of Madrid's compliant university.

In their work, the authors use a simplified theoretical model of black holes known as planar black holes.

Unlike typical spherical black holes, the boundaries of planar black holes are flat, two-dimensional surfaces.

Researchers' research suggests that the same mechanism may also apply to typical black holes.

“It has long been a question of whether quantum mechanics can change the understanding of black holes and provide insight into their essence,” Dr. Gielen said.

“In quantum mechanics, it's the time when we understand that systems can't end because they change and evolve permanently.”

The scientists' findings use the laws of quantum mechanics to show how the singularities of black holes can be replaced by a large area of quantum fluctuation that does not end space and time – a region of small temporary changes in spatial energy. Instead, space and time move into a new phase called the Whitehall. So the white holes may start to take time.

“It is generally thought to be related to observers, but in our research it comes from the mysterious dark energy that permeates the entire universe,” Dr. Gielen said.

“We propose that time is all over the universe and is measured by dark energy responsible for its current expansion.”

“This is an important new idea that will allow you to understand what happens within a black hole.”

In this study, physicists use dark energy almost as a reference point, and as a complementary idea that allows energy and time to be measured from one another.

In appetite, the theory that what we perceive as a singularity is actually beginning suggests the existence of something even more enigmatic on the other side of the white hole.

“Hypossibly, an observer (a hypothetical entity) can pass through a black hole, through what we consider singularity, and appear on the other side of the white hole. It's a very abstract concept of an observer, but in theory it can happen,” Dr. Gielen said.

Team's paper It was published in the journal this week Physical Review Letter.

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Steffen Gielen & Lucía Menéndez-Pidal. 2025. Black hole singularity resolution in monopolar gravity from uniformity. Phys. Pastor Rett 134, 101501; doi: 10.1103/physrevlett.134.101501

Source: www.sci.news

New research sheds light on the biological characteristics of megalodon

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Megatooth shark, Otodus Megalodonthe iconic shark is primarily represented by the enormous teeth of the Neogene fossil record, but the lack of well-preserved skeletal hampers an understanding of various aspects of its biology. In the new study, paleontologists reassessed some of their biological properties using a new approach, based on known vertebral specimens. Otodus Megalodon 165 species of extinction and 10 orders of living sharks. Their results show that Otodus Megalodon Their bodies were thin and could have reached about 24.3 m in length.

Otodus Megalodon It was extinct 3.6 million years ago. Image credit: Alex Boersma/PNAS.

Otodus MegalodonIt is also called Carcharocles MegalodonThis is a giant megatooth shark that lived in the oceans of the world from 23 to 3.6 million years ago.

This creature is usually portrayed as a super-sized monster in popular culture, with a recent example of science fiction films.

“Otodus Megalodon A professor, colleagues and colleagues at DePaul University said:

“Several vertebrae, pracoid scales, and tessellated cartilage fragments have also been reported to date.”

“However, the lack of a complete fossil specimen has led to uncertainty regarding the true size of this prehistoric shark.”

In their study, the authors examined incomplete vertebral specimens of Otodus MegalodonIt is composed primarily of trunk vertebrae, 11.1 m from the Miocene of Belgium. It was also a specimen of 165 species of extinction and living Neotheratia sharks.

“Assuming that Otodus Megalodon If there was a body plan that matched the majority of sharks, we determined that their head length and tail length accounted for about 16.6% and 32.6% of the total length, respectively,” they said.

“Because the Belgian specimen is 11.1 m, its head and tail were calculated to be about 1.8 m and 3.6 m in length, respectively, which specifically results in an estimated total length of 16.4 m. Otodus Megalodon Individual. “

“The largest vertebrae in a Belgian specimen is 15.5 cm in diameter, but estimated Otodus Megalodon Vertebrae with a diameter of 23 cm have been reported from Denmark. ”

“If a Danish vertebra represents the largest vertebra in the body, that individual could have measured approximately 24.3 m in length.”

Based on a comparison of their body proportions, they have a body shape Otodus Megalodon It probably looked like a modern lemon shark on the surface (Negaprion Brevillo Stris), has a slender body than the great white sharks of modern times.

They also have huge modern sharks, such as whale sharks.Rhincodon Types) And the shark was exposed (Cetorhinus Maximus), like many other giant aquatic vertebrates like whales, they have slender bodies, as their large stubborn bodies are hydrodynamically inefficient for swimming.

In contrast, dark white sharks that become even more severe as they grow can grow larger, but are not huge (below 7 m) due to hydrodynamic constraints.

“Our new research solidified that idea. Otodus Megalodon “We've been working hard to get the better of our team,” said Phillip Sternes, educator at SeaWorld San Diego.

“What distinguishes our research from all previous papers on body size and shape estimation Otodus Megalodon Jakewood, a doctoral student at Florida Atlantic University, added:

According to the team, it is 24.3 m long. Otodus Megalodon It weighs approximately 94 tons and estimates of cruising speeds of 2.1-3.5 km/h.

“The growth patterns recorded in Belgian vertebral specimens are Otodus Megalodon A newborn about 3.6-3.9 m long was given birth to a newborn, and the embryos were nourished through egg-eating behavior,” the author said.

“A known fossil record with newly inferred additional growth patterns Otodus Megalodon And the white shark lineage supports the idea that the rise of the great white shark likely played a role in the ultimate end mise about five million years ago. Otodus Megalodon For competition. ”

“Many interpretations we have made are still tentative, but they are data-driven and serve as a reasonable reference point for future research into the biology of Otodus MegalodonProfessor Shimada said.

study Published online in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica.

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Shimada Mana et al. 2025. Reassessment of the size, shape, weight, cruising speed and growth parameters of extinct megatooth sharks; Otodus Megalodon (Lamniformes: Otodontidae), and new evolutionary insights into its giants, life history strategies, ecology, and extinction. Palaeontologia Electronica 28(1): A12; doi: 10.26879/1502

Source: www.sci.news

Research on the various cloud layers, temperature hot spots, and shifting chemistry found in the extraterrestrial realm

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

New observations from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope support the presence of three specific functions in the atmosphere (clouds, hot spots, and changes in carbon chemistry) of the rapidly rotating and free floating planetary mass object SIMP J013656.5+093347.

Impressions of the artist of SIMP 0136. Image credits: NASA/ESA/CSA/J. Olmsted, Stsci.

SIMP J013656.5+093347 (SIMP 0136 for short) is a rapidly rotating, free-floating object located just 20 light years from Earth.

It may have a mass of 13 Jupiter masses, does not orbit the star, and instead may be a brown dwarf.

Because it is separated, SIMP 0136 can be directly observed and is not afraid of mild contamination or variability caused by the host star.

The short rotation period, only 2.4 hours, allows for very efficient investigation.

“We've been working hard to get into the world,” said Allison McCarthy, a doctoral student at Boston University.

“We also thought that it might have an effect on temperature fluctuations, chemical reactions, and perhaps the activity of the aurora affecting brightness, but we weren't sure.”

Webb's NirSpec Instruments We captured thousands to 5.3 micron spectra of SIMP 0136. The object completed one full rotation, so I captured it one at a time, one at a time, one at a time, one at a time, over 3 hours.

This led to immediate observation Webb's Milli Musical Instrumentshundreds of measurements of light between 5 and 14 microns were collected. One is one every 19.2 seconds, one in another rotation.

The results were hundreds of detailed rays, each showing a very accurate wavelength (color) brightness change, with different sides of the object rotating into view.

“It was incredible to see the entire range of this object change over a few minutes,” said Dr. Joanna Foss, an astronomer at Trinity College Dublin.

“Until now, we only had a small near-infrared spectrum from Hubble, but we had some brightness measurements from Spitzer.”

Astronomers almost immediately noticed that there were several distinct ray shapes.

At any time, some wavelengths were growing brightly, while others were either dimmed or not changing at all.

Many different factors must affect brightness variation.

“Imagine looking at the Earth from afar,” said Dr. Philip Muirhead, a former member of Boston University.

“Looking each color individually gives you a variety of patterns that tell you something about the surface and the atmosphere, even if you don't understand the individual features.”

“As the ocean rotates towards vision, blue increases. The brown and green changes tell us something about the soil and vegetation.”

To understand what could cause variability in SIMP 0136, the team used an atmospheric model to show where each wavelength of light is occurring in the atmosphere.

“The different wavelengths provide information about the different depths in the atmosphere,” McCarthy said.

“We began to realize that the wavelengths that had the most similar ray shapes also investigated the same depth and reinforced this idea that they must be caused by the same mechanism.”

For example, one group of wavelengths occurs deeply in the atmosphere where there may be patchy clouds made of iron particles.

The second group comes from high clouds, which are thought to be made from small grains of silicate minerals.

Both of these light curve variations are related to the patchiness of the cloud layers.

The third group of wavelengths appears to be occurring at very high altitudes far above the clouds and tracking temperatures.

Bright hotspots may be associated with previously detected auroras at radio wavelengths, or hot gas upwelling from deeper in the atmosphere.

Some light curves cannot be explained by clouds or temperature, but instead show variations related to atmospheric carbon chemistry.

There may be chemical reactions in which carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide pockets rotate within and outside of view, or alter the atmosphere.

“We still don't understand the chemical part of the puzzle yet,” Dr. Vos said.

“But these results are really exciting because they show that the richness of molecules like methane and carbon dioxide can change over time from location.”

“If you're looking at a deplanet and only have one measurement, you should assume that it may not be representative of the entire planet.”

Survey results It will be displayed in Astrophysics Journal Letter.

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Allison M. McCarthy et al. 2025. JWST weather report from isolated exoplanet analog SIMP 0136+0933: pressure-dependent variability driven by multiple mechanisms. apjl 981, L22; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/AD9EAF

Source: www.sci.news

New research uncovers Asian Hornets preying on nearly 1,500 invertebrate species

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Biologist of University of Exeter We conducted the first large-scale study on Asian Hornet diets (Vespa Velutina), exploiting deep sequences to characterize the intestinal content of larvae in Jersey, France, Spain and the UK. European honeybees were the most common species found in the Hornets, but their diet is much broader. The analysis detected 1,449 invertebrate species, increasing the prey abundance of samples from south latitude.

Asian Hornet (Vespa Velutina). Image credit: Gilles San Martin/CC BY-SA 2.0.

The invasive species of Asian hornets are now found in much of Western Europe.

The nests are destroyed every year in mainland Britain as authorities try to lock out the seeds.

“The University of Exeter has been working hard to understand,” said Dr. Sifreya Pedersen, a researcher at the University of Exeter.

“Diets vary strongly across seasons and regions, indicating that they are highly flexible predators.”

“Most insect populations are reduced due to factors such as habitat destruction and chemical contamination.”

“The expanded areas where the Hornets live in Asia pose an extra threat.”

In this study, Dr. Pedersen and colleagues used a method called deep sequencing to identify the visceral prey species of over 1,500 Asian hornet larvae eating foods offered by adult hornets.

Of the top 50 invertebrate prey species identified, 43 are known to visit flowers. Among these were pollinators of three major European crops.

“Insects play an important role in enabling ecosystems to function, including pollination, decomposition and pest control,” Dr. Pedersen said.

“Our research provides important additional evidence of the threat posed as the Asian Hornets spread across Europe,” said Dr. Peter Kennedy of the University of Exeter.

The researchers identified 1,449 operational taxonomic units in the internal organs of hornet larvae.

More than half could be identified as a specific species, but the rest could not. Therefore, the exact number of species contained in the sample is not certain.

“We have provided the most comprehensive view of the European Asian Hornet diet to date, highlighting the highly broad and flexible potential prey,” the scientist said.

“The dietary composition shows that it differs across geographical regions and throughout the Hornets' active season, indicating high adaptability to new ecosystems. It drives both the invasive success of Asian hornets and the risks they pose to a wide range of native invertebrate fauna.”

