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Categories: Ecology: Research, Space: The Solar System
Published Star clusters observed within a galaxy in the early Universe



The history of how stars and galaxies came to be and evolved into the present day remains among the most challenging astrophysical questions to solve yet, but new research brings us closer to understanding it. New insights about young galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization have been revealed. Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of the galaxy Cosmic Gems arc (SPT0615-JD) have confirmed that the light of the galaxy was emitted 460 million years after the big bang. What makes this galaxy unique is that it is magnified through an effect called gravitational lensing, which has not been observed in other galaxies formed during that age.
Published Boosting biodiversity without hurting local economies



Protected areas, like nature reserves, can conserve biodiversity without harming local economic growth, countering a common belief that conservation restricts development. A new study outlines what is needed for conservation to benefit both nature and people.
Published Iron meteorites hint that our infant solar system was more doughnut than dartboard



Iron meteorites are remnants of the metallic cores of the earliest asteroids in our solar system. Iron meteorites contain refractory metals, such as iridium and platinum, that formed near the sun but were transported to the outer solar system. New research shows that for this to have happened, the protoplanetary disk of our solar system had to have been doughnut-shaped because the refractory metals could not have crossed the large gaps in a target-shaped disk of concentric rings. The paper suggests that the refractory metals moved outward as the protoplanetary disk rapidly expanded, and were trapped in the outer solar system by Jupiter.
Published Titan's lakes may be shaped by waves



Geologists studied Titan's shorelines and showed through simulations that coastlines of the moon's methane- and ethane-filled seas have likely been shaped by waves. Until now, scientists have found indirect and conflicting signs of wave activity, based on Cassini images of Titan's surface.
Published Jupiter's great red spot is not the same one Cassini observed in 1600s



Jupiter's iconic Great Red Spot has persisted for at least 190 years and is likely a different spot from the one observed by the astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1665, a new study reports. The Great Red Spot we see today likely formed because of an instability in the planet's intense atmospheric winds, producing a long, persistent atmospheric cell, the study also finds.
Published Non-native plants and animals expanding ranges 100 times faster than native species



An international team of scientists has recently found that non-native species are expanding their ranges many orders of magnitude faster than native ones, in large part due to inadvertent human help. Even seemingly sedentary non-native plants are moving at three times the speed of their native counterparts in a race where, because of the rapid pace of climate change and its effect on habitat, speed matters. To survive, plants and animals need to be shifting their ranges by 3.25 kilometers per year just to keep up with the increasing temperatures and associated climactic shifts -- a speed that native species cannot manage without human help.
Published Natural hazards threaten over three thousand species



Natural hazards can speed up the extinction process of land animals that have limited distribution and/or small populations. But there is hope to turn the negative development around, says researchers behind new study.
Published Previously uncharacterized parasite uncovered in fish worldwide



Using genome reconstruction, scientists unveiled a once 'invisible' fish parasite present in many marine fish world-wide that belongs to the apicomplexans, one of the most important groups of parasites at a clinical level. However, it had gone unnoticed in previous studies. The parasite is geographically and taxonomically widespread in fish species around the planet, with implications for commercial fishing and oceanic food webs.
Published Sharks have depleted functional diversity compared to the last 66 million years



New research has found that sharks retained high levels of functional diversity for most of the last 66 million years, before steadily declining over the last 10 million years to its lowest value in the present day.
Published Marine heatwaves devastate red gorgonians in the Medes Islands



The increase in the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves in recent decades is one of the effects of global climate change. A study shows that the extreme heatwave of 2022 caused an 'unprecedented' increase in mortality of the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata, affecting 70% of the colonies located in the Montgr Natural Park, the Medes Islands and the Baix Ter. According to the researchers, these results are 'alarming and threaten the viability' of this species of great value for the biodiversity of benthic ecosystems, since it is considered to be an inhabitant-forming species.
Published Watery planets orbiting dead stars may be good candidates for studying life -- if they can survive long enough



The small footprint and dim light of white dwarfs, remnants of stars that have burned through their fuel, may make excellent backdrops for studying planets with enough water to harbor life. The trick is spotting the shadow of a planet against a former star that has withered to a fraction of its size and finding that it's a planet that has kept its water oceans for billions of years even after riding out the star's explosive and violent final throes. A new study of the dynamics of white dwarf systems suggests that, in theory, some watery planets may indeed thread the celestial needles necessary to await discovery and closer scrutiny.
Published Mysterious mini-Neptunes



This study discovered mini-Neptunes around four red dwarfs using observations from a global network of ground-based telescopes and the TESS space telescope. These four mini-Neptunes are close to their parent stars, and the three of them are likely to be in eccentric orbits.
Published Pacific coast gray whales have gotten 13% shorter in the past 20-30 years, Oregon State study finds



Gray whales that spend their summers feeding in the shallow waters off the Pacific Northwest coast have undergone a significant decline in body length since around the year 2000, a new study found.
Published Humans are the elephant in the room where conservation is debated



Studies working to map conservation historically have left humans out of the equation. This study proposes ways to build in the outsized footprint created by people in wild places.
Published New biomarker database designed to improve astronaut health may also be useful to earthlings



As space travel becomes more frequent, a new biomarker tool was developed by an international team of researchers to help improve the growing field of aerospace medicine and the health of astronauts.
Published Haiku may shine a light on humans' relationship with insects



Haiku poems have reflected humans' experiences in nature for hundreds of years, including observations of bugs and other wildlife. Recently, researchers analyzed which insects were mentioned the most in haiku -- with butterflies, fireflies and singing insects such as crickets topping the list.
Published Would astronauts' kidneys survive a roundtrip to Mars?



The structure and function of the kidneys is altered by space flight, with galactic radiation causing permanent damage that would jeopardise any mission to Mars, according to a new study led by researchers from UCL.
Published How did a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way come to be?



Crater 2, located approximately 380,000 light years from Earth, is one of the largest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. Extremely cold and with slow-moving stars, Crater 2 has low surface brightness. How this galaxy originated remains unclear. A team of physicists now offers an explanation.
Published New insights on polymicrobial infections in chronic lung diseases



Chronic lung diseases are often accelerated and exacerbated by polymicrobial infections. An international study has identified two types of these so-called dysbioses in cystic fibrosis. They display distinct ecology and are also likely to respond differently to treatment.
Published Webb telescope reveals asteroid collision in neighboring star system



Astronomers have captured what appears to be a snapshot of a massive collision of giant asteroids in Beta Pictoris, a neighboring star system known for its early age and tumultuous planet-forming activity.