Physicists are Potassium Decay (KDK) Collaboration. They directly observed for the first time a very rare but important decay pathway from potassium-40 to argon-40. Their results have the potential to improve current understanding of physical processes and increase the accuracy of geological dating.
Potassium-40 is a ubiquitous natural isotope whose radioactivity has been used to estimate geological ages over billions of years, to theories of nuclear structure, and to the search for subatomic rare events such as dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay. influence.
The decay of this long-lived isotope must be precisely known for its use as a global clock and to explain its presence in low-background experiments.
Although potassium-40 has several known decay modes, the electron-capture decay predicted directly into the ground state of argon-40 has never been observed before.
“Some of the nuclei of certain elements radioactively decay into the nuclei of other elements. These decays can be helpful or annoying, depending on the situation,” the KDK physicists said. I am.
“This is especially true for potassium-40, an isotope that normally decays to calcium-40, but about 10% of the time it decays to argon-40.”
“This decay pathway involves a process called electron capture, which provides information about the nuclear structure.”
“Potassium-40 has a very long half-life, so it can even determine the age of geological objects on billion-year time scales.”
“Due to its long half-life, it is difficult to find another way for potassium-40 to break down.”
In a new study, researchers measured a rare decay branch of potassium-40 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Holyfield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility.
“Quantifying the decay rate of potassium-40 and its decay branches is difficult because it requires measuring the parent nucleus and a sufficient number of rare progeny nuclei,” the researchers said.
“We studied a subset of potassium-40 that decays to argon-40 by electron capture, which accounts for about 10% of all potassium-40 decays.”
“Although most potassium-40 electron-capture decays emit characteristic gamma rays that form the background of most experiments, a small subset of these decays occur without gamma ray emission.”
“This happens when potassium-40 captures an electron that goes directly to the ground state of argon-40.”
“We have directly measured this decay for the first time. This result indicates that other decay rates may also need to be reevaluated.”
“The rare decay branch we identified and measured provides unique experimental evidence for so-called forbidden beta decay, with implications for predictions of nuclear structure and for potassium-based geological and solar system age estimates. It removes years of uncertainty.”
“This discovery also improves our assessment of the background that exists in experiments that explore new physics beyond the Standard Model.”
The results are published in two papers (paper #1 and paper #2) in the diary physical review letter and diary Physical Review C.
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M. Stukel other. (KDK collaboration). 2024. 40,000 rare collapses with implications for fundamental physics and geochronology. Physics.pastor rhett 131 (5): 052503; doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.052503
L. Harias other. (KDK collaboration). 2024. Evidence of ground state electron capture at 40K. Physics. Rev.C 108 (1): 014327; doi: 10.1103/PhysRevC.108.014327
in paper Published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle PhysicsScientists have considered theoretical and observational cases of “cosmic glitches” in the universe's gravity.
Wen other. Specifically, we develop a model that modifies general relativity on a cosmological scale by introducing a "glitch" in the gravitational constant between the cosmological (superhorizon) and Newtonian (subhorizon) regions. Research. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
For the past 100 years, physicists have relied on Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity to explain how gravity acts throughout the universe.
General relativity, proven accurate by countless experiments and observations, suggests that gravity affects not just the third physical dimension, but also a fourth dimension: time. Masu.
“This gravity model has been essential to everything from theorizing the Big Bang to photographing black holes,” said Robin Wen, a researcher at the California Institute of Technology.
“But when we try to understand gravity at the cosmic scale, beyond galaxy clusters, we run into clear contradictions with the predictions of general relativity.”
“It's as if gravity itself is no longer fully consistent with Einstein's theory.”
“We call this contradiction a 'cosmic glitch.' When dealing with distances of billions of light years, gravity weakens by about 1%.”
For more than 20 years, researchers have been trying to create a mathematical model to explain the apparent contradictions in general relativity.
“Almost a century ago, astronomers discovered that the universe was expanding,” said Professor Nyaesh Afsholdi of the University of Waterloo.
“The further away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving, so much so that it appears to be moving at a speed close to the maximum speed of light allowed by Einstein's theory.”
“Our findings suggest that at precisely that scale, Einstein's theory may also be inadequate.”
The research team's “cosmic glitch” model modifies and extends Einstein's formula in a way that resolves some discrepancies in cosmological measurements without affecting existing successful uses of general relativity. This is what I did.
“Think of this as a footnote to Einstein's theory,” Wen says.
“Once we reach the cosmic scale, terms and conditions apply.”
“This new model may be the first clue to the cosmic puzzles we are beginning to solve across time and space,” Professor Afshodi said.
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Robin Y. Wen other. 2024. Anomalies in the gravity of the universe. JCAP 03:045; doi: 10.1088/1475-7516/2024/03/045
The cicadas that synchronize their emergence with others have a better chance of survival. Scientists believe that the simultaneous emergence of insects is an evolutionary strategy. Predators like birds and raccoons can only consume a limited amount, so the more cicadas emerge together, the higher their chances of survival, reproduction, and passing on their genes. “They have a strategy of safety in numbers,” explains Chris Simon, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut.
On the other hand, rare cicadas that emerge out of sync are often referred to as “strays.” These stragglers are usually preyed upon and struggle to survive. “Natural selection favored those that waited, because those that couldn’t wait were eaten,” Simon said.
This summer, two cicada broods are expected to emerge simultaneously, leading to a particularly large population of periodic cicadas. The last time such an event occurred was in 1803. The organization behind the Cicada Safari app, which aims to track cicada sightings and help scientists study these insects, has already recorded over 1,000 sightings in Georgia and hundreds more in North Carolina and Alabama.
Periodic cicadas are categorized into two groups based on their emergence period: those that appear every 13 years and those that appear every 17 years. While temperature seems to trigger their emergence, the exact mechanism behind how they synchronize their emergence remains somewhat mysterious. Scientists have observed changes in cicadas’ emergence patterns, speculating that rising temperatures due to climate change may be impacting their internal clocks.
Entomologist Gene Kritsky notes that global warming is causing cicadas to emerge earlier in the year due to higher average temperatures. This shift in emergence time has been observed to be approximately 10 days to two weeks earlier than in 1940. Researchers like John Cooley predict that cicadas’ distribution will shift northward as the climate warms and their preferred plant species move north.
There has been an increase in reports of stragglers, intriguing researchers in the field. Simon and her colleagues believe that climate change may be influencing the emergence of cicadas earlier than usual, leading to the formation of new populations among stragglers. This adaptation is seen as a response to a warming climate and extended growing seasons.
Simon proposes a theory that rising temperatures may prolong the development of cicadas underground, resulting in the emergence of more stragglers sooner than expected. Eventually, the population as a whole may adapt and change its timing. She predicts that the 17-year cicada broods may transition to a 13-year cycle and possibly even emerge every nine years.
If proven correct, this theory would be another example of how climate change is disrupting natural rhythms in the environment. Periodic cicadas, harmless to humans, range across the eastern United States to the Midwest and emerge in special events rather than yearly like annual cicadas.
While scientists continue to study how cicadas coordinate their mass emergence, they have yet to discover a precise explanation for their successful synchronization. A recent study suggests that underground communication could be a potential factor worth investigating further. “No one has ever studied this,” Simon said.
Discovered by chance in 2019, Odd radio circles (ORCs) are circular regions of faint radio radiation with bright edges that are not visible to optical, infrared, ultraviolet, and X-ray wavelengths.
Some ORCs contain galaxies at their centers, while others do not, but what sets them apart is their size, which is significantly larger than normal galaxies. Some ORCs display a double ring structure, while others have a single ring. There are also some with internal arc-like structures that might be linked to galaxies surrounded by bubbles of radio emission.
While objects with high spherical symmetry are common in the universe, ORCs appear to be distinct from them all, prompting astronomers to classify them as a new type of object.
ORCs could potentially be a type of spherical shock wave generated by fast radio bursts, gamma-ray bursts, or neutron star mergers. If this is the case, they must be extremely ancient to have grown to such a large size.
Alternatively, they may be associated with material jets emanating from the central regions of radio galaxies, but explaining their size and the absence of central objects in all galaxies is challenging.
One intriguing theory suggests that ORCs are created by the fusion of two supermassive black holes in a central galaxy. The available data also support the idea that the shell is caused by a “shock termination” of high-energy particle winds from the central “starburst” galaxy.
Another hypothesis proposes that the ORC is the throat of a “wormhole,” a theoretical passage through spacetime. However, astronomers have yet to agree on the true nature of ORC.
This article addresses the question (by Bradford’s Brendan Owens): “What are strange radio circles?”
If you have any questions, please email us at:questions@sciencefocus.comor send us a messageFacebook,XorInstagramPage (remember to include your name and location).
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Golden in the form of gold monolayer sheets is prepared by etching away titanium carbide (Ti)3C2. Slabs of titanium gold carbide (Ti)3AuC2.
Golden preparation.Image provided by: Kashiwaya other., doi: 10.1038/s44160-024-00518-4.
“When you make a material extremely thin, something unusual happens, just as it did with graphene. The same thing happens with gold,” said Dr. Shun Kashiwaya, a researcher at Linköping University.
“As you know, gold is normally a metal, but if it's an atomic layer thick, it can become a semiconductor instead.”
To create Goldene, Dr. Kashiwaya and his colleagues used a three-dimensional substrate with gold embedded between layers of titanium and carbon. However, coming up with a golden turned out to be difficult.
“We created the basic material with a completely different application in mind,” said Professor Lars Hartmann from Linköping University.
“We started with a conductive ceramic called titanium silicon carbide, which has a thin layer of silicon.”
“Then the idea was to coat the material with gold to make the contacts. However, when the component was exposed to high temperatures, the silicon layer inside the substrate was replaced by gold.”
This phenomenon is called intercalation, and what the researchers discovered was titanium-gold carbide.
For several years, authors have been using titanium gold carbide without knowing how the gold could be exfoliated or panned out.
They accidentally discovered a method that has been used in Japanese forging for more than 100 years.
This is called Murakami's reagent, and it etches away carbon residues and changes the color of steel, such as in knife making. However, it was not possible to use exactly the same recipe as the blacksmith.
“We tried varying the concentration of Murakami's reagent and the etching time. One day, one week, one month, several months. What we noticed was that the lower the concentration and the longer the etching process, the better. But even that wasn't enough,” Dr. Kashiwaya said.
Etching must also be performed in the dark, as the reaction produces cyanide, which dissolves the gold when exposed to light. This step was to stabilize the gold sheet.
A surfactant was added to prevent the exposed two-dimensional sheet from curling up. In this case, it is a long molecule, a surfactant, that separates and stabilizes the sheets.
“The golden sheets sit in a solution, a bit like cornflakes in milk. We use a sort of 'sieve' to collect the gold and examine it under an electron microscope to see if we were successful.” We have that,” Dr. Kashiwaya said.
“Golden's new properties are due to the fact that gold has two free bonds when it is two-dimensional.”
“Thanks to this, future applications could include carbon dioxide conversion, hydrogen production catalysts, selective production of value-added chemicals, hydrogen production, water purification, communications, etc.”
“Additionally, the amount of gold used in today's applications can be significantly reduced.”
team's work It was published in the magazine natural synthesis.
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Shin Kashiwaya other. Golden synthesis consisting of a single atomic layer of gold. nut.synthesizer, published online March 18, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s44160-024-00518-4
A rogue wave is a single swell that is much higher than nearby waves and can cause damage to ships and coastal infrastructure. Ocean waves are one of the most powerful natural forces on Earth, and they could become even more powerful as global trends suggest ocean winds will blow even stronger with climate change. there is. Scientists at the University of Melbourne have discovered in a new study that rogue waves are generated by strong winds and unpredictable wave patterns, confirming an idea previously only proven in the lab.
Toffoli other.We report direct observations of surface waves from a stereo camera system and simultaneous measurements of wind speed during an expedition across the Southern Ocean during the Antarctic winter aboard a South African icebreaker. SA Agulhas II. Image credit: Alessandro Toffoli.
“Rogue waves are huge, twice as tall as nearby waves, and appear out of nowhere,” said University of Melbourne’s Professor Alessandro Toffoli, lead author of the study.
Using cutting-edge technology and embarking on an expedition to one of the most unstable ocean regions on Earth, Professor Toffoli and colleagues have introduced a new technique for 3D imaging of ocean waves.
Operating a stereo camera on a South African icebreaker SA Agulhas II During their 2017 Antarctic expedition, they captured valuable insights into the behavior of waves in this remote region.
Their method, which mimics human vision through continuous imaging, allowed researchers to reconstruct the wavy ocean surface in three dimensions, providing unprecedented clarity into ocean wave dynamics. Ta.
The first scientific measurement of a rogue wave was the 25.6 m Draupner wave recorded in the North Sea in 1995. Since the beginning of the 21st century, 16 cases of suspected rogue waves have been reported to him.
“Scientists have long theorized that Antarctica’s rough seas and fierce winds can cause large waves to ‘self-amplify’, resulting in rogue wave frequencies. “However, this has not yet been tested underwater,” Professor Toffoli said.
The team’s observations, using numerical and laboratory studies that suggested the role of wind in the formation of rogue waves, provided validation of these theories in a real marine environment.
“Our observations show that unique sea conditions with rough waves occur during the ‘young’ stage of the waves, when they are most susceptible to wind effects. This suggests that wind parameters are the missing link,” Professor Toffoli said.
