Tag Archives: Vast

The Brain’s Vast Interconnectedness: The Revolutionary Idea of the Century

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New Scientist: Explore the latest science news, technology, health advancements, and environmental updates by expert journalists.

You’ve likely encountered the parable of the blind men and the elephant, where each individual’s perspective is limited to one part, leading to a distorted understanding of the whole. This concept resonates deeply in neuroscience, which has historically treated the brain as a collection of specialized regions, each fulfilling unique functions.

For decades, our insights into brain functionality arose from serendipitous events, such as the case of Phineas Gage, a 19th-century railroad worker who dramatically altered personality following a severe brain injury. More recent studies employing brain stimulation have linked the amygdala with emotion and the occipital lobe with visual processing, yet this provides only a fragmented understanding.

Brain regions demonstrate specialization, but this does not encapsulate the entire picture. The advent of imaging technologies, particularly functional MRI and PET scans in the late 1990s and early 2000s, revolutionized our comprehension of the brain’s interconnectedness. Researchers discovered that complex behaviors stem from synchronized activity across overlapping neural networks.

“Mapping brain networks is playing a crucial role in transforming our understanding in neuroscience,” states Luis Pessoa from the University of Maryland.

This transformative journey commenced in 2001 when Marcus Raichle, now at Washington University in St. Louis, characterized the Default Mode Network (DMN). This interconnected network activates during moments of rest, reflecting intrinsic cognitive processes.

In 2003, Kristen McKiernan, then at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and her team identified that the DMN experiences heightened activity during familiar tasks, such as daydreaming and introspection, providing a “resting state” benchmark for evaluating overall brain activity. They began to correlate DMN activity with advanced behaviors, including emotional intelligence and theory of mind.

As discoveries proliferated across other networks—pertaining to attention, language, emotion, memory, and planning—our understanding of mental health and neurodiversity evolved. These neural differences are now thought to be linked with various neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and ADHD.

Network science has emerged as a pivotal field, enhancing our comprehension of disorders from autism, characterized by atypical social salience networks—those that detect and prioritize salient social cues—to Alzheimer’s disease, where novel research indicates abnormal protein spread via network pathways. We also acknowledge the inspiration it provides for developing artificial neural networks in AI systems like ChatGPT.

Neural networks have not only reshaped our understanding of brain functionalities but also the methodologies for diagnosing and treating neurological disorders. While we might not yet perceive the entirety of the elephant, our view is undeniably clarifying as science progresses.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Scientists Warn: Cannabis Reclassification Could Unlock Vast Research Opportunities

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A long-awaited change in drug policy could pave the way for scientists to explore the benefits and risks of marijuana, the most widely used federally prohibited substance.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule III substance, a move initiated during the Biden administration.

“Decades of federal drug control policy have overlooked the medical applications of marijuana,” states the order. “This oversight hampers scientists and manufacturers in conducting essential safety and efficacy studies to inform healthcare providers and patients.”

This reclassification is expected to enhance research into medical marijuana, without federally legalizing the substance. However, marijuana use in the U.S. is rising significantly. Gallup data suggests that 15% of adults may smoke marijuana in 2023 and 2024, an increase from 7% in 2013.

The poll did not differentiate between medical and recreational use, revealing the highest usage (19%) among 18- to 34-year-olds—an age group that has exhibited concerning psychological side effects from cannabis use. A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics indicated that even infrequent use was linked to increased psychological distress and lower academic performance in teens.

Medical marijuana is often prescribed for chronic pain relief, to manage nausea and vomiting in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and to stimulate appetite in individuals with specific medical conditions. It remains uncertain how rescheduling cannabis will impact funding for recreational cannabis research.

Scientists like Ziva Cooper are hopeful that reclassification will transform public health through in-depth marijuana research.

“Studying cannabis, also known as marijuana, for both its therapeutic and side effects has been very challenging,” said Cooper, director of the Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids at UCLA. “The rapid evolution of this industry often outpaces consumer behavior and research developments.”

“It’s challenging to study, and as a scientist committed to public health, it’s tough to keep up with the shifting landscape.”

Schedule I is the most restrictive category within U.S. drug scheduling recognized by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), applying to substances with “no currently accepted medical use and high abuse potential,” such as ecstasy and heroin. Schedule III substances, which include ketamine and anabolic steroids, are classified as having a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”

Even in cannabis-friendly regions, Cooper acknowledges that he faces similar research obstacles as those in states like Idaho, where cannabis use is prohibited.