“The growing prevalence of dietary bees in Europe has agreed to previous research and reports from beekeepers, supporting concerns about the risks of aquaculture.”

“Our results found that Asian hornets exhibit high predation frequencies on wild pollinators and recyclers, revealing further potential ecosystem-level pressures, implying a threat to the diversity of pollinators and recyclers and the resulting ecosystem services.”

study Published in the journal The science of the total environment.

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Siffreya Pedersen et al. The broad ecological threat of invasive hornets has been revealed through a deep sequencing approach. The science of the total environmentPublished online on March 4th, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178978

Source: www.sci.news

New research suggests that gravitational waves are responsible for the mid-ambient atmosphere on Mars

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

According to a new study by planetary researchers at Tokyo Planet University, atmospheric gravity waves play an important role in driving airflows, particularly at altitudes, at latitudes.

This image from the Emirates Mars Mission shows Mars and its thin atmosphere. Image credit: UAESA/MBRSC/HOPE MARS MISSION/EXI/ANDREALUCK.

“On Earth, the large atmospheric waves caused by the rotation of a planet known as the Rossby waves are the main effect on the way stratospheric air circulates, or the lower part of the medium atmosphere.”

“However, our research shows that on Mars, gravitational waves have the dominant effect in the mid-atmosphere and at high latitudes.”

“Rossby's waves are large atmospheric or resolved waves, while gravitational waves are unresolved waves, meaning that they must be estimated using finer, more indirect means to be measured or modeled.”

“Don't confuse it with gravitational waves from the body of a large star. Gravitational waves are atmospheric phenomena when packets of air rise and fall due to buoyancy fluctuations. Their oscillating movements cause gravitational waves.”

Due to their small-scale nature and limitations of observational data, planetary researchers previously discovered that it is difficult to quantify their importance in the Martian atmosphere.

Therefore, Professor Sato and her colleagues turned to the Ensemble Mars Atmosphere Reanalysis System (EMARS) dataset generated by various space-based observations over the years to analyze seasonal variation.

“We found something interesting. Gravitational waves promote the rapid vertical movement of angular momentum, which has a major impact on the meridian or north-north in the mid-atmospheric circulation on Mars,” said Anzu Asumi, a graduate student at Tokyo University.

“It's interesting because it's more like the behavior seen in the Earth's mesosphere, not in our stratosphere.”

“This suggests that the effects of these waves may need to be better incorporated to improve existing Mars atmospheric circulation models, and could improve future climate and weather simulations.”

The team is currently planning to investigate the effects of Mars sandstorms on atmospheric circulation.

“So far, our analysis has focused on a year without large sandstorms,” Professor Sato said.

“However, I think these storms could dramatically change the state of the atmosphere and strengthen the role of gravitational waves in circulation.”

“In our research, there is a basis for predicting Mars weather, which is essential to guarantee the success of future Mars missions.”

study It will be displayed in Journal of Journal Geophysics: Planets.

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Anzu Asumi et al. Climatology of the residual average circulation of the Martian atmosphere and the contribution of solutions and unresolved waves based on reanalysis datasets. Journal of Journal Geophysics: PlanetsPublished online on March 6th, 2025. doi:10.1029/2023je008137

Source: www.sci.news

Advancements in Dementia Research: Science can now accurately assess the “biological age” of your brain

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

If you’re like Khloe Kardashian, who recently turned 40, you may have considered testing your biological age to see if you feel younger than your actual age. But while these tests can tell you a lot about your body’s aging, they often overlook the aging of your brain. Researchers have now developed a new method to determine how quickly your brain is aging, which could help in predicting and preventing dementia. Learn more here.

Unlike your chronological age, which is based on the number of years since you were born, your biological age is determined by how well your body functions and how your cells age. This new method uses MRI scans and artificial intelligence to estimate the biological age of your brain, providing valuable insights for brain health tracking in research labs and clinics.

Traditional methods of measuring biological age, such as DNA methylation, do not work well for the brain due to the blood-brain barrier, which prevents blood cells from crossing into the brain. The new non-invasive method developed at the University of Southern California combines MRI scans and AI to accurately assess brain aging.

Using AI to analyze MRI brain scans, researchers can now predict how quickly the brain is aging and identify areas of the brain that are aging faster. This new model, known as a 3D Convolutional Neural Network, has shown promising results in predicting cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease risk based on brain aging rates.

Researchers believe that this innovative approach can revolutionize the field of brain health and provide valuable insights into the impact of genetics, environment, and lifestyle on brain aging. By accurately estimating the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, this method could potentially lead to the development of new prevention strategies and treatments.

Overall, this new method offers a powerful tool for tracking brain aging and predicting cognitive decline, bringing us closer to a future where personalized brain health assessments can help prevent and treat neurodegenerative diseases.

For more information, visit Professor Andrei Ilimia’s profile here.

https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2025/02/MRI-scan.mp4

Using AI to analyze MRI brain scans, you can see how quickly your brain is aging.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

New research reveals the impact of global warming on the pace of the next ice age

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Glacier Age Earth

Zoonar/Alexander Savchuk/Alamy

Without human-induced climate change, the Earth could have been on track to enter another ice age within 11,000 years. This long-term prediction of the planet's “natural” climate is based on a new analysis of how orbital shapes and the tilt of their axis combine to change the amount of solar energy reaching Earth.

For millions of years, these orbital oscillations (known as the Milankovich cycle) entered and left the planet during the Ice Age about every 41,000 years. However, over the past 800,000 years, these ice ages, also known as ice age, have only occurred every 100,000 years. The term Ice Age, as it is currently, can be used to refer to whenever there is ice on Earth's poles, but generally refers to a wide range of ice Age periods.

The ambiguity of the record as the ice sheets were willingly retreated meant that it was not possible to explain how trajectory changes were involved in driving this long cycle.

If previous research attempted to link orbital changes to a specific period, such as onset of an ice age, Stephen Barker Cardiff University in England and his colleagues took a new tack. They came back fading during the “glacial age” where they saw the overall pattern of the ice age, also known as ice age. This allowed us to link changes in trajectories with changes in ice, despite the ambiguity of ice records over the past million years.

They discovered that these 100,000-year cycles appear to follow simple rules. For the last 900,000 years, following the most circular phase of the orbit, the planets also tilted towards the Sun, thus causing all interglacial periods after the Earth's axis wobbled at the farthest from the Sun.

This suggests that all three of these aspects of Earth's orbit (known as precession, oblique and eccentricity) are combined to create a 100,000-year glacial cycle, Barker says. “Since 900,000 years ago, this simple rule has predicted all of these major glacial end events, which says it's really very easy to predict,” he says.

Under that rule, the next ice age where you currently live is expected to begin approximately 66,000 years from the year, as there is no impact on greenhouse gas emissions. But that could only be started if there was an ice age before that,” says Barker.

The diagonal and gradual stages of precession that preceded the Holocene suggest that the glaciers are likely to be on track between 4300 and 11 and 100 years from now. We may now live in what would have been the beginning of this next ice age. “Of course, it's just a natural scenario,” says Barker.

More than 1.5 trillion tons of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere as the Industrial Revolution is expected to cause sufficient warming to disrupt this long-term glacial cycle.

“The amount we've already put into the atmosphere is so big that it takes hundreds to thousands of years to pull it out through natural processes,” Barker says. However, he says more research is needed to define the planet's future natural climate in a more detailed way.

It states that this is consistent with previous modeling suggesting that anthropogenic emissions can prevent the onset of the next ice age, from dozens to hundreds of thousands of years. Andrei Ganopolsky At the Potsdam Climate Impact Research Institute in Germany.

But he says even at pre-industrial levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, it was high enough to delay the ice sheet advancement by 50,000 years. This is due to the unusually small orbital changes expected in thousands of years and the unpredictable way that Earth responds to those changes.

topic:

Climate change/
global warming

Source: www.newscientist.com

Research suggests we have found a quick solution to eliminate wrinkles and grey hair forever.

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A recent study has discovered several potential anti-aging treatments that could help prevent wrinkles and gray hair development.

Published in the journal Endocrine review, this research suggests that certain naturally occurring hormones might be able to slow down the aging process in the body.

“Our study sheds light on key hormones that play a role in regulating pathways associated with skin aging, including connective tissue degradation (which leads to wrinkles), stem cell survival, and pigment loss (which causes graying of hair),” explained Professor Markus Böhm from the University of Munster, Germany.

“Some of these hormones have shown anti-aging properties and could potentially be used as treatments to prevent skin aging in the future.”

The primary focus of this research was to examine the connection between hormones and aging, with a particular emphasis on hormones like estrogen, growth hormone, and melatonin, all of which can impact skin aging.

One hormone that stood out in the study was melatonin. While commonly known for its role in regulating sleep, melatonin was found to also play a role in maintaining youthful skin. Its powerful antioxidant effects help protect skin cells and slow the aging process.

Other hormones, such as melanocyte-stimulating hormone and oxytocin, were also identified as potential contributors to maintaining youthful skin and hair and protecting against UV damage.

The skin, being the body’s largest organ, is prone to damage from environmental factors, especially UV rays from the sun.

“The skin not only responds to various hormones that impact skin aging pathways, but it is also a significant site for hormone production, aside from the traditional endocrine glands like the pituitary gland,” added Böhm.

Researchers are hopeful that these findings will lead to the development of a new anti-aging therapy known as Senotherapeutics, which targets and eliminates senescent cells. By doing so, these drugs may help slow down or even reverse the signs of aging that result from the accumulation of these cells in the body over time.

“Further research on these hormones could pave the way for the development of new treatments to address and prevent skin aging,” concluded Böhm.

Read more:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Research shows that consuming citrus fruit can help protect against depression by influencing the gut microbiome

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

New research reveals a potential protective role for citrus fruits in preventing depression. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, a type of bacteria found in the human intestine, and its metabolic activity, may influence the impact of citrus fruits and their flavonoids on mood.

Samuthpontorn et al. We report that citrus intake and its ingredients are positively associated with changes in abundance of 15 intestinal microbial species, including reduced risk of depression and enrichment Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Image credit: Hans.

Depression is a widespread and debilitating condition that affects more than 280 million individuals around the world.

The exact cause of depression is unknown, and treatment is often ineffective.

70% of patients with depression are unable to respond to initial antidepressant treatment and experience unbearable side effects of the drug.

Diet may be a promising tool for preventing and managing depression.

Mediterranean diets are associated with a nearly 35% reduction in the risk of depression, and similar diets show a reduction in mood symptoms.

While the specific food groups underlying these findings remain unknown, recent studies have linked citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits, with a reduced risk of depression.

However, the mechanisms explaining the relationship between diet and depression prevention remain unclear.

In a recent study, Dr. Raaj Mehta, a medical instructor at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, along with colleagues, analyzed the interactions between citrus consumption, gut microbiome, and risk of depression in over 32,427 participants.

They prospectively examined the long-term effects of citrus intake on depression, the abundance of gut microbial species, and the potential metabolic pathways related to depression.

“I was collaborating with a talented postdoc named Chatpol Samuthpontorn. He came across a paper from 2016 suggesting that citrus fruits could reduce the risk of depression,” explained Dr. Mehta.

“This finding intrigued us, as we had access to extensive datasets that could help us investigate further.”

“One of these datasets was the Nurse Health Study II (NHS2), which began in 1989 to identify risk factors for major chronic diseases in women.”

“We found evidence in this dataset that nurses who consumed higher amounts of citrus fruits had a lower incidence of depression in the future.”

The authors found that consuming one medium orange per day could reduce the risk of developing depression by about 20%.

“When examining total fruit and vegetable consumption, or other individual fruits like apples and bananas, we did not observe a significant relationship with depression risk,” Dr. Mehta noted.

A unique aspect of this study was that a subset of NHS2 participants provided stool samples over a year for researchers to analyze.