“Wind creates a chaotic situation where waves of different dimensions and directions coexist.”
“The wind causes young waves to grow higher, longer and faster.”
“During this self-amplification, waves grow disproportionately at the expense of neighboring waves.”
“We show that young waves are showing signs of self-amplification and are likely to be wind-driven.”
“Once every six hours, we recorded waves that were twice as high as nearby waves.”
“This reflects laboratory models. The theory is that sea conditions are more likely to self-amplify, creating more rogue waves.”
“In contrast, no rough waves were detected in mature oceans that are not influenced by winds.”
The authors highlight the critical importance of integrating wind dynamics into predictive models for rough sea prediction.
“This shows that scientists need to take wind into account thoroughly when developing tools to predict rogue waves,” Professor Toffoli said.
of findings It was published in the magazine physical review letter.
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A. Toffoli other. 2024. Observation of the bad waters of the Southern Ocean. Physics.pastor rhett 132 (15): 154101; doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.154101
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecil atricapillus) This small passerine bird from North America, which lives in deciduous and mixed forests, has an extraordinary memory that allows it to remember thousands of food locations to help it survive the winter. Now, scientists Columbia University Zuckerman Institute for Mind, Brain, and Behavior have discovered how Gala is able to remember so many details. They memorize the location of each food item using brain cell activity similar to a barcode.
Chetty other. We propose that animals recall episodic memories by reactivating barcodes in the hippocampus.Image credit: Chetty other., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.032.
“We found that each memory is tagged with a unique pattern of activity in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that stores memories,” said Dr. Dmitry Aronov, senior author of the study.
“We called these patterns 'barcodes' because they are very specific labels for individual memories. For example, the barcodes of two different caches are Even if two caches are next to each other, there is no correlation.
“There are a number of human discoveries that perfectly match the barcode mechanism,” added Dr. Selman Chetty, lead author of the study.
Scientists have known for decades that the brain's hippocampus is necessary for episodic memories, but understanding exactly how those memories are encoded has been much more difficult. was.
Part of the reason is that it's often difficult to know what animals remember at any given time.
To get around this problem in the new study, Dr. Aronoff and colleagues turned to the black-capped chickadee.
Researchers found that chickadees provide a unique opportunity to study episodic memory because they hide food and then have to remember to come back to retrieve it later.
“Each cache is a clear, obvious, easily observable moment in which a new memory is formed,” Dr. Aronoff said.
“By focusing on these special moments, we were able to identify patterns of memory-related activity that we had not noticed before.”
The researchers needed to design an arena that could automatically track the detailed behavior of the gulls as they hide and retrieve food.
They also needed to develop techniques to make large-scale, high-density neural recordings inside the birds' brains as they move freely.
Their brain recordings during caching revealed very sparse and transient barcode-like firing patterns across hippocampal neurons. Each barcode contains only about 7% of the cells in the hippocampus.
“When a bird creates a cache, about 7% of its neurons respond to that cache. When the bird creates another cache, another group of 7% of its neurons responds,” Dr. Aronoff said. Ta.
These neural barcodes occurred simultaneously with the conventional activity of neurons in the brain that are triggered in response to specific locations, aptly called place cells.
Interestingly, however, there were no similarities in the episodic memory barcodes of cache locations close to each other.
“It was widely thought that place cells change when animals form new memories,” Dr. Aronoff says.
“For example, placement cell firings may increase or decrease near the cache location.”
“This was a common hypothesis, but our data did not support it.”
“Place cells do not represent information about caches; rather, they appear to remain relatively stable as the chickadees cache and retrieve food from the environment.”
“Instead, episodic memory is represented by additional activity patterns, or barcodes, that coexist with place cells.”
The authors liken the newly discovered hippocampal barcode to a computer hash code, a pattern that is assigned as a unique identifier to different events.
They suggest that barcode-like patterns may be a mechanism for the rapid formation and storage of many non-interfering memories.
“Perhaps the biggest unanswered question is whether and how the brain uses barcodes to prompt behavior,” Dr. Aronoff said.
“For example, it's not clear whether chickadees activate barcodes and use their memory of food-caching events when deciding where to go next.”
“We plan to address these questions in future studies through more complex settings in the laboratory, recording brain activity while the birds choose which food stores to visit.”
“If you plan on retrieving cached items before you actually retrieve them, that's to be expected,” Dr. Chetty said.
“We wanted to identify the moments when a bird is thinking about a location but haven't gotten there yet, and see if activating the barcode might move the bird to the cache. thinking about.”
“We also want to know whether the barcoding tactics they discovered in chickadees are widely used among other animals, including humans. It might help clarify the core.”
“When you think about how people define themselves, who they think they are, their sense of self, episodic memories of specific events are central to that. That's what we're trying to understand. That is what we are doing.”
a paper The survey results were published in a magazine cell.
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Selman N. Chetty other. Barcoding of episodic memory in the hippocampus of food-storing birds. cell, published online March 29, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.032
Sugarcane is the world's most harvested crop by tonnage and has shaped world history, trade, and geopolitics, now responsible for 80% of the world's sugar production. Traditional sugarcane breeding methods have been effective in producing varieties adapted to new environments and pathogens, but sugar yield improvements have recently plateaued. The cessation of yield increase may be due to limited genetic diversity within the breeding population, long breeding cycles, and the complexity of its genome. Now, an international research team has created a polyploid reference genome for R570, a typical modern sugarcane variety.
Saccharum officinarum. Image credit: Ton Rulkens / CC BY-SA 2.0 Certificate.
However, all modern varieties are derived from several interspecific crosses made by breeders a century ago between “sweet varieties” and “sweet varieties.” Saccharum officinarum And that 'wild' natural sugar.
Sugarcane hybridization has led to major advances in disease resistance and adaptation to stressful environmental conditions. However, early generation hybrids also had much lower sugar yields due to the greater contribution of the wild genome.
The complexity of the hybrid sugarcane genome and phylogeny is R570 varietyproduced by a breeder on Reunion Island in 1980.
“The sugarcane genome is very complex because it is large and contains more copies of chromosomes than a typical plant, a feature called polyploidy,” said researchers at the Hudson Alpha Institute for Bioengineering. said Dr. Jeremy Schmutz and colleagues.
“Sugar cane has about 10 billion base pairs, the building blocks of DNA. By comparison, the human genome has about 3 billion genes.”
“Many parts of sugarcane DNA are identical within and between different chromosomes, which makes it difficult to correctly reconstruct all the small segments of DNA while reconstructing the complete genetic blueprint. Masu.”
“We solved the puzzle by combining multiple gene sequencing technologies, including a newly developed method known as PacBio HiFi sequencing that can precisely sequence longer sections of DNA.”
“This was the most complex genome sequence we have ever completed,” Dr. Schmutz added.
“It shows how far we have come. This is something that seemed impossible 10 years ago. We are now reaching goals that we thought were impossible with plant genomics. We have been able to achieve this.”
CSIRO researcher Dr Karen Aitken said: “This groundbreaking result addresses the critical challenge of stagnant sugar yields by harnessing previously inaccessible genetic information from the sugarcane genome. ” he said.
“This is a major step forward for sugarcane research and will improve our understanding of complex traits such as yield, adaptation to diverse environmental conditions, and disease resistance.”
“We are working to understand how specific genes in plants are related to the quality of the biomass obtained downstream, which can then be turned into biofuels and bioproducts.” said Dr. Blake Simmons, a researcher at the Joint BioEnergy Institute.
“A deeper understanding of sugarcane genetics will help us better understand the plant genotypes required for the production of sugar and bagasse-derived intermediates needed for sustainable sugarcane conversion technologies at scales relevant to the bioeconomy.” and be in control.”
A team of researchers from Fudan University and others has successfully generated the genome. Emperor Wu of China led by Xianbei (Emperor Wu) Northern Zhou Dynasty. The authors determined that Emperor Wu had a typical East Asian or Northeast Asian appearance and was susceptible to certain illnesses, such as stroke.
Reconstruction of the face (left) and portrait (right) of Emperor Wu of China's Northern Zhou Dynasty. Image credit: Du other., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.059.
For more than 2,000 years, Chinese emperors have been accorded symbolic importance and are considered “sons of heaven” endowed with a “heavenly mission” and enjoy what is seen as divinely ordained rule over the nation. was doing.
The title “emperor” first appeared in 221 BC. In Gencalls himself “First Emperor.''
This position continued until the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty abdicated. Aisin Geolo Puyirecorded a total of 2,132 years and 83 feudal dynasties.
Emperor Wu, known as Yuwenyong (543-578 CE), was a highly influential emperor who overthrew the Northern Qi dynasty, reformed the local military system, pacified the Turks, and unified northern China. was.
He was ethnically Xianbei, an ancient nomadic group that lived in what is today Mongolia and northern and northeastern China.
“Some scholars have said that the Xianbei people have an 'exotic' appearance, with thick beards, high noses, and yellow hair,” said Dr. Xiaoqing Wen, a researcher at Fudan University.
“Our analysis shows that Emperor Wu had typical East Asian or Northeast Asian facial features.”
In 1996, archaeologists discovered Emperor Wu's tomb in northwestern China and discovered his bones, including a nearly complete skull.
Thanks to recent advances in ancient DNA research, Dr. Wen and his colleagues have successfully recovered more than 1 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from his DNA, some of which are associated with Emperor Wu's skin and hair color. information was included.
Researchers also succeeded in reconstructing the emperor's face in 3D.
They found that Emperor Wu had brown eyes, black hair, dark to medium skin, and facial features similar to those of modern North Asians and East Asians.
“Our work brought historical figures to life,” said Dr. Pianpian Wei, also from Fudan University.
“Previously, we had to rely on historical records and wall paintings to imagine what ancient peoples looked like.”
“We were able to directly reveal the true nature of the North Korean people.”
“Emperor Wu died at the age of 36, and his son also died young for no apparent reason,” the scientists said.
“Some archaeologists claim that Emperor Wu died of illness, while others claim that he was poisoned by his rivals.”
Analysis of Emperor Wu's DNA revealed that he was at increased risk of stroke.
This finding is consistent with historical records that describe the emperor as having aphasia, droopy eyelids, and an abnormal gait – potential symptoms of a stroke.
Genetic analysis shows that the Xianbei people intermarried with the Han Chinese when they migrated south to northern China.
“This is important information for understanding how ancient humans spread across Eurasia and how they integrated with local peoples,” Dr. Wen said.
of result Published in this week's magazine current biology.
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Panshin Du other. The ancient genome of Emperor Wu of northern China. current biology, published online March 28, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.059
Scientists on board the research vessel atlantis Five new deep-sea hydrothermal vents have been discovered on the ocean floor at a depth of 2,550 meters (1.6 miles). All exhaust fluids are hotter than 300 degrees Celsius (570 degrees Fahrenheit).
vehicle carried by humans alvin Arrived at the ocean floor. Image credits: J. McDermott, Lehigh University / T. Barreyre, CNRS / R. Parnell-Turner, Scripps Institution of Oceanography / D. Fornari, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution / National Deep Diving Facility / Alvin Group.
Hydrothermal vents are rich in chemicals that provide energy for animal life, fueling rich and productive ecosystems.
The location of the new hydrothermal vent was discovered by a team of scientists during a research expedition funded by the National Science Foundation.
They are located on the East Pacific Ridge near 10 degrees north latitude and are part of the trans-Earth mid-ocean ridge volcanic mountains, where two tectonic plates are breaking apart at a rate of about 11 cm (4.3 inches) per year.
Expedition researchers used underwater robots to map the area at night guard.
rear guard Retrieved each morning, high-resolution maps from the vehicle’s sensors were used to plan the day’s dives by the manned vehicle. alvinThis gives scientists a first-hand look at the complex and ever-changing environments of places like the East Pacific Rise.
“High-resolution maps are guard There is a possibility that new hydrothermal areas will be discovered soon guard will be back on deck,” said Dr. Jill McDermott, a researcher at Lehigh University.
“This gives us great goals such as: alvin And the opportunity to make multiple discoveries in one dive.”
scientists infiltrate alvin He first discovered a hydrothermal vent in 1977 while exploring an oceanic ridge north of the Galapagos Islands.
The discovery has reshaped scientists’ understanding of the conditions that can support life on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system.
“Mid-ocean ridges account for more than 75% of all volcanic activity on Earth,” said CNRS researcher Dr. Thibault Valley.
“There are thousands of these deep-sea hot springs, which together extract 10 percent of the Earth’s total internal heat.”
“We want to better understand how hydrothermal vents release heat and chemicals as they flow beneath the ocean floor, impacting global oceans.”
“new guard “Using the map, we can see vital details of lava flows erupting in the deep ocean and target them for rock sample collection, just as geologists do on land.” said Dr. Daniel Fornari, a researcher at the institute.
“These new perspectives and analysis of rock samples will help us understand how fast the lava erupted, how far it traveled, and how deep-sea lava eruptions affect hydrothermal eruptions. I guess.”
“By working together these two state-of-the-art deep-sea submersibles, we will make surprising new discoveries about how the deep sea floor is constructed in some of the harshest environments on Earth. Yes, we can,” said Dr. Ross Parnell Turner., a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Pears belong to the following Pyrusfamily genus Rosaceae Consists of cultivated and wild pears.
