Science, Space, & Robotics - Page 130

While Mars dominates talk of interplanetary travel, Venus has some upcoming missions to expand our understanding of the second rock from the Sun.

MIT researchers have just released a new report laying out their plans for future Venus exploration, dubbed the Venus Life Finder Missions. The first of the missions is due to launch in 2023, managed and funded by Rocket Lab. Rocket Lab will launch a 50 pound (~22 kilograms) probe aboard its Photon spacecraft with one of its Electron rockets on a five-month trip to Venus covering 38 million miles (61 million kilometers).

The probe is set to fly through the Venusian atmosphere for only three minutes. Phosphine, sulfur dioxide, oxygen, and water have all been detected in the clouds of Venus, which scientists speculate could be home to some form of microbial life. The probe will use a laser instrument on board to shine laser light into the atmosphere to detect fluorescence from any potential organic material.

In a study published earlier this year in Physical Review Letters, researchers from RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program predicted the existence of a particle combining six quarks.

While atoms are made of subatomic particles such as protons and neutrons, these particles are made from elementary particles known as quarks. A particle that comprises three quarks is known as a baryon. Therefore protons and neutrons, each made of three quarks, are baryons.

Systems containing two baryons, named dibaryons, have been speculated to exist by scientists. Deuteron, the nucleus of deuterium, is the only known dibaryon to exist in nature. Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen which typically has one proton in its nucleus, referred to in isolation as protium. Deuteron instead has an additional neutron to accompany the lone hydrogen.

New technology developed by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) allows the activity of CRISPR to be seen with the naked eye and an ultraviolet flashlight.

In a paper published in ACS Synthetic Biology, scientists describe the development and function of this technology. Their process involves redirecting CRISPR from its target sequence of DNA to a section of the genome that encodes for a non-functioning green fluorescent protein (GFP). CRISPR edits the genes in this sequence, allowing the production of functioning GFP, which leads to a green glow signaling CRISPR activity.

To function normally, CRISPR binds with a short sequence of RNA known as guide RNA that then matches with a corresponding DNA sequence. The researchers used a biosensor guide RNA that intercepts CRISPR and replaces the gene sequence for GFP one encoding for a similar reporter protein dubbed eYGFPuv. While GFP requires a microscope to view its glow, eYGFPuv is visible under an ultraviolet "black light," allowing researchers to quickly tell if the gene edits they have made were successful.

A recent paper published in The Planetary Science Journal indicates that at least one volcano on Venus may still be active, helping shape the planet's landscape around it.

More volcanoes are found on Venus than any other planet in our solar system, with more than 1,600 hundred major volcanoes and potentially up to around a million smaller ones. So far, it has been unclear whether any remain active currently, as the planet is difficult to analyze both from space or on the surface due to the extremely hostile environment.

However, Piero D'Incecco of D'Annunzio University in Pescara, Italy, in his study of Idunn Mons, a Venusian volcanic peak roughly 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) high and 125 miles (200 km), has shown signs of potential recent activity. The volcano is located in the Imdr Regio, a region in southern Venus rich in volcanoes.

In a new study posted in the journal Cell, researchers have identified how cells in the immune system communicate and coordinate with one another to fight cancer.

Patients struggling with cancer have undergone immunotherapy to help boost their natural immune response to cancer in their bodies. However, sustained benefits from this therapy only continued in about twenty percent of patients who received them.

Scientists have found in recent years that those most likely to survive lung cancer developed structures similar to lymph nodes around tumors. Much like lymph nodes, the structures produce immune system cells like CD4 helper T cells, CD8 killer T cells, and B cells, which can identify, attack, and produce antibodies against cancer cells and tumors, respectively.

Nanoparticles dubbed "Cornell dots" are entering their first therapeutic trial, used in the treatment of advanced, recurrent, and refractory cancers.

Developed in Ulrich Wiesner's lab at Cornell University, the C'Dots are silica-encased, fluorescent nanoparticles first unveiled in 2005. They have since been used in creating the world's smallest laser and are shown to have great potential as biological markers. Since proving itself capable of finding cancerous tumors, a new version was created equipped with antibody fragments that allowed them to kill cancer cells in tumors.

After three diagnostic human clinical trials, C'Dots have been proven safe and effective and now begin their first therapeutic trial. Elucida Oncology, Inc. is a biotechnology company co-founded by Wiesner based out of New Jersey, which has iterated on C'Dots to make C'Dot drug conjugates (CDCs), which are nanoparticles attached to dozens of drug molecules.

Published in The Astrophysical Journal, new research shows that the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy creates astrophysical jets after consuming a large mass.

The black hole appears to have a vestigial jet dating back thousands of years. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has not captured an image of the jet but has helped find evidence suggesting it is propelling a vast hydrogen cloud.

Black holes attract material into their orbit, joining the accretion disk, though the strong magnetic fields cause some material to be captured by the out-flowing jets. These jets also spew out large amounts of ionizing radiation, and periodically the black hole will become more active and refill these jets.