“Researchers are unable to test readily available products; they can only inquire about basic characteristics of the cannabis available at compounding pharmacies visible from their lab,” Cooper said. “This creates limitations on sourcing the cannabis for research.”

Need for Thorough Research on Marijuana’s Benefits and Risks

Last year, the National Institutes of Health allocated $75 million for cannabinoid research, a slight increase from $70 million in 2023. Moreover, $217 million was directed towards cannabinoid studies, with $53 million specifically for cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive cannabinoid.

Dr. Brooke Wurster, medical director of the master’s in medical cannabis science and business program at Thomas Jefferson University, pointed out that bureaucratic challenges often confine cannabis research to observational studies rather than the rigorous clinical trials required for pharmaceuticals, resulting in mixed findings.

For instance, a study published in 2024 in the journal Current Alzheimer’s Research found a 96% reduced risk of subjective cognitive decline among recreational cannabis users aged 45 and older compared to non-users. In contrast, 2025 research in the JAMA Network Open indicated that heavy cannabis users aged 22-36 exhibited memory impairments.

A recent study in Biomedicine suggested cannabinoids as a “promising” alternative for opioid use in chronic pain management, emphasizing an urgent need for large-scale randomized controlled trials. Meanwhile, a study last year found that JAMA Network Open reported increased medical visits for cannabis-related disorders among older Medicare beneficiaries from 2017 to 2022.

The reclassification will enable researchers to examine and prepare specific marijuana formulations, Wurster noted. Even in states with medical cannabis programs, cannabis quality and potency can vary significantly across dispensaries.

“We can comprehensively monitor immediate symptoms, blood levels, and long-term effects,” she explained. “All the essential elements required for drug research mandated by the federal government.”

While cannabis has medical benefits for some individuals, Jonathan Caulkins, H. Guyford Steever Professor of Operations Research and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, cautioned that administrative barriers alone do not account for cannabis not being a “miracle cure” for conditions like cancer and Alzheimer’s.

“Studies conducted in countries like Canada, France, and Israel are not under the same restrictions,” Caulkins stated. “We should not assume U.S. law is the sole reason cannabis hasn’t emerged as a definitive treatment option.”

Wurster emphasized that these changes bring new responsibilities for the medical community, as smoked and inhaled products may not be safe for all individuals.

“We still need to comprehend the best methods for delivering appropriate medications and guidance to the right patients,” she cautioned. “Available products are frequently unregulated and present significant mental health risks, particularly among young users, as well as cardiovascular concerns, necessitating greater caution.”

A Major Shift in Cannabis Policy After 55 Years

The regulatory barriers that researchers face have roots extending back over fifty years. Under the Nixon administration, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 categorized marijuana as a Schedule I drug.

Almost six decades later, much regarding marijuana’s medicinal potential remains undiscovered. Currently, from a legal standpoint, it is viewed merely as a substance of abuse, Wurster noted.

Susan Ferguson, director of the Institute on Addiction, Drugs and Alcohol at the University of Washington School of Medicine, anticipates that obtaining cannabis research licenses will soon become easier for scientists. Presently, researchers can broadly license drugs classified from Schedule II to V, while those exploring Schedule I substances must secure individual licenses for each.

“This necessitates a detailed written protocol,” she explained. “It involves DEA personnel visiting to review research and experimental strategies, which complicates the process considerably.”

Ferguson believes that reclassifying marijuana would “open the floodgates” for clinical research. Participants may be more willing to engage in Schedule III studies than in those involving Schedule I drugs.

Ferguson compared cannabis to alcohol and tobacco, which, although common, are not benign. Due to medical research, their risks are well documented.

“We have yet to conduct that level of research on cannabis,” Ferguson concluded. “Ultimately, we aim to inform people more comprehensively about the risks and benefits associated with its use.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Astronomers Reveal Pleiades Star Cluster is Integral to a Vast Stellar Structure

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The Pleiades star cluster, also referred to as the Seven Sisters and Messier 45, is an open star cluster situated around 440 light-years away from Earth in the Taurus constellation. It forms the central core of a larger network that includes several known star clusters scattered over 600 parsecs (1,950 light-years). This network is known as the Greater Pleiades Complex and comprises at least 3,091 stars.

Pleiades star cluster. Image credit: NASA / ESA / AURA / California Institute of Technology / Palomar Observatory.

