So, Let’s delve into the new scientific research that happened in the past month or so and explore the latest technologies that are being created and breakthroughs that were achieved in this field.
In the current blog, you will read about the following science events of the month:
- What is the thing with Sunita Williams & Co!
- Rocks bought from far side of the moon land safely on the earth
- Athletes demand “fossil fuel free” Olympics this year
- Climate change severely affecting health of Europeans; Claims a study
- Black Hole ‘million times’ massive than our Sun awakens De-Novo
- Scientists ironically find largest ever genome in a small Fern
- Japanese build first eco-friendly satellite made of wood
- Godfather of AI backs a start-up that will use AI for carbon capture
- AI reveals that Elephants call each other by name
- Scientists pinpoint nerve cells in clitoris and penis that respond to vibrations
- Father’s diet has an impact on the child’s health reveals a study
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| Current Science Report: June 2024, Mufawad |
What is the thing with Sunita Williams & Co!
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, two astronauts aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, are facing an extended and uncertain mission duration in space due to technical challenges.
The Starliner spacecraft, launched on June 5, encountered multiple helium leaks and thruster failures shortly after reaching the International Space Station (ISS).
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NASA's Commercial Crew Programme manager, Steve Stich, is considering extending the mission from 45 to 90 days to address these issues thoroughly.
Boeing and NASA plan to conduct ground tests in New Mexico to better understand the thruster malfunctions. Mark Nappi, Boeing's vice president and programme manager, highlighted the importance of these tests.
If the test returns with all the answers, then the astronauts can undock and come home. While awaiting further instructions, Williams and Wilmore have integrated with the ISS crew, conducting routine tasks and scientific experiments.
The Expedition crew members, including Williams and Wilmore, are actively engaged in various tasks on the ISS, such as packing a US cargo craft, cleaning the station, and studying futuristic piloting techniques.
NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick and other crew members have been working on loading trash, discarding gear, and conducting eye exams to understand microgravity's effects on vision.
As said, NASA continues to evaluate the Starliner's propulsion system performance before planning the return journey. The astronauts were initially scheduled to return on June 13, but their return has been delayed twice now. The current expectation is that they might return sometime after July 5, pending the completion of ground tests and safety assessments.
NASA has refuted claims that the astronauts are "stuck" in space, asserting that the Starliner can still undock and fly under emergency conditions. However, the spacecraft can only remain docked to the ISS for 45 days due to the Harmony module's limited fuel capacity. Beyond this period, alternate transport options such as SpaceX's Crew Dragon or the Russian Soyuz could be used to bring the astronauts back to Earth.
The Starliner programme has already exceeded its $4.5 billion NASA budget by $1.5 billion and has faced numerous delays. The current mission's complications add to Boeing's financial burden and its ongoing struggle with quality and safety issues across its product lines.
Courtesy: Firstpost
Rocks bought from far side of the moon land safely on the earth
China's Chang'e-6 re-entry capsule, carrying up to two kilograms of materials from the Moon's most ancient basin, has safely landed on Earth.
The capsule, launched on 3 May, arrived at the Moon five days later and stayed in lunar orbit to prepare for landing.
On 2 June, it touched down at a preselected site inside the South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin, covered in dark-colored cooled lava rocks known as basalt, and conducted intense sampling using a drill and a robotic arm for two days. The precious cargo then lifted off from the Moon, docked with the re-entry capsule in lunar orbit, and headed towards Earth.
The capsule skipped off the atmosphere to reduce its speed before diving down at 11.2 kilometers a second. A parachute was deployed to assist with the descent. Once the team has processed the capsule on site, it will be transported to Beijing, where it will be opened and the samples removed for scientific analysis and storage.
Patrick Pinet, a lunar geologist at the Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP) in Toulouse, France, watched the mission unfold in real time from a control room in Beijing.
China's ability to carry out highly complex missions at lunar distance is robust, and the technologies to control a spacecraft and communicate with it, as well as to manoeuvre in lunar orbit, land, take off, and rendezvous, will be important to have well-in control for a human lunar mission in the near future.
More than 200 scientists from Chinese universities and research institutes met in Beijing to discuss the scientific questions they hope to address by analysing the Chang’e-6 samples.
