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Categories: Ecology: General, Space: Astronomy

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Scientists may be one step closer to unlocking one of the great mysteries of the universe after calculating that neutron stars might hold a key to helping us understand elusive dark matter.

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In a recent study, researchers found that 78% of the world's bird species do not thrive in the most modified human-dominated environments. These species are also most likely to have declining populations.

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The CHEOPS space telescope is providing new information on the mysterious exoplanet WASP-76b. This ultra-hot giant is characterized by an asymmetry between the amount of light observed on its eastern terminator -- the fictitious line that separates its night side from its day side -- and that observed on its western terminator. This peculiarity is thought to be due to a 'glory', a luminous phenomenon similar to a rainbow, which occurs if the light from the star -- the 'sun' around which the exoplanet orbits -- is reflected by clouds made up of a perfectly uniform substance. If this hypothesis is confirmed, this would be the first detection of this phenomenon outside our solar system.

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Densely packed, fast-moving stars at the Milky Way's center can collide with each other. New research uses simulations to explore the outcomes of these collisions. Some collisions are more like 'violent high fives' while others are full-on mergers.

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Researchers have shown that levels of anisakid worms -- a common marine parasite -- rose in two salmon species in the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay over a 42-year period. The team discovered this by studying salmon caught, killed and canned from 1979 to 2021. Since anisakid worms have a complex life cycle involving multiple types of hosts, the researchers interpret their rising numbers as a potential sign of ecosystem recovery, possibly driven by rising numbers of marine mammals thanks to the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act.

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A team of astronomers has used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to survey the starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82). Located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, this galaxy is relatively compact in size but hosts a frenzy of star formation activity. For comparison, M82 is sprouting new stars 10 times faster than the Milky Way galaxy.

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Until now, groundwater -- a critical water resource around the globe, especially in dry regions -- has been largely unstudied in its importance and role in sustaining ecosystems. New groundbreaking research examines the relationship between groundwater and ecosystems across California.

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The oldest trees in the forest help to prevent the disappearance of endangered species in the natural environment, according to a new study. This is the case of the wolf lichen -- threatened throughout Europe --, which now finds refuge in the oldest trees in the high mountains of the Pyrenees. This study reveals for the first time the decisive role of the oldest trees in the conservation of other living beings thanks to their characteristic and unique physiology.

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In 2022 and 2023, biologists from research institutes in the UK and the Falkland Islands led two expeditions to South Georgia to study the impacts of invasive species on this cold and rugged sub-Antarctic island. They report that several invasive plants and invertebrates rapidly colonized the new ground exposed by melting glaciers, leaving few pristine areas for native species. With ongoing climate change, more research is needed across the world to understand how invasive species impact the fragile ecosystems that develop after glacier melting.

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Analysing the diversity of organic compounds dissolved in freshwater provides a reliable measure of ecosystem health, say scientists.

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New research has discovered a rare dust particle trapped in an ancient extra-terrestrial meteorite that was formed by a star other than our sun.

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The ALMA radio telescope has detected more than 100 molecular species, including many indicative of different star formation and evolution processes, in a galaxy where stars are forming much more actively than in the Milky Way. This is far more molecules than were found in previous studies. Now the team will try to apply this knowledge to other galaxies.

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Planets form in disks of dust and gas called protoplanetary disks that whirl around a central protostar during its final assembly.

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Astronomers have found that a previously quiet black hole, which sits at the center of a galaxy about 800 million light years away, has suddenly erupted, giving off plumes of gas every 8.5 days before settling back to its normal, quiet state.

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A new image from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration has uncovered strong and organized magnetic fields spiraling from the edge of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). Seen in polarized light for the first time, this new view of the monster lurking at the heart of the Milky Way Galaxy has revealed a magnetic field structure strikingly similar to that of the black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy, suggesting that strong magnetic fields may be common to all black holes.

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Researchers found that the double-lobed object, which is officially named Kuiper Belt Object 486958 Arrokoth and resembles a snowman, may have ancient ices stored deep within it from when the object first formed billions of years ago.

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Scientists captured images showing the development of turbulence as a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) interacted with the ambient solar wind in the circumsolar space.

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Astronomers have measured the speed of fast-moving jets in space, crucial to star formation and the distribution of elements needed for life. The jets of matter, expelled by stars deemed 'cosmic cannibals', were measured to travel at over one-third of the speed of light -- thanks to a groundbreaking new experiment.

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Astronomers have concluded that an obscure class of galaxies known as Compact Symmetric Objects, or CSOs, are not young as previously thought but rather lead relatively short lives.

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While Wyoming is home to some of North America's most abundant populations of pronghorn that have largely been stable in recent years, a new analysis shows that many herds are experiencing long-term declines in fawn production.