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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On the Radar: Can We Detect Doomsday Asteroids in Time?
By Green Bank Observatory – SciTechDaily
How can humans protect Earth from “devastating asteroid and comet impacts?” According to the National Academies and their 2023-2032 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey, ground based astronomical radar systems will have a “unique role” to play in planetary defense.
There is currently only one system in the world concentrating on these efforts, NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar, part of the Deep Space Network (DSN). However, a new instrument concept from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) called the next generation RADAR (ngRADAR) system will use the National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and other current and future facilities to expand on these capabilities.
“There are many applications for the future of radar, from substantially advancing our knowledge of the Solar System, to informing future robotic and crewed spaceflight, and…Read more here.
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Intermittent fasting protects against liver inflammation and liver cancer
German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) / ScienceDaily
Fatty liver disease often leads to chronic liver inflammation and can even result in liver cancer. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University of Tübingen have now shown in mice* that intermittent fasting on a 5:2 schedule can halt this development. The fasting regime reduces the development of liver cancer in mice with pre-existing liver inflammation. The researchers identified two proteins in liver cells that are jointly responsible for the protective effect of fasting. An approved drug can partially mimic this effect.
The most common chronic liver condition is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It can have serious consequences: If left untreated, it can lead to liver inflammation (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, MASH), liver cirrhosis and even liver cancer. Fatty liver disease is largely considered to be a direct consequence of obesity. It is not only people in Europe and the USA who have put on enormous amounts of weight in recent decades; obesity is also becoming increasingly widespread in emerging countries such as India and China. As a result, the number of cases of liver failure and liver cancer is rising sharply in the countries affected. Read more here.
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How a Faint Magnetic Pulse May Have Jumpstarted Evolution 600 Million Years Ago
By Lindsey Valich, University of Rochester – SciTechDaily
The Ediacaran Period, spanning from about 635 to 541 million years ago, was a pivotal time in Earth’s history. It marked a transformative era during which complex, multicellular organisms emerged, setting the stage for the explosion of life.
But how did this surge of life unfold and what factors on Earth may have contributed to it?
Researchers from the University of Rochester have uncovered compelling evidence that Earth’s magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period diversified and thrived. Their study, published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth’s ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago.
According to John Tarduno, the William Kenan, Jr. Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, one of the most remarkable life forms during the…Read more here.
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Earth from space: Mysterious wave ripples across ‘galaxy’ of icebergs in Arctic fjord
Harry Baker LIVESCI=NCE
This striking satellite photo captured a mysterious arc in an ethereal, iceberg-covered fjord deep within the Arctic Circle. Researchers proposed several possible explanations for the bizarre phenomenon, but we will likely never find out for sure what caused it.
The Itilliarsuup Kangerlua fjord is part of the Uummannaq Fjord system in Western Greenland, around 460 miles (740 kilometers) north of the country’s capital Nuuk. The narrow waterway, which is around 1.6 miles (2.6 km) long, was carved by two glaciers, Sisoortartukassak and Kangilleq, which are separated by a small island at the base of the fjord, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory.
During the summer, the fjord’s surface becomes littered with thousands of tiny iceberg fragments that have sloughed off from the glaciers, making the water look like a starscape from a deep-field telescope image when viewed from above. However, the most interesting feature in the image is a thin white arc that spans across the fjord. This arc is most likely a displacement wave that was traveling up the fjord away…Read more here.
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