Stars originate from clouds of dust and gas. Clumps of this material come together and eventually collapse under their gravity, creating the hot core that becomes a star.

Star formation typically occurs in bursts, with numerous stars being born in rapid succession.

A collection of stars that form from the same molecular cloud is known as a star cluster.

These stars remain gravitationally bound to one another for thousands of years.

Over tens to hundreds of millions of years, the materials that birthed them are expelled by cosmic winds, radiation, and various astrophysical phenomena.

As this occurs, individual stars can merge into their host galaxies, making it complex to ascertain their relationships and trace their origins, especially after more than 100 million years have elapsed.

In a recent study, Dr. Luke Buuma from the Carnegie Institution for Science Observatory and his colleagues concentrated on the Pleiades star cluster.

Utilizing data from NASA’s TESS mission, ESA’s Gaia spacecraft, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), they discovered that this cluster is the core of a broader structure of related stars spanning over 1,950 light-years.

“We refer to this as the Greater Pleiades Complex,” Dr. Bouma stated.

“It includes at least three known groups of stars, and likely two additional ones.”

“We confirmed that most members of this structure have origins in the same gigantic stellar nursery.”

A key aspect of their methodology is that a star’s rotation rate decreases with age.

The study utilized a combination of TESS’s stellar rotation data (made to detect exoplanets) and Gaia’s stellar motion observations (designed for mapping the Milky Way).

With this information, they developed a new method based on rotation to identify stars that share common origins.

“For the first time, by amalgamating data from Gaia, TESS, and SDSS, we confidently identified a new member of the Pleiades cluster,” reported Dr. Buma.

“Data from each mission alone was not enough to reveal the full scope of the structure.”

“However, when we integrated stellar motions from Gaia, rotations from TESS, and chemical data from SDSS, a coherent picture took shape.”

“It’s akin to piecing together a jigsaw puzzle, where every dataset provides a different piece of a larger whole.”

Besides their comparable ages, the authors highlighted that the stars in the Greater Pleiades cluster share similar chemical compositions and were once much closer to one another.

The fifth generation of SDSS data was employed for the chemical abundance analysis.

“The Pleiades star cluster has been pivotal in human observations of stars since ancient times,” Dr. Buma remarked.

“This research marks a significant advancement in understanding the changes in the Pleiades star cluster since its formation 100 million years ago.”

The researchers believe their findings carry broad implications.

The Pleiades is not merely an astrophysical benchmark for young stars and exoplanets but also a significant cultural symbol, referenced in the Old Testament and Talmud, celebrated as Matariki in New Zealand, and represented on the Subaru logo in Japan.

Professor Andrew Mann of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill stated, “We are starting to understand that many stars near the Sun belong to extensive star clusters with intricate structures.”

“Our study provides a novel method to uncover these hidden connections.”

A paper detailing the survey results has been published this week in the Astrophysical Journal.

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Andrew W. Boyle et al. 2025. Missing Sister Found: TESS and Gaia Reveal Dissolving Pleiades Complex. APJ 994, 24; doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae0724

Source: www.sci.news

Astronomers Discover Vast Numbers of Black Holes 12.8 Billion Light Years Away, Actively Growing

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The immense black hole at the center of Radio Quasar RACS J032021.44-352104.1 (shortened to RACS J0320-35) is currently expanding at one of the fastest rates ever recorded.

Artist illustrations and x-ray images from Chandra for Racs J0320-35. Image credits: NASA/CXC/INAF-BRERA/IGHINA et al. / SAO / M. WEISS / N. WOLK.

The black hole residing in RACS J0320-35 has a mass approximately 1 billion times greater than that of the sun.

This system is situated about 12.8 billion light-years away from Earth, meaning astronomers are observing it as it existed just 920 million years after the universe’s inception.

It emits more X-rays than any other black hole identified in the universe’s first billion years.

Black holes are the driving force behind what scientists refer to as quasars.

This luminous giant’s energy is fueled by the significant amount of material that falls into the black hole.

The same research team discovered this black hole two years prior, but further observations from Chandra were required in 2023 to gain more insights.

Data from X-ray observations suggests that this black hole is expanding at a rate that exceeds the typical limits for such objects.

“It was somewhat surprising to observe such a dramatic growth in this black hole,” commented Dr. Luca Idina, an astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

As material is drawn towards the black hole, it heats up and generates intense radiation across a wide spectrum, including X-rays and optical light. This radiation creates pressure on the infalling material.