The genus is divided into two broad categories: European pear and Asian pear, whose divergence is estimated to be approximately 3 to 6 million years ago.
at least 26 Pyrus Currently, 10 naturally occurring interspecific hybrids of these species have been found in West Asia, East Asia, Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
In 2021, the value of utilized pear production in the United States reached $353 million. This makes the pear one of the most cultivated pear fruits around the world.
One of the most important pear varieties in North America, Anjou, also known as Beurre d'Anjou or simply Anjou, is believed to have originated in Belgium and was named after the Anjou region of France.
“Pears are big business in the Pacific Northwest,” said lead author Dr. Alex Harkes, a researcher at the Hudson Alpha Institute for Bioengineering, and colleagues.
“But did you know that traditional pear breeding has changed little over the centuries?”
“This slow process is difficult and expensive, requiring long-term inputs of labor, materials, and land and spatial resources.”
“But thanks to a unique collaboration between students, scientists, and the pear industry fostered through an initiative called American Campus Tree Genomes (ACTG), traditional pear breeding is getting a helping hand from genomics. There is a possibility.”
“ACTG is leveraging iconic and economically valuable trees to bridge the gap between students and cutting-edge genomics.”
“Students work together to collect and analyze tree genomes, publish in prestigious academic journals, and gain valuable experience.”
The meticulous work of ACTG students has resulted in a complete chromosome-scale step-by-step assembly of the D'Anjou pear. This is a significant improvement over previous efforts.
This assembly revealed thousands of genomic variations that are of great importance to pear breeding efforts.
This high-quality resource unlocks a treasure trove of information for pear breeders.
This assembly is also an important tool for studies of pear evolution, domestication, and molecular breeding.
“The ACTG program not only built a high-quality genomic resource for a valuable pear variety that will ultimately benefit growers and consumers alike, but also trained nearly 20 students on the needs of the apple and pear industry. and educated scientists,” said Dr. Inez Hanrahan. , executive director of the Washington Tree and Fruit Research Committee.
team's paper It was published in the magazine G3: Genes, genomes, genetics.
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Alan Yocca other. 2024. Chromosome-scale assembly of pear 'Danjou'. G3: Genes, genomes, genetics 14(3):jkae003; doi: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae003
Global sea surface temperatures have been breaking records every day for the past 12 months, causing concern among marine scientists.
Senior research scientist Brian McNoldy from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School expressed worry about the unprecedented margins by which the records are being broken. He mentioned that the current average sea surface temperatures are approximately 1.25 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than they were from 1982 to 2011, as per the University of Maine’s climate reanalyzer, which could have significant impacts on the climate and ecosystem.
While human-induced climate change is considered a contributing factor, there are likely other natural climate processes at play as well. The rise in sea surface temperatures has puzzled scientists as they are unsure of the exact reasons behind it.
The warming ocean temperatures could lead to coral bleaching, stronger hurricanes, warmer coastal temperatures, and more extreme precipitation. Researchers have observed these effects in 2023, and they fear that if the trend continues, it could have severe consequences.
Some potential factors influencing the rise in sea surface temperatures include weakening trade winds in the North Atlantic and changes in shipping regulations limiting sulfur pollution, amongst others. Researchers are trying to understand the complex interplay of these factors leading to such unprecedented temperature increases.
The warmer ocean temperatures could fuel more powerful storms and hurricanes, putting coastal areas at risk. The Atlantic Ocean and the Horn of Africa, known for producing hurricanes hitting the East Coast of the United States, are experiencing significant anomalies in sea surface temperatures.
Overall, the rising sea surface temperatures pose a serious threat to marine ecosystems and climate stability. Scientists are working to unravel the mystery behind this phenomenon to better predict and mitigate its impacts.
The newly discovered volcano, tentatively designated Noctis Mons, is located in the eastern part of Mars, just south of the equator. noctis labyrinthwest of Valles Marineris, the planet's vast canyon system.
Noctis Mons. Image credit: NASA / USGS / Lee other.
Mount Noctis reaches an altitude of 9,022 m (29,600 ft) and is 450 km (280 miles) wide.
Its enormous size and complex modification history indicate that it has been active for a very long time.
To its southeast are thin recent volcanic deposits, beneath which glaciers may still exist.
The combined potential of this giant volcanic and glacial ice discovery is an exciting prospect for studying Mars' geological evolution over time, searching for life, and exploring it in the future using robots and humans. important because it marks a new location.
“While investigating the geology of the area where glacier debris was discovered last year, we found ourselves inside a huge, deeply eroded volcano,” said the SETI Institute and Mars Planetary Scientists. Dr. Pascal Lee said. Laboratory based at NASA Ames Research Center.
Taken together, several clues reveal the volcanic nature of this eastern portion of the Noctis Labyrinth, a jumble of layered mesas and canyons.
The central summit area is characterized by several raised mesas forming an arc, reaching the highest regional heights and descending away from the summit area.
The outer, gentle slopes extend 225 km (140 miles) away in various directions.
The remains of a caldera, a collapsed volcanic crater that once contained a lava lake, can be seen near the center of the structure.
Lava flows, pyroclastic flow deposits (consisting of volcanic particulate material such as ash, cinders, pumice, and tephra), and hydrated mineral deposits occur in several areas around the structure.
“This region of Mars is known to contain a wide variety of hydrated minerals spanning Mars' long history,” says Saurabh Shubham, a graduate student at the University of Maryland.
“These minerals have long been suspected of being in a volcanic environment. So finding a volcano here may not be all that surprising.”
“In a way, this big volcano is the clincher that has been long awaited.”
Topographic map of Noctis Mons. Image credit: Lee other.
In addition to the volcano, the authors found 5,000 km2 (1930 square miles) of volcanic deposits surrounding the volcano, including numerous low, round, elongated, blister-like hills.
This blistered landform is formed by an area of rootless cone, i.e., when a thin blanket of hot volcanic material comes to rest on a water- or ice-rich surface, caused by explosive steam ejection or steam expansion. It is interpreted as a generated hill.
Mount Noctis has a long and complex history of modification, likely through a combination of destruction, thermal erosion, and glacial erosion.
“In fact, it's the combination of factors that makes the Noctis volcanic site so exciting,” Dr. Lee said.
“This volcano is an ancient, long-lived volcano, and it's so deeply eroded that it's hard to hike, drive through, or fly to examine different parts of the volcano's interior, take samples, and date it. “We can study the evolution of Mars over time.”
“It also has a long history of heat interacting with water and ice, making it a prime location for astrobiology and the search for signs of life.”
“Finally, glaciers are likely still preserved near the surface in Mars' relatively warm equatorial regions, making this site a very attractive location for robotic and human exploration.”
Pascal Lee other. Massive eroded volcanic complex and buried glacial ice in the eastern Noctis Labyrinth: evidence of recent volcanic activity and glaciation near the Martian equator. LPSC 2024Abstract #2745
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will be launched in October 2024 and will carry a triangular metal plate with a special message written on it as it heads towards Jupiter’s moon Europa.
This side of a commemorative plaque on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft features the handwriting of U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón. Mystery Praise: Poem to Europa. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Measuring approximately 18 x 28 cm (7 x 11 inches), the Europa Clipper’s metal plate, made from tantalum metal, features graphic elements on both sides.
At its center is a handwritten engraving of U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limon. Mystery Praise: Poem to Europaalong with a silicon microchip stenciled with the names of more than 2.6 million people submitted by the public.
A microchip will be the centerpiece of an illustration of a bottle inside the Jupiter system, a reference to NASA’s Message in a Bottle campaign.
The outward-facing panels feature art that emphasizes Europe’s connection to the Earth.
Linguists gathered Recording of the word “water” It is spoken in 103 languages from language families around the world.
The audio file was converted into a waveform (a visual representation of a sound wave) and etched into the plate.
The waveform radiates from the symbol for “water” in American Sign Language.
Based on the spirit of Voyager spacecraft golden recordconveys sounds and images that convey the richness and diversity of life on Earth, while Europa Clipper’s multi-layered message aims to stimulate the imagination and provide a unifying vision.
“The content and design of the European Clipper vault plate is imbued with meaning,” said Dr. Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters.
“This plate combines the best of what humanity has to offer to the entire universe: science, technology, education, art and mathematics.”
“The message of connection through water, which is essential to all forms of life as we know it, perfectly illustrates the connection between Earth and this mysterious ocean world that we seek to explore.”
In 2030, after a 2.6 billion km (1.6 billion mile) journey, Europa Clipper will begin orbiting Jupiter and make 49 close-bys to Europa.
To determine whether conditions are conducive to life, the spacecraft’s powerful suite of scientific instruments will collect data about the moon’s subsurface ocean, icy crust, thin atmosphere, and space environment.
The electronics of these devices are stored in giant metal vaults designed to protect them from Jupiter’s harsh radiation. A commemorative plate seals off the vault opening.
Because the mission is to find habitable conditions, drake equation It is also etched on the inside of the plate.
Astronomer Frank Drake developed a mathematical formulation in 1961 to estimate the possibility of advanced civilizations existing beyond Earth.
This equation has continued to inspire and guide research in astrobiology and related fields ever since.
In addition, the artwork on the inside of the plate includes references to radio frequencies that could be used for interstellar communications, symbolizing how humans use this radio band to listen to messages from space. Masu.
These particular frequencies correspond to radio waves emitted into space by water components and are known to astronomers as the “water hole.” On the plate, they are depicted as radio emission lines.
Finally, this plate includes a portrait of Ron Greeley, one of the founders of planetary science. Ron Greeley worked on the early efforts to develop the Europa mission 20 years ago, laying the foundation for the Europa Clipper.
“A lot of thought and inspiration went into the design of this plate, as did the mission itself,” said Robert Pappalardo, project scientist for Europa Clipper and a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. says.
“It’s been a long journey over many decades, and I can’t wait to see what the European Clipper has to show us in this world of water.”
Our world is dominated by single-celled microorganisms that can survive in extreme and strange places. These habitats include the human body, where about one microorganism lives in every human cell. Many of these microorganisms are harmless or even good for our health, but some can cause us severe illness. To make matters worse, many dangerous microorganisms Pathogen, can be transmitted from person to person. This infection can introduce pathogens and pose a serious problem for hospitals that attract large numbers of sick people.
In the mid-1840s, a Viennese doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis realized that simply washing your hands could reduce the spread of disease. This was the beginning of our understanding of disinfection in hospitals. Since then, scientists and doctors have learned to use a variety of chemicals to kill pathogens and keep patients safe. One of the most powerful disinfecting chemicals is sodium hypochlorite, also known as bleach. This chemical kills microorganisms by destroying the outside of the cell and changing its internal chemistry. Bleach is so effective that doctors have been using it as a hospital disinfectant for nearly 200 years. But even though it is highly lethal, it does not kill all microorganisms.
To investigate how some microorganisms survive bleach treatment, a team of scientists from the University of Plymouth in the UK studied a pathogen called clostridioides difficile. This microorganism causes diarrhea and is notoriously difficult to kill. clostridioides difficile It produces durable minicells called spore. Transmission can occur between patients through contact. These spores are in a kind of hibernation state. clostridioides difficile Comes with a durable outer shield. The spores wait quietly until they reach the human colon, where they awaken and cause disease. These spores are very difficult to kill, so scientists wanted to know how effective normal hospital disinfection protocols were against them.
Scientists first grew clostridioides difficile Spores were collected in the laboratory. They tried to kill these spores using regular strength, 5x strength, and 10x strength bleach. They treated the spores with different bleach mixtures for 10 minutes to see how many survived. Even if you use a bleach that is 10 times stronger than normal strength hospital bleach, clostridioides difficile The spores died after treatment.
Next, the scientists wanted to know how well the spores were transported within the hospital on patient and surgical gowns. They lightly sprayed a sample of 10 million spores onto a fabric gown and treated it with three different strengths of bleach. The scientists then dabbed the fabric gown onto the agar plate they used for the culture. clostridioides difficile They then counted how many spores survived and grew. Again, only 10% of the spores were killed by this treatment.
Finally, the scientists wanted to see if the bleach treatment was affecting the spore’s outer shield. Spores are only 1 micrometer long, or about 1/25,000th of an inch. These spores are too small to be seen with the naked eye, so scientists used a special electron microscope to see them clearly. This microscope uses a high-power beam of electron particles to provide much better resolution than standard optical microscopes. The researchers used the device to compare the shape of spores before and after bleaching. Scientists reasoned that because the pathogen survived the bleaching process, the outer surface of the spores was probably unaffected. This is exactly what they saw in the microscopic images. Treated and untreated spores looked exactly like each other and showed no signs of degradation due to bleach.
Scientists concluded that clostridiodes difficile It utilizes a durable spore form to withstand bleach disinfection.Stopping the spread of infectious diseases is extremely difficult. The researchers suggested that doctors combat these spores by using different fabrics in hospital and surgical gowns to prevent the spores from sticking to them. Doctors also urged caution in disinfection methods. Finally, they suggested that future researchers focus on new ways to destroy these spores and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. clostridiodes difficile.
A new breakthrough in medical research could lead to personalized therapy for babies in the womb. Scientists have successfully grown small organs, known as organoids, from fetuses for the first time. This allows for monitoring the health of the fetus by cloning its organs.
Organoids are complex 3D models of organs made from human cells, retaining the DNA of the original cells, in this case, amniotic fluid cells. These organoids mimic human tissue and provide a more detailed view of any malformations compared to traditional imaging techniques like MRI or ultrasound.
