From spotting a giant explosion that could have spelled the death of two neutron stars to finding out that lower oxygen content at high altitudes may increase lifespan, this week has been full of exciting discoveries. Read more about the latest findings here.
Astronomers spot a giant explosion caused by two neutron star colliding
Astronomers have spotted a giant explosion in a far away galaxy that could have been caused by two neutron stars colliding. This kind of stellar event have only been predicted before but scientists now have tangible proof. Scientists say that the fast radio burst they observed could have been caused by two densely packed neutron stars in a chaotic environment near a supermassive black hole at the center of the ancient elliptical galaxy. They suspect the two doomed stars packed roughly the mass of our sun into a sphere only the size of a city.
India joins Artemis Accords, will launch ISRO-NASA space mission to ISS in 2024
India has decided to join the Artemis Accords, which brings like-minded countries together on civil space exploration, and NASA and ISRO have agreed to a joint mission to the International Space Station in 2024. Grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (OST), the Artemis Accords are a non-binding set of principles designed to guide civil space exploration and use in the 21st century. It is an American-led effort to return humans to the moon by 2025, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond.
Study reveals how immune system of astronauts breaks down
New research has shown how space travel dials down the activity of genes in white blood cells crucial to the immune system. A study involving 14 astronauts who spent 4-1/2 to 6-1/2 months aboard the International Space Station found that gene expression in white-blood cells, also called leukocytes, quickly decreased when they reached space and then returned to normal not long after returning to Earth. The findings offer insight into why astronauts are more susceptible to infections during flights, showing how the body's system for fighting off pathogens is weakened in space.
Get less oxygen, live longer? It’s true in ageing mice
In addition to its tranquil quality and a sense of peace, the fresh, crisp, pollutant-free mountain air could help some animals live longer. Specifically, the lower oxygen content at high altitudes increases lifespan significantly in ageing mice, according to a new study. The researchers have noted that theirs is the first study to demonstrate that oxygen restriction, or continuous hypoxia, can extend lifespan in an ageing mammal. Previous reports on oxygen restriction lengthening lifespan have come from mammalian cells grown in Petri dishes, yeast, and in less complex lab animals such as roundworms and fruit flies.
How prokaryotes led to eukaryotes
The mitochondria, which are the energy-generating organelles of eukaryotic cells, and the photosynthesizing chloroplasts found in plant cells, have evolved from free-living bacteria. At what stage in the evolution of life did this symbiotic relationship between two cells come about? The ancestor of mitochondria was a proteobacterium that was engulfed by an Asgard archaean organism. Descendants of this endosymbiotic union gave rise to animals, fungi and plants. In plants, the Asgard-mitochondrial union was followed by the intake of a photosynthesizing cyanobacterium, which became the chloroplast.
What is lab-grown meat and what did the U.S. recently approve?
“Cell-cultivated chicken” – that’s the official name of chicken meat that is grown in a laboratory for human consumption. On June 21, two California-based companies were cleared to make and sell cell-cultivated chicken in the country in what is being hailed by stakeholders in the concept as a major step forward for reducing the carbon emissions associated with the food industry worldwide. To make cell-cultivated meat, these two companies isolate the cells that make up this meat (the meat that we consume), and put them in a setting where they have all the resources they need to grow and make more copies of themselves. These resources are typically nutrients, fats, carbohydrates, amino acids, the right temperature, etc.
Orcas disrupt boat race near Spain in latest display of puzzling behaviour
A pod of killer whales bumped one of the boats in an endurance sailing race as it approached the Strait of Gibraltar, the latest encounter in what researchers say is a growing trend of sometimes-aggressive interactions with Iberian orcas. A team of marine life researchers who study killer whales off Spain and Portugal has identified 15 individual orcas involved in the encounters — 13 of them young, supporting the hypothesis that they are playing. The fact that two are adults could support the competing and more sensational theory that they are responding to some traumatic event with a boat.