Once the falling speed reaches a critical threshold, the radiation pressure counterbalances the black hole’s gravity, making it usually impossible for material to fall inward more rapidly. This upper limit is known as the Eddington limit.

Researchers believe that black holes growing slower than the Eddington limit must originate with solar masses exceeding 10,000, allowing them to achieve a mass of 1 billion solar masses in the early universe.

Such massive black holes may originate from unique processes, often linked to incredibly dense clouds of gas that contain heavier elements than helium.

Interestingly, RACS J0320-35 is expanding at a remarkable speed, estimated to be 2.4 times greater than the Eddington limit, indicating that its formation may have followed a more typical path, beginning with a mass of less than 100 solar masses resulting from massive star explosions.

“By determining a black hole’s mass and growth rate, we can infer its initial size,” said Dr. Alberto Moretti, an astronomer at INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera.

“This calculation permits us to evaluate various theories regarding the formation of black holes.”

To investigate how rapidly this black hole is growing (at rates between 300 and 3,000 solar masses per year), researchers compared the theoretical model with Chandra’s X-ray spectra, assessing the X-rays emitted at various energy levels.

The findings indicated that Chandra’s spectrum closely matched their expectations based on a model for black holes developing beyond the Eddington limit.

Supporting data from optical and infrared observations further corroborates the conclusion that this black hole is accumulating mass faster than the Eddington limit permits.

“How did the universe generate the first generation of black holes?” mused Dr. Thomas Connor, an astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

“This is one of the most pressing questions in astrophysics, and this singular object propels our quest for answers.”

Moreover, this research also sheds light on the origins of the jets of particles emitted by some black holes that approach the speed of light, as observed in RACS J0320-35.

“Jets like these are uncommon in quasars, suggesting that the accelerated growth of black holes may play a role in the formation of these jets,” the author remarked.

Their paper is set to be published in the Astrophysical Journal.

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Luca Idina et al. 2025. X-ray investigation of the possibility of Super Eddington accretion in a wireless loudsal of Z = 6.13. apjl 990, L56; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/aded0a

Source: www.sci.news

Scientists suggest that Earth may be trapped in a vast void in the universe.

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Recent studies indicate that Earth and the rest of the Milky Way could be drifting through the universe’s voids for billions of years.

By analyzing the echoes left by the Big Bang’s “Soundwave,” a group of astronomers has uncovered that the universe’s voids may be more extensive than previously believed.

If validated, this theory could solve one of the major dilemmas in cosmology known as Hubble tension, which highlights the discrepancy in how quickly our universe is expanding based on various measurement methods.

Astronomers have grappled with this issue for quite some time, finding that the expansion rate measured from the distant universe is significantly slower than that determined from observations of local regions.

“The possible resolution to this discrepancy is that our galaxy resides near the center of a large, local void,” stated Dr. Indranil Banik from the University of Portsmouth at the National Astronomical Conference in Durham.

This situation arises because the area surrounding the void is densely packed with galaxies, and their gravitational influence gradually pulls in nearby galaxies, leading to the void’s slow emptying over time.

“Due to the void’s emptiness, the speed of objects receding from us is greater than if the void were absent,” Banik explained. Thus, it may appear that the local universe is expanding at a faster rate than it truly is.

For Hubble’s tension to hold, the empty void must exhibit a galactic density approximately 20% lower than the universe’s average and span about 1 billion light-years.

Life in the Void

The concept of living within a void is not new, but confirming its existence poses challenges.

For instance, it’s quite difficult to perceive the shape of your environment when you are immersed within it—like trying to analyze your home from inside a room.

Current cosmological theories suggest uniformity across large scales, implying the absence of significant voids within our vicinity.

Galaxies tend to cluster together like the Perseus clusters, separated by large voids. Yet, everything should appear uniform on a grand scale – credits: Image processing Cuillandre (Cea Paris-Saclay), G. by ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, J.-C. Anselmi

However, Banik’s team has gathered evidence supporting the existence of a local void by studying the acoustic vibrations known as baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO). These fluctuations result from pressure waves produced during the primordial phase of the Big Bang.

Over billions of years, these oscillations have influenced the arrangement of galaxies in the broader universe. If our galaxy is positioned at the center of a void, it would distort the BAO patterns we observe nearby.