Developed by researchers at UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), this new technology enables a functional assessment of a baby’s congenital condition before birth. This groundbreaking method does not involve access to fetal tissue and is a significant advancement in prenatal diagnosis.
Lead author Dr. Mattia Gerli highlights the potential of organoids to revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry and clinics, particularly in fetal development. The study focuses on utilizing amniotic fluid cells to create organoids for prenatal medicine.
Growth process of mini organs
The process involves extracting cells from amniotic fluid, identifying tissue-specific stem cells, and culturing them to form organoids such as lungs, intestines, and kidneys. These organoids show similar functions and gene expressions to the corresponding organs.
In a study comparing organoids from infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia to healthy infants, researchers found that treatments could be monitored at the cellular level. This breakthrough enables more information for parents during early pregnancy and expands research in fetal development beyond legal limitations.
Gerli emphasizes the potential of organoids in studying human development and advancing prenatal medicine. This innovation opens up a new field of research that was previously limited due to legal restrictions on fetal sampling.
The future of personalized therapy for babies in the womb looks promising with the use of organoids in medical research and fetal diagnosis.
The ruler of the seas may appear black and white, but it’s not as simple as it seems. For years, great white sharks have been considered apex predators, but shocking new footage shows them feeding on their own kind. This is an event unlike anything we’ve seen before.
A video captured by tourists and scientists on a boat off the coast of Mossel Bay, South Africa was vital for scientific observations published in a recent study in the African Marine Science Journal. The footage revealed an unprecedented behavior of killer whales, showcasing their extraordinary abilities, according to the paper’s corresponding author, Dr. Alison Towner.
Witnesses on the boat watched as a juvenile great white shark, measuring 2.5 meters (8.2 feet), was attacked by a killer whale known as Starboard. The whale swiftly caught the shark by its left fin, thrusted it several times, and disemboweled it, likely targeting the shark’s liver for its rich nutrients. The entire attack lasted only two minutes, and the killer whale then revealed the shark’s entrails to the onlooking boats.
Subsequent research uncovered a second great white shark carcass nearby, measuring 3.6 meters (11.6 feet) in length.
In a previous study conducted in 2022, researchers found that killer whales can hunt great white sharks in pairs. By combining intelligence and strength, these whales can effectively surround and attack their prey. However, this recent attack marks the first time a killer whale has been observed hunting a great white shark alone.
This discovery not only enhances our understanding of killer whale behavior and marine ecosystems but also raises concerns among ecosystem scientists. There’s worry that if killer whales continue to prey on great whites, it could disrupt the food chain, allowing other predators to rise and challenge the great white sharks as the apex predators.
“Upon arriving at Seal Island in Mossel Bay, the smell of shark liver oil and an oil slick indicated a recent kill,” said a passenger on the boat named Esther Jacobs from the marine conservation initiative Keep Fin Alive.
“Seeing the fin of a great white shark break the water’s surface initially sparked excitement, but as the killer whale rapidly approached, it turned into a grim reality. The moment of predation was both devastating and incredibly powerful.”
The newly described plant Relictithismia kimotsukiensis is only above ground for a few days a year.
Shuichiro Tagane
This small plant, which feeds mainly on fungi and has no pigments, was named as the first new genus of plant in Japan since 1930.
It was discovered in June 2022 by an amateur botanist in Kyushu’s Kimogen Mountains, but it has taken some time to confirm its uniqueness. So far, researchers have found only five individuals in a single location, and estimate that the total population may reach as few as 50.
This plant grows up to 3 cm in height and 2 cm in width and emerges from the ground in just one week each year. It belongs to a group of plants known as fairy lanterns, which gives it its scientific name. Relictithismia kimotsukiensis.
Unlike most other plants, fairy lanterns do not produce the green pigment chlorophyll needed for photosynthesis. Instead, they get their energy from fungi. “This adaptation gives them an alien-looking appearance when compared to more familiar photosynthetic plants,” he says. Kenji Suetsugu from Kobe University in Japan, and was one of the scientists who described the new species.
“The unique appearance of this new plant species certainly evokes images of squid or extraterrestrial life forms, making it a truly unusual and fascinating addition to the plant world.”
Mr. Suetsugu proposed a Japanese name for this plant. Mujina’s tabletranslated as “raccoon candlestick.”
After Suetsugu first learned about the existence of the plant, it took nearly a year for him to realize that the plant was growing there. It was a moment of “joy and relief,” he says. Because he feared it might take 10 years to collect the specimens he needed to adequately describe it.
He hopes the Japanese government will protect the plant as an endangered species and take steps to protect its population because of its proximity to roads.
“[The discovery] This challenges the notion that new species can only be found in remote or unexplored areas, and suggests that even well-studied areas may hold undiscovered botanical treasures.” says Mr. Suetsugu.
Some of the gas erupts from the supermassive black hole located at the center of galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414 (abbreviated SDSS J1531) until it reaches a temperature high enough to form numerous star clusters. Cooled down.
Multi-wavelength image of the massive galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414.Image credits: NASA / CXC / SAO / Omorui other. / STScI / Tremblay other. / Astron / Loafers / NASA / CXC / SAO / N. Walk.
SDSS J1531 is a huge galaxy cluster containing hundreds of individual galaxies and a huge reservoir of hot gas and dark matter.
At the center of SDSS J1531, two of the cluster's largest galaxies collide with each other.
Surrounding these merging giants are 19 large star clusters called superclusters, arranged in an “S” shape similar to beads on a string.
Dr. Osase Omoruyi and colleagues at Harvard University and the Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics are using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the LOFAR radio network, and other telescopes to discover how this chain of unusual star clusters formed. I found out what happened.
The discovery of evidence of an ancient mega-eruption in SDSS J1531 provided important clues.
The eruption may have occurred when a supermassive black hole at the center of one of the large galaxies produced a very powerful jet.
As the jet traveled through space, it pulled surrounding hot gas away from the black hole, creating a huge cavity.
“We're already observing this system as it existed 4 billion years ago, when the Earth was just forming,” Omoruyi said.
“This ancient cavity is a fossil of the black hole's influence on its host galaxy and its surroundings, and tells us about important events that occurred almost 200 million years ago in the history of this star cluster.”
Evidence for the cavity comes from bright X-ray emission “wings” seen on Chandra that track dense gas near the center of SDSS J1531.
These wings form the edges of the cavity, and the less dense gas between them is part of the cavity.
LOFAR shows radio waves from the remains of the jet's energetic particles filling a huge cavity.
Taken together, these data provide convincing evidence for an ancient great explosion.
Astronomers also discovered cold and warm gas near the cavity's opening, detected by the Atacama Large Millimeter and Submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Gemini North Telescope, respectively.
They argue that some of the hot gas pushed out of the black hole eventually cooled down to cold, warm gas.
They believe that the tidal effects of the two galaxies merging compressed the gas along a curved path, forming the star cluster in a “string-bead” pattern.
“We reconstructed the sequence of events that may have occurred within this cluster over a wide range of distances and times,” said Dr. Grant Tremblay, also of Harvard University and the Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
“It started when a black hole, just one light-year in diameter, formed a cavity about 500,000 light-years wide.”
“This single event triggered the formation of young star clusters almost 200 million years later, each several thousand light-years in diameter.”
Although the authors only looked at the radio waves and cavity from one jet, black holes typically fire two jets in opposite directions.
They also observed radio emissions further out from the galaxy that could be the remains of a second jet, but it was unrelated to the detected cavity.
They speculate that radio and X-ray signals from other eruptions may have diminished to the point where they could no longer be detected.
“We believe the evidence for this large-scale eruption is strong, but further observations from Chandra and LOFAR will confirm the case,” Dr. Omoruyi said.
“We hope to learn more about the origins of the cavities we have already detected and find the cavities we expect to find on the other side of the black hole.”
Omase Omorui other. 2024. A “string bead” star formation associated with one of the most powerful she-AGN outbursts observed in the Cool Core Galaxy Cluster. APJ, in press. arXiv: 2312.06762
Archaeologists have discovered traces of an ancient ocher-based multicomponent adhesive in 40,000-year-old stone tools unearthed in Le Moustiers, France.
Photographs, drawings and details of stone tools from Le Moustiers, France. Image credit: D. Greinert / Schmidt other., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adl0822.
“These surprisingly well-preserved tools show technical solutions that are broadly similar to examples of tools made by early modern humans in Africa, but the exact recipes reflect a Neanderthal 'spin.' “This is the manufacture of hand tool grips,” he said. Radu Iovita, researcher at New York University's Center for Human Origins Research.
In the study, Dr. Iovita and colleagues examined stone tools with traces of red and yellow colorants excavated from the French ruins of Le Moustiers, discovered in the early 20th century.
These stone tools were made by Neanderthals during the Middle Paleolithic period, between 120,000 and 40,000 years ago.
They are kept in the collection of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Berlin, but have not been studied in detail until now.
“The products had been individually wrapped and left untouched since the 1960s. As a result, the remains of attached organic matter were very well preserved,” says Eva, a researcher at the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Berlin. Dr. Dutkiewicz said.
Researchers found traces of ocher and asphalt mixtures on some Mousterian stone tools, such as scrapers, flakes, and blades.
Ocher is a naturally occurring earth pigment. Bitumen is a component of asphalt and can be produced from crude oil, but it also occurs naturally in soil.
“I was surprised to find that it contained more than 50% ocher. This is because air-dried asphalt can be used directly as an adhesive, but adding so much ocher would cause it to lose its adhesive properties. '' said Dr. Patrick Schmidt, a researcher at the University of Tübingen.
Scientists tested these materials in tensile tests and other measurements used to determine strength.
“The situation was different when we used liquid bitumen, which is not very suitable for bonding. When you add 55% ocher, a malleable mass forms,” said Dr. Schmidt.
It was sticky enough to pierce stone tools, and did not stick to hands, making it ideal as a material for handles.
In fact, microscopic examination of the signs of wear from use on these stone tools revealed that the adhesive on Le Moustier's stone tools had been used in this way.
“The tool showed two types of micro-wear: one is the typical grinding of sharp edges, which is usually caused by machining other materials,” says Dr. Iovita.
“Secondly, there was a bright polish distributed all over what appeared to be the hand grip, but not anywhere else. We interpreted it to be the result of wear and tear.”
The use of adhesives containing several ingredients, including various sticky substances such as tree resins and ocher, was known from early Homo sapiens in Africa, but not since early Neanderthals in Europe. It wasn't known.
Overall, the development of adhesives and their use in tool manufacturing is considered to be some of the best physical evidence of early human cultural evolution and cognitive abilities.
“Composite glue is thought to be one of the first expressions of modern cognitive processes that are still active today,” said Dr. Schmidt.
In the Le Moustiers area, ocher and asphalt had to be collected from remote locations, which required a great deal of effort, planning and a targeted approach.
“Given the overall circumstances of the find, we believe that this sticky material was created by Neanderthals,” Dr. Dutkiewicz said.
“Our research shows that early homo sapiens “African Neanderthals and European Neanderthals had similar thought patterns,” Dr. Schmidt said.
“Their adhesion techniques have the same importance for understanding human evolution.”
Regarding this research, paper Published in today's magazine scientific progress.
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Patrick Schmidt other. 2024. Ocher-based composite adhesives used in Mousterian typesetting have recorded mixed recognition and significant investment. scientific progress 10(8); doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adl0822
There are billions of coffee lovers around the world. Whether it’s the comforting routine of brewing a cup at home or the need for a coffee shop next to the office, it has permeated our daily lives.
However, something as popular as coffee is fraught with mysteries. It’s a mix of facts, myths, and general rules of thumb that leaves some ambiguity as to what is actually the right way to do things.
How should I store coffee? Are you brewing correctly? Is decaf coffee completely decaffeinated? We spoke to Dr. Christopher Hendon, a computational materials scientist, who answers your most pressing questions about your cup of joe.
1. Pre-ground coffee and instant coffee actually have different levels of caffeine
Realistically, one of the best things you can do to make coffee at home is to grind your own beans. However, this is time consuming and can be quite expensive depending on the equipment.
If you opt for pre-ground coffee from the supermarket instead, will you succumb to the caffeine surge, or will it be exactly the same?
“No appreciable amount of caffeine is lost in the grinding process. However, pre-ground coffee sold in supermarkets typically contains less Robusta than Arabica,” says Hendon. According to him, the two main types of coffee beans used in commercial coffee production are Robusta and Arabica. Arabica beans are low in caffeine.
“But the problem with this is that it’s hard to know exactly what’s in a coffee blend. Since they don’t usually say it on the label, supermarket coffee is the best choice, following your own preferences. .”
Instant coffee is a different story. Depending on the processing method, it’s quite low in caffeine (often less than half) than any form of coffee powder.
2. Coffee should not be stored in the refrigerator
What is the meaning of life? Is free will an illusion? Should coffee be stored in the refrigerator? A question that philosophers have been asking for decades…perhaps. We don’t have an answer for the first two of his, but we can address the third.
and attempt is the keyword here, but it’s surprisingly difficult to understand. The question of where to store your coffee is hotly debated and there are many caveats, so let’s get straight to the point.
The main problem with storing coffee in the refrigerator or freezer is moisture. Coffee grounds should be kept dry, but the refrigerator isn’t necessarily the driest place. Therefore, if you store coffee in the refrigerator, it should be stored in an airtight container to avoid moisture.
