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Categories: Geoscience: Environmental Issues, Space: Exploration

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What actually happens to the human body in space? While scientists and researchers have heavily researched how various factors impact the human body here on Earth, the amount of information available about changes that occur in the body in space is not as well-known. Scientists have been studying for years how the body, specifically on the molecular side, changes in space. Recently, findings depict how the modern tools of molecular biology and precision medicine can help guide humanity into more challenging missions beyond where we've already been.

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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.

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Supermassive black holes pose unanswered questions for astronomers around the world, not least 'How do they grow so big?' Now, an international team of astronomers has discovered a powerful rotating, magnetic wind that they believe is helping a galaxy's central supermassive black hole to grow. The swirling wind, revealed with the help of the ALMA telescope in nearby galaxy ESO320-G030, suggests that similar processes are involved both in black hole growth and the birth of stars.

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The impacts of climate change are being felt all over the world, but how will it impact how your hometown feels? An interactive web application allows users to search 40,581 places and 5,323 metro areas around the globe to match the expected future climate in each city with the current climate of another location, providing a relatable picture of what is likely in store.

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The carbon stored globally by plants is shorter-lived and more vulnerable to climate change than previously thought, according to a new study.

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Roughly one in four U.S. households have soil exceeding the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's lead screening levels of 200 parts per million (ppm), halved from the previous level of 400 ppm, a new study found. For households with exposure from multiple sources, the EPA lowered the guidance to 100 ppm; nearly 40% of households exceed that level, the study also found.

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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.

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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.

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Gravitational changes experienced by astronauts during space travel can cause fluids within the body to shift. This can cause changes to the cardiovascular system, including vessels in and around the eyes. These fluid shifts may be related to a phenomenon known as Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS), which can cause astronauts to experience changes in eye shape and other ocular symptoms.

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Researchers discovered that mycoviruses, or oomycete viruses, can increase the sensitivity of plant pathogenic oomycete to fungicides like metalaxyl. Their findings suggest greater potential for mycoviruses in biocontrol and contributing to sustainable agriculture.

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Some areas of the Amazon rainforest are more resilient to drought than others, new research shows. But if not managed carefully, we could 'threaten the integrity of the whole system,' researchers say.

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New research indicates that strong community bonds could hinder rather than help environmental initiatives.

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A new study shows soot from large wildfires in California traps sunlight, making days warmer and drier than they ought to be.

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In late 2019 the previously unremarkable galaxy SDSS1335+0728 suddenly started shining brighter than ever before. To understand why, astronomers have used data from several space and ground-based observatories, including the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT), to track how the galaxy's brightness has varied. In a study out today, they conclude that they are witnessing changes never seen before in a galaxy -- likely the result of the sudden awakening of the massive black hole at its core.

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The rise of advanced artificial intelligence (edge AI) could well mark the beginning of a new era for sustainable agriculture. A recent study proposes a roadmap for integrating this technology into farming practices. The aim? To improve the efficiency, quality and safety of agricultural production, while addressing a range of environmental, social and economic challenges.

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As the world's largest unfrozen freshwater resource, groundwater is crucial for life on Earth. Researchers have investigated how global warming is affecting groundwater temperatures and what that means for humanity and the environment. Their study indicates that by 2100, more than 75 million people are likely to be living in regions where the groundwater temperature exceeds the highest threshold set for drinking water by any country.

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Abrupt shifts within complex systems such as the Earth's climate system are extremely hard to predict. Researchers have now succeeded in developing a new method to anticipate such tipping points in advance. They successfully tested the reliability of their method using one of the most severe abrupt climate changes of the past: the shift of the once-green Sahara into a desert.

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Current techniques for measuring nano/microplastic (N/MP) concentrations in soil require the soil organic matter content to be separated and have limited resolution for analyzing N/MPs sized <1 m. Therefore, researchers have developed a novel yet simple method to measure N/MP concentration in different soil types using spectroscopy at two wavelengths. This method does not require the soil to be separated in order to detect the N/MPs and can accurately quantify N/MPs regardless of their size.

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Detecting marine debris from space is now a reality, according to a new study. Until now, the amount of litter -- mostly plastic -- on the sea surface was rarely high enough to generate a detectable signal from space. However, using supercomputers and advanced search algorithms, the research team has demonstrated that satellites are an effective tool for estimating the amount of litter in the sea.

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Researchers hope their DIY machine will help designers around the world experiment with making their own, sustainable fashion and other textiles from a range of natural ingredients -- maybe even the chitin in crab shells or agar-agar from algae.