This research, drawing on data collected over the past 20 years, reinforces the idea that we genuinely inhabit a vast void.

Real challenges will emerge when examining how life within the void impacts other aspects of the surrounding universe, which may prove to be lonelier than we ever anticipated.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Scientists Claim Vast Farmland Affected by Ukraine’s Kornovir Can Be Safely Cultivated

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A group of researchers from the UK and Ukraine has introduced an innovative approach for the safe reevaluation of abandoned farmland following the 1986 Kornovir nuclear disaster.

Zoning of contaminated territory in Ukraine based on current and field research plots. Image credit: Smith et al, doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2025.107698.

Since the Kornovir incident, extensive regions in northern Ukraine have been deemed too hazardous for agricultural activities.

An exclusion zone of 4,200 km2 surrounds the nuclear site, remaining uninhabited and now serves as one of Europe’s largest natural reserves.

Additionally, a 2,000 km2 mandatory resettlement area was never entirely deserted.

Thousands of residents still reside in this region, complete with schools and shops, yet official investments and agricultural use are prohibited.

Since the 1990s, experts in Ukraine and internationally have suggested that, despite the radioactive and radiostrontium pollutants, the land can be safely re-utilized.

Nonetheless, due to political complexities, the land remains officially classified as abandoned.

This hasn’t deterred some farmers from tackling the issue themselves, initiating informal agricultural practices in certain areas.

The latest study, spearheaded by scientists from the University of Portsmouth and the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology, corroborates these farmers’ beliefs. Most regions are safe for crop cultivation.

Utilizing a 100-hectare testing site in the Zhytomyr region, the researchers established a straightforward yet effective protocol for evaluating the absorption of radioactive materials by typical crops such as potatoes, grains, corn, and sunflowers.

By analyzing soil samples and assessing external gamma radiation, they confirmed that the radiation exposure levels for agricultural workers are significantly below Ukraine’s national safety threshold and much lower than average natural background radiation globally.

The results indicate that, with proper monitoring and adherence to Ukraine’s food safety guidelines, many crops can be safely grown in these formerly restricted zones.

Professor Jim Smith, the study’s lead author, remarked, “This research is crucial for communities impacted by the Chornobyl disaster.”

“Since 1986, a great deal of misinformation regarding radiation risks from Kornovir has adversely affected individuals still living in abandoned regions.”

“We now have a validated, science-based method to reintroduce valuable farmland into formal production, ensuring safety for both consumers and workers.”

“This extends beyond Kornovir; it’s about leveraging science and evidence to guarantee people’s safety.

The study will be published in the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity.

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JT Smith et al. Protocol for radiation assessment for agricultural use of Ukrainian land abandoned after the Kornovir accident. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity Published online on April 28, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2025.107698

Source: www.sci.news

Is it necessary for AI to have such vast amounts of money? (Tech giant labeled as Jesus)

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Hello, and welcome to TechScape. ELON MUSK NEWS has already been a few days. Look forward to our news. In my personal news, I deleted Instagram from my mobile phone and tried a month there. Instead of scrolling, I’m listening Shoe girl and Lady Gaga’s new music。

The advantage of American AI?

Last week, DeepSeek has developed a US stock market by suggesting that AI should not be so expensive. The proposal was very wonderful and wiped off about $ 600 million from NVIDIA’s market capitalization in one day. According to DeepSeek, I trained a flagship AI model. This is the top US app store, almost $ 5.6 million, almost equal to the performance of the US top model. (It has been discussed how accurate the numbers are.) For some time, there were no co-announcements of Stargate, a $ 500 million-dollar AI infrastructure project in the United States joining Oracle, Softbank, and Open. It seemed to be a huge overpire. I know what they are talking about. Same as META and Microsoft’s huge ear mark. Hey, large-scale spender: Investors want to see this cash flow in reverse.

In MANIA, META, and Microsoft, two high-tech gifts who bet on artificial intelligence have reported a quarterly revenue. Next year, we promise to build hundreds of billions of dollars and build artificial intelligence infrastructure. META promised $ 600 billion and Microsoft $ 800 billion.

Mark Zuckerberg, who was asked about DeepSeek on a phone call with an analyst, refused to suspect.

Satya nadella states: Microsoft has accepted DeepSeek so that Azure customers can be used.