On December 12, Comet Leonard will be making its closest approach to Earth, and it's teed up to be the brightest and best comet of 2021.

As Leonard makes its way closer and closer to the Sun, astrophotographers around the world are pointing their cameras to the skies to capture the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Leonard will be making its pass by Earth at a stunning speed of 158,084 miles per hour, and after it has passed through our solar system, it will be ejected out for millions of years.

For sky-watchers looking to catch a glimpse at the rare comet, Earth Sky reports that it will be difficult to see with an unaided eye, and that an amateur telescope or a decent pair of binoculars would yield better results. Additionally, if you are interested in checking out Leonard, it can be found traveling below the Big Dipper constellation and the star Arcturus. The image above is from photographer James Billings in the United Kingdom, and the one below is from Will Leverett from Llano County, Texas.

A stellar system located multiple light-years away may have just given researchers a clue into what could happen with our Sun in the future.

In a new paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, researchers investigate the phenomenon known as "coronal mass ejections" or CMEs. Using our Sun as an example, the study explains that CME are eruptions of extremely hot particles or plasma that are thrown out into space at speeds of millions of miles per hour. CMEs can be dangerous as well, as they can cause geomagnetic storms that can cause communication problems with satellites, or even knock out electricity grids.

The researchers were observing a Sun-like star called EK Draconis, which is the same type of star as our Sun, but at just 100 million years old. The researchers observed Ek Draconis eject a CME ten times bigger than the largest CME researchers have ever recorded.

Seeing Comet Leonard is quite literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience as it won't be returning to our solar system for tens of thousands of years.

As I previously report, Comet Leonard will be making its closest approach to Earth on December 12, 2021, where it will be 22 million miles away from Earth, which is about 90 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. As December 12 approaches Comet Leonard is moving closer to the Sun, which usually means that it will appear brighter to observers as the Sun's rays are melting the ice ball more intensely, which then creates more vapor. However, Leonard isn't doing that.

According to a report from Space.com, researchers noticed in late November that Leonard wasn't getting brighter, it was actually dimming. The publication reports that based on what astronomers know after studying past comets, there are multiple answers to why its dimming, the first being the comet has broken a part and is splitting up as it journeying closer to the Sun. Ultimately, researchers aren't sure why Leonard is dimming, but hypotheses are flying!

NASA newest space telescope that will be the instrument the agency uses to hunt for violent celestial explosion has launched.

The new telescope is called the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) and has officially launched on the back of SpaceX's workhorse launch vehicle the Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The new observatory is X-ray focussed, and is a collaborative effort between NASA and the Italian Space Agency.

IXPE will be used by the agencies and astrophysicists to observe the magentic fields of celestial objects such as black holes and neutron stars. The data that will be acquired by the IXPE mission will pave the way forward for a deeper understanding of the environments around dangerous objects such as black holes, which will in turn allow researchers to understand the past and future of these objects.

Hydras are a group of small aquatic animals capable of regenerating their heads, the mechanism for which has been uncovered in a new paper published in Genome Biology and Evolution.

Hydras come from the same family of animals consisting of roughly ten thousand species that fall into two major groups, Anthozoa and Medusozoa. Anthozoa comprises sea anemones, corals, and sea pens, while Medusozoa comprises sea wasps, jellyfish, and hydra. Hydras live in temperate, tropical environments, and their stem cells have the capacity for unlimited self-renewal, lending them biological immortality.

Researchers have found multiple genes associated with head regeneration for hydra but have yet to understand the regulatory networks responsible for regeneration in hydras and other regenerating species. Researchers found that epigenetics, changes in gene expression in response to environmental changes, were responsible for regeneration.

A new study published in the journal Developmental Cell has revealed how a cell nucleus can repair itself when ruptured to prevent DNA spilling out into the rest of the cell.

A cell's nucleus has a nuclear envelope encompassing the DNA within to separate it from the rest of the cell. The nuclear envelope is a phospholipid membrane, which interacts with the cell's cytoskeleton, a network of fibers that help stabilize the structure of the cell. However, the cytoskeleton can sometimes exert excess pressure on a cell's nucleus, leading to a rupture.

A group of proteins collectively known as the ESCRT machinery is shown to be responsible for resealing the nuclear envelope. One such protein is the BROX protein, which the ESCRT machinery attaches to the ruptured portion of the envelope, allowing BROX to connect with the LINC complex. The LINC complex is a group of proteins connecting the cytoskeleton and the nuclear envelope, which allows the cytoskeleton to exert excess pressure onto the envelope,

A series of 3D images of this one thousand-year-old supernova have been captured, unveiling details about the elements ejected from a star when it explodes.

The supernova is SNR 0540-69.3 and was the subject of a new study led by Josefin Larsson of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, collaborating with researchers from Stockholm University, the University of Warwick, and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Using data from the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) and X-shooter at ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), they could glean new insight into how a star self-destructs.