Participants voted for three problems they considered the most important: why the Moon's two faces are so different, followed by what the composition of deeper lunar structures is, and when the SPA basin was formed.
International researchers are also hoping to work on Chang’e-6 samples to work out the timing of the initiation and termination of the lunar magma ocean in the aftermath of the giant impact that formed the Moon.
China is now developing its Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8 missions, which are more complex and scheduled to launch in 2026 and 2028, respectively. Water ice near the lunar south pole and local supplies will be crucial for establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon.
Courtesy: Nature
Athletes demand “fossil fuel free” Olympics this year
The 2024 Paris Olympics are set to be the hottest on record, and experts are warning that extreme heat could harm, injure, and even kill this summer's Olympic athletes.
A new report, Rings of Fire: Heat Risks at the 2024 Paris Olympics, published by the British Association for Sustainable Sport, found that annual temperatures in Paris have increased by 1.8°C since the city last hosted the Olympics in 1924.
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During the dates in July and August that this year's Olympics take place, average temperatures are 3.1°C higher now than they were then.
The risk of heat waves has risen in the last century, with an August heat wave in Paris killing over 15,000 people in 2003 and another last summer killing 5,000 across France. The timing of these Olympics is surprising, as we have seen such deadly heat waves in this exact location at this exact time, many times in recent history.
As recently as since 2000, the Olympics have commenced in September. However, according to Jules Boykoff, a former professional soccer player who now studies sports and politics at Pacific University, organizing groups are reluctant to do so now because delaying the games would cause scheduling conflicts with American football—something that broadcasters, which account for 61% of the International Olympic Committee’s revenue, don’t want.
From a competitive standpoint, the Olympians involved in the report emphasized how heat makes athletic performance more challenging, both physically and psychologically. The threat is obvious for endurance sports athletes like marathon runners, but it also affects power athletes.
Eliza McCartney, a pole vaulter from New Zealand who won a bronze medal in 2016, said in the report that excess sweat causes her to lose grip with the pole, risking accidents and injury. From a health standpoint, heat can cause cramps, dizziness, exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death.
Freddie Daley, a researcher at the University of Sussex and campaigner with the climate group Badvertising, said that it’s the first time he’s seen athletes from so many different sports come together to demand climate action—a testament to the power of the Olympics
In addition to advocating for heat protections, the report calls for sports organizations to oust fossil fuel sponsorships from athletics. Between 2020 and 2022, 16 of the world’s 25 largest fossil fuel companies sponsored or owned a soccer club, according to The Athletic.
Ostensibly, Paris 2024 seeks to join the sustainability movement, committing to hosting a “climate-positive” Olympics by slashing emissions from construction, transportation, and operations—a plan the watchdog group Carbon Market Watch ‘however’ describes as insufficient and opaque, but still “decent.”
Courtesy: Atmos.earth
Climate change severely affecting health of Europeans; Claims a study
Global warming is causing a significant increase in mortality and morbidity linked to rising temperatures and the proliferation of climate-sensitive diseases across Europe, according to a major report.
The report reviewed hundreds of studies on the health effects of climate change and the actions being taken in response in Europe. Climate and health researcher Rachel Lowe and her colleagues tracked 42 indicators, including heat-related deaths, the spread of infectious diseases, and trends in research on health and climate change.
The report emphasizes the alarming increase in mortality and morbidity linked to rising temperatures and the proliferation of climate-sensitive diseases. Researchers suggest that further studies should take a holistic approach to the climate-health nexus, as treating all these health impacts of climate change in isolation is not possible.
Deadly heat is one of the main causes of heat-related mortality, with an average of 17 deaths per 100,000 people across Europe from 2003-12 to 2013-22.
This increase was higher in women compared to men, possibly due to differences in terms of losing heat from the body and maximum sweat rates. Women might also be at greater risk of heat stress after ovulation, when they tend to have higher body temperature.
Warmer temperatures are enabling disease-carrying parasites to expand into more regions and spurring the growth of tick populations. One pathogen that is becoming more widespread owing to climate change is the single-cell parasite Leishmania infantum, which is transmitted to people when female sandflies bite human skin to feed on blood. The researchers estimated that warmer and more-humid conditions across Europe have enabled sandflies and the parasites they carry to spread north into new territories.