“Coffee is primarily a kind of nasal sensory experience. When you take a sip, a lot of the flavor comes from the tongue and the back of your nose. The molecules that give you that experience are very volatile and easily evaporate. Coffee “loses those molecules over time if you keep it outside, and higher temperatures accelerate that process,” Hendon says.
There are a few things to note here. First, this only applies to people who are concerned about optimal flavor, and probably only high-quality beans that they plan to grind at home.
Next, you need to store your coffee at a low enough temperature to make a difference. In other words, your refrigerator isn’t cold enough to store your coffee. A freezer is required to achieve this result.
So, is it worth it? In addition to the aforementioned benefits, freezing coffee beans allows for a coarser grind than room temperature coffee, allowing you to grind the coffee in a more uniform manner.
It’s worth mentioning that these are somewhat minor details and not all experts agree on this. What most people advise is to store your coffee in a cupboard or somewhere at room temperature. As with most things when it comes to coffee, it’s all about experimenting to get the best results.
3. Cold beer doesn’t contain a lot of caffeine.
The cold brew is popular as it is perfect for coffee on a summer day. It’s often said that cold brew has a much higher caffeine content than regular hot coffee, but is that actually true?
“Hot coffee contains about twice as much caffeine. The reason is that temperature limits the amount of caffeine that can be extracted at lower temperatures. The higher you go, the more You can get out of it,” Hendon says.
A man pours milk into a glass of cold brew coffee – Credit: RyanJLane
“It’s not that it doesn’t have a lot of caffeine, but it’s not because of the brewing method. It’s because when you make cold brew concentrate, the ratio of coffee to water is very high.”
Concentrated cold brew beer is rarely offered. Usually diluted with water or mixed with milk, the average cold brew has less caffeine than a hot drink.
4. Coffee cannot be burned
A common complaint about coffee is that it’s “burnt.” This could be from a coffee shop or a cup made at home. So, is this taste caused by boiling the coffee in too hot water?
Once the coffee is roasted, it is dropped into a heated drum and over time the coffee begins to cook, turning yellow and then brown. If you simmer it for too long, it will eventually turn black.
This black bean is a dark roasted coffee. To reach this point, the beans must be cooked to about 220°C. This is a temperature well above the boiling point of the water used to make coffee.
“When you brew coffee, you can never bring that coffee back to the temperature it reached when roasting, so it’s impossible to burn the coffee during the brewing process,” says Hendon.
“However, the coffee comes out of the roaster, and burnt-tasting molecules may already be in the coffee. Depending on how you brew it, you can enjoy these flavors and Some coffee shops prefer these flavors and they are popular among many people.”
If you often drink coffee with a burnt flavor, but that’s not the flavor you like, a lighter roast will make it less likely to feature that flavor.
5. Decaf does not mean caffeine free
Just like non-alcoholic beer, decaffeinated coffee is still coffee, and it will contain small samples of caffeine, one of coffee’s main components. But is it a tangible amount?
“Depending on how the coffee is processed, the decaffeination process is in principle very close to 100% removal of caffeine. However, all the samples we have tested to date still contain some amount of caffeine. volume,” says Hendon.
In other words, coffee may contain some caffeine, but not enough to be noticeable or to affect the person drinking it.
6. Light and dark roast coffee have similar caffeine levels
When you browse the coffee aisle at the supermarket or scan the menu at your local coffee shop, you probably want to consider light or dark roast options.
Which is best for the most intense caffeine? Some say dark roast is better here, but it doesn’t really matter.
“scientific literature This suggests that even if there are variations between crops and beans, all of them will come out if washed. There’s not much of a difference here,” says Hendon.
“There seems to be variation in caffeine depending on roast profile and region, but it’s certainly not consistent enough to be noticeable.”
The only difference from roast is the flavor. Lighter roasts are often more delicate, but more complex. However, darker roasts are often said to have simpler tones and “deeper” flavors. This can taste like the more bitter of the two.
7. Coffee taste greatly Depends on the bean
Coffee has a very personal taste, and not everyone likes the same taste. There’s intense flavor, fruity-tasting beans, good old fashioned black coffee, and of course the infamous Frappuccino…but what exactly is the best coffee, scientifically speaking?
“Coffee associations around the world have score sheets to identify high-quality coffee. Two of the most important parameters are perceived acidity and sweetness,” says Hendon.
“In fact, the ones that tend to score very high each year are Colombian-Panamanian and Ethiopian, which taste like a bouquet of sour flowers. These tend to fetch the highest prices and average It’s completely different from high-end coffee.”
Scientists from Aalto University have proposed a three-dimensional metamaterial with isotropic effects in the visible spectral range.
The new metamaterial is formed by randomly oriented bimaterial nanocylinders in the host medium. Image credit: Ihar Faniayeu / Aalto University.
Unlike natural materials, metamaterials and metasurfaces can be tailored to have specific electromagnetic properties. This means scientists can create materials with desirable functionality for industrial applications.
A newly proposed metamaterial takes advantage of nonreciprocal magnetoelectric (NME) effects.
“The NME effect implies a link between specific properties of materials (magnetization and polarization) and various field components of light and other electromagnetic waves,” lead author Shadi Safaei Jaji et al. said.
Although this effect is negligible in natural materials, scientists are looking to enhance it using metamaterials and metasurfaces because of the technological possibilities it unlocks.
“So far, the NME effect has not translated into practical industrial applications,” Jazio said.
“Most of the proposed approaches only work for microwaves, not visible light, and could not be manufactured with available technology.”
“We used conventional materials and nanofabrication techniques to design an optical NME metamaterial that can be created with existing technology.”
This new material enables applications that previously required strong external magnetic fields. For example, creating a truly one-way glass.
“Glass currently sold as 'one-way' is translucent and transmits light in both directions,” says Jayge.
“If the brightness is different on both sides (for example, inside and outside the window), it acts like one-way glass.”
“However, with NME-based unidirectional glass, light can only pass in one direction, so there is no need for differences in brightness.”
“Imagine having that glass in your home, office, and car window.”
“Regardless of the brightness outside, you can't see anything inside and have a perfect view from the window.”
“If the technology is successful, this unidirectional glass could also increase the efficiency of solar cells by blocking the thermal radiation that existing cells emit toward the sun, thereby reducing the amount of energy that the cells capture. It will be done.”
of work It was published in the magazine nature communications.
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S. Safaei Jazz other. 2024. Optical Telegen metamaterial with spontaneous magnetization. Nat Commune 15, 1293; doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45225-y
A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature warns that wildfires, deforestation, and global warming could permanently disrupt the water cycle in parts of the Amazon rainforest if action is not taken in the coming decades. The study suggests that between 10% and 47% of the landscape is at risk of transitioning away from tropical rainforest by 2050 if rates of warming and deforestation are not dramatically reduced.
Lead author of the study, Bernardo Flores, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Santa Catarina in Florianópolis, Brazil, stated that “So many stressors are intensifying, including climate stressors and land-use stressors, that when combined will ultimately cause water stress in forests. We could reach a point where forests can no longer survive.”
The Amazon contains about 10% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity and serves as a vital carbon sink. Exceeding the limits of rainforests could accelerate climate change and have dire consequences for communities, including indigenous peoples, who depend on rainforests. Flores said he is optimistic that the changes outlined in the study are already occurring, but they could slow or even stop.
The study focuses on overlapping stressors on the Amazon, including rising temperatures, extreme drought, deforestation, and fires. Ernest Alvarado, an associate professor at the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, who was not involved in the study, emphasized the importance of maintaining the Amazon’s water cycle, stating, “If you lose your balance, it’s a big problem.”
Reducing the amount of water-absorbing forests due to deforestation, wildfires, drought, and climate change reduces the amount of water available to the atmosphere from plants and reduces the amount of rain that sustains the landscape. Approximately 15% of the Amazon has already been lost, according to Flores.
techno signature Any measurable property that could provide evidence of extraterrestrial technology. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is a branch of astrobiology that focuses on the discovery of technosignatures, which provide evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Traditionally, targeted wireless surveys have been the mainstay of his SETI research, and many of his ongoing SETI projects are still conducted in the radio band. SETI Ellipsoid, a newly proposed technology, suggests that an extraterrestrial civilization observing a galactic-scale event such as supernova SN 1987A could use it as a point to broadcast a synchronization signal indicating its presence. This is a strategy for selecting techno signature candidates based on the assumption that .
Gaia Early Data Release 3, using Cabrales' improved star 3D positions other. identified 32 SN 1987A SETI ellipsoidal targets with uncertainties better than 0.5 light-years within the TESS continuum. Image credits: ALMA/ESO/NAOJ/NRAO/Alexandra Angelich, NRAO/AUI/NSF.
Barbara Cabrales, Ph.D., of the SETI Institute and the Berkeley SETI Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and her colleagues demonstrate that the SETI ellipsoid method leverages continuous, wide-field surveys of the sky and demonstrates its ability to detect potential technosignatures. We have shown that it can be significantly improved.
By using up to a year of observations to correct for uncertainties in the estimated time of arrival of such signals, we implement the SETI ellipsoid strategy in an innovative way using state-of-the-art technology.
“The new survey of the sky provides a groundbreaking opportunity to search for technosignatures in concert with supernovae,” Dr. Cabrales said.
“Typical timing uncertainty takes months, so we want to cover the bases by finding well-documented goals over about a year.”
“In addition to that, it's important to make as many observations as possible about each target of interest, so you can see what looks like normal behavior and what looks like potential techno-signatures.” You will be able to judge.”
In examining data from the Continuous Display Zone of NASA's TESS mission, which covers 5% of all TESS data during the first three years of the mission, the authors leveraged advanced 3D position data from Gaia Early Data Release 3. Did.
This analysis identified 32 major targets within the SETI ellipsoid in the southern part of the TESS continuum, with all uncertainties adjusted to better than 0.5 light-years.
Although initial inspection of TESS light curves during ellipsoid-crossing events did not find any anomalies, the foundation laid by this effort lends itself to other investigations, a broader range of targets, and a variety of potential signal types. Paving the way for expansion into research.
Applying SETI Ellipsoid technology to scour large archival databases represents a breakthrough in the search for technosignatures.
This study demonstrates the feasibility of leveraging Gaia's highly accurate distance estimates and cross-matching these distances with other time-domain surveys such as TESS to enhance monitoring and anomaly detection capabilities in SETI research. doing.
Combining the SETI Ellipsoid method with Gaia's distance measurements provides a robust and adaptable framework for future SETI searches.
Astronomers can apply it retrospectively to sift through archived data for potential signals, proactively select targets, and schedule future monitoring campaigns.
“The SETI Ellipsoid method, in collaboration with Gaia distances, provides an easy and flexible method for SETI searches that can be adapted to suit a variety of current surveys and source events,” the researchers said. I am.
“This can not only be applied retrospectively to look for signals in archived data, but also propagated in time to select targets and schedule surveillance campaigns.”
During the 2016 Summer Olympics, my family and I were on a hiking holiday in Yorkshire in the north of England. And in the evening, after a meal and a few drinks at the pub, we sat and watched the biggest sports broadcasts. What’s my favorite? Tracking my cycling.
A bunch of athletes with thighs thicker than a supermodel’s hips race at ridiculous speeds around polished wooden tracks on giant one-gear bikes with no freewheel or brakes. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. It is a sport that the British are particularly good at.
We even have track cycling’s “golden couple” in Jason Kenney and Laura Trott, who were planning to get married at the time. Sir Jason and Dame Laura Kenny (I made up that word) were knighted and dammed respectively in 2022, but between them they have an incredible 12 Olympiads between them. There’s a gold medal.
On this special night of competition, Laura had already completed all the events and was rooting for Jason to win his third and final Rio gold medal. As we sat in the crowd and in a small hotel room in Yorkshire yelling at Jason as he crossed the finish line, Laura tweeted: “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Naturally, this aroused the interest of geneticists in me. Really, what are the odds? Will their future offspring become a sports superstar, or will he be with us on the couch watching the 2024 Paris Olympics?
read more:
Although it was an off-the-cuff comment, there is ample reason for Laura to have high expectations. If she combines her and Jason’s genes, she has a much higher chance of producing a child who not only has better athletic ability, but also has the potential to become an Olympian than other people.
It’s the same way fast bowler Stuart Broad had a better chance of becoming a star cricketer because his father Chris batted for England. Or British middleweight boxing champion Chris Eubank Jr., who has a better chance of becoming a top boxer than his school friends. Or distance runner Eilish McColgan, who credits her Olympic medalist mother Liz for her athleticism. Similarly, Jason and Laura’s descendants (they have two children) will have a huge genetic head start.
However, while there are some human traits that can be traced down to a single gene (hair color, lactose intolerance, ability to tan, etc.), it is clear that this is not the only case for potential Olympic athletes. . .
My own area of expertise is the genetics of weight, which has been shown to involve over 1,000 genes. Let’s consider some of the characteristics needed to become an elite cyclist. It requires the right combination of “fast-twitch” and “slow-twitch” muscle fibers, good balance, high aerobic capacity, fast recovery rate, high pain threshold, and concentration, just to name a few.
One can only imagine the genetic complexity underlying the fusion of these multiple traits. With so many genes involved, it’s currently impossible to predict exactly how talented Jason and Laura’s children will be.
