Science

Ninety-nine percent of the cosmos is plasma. In an article published Tuesday in Nature Communications, researchers modeled this subatomic slosh's radio chirps on Mars. Earth's peculiar. It has a thin neutral gas film where humans live and breathe. But soar hundreds of miles above the planet's surface, about between Paris and Amsterdam, and you begin to confront a difficulty. The deepest Van Allen radiation belt was identified in the 1950s before the Apollo missions. There are two or three belts. These chirps disclose plasma's secrets and most of space's. Thousands of miles above Earth, this occurrence is a mystery. The plasma in the Van Allen radiation belts is harmful to satellites and astronauts, thus it's crucial to examine. It can also effect our life on Earth. Jacob Bortnik,...

Mars' magnetosheath has first-ever jet streams. Ume University and Kiruna's Swedish Institute of Space Physics used MAVEN data to identify the jet streams. The scientists say this is the first time jet streams have been found in a planet's magnetosheath other than Earth. Late 1990s Earth discoveries included magnetosheath jets. “Jet streams in magnetosheaths have been seen near Earth for 25 years and we were really curious if they could be found elsewhere,” said Herbert Gunell, Umeå University Associate Professor and project leader. A magnetosheath jet? Strong magnetic fields dominate Earth's magnetosphere. Its components shield the earth and atmosphere from solar radiation. The magnetosphere's magnetosheath. A narrow magnetosheath separates the bow shock region from the...

Octopus minds are enigmatic. In a research published in Current Biology earlier this year, scientists admitted that octopus brain waves were difficult to interpret. Some were comparable to human brain waves, while others were completely different. "My Octopus Teacher" won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 2021 by following one person's quest to comprehend a wild octopus. Octopuses are interesting and mysterious. A recent Cell research found that octopuses can modify their genetic code to adjust their brains to warmer or colder conditions. The brain is so complicated that it needs precise temperature regulation to operate. Octopuses must protect their brains from shifting temperatures in their squishy heads in a continually changing environment. Octopuses modify their RNA to pres...

Chinese scientists have developed an adhesive that could shield drones and missiles from laser attacks. During an experiment, scientists discovered that a low-cost resin could shield weapons from laser damage. According to scientists, the material was unharmed after being bombarded with a laser beam of weapons-grade intensity for 15 seconds. According to SCMP, this laser had a power density of 500 watts per square centimeter. It is essential to observe that this intensity exceeded that required to annihilate a missile. Combating radiation with glue Currently, megawatt laser systems are not feasible, but this could change in the immediate future. For their experiment, the scientists applied a 2.55-millimeter layer of boron phenolic resin (BPR), a material commonly used in high-tem...

Vernor Vinge, a computer scientist and sci-fi novelist, projected in 1993 that humanity will be able to develop a superior intelligence in 30 years. “The human era will end shortly,” Vinge predicted. As it happens, 30 years later, the concept of an artificially made being that can surpass—or at least match—human skills is no longer speculative or authorial. AI researchers and tech capitalists want an artificial general intelligence (AGI) that can do all intellectual functions at human levels. Some experts fear "the end of the human era" will become a reality if humans develop AGI. Vinge popularized "the Singularity" among futurists. He thought technology will someday create a superintelligence. Its introduction to civilization will impact the planet "comparable to the rise of human ...

Anosognosia, when a patient is ignorant of a neurological or psychological impairment, is connected to brain network connections. Lesion network mapping was used to examine 267 lesion locations connected to visual loss or paralysis and determine if these abnormalities affect certain brain networks. They found distinct network connections connected to visual and motor anosognosia and a common network for awareness of these impairments, focusing on the hippocampus and precuneus. These brain regions compare visual inputs to memory to detect a deficiency. A new Annals of Neurology study related brain network connections to anosognosia, a disease where a person is oblivious of their neurological or psychological impairment. Lesion network mapping was utilized to assess if 267 lesion loc...

By 2030, various space organizations will send astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo Program. The Lunar Gateway, Artemis Base Camp, Moon Village, and ILRS will be permanent structures. The first crewed Mars flights and settlements are scheduled in the next decade. Commercial enterprises desire LEO homes for asteroid mining and space tourism. Space Age 2.0's biggest difficulty is keeping astronauts healthy. Providing personnel with breathing air through life support devices is the most difficult. A team led by Katharina Brinkert of the University of Warwick explained how artificial photosynthesis may create a new life support system that is smaller, lighter, simpler, and cheaper to ship to space. Dr. Brinkert is an assistant professor in catalysis at the Universi...

Astronomers call non-hydrogen and helium elements metals. Astronomers understand that. The cosmos began with the two lightest components. Over 99% of atoms in the universe are big bang relics. Astrophysical processes formed all other elements, including carbon, iron, and gold. Supernova explosions, white dwarf-neutron star mergers, and stellar core nuclear fusion. The universe's metal content has risen throughout time due to various cosmic occurrences. Because of this, we categorize stars by metal content in their spectra. Stars have metallicity. Astronomers classify stars by metallicity. Young stars are more likely to have planetary systems. Population II stars lack metals. Red dwarf stars dominate their elder population. Large Population II stars perished, leaving white dwarfs and...

Solar wind origins? Solar scientists have sought an explanation for decades. The Parker Solar Probe is revealing where this torrent of particles leaves our star into interplanetary space. Parker orbits near the Sun. This flyby would kill any other spacecraft. However, this probe was designed for near visits to collect in-situ data on the outer atmosphere (corona) and unusual "breaks" in it called coronal holes. That allowed it to directly observe "fast" solar winds. Fast Solar Winds' Secret Parker found streams of high-energy particles that resemble "supergranulation" flows within coronal holes, according to a team led by Stuart D. Bale (UC Berkeley) and James Drake (UMD-College Park). The device detected "magnetic reconnection," which causes the rapid wind component. Coronal ...

Whenever Betelgeuse does something, supernova rumors spread. If so, awesome. It's exciting to visualize the sky lighting up for months because we're far away. The red supergiant star has brightened roughly 50%, reviving suspicions. Supernova Betelgeuse. All agree. When is uncertain. Star behavior puzzles. How can puny people learn? Betelgeuse is a red supergiant and pulsing semiregular variable star. Though amplitudes vary, its brightness variations are periodic. Brightness varies every 400 days. Pulsations also govern its 125-day, 230-day, and 2200-day cycles. Those cycles might make the star confusing. People asked why Betelgeuse darkened two years ago. Star brightness did not change. Instead, the star released surface material that cooled into a dust cloud and obscured the ...