The whole property will live or die with the advantage of American AI: Sam Altman. He responded to Deepseek Mania by announcing that Openai will release a new version of Chatgpt for free for free. Previously, chatbot paid users (some of them pay $ 200 a month) first access to the most advanced features. What Altman did not say was as much as much attention. He did not announce that Openai would reduce a huge amount of spending, and did not say that Stargate needed less cash. He is committed to a large gold game, like Zuckerberg and Nadera.

I will see Google’s profits tonight for Sundar Pichai’s opinion about what DeepSeek means for his company and its huge spending.

AI philosophy and corporate governance are on the stage

Photo: Guardian

I attended my premiere last Thursday Domer A new play set in an open-rit office office on the weekend when Sam Altman was fired as CEO. If I was incomplete and frustrated, it seemed motivated and interesting. We recommend that you look at it if possible.

The play occurs in two acts. First, Altman Analogue’s set is sitting on a long table with executives of other companies. As they talk about, Alina, the company’s safety and consistency…

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lightning can generate energy waves that travel vast distances into space.

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Lightning can create special energy waves

Room the Agency/Alamy

This overlooked mechanism could allow lightning energy to reach the top of the atmosphere, threatening the safety of satellites and astronauts.

When lightning strikes, the energy it carries can create special electromagnetic waves called whistlers, so named because they can be converted into sound signals. For decades, researchers thought that the whistlers produced by lightning remained confined to altitudes relatively close to the Earth's surface, below about 1,000 kilometers.

now Vikas Sonwalkar and Amani Lady Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks discovered that some whistlers bounce off a layer of the atmosphere filled with charged particles called the ionosphere, which allows whistler waves and the energy they carry to travel up to 20,000 kilometers above Earth's surface—all the way into the magnetosphere, the region of space governed by Earth's magnetic field.

Researchers found evidence of these reflective whistlers in data from the Van Allen Probes, twin robotic spacecraft that measured the magnetosphere between 2012 and 2019. They also found hints of the phenomenon in studies published in the 1960s. Both the old and new data indicate that the phenomenon is very frequent and happens all the time, Reddy said.

In fact, the lightning may be depositing twice as much energy into this region as previously estimated, the researchers say, and this energy charges and accelerates nearby particles, creating electromagnetic radiation that can damage satellites and endanger the health of astronauts.

“Lightning has always been considered a bit of a smaller player. Until 10 years ago, this data wasn't available and we'd never looked at it at this level of detail.” Jacob Bortnick researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles. He says the new study is a call for others to develop a more accurate picture of the magnetosphere.

Establishing the connection between lightning and the magnetosphere is also important because changes in Earth's climate could make lightning storms more frequent, Sonwalker said.

The research team now hopes to analyze data from more satellites to learn more about how lightning-based whistlers are distributed in the magnetosphere and how they are affected by space weather.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Archaeologists say wealth inequality between households is avoided at the vast Trypillia site

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The Trypilyan culture flourished in western/central Ukraine, Moldova and eastern Romania for over two millennia, from the end of the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age (5400-2700 BC).

Re-creation of the Maidanetske Giants settlement in Tripoli, Ukraine. Image by Kenny Arne Lang Antonsen / CC BY-SA 4.0.

of Tripilian culture Neolithic European culture, Happened In the 5th millennium BC, it extended from the Seret and Bug rivers in Ukraine south to present-day Romania and Moldova, and east to the Dnieper River.

Also known as the Cucuteni-Trypillarian culture, it was characterized by advanced agriculture, advanced metallurgy, pottery making, sophisticated architecture and social organization.

Tripoli society was matrilineal, with women heading the household and working in agriculture, pottery, weaving and clothing production, while hunting, livestock rearing and tool making were the responsibilities of men.

“Around 4200-3600 BC the so-called huge site of Trypilia was established at the northern limit of the Pontic steppe,” said Dr Robert Hoffmann from the University of Kiel and his colleagues.

“With an area of ​​up to 320 hectares and around 10,000 inhabitants, it is one of the largest prehistoric settlements in Europe.”

“These settlements were established in partly open forest-steppe areas with very fertile loess soils.”

“They were agricultural settlements inhabited all year round, with an economy based on cereal and legume cultivation and intensive, large-scale livestock farming, primarily cattle.”

Distribution of Tripilian sites surveyed by region, with sample size and Gini coefficient. Image courtesy of Hoffman. others., doi: 10.15184/aqy.2024.18.