These complex traits are always determined by an ideal combination of genes and environmental factors, as well as a little bit of luck.
nature and nurture
Growing up in a household with two multi-gold medal winning cyclists will have a huge influence on their children. They will grow up in a competitive environment and will be heavily involved in sports in their daily lives.
Similarly, the kind of food such children eat will be better than most children. Two Olympians like Laura and Jason have nutritional advisors coming out of their ears, so they’re unlikely to feed their kids junk.
But no matter how helpful or unhelpful our environment is, we need the right genes to thrive. That’s why in every area of life we see glorious examples of genetics being passed down through generations. Musical parents often have musical children, and beauty is passed down from parent to child.
The question is what the child will do with the genes they are given. They can use it to their advantage or not. If we compare poker hands, there can be good hands and bad hands depending on genetics, but the only people you can blame are your own family. However, depending on how you play the game, you can win with a bad hand or lose with a good hand.
So nothing is certain, and probably within the next 20 years, we will learn more about how genes make us fat or thin, fast or slow, and how they control how we look, act, and behave. The day will come when we will understand in detail.
But for now, there’s no doubt that Jason and Laura’s children will have a huge head start, both genetically and environmentally, and they probably won’t want to line up their children with them at sports day. Sho.
homo sapiens is connected with Rinkombi Lanisia Yersmanovician Culture According to three papers published in , Neanderthals existed in central and northwestern Europe long before they became extinct in southwestern Europe. journal Nature And that journal natural ecology and evolution. The evidence is homo sapiens And the fact that Neanderthals lived side by side is consistent with genomic evidence that the two species occasionally interbred. Suspicions have also been raised that modern humans' invasion of Europe and Asia about 50,000 years ago may have driven Neanderthals to extinction.
Stratigraphy including location of homo sapiens Bones, a map of the LRJ site, and stone tools from the Ranis site in Germany. Image credit: Mylopotamitaki other., doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06923-7.
The Paleolithic Rincombi-Lanisia-Jerzmanovician (LRJ) culture or technocomplex spread across northwestern and central Europe.
The Ranis Cave site in the Orla River Valley, Thuringia, Germany, is one of the eponymous LRJ sites based on its unique configuration of bifacial and monofacial points.
Previous dating had shown that the site was more than 40,000 years old, but there were no recognizable bones to show who made the tools, so it was unclear whether they were the product of Neanderthals. It was unclear whether it was a product of Neanderthals or not. homo sapiens.
“The new discovery is homo sapiens Who created this technology homo sapiens At this time, 45,000 years ago, they were this far north,” said Dr. Elena Zavala, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.
“So these are some of the earliest.” homo sapiens In Europe. “
“The cave ruins of Ranis provide evidence of initial dispersal. homo sapiens It is widespread throughout the high latitudes of Europe,” said Professor Jean-Jacques Hubelin, a researcher at the Collège de France.
“It turns out that stone structures thought to have been made by Neanderthals were actually part of early Neanderthals.” homo sapiens toolkit. ”
“This fundamentally changes what we know about this period. homo sapiens Long before Neanderthals disappeared in southwestern Europe, they reached northwestern Europe. ”
Scientists carried out genetic analysis of hominid bone fragments from new deep excavations carried out at Ranis between 2016 and 2022, as well as from earlier excavations in the 1930s.
Because the DNA in ancient bones is highly fragmented, she used special techniques to isolate and sequence the DNA. All of it is mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is inherited only from the mother.
“We have confirmed that the bone fragments are: homo sapiens. Interestingly, some of the fragments shared the same mitochondrial DNA sequence, even if they were from different excavations,” Dr. Zavala said.
“This indicates that these fragments belong to the same person or his maternal relatives, and connects these new discoveries with discoveries from decades ago.”
The bone fragments were initially identified as human through analysis of bone proteins in a field called paleoproteomics.
The authors found that by comparing the Ranis mtDNA sequences with mtDNA obtained from human remains from other Paleolithic sites in Europe, they were able to construct an early Stone Age family tree. It's done. homo sapiens All over Europe.
All but one of the 13 Ranis fragments are very similar to each other and, surprisingly, to the mtDNA of a 43,000-year-old female skull discovered in the Zlaty Kush cave in the Czech Republic. Ta. The only standout player was in the same group as a player from Italy.
“That raises some questions: Was this a single population? What is the relationship here?” Dr. Zavala said.
“But when it comes to mtDNA, that's just one side of history. It's just the maternal side. We need nuclear DNA to investigate this.”
The researchers also found that Ranis Cave is primarily used by hibernating cave bears and denning hyenas, with only periodic human presence.
This low-density archaeological footprint is consistent with other LRJ sites and is best explained by short-term, opportunistic visits by small, mobile settler groups. homo sapiens.
“This means that even in these early groups, homo sapiens “Humans, dispersed across Eurasia, already had some ability to adapt to such harsh climatic conditions,” said Dr Sara Pederzani, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of La Laguna.
“Until recently, it was thought that resilience to cold climate conditions would not emerge until several thousand years later. So this is a fascinating and surprising result.”
The research team also carried out radiocarbon dating of human and animal bones taken from different layers of the site to reconstruct the site's age, focusing on bones with signs of human modification on their surfaces. They then correlated the age with the presence of humans in the cave.
“we, homo sapiens The Francis Crick Institute said Dr. Helen Furus, a postdoctoral researcher at .
“The evidence suggests that homo sapiens They occupied this site sporadically for 47,500 years. ”
In 2013, Oncilla (Hyōmon)a species of small spotted cat native to the Americas; the northern tabby cat (Hyōmon) and southern tabby cat (Hyōmon). A new study led by the University of Maranhão has shown that Oncilla is actually three different species.
Cloudy tabby cat (leopardus pardinoides). Image credit: Johannes Pfleiderer.
The oncilla is a wild cat about the size of a domestic cat that lives in the mountains and rainforests of Costa Rica, Brazil, and Argentina.
These creatures, also known as tabby cats, Margaise (Hyōmon) and Ocelot (Hyōmon)but they are small, with slender builds and narrow muzzles.
They weigh only 1.5 kg, but usually do not exceed 3 kg, with males being slightly larger than females. The body length is 35-60cm and the height is about 25cm.
Oncilla has a yellowish-ochre background fur with a pattern of mainly open rosettes.
They eat small mammals, lizards, birds, eggs, invertebrates, and sometimes even tree frogs.
They typically live between 10 and 14 years in the wild, but have been known to live up to 23 years in captivity.
They are threatened by habitat loss from cattle ranching, agriculture, and the local pet trade.
Tadeu de Oliveira, a researcher at the University of Maranhão, and his colleagues say: “The tabby cat species group is the progenitor of an ancient classification system and one of the most intriguing, mysterious and fascinating groups of cats. “It is,” he said.
“Due to the limited knowledge available, the tabby cat has long been subject to several preconceptions regarding its range and associated habitats, both before and after species divergence. These include: and its presence in the Pantanal.”
“As it stands, the tabby cat species complex currently consists of two species. Hyōmon and Hyōmonthe former is further divided into three subspecies. Leopardus tigrinus oncilla, Leopardus tigrinus pardinoidesand leopardus tigrinus tigrinus” they added.
“Hyōmon and Hyōmon Both are currently defined as globally endangered species. ”
“They live in some of the most endangered ecoregions and biodiversity hotspots in the Americas, including the Cerrado, the tropical Andes, the Atlantic Forest, and the Talamanca Mountains.”
“As an exception, leopardus tigrinus tigrinus, there are no published conservation priority areas for entities within the complex. ”
“Given the endangered status of these species and the high rates of habitat loss within their respective ranges, it is unlikely that viable populations of these species will exist. It is essential to identify areas with high levels.”
Typical examples of tabby cat species complexes: (a) Savannah tabby cat (Hyōmon); (b) Cloudy tabby cat (leopardus pardinoides); (c) Atlantic Forest tabby cat (Hyōmon). Image credit: Ricardo Ribeiro / Johannes Pfleiderer / de Oliveira other., doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-52379-8.
In their study, the authors sought to determine the actual distribution range of tabby cat species and subspecies, compare their characteristics, and assess similarities and differences between them.
Ultimately, they aimed to characterize tabby cats and determine the actual number of the species.
“Our results revealed the existence of a cryptic species, the Claudi tabby cat (leopardus pardinoides), which includes both Leopardus tigrinus oncilla and Leopardus tigrinus pardinoides,” they said.
According to the team: leopardus pardinoides It is a long-tailed cat with short rounded ears and weighs 2.27 kg.
This new species has a strikingly margay-looking head with a rich reddish/oranged/gray-yellow background color and is adorned with irregularly shaped medium to large 'cloudy' rosettes. , with dense, soft fur, strongly marked and often coalesced.
The characteristic is LEopardus pardinoides There is only one pair of breasts/nipples.
This species is found in the extinct cloud forests of southern Central America and the Andes, usually above 1,500 meters above sea level, especially between 2,000 and 3,000 meters, in subtropical/temperate climates with mild temperatures and very abundant precipitation. You can see it. Usually located in areas where ocelot numbers are low or non-existent.
“leopardus pardinoides “Distributed along 11 mountain ecoregions,” the researchers said.
“In Central America, it is restricted to the Tilaran Mountains, Central Volcanic Mountains, and Talamanca Mountains (Talamancan Mountains Forest ecoregion) in Costa Rica and Panama and the eastern montane forests of Panama.”
“The lowland rainforests and wetlands of the Atrato River basin of the Choco Darien ecoregion are the main barrier between the populations of the brown tabby cat in eastern Panama and the Andes, while in the north the species is restricted to the Isthmian Atlantic rainforest. limited by.”
“In South America, its range extends from the Andean forests of Venezuela through the eastern, central, and western mountain ranges of Colombia to Ecuador, through Peru, Bolivia, and the Yungas Forest ecoregion of the southern Andes, and ends in northwestern Argentina.”
“The core area of its distribution is in Colombia, but it also extends to Ecuador.”
of the team result appear in the diary scientific report.
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TG de Oliveira other. 2024. Ecological modeling, biogeography and phenotypic analysis establish a transdimensional niche for the tabby cat, revealing a new species. science officer 14, 2395; doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-52379-8
arabica coffee tree derived from interbreeding between modern ancestors Coffea genus and another closely related coffee species, coffee tree.
As a result of this hybridization, arabica coffee treeflavor and its large and complex genome pose challenges to breeding and genetic research.
Some partial genome assemblies arabica coffee tree is currently available, but the mechanisms that generate its genetic diversity are unknown.
Researchers Michele Morgante and Gabriele Di Gaspero and their colleagues at the Istituto di Genomica Appplicata used the latest sequencing technology to generate a more complete genome assembly. arabica coffee treeallowing detailed analysis of its chromosomal structure.
Analysis of the genome, including previously inaccessible regions such as around centromeres, revealed differences in genome structure, function, and evolution contributed by the two ancestral species, particularly in genes involved in caffeine biosynthesis. found.
For this study, they also analyzed the genomes of 174 samples collected from different species within Earth. coffee genus and found a very low level of genetic diversity within it. arabica coffee tree.
Diversity found to be increasing in some regions arabica coffee tree Varieties of specific genomic regions due to two different sources of variation: chromosomal abnormalities and gene segments provided by so-called Timor hybrids. Arabica coffee x Canephora coffee tree A hybrid from East Timor.
This hybrid is the parent line for many modern varieties that combine disease resistance traits. Coffea genus And its unique flavor is arabica coffee tree.
The authors argue that genetic diversity arabica coffee tree Essential for commercial success, this discovery could help develop new coffee varieties with desirable traits, such as disease resistance or different flavor profiles.
“Resequence data from large accession sets reveal low intraspecific diversity at the center of species origin. arabica coffee tree” the authors write in their paper.
“Across a limited number of genomic regions, the diversity of some cultivated genotypes has increased to levels similar to that observed in one of the ancestral species. Coffea genusThis is probably the result of introgression derived from Timor hybrids. ”
“We also found that in addition to very few early exchanges between homologous chromosomes, there are many recent chromosomal abnormalities such as aneuploidies, deletions, duplications, and exchanges.”
“These phenomena are still polymorphic in the germplasm and may be the root cause of genetic variation in such low-variability species.”
of paper Published in this week's magazine nature communications.
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S. Scalabrine other. 2024.Chromosome-scale assembly reveals chromosomal abnormalities and exchanges that generate genetic diversity arabica coffee tree germ plasm. Nat Commune 15,463; doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-44449-8
Emperor penguins are the largest species of penguin, often weighing around 90 pounds. However, they also have one of the most precarious breeding methods on the planet.
To ensure their chicks leave the nest in the summer, they breed during the coldest months of the year, when temperatures are close to -50 degrees Fahrenheit and Antarctic winds can gust at 190 miles per hour. Male penguins keep their chicks warm by balancing eggs on their feet, and colonies of up to 5,000 penguins huddle together to stay warm, each with their own body temperature. They are said to be walking around with a limp so that they can take turns.
But these animals do all of their breeding on Antarctic sea ice, and last year’s sea ice reached its lowest peak since scientists started measuring it in 1979. Some scientists fear that the decline is now so extreme that it has become an inevitable snowball effect.
If the ice sheet breaks before the emperor penguin colony leaves its chicks, the chicks will fall into the water and die, Fretwell said. That has happened over the past two years, particularly in 2022, with another study by Fretwell published last year showing “complete breeding failure” in all but one of the five known breeding sites.