“We used DNA sequencing results from these stool samples to identify links between citrus intake and specific bacterial species in the gut microbiota,” said Dr. Mehta.

“One bacterial species, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, stood out.”

“People who were not depressed had higher levels of this bacterium, and consuming more citrus was also linked to increased levels of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii.”

“This bacterium may play a key role in connecting citrus consumption with good mental health.”

“We also investigated similar studies involving men, as NHS2 only included women, and found an inverse correlation between Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and depression risk scores in this group,” Dr. Mehta added.

“This raises the question: Does Faecalibacterium prausnitzii contribute to positive mood?”

“One possible explanation is that these bacteria use metabolic pathways, such as the S-adenosyl-L-methionine cycle I pathway, to influence the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine in the intestine,” Dr. Mehta explained.

“These neurotransmitters not only influence digestion but can also travel to the brain, where they affect mood.”

“We hope our findings encourage further research into the link between diet and mental health,” Dr. Mehta stated.

“People generally understand that food can impact mood, but researchers are just starting to unravel the specifics.”

A paper detailing these findings was published in the journal Microbiome.

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C. Samuthpontorn et al. 2024. F. Prausnitzii Potentially modulates the association between citrus intake and depression. Microbiome 12, 237; doi:10.1186/s40168-024-01961-3

Source: www.sci.news

Research for avoiding digital communication addiction

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Whether we communicate, whether we are worried about how we choose the right words to scribbles on Valentine’s Day cards or suffering from the way we ask our bosses awkward questions, there is very little trouble in our lives. And that’s before you become the incredible realm of digital communication and the new danger of “hybrid meetings”, the danger of trembling.

Andrew Brozky I know these challenges better than most. Based at the University of Texas at Austin, he is a workplace technology and communications expert. His own situation means that face-to-face interactions are not always possible in his teens, which led him to study virtual interactions. His insights have become invaluable when the Covid-19 pandemic came and we were all forced to be on platforms like Zoom and the team.

Brodsky is currently studying virtual communications of over 100,000 people, and his findings have led to a book. Ping: The secret to success in virtual communication. Drawing on his research and insights from others in the field, Brodsky unlocks secrets that will help us succeed in our personal lives and careers, giving some pointers with obvious pitfalls. Was that meeting via email? How close do you need to be to someone before sending a voice note? Brodsky has the answer.

Chris Stokel-Walker: Communication digitally is something we all have to do, but what led us to look at this very closely?

Andrew Brodsky: One of the things that really shocked me in my life is that I have cancer…

Source: www.newscientist.com

Research suggests that sandy beaches under the sun were abundant on Early Mars

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Use data collected by China’s Zhurong Roverplanetary researchers have identified hidden layers of rocks beneath the Martian surface, which strongly suggests the existence of the ancient North Sea.

Panoramic photograph taken by China’s Zhurong rover on Mars. Image credit: National Astronomer.

“We’re finding locations on Mars that looked like ancient beaches and deltas of ancient rivers,” said Pennsylvania researcher Benjamin Cardenas, who co-authored the study.

“We found evidence of a lack of wind, waves and sand. It’s a proper vacation style beach.”

The now inactive Zhurong Rover landed on Mars in 2021 in an area known as Utopia Planitia and was open for a year between May 2021 and May 2022.

From the time when Mars had a thicker atmosphere and warmer climate, it traveled about 1.9 km (1.2 miles) to cliffs that are considered ancient coastlines from the time period.

Along its path, the rover probed up to 80 m (260 feet) under the surface using ground penetration radar.

This radar is used to detect not only underground objects such as pipes and utilities, but also irregular features.

The radar image shows thick layers of material along the entire path, all facing upwards towards the estimated shoreline at an angle of about 15 degrees, roughly the same as the angle of beach sediments on Earth.

This thickness of sediment on Earth would have taken millions of years to form. It suggests that Mars had long-lived water with the effect of waves to distribute sediments along the sloped coastline.

Radar also allowed to determine the size of the particles in these layers and matched the particles of sand.

However, the deposits do not resemble the ancient wind-blowed dunes common on Mars.

“This quickly stood out to us because it suggested there were waves. That means there was a dynamic interface between air and water,” Dr. Cardenas said. I did.

“Looking back at the places where the earliest life on Earth developed, it was in the interaction between the ocean and the land, which paints an ancient habitable environment, and conditions for microbial life. You can embrace the

“Comparing Mars data with radar images of coastal sediments on Earth, we found impressive similarities.”

“The dip angle observed on Mars fell within the range seen in coastal sedimentary deposits on Earth.”

“We see the coastline of this body of water has evolved over time,” Dr. Cardenas said.

“We tend to think of Mars as a static snapshot of a planet, but it was evolving. The rivers were flowing, the sediments were moving, the land was constructed and eroded. This type of sedimentary geology tells us how landscapes look and how they evolved. And, importantly, identifying where you want to look for your past life. It will help you.”

“The discoveries show that Mars was a much damper location than it used to be today, further supporting the hypothesis of the past oceans that covers most of the planet’s North Pole.”

The study also provides new information on the evolution of Mars’ environment, suggesting that life-friendly warm, wet periods can potentially last tens of millions of years.

“The power of Zhurong Rover allowed us to understand the geological history of the planet in a whole new way,” said the University of California, a professor of Michael Manga at Berkeley.

“That underground intrusion radar gives us an underground view of the planet.

“These incredible advances in technology have made it possible to realize basic science that uncovers a new mountain of information about Mars.”

result It was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Jianhui Li et al. 2025. Ancient sea coastal deposits imaged on Mars. pnas 122 (9): E2422213122; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2422213122

Source: www.sci.news

Recent Research Indicates Gradual Bottleneck Events in Neanderthal Evolution

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

According to a new study led by scientists at the University of Barcelona and Alcala, the bottleneck event took place between 130,000 and 50,000 years ago.

Neanderthal. Image credit: Trustee of the Museum of Natural History in London.

“Neanderthals are the most well-written humans in the fossil record in terms of morphology, genetics, behavior and culture,” said Dr. Alessandro Urciori, a colleague of a University of Barcelona.

“Recent molecular clock-based analyses, along with Denisovan, have divergences from 765,000-550,000 years old or older human lineages based on morphological data.”

“The Neanderthal lineage was differentiated soon after, and is testified by genetic and morphological evidence from the Simah delos Hussians of the Middle Pleistocene, which was previously thought to be expressed. . HOMO HEIDELBERGENSIS And now it is considered the early population of the Neanderthal lineage. ”

“Genetic divergence times are now well established for the entire clade, but also include relationships with the medieval Pleistocene populations of Europe, the medieval and late Pleistocene Neanderthal populations, and the evolution of the complete. There is a continuing debate over the connected evolutionary processes” Classic Neanderthal “Form of the late Neanderthal.”

“This is due to the mosaic form of the intermediate Pleistocene specimen, which is claimed to have evolved by the Neanderthals.”

In this study, the researchers measured the morphological diversity of semicircular canals, the structure of the inner ear that caused sense of balance.

They focus on two exceptional collections of fossils. One is from the site of Sima de los Husos in Spain, and dates 430,000 years old, making up the largest sample of pre-production available in the fossil record. Another location 130,000 to 120,000 years ago in Krapina, Croatia.

They calculated the amount of morphological diversity (i.e., disparity) in the semicircular canals in both samples, compared them to one another, and compared them with classic Neanderthal samples of different ages and geographical origins. .

The findings show that the morphological diversity of the semicircular canals of classical Neanderthals is clearly lower than the diversity of early Neanderthal morphologies before the Nianderthals, consistent with previous palaeogenesis results. It is revealed.

“The inclusion of fossils from a wide range of geographical and temporal ranges allowed us to capture a comprehensive photograph of the evolution of Neanderthal,” said Dr. Mercedes Conde Valvade, a researcher at Alcala University. .

“The reduced diversity observed between Krapina samples and classic Neanderthals is particularly impressive and clear, providing strong evidence of bottleneck events.”

“The results, on the other hand, challenge the previously accepted idea that Neanderthal origins are associated with a significant loss of genetic diversity and encourage the need to propose a new explanation of their origins.”

“We were surprised that pre-Neanderthal people in Sima de los Husos exhibited similar morphological diversity as early Neanderthals in Krapina,” Dr. Urshuuori said.

a paper The findings were published in the journal Natural Communication.

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A. Urushiuori et al. 2025. A semicircular canal that sheds light on bottleneck events in the evolution of the Neanderthal clade. Nut commune 16, 972; doi:10.1038/s41467-025-56155-8

Source: www.sci.news

Is Google’s new research assistant AI capable of giving scientists a “superpower”?

Posted on February 19, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Google’s AI “co-scientists” is based on the company’s Gemini major language model

Raa/Nurphoto/Shutterstock

Google has announced an experimental artificial intelligence system that uses advanced reasoning to help scientists integrate vast amounts of literature, generate new hypotheses, and propose detailed research plans. “Idea with [the] “AI co-scientists” is about giving scientists a superpower,” says Alan Karthikesalingam of Google.

The tool, which has not yet been officially named, is based on Google’s Gemini major language model. When researchers ask questions or specify goals, they come up with their first idea within 15 minutes, for example, to find a new drug. According to Google’s Vivek Natarajan, several Gemini agents “discuss” these hypotheses with each other, ranking them over the next hours and days, and improving them.

During this process, agents can search the scientific literature, access databases, and use tools such as Google’s AlphaFold system to predict protein structure. “They constantly refine ideas, discuss ideas, criticize ideas,” says Natarajan.

Google has already made the system available to several research groups and has released a short paper explaining its use. The teams who tried it were keen on the possibilities, and these examples suggest that AI co-scientists can help integrate their findings. However, whether the example supports the claim that AI can generate new hypotheses is debatable.

For example, Google says a team used the system to find a “new” method of potentially treating liver fibrosis. However, drugs proposed by AI have been previously studied for this purpose. “It is well established that all identified drugs are anti-fibrotic.” Stephen O’Reilly at the UK biotechnology company Alcyomics. “There’s nothing new here.”

The potential use of this treatment is not new, but team members Gary Peltz at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, two of the three drugs selected by AI co-scientists showed promise in testing for human liver organoids, while the two he selected were both his. There is no growing evidence supporting a choice. Peltz says Google gave him a small amount of money to cover the costs of the test.

In another paper, Jose Penades Imperial College London and his colleagues explain how co-scientists proposed hypotheses that matched unpublished findings. He and his team are studying mobile genetic elements that can move between bacteria – bits of DNA that can move between bacteria – mobile gene elements. Some mobile genetic elements hijack the bacteriophage virus. These viruses consist of a DNA-containing shell and a tail that binds to specific bacteria and injects DNA into IT. Therefore, if the element can enter the shell of a phage virus, you can ride another bacteria for free.

One mobile genetic element creates its own shell. This type was particularly popular and confused Penade and his team. The answer they discovered recently is that these shells can connect with different phage tails, allowing mobile elements to enter a wide range of bacteria.

The discovery was still unpublished, but the team asked AI co-scientists to explain the puzzle. The number one suggestion was to steal a different phage tail.

“We were shocked,” Penades says. “I sent an email to Google. I can access the computer. Is that right? Otherwise, I can’t believe what I’m reading here.”

However, the team released a paper supplied to the system in 2023 – how this family of mobile genetic elements “It steals the tail of a bacteriophage and spreads naturally.” at the time, researchers thought that the elements were limited to obtaining tails from phages that infect the same cell. Only later they discovered that elements can pick up tails floating outside the cell.

So one explanation of how AI co-scientists came up with the correct answer is that they missed the obvious limitation that stopped humans from getting it.

What’s clear is that instead of coming up with a whole new idea, you’re given everything you need to find the answer. “Everything was already public, but it was publicly available on different bits,” Penades says. “The system was able to put it all together.”