Warmer temperatures have made Europe more suitable for the ticks like Ixodes ricinus, which can transmit a range of diseases when it bites people. These diseases can cause symptoms ranging from flu-like illness to severe neurological and cardiovascular complications, long-term disability, and substantial health-care costs.
As the world warms, research on how climate change intersects with Europeans' health has intensified, with around 2% of the studies published in 2022 on climate health referencing equality, equity, or justice. Understanding which populations are disproportionately affected and most at risk is crucial for proper response to climate-related health impacts.
Courtesy: Nature
Black Hole ‘million times’ massive than our Sun awakens De-Novo
The mysterious brightening of a distant galaxy in the constellation of Virgo has been traced to the heart of the star system and the sudden awakening of a giant black hole 1 million times more massive than the sun.
Astronomers noticed a dramatic surge in the galaxy's luminosity at the end of 2019, which persists to this day. Researchers believe they are witnessing changes that have never been seen before, with the black hole at the galaxy's core putting on an extreme cosmic light show as vast amounts of material fall into it.
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The galaxy, which lies 300 million light years away, was flagged to astronomers in December 2019 when an observatory in California called the Zwicky Transient Facility recorded a sudden rise in its brightness.
The scientists discovered the galaxy had recently doubled in brightness in mid-infrared wavelengths, become four times brighter in the ultraviolet, and at least 10 times brighter in the X-ray range.
This sudden brightening is the creation of an "active galactic nucleus," where a vast black hole at the center of a galaxy starts actively consuming the material around it.
Courtesy: Guardian
Scientists ironically find largest ever genome in a small Fern
A small fern has broken the record for the largest genome yet known, with its full set of genetic instructions being over 50 times the size of the human genome.
This is about 7 percent larger than the genome of the previous record holder, a Japanese flower called Paris japonica. Researchers at the Botanical Institute of Barcelona studied these giant genomes to better understand how they evolve and function in organisms that wield them.
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Previous work suggested that some fork ferns (Tmesipteris) had particularly big genomes. The team conducted a detailed survey of six fork fern species found in the South Pacific islands of New Caledonia. They isolated their nuclei, which contain the genome, and calculated the size of each fork fern's genome using fluorescent dye staining. One species, T. oblanceolata, has the largest genome of any organism yet measured, with a length of 160 billion nucleobases.
Plant genomes vary greatly in size, with the largest genomes being 2,500 times as big as the smallest. One way plants can dramatically bloat their genomes is by inheriting extra copies of entire chromosomes or accumulating long sections of repetitive DNA sequences. Analyzing and sequencing T. oblanceolata's vast genome in detail could reveal more about how it grew so large.
Plant evolutionary scientist Liming Cai wonders if some plants with giant genomes might have a history of repeated genetic bottlenecks, where the species went through multiple rounds of population shrinking and loss of genetic diversity.
Cai is also curious about the abundance of gene copies in the fork fern's huge genome compared to those in the far smaller genomes of some aquatic ferns.
Courtesy: Sciencenews.org
Japanese build first eco-friendly satellite made of wood
Japanese researchers have built the world's first wooden satellite, named LignoSat, using magnolia wood.
The cuboid craft, developed by Kyoto University scientists and Sumitomo Forestry, measures just 10 centimetres on each side. The wooden material is expected to burn up completely when the device re-enters the atmosphere, potentially avoiding the generation of metal particles when a retired satellite returns to Earth.
The satellite's completion is expected to promote the use of non-metal satellites in the future. The satellite will be handed over to JAXA next week and sent into space on a SpaceX rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in September.
The satellite will be released from the Japanese ISS experiment module to test its strength and durability. Data will be sent to researchers to check for signs of strain and temperature changes.
Courtesy: The Hindu
Godfather of AI backs a start-up that will use AI for carbon capture
Geoffrey Hinton, known as the "Godfather of AI," has been a vocal critic of AI's potential impact on humanity. However, more than a year later, Hinton has backed Cambridge-founded CuspAI with a $30 million seed funding round.
CuspAI will assist users in designing next-gen building materials using deep learning and molecular simulation, streamlining design processes. Hinton has agreed to serve as an advisor on CuspAI's board, expressing his admiration for the company's mission to accelerate the design process of new materials using AI to tackle climate change.