The new colonies identified by Fretwell are mostly small. They said in a paper published in the journal Antarctic Science that at least some penguins appear to have migrated because of unstable sea ice conditions.
“If the colonies fail, they will move to other areas,” Fretwell told NBC News.
“We spend all this time monitoring these animals and seeing if they can adapt to climate change, but the truth is that penguins ultimately need to adapt. Not us,” Fretwell added. “We need to end our dependence on fossil fuels, not just for penguins, but for all species and ourselves.”
WASHINGTON – Atomic scientists on Tuesday pushed the “Doomsday Clock” closer to midnight than ever before, warning Russia's nuclear weapons actions amid the invasion of Ukraine, nuclear-armed Israel's war in Gaza, and worsening climate change on a global scale. cited as a factor causing the crisis. A disaster.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as it did last year, set the clock to 90 seconds to midnight, the theoretical extinction point. Scientists set the clock based on “existential” risks to the planet and its people, such as nuclear threats, climate change, and disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and new biotechnologies.
“Conflict hotspots around the world threaten nuclear escalation, climate change is already causing death and destruction,” Rachel Bronson, the magazine's president and CEO, told Reuters. “Disruptive technologies such as AI and biological research are advancing faster than safeguards.” He added that the fact that there is no change from the previous year “does not indicate that the world is stable.”
A staff member shows the position of the minute hand of the “Doomsday Clock” in Washington, DC, on January 23, 2024. Jacqueline Martin/Associated Press
The Chicago-based nonprofit created the clock in 1947 to warn the public of how close humanity was to global destruction.
Russian massive invasion of Ukraine is set to celebrate its second anniversary next month, and tensions with the West have escalated to the most dangerous levels since the Cold War.
“A permanent end to Russia’s war in Ukraine seems far away, and the possibility that Russia will use nuclear weapons in that conflict remains serious. Over the past year, Russia has sent a number of alarming nuclear signals. '' Bronson said.
Bronson quoted the Russians President Vladimir Putin To be determined in February 2023 Suspend Russia's participation In the New START Treaty with the United States, which limits both countries' strategic nuclear weapons. The United States and Russia possess nearly 90% of the world's nuclear warheads, enough to destroy the Earth multiple times.
Bronson also referenced President Putin's March 2023 announcement regarding Russia's weapons deployment. tactical nuclear weapons Belarusian and Russian parliaments pass laws in October 2023 withdraw ratification A global treaty banning nuclear weapons testing. Russian analyst Sergei Karaganov also spoke last year about the need to threaten nuclear strikes in Europe to intimidate and “calm down” Moscow's enemies.
Israel has so far at war with Hamas According to an Israeli tally, about 1,200 people have been killed since the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic extremist group launched attacks in southern Israel in October 2023. More than 25,000 people have been killed in the Israeli military offensive, according to Gaza health authorities.
“As a nuclear-armed state, Israel's actions are clearly relevant to the Doomsday debate. Of particular concern is the possibility of a broader escalation of conflict in the region, leading to larger conventional wars and more “It could draw in nuclear or near-nuclear states,” Bronson said.
When watches were first made, the greatest danger came from nuclear weapons. climate change It was first considered as a factor in 2007.
“The world in 2023 has been hit by a major disaster and has entered uncharted territory. hottest year on record And global greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise,” Bronson said. “Global and North Atlantic sea surface temperatures both broke records, and Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest daily area since the advent of satellite data.”
Bronson said 2023 was also a record year for clean energy, with $1.7 trillion in new investment. But this was offset by nearly $1 trillion in fossil fuel investments, Bronson added.
“This shows that current efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while promising, are far from sufficient to avoid the dangerous human and economic impacts of climate change, and that Changes disproportionately affect the world's poorest people,” Bronson said.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by scientists such as Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer. It relies on a panel of experts in nuclear technology and climate science to set the clock each year. This watch was first introduced during the Cold War tensions following World War II.
It may be hard to miss, but unimaginably strong bursts of cosmic radiation happen possibly a thousand times every day. They are bright enough to overwhelm our radio telescopes from billions of light-years away.
However, fast radio bursts (FRBs) were not detected until 2007. Despite over a decade of investigation, they remain one of the most intriguing mysteries in astrophysics. Recent research offers new and promising clues about their origins, while also revealing why these space phenomena are so perplexing in the first place.
When FRBs were first discussed in seminars, the big question wasn’t “What astrophysical cause is causing this?” Instead, it was, “Isn’t this just a mechanical failure?”
FRBs last about 1 millisecond and spread out in frequency in a manner very similar to a blip from a pulsar. But the problem is, they don’t come from any known pulsars, they don’t repeat like pulsars, and they’re clearly much more powerful than any pulsar pulses we’ve seen before.
To make matters worse, for many years the only telescope that observed FRBs was the Parkes Observatory in Australia. The debate became even more heated when it turned out that some of the FRB-like bursts observed by Parkes did not come from astronomical sources.
These bursts, called “peritons,” were always suspected to be of terrestrial origin. But clever detective work by astronomers solved the case. Dr. Emily Petrov and her colleagues showed that Periton had a strong correlation with local lunchtime. In reality, radiation leaked from the observatory’s microwave when the door opened too early.
It was eventually revealed that the FRBs were indeed from far away in space. More radio telescopes were configured to record very short bursts of radio waves, and detection rates began to skyrocket.
Those bursts came from all over the sky, suggesting they didn’t originate in our galaxy. In the first decade after the discovery, theorists produced a huge number of papers explaining the possible origins of the bursts.
In 2012, repeated FRBs were discovered, ruling out origins requiring complete destruction, such as supernovae. It was soon discovered that there were many more repeated bursts, mostly occurring at irregular intervals.
As more outbursts are discovered, there is growing evidence that FRBs may be associated with extraordinarily powerful magnetars: neutron stars that rotate in extremely strong magnetic fields.
Recent evidence suggests that at least some FRBs originate from nearby spiral galaxies rather than elliptical galaxies.
Astronomers will need to continue collecting clues, looking for suggestive patterns in the data, and eagerly awaiting observational upgrades that will allow them to pinpoint the FRBs’ local environment.
Whatever the outcome, the fast radio burst is a great example of the fact that in science, when we look at the universe in new and different ways, we almost always discover something surprising that no one had ever thought to look for.
According to a new study, Greenland’s ice sheet has lost approximately 1,965 square miles to glacier retreat since 1985, which is about the same area as the state of Delaware. The study utilized satellite images to track the retreat and discovered that iceberg collapse is accelerating in Greenland, with previous analyses potentially underestimating its impact. The authors of the study noted that the current estimates of ice sheet mass balance may underestimate recent mass loss from Greenland by up to 20%. In recent decades, nearly all of Greenland’s glaciers have thinned or retreated.
The study, published in the journal Nature, is another indication that Greenland’s ice is melting at a rapid rate. There is growing concern among scientists that global warming could trigger a major ice sheet tipping point. If Greenland’s ice completely melts, sea levels could rise by almost 7 feet and change ocean circulation patterns. Additionally, the study suggests that the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change may be underestimating how much ice is being lost in Greenland.
Several studies published last year highlighted Greenland’s rapid changes, including one that found the rate of glacier retreat in the 21st century to be twice as fast as the 20th century. Another study showed that floating ice shelves in northern Greenland have lost over 35% of their total volume and are weakening, which could threaten ice sheet stability.
In November, a report by 60 leading snow and ice scientists raised concerns about the fate of the world’s ice sheets, warning that if global average temperatures rise to about 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial baselines, the planet could see sea level rise of more than 40 feet in the coming centuries. The report also indicates that by 2 degrees Celsius, most of Greenland, most of West Antarctica, and vulnerable parts of East Antarctica will have a very long-term chance of warming, leading to relentless sea level rise and decline.
Tardigrade observed using a fluorescence microscope.Some organs are highlighted with fluorescent markers
Smythers et al/PLoS ONE (CC-BY 4.0)
Tardigrades are known for their ability to withstand extreme environments, and we now know how they do this. Small molecular sensors inside cells can detect when harmful molecules called free radicals are produced in excess, causing a state of dormancy.
Tardigrades, also known as tardigrades, are eight-legged microscopic invertebrates found throughout the world. Under adverse conditions such as sub-zero temperatures and strong radiation, the creatures shrink into a dry ball called a tongue and enter a deep hibernation state.
“Tardigrades do not breed under extreme conditions, but they can overwinter.” Derrick Colling At Marshall University in West Virginia. “We wanted to understand how they could step in there.”
To study, Kolling and colleagues exposed tardigrades to high levels of hydrogen peroxide, sugar, salt, or temperatures of -80°C (-112°F) to induce Tun. As a result of these stresses, tardigrades produce harmful, highly reactive molecules called oxygen free radicals.
The free radicals then go on to react with other molecules, team members say. leslie hix At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Importantly, the research team discovered that free radicals oxidize an amino acid called cysteine, which is one of the building blocks of proteins in the body. These reactions change protein structure and function and signal the onset of quiescence.
In experiments where cysteine oxidation was prevented, tardigrades were unable to enter the tun state. “Cysteine acts like a kind of regulatory sensor,” Hicks says. “This allows the tardigrade to sense its environment and respond to stress.”
When conditions improved, the researchers discovered that the cysteine was no longer oxidized and instructed the tardigrades to wake up from the tongue.
“Whether this is a universally conserved protection mechanism and whether this is conserved across tardigrade species is a really important question,” Hicks says. Her answers, she says, could help us better understand the aging process and how to make long-term space travel a reality.
Researchers have discovered what is believed to be the oldest skin fossil on record.
The alligator-like skin, which is at least 286 million years old, was preserved in an ancient buried cave in what is now Oklahoma. The discovery could help unravel evolutionary mysteries and provide important clues to a time when some animals were transitioning to living on land.
“Finding old skin fossils like this is a great opportunity to peer into the past and learn what the skin looked like on these early animals,” said the University of Toronto graduate student and co-author of the book. says lead author Ethan Mooney. the paper said in a news release.
Three-dimensional skin casting and compacted fossil of an unknown amniote. Mooney et al. / Current Biology
Discovery announced Thursday Published in the scientific magazine “Current Biology”, created in a quarry and cave system called Richard's Spur. Researchers believe the animals fell into the cave system and were preserved by seeping oil and tar that enveloped them.
Skin is a three-dimensional mold with fossilized tissue attached to it.
“There are very few examples of Paleozoic land animals that have preserved skin,” said Paul Olsen, a paleontologist and Columbia University professor who was not involved in the paper. “He's one of the reasons why this is so important.”
Lepospondyl, temnospondyl, and dermal scales of an unknown quadruped. Mooney et al. / Current Biology
The preserved skin was discovered at a site full of fossils of lizard-like creatures called lizards. captorinus aguti, However, it was not clearly associated with any particular skeleton.
Olsen said the skin could help solve the mystery of how reptiles and mammals diverged from each other during evolutionary history. Her two branches of life have a common ancestor.
“They hypothesize that the common ancestor of reptiles and mammals had reptilian-like skin, but their reptilian-like skin is not associated with the skeleton, so they have We can't really show that with the materials we have,” Olsen said of the authors. “Maybe this site will reveal that in the future.”
Horny zone of Captorhinus aguti (OMNH 52541). Mooney et al. / Current Biology
Following the feedback discussion on New Zealand’s Blackhole public toilets (25 November 2023), news has arrived of a plan called “Using black holes as secondary batteries and nuclear reactors” published in the magazine Physical Review D.
Successful engineers, much like unsuccessful engineers, are not easily intimidated by limitations that others believe are insurmountable. The plan’s authors, Zhan-Feng Mai and Run-Qiu Yang of Tianjin University in China, continue to keep their jaws high and scratch their heads.
They say, “The strong gravity of a black hole prevents classical matter from escaping from it, but fortunately energy can be extracted from a black hole through quantum or classical processes.” he wrote.
They wave away a series of problems that are said to plague anyone who even proposes to get close to a black hole. They state that their black hole is a “mini black hole”.
This kind of confidence inspires venture capitalists, a diverse group of people who are experiencing the golden age of the early 2020s. After raising capital and extracting a suitable portion from it, many people are looking for new big opportunities to invest some of it.
Black hole batteries could be their next big thing, following in the capricious footsteps of cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence. Many investors are finding both to be as compellingly attractive as black holes.
2 story superpower
Alison Litherland tells the story of a boring superpower with useful duplicity.
she says: “When you mentioned Rosemary Fuhrman’s husband’s ability to read her two pages in different Braille at the same time (September 16, 2023), I was reminded of the small superpowers she had when her children were small. I remembered my abilities.
“I was able to read a bedtime story aloud to her while at the same time quietly reading a novel to herself. I don’t know how my brain was able to distinguish between the two stories, but… It certainly helped with the boredom of re-reading the same story before bed.”
The title rests on a letter to the editor from Anna Vittoria Mattioli and Alberto Farinetti of the University of Modena-Reggio Emilia in Italy. The diary is Nutrition, metabolism and cardiovascular disease.
Mattioli and Farinetti explore some of the ambiguity in medical research and medical pronouncements regarding the positive and negative health effects of drinking coffee.
Some people drink espresso in some places, while others drink other forms of coffee. Some people drink coffee filtered, while others drink it unfiltered.