The team tried other AI systems already on the market, but none of them came up with an answer, he says. In fact, some people didn’t manage it even when they gave the answer to a paper explaining it. “This system suggests something you’ve never thought of,” says Penades, who hasn’t received funding from Google. “I think it’s going to change the game.”

It becomes clearer over time whether it really changes the game. There’s a mix of Google’s track record when it comes to claiming AI tools to help scientists. Its Alphafold system withstands hype and won the team behind it a Nobel Prize last year.

However, in 2023, the company announced it. Approximately 40 “new materials” It was synthesized with the help of GNOME AI. However, according to the 2024 analysis Robert Palgrave University College London One of the synthesized materials was not actually new.

Despite his discoveries, Palgrave believes that AI can help scientists. “In general, I think AI has a huge amount of contributions to science when implemented in collaboration with experts in their respective fields,” he says.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Research suggests that having a fixed bedtime is more important than sleep time for combating fatigue

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Quality of sleep is often judged by the number of hours we sleep, but recent research suggests that the timing of sleep may be more crucial than the duration.

A study published in the journal Sleep indicates that the consistency of your sleep schedule, rather than just the number of hours slept, is a strong predictor of your risk of mortality. Even individuals who consistently get 7-8 hours of sleep but have irregular sleep patterns were found to be at a higher risk of stroke, heart attacks, and cancer. On the other hand, those with a consistent sleep routine had up to a 48% lower risk of death from all causes.

It’s important to note that simply sticking to an erratic sleep pattern with minimal hours of sleep is not advised. The study found that individuals who slept less than six hours or more than nine hours per night had a higher risk of mortality. While sleep duration is significant, the link between mortality and consistent sleep patterns was stronger.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 61,000 individuals in the UK Biobank, totaling over 10 million recorded sleep hours. By studying sleep patterns and mortality rates, they identified the factors associated with an increased risk of early death.

These findings may lead to updated public health guidelines on sleep recommendations, emphasizing the importance of not only getting sufficient sleep but also maintaining a consistent sleep schedule for overall health improvement.

Further research is needed to determine if these findings are applicable to a broader population beyond the UK.

For more information:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

The importance of AI companies adopting the practices of quantum computing research

Posted on February 12, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

David Parker/Science Photo Library

What is the difference between artificial intelligence and quantum computing? One is sci-fi sound technology that has long been committed to revolutionizing our world, providing researchers can sort out some technical wrinkles, such as the tendency to cause errors. In fact, the other one is too.

Still, AI seems breathless and inevitably inevitable, but the average person has no experience with quantum computing. Is this important?

Practitioners in both fields certainly commit the crime of hyping their products, but part of the problem with quantum advocates is that the current generation of quantum computers are essentially useless. With a special report on the state of the industry (see “Quantum Computers Finally Arrived, Will They Be Useful?”), races are intended to build machines that can actually do useful calculations. Currently underway. This is not possible on a regular computer.

There is no clear use case to prevent high-tech giants from forcing AI into the software they use every day, but the subtle nature of this hardware makes quantum computing the masses more difficult. It is much more difficult to bring in the same way. You probably won’t own a personal quantum computer. Instead, the industry is targeting businesses and governments.

Practitioners in both AI and quantum computing fields are guilty of hyping their products

Perhaps that’s why quantum computer builders seem to keep their feet on science, drumming business while publishing peer-reviewed research. It appears that the major AI companies have all those who have given up on publishing. Why are you troubled when you can simply charge a monthly fee to use your technology, whether it actually works or not?

The quantum approach is correct. When you are committed to technology that transforms research, industry and society, explaining how it works in the most open way possible is the only way to persuade people to believe in the hype. .

It may not be flashy, but in the long run it’s not style, it’s substance. So, I will definitely aim to revolutionize the world, but please show me your work.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

New Research Reveals 82% of Paradise Bird Species are Biofluorescent

Posted on February 12, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Paradise birds are families of small to medium-sized forest birds found in the New Guinea region. With its elaborate and colorful feathers, these birds are one of the most beautiful creatures on the planet. A new study found that ornithologists at the American Museum of Natural History and ornithologists at the University of Nebraska Lincoln University were biological fluorescents out of 45 currently recognized paradise. They suggest that this special “brightness” is important among male birds due to hierarchy and mating displays.

The bigger bird bird (Paradisaea apoda). Image credit: Andrea Lawardi.

With colorful feathers and intricate courtship displays, the paradise bird has a special place in natural history.

They serve as examples of school books for sexual choice. This is the result of the selection of male female peers with attractive features.

The results show unparalleled radiation of species in which men exhibit extreme morphological features and behaviors, and behaviours that have no evolutionary meaning other than attracting women due to coalescence.

“The unique mating rituals and exhibitions of paradise birds fascinated scientists and promoted countless research focusing on the evolution of traits and sexual choice,” said Rene Martin, PhD, University of Nebraska, Dr. Lincoln. The doctor said.

“It seems appropriate that these flashy birds are likely signaling each other in an additional flashy way.”

Biofluorescence is a phenomenon that occurs when an organism absorbs light, converts it, and releases it as a different color.

“More than 10,000 people recorded birds and despite numerous studies that included bright feathers, elaborate mating displays and excellent vision, we surprisingly investigated the presence of biological fluorescence. There are very few people.”

“Bowerbirds and Fairy Wrens were unable to shine, but bright green yellow fluorescent light was found among the bird birds.”

Biological fluorescence is found in Emperor's birds (Paradisaea guilielmi). Image credit: Rene Martin.

Researchers discovered that when exposed to not only bird light, but also purple light, the birds also fluorescently, and that the birds emitted fluorescence.

This phenomenon is particularly prominent in men, focusing on the bright feathers and skin of the area highlighted during the exhibition: the mouth and bills of the head, neck, and belly.

In women, biological fluorescence is usually restricted to feathers in the chest and belly.

“These birds live near the equator, where bright sunlight is abundant all year round, and in forests where light complexity is heavily affected by different canopy differences, enhancing bioflaorent signals. It could be,” Emily said. Kerr, PhD student at the American Museum of Natural History.

“Studies based on closely related species found that bird eye pigments align with fluorescent peaks measured by researchers.”

“Based on this, we speculate that avian paradises can see these biological fluorescent patterns, which enhance the contrast with dark feathers and possibly play an important role in courtship and hierarchy. there is.”

study It will be published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

____

Rene Martin et al. Royal Society Open Sciencein press; doi: 10.1098/rsos.241905

Source: www.sci.news

22 states sue Trump administration for cutting funding to research projects

Posted on February 10, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A lawsuit was filed by 22 state attorney generals on Monday. They opposed the Trump administration’s decision to cut research funding by restricting how universities and research institutions are reimbursed for “indirect costs.”

The lawsuit names both the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services as Defendants, stating that the impact of the changes in indirect rates announced on Friday would be “immediate and catastrophic.”

NIH revealed on Friday that it will cap indirect funding for research projects at 15% and significantly decrease the federal government’s funding for research institutions for equipment, maintenance, utilities, support staff, and more. Previously, these rates were negotiated with the agencies. The new policy took effect on Monday for all new and existing NIH grants.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts and led by the attorney generals of Illinois and Michigan, alleges that the NIH violated the Administrative Procedure Act and disregarded the will of Congress, which aimed to prevent changes in indirect cost rates since 2018.

All Democratic state Attorneys General are part of this lawsuit.

The lawsuit demands a temporary restraining order and an injunction to prevent the NIH from implementing the new rules.

Scientists have warned that reducing indirect costs will negatively impact research efforts, hinder basic science research, and potentially impede disease research and new discoveries.

In response to the proposed changes, the University of California System stated that this will significantly reduce personnel and services, affecting education, training, patient care, basic research, and clinical trials.

Supporters of the NIH policy change argue that indirect costs are currently excessive and need to be controlled.

According to a Friday post by x, Katie Miller from the newly formed Government Efficiency Bureau, or Doge, stated: “This will reduce Harvard’s exorbitant costs by $150 million annually.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

New research suggests that the powerful Marzcake shock can travel to even more distant red planets than believed.

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In new research, researchers on the planetary Used Global and high -resolution orbital images to discover fresh 21.5 m (71 feet) impact craters that appeared at the same time as one of the Marsquakes detected by NASA's Insight Lander. This means that the seismometer detected a meteor strike, not a geological activity in the planet. In the related research, they scan Through a large number of orbital image data, the 123 shock crater was formed from December 2018 to December 2022.

Calambus et al。 Textonically Active Cerberus Fossae A new 21.5-m MARS Impact Crater is associated with the Insight earthquake event S0794A. Image credit: NASA / JPL-CALTECH / Arizona University.

NASA's Insight Lander set the first seismometer on Mars and detected more than 1,300 Marsquakes. This is generated by the shaking deep of the planet (caused by a rock broken under heat and pressure) and a cosmic rock that collides with the surface.

Scientists not only glimpse the inside of Mars, as science glimpses how the waves of the earthquake change from these earthquakes when passing through the earth's crust, mantle, and core. I understand how all the rocky world, including the month, is formed.

In the past, researchers shot new shock craters images and found seismic data that matched the date and location of the crater layer.

However, two new studies indicate that the shaking and the new effects detected in Cerberus Fossae, which are particularly prone to earthquakes of 1,640 km (1,019 miles) of 1,640 km (1,019 miles) from insights, are the first correlation. Masu.

The diameter of the shock crater is 21.5 m, which is far from the insight than the scientist expected, based on earthquake energy.

Mars crusts have unique characteristics that are considered to suppress seismic waves generated by impact. The new analysis of Cerberusfossae concluded that the generated waves take more direct routes than the planet mantle.

The Insight team needs to re -evaluate the internal configuration and structural models of Mars, and explain how to make the impact -generated earthquake signals so deep.

“We thought that the energy detected from most of the earthquake events was moving through the crust of Mars,” said Dr. Constantinoscharamanbus, a researcher of Imperial College London. Masu.

“This discovery shows a deeper and faster path -it is called an earthquake highway, so that the earthquake can reach the farthest of the earth through the mantle.”

Researchers also wanted to find a crater within the location of about 3,000 km (1,864 miles) and find something that was formed while the Lander seismometer was recorded.

By comparing images before and after the context camera mounted on NASA's Mars Reconnasance Orbiter (MRO), I found 123 fresh craters to interact with INSIGHT data. Of these, 49 was a potential agreement with the earthquake detected by the Lander seismometer.

“I thought that CERBERUS FOSSAE has generated many high -frequency earthquake signals related to internal generated earthquakes, which suggests that some activities are not born there, and actually from the impact. Dr. Charalambous said.

The results of the survey also emphasize how researchers use AI to improve planetary science by using all data collected by NASA and ESA missions.

“Now, we have a lot of images from the moon and Mars, so the struggle is to process and analyze data,” said Dr. Dr., a member of the Bern University researcher. I mentioned it.

“We have finally arrived in the big data era of planetary science.”

Two new papers are posted journal Global physics research book。

______

VT BICKEL et al。 2025. New impact on Mars: Related to systematic identification and insight earthquake events. Global physics research book 52 (3): E2024GL109133; DOI: 10.1029/2024GL109133

Constantinos Chara Ranboo et al。 2025. New impact on Mars: Unleash CERBERUS FOSSAE's shock detection. Global physics research book 52 (3): E2024GL110159; DOI: 10.1029/2024GL110159

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。

______

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

OpenAI set to launch “Deep-Search” tool designed to cater to research analysts

Posted on February 3, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Openai has advanced artificial intelligence development by introducing a new tool that claims to produce reports comparable to those of research analysts.

Developers of Chatgpt have dubbed the tool “Deep Research,” stating that it can accomplish tasks that would take humans hours in just 10 minutes.

This announcement comes shortly after a San Francisco-based company accelerated its product release in response to the progress made by Openai’s competitor, Deepseek.

