Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

New way for beneficial microbes to survive extreme conditions and space exploration      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Investigators sought to help figure out how to send materials like probiotics into space and to better treat a variety of gastrointestinal (GI) and metabolic diseases. The team's formulations allow microbial therapeutics, including those used to treat gastrointestinal diseases and improve crop production, to maintain their potency and function over time despite extreme temperatures.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Stench of a gas giant? Nearby exoplanet reeks of rotten eggs, and that's a good thing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An exoplanet infamous for its deadly weather has been hiding another bizarre feature -- it reeks of rotten eggs, according to a new study of data from the James Webb Space Telescope.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Fresh wind blows from historical supernova      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A mysterious remnant from a rare type of supernova recorded in 1181 has been explained for the first time. Two white dwarf stars collided, creating a temporary 'guest star,' now labeled supernova (SN) 1181, which was recorded in historical documents in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. However, after the star dimmed, its location and structure remained a mystery until a team pinpointed its location in 2021. Now, through computer modeling and observational analysis, researchers have recreated the structure of the remnant white dwarf, a rare occurrence, explaining its double shock formation. They also discovered that high-speed stellar winds may have started blowing from its surface within just the past 20-30 years. This finding improves our understanding of the diversity of supernova explosions, and highlights the benefits of interdisciplinary research, combining history with modern astronomy to enable new discoveries about our galaxy.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Moon 'swirls' could be magnetized by unseen magmas      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mysterious, light-colored swirls on Moon's surface could be rocks magnetized by magma activity underground, laboratory experiments confirm.

Computer Science: General Mathematics: Modeling Physics: General Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Machine learning could aid efforts to answer long-standing astrophysical questions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Physicists have developed a computer program incorporating machine learning that could help identify blobs of plasma in outer space known as plasmoids. In a novel twist, the program has been trained using simulated data.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Organic material from Mars reveals the likely origin of life's building blocks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two samples from Mars together deliver clear evidence of the origin of Martian organic material. The study presents solid evidence for a prediction made over a decade ago that could be key to understanding how organic molecules, the foundation of life, were first formed here on Earth.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

A new pulsar buried in a mountain of data      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have discovered the first millisecond pulsar in the stellar cluster Glimpse-CO1.

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

This desert moss has the potential to grow on Mars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The desert moss Syntrichia caninervis is a promising candidate for Mars colonization thanks to its extreme ability to tolerate harsh conditions lethal to most life forms. The moss is well known for its ability to tolerate drought conditions, but researchers now report that it can also survive freezing temperatures as low as 196 C, high levels of gamma radiation, and simulated Martian conditions involving these three stressors combined. In all cases, prior dehydration seemed to help the plants cope.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Tiny bright objects discovered at dawn of universe baffle scientists      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent discovery by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) confirmed that luminous, very red objects previously detected in the early universe upend conventional thinking about the origins and evolution of galaxies and their supermassive black holes.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Too many missing satellite galaxies found      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Bringing us one step closer to solving the 'missing satellites problem,' researchers have discovered two new satellite galaxies.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

New class of Mars quakes reveals daily meteorite strikes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of researchers combine orbital imagery with seismological data from NASA's Mars InSight lander to derive a new impact rate for meteorite strikes on Mars. Seismology also offers a new tool for determining the density of Mars' craters and the age of different regions of a planet.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

The density difference of sub-Neptunes finally deciphered      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The majority of stars in our galaxy are home to planets. The most abundant are the sub-Neptunes, planets between the size of Earth and Neptune. Calculating their density poses a problem for scientists: depending on the method used to measure their mass, two populations are highlighted, the dense and the less dense. Is this due to an observational bias or the physical existence of two distinct populations of sub-Neptunes? Recent work argues for the latter.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Precision instrument bolsters efforts to find elusive dark energy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Dark energy -- a mysterious force pushing the universe apart at an ever-increasing rate -- was discovered 26 years ago, and ever since, scientists have been searching for a new and exotic particle causing the expansion. Physicists combined an optical lattice with an atom interferometer to hold atoms in place for up to 70 seconds -- a record for an atom interferometer -- allowing them to more precisely test for deviations from the accepted theory of gravity that could be caused by dark energy particles such as chameleons or symmetrons. Though they detected no anomalies, they're improving the experiment to perform more sensitive tests of gravity, including whether gravity is quantized.

Geoscience: Earth Science Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Shocked quartz reveals evidence of historical cosmic airburst      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers continue to expand the case for the Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis. The idea proposes that a fragmented comet smashed into the Earth's atmosphere 12,800 years ago, causing a widespread climatic shift that, among other things, led to the abrupt reversal of the Earth's warming trend and into an anomalous near-glacial period called the Younger Dryas.

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Published

Pillars of creation star in new visualization from NASA's Hubble and Webb telescopes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Made famous in 1995 by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the Pillars of Creation in the heart of the Eagle Nebula have captured imaginations worldwide with their arresting, ethereal beauty. Now, NASA has released a new 3D visualization of these towering celestial structures using data from NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. This is the most comprehensive and detailed multiwavelength movie yet of these star-birthing clouds.

Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Predicting changes inside astronauts' bodies during space travel through blood sample analysis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The human body undergoes various transformations in space. However, a direct examination of organs and tissues is challenging. This study successfully identified these changes inside the body by analyzing tiny quantities of DNA and RNA molecules released from various tissues into the bloodstream while the astronauts were on the International Space Station (ISS).

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Surprising phosphate finding in NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Early analysis of the asteroid Bennu sample returned by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has revealed dust rich in carbon, nitrogen, and organic compounds, all of which are essential components for life as we know it. Dominated by clay minerals, particularly serpentine, the sample mirrors the type of rock found at mid-ocean ridges on Earth. The magnesium-sodium phosphate found in the sample hints that the asteroid could have splintered off from an ancient, small, primitive ocean world.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

New evidence for how heat is transported below the sun's surface      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Solar physicists have revealed the interior structure of the sun's supergranules, a flow structure that transports heat from the sun's hidden interior to its surface. The researchers' analysis of the supergranules presents a challenge to the current understanding of solar convection.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Telltale greenhouse gases could signal alien activity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If aliens modified a planet in their solar system to make it warmer, we'd be able to tell. A new study identifies the artificial greenhouse gases that would be giveaways of a terraformed planet.

Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Marsquakes may help reveal whether liquid water exists underground on red planet      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If liquid water exists today on Mars, it may be too deep underground to detect with traditional methods used on Earth. But listening to earthquakes that occur on Mars -- or marsquakes -- could offer a new tool in the search.