EverythingScience

First-Ever Detection Of Complex Organic Molecules In Ice Outside Of The Milky Way A fantastic new discovery has given astronomy an unexpected window into the formation of life-precursor molecules in an environment significantly different from our galaxy, the Milky Way. Scientists report the first-ever detection of Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) – potential "building blocks" of life – in ice outside of our galaxy. The detection comes from the surroundings of a young star called ST6 located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the largest of the satellite galaxies that orbit the Milky Way. It's so large and close that it can be seen with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere. University of Maryland and NASA research scientist Dr Marta Sewilo and her team used observations by JWST to study the presence of COMs in the ice around ST6. They detected five: alcohols methanol and ethanol, as well as methyl formate, acetaldehyde, and even acetic acid, the main component of vinegar. This is the first time acetic acid has been conclusively detected in space. “This is the first detection of COMs larger than six atoms in ices (in ice mantles on dust grains) outside the galaxy,” Dr Sewilo told IFLScience. The LMC is very different from our galaxy. Stars and nebulae there have a lower percentage of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, so fewer building blocks for complex molecules and dust grains. There is also a lot more ultraviolet light. In certain respects, the LMC is similar to a primitive Milky Way, so this provides crucial insight into the formation of COMs in earlier epochs of the universe. COMs are seen as precursors to life molecules. It is not a sign of life, but the molecules that make us and every living creature on this planet had to come from somewhere. Their integral parts likely formed in space and eventually found their way to Earth. In this new work, the team actually found signs of a lot more than those five, but they have not been able to classify all of them. Source:IFLScience @EverythingScience

China reached out to NASA to avoid a potential satellite collision in 1st-of-its-kind space cooperation China recently reached out to NASA over a maneuver to prevent a possible collision between satellites, a space sustainability official said, marking a first for space traffic management. "For years, if we had a conjunction, we would send a note to the Chinese saying, 'We think we're going to run into you. You hold still, we'll maneuver around you,'" Alvin Drew, director for NASA Space Sustainability, said during a plenary session at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 2. A big shift had come a day earlier, Drew revealed. "Just yesterday, we had a bit of a celebration because, for the first time, the Chinese National Space Agency reached out to us and said, 'We see a conjunction amongst our satellites. We recommend you hold still. We'll do the maneuver.' And that's the first time that's ever happened," Drew said. The move by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) comes as both the United States, notably through SpaceX's commercial Starlink constellation, and China, in the shape of the Guowang and Thousand Sails megaconstellations, are rapidly increasing the number of satellites they have in orbit. This means an increasing need for satellite operators to coordinate to limit the chances of collisions between satellites and prevent events that cause new clouds of space debris. Source:Space.com @EverythingScience

Incredible Roman Empire Map Shows 300,000 Kilometers Of Roads, Equivalent To 7 Times Round The World That's over 100,000 kilometers more than we knew was there. A new digital map of the road network that once connected the Roman Empire has been created, revealing a staggeringly vast constellation of interlocking routes. Named Itiner-e, the new digital map includes 299,171 kilometers (186,000 miles) of ancient roads spanning from the British Isles to the Middle East. Famous for their straight roads, the Romans are known to have relied upon their transport infrastructure to maintain and expand their imperial control, while also allowing the movement of people and goods. However, until now, this extensive system of highways had remained poorly mapped. The Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, for example, has remained the most complete ancient roadmap since it was published 25 years ago, yet its resolution is poor, with a scale of one to one million in certain parts. The researchers behind Itiner-e therefore set out to improve upon this, providing a far more detailed and reliable Roman road atlas – and you can view it online here. Source:IFLScience @EverythingScience