Some people drink coffee “in conjunction with a meal” in some places, while others drink coffee on its own. Some men are men and others are not, and there may be differences in “absorption of macronutrients and micronutrients and their bioavailability.”
Mattioli and Farinetti suggest further research is needed to “de-confound” under confusing headings.
he says: “The old chestnut about drainage circulation rears its head again. I see. Given the very small volume and mass involved in hair, and the fact that people spend a significant amount of time moving around in non-vertical positions, it is absurd to suggest that the Coriolis force could be responsible for the swirling of hair. The Coriolis force is responsible for the surprising twist in how objects appear to move when they rotate Please remember that.
The new version gives a meandering nod to the Coriolis question, this time at a distance. “Other non-hemispheric factors are [be] Maternal health, maternal nutrition, and prenatal hormone exposure were evaluated in samples from different locations in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, before considering the potential influence of hemispheric environmental physical factors such as the Coriolis force. I did.”
Sheffield names the harvest
Susan Frank is second to none when it comes to sharing information about garden varieties.
She writes: “We wanted to include the names of two of our trustees associated with Sheffield Botanic Gardens Trust, Barbara Plant and Christine Rose.”
According to feedback, Sheffield Botanic Gardens Trust Website Trustee Miles Stevenson, who is neither a plant nor a rose, makes it clear (by displaying special information in parentheses) that it is a chair.
Mark Abrahams hosted the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony and co-founded the magazine Annals of Improbable Research. Previously, he was working on unusual uses of computers. his website is impossible.com Have a story for feedback? You can email your article to Feedback at feedback@newscientist.com. Please enter your home address. This week’s and past feedback can be found on our website.
AI researchers predict apocalyptic outcome unlikely
Steven Taylor/Alamy Stock Photo
Although many artificial intelligence researchers see the possibility of future development of superhuman AI as having a considerable chance of causing the extinction of humanity, there is disagreement and uncertainty about such risks. are also widely available.
Those findings can be found below Survey of 2,700 AI researchers They recently presented their research at six major AI conferences. This is the largest study of its kind to date. The survey asked participants to share their thoughts on possible timelines for future AI technology milestones and the positive or negative social impact those achievements would have. Almost 58% of researchers said they believe there is a 5% chance of human extinction or other very bad AI-related outcomes.
“This is an important sign that most AI researchers do not think it is highly implausible that advanced AI will destroy humanity,” he says. Katya Grace Author of the paper, affiliated with the Machine Intelligence Institute, California. “I think the general idea that the risk is not trivial says much more than the exact percentage of risk.”
But he says there's no need to panic just yet. Emil Torres At Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. Such research by AI experts “doesn't have a good track record” of predicting future AI developments, they say. A 2012 study showed that over the long term, AI experts' predictions are no more accurate than non-expert public opinion. The authors of the new study also noted that AI researchers are not experts in predicting AI's future trajectory.
When compared to responses from the same survey in 2022, many AI researchers predicted that AI would reach certain milestones sooner than previously predicted. This coincides with his November 2022 debut of ChatGPT and Silicon Valley's rush to broadly deploy similar AI chatbot services based on large-scale language models.
The researchers surveyed found that within the next 10 years, AI systems will be able to perform most of the 39 sample tasks, such as creating a new song indistinguishable from a Taylor Swift banger or coding an entire payment processing site from scratch. He predicted a 50 percent chance of success. Other tasks, such as physically installing electrical wiring in a new home and solving age-old math puzzles, are expected to take even longer.
There is a 50 percent chance of developing AI that can outperform humans at any task by 2047, while there is a 50 percent chance of all human jobs being fully automated by 2116. It is said that this will happen with a probability of . These estimates are 13 years earlier, 48 years earlier than last year's survey.
However, Torres says the rising expectations for AI development could also be disappointed. “Many of these breakthroughs are completely unpredictable, and it's quite possible that the AI field will experience another winter,” he says. I mentioned that funding and corporate interest in has dried up.
Even without the risk of superhuman AI, there are also more pressing concerns. The majority of AI researchers (over 70%) say that scenarios using AI, including deepfakes, public opinion manipulation, engineered weapons, authoritarian population control, and worsening economic inequality, are of serious or extreme concern. It states that there is. Torres also highlighted the danger that AI could contribute to disinformation around existential issues such as climate change and the deterioration of democratic governance.
“We already have technologies that can seriously harm society, right here, right now. [the US] It’s a democracy,” Torres said. “Let's see what happens in the 2024 election.”
The classical understanding of brain organization is that the brain's perceptual areas represent the world 'as it is', and the brain's visual cortex represents the external world 'retinolocally', based on how light hits the retina. That's what it means. In contrast, the brain's memory areas are thought to represent information in an abstract form, stripped of details about physical properties. Now, a team of neuroscientists from Dartmouth College and the University of Edinburgh have identified the neural coding mechanisms that allow information to move back and forth between the brain's sensory and memory regions.
Traditional views of brain organization suggest that regions at the top of the cortical hierarchy process internally directed information using abstract, amodal neural codes. Nevertheless, recent reports have described the presence of retinotopic coding at cortical vertices, including the default mode network.What is the functional role of retinal local coding at the apex of the cortical hierarchy? Steel other. We report that retinotopic coding structures interactions between internally oriented (memory) and externally oriented (perception) brain regions. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.
“We now know that brain regions associated with memory encode the world, like a 'photo negative' of the universe,” said Dr. Adam Steele, a researcher at Dartmouth College.
“And that 'negativity' is part of the mechanism that moves information in and out of memory, and between perceptual and memory systems.”
In a series of experiments, participants were tested on perception and memory while their brain activity was recorded using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner.
Dr. Steele and his colleagues identified a contralateral push-pull-like coding mechanism that governs the interaction between perceptual and memory areas in the brain.
The results showed that when light hits the retina, the brain's visual cortex responds by increasing activity that represents the pattern of light.
Memory areas of the brain also respond to visual stimuli, but unlike visual areas, processing the same visual pattern reduces neural activity.
“There are three unusual findings in this study,” the researchers said.
“The first is the discovery that visual coding principles are stored in the memory system.”
“The second thing is that this visual code is upside down in our memory system.”
“When you see something in your visual field, neurons in your visual cortex become active and neurons in your memory system quiet down.”
“Third, this relationship is reversed during memory recall.”
“If you close your eyes and recall that visual stimulus in the same space, the relationship is reversed. Your memory system kicks in and suppresses the neurons in your sensory area.”
Dr Ed Shilson, a neuroscientist at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Our findings demonstrate how shared visual information is used by the memory system to bring recalled memories into and out of focus. “This provides a clear example of how this can be done.”
of study Published in today's magazine natural neuroscience.
_____
A. Steel other. Retinotopic codes structure interactions between perceptual and memory systems. nut neurosi, published online on January 2, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41593-023-01512-3
Groundbreaking research led by Professor Motoki Shiga has unraveled the complex atomic structure of glass, revealing its unique patterns and anisotropy. This research paves the way for advanced exploration of glass materials using AI and machine learning techniques.Credit: Motoki Shiga
Glass is an essential material in our daily life and serves a variety of purposes, such as insulating our homes and forming the screens of our computers and smartphones. However, its widespread historical use stands in contrast to the scientific mystery posed by its disordered atomic structure. This puzzling arrangement of atoms complicates efforts to fully understand and manipulate the structural properties of glasses. Therefore, designing effective functional materials from glass remains a difficult challenge for scientists.
Advances in glass research
To further elucidate the structural regularities hidden in glassy materials, the research group focused on the ring shape of the chemically bonded glass network. A research group including Professor Motoki Shiga of Tohoku University’s unprecedented scale data analysis center has developed a new method to quantify the three-dimensional structure of the ring and the symmetry of the structure, “roundness” and “roughness.”
Spatial atomic density around rings of silica crystal (left) and glass (right). Blue and red regions indicate areas with high density of silicon and oxygen atoms, respectively.Credit: Motoki Shiga et al.
Breakthroughs and future directions
“Structural units and structural order beyond chemical bonds have long been inferred through experimental observations, but until now scientists have avoided identifying them,” Professor Shiga says. “Furthermore, our successful analysis contributes to the understanding of phase transitions such as vitrification and crystallization in materials and provides the necessary mathematical explanations to control the structure and material properties of materials.”
Looking to the future, Shiga and his colleagues plan to use these techniques to devise procedures for exploring glass materials, procedures based on data-driven approaches such as: machine learning And AI.
Reference: “Ring-derived anisotropy of local structural order in amorphous and crystalline silicon dioxide” by Motoki Shiga, Akihiko Hirata, Yohei Onodera, and Hirokazu Masai, November 3, 2023. Communication materials. DOI: 10.1038/s43246-023-00416-w
A new study reveals that a spatiotemporal substitution method used to predict species responses to climate change inaccurately predicts the effects of warming on ponderosa pines. This finding suggests that this method may be unreliable in predicting species’ future responses to changes in climate. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
A new study involving researchers at the University of Arizona suggests that changes are happening faster than trees can adapt. The discovery is a “warning to ecologists” studying climate change.
As the world warms and the climate changes, life will migrate, adapt, or become extinct. For decades, scientists have introduced certain methods to predict how things will happen. seed We will survive this era of great change. But new research suggests that method may be misleading or producing false results.
Flaws in prediction methods revealed
Researchers at the University of Arizona and team members from the U.S. Forest Service and Brown University found that this method (commonly referred to as spatiotemporal replacement) shows how a tree called the ponderosa pine, which is widespread in the western United States, grows. I discovered something that I couldn’t predict accurately. We have actually responded to global warming over the past few decades. This also means that other studies that rely on displacement in space and time may not accurately reflect how species will respond to climate change in coming decades.
The research team collected and measured growth rings of ponderosa pine trees from across the western United States, dating back to 1900, to determine how trees actually grow and how models predict how trees will respond to warming. We compared.
A view of ponderosa and Jeffrey pine forests from Verdi Mountain near Truckee, California.Credit: Daniel Perrette
“We found that substituting time for space produces incorrect predictions in terms of whether the response to warming will be positive or negative,” said study co-author Margaret Evans, an associate professor at the University of Arizona. ” he said. Tree ring laboratory. “With this method, ponderosa pines are supposed to benefit from warming, but they actually suffer from warming. This is dangerously misleading.”
Their research results were published on December 18th. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Daniel Perrette, a U.S. Forest Service ORISE fellow, is the lead author and received training in tree-ring analysis through the university’s summer field methods course at the University of Arizona Research Institute. The study was part of his doctoral dissertation at Brown University, and was conducted with Dov Sachs, professor of biogeography and biodiversity and co-author of the paper.
Inaccuracies in space and time substitutions
This is how space and time permutation works. All species occupy a range of favorable climatic conditions. Scientists believe that individuals growing at the hottest end of their range could serve as an example of what will happen to populations in cooler locations in a warmer future.
The research team found that ponderosa pine trees grow at a faster rate in warmer locations. Therefore, under the spatial and temporal displacement paradigm, this suggests that the situation should improve as the climate warms at the cold end of the distribution.
“But the tree-ring data doesn’t show that,” Evans said.
However, when the researchers used tree rings to assess how individual trees responded to changes in temperature, they found that ponderosa was consistently negatively affected by temperature fluctuations.
“If it’s a warmer-than-average year, they’re going to have smaller-than-average growth rings, so warming is actually bad for them, and that’s true everywhere,” she says.
The researchers believe this may be happening because trees are unable to adapt quickly enough to a rapidly changing climate.
An individual tree and all its growth rings are a record of that particular tree’s genetics exposed to different climatic conditions from one year to the next, Evans said. But how a species responds as a whole is the result of a slow pace of evolutionary adaptation to the average conditions in a particular location that are different from those elsewhere. Similar to evolution, the movement of trees that are better adapted to changing temperatures could save species, but climate change is happening too quickly, Evans said.
Rainfall effects and final thoughts
Beyond temperature, the researchers also looked at how trees responded to rainfall. They confirmed that, even across time and space, more water is better.
“These spatially-based predictions are really dangerous because spatial patterns reflect the end point after a long period in which species have had the opportunity to evolve, disperse, and ultimately sort themselves across the landscape. Because we do,” Evans said. “But that’s not how climate change works. Unfortunately, trees are in a situation where they are changing faster than they can adapt and are actually at risk of extinction. This is a warning to ecologists. .”
References: “Species responses to spatial climate change do not predict responses to climate change,” by Daniel L. Perrett, Margaret EK Evans, and Dov F. Sachs, December 18, 2023. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2304404120
Funding: Brown University Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown Institute for the Environment and Society, American Philosophical Society Lewis and Clark Expeditionary and Field Research Fund, Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, Department of Energy Oak Ridge Science Institute Education , NSF Macrosystems Biology
Myrrhatia arcuata, a newly discovered moth species in Europe reveals gaps in our knowledge about European Lepidoptera. Its unique characteristics and the mysteries surrounding its habitat and adaptations highlight the need for continued research in this field. Above is an adult male Myrrhatia arcuata. Credit: Hausmann et al.
The order Lepidoptera, which consists of butterflies and moths, is known to number approximately 11,000 individuals. seed and is considered well researched. However, the discovery of new genera and species in the Geometrid family suggests there is still much to learn. The results of this study were recently published in the journal Zookey. What is the name of the moth? Myrrhatia arcuata The discovery, by a team of researchers from Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom, is one of the most remarkable discoveries in Lepidoptera in recent decades.
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