“Deep Research” is an AI agent that allows users to delegate tasks and is powered by Openai’s latest cutting-edge model, O3 version.

Openai explained that deep research scours hundreds of online sources, analyzes, integrates, creates comprehensive reports, and sifts through massive amounts of text, images, and PDFs.

The company views tools like the Chatgpt button as essential steps towards achieving artificial general intelligence, a concept that aims to match or exceed human intelligence in various tasks.

Last month, Openai unveiled an AI agent named Operator, claiming it can manage an online store based on photos of shopping lists, albeit only in the US preview version.

In a demonstration video released on Sunday, Openai showcased Deep Research analyzing the translation app market, stating that each task takes 5-30 minutes to complete with proper sourcing.

Openai highlighted that deep research targets experts in fields like finance, science, and engineering but can also be utilized for car and furniture purchases.

Leveraging Openai’s latest “reasoning” model, O3, deep research processes queries slower than traditional models and has a partially disclosed entity named O3-mini, a slimmed-down version of O3.

The full capabilities of the O3 model were outlined in the recent international AI safety report, prompting concerns from experts like Yoshua Bengio about the potential risks posed by AI advancements.

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Deep surveys are accessible to Openai’s protia users in the US for $200 (£162 per month), with a monthly limit on queries due to processing constraints. Not available in the UK and Europe.

Andrew Rogoyski, director of an AI Research Institute affiliated with Sally University, cautioned about the potential dangers of blindly relying on deep search tools without conducting thorough verifications of their outputs.

“Knowledge-intensive AI faces a fundamental challenge. Human validation and verification are crucial to ensure the accuracy of machine analysis,” said Rogoyski.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Scratching an itch has been proven to promote allergic inflammation in research.

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Itching is a dominant symptom of dermatitis (eczema), and scratch promotes skin inflammation, which deteriorates the disease. However, it is almost unknown whether scratching can make the spots and the lord benefit the mechanism that worsens inflammation. New research conducted in the mouse reveals the double nature of scratching. It can worsen skin inflammation, but can also increase immunity against bacterial infections at the site of injury.

Scratch is synergistic with the activation of FCεRI mast cells and promotes inflammation of allergic skin. Image credit: LIU et al。 , Doi: 10.1126/Science.adn9390.

Scratch is an attractive, typical, evolved behavioral reaction to the sensation of itching of the skin.

In many common skin diseases such as dermatitis, prolonged itching is a dominant symptom, indicating a substantial source of affection.

In response to itching, scratch is well -clinically recognized to worsen dermatitis, and some diseases are pathogenic.

However, itching is often a fun feeling and does not cause evasion behavior. This suggests that it can have some benefits to the host.

“Scratch is often fun. This suggests that this behavior must be a profit to evolve,” said Professor Daniel Kaplan of Pittsburgh University.

“Our research helps solve this paradox by providing evidence that scratches also provide bacterial defense against skin infections.”

How to use a new genetic modification mouse model to eliminate the function of neurons that senses itching, called non -peptide giku 2 (NP2), is in the relationship between scratches, injuries, and inflammation. We investigated whether it will affect.

They discovered that they revitalized neurons that sensed the pain that releasing a substance P (SP) when scratched.

However, scratch can worsen problems such as dermatitis, but reducing bacteria can help you to use immune protection. Staphylococcus aureusInfection.

Furthermore, the wound affects the microorganisms in the skin at the damaged site, and can prevent the imbalance of microorganisms, but chronic conditions such as atopic dermatitis complicate this.

The survey suggests that scratching functions as a pathological factor in inflammation and as an evolved mechanism to strengthen protection against infections.

“Discover that scratch improves defense Staphylococcus aureus It suggests that some context may be useful, “said Professor Kaplan.

“But if the itch is chronic, the damage caused by the skin will probably exceed this advantage.”

Survey results It will be displayed in the journal Science。

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Andrew W. Rue et al。 2025. Scratch promotes allergic inflammation and host defense through the activation of nerve gesturing mast cells. Science 387 (6733); DOI: 10.1126/Science.adn9390

Source: www.sci.news

Research: Urination in chimpanzees can be contagious

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The decision to urinate involves a complex combination of both physiological and social considerations. However, the social aspects of urination remain largely unknown. More specifically, timing urination (i.e., synchrony) and triggering urination by observing similar behavior in others (i.e., social contagion) occur in humans across different cultures. It is thought that it probably occurs in animals other than humans as well. in new paper in diary current biologyScientists have discovered that urination is socially contagious in chimpanzees, one of our closest relatives, measured through more than 600 hours of total outbreak records in 20 captive chimpanzees at Japan's Kumamoto Sanctuary. is reported. Their results suggest that socially contagious urination is an overlooked aspect of social behavior and potentially widespread.

<div id="attachment_102786" style="width: 590px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://cdn.sci.news/images/enlarge12/image_13596e-Chimpanzees.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-102786" class="wp-image-102786 size-full" src="https://cdn.sci.news/images/2025/01/image_13596-Chimpanzees.jpg" alt="A chimpanzee eats leaves in the Kumamoto Preserve. Image credit: Onishi et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.11.052." width="580" height="436" srcset="https://cdn.sci.news/images/2025/01/image_13596-Chimpanzees.jpg 580w, https://cdn.sci.news/images/2025/01/image_13596-Chimpanzees-300x226.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px"/></a><p id="caption-attachment-102786" class="wp-caption-text">A chimpanzee eats leaves in the Kumamoto Preserve. Image provided by: Onishi <em>others</em>., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.11.052.</p></div>
<div>
    <p>"In humans, urinating together can be considered a social phenomenon," said Kyoto University researcher Ena Onishi, lead author of the study.</p>
    <p>There is an Italian proverb that says:<em>People who don&#39;t pee at work are either thieves or spies.</em>&#39;(<em>Chi non piscia in compagnia o è un ladro o è una spia</em>), In Japanese, the act of urinating with another person is called ``.<em>connection</em>""</p>
    <p>"This behavior has been expressed in art across cultures for centuries and continues to appear in modern social contexts."</p>
    <p>"Our study suggests that this phenomenon may have deep evolutionary roots."</p>
    <p>"We found that chimpanzees, our closest relatives, tend to urinate in response to the urination of nearby individuals."</p>
    <p>Researchers decided to study this behavior after noticing that the chimpanzees at the sanctuary seemed to urinate at about the same time.</p>
    <p>It reminded me of human behavior and I thought it might be comparable to a contagious yawn.</p>
    <p>To find out, they recorded the urination behavior of Kumamoto chimpanzees over 600 hours, including 1,328 urination events.</p>
    <p>They analyzed observational data to see if the chimpanzees&#39; pees were significantly synchronized in time.</p>
    <p>They also investigated whether it was influenced by nearby individuals or shaped by social factors.</p>
    <p>The evidence showed that micturition events during observation were significantly more synchronized than would be expected if the chimpanzees simply urinated at random times on each other.</p>
    <p>Physical proximity to the first urinator also increased the likelihood of contagious urination.</p>
    <p>Interestingly, individuals with lower dominance rankings were more likely to pee when others were peeing.</p>
    <p>This finding suggests that urinary patterns are influenced by social class and that behavior tends to flow along dominant structures.</p>
    <p>"We were surprised to find that transmission patterns are influenced by social status," Dr. Onishi said.</p>
    <p>"Since there have been no previous studies of contagious urination in any species, we draw parallels with contagious yawning, another semi-voluntary physiological behavior."</p>
    <p>"Based on this, we initially expected that the social effects might be similar to those seen with yawns, such as stronger contagion between socially close pairs."</p>
    <p>"However, our results showed no evidence of effects related to social intimacy."</p>
    <p>"Instead, we observed a clear effect of social status, with lower status people being more likely to defer to others&#39; urination."</p>
    <p>"This was an unexpected and interesting result because it opens up multiple possibilities of interpretation," said lead author Dr. Shinya Yamamoto, also from Kyoto University.</p>
    <p>"For example, it may reflect covert leadership in synchronizing group activities, strengthening social bonds, or attentional biases between subordinate individuals."</p>
    <p>"These findings raise interesting questions about the social function of this behavior."</p>
    <p><span style="color: #808080;">_____</span></p>
    <p><span style="color: #808080;">Ena Onishi <em>others</em>. 2025. Socially contagious urination in chimpanzees. <em>current biology</em> 35 (2): R58-R59;doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.11.052</span></p>
</div>

Source: www.sci.news

Research: Elderberry juice high in anthocyanins may be an effective weight management aid

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Consuming elderberry juice daily for one week (12 ounces of juice daily) significantly increases the gut microbial community associated with health benefits, according to a new randomized, placebo-controlled study. Compared to placebo, elderberry juice significantly increased Firmicutes and Actinobacteria and decreased Bacteroidetes. At the genus level, elderberry juice increased. FaecalibacteriumRuminococcaceae , and Bifidobacterium Bacteroidetes and lactic acid-producing bacteria decreased.

Elderberry is a small dark purple fruit that grows on the elderberry tree, which is native to Europe. Image credit: TheOtherKev.

More than 70% of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. The latest estimates indicate that 42% of adults suffer from obesity, and this is expected to increase to 48-55% by 2050.

Obesity has myriad and multifaceted causes. Proactive dietary management of obesity-related cardiometabolic complications includes dietary patterns that incorporate food sources rich in bioactive food components, such as the Mediterranean-style diet.

These dietary patterns include 5 to 10 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, which are rich sources of polyphenols that promote human health and longevity.

Anthocyanins are a diverse subclass of flavonoids that have been widely studied for health-promoting properties, including metabolic changes associated with obesity, such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease.

Furthermore, research results ranging from translational studies in rodents to large prospective cohort studies show that anthocyanin-rich berries have a protective effect against obesity-related morbidity and mortality. It's proven.

The mechanisms of action of anthocyanin benefits include preventing the intestinal absorption of monosaccharides, promoting cellular metabolism in adipose and muscle tissue, and modulating the gut microbiome.

“We have previously shown that consuming 600 g of blackberries per day for one week increases insulin sensitivity as evidenced by dietary challenge testing and decreases in respiratory quotient by 24-hour indirect calorimetry. “We demonstrated that fat oxidation also increases.” Dr. Patrick Solverson and colleagues at Washington State University.

“The aim of this human study was to determine whether the metabolic benefits observed with other anthocyanin-rich berries also apply to elderberry.”

Researchers tested elderberry's effects on metabolic health in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 18 overweight adults.

While maintaining a standardized diet, participants consumed either elderberry juice or a placebo with a similar color and flavor specifically designed by North Carolina State University's Food Innovation Lab.

Post-intervention clinical trials showed that participants who consumed elderberry juice had significantly increased amounts of beneficial gut bacteria, such as Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, and decreased amounts of harmful bacteria, such as Bacteroidetes. It was shown that

In addition to positive changes in the microbiome, elderberry intervention improved metabolism.

The results showed that elderberry juice lowered participants' blood sugar levels by an average of 24%, significantly improving their ability to process sugar after ingesting carbohydrates. Results also showed that insulin levels were reduced by 9%.

Additionally, the results suggested that elderberry juice may increase the body's ability to burn fat.

Participants who consumed elderberry juice showed a significant increase in fat oxidation, or the breakdown of fatty acids, after a high-carbohydrate meal or during exercise.

“Food is medicine, and science is catching up to that conventional wisdom,” Dr. Solverson said.

“This study contributes to a growing body of evidence that elderberry, which has been used as a folk medicine for centuries, has many benefits for metabolic as well as prebiotic health. .”

“Other berries also contain anthocyanins, but usually in lower concentrations,” he added.

“To get the same amount of anthocyanins found in 6 ounces of elderberry juice, you would need to consume 4 cups of blackberries a day.”

of findings appear in the diary nutrients.

