Science & Medicine
Here we bring you the latest on all things science from physical science, evolution, astronomy, space, physics, chemistry, and medicine.
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Scientists Find a New Way To Detect Hidden Water Ice on the Moon
By Georgia Jiang, University of Maryland – SciTechDaily
By studying how seismic waves move through frozen soil on Earth, a geophysicist helped develop a more effective method for detecting water ice on the Moon.
Beneath the Moon’s permanently shadowed polar craters, water ice may lie hidden beyond the reach of instruments in orbit. Researchers now think those buried deposits could be located by listening for changes in the vibrations traveling through lunar soil.
Geologists from the University of Maryland, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Hawaii found that seismic waves, the same vibrations recorded during earthquakes, could reveal and map ice beneath the lunar surface.
Published in Science Advances, the findings arrive as NASA prepares to send astronauts toward the Moon’s south polar region through its Artemis program, with crewed landings targeted for 2028. Ice preserved inside the deep shadows of polar craters could become one of the most useful local…Read more here.
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Scientists Thought SuperAgers Had Lucky Genes. They Were Wrong
By University of Chicago Medical Center – SciTechDaily
SuperAgers may keep their memories sharp not because they dodged Alzheimer’s genes, but because their brains possess hidden defenses scientists are only beginning to uncover.
Some people reach their 80s and 90s with memory abilities that rival, or even surpass, those of adults decades younger. Known as SuperAgers, these exceptional individuals are helping scientists investigate why certain brains remain remarkably resilient while memory declines in many others.
Scientists have spent nearly two decades identifying brain, biological, psychological, and social traits associated with SuperAging. One possibility, however, could have offered a much simpler explanation: perhaps SuperAgers are merely people who inherited unusually little genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
“If that were true, identifying SuperAgers might be as simple as performing genetic testing rather than the comprehensive cognitive evaluations we currently…Read more here.
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Meteorite That Smashed Through a New Jersey Roof Hid an Ancient Chemical Secret
By SETI Institute – SciTechDaily
A meteorite that blasted through a New Jersey roof carried a startling secret: evidence of ancient salty fluids and complex organic chemistry inside a primitive asteroid.
A space rock that tore through a New Jersey roof has turned out to be far more than an astronomical curiosity. Sealed inside were traces of ancient salty fluids and organic chemistry that may help scientists reconstruct how primitive asteroids once processed some of the raw ingredients associated with life.
The meteorite landed in Hillsborough, New Jersey, after a daytime fireball raced across the New York City region on July 16, 2024. The meteor produced a sonic boom as it passed just south of the Statue of Liberty before breaking apart high above the ground. An international team has now published the first detailed analysis of the recovered material in Science Advances.
“A forensic study of the fragments revealed that they contained preserved bits…Read more here.
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UK’s £3 Million Bet Could Help NASA Find Life on Nearby Planets
By Royal Astronomical Society – SciTechDaily
A £3 million investment could help secure a leading UK role in NASA’s future search for life on nearby planets.
An Earth-like planet orbiting a nearby star would appear as little more than a dim point beside a light source 10 billion times brighter. British astronomers are preparing technology that could help NASA separate that faint planetary signal from the glare and search its atmosphere for possible evidence of life.
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) has awarded researchers £3 million to continue developing a proposed core instrument for NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). Expected to launch in the 2040s, HWO is planned as NASA’s next flagship space telescope after the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
The latest funding expands a series of UK-led instrument studies that have already been shared with NASA. Those studies are helping guide the observatory as it enters its next stage of development.
“The Habitable Worlds Observatory is one of the most…Read more here.
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