CuspAI plans to use search-engine-style functionalities to identify the properties needed for new building materials on demand, aiding in their discovery. The cofounders hope that CuspAI can offset the rising ill from AI's rapid uptake—its prohibitive levels of carbon emissions. The company also aims to contribute to the world's growing carbon capture and storage capabilities by designing materials that efficiently capture carbon dioxide.
Meta's chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, said the tech giant was planning to partner with CuspAI to accelerate its discovery of new materials for carbon capture. CuspAI's $30 million round was led by Hoxton Ventures, with "significant participation" from Basis Set Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Hinton left Google in May last year, warning of AI's future dangers to humanity. He has since doubled down on this stance, suggesting rogue AI would learn to manipulate its users by learning Machiavelli's works and worrying about AI's impact on the labor market.
Now, Hinton sees promise in CuspAI's use of the technology to at least combat climate change, despite ruminating over the technology's other existential threats.
Courtesy: Fortune.com
AI reveals that Elephants call each other by name
A study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution has successfully demonstrated how elephants communicate using individual names. Researchers observed and listened to African savannah elephants in Kenya using machine learning software called Elephant Voices, which analysed calls made between two herds of elephants.
The research took place in Samburu National Reserve and Amboseli National Park over four years, including 14 months of fieldwork. Some 469 unique calls or "rumbles" were captured from the African elephants in the experiment.
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The study revealed that elephants are highly social animals, with their social network being incredibly rich, nuanced, and complex. The observations suggested that there might be a unique identifier embedded in the elephant rumbles that each elephant can recognize, similar to how humans identify each other.
Specialist AI learning software was used to identify specific, unique names being used in reference to particular elephants, occurring within the rumbles. Researchers were able to determine that names were being used in rumbles between elephants in nearly one-third (27.5 percent) of "calls."
However, identifying and understanding other parts of the rumbles would require additional research. During the testing, researchers played a sound from a speaker that they believed was the "name" of an elephant, and the elephant would respond by picking up its head up, flapping its ears, while rumbling back as it walked towards the speaker.
In other instances, when the call from the speaker was not their "name," the elephant might pick its head up, but the response was less active in a behavioral sense. Elephants are the first non-human animals known to use unique names without relying on imitation.
In another report published last month by the journal Nature Communications, researchers analysed thousands of recorded calls made by sperm whales, revealing a "phonetic alphabet" within their sequences of "click" sounds.
This discovery indicates that sperm whales use much more intricate communication systems, known as "codas," than previously believed. Sperm whales make clicking sounds using echolocation, where sound waves bounce off objects in the distance, returning to the whale so it can determine where the object is.
Courtesy: Aljazeera
Scientists pinpoint nerve cells in clitoris and penis that respond to vibrations
Scientists have identified nerve cells that respond to vibration and light touch in the clitoris and penis in mice, potentially playing a role in normal sexual function.
Krause corpuscles, first described by German anatomist Wilhelm Krause in 1860, are specialized sensory receptors in the skin and mucous membranes. They are ovoid or cylindrical in shape and contain coiled nerves or simple nerve endings. The precise function of these sensors has remained a mystery, with some scientists believing they sense cold temperatures.
To answer this long-standing puzzle, researchers at Harvard Medical School measured the number of female and male Krause corpuscles across the entire genital tissue in mice. The number of clitoral and penile Krause corpuscles was similar, with a 15-fold higher density of corpuscles in the clitoris than in the penis. The neurons found in mice were structurally similar to those found in humans.
The study demonstrated that these cells are rapidly adapting, exquisitely sensitive sensors that fire in response to even weak mechanical stimulation. Two distinct types of fast-conducting sensory neurons supplying the Krause corpuscles in the clitoris or penis fired in response to light touch by brushing and to mechanical vibrations at 40 to 80 Hertz.
One of the two types of Krause corpuscle nerves did not respond to temperature changes, and the team is currently testing the temperature sensitivity of the other type of Krause corpuscle neuron.
To test whether Krause corpuscles contribute to sexual behavior, the researchers genetically engineered the mice so that the neurons fired when activated by laser light pulses. The frequencies that the nerve cells were primed to respond to were similar to those used in genital vibrators, medical devices intended for therapeutic use in sexual dysfunction in both women and men.
Courtesy: Live Science
