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Categories: Ecology: Endangered Species, Offbeat: Space
Published Long missions, frequent travel take a toll on astronauts' brains
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study looking at how the human brain reacts to traveling outside Earth's gravity suggests frequent flyers should wait three years after longer missions to allow the physiological changes in their brains to reset.
Published What made the brightest cosmic explosion of all time so exceptional?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Last year, telescopes around the world registered the brightest cosmic explosion of all time. Astrophysicists can now explain what made it so dazzling.
Published Saving moths may be just as important as saving the bees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Night-time pollinators such as moths may visit just as many plants as bees, and should also be the focus of conservation and protection efforts, a new study suggests.
Published How studying feces may help us boost white rhino populations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified significant differences in the gut microbiome of female southern white rhinos who are reproducing successfully in captivity, as compared to females who have not reproduced successfully in captivity. The work raises questions about the role that a particular genus of gut microbes may be playing in limiting captive breeding of this rhinoceros species.
Published Webb Space Telescope detects universe's most distant complex organic molecules
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have detected complex organic molecules in a galaxy more than 12 billion light-years away from Earth -- the most distant galaxy in which these molecules are now known to exist. Thanks to the capabilities of the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope and careful analyses from the research team, a new study lends critical insight into the complex chemical interactions that occur in the first galaxies in the early universe.
Published Fungi stores a third of carbon from fossil fuel emissions and could be essential to reaching net zero, new study reveals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Mycorrhizal fungi are responsible for holding up to 36 per cent of yearly global fossil fuel emissions below ground -- more than China emits each year.
Published Dying stars' cocoons could be new source of gravitational waves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Although astrophysicists theoretically should be able to detect gravitational waves from a single, non-binary source, they have yet to uncover these elusive signals. Now researchers suggest looking at a new, unexpected and entirely unexplored place: The turbulent, energetic cocoons of debris that surround dying massive stars.
Published Early universe crackled with bursts of star formation, Webb shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Among the most fundamental questions in astronomy is: How did the first stars and galaxies form? NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is already providing new insights into this question. One of the largest programs in Webb's first year of science is the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey, or JADES, which will devote about 32 days of telescope time to uncover and characterize faint, distant galaxies. While the data is still coming in, JADES already has discovered hundreds of galaxies that existed when the universe was less than 600 million years old. The team also has identified galaxies sparkling with a multitude of young, hot stars.
Published Eventually everything will evaporate, not only black holes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New theoretical research has shown that Stephen Hawking was likely right about black holes, although not completely. Due to Hawking radiation, black holes will eventually evaporate, but the event horizon is not as crucial as had been believed. Gravity and the curvature of spacetime cause this radiation too. This means that all large objects in the universe, like the remnants of stars, will eventually evaporate.
Published Genomes of 233 primate species sequenced
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers from 24 countries have analyzed the genomes of 809 individuals from 233 primate species, generating the most complete catalog of genomic information about our closest relatives to date. The project provides new insights into the evolution of primates, including humans, and their diversity. In baboons, for example, hybridization and gene flow between different species occurred in the past and is still ongoing in several regions of their range. This makes baboons a good model for the evolution of early human lineages within and outside Africa. In addition, using a specially designed AI algorithm, the genomic data enable new insights into the genetic causes of human diseases.
Published Mysterious dashes revealed in Milky Way's center
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the early 1980s, astronomers discovered gigantic, one-dimensional filaments dangling vertically near Sagittarius A*, our galaxy's central supermassive black hole. Now, astronomers have discovered a new population of filaments -- but these threads are much shorter and lie horizontally or radially, spreading out like spokes on a wheel from the black hole.
Published Symbiotic and pathogenic fungi may use similar molecular tools to manipulate plants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Symbiotic and pathogenic fungi that interact with plants are distantly related and don't share many genetic similarities. Comparing plant pathogenic fungi and plant symbiotic fungi, scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) have discovered that these remote relatives are using a similar group of proteins to manipulate and live within plants.
Published Forest birds with short, round wings more sensitive to habitat fragmentation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tropical forest birds, which tend to have wings that are short and round relative to their body length and shape, are more sensitive to habitat fragmentation than the long-, slender-winged species common in temperate forests.
Published Astrophysicists confirm the faintest galaxy ever seen in the early universe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source After the Big Bang, the universe expanded and cooled sufficiently for hydrogen atoms to form. In the absence of light from the first stars and galaxies, the universe entered a period known as the cosmic dark ages. The first stars and galaxies appeared several hundred million years later and began burning away the hydrogen fog left over from the Big Bang, rendering the universe transparent, like it is today. Researchers have now confirmed the existence of a distant, faint galaxy typical of those whose light burned through the hydrogen atoms; the finding should help them understand how the cosmic dark ages ended.
Published Study identifies boat strikes as a growing cause of manatee deaths in Belize
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The endangered Antillean manatee faces a growing threat from boat strikes in Belize, according to a new study that raises concerns about the survival of what had been considered a relatively healthy population. Belize hosts a population of around 1,000 manatees. With the growth of tourism in recent decades, however, Belize has seen a substantial increase in boat traffic, making boat strikes an increasingly important cause of manatee deaths and injuries.
Published NIRISS instrument on Webb maps an ultra-hot Jupiter's atmosphere
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There's an intriguing exoplanet out there -- 400 light-years out there -- that is so tantalizing that astronomers have been studying it since its discovery in 2009. One orbit for WASP-18 b around its star that is slightly larger than our Sun takes just 23 hours. There is nothing like it in our Solar System. A new study about this exoplanet, an ultra-hot gas giant 10 times more massive than Jupiter.
Published Study leads to milestone advances in understanding lethal bronzing of palm trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have identified a key chemical associated with lethal bronzing (LB) infected palm trees. LB is a bacterial disease that kills more than 20 species of palm trees in the Southern United States and Caribbean and has been devastating the Florida green industries for nearly two decades.
Published Protecting large ocean areas doesn't curb fishing catches
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the first-ever 'before and after' assessment of the impact of establishing Mexico's Revillagigedo National Park on the fishing industry, a team of US and Mexican researchers found that Mexico's industrial fishing sector did not incur economic losses five years after the park's creation despite a full ban in fishing activity within the MPA.
Published Plants can distinguish when touch starts and stops, study suggests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Even without nerves, plants can sense when something touches them and when it lets go, a study has found. In a set of experiments, individual plant cells responded to the touch of a very fine glass rod by sending slow waves of calcium signals to other plant cells, and when that pressure was released, they sent much more rapid waves. While scientists have known that plants can respond to touch, this study shows that plant cells send different signals when touch is initiated and ended.
Published Saved from extinction, Southern California's Channel Island Foxes now face new threat to survival
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Starting in the 1990s, Island Fox populations began to dwindle due to an outbreak of canine distemper and an increase in attacks by golden eagles. Some islands saw their population drop to as low as 15 individuals, but conservation efforts by the Federal government restored numbers by 2017. A new study reveals a worrying decrease in genetic diversity within the species, signaling a new threat to the Channel Islands foxes' survival. The decrease in genetic diversity reduces the foxes' ability to adapt to future challenges, such as climate change and introduced pathogens, putting their survival at risk once again. Although the foxes have low genetic diversity, they possess diverse gut microbiomes that could help them cope with environmental changes.