Now, they have uncovered a large ring of oxygen surrounding the innermost regions of the supernova's remains, a clump of hydrogen unlike anything seen in other supernova remnants. The researchers were able to map the distribution of the elements ejected from the supernova in three dimensions, allowing them to test theoretical models of the progenitor star's explosion to understand its mechanism.

Methane is more than 25 times a potent atmospheric heat trapper than carbon dioxide, so researchers have developed a new technology to convert it into more valuable products to curb its impact on climate change.

Methane is also the second most abundant greenhouse gas behind carbon dioxide, so it is critical to find a way to deal with methane emissions when attempting to combat global warming. Trying to convert methane to other chemical products is generally either expensive and potentially dangerous given the reactants or inefficient and leads to carbon dioxide production, not necessarily a desirable outcome.

Yue Wu and colleagues from the Iowa State University have developed and tested a catalyst technology that consists of one or two layers of platinum, each only an atom thick. The layers are deposited onto "MXenes," two-dimensional metal carbide structures. The thin layers of platinum allowed all platinum atoms to act as catalysts without being deactivated by residue formation. Also, the carbide structure was extremely active and able to absorb molecules when carbide materials are typically relatively inert.

The reusable Neutron rocket has its inaugural launch scheduled for 2024 and builds on the experience gained from Rocket Lab's currently flying Electron rocket.

Electron is one of the most frequently launched American rockets since 2019, which made its first flight in 2017. It is a two-stage rocket capable of launching payloads up to 300 kg (661 lbs). Since then, Rocket Lab has experimented with retrieving the first-stage booster of the Electron to begin introducing reusable components into its rockets.

The Neutron reusable rocket, first unveiled on March 1st, 2021, was revealed to be a two-stage reusable rocket that can carry 8,000 kg (17,600 lbs) to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and 1,500 kg (3,300 lbs) to Mars or Venus. Now, in Rocket Lab's most recent video, Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck explains the updated design accommodates a maximum payload of up to 15,000 kg (33,070 lbs) to LEO. It will also be the first carbon composite large launch vehicle and use the new Archimedes rocket engine.

Reddit has jumped into the world of cryptocurrency with a new optional program called "Community Points", which is currently being run on the Ethereum blockchain.

Reddit has announced a wait-list for the upcoming expansion, which will entail Redditors gaining Community Points for participating in their respective communities. Points can be gained by uploading content that is deemed valuable by the community or volunteering to moderate the community. The new program is currently running on the Rinkeby testnet version of the Ethereum blockchain, but there are plans to migrate it over to the Ethereum mainnet eventually.

Any subreddit that chooses to participate in the program will get "Special Memberships" enabled, which can then be purchased with Community Points by users. Special Memberships include unlocks such as badges, GIFs, animated emojis, and more. Additionally, the program includes a "weighted polls" feature that will enable devoted community members with high Community Points to have a larger voice in the subreddit.

About 72% of Earth's surface is covered in liquid water, but are we the only planet in the universe to have an abundance of water, or are there others?

A new video a part of NASA's "We Asked an Expert" YouTube series explores the question of "Are There Oceans on Other Worlds?". In this week's episode, NASA Planetary Scientist Lucas Paganini explains that Earth isn't the only planet to have water and that there is actually an abundance of planets that researchers have identified as having water.

Additionally, Paganini explains that you don't have to go very far from Earth to find planets or even moons with water, as some are in our solar system. Paganini says that moons such as Jupiters moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus may be hosting liquid oceans under their icy crusts. The planetary scientists explains that ocean worlds are a focus of researchers because water is a building block of life, which means that worlds that harbor water potentially have life.

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan had pledged billions of dollars towards analyzing any biological processes of the human body.

On Tuesday, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced that it intends to "observe, measure, and analyze any biological process throughout the human body - across spatial scales and in real-time." To achieve its goal of curing and preventing biological diseases, the organization will be donating $3.4 billion towards developing a variety of new institutions, as well as new research and technologies. The venture will span over 10 years.

A spokesperson for CZI, Jeff MacGregor, said that the organization will be giving $500 million over the next 15 years to develop a new artificial intelligence-focussed institution at Harvard University. This new institution will be named after Zuckerberg's mother, Karen Kempner Zuckerberg.

In the last days of 2021, three asteroids will be approaching Earth, according to NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

The first of the three asteroids that will be approaching Earth has been dubbed 2016 TR54, and according to NASA's database, it will pass by Earth on December 24, at 6:30 a.m. UTC. The asteroid is estimated to be anywhere between 328 and 754 feet in diameter and will be passing Earth at a speed of 34,700 miles per hour at a distance of four million miles, or around 17 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

The next asteroid that will pass by Earth is called 2018 AH, and is estimated to be slightly smaller than 2016 TR54 at a diameter of anywhere between 254 and 623 feet. 2018 AH is expected to have its closest approach on December 27 at 2:40 p.m. UTC (9:40 a.m. ET) at a speed of 28,400 miles per hour, at a distance of 622,800 miles, which is just over double the distance between the Earth and the Moon.