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Christy Teets others. 2024. A 1-week elderberry juice intervention enhances fecal microbiota and suggests improved glucose tolerance and fat oxidation in a randomized controlled trial. nutrients 16(20):3555;doi: 10.3390/nu16203555

Source: www.sci.news

New research indicates that Jupiter’s clouds are made up of ammonium bisulfide

Posted on January 13, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers have long believed that Jupiter’s upper clouds, which form the planet’s iconic light brown bands, are made of frozen ammonia. But new research shows that these clouds are actually lower in the atmosphere than we thought, and are made of ammonium bisulfide mixed with smog.

Hubble’s photos of Jupiter show an ever-changing landscape due to its turbulent atmosphere. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Amy Simon, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Michael H. Wong, University of California, Berkeley / Joseph DePasquale, STScI.

Citizen scientist Steve Hill has previously shown that it is possible to map a planet’s atmosphere using just a special colored filter and a backyard telescope.

These results provided the first clue that the clouds are too deep in Jupiter’s warm atmosphere to match clouds made of ammonia ice.

To find out, Hill and a team of professional astronomers from the University of Oxford, the University of Leicester and the British Astronomical Society used the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) to study the atmospheres of gas giant planets. did.

“MUSE will be able to scan Jupiter’s atmosphere at different wavelengths and map the different molecules that make up Jupiter’s atmosphere,” they said.

Their study shows that a new approach using backyard telescopes or VLT/MUSE can map the abundance of ammonia in Jupiter’s atmosphere with remarkable precision.

In terms of clouds, they concluded that Jupiter’s atmosphere closely resembles a layered cake.

Ammonium hydrosulfide clouds cover the upper levels, and in some cases decorations of ammonia ice clouds carried to the top by strong vertical convection can be seen.

However, the overall structure of the cake is still not completely understood, and the work of citizen scientists may be the key to figuring it out.

So the next time you gaze at Jupiter or Saturn from your backyard, you just might be uncovering some hidden secrets in our solar system.

“We tested the reliability of the filter imaging technique by applying it to VLT/MUSE observations of Jupiter and found that the method closely matches more sophisticated analyzes of these observations and is also consistent with observations of Jupiter. “We have shown that the microwave wavelengths studied by NASA’s Juno spacecraft and the Super Large Array yield surprisingly reliable results,” the astronomers said.

“We show that the predominant reflection level at red wavelengths is at the 2-3 bar level, which is much lower than the expected ammonia ice cloud condensation level of 0.7 bar, and the ammonia We conclude that ice cannot be the main cloud component.”

“We also showed that the same technique can be applied to MUSE observations of Saturn, where extracted ammonia maps were measured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope at pressures greater than 2 We found a very good agreement with the ammonia abundance.

of findings will appear in Geophysical Research Journal: Planets.

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Patrick G.J. Irwin others. 2025. Clouds and ammonia in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn are determined from band depth analysis of VLT/MUSE observations. JGR Planets 130 (1): e2024JE008622;doi: 10.1029/2024JE008622

Source: www.sci.news

Research: Teeth of saber-tooth predators proved to be extremely efficient in piercing their prey.

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Saber-toothed tiger predators — such as the famous saber-toothed tiger Smilodon Fatalis — evolved multiple times between different mammalian groups. Their unusual teeth were functionally optimal and highly effective at stabbing prey, a new study led by researchers has found. University of Bristol Paleontologist.

Graphics illustrating optimal functionality repeat the evolution of the extreme sabertooth shape. Image credit: Talia Pollock.

Dr Talia Pollock from the University of Bristol said: “Our research helps us to better understand how extreme adaptations evolve, not just in saber-toothed predators, but throughout nature.” Ta.

“By combining biomechanics and evolutionary theory, we can reveal how natural selection shapes animals to perform specific tasks.”

Dr. Pollock and his colleagues used 3D-printed steel tooth replicas in a series of occlusal experiments and advanced computer simulations to analyze the shape and performance of teeth in 95 different carnivorous mammal species, including 25 saber-toothed species. .

They discovered that the long, sharp, blade-like teeth gave the sabertooth a real advantage as a specialized weapon for capturing prey.

This discovery helps explain why saber teeth have evolved so many times, at least five times independently in mammals, and also explains the possible eventual demise of saber teeth. There are also things.

Their increased specialization may have acted as an evolutionary ratchet, making them highly effective hunters, but would put them at greater risk of extinction as ecosystems change and prey becomes scarce.

Another important finding challenges the conventional idea that saber-toothed predators fall into two categories: dark-toothed and scimitar-toothed.

Instead, researchers found a variety of saber-tooth shapes ranging from long, curved teeth. barborofelis fricky For straighter and stronger teeth Dinofelis Barlowi.

This adds to a growing body of research suggesting that the hunting strategies of these predators are more diverse than previously thought.

The research team now plans to expand their analysis to all tooth types and uncover the biomechanical tradeoffs that have shaped the evolution of diverse tooth structures across the animal kingdom.

Professor Alistair Evans from Monash University said: “This discovery not only deepens our understanding of saber-toothed predators, but also has far-reaching implications for evolutionary biology and biomechanics.”

“Insights from this study could also help inform bio-inspired designs in engineering.”

The result is today journal current biology.

_____

Talia Pollock others. 2025. Functional optimality underpins the repeated evolution of extreme “sword-tooth” morphology. current biologyin press.

Source: www.sci.news

Advancements in Research Shed Light on Habitability of Oceanic Worlds in Our Solar System and Beyond

Posted on December 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

In a new paper, planetary researchers from Texas A&M University and the University of Washington introduce a new thermodynamic concept called centotectics to investigate the stability of liquids under extreme conditions. This is important information for determining the habitability of icy moons and oceanic exoplanets.

Europa's surface stands out in this newly reprocessed color view. Image scale is 1.6 km per pixel. North of Europe is on the right. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SETI Institute.

Exploration of icy ocean worlds represents a new frontier in planetary science, with a focus on understanding the potential of these environments to support life.

New research is addressing fundamental questions in this field. Under what conditions can liquid water remain stable on these distant frozen bodies?

The authors provide an important framework for interpreting data from planetary exploration activities by defining and measuring the cenotect, the absolute minimum temperature at which a liquid remains stable under various pressures and concentrations.

This research combines their expertise in cryobiology with their expertise in planetary science and high-pressure water ice systems.

Together, they developed a framework that bridges the disciplines to tackle one of the most fascinating challenges in planetary science.

2016 artist concept for the European Clipper spacecraft. As spacecraft development progresses, the design changes. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

“The launch of NASA's Europa Clipper, the largest planetary exploration mission ever launched, ushered us into a decades-long era of exploration of the frigid ocean world,” said Dr. Baptiste Journeau, a planetary scientist at the University of Washington. It's coming in,” he said.

“Measurements from this and other missions will tell us the depth of the ocean and its composition.”

“Laboratory measurements of liquid stability, particularly the lowest possible temperature (a newly defined cenotect), combined with the mission results will help us determine how habitable the solar system's cold, deep oceans are, and how likely they will ultimately be. It will be possible to completely constrain what the temperature will be.''The fate would be when the moon or planet cools down completely. ”

“The study of icy worlds is a particular priority for both NASA and ESA, as evidenced by the spate of recent and upcoming spacecraft launches,” said Dr. Matt Powell-Palm, a planetary scientist at Texas A&M University. Ta.

“We hope to help Texas A&M provide intellectual leadership in this area.”

of paper Published in the Journal on December 18, 2024 nature communications.

_____

A. Zaris others. 2024. On the equilibrium limit of liquid stability in pressurized water systems. nut community15;doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-54625-z

Source: www.sci.news

The upcoming advancements of 3D cell culture in biomedical research

Posted on December 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

For more than a century, scientists have studied how cells grow and develop to aid medical research and drug development. They grow plant and animal cells in laboratory equipment such as Petri dishes, glass plates, and various media, producing collections of newly grown cells called “cells.” cell culture. Scientists carefully maintain cell cultures for research, providing the cells with the nutrients and environmental conditions they need to survive and reproduce. By studying them, researchers have advanced the scientific community’s understanding of cellular life and developed new drugs and vaccines against diseases such as cancer.

Currently, scientists grow most cell cultures in dishes or flasks. 2D culture. Two-dimensional or 2D cell culture confines cells to an unnatural flat space, limiting their growth and range of movement. These obstacles lead to less than optimal precision in 2D cell culture experiments, so scientists have invented new three-dimensional approaches to address these limitations.

This new approach consists of growing cells in three-dimensional systems such as spherical plates, gel-like materials that provide structural and biochemical support. hydrogelor specialized equipment that creates a controlled environment to regulate the delivery of nutrients. bioreactor. These systems allow cells to grow in all directions, just as they do in nature and in the human body. Scientists call these devices: three dimensional or 3D cell culture. 3D cell culture provides a more realistic environment in which cells can migrate, interact, mature, and organize into complex structures that resemble organ tissues.

The team of scientists wanted to assess the current state of 3D cell culture technology and how it is being adopted in the field of microbiology. Researchers have discovered that scientists are effectively using 3D cell cultures to develop vaccines, model tumors, and develop patient-specific cancer treatments. They explained that 3D cell culture is superior to 2D cell culture in these areas because artificially flat conditions limit the amount of cell growth. This limitation allows drugs and treatments aimed at killing cells or slowing their growth to appear to work, when in fact the cells are simply responding to the shape of their environment. This may create an illusion.

As part of their evaluation, the research team found that cells growing in all directions interact with their environment in ways that better mimic human tissues, forming structures like clusters of epithelial cells or the invasive patterns of cancer cells. I also discovered that. They explained that this realism will improve the accuracy of treatments, drug tests, and vaccine tests by more effectively replicating how treatments target cells and tissues in the body. . Although 3D cultures address many of the limitations of 2D systems, such as mechanical and biochemical relevance, they still face challenges such as reproducing the complexity of immune interactions.

One of the central problems with 3D cell culture that researchers have identified is that some researchers find it prohibitively expensive. Constructing a 3D cell culture can be 2 to 10 times more expensive than a 2D cell culture. Additionally, scientists have a hard time creating and maintaining them because they are very complex in design and require specialized equipment to maintain.

The researchers say these factors made adopting these practices a lengthy process for biomedical researchers. The researchers predicted that slow adoption could cause problems in the future, as researchers pioneering these unusual techniques may have trouble finding qualified reviewers to evaluate their experiments. . You will also have fewer colleagues qualified to reproduce your results.

Scientists concluded that 3D cell culture provides a more accurate model for drug testing, cancer research, and tissue engineering. Therefore, it could reduce researchers’ reliance on animal models, streamline drug development, and potentially lead to safer and more effective treatments. However, despite the many advantages of 3D cell culture, challenges such as high cost, technical complexity, and need for standardization continue to hinder its widespread adoption. The team’s proposed solution is to make 3D machining more accessible and improve overall efficiency. They also suggested that future researchers continue to use 3D cell cultures to push the boundaries of medicine by exploring applications in regenerative medicine and personalized cancer treatments.

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Source: sciworthy.com

Research finds no evidence of environmental pollution from pre-Roman copper industry in Timna Valley

Posted on December 24, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists from Tel Aviv University conducted geochemical surveys at two smelting camps dating back to the 10th century BC, the time of the Biblical kings David and Solomon. Timna Valley It is located in southern Israel, in the southern Arabah. They found that environmental pollution resulting from copper production is minimal, spatially limited, and poses no danger to residents of the area, past or present.

Aerial view of Site 201, north of the center of the Timna Valley on the western outskirts of Wadi Araba, Israel. Image credit: Yagel others., doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-80939-5.

“We toured two major copper production sites in the Timna Valley: one from the Iron Age; King Solomon's time Professor Erez Ben Yosef of Tel Aviv University said:

“Our research was very extensive. We took hundreds of soil samples from both locations for chemical analysis and created high-resolution maps of the presence of heavy metals in the area.”

“We found that contamination levels at the Timna copper mining site were very low and confined to the site of an ancient smelting furnace.”

“For example, the concentration of lead, a major pollutant in the metal industry, drops to less than 200 ppm just a few meters away from the furnace.”

“By comparison, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines industrial areas as safe for workers at 1,200 ppm and residential areas as safe for children at 200 ppm.”

The new study contradicts a series of papers published since the 1990s about pollution allegedly caused by the ancient copper industry.

“We are proving that this is not true,” Professor Ben Yosef said.

“Timna's contamination is very spatially localized, with the only people probably working directly at the furnaces suffering from inhalation of toxic gases, and just a short distance away, the soil is completely destroyed. It’s safe.”

“Furthermore, the agreement in the spatial distribution of copper and lead concentrations in the soil that we found indicates that the metal is ‘locked up’ in slag and other industrial wastes, so that the metal can leach into the soil. It has no effect on plants or humans.”

“Our findings are consistent with several recent studies conducted in the Wadi Faynan region of Jordan, which also show very low levels of pollution.”

“Timna and Feynan are ideal locations for this kind of research because they are undisturbed by modern mining, as happened for example in Cyprus, and thanks to their dry climate metals in the soil are not washed away. .”

“In Feynan, scientists from Hebrew University examined the skeletons of 36 people who lived at the mining site during the Iron Age and found that only three had evidence of contamination in their teeth. The rest It was completely beautiful. We are now presenting a similar picture for Timna.”

In addition to the geochemical study, the authors also reviewed existing literature and found that the hypothesis of global pollution before Roman times lacked solid evidence.

“In the 1990s, there was a tendency to attribute ancient copper production to the first example of industrial pollution,” said Dr. Omri Jagel of Tel Aviv University.

“Such statements make headlines and attract research funding, but they unnecessarily project contemporary pollution problems into the past.”

“Furthermore, research literature tends to use the term 'contamination' to describe traces of ancient metallurgical activity, leading to the erroneous assumption that the metal industry was harmful to humanity from its earliest days. They are connected, but this is clearly false.”

“Even when metal production became large-scale and essential to human civilization, it was the toxic lead industry that caused global pollution, not necessarily other metals.”

“Studies in the 1990s argued that trace amounts of copper found in Greenland ice cores migrated through the atmosphere from places like Timna.”

“However, this claim has not been supported by subsequent research.”

“As researchers facing today's tough environmental challenges, such as climate change, we often look for similar problems in the past or think that environmental degradation is an inevitable consequence of human activity since the agricultural revolution. There is a tendency to

“But we have to be careful. We might call some slag falling on the ground 'pollution', but we can't treat this local waste as regional or global environmental pollution.” should not be confused with. ”

Regarding this research, paper Published in a magazine on November 29th scientific report.

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O. Jagel others. 2024. The pre-Roman copper industry had no polluting impact on the global environment. science officer 14, 29675; doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-80939-5

Source: www.sci.news

New Research Explores Mysterious Qualities of Liquid Brine Found on Mars

Posted on December 19, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Mars is at the extreme of salt water stability. And only the combination of the most favorable environmental conditions and the salt with the lowest eutectic temperature could stabilize brine, at least temporarily, on the surface of Mars, one researcher says. new research Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This image of an impact crater in the Sirenum Fossai region of Mars was taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance rover on March 30, 2015. The crater is approximately 3,300 feet (1 km) wide and appears to be relatively recent due to its sharp edges and wells. -Stored emissions. The steep inner slopes are carved by canyons and contain slope lines that may recur on the equator-facing slopes. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona / Alfred McEwen.

Liquid water is an important prerequisite for a habitable planet. However, the combination of Mars' low temperatures, atmospheric pressure, and water vapor pressure means that any liquid water found on Mars would likely freeze, boil, or evaporate quickly, making it unlikely that Mars exists. .

However, paleontologists continue to insist that liquid water exists on Mars.

Of particular interest is the discovery of seasonal black stripes called repeat slope lines.

These features appear in some places on Mars when temperatures rise above -23 degrees Celsius (-10 degrees Fahrenheit) and disappear when it gets colder.

They are often described as possibly being associated with liquid water.

The new study puts a damper on the idea that liquid water is likely to be found soon in Mars' recurring slopes, permafrost, or salt water.

“If we look closely at RSL, its behavior is consistent with a sand or dust flow, and water is not required for RSL formation,” said lead author Dr. Vincent Chevrier, a researcher at the University of Arkansas. said.

Other researchers believe that brine, a highly salty solution like Earth's oceans, may hold the key to finding liquid water on Mars.

Salt water can freeze at much lower temperatures, and Mars is rich in salt.

Among these salts, perchlorate appears to be the most promising because of its extremely low eutectic temperature (the temperature at which the melting point of the mixture is lower than that of the single components).

For example, calcium perchlorate brine freezes at -75 degrees Celsius (-14 degrees Fahrenheit), but the average surface temperature near the equator of Mars is -50 degrees Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit), so theoretically This suggests that there may be zones where calcium coagulates. Perchlorate water can remain liquid, especially underground.

Dr. Chevrier and his colleague, Dr. Rachel Srank of the Lunar and Planetary Institute, then considered all the arguments for and against brine that could form a stable liquid.

“A variety of limiting factors, including the relatively small amount of most promising salts, water vapor pressure, and ice position, strongly limit the amount of brine present at the surface and in the shallow subsurface,” the researchers said. Ta.

“And even if saline waters formed, they would still remain uninhabitable by terrestrial standards.”

“Despite these drawbacks and limitations, there is always a possibility that Martian life adapted to these salt waters and some terrestrial life could survive in them. This is a planetary protection consideration because there is a possibility that

“Therefore, detecting brine in situ remains a key objective for Mars exploration.”

The next hurdles ahead, the authors say, are improving the equipment needed to detect small amounts of brine, better identifying the best places to look for brine, and conducting more experiments under Martian conditions. It is suggested that this is to enable room measurements to be carried out.

“Despite our best efforts to prove otherwise, Mars remains a cold, dry, and completely uninhabitable desert,” Chevrier said.

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Vincent F. Chevrier and Rachel A. Slank. 2024. The elusive nature of liquid brine on Mars. PNAS 121 (52): e2321067121;doi: 10.1073/pnas.2321067121

Source: www.sci.news

New research suggests the moon could be older than initially estimated

Posted on December 19, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

overview

New research suggests the moon may be older than many scientists thought.
This study suggests that the moon rock samples taken during the Apollo missions date back to an event in which the moon's surface melted, rather than the moment the moon formed.
Therefore, the authors believe that the Moon formed about 4.51 billion years ago, which is more than 100 million years earlier than the generally accepted estimate.

The moon may be more than 100 million years older than some scientists previously thought, according to a new study.

The study was published on Wednesday. journal naturechallenges long-held ideas The moon is thought to have formed about 4.35 billion years ago after an object the size of Mars crashed into the early Earth and created our natural satellite.

That timeline is based on analysis of lunar rock samples taken during NASA's Apollo mission. But new research shows that the moon formed much earlier, about 4.51 billion years ago, and then underwent a dramatic “remelting” phenomenon around the time other scientists thought the moon first formed. It suggests that you have experienced it.

According to the authors, the melting occurred because Earth's constant gravitational pull distorted the moon and made it extremely hot as it moved away from Earth. According to the study, this process altered the moon's surface and hid the moon's true age.

The study's lead author, Francis Nimmo, a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said the extreme heating caused the moon's surface to re-melt, effectively “resetting all the clocks” on the moon's rocks. 'There is a possibility.

“So moon rocks don't tell us when the moon formed, but they tell us when subsequent events that heated the moon occurred,” he says.

The scientific community has disagreed for decades about the exact age of the moon. Nimmo and his colleagues are not the first to offer older estimates. This new discovery adds to the growing consensus that there may be more to the moon's history than the Apollo samples revealed.

For example, planetary scientists have wondered how a massive collision occurred 4.35 billion years ago, when most large objects in the history of the solar system were thought to have already come together to form planets. I have had a hard time explaining why the moon was formed.

“Those who studied the Apollo samples had reasonable guesses about the moon's age, but those who modeled how the planets in our solar system formed are wondering why so much material still remains after 200 million years. “It was always difficult to explain why the solar system was still flying,” Nimmo said. “That's the way it is, and the two camps want different ages.”

The adjusted schedule by Nimmo's team may also help explain why. A mineral called zircon found on the moon It was discovered in Apollo's moon rock and is estimated to be approximately 4.5 billion years old. The moon's zircons, like other minerals on the moon, were thought to have crystallized during the moon's extreme temperatures, but their much older age has long puzzled scientists. .

In a new study, Nimmo and his colleagues suggest that the moon's overheating is the product of a process known as “tidal heating.”

“There are certain spots where the moon's orbit can be temporarily thrown off as it gets pushed aside,” Nimmo said. “During that time, the moon can be squeezed and stretched by Earth's gravity, which causes it to heat up.”

Similar tidal heating is thought to occur between Jupiter and its moons. a 2020 survey Researchers have discovered that the gas giant's gravity can stretch and squeeze some of its icy moons to the point where they heat up their interiors and melt rocks into magma. It is believed that this also applies to Jupiter's moon Io.

Recent and upcoming lunar missions could provide better insight into the moon's evolutionary history, Nimmo said. This includes China's Chang'e 6 mission, which collected samples from…

“The evolution of the solar system was very rapid. In just tens of millions of years, all the objects we know today were formed,” Munker said. “That's why we need very good temporal resolution for these very early events and why it's important to understand how the Earth-Moon system formed.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

New research indicates that Jupiter’s moon Io does not have an underground magma ocean

Posted on December 14, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Juno and Galileo’s volcanic activity on Io, Jupiter’s innermost Galilean moon and the most volcanically active object in the solar system, is unlikely to originate from a global magma ocean just below the surface. Deep space networks and astronomical observations, according to new analysis of Doppler data.

The internal structure of Io revealed by this research. Image credit: Sofia Shen / NASA / JPL / Caltech.

Slightly larger than Earth’s moon, Io is the most volcanically active object in the solar system.

It is the innermost of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, which in addition to Io includes Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Trapped in a gravitational tug of war between Jupiter, Europa, and Ganymede, Io is constantly squeezed, causing frictional heat to build up within its interior, which is thought to be the cause of sustained and widespread volcanic activity.

Volcanic activity on the Moon was first discovered in 1979. That’s when Linda Morabito, an engineer on NASA’s Voyager program, spotted an eruption plume in one of the images taken by the spacecraft during its famous Grand Tour of the outer planets.

Since then, countless observations have been made from both space telescopes and telescopes on Earth documenting Io’s restless nature.

“Io is Galileo’s innermost moon, orbiting Jupiter every 42.5 hours,” said Juno collaborator Dr. Ryan Park of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and colleagues.

“It has an average diameter of 3,643 km and a bulk density of 3,528 kg/m.³ As such, it is approximately 5% larger than the Moon, both in diameter and density.”

“Io’s eccentric orbit changes its distance from Jupiter by about 3,500 km, which leads to fluctuations in Jupiter’s gravitational pull.”

“Similar to the Moon’s tides caused by Earth, these gravitational fluctuations cause tidal deformations on Io, which are theorized to serve as the main energy source for the intense volcanism and infrared radiation observed on Io’s surface.”

The amount of tidal energy could be enough to cause Io’s interior to melt, potentially forming a magma ocean underground, but this theory is controversial.

Measuring the extent of Io’s tidal deformation could help determine whether the shallow magma ocean theory is plausible.

“Since the discovery of Morabito, planetary scientists have wondered how volcanoes were fed by lava beneath the Earth’s surface,” said Scott Bolton, Ph.D., principal investigator at Juno and a researcher at the Southwest Research Institute.

“Was there a shallow ocean of white-hot magma that fueled the volcano, or was the source more local?”

