Science News of this week presented a possible sign of life in a galaxy very far.
But do not expect a visit to the extraterrestrials of soon-the potential planet of life harvest, K2-18B, is located 124 light years of the earth, and even if it welcomes life forms, it would probably be small green microbes, not small green men.
Scientists using James Webb space telescope (Jwst) Analyze the chemistry of the atmosphere of the distant planet and found a large quantity of two intriguing chemicals: dimethyle sulfide (DMS) and dimethyle disulfide (DMD). On Earth, these chemicals are only manufactured by certain microbes and algae, although, in theory, non -biological processes can also make them.
This is not the first time that JWST has been studying this planet. Astronomers of the same team first led to the telescope on K2-18B because it orbits its star in the “habitable zone”, the distance from its star where liquid water could exist on the surface of the planet. It is believed that K2-18B is a “hycean with an ocean of water and an atmosphere teeming with hydrogen.
In 2023, The team found methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere of K2-18B. These two chemicals can be produced by life but also by other processes. They also found DMS and DMD clues in the planet’s atmosphere at that time, but they did not have enough statistical certainty to be sure. So, this time, they used a different instrument on JWST, called the average infrared instrument, and detected a peak that could only be explained by these two chemicals.
“This is an independent line of evidence, using a different instrument from what we have done before and a different range of wave light, where there is no overlap with previous observations”, co-author of the study Nikku MadhusudhanA professor of astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, said in a statement. “The signal came strong and clear.”
It is not quite proof of extraterrestrials – however. Scientists have shown the presence of DMS and DMD with a statistical certainty of three SIGMA, which means that there is 0.3% like that it is a stroke of statistical luck. More measures will be necessary to reach five SIGMA, or less of a probability of 0.00006% to occur by chance. It is the threshold generally used to confirm astronomical discoveries. They don’t have it yet, but these data could arrive soon, the researchers said.
Find out more: Scientists reveal “the most promising” signs of extraterrestrial life on the planet K2-18B
Organ ‘Useless’
It is a story as old as time: doctors and scientists discover a new part of the human body, declare it “useless” and forget it for more than a century. But in a study published Thursday, April 17, the researchers took a second glance at one of these Organs apparently “vestiges”Called Ovarii (RO) retire, and found that he could play an unknown role in female fertility. The study was conducted in mice. However, the organ is through mammals, so that researchers have reasons to believe that the results apply to humans.
The not so useless horseshoe -shaped structure is a pack of small tubes which is under the ovaries. In the new study, the researchers identified three distinct regions within the appendix and found that the structure can have receptors that bind to sex hormones.
“There are still so many things that we cannot even start understanding about female anatomy,” the study’s main author, the main author of the study, Science News, told Science News. “I hope this will encourage more investigation to reassess what we do not already know about the ovary.”
Discover more news on health
–Ozempic in a pill? A new oral drug can work as well as ozempic injectables
–100% fatal of brain disease strikes 3 people in Oregon
The little mysteries of life
Whenever there is an airplane accident, investigators are looking for the “black box”. But That these boxes really recordAnd how do they tell us about what caused a crash?
A “calm chernobyl”
About 80 years ago, people diverted two rivers that sank in the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan. It was an environmental disaster: the lake, once the fourth largest in the world, was struck by a drought so serious that a large part of it was evaporated, and finally, the narrowing of the lake in two.
The research published this month has quantified the effects of this “Chernobyl” disaster and found that it eliminated 1.1 billion tonnes (1 billion metric tonnes) – enough for the earth to be damaged “as a compressed source which was released” ” Simon lambAssociate Professor of Earth Sciences at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, wrote in a article Posted alongside the study in the journal Nature Geoscience.
The effects of this rebound are still felt today while the earth around the lake continues to retreat, the researchers noted.
Discover more news from the planet Earth
–Why does this desert become green? Scientists can finally know the answer.
–The North Pole could wander almost 90 feet west by the end of the century
Also in new scientists this week
–Stone age tombs for Irish royalty are not what they seem, reveals a new DNA analysis
–Scientists may have finally found where the “missing half” of the material of the universe hides
–Massive circular tombs filled with people marked against the battle discovered in Peru
–US Company to use a giant rotation barrel to explode hundreds of “microsatellites” in space in space
A solar cycle at 100 years old discovered
For centuries, we know that the sun goes through a cycle of 11 years of lower and higher activity as its magnetic field returns. During the minimum solar periods – when its activity is the lowest – everything is relatively calm on the surface of our star at home. Then, the solar activity accelerates and the sun spits plasma and solar wind spots while it accelerates to solar.
We have just entered a new solar maximum phase. But the intensity of this solar maximum has led some researchers to offer that another 100 -year cycle can also affect the activity of the sun. This less known cycle, called the Centenary cycle of Gleissberg (CGC), modulates the intensity of the cycles of solar spots every 80 to 100 years.
We do not know why the CGC occurs, but it can be due to a “subtle ball” of the magnetic fields of the sun which, in turn, affect another cycle of the sun, Scott McIntoshA solar physicist for the new space solutions of space solutions, Lynker Space, which was not involved in research, told Live Science.
If this is the case, then we could be in much more dynamic dawn for the decades to come – and our space communications could be more danger than we support it. But not everyone is suitable for the CGC to turn around. McIntosh said it was too early to make this conclusion, and that other experts are also skeptical.
Something for the weekend
Something for the weekend
If you are looking for something a little longer to read during the weekend, here are some of the best long reads, books of books and interviews published this week.
–Two planets will form a “smiling face” with the moon on April 25. Here’s where to look for. (Skywatching)
–Primates: facts on the group which includes humans, monkeys, monkeys and other close relatives (Fact file)
–“ The parasite was in the driver’s seat ”: zombie ants that die from horrible dead adapted to a horror film (Book extract)
–‘A relationship that could horrify Darwin’: Mindy Weisberger on the refining reality of zombification of insects (Interview)
Something for Skywatchers
A meteor shower will light up the sky on Monday evening (April 21-22), bringing about 20 “filming stars” per hour at the top of the shower. It will be the perfect time to watch the spring show; The decreasing croissant will only be 27% full, so the meteors will be brilliant against the relatively dark sky.
Moving science
For the first time, scientists have captured live images from elusive and lively colossal calmars. Despite its name, the cephalopod was rather modest. A full century after the first specimen of this species was discovered, the scientists of the Schmidt Ocean Institute Falkor research ship captured images of a minor measuring 11.8 inches (30 centimeters) long. The Cammar swims near the South Sandwich Islands at a depth of approximately 2,000 feet (600 meters) when the vehicle at a distance drives spotted the translucent baby sailing in the abyss, its tentacles agitated behind.
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