Archaeologists used variation in the size of 7,000 houses in 38 settlements to explore changing levels of inequality in three geographic regions of the Cucuteni-Trypillarian culture.

“We believe that the new social organization of the mega-institution allows residents to actively participate in the political decision-making process,” Dr. Hoffman explained.

“Such reformist nature at the time may have been the catalyst for the great attraction of these settlements, resulting in many people joining these communities.”

“We took advantage of the variation in house size in 38 settlements in Tripilia and used the Gini coefficient to calculate how the level of inequality changed in the three geographical regions over a 2000-year period,” said Dr Nils Müller-Schösel, an archaeologist at the University of Kiel.

“Our analysis shows that there was little change in the size of houses between 4300 and 3800 BC.”

“We can infer low levels of social inequality at the megalithic site of Trypillia between 4300 and 3800 BC.”

“The Tripilian community must have had effective mechanisms to prevent social inequalities,” said Professor Johannes Müller of Kiel University.

“This could have included mechanisms for balancing interests and redistributing surpluses.”

“The development of differences in house size and political institutions suggests that opportunities for participation in political decision-making processes deteriorated over time and that the original egalitarian principles of the settlement founders were gradually abandoned.”

“The result has been widening social inequalities and widening gaps in prosperity.”

“In our opinion, this was a crucial factor in the subsequent gradual disappearance of the large megasites,” Dr Hoffman said.

“The phenomenon of megasites is part of a series of historical cases that show that increasing social complexity does not necessarily go hand in hand with increasing vertical social differentiation.”

“Rather, the emergence and collapse of these large settlements was based on democratic political decisions made by the individuals and communities who lived there and ultimately decided to leave.”

Team work Published in the April 2024 issue Ancient.

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Robert Hoffman others2024. The Tripiglia megasite: a social equalizing concept? Ancient 98(398):380-400; Source: 10.15184/aqy.2024.18

Source: www.sci.news

Possible Vast Global Ocean Discovered Beneath Ice on Saturn’s Moon Mimas

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Mimas photographed by NASA's Cassini spacecraft

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/Space Science I

Saturn's moon Mimas appears to have a vast global ocean beneath its icy shell, according to detailed measurements of its orbit. If other icy worlds have similar oceans, the number of planets that can support life could increase.

Mimas is the smallest of Saturn's seven major moons. For a long time, it was thought that most of it was composed of solid ice and rock, but in 2014 astronomers observed that the orbit around Saturn was unexpectedly wobbling, suggesting that this could only be explained by either a rugby ball-shaped nucleus or a liquid ocean.

Many astronomers rejected the ocean explanation, as the friction required to melt the ice would have caused visible marks on Mimas's surface. However, recent simulations suggest that this ocean may exist even without such traces.

Looking for more clues? Valerie Rainey Researchers from France's Paris Observatory analyzed observations of Mimas' orbit by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. They found that the orbit around Saturn has shifted by about 10 kilometers over 13 years.

According to the team's calculations, this orbital drift could only have been caused by an ice shell sliding over the ocean, or by wobbles from the physically impossible pancake-shaped core.

The moon's elliptical orbit and lack of surface markings also suggest that the ocean is about 30 kilometers deep and formed less than 25 million years ago. “It was very recent,” Rainey says. “We are more or less witnessing the birth of this global ocean.”

This recent activity could help explain not only the lack of traces on the surface, but also why the moon is so different from its neighbors. Enceladus has a similar shape and orbit to Mimas, and has a global ocean, but it also has a very active surface and giant spout. Rainey said the difference is simply a difference in time, and in a few million years Mimas' ice could melt and it could look similar to Enceladus.

“It would be surprising if that were true,” he says. William McKinnon at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. But he says there are still things that aren't perfectly aligned, such as the vast 80-mile-wide Herschel crater, which was formed by a giant impact. If Mimas' ice shell was truly only tens of kilometers deep, McKinnon said, we would have seen evidence of a distorted crater floor in the impact and aftermath. It's also unlikely, he says, that you'll be able to get a front-row seat at such a short and unique time in Mimas' long history. “I remain a Mimas ocean skeptic,” McKinnon says.

However, if Mimas has a hidden ocean, it suggests that other icy planets and moons in the solar system and elsewhere may have the same, expanding the possibility of life. “It's expanding our vision of what is and isn't a habitable world,” Rainey says. “Mimas teaches us that even a corpse that seems to have no life in it may someday come to life.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com