“We knew data from Juno’s two very close approaches could give us insight into how this beleaguered satellite actually works.”

Io’s arctic region was captured by NASA’s Juno on December 30, 2023, during the spacecraft’s 57th approach to the gas giant. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew very close to Io in December 2023 and February 2024, coming within about 1,500 km of the surface.

During its approach, Juno communicated with NASA’s Deep Space Network and acquired high-precision dual-frequency Doppler data. This data was used to measure Io’s gravity by tracking how it affects the spacecraft’s acceleration.

Combining these observations with archival Doppler data from NASA’s Galileo mission and ground-based telescopes, the researchers calculated how much Io is deformed by tidal forces.

This result is inconsistent with what would be expected if a shallow global magma ocean existed, suggesting that Io has a nearly solid mantle.

It is not yet known whether there are regions of magma deep within the moon.

The findings show that tidal forces do not necessarily create global magma oceans, which could have implications for our understanding of other moons such as Enceladus and Europa.

“Juno’s discovery that tidal forces don’t always produce global magma oceans not only prompts us to rethink what we know about Io’s interior,” Dr. Park said.

“It has implications for our understanding of other moons such as Enceladus and Europa, as well as exoplanets and super-Earths.”

“Our new findings provide an opportunity to rethink what we know about planet formation and evolution.”

The team’s paper published in this week’s magazine nature.

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RS Park others. Due to Io’s tidal reactions, shallow magma oceans do not form. nature published online on December 12, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08442-5

Source: www.sci.news

Research indicates that intermittent fasting may have a major impact on slowing down hair growth

Posted on December 13, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Intermittent fasting can be effective for weight loss, but it can also have negative effects on hair growth, as shown in a recent mouse experiment conducted by researchers at Westlake University in China. The study found that mice undergoing intermittent fasting experienced improved metabolic health but showed delayed hair regrowth. This link between restrictive eating and hair regrowth was also observed in a study published in Cell.

While similar effects may occur in humans, they are typically less severe due to differences in metabolic rate and hair growth patterns. Nevertheless, it is important to be aware of the potential unintended consequences of intermittent fasting, as highlighted by senior author and stem cell biologist Dr. Bing Zhang.

Further research is needed to fully understand the effects of fasting on hair growth, as current studies have primarily focused on its benefits for blood, muscle tissue supply, and metabolism. The research team at Westlake University conducted experiments on mice to explore the impact of intermittent fasting on hair regrowth, with findings suggesting that prolonged fasting stresses hair follicle stem cells, leading to delayed hair growth.

A small clinical trial involving 49 healthy young individuals showed that time-restricted eating with 18 hours of daily fasting reduced hair growth by an average of 18 percent. However, the researchers caution that the study’s small sample size and short duration may yield different results in larger-scale studies.

Future research will investigate how fasting affects other types of stem cells in the body and its implications for wound healing speed. Despite the potential drawbacks, intermittent fasting remains a popular and beneficial practice for many individuals.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Insightful New Research Reveals Life in the Neolithic Settlement of Trypillia

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

In new research Published in a magazine PLoS ONEArchaeologists have investigated exceptional human remains unearthed from the Middle Trypilian site (c. 3700-3600 BC) of Kosenivka in Ukraine.

Archaeological background of Kosenivka, Ukraine. Image credit: Fuchs others., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289769.

The Trypilian culture was a Neolithic European culture that arose in Ukraine between the Seret and Bug rivers in the 5th millennium BC, extending south into modern-day Romania and Moldova and east as far as the Dnieper River.

Also known as the Cucuteni-Trypilian culture, this culture is characterized by advanced agriculture, advanced metallurgy, pottery making, sophisticated architecture, and social organization.

Trypian society was a matrilineal society in which women headed the household, engaged in agricultural work, and manufactured pottery, textiles, and clothing.

Hunting, raising livestock, and making tools were the responsibility of men.

“Despite the huge number of artifacts left behind by the Trypilians, archaeologists have discovered very few human remains,” said Dr Katharina Fuchs from Kiel University and her colleagues.

“Because of this absence, many aspects of the life of this ancient people remain to be discovered.”

Researchers investigated a Trypilian culture settlement near Kosenivka, Ukraine.

This site, which consists of several houses, is unique in the presence of human remains.

The 50 human bone fragments found in the remains of the house were taken from at least seven people, children, adults, men and women, who likely once lived in the house. The bodies of four of them were also badly burned.

Researchers analyzed the carbon and nitrogen content of bones, grains and animal carcasses found at the site and found that meat made up less than 10% of the residents' diet.

This matches teeth found at the scene, which show wear marks indicating chewing on grain or other plant fibers.

That the Trypilian diet consisted largely of plants supports the theory that cattle in these cultures were primarily used to fertilize fields and produce milk rather than for meat production.

“Human bones are a real biological archive,” Dr. Fuchs said.

“The study of Trypilian society and its living conditions in the oldest urban communities in Eastern Europe remains difficult, but our 'Cosembica case' clearly shows that even small bone fragments can be of great help. ”

“By combining new osteological, isotopic, archaeobotanical and archaeological information, we provide excellent insight into the lives, and possibly deaths, of these people.”

Scientists also investigated potential causes of the burns, including fire and unusual forms of burial.

Burnt bone fragments were mainly found in the center of the house, and previous research had assumed that the residents there died in a house fire.

The authors examined the bone fragments microscopically and concluded that the burn probably occurred shortly after death.

In the event of an accidental fire, the researchers suggest that some people could have died from carbon monoxide poisoning even if they had escaped their homes.

According to radiocarbon dating, one of them died in about 19 years. 100 years later. This person's death cannot be related to the fire, but is otherwise unknown.

Two others whose skull injuries have not healed have raised questions about whether violence may have played a similar role.

Examination of Trypilian human bone finds showed researchers that less than 1% of the dead were cremated, and even more rarely buried inside homes.

“Overall, our results point to enormous yet untapped explanatory potential in the rare and poorly preserved bioarchaeological archive of the Cucuteni Trypillia phenomenon,” the scientists concluded.

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K. Fuchs others. 2024. Life and death in the Trypilian period: an interdisciplinary analysis of unique human bones from the Kosenivka settlement, Ukraine (3700-3600 BC). PLoS ONE 19 (12): e0289769;doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289769

Source: www.sci.news

Fresh research illuminates the evolution of lepidosaurs

Posted on December 11, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

New research led by scientists at the University of Bristol shows how lepidosaurs, the most diverse clade of quadrupeds that includes lizards and snakes, evolved an astonishing variety of jaw shapes and He revealed what has brought him extraordinary success.

The rate of evolution of lepidosaur jaw morphology. Image credit: Ballell others., doi: 10.1098/rspb.2024.2052.

Lepidosauria is a clade of lizards, snakes, and tuataras with over 11,000 species, representing the most specialized group of today's tetrapods.

Since their origin over 240 million years ago, lepidosaurs have diversified into countless sizes and body shapes.

Among extant species, body size ranges over three orders of magnitude, typified by body lengths of approximately 1.7 cm. Sphaerodactylus Geckos and giant anacondas that are about 10 meters long.

The extreme size becomes even more dramatic when you consider extinct mosasaurs (up to 17 meters long).

Differences in body shape are reflected in different degrees of body elongation and reductions or modifications of limb elements in multiple lineages, and snake-like body shapes have evolved independently at least 25 times.

Similarly, lepidosaurs exhibit rich diversity in skull composition, shaped by the loss and gain of cranial bones over their evolutionary history and the acquisition of varying types and degrees of cranial motion.

As a result of this morphological diversification, Lepidosaurus conquered diverse ecological niches in most regions of the planet.

In a new study, University of Bristol researcher Antonio Barrel-Mayoral and his colleagues show that the evolution of jaw shape in lepidosaurs was influenced by ecological factors, including phylogeny (evolutionary relatedness) and allometry (scaling of shape with size). They found that it is influenced by a complex interaction of factors that go beyond science.

In terms of jaw shape, the snake was found to be a morphological outlier, exhibiting a unique jaw morphology. This is probably due to the snake's highly flexible skull and extreme mechanism that allows it to swallow prey many times larger than its head.

“Interestingly, we found that jaw shape evolves particularly rapidly in ecologically specialized groups, such as burrowing, aquatic, and herbivorous lizards. This may be due to evolutionary innovations in the lower jaw. “We suggest that this is the key to achieving these unique ecologies,” said Dr. Barrel-Mayoral. Said.

“Our research shows how lizards and snakes have evolved different jaw shapes to adapt to their wide range of ecology, diets and habitats, driving their extraordinary diversity. ”

This study highlights the important role of morphological innovations in promoting diversification in highly biodiverse groups such as lepidosaurs.

“The mandible, an important component of the vertebrate feeding apparatus, has been an important element in vertebrate ecological experimentation and adaptation.”

Looking ahead, the research team plans to further investigate the evolution of lepidosaur heads.

“The lower jaw is important because it works with the muscles that close the jaw to support important functions such as feeding and defense,” Dr. Barrel-Mayoral said.

“We are investigating the relationship between the shape of the skull and the placement of the jaw-closing musculature throughout evolution, and how this influenced the diversification of feeding mechanisms and habits.”

team's work Published today on Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

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antonio barrel others. 2024. Ecological factors in the evolution of jaw morphology in lepidosaurs. Procedure R. Soc. B 291 (2036): 20242052;doi: 10.1098/rspb.2024.2052

Source: www.sci.news

Research Shows Individuals with Increased Emotional Intelligence Have a Greater Propensity to Use Emojis

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

According to a new study, higher emotional intelligence is linked to increased emoji use with friends, while avoidant attachment is linked to decreased emoji use with friends, dates, and romantic partners.

The frequency of emoji usage varies by gender and type of relationship. Image credit: Pete Linforth.

Emoji are characters that depict emotions, objects, animals, etc.

Sending alone or with text via computer or smartphone can create more complex meanings during virtual communication.

Assessing how emoji use varies as a function of communication and interpersonal skills provides insight into who uses emoji and the psychological mechanisms underlying computer-mediated communication.

Despite the widespread use of emojis in our daily social lives, little is known about who uses them, apart from evidence of differences related to gender and personality traits.

To fill this knowledge gap, Dr. Simon Dube of the Kinsey Institute and his colleagues surveyed a sample of 320 adults to determine their emotional intelligence across emoji usage, attachment style, and gender and relationship type.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to process and manage your own and others’ emotions. Attachment style refers to the pattern of how an individual interacts with others in intimate relationships, influenced by early interactions with primary caregivers.

These styles are divided into three main types: anxious, avoidant, and secure attachment.

Both anxious and avoidant attachment styles indicate that a child does not feel secure with their primary caregiver.

In contrast, children with a secure attachment style tend to be enthusiastic when reunited with their caregivers after a short period of separation.

The results revealed that people with higher emotional intelligence and secure attachment may use emojis more frequently.

For women, higher levels of attachment avoidance were associated with lower frequency of sending and receiving emojis with friends, partners, and romantic partners.

For men, higher levels of attachment avoidance were associated with sending fewer emojis to such partners.

Additionally, women used more emojis than men, but this difference was specific to interactions with friends and family.

One limitation of this study is that most of the participants were white, educated, married, English-speaking, heterosexual, living in the United States at the time.

However, the authors say the study opens up new research avenues at the intersection of psychology, computer-mediated communication, and the study of attachment and emotional intelligence.

The researchers state, “How we interact during virtual communication may reveal something more about ourselves.”

“It’s more than just a smiley face or a heart emoji. It’s a way to convey meaning and communicate more effectively, and how you use it can tell us something about you.”

a paper Survey results will be published in a magazine PLoS ONE.

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S. Dube others. 2024. Beyond words: The relationship between emoji use, attachment style, and emotional intelligence. PLoS ONE 19 (12): e0308880;doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308880

Source: www.sci.news