Scientists Just Turned Stomach Cells Into Insulin Producers to Treat Diabetes Type 1 diabetes develops when the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin, a hormone made by specialized beta cells. This chronic condition affects an estimated 9.5 million people around the world. Without sufficient insulin, blood sugar levels remain high and, over time, can cause serious harm to vital organs including the kidneys, eyes, and heart. Managing the disease requires continuous monitoring of glucose levels along with regular insulin injections to keep those levels within a healthy range. Scientists are exploring new ways to treat Type 1 diabetes by restoring or replacing the damaged pancreatic beta cells. One promising strategy involves generating new beta cells from other types of cells already present in the body. This approach was taken by researchers led by Xiaofeng Huang at Weill Cornell Medicine (USA) and Qing Xia at Peking University (China), who previously found that stomach cells in mice could be reprogrammed into pancreatic beta cells through genetic modification. Transforming Stomach Cells Into Insulin Producers In their new study published today (November 6) in Stem Cell Reports, the team investigated whether a similar transformation could occur in human stomach cells. To begin, they grew miniature models of the human stomach called organoids, which mimic some functions of real stomach tissue. These organoids were then genetically modified so they could be switched into insulin-producing beta-like cells when a specific “genetic switch” was activated. Afterward, the engineered organoids were transplanted into the abdominal area of mice. There, they survived for up to six months, forming connections with nearby tissues and blood vessels as they matured. Source:SciTechDaily @EverythingScience

🚀 Dreaming of a career in space? esa's European Astronaut Centre is looking for interns! 🌍✨ From space medicine to XR labs, media production and planetary science, this is your chance to work where astronauts train. ✅ Applications open until 30 November 2025 🔗 Learn more and apply: esa.int/About_Us/Caree… Source: @esaspaceflight @EverythingScience

Best playtime ever! While their mom is looking out for them, these brown bear cubs are free to have fun and prepare for their life in the wild. 🐻 Source: @NatGeo @EverythingScience

It's official: The world will speed past 1.5 C climate threshold in the next decade, UN says Earth will overshoot the critical warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels within the next decade, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said Tuesday (Nov. 4). To stay below this threshold, the world needs to slash annual greenhouse gas emissions by 55%, compared with 2019 levels, by 2035. But given countries' inadequate actions so far, there's little to no chance that will happen, according to the 2025 Emissions Gap report. "Given the size of the cuts needed, the short time available to deliver them and a challenging political climate, a higher exceedance of 1.5°C will happen, very likely within the next decade," UNEP representatives wrote in the report. Source:Live Science @EverythingScience

Self-replicating probes could be operating right now in the solar system; here's how we could look for them In 1949, famed mathematician and physicist John von Neumann delivered a series of addresses at the University of Illinois, where he introduced the concept of the "universal constructor." The theory was further detailed in the 1966 book, "Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata," a collection of von Neumann's writings compiled and completed by a colleague after his death. In the years that followed, scientists engaged in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) considered how advanced civilizations could rely on self-replicating probes to explore the galaxy. As many theoretical studies have shown, self-replicating probes (released from a single planet) could proliferate and explore the entire galaxy within a few eons. According to new research by Professor Alex Ellery of Carleton University, these probes may have already visited the solar system, and some could be operating here right now. As he recommends in a recent paper, future SETI surveys should be on the lookout for the telltale technosignatures these probes would produce. Alex Ellery is an engineering professor with the Center for Self-Replication Research (CESER) and the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University. In the past, Ellery has explored the concept of Von Neumann probes and their potential as a viable method for interstellar exploration by advanced civilizations, as well as the implications this has for SETI. In this latest paper, he revisits the rationale for such probes, their implications for the Fermi Paradox, and how resource requirements would drive their behavior, producing discernible technosignatures in the process. As a researcher with CESER, Ellery is well-versed in the concept of Von Neumann probes and the technological innovations that will go into creating them. In a previous study, Ellery detailed how 3D printing, self-replication, and robotics will allow humans to build Von Neumann probes sooner than expected. He also conducted a detailed study on how human engineers could place limits on the number of times each probe could reproduce itself, thus ensuring that they do not run amok (per the Berserker Hypothesis). In these and other papers, Ellery also argues that the search for Von Neumann probes and the technosignatures they would produce is a focus that SETI researchers should prioritize, rather than the traditional practice of searching the night sky for signs of radio transmissions. These searches, he indicated, should consider the solar system as a good starting point, which echoes similar recommendations made by Professor Gregory L. Matloff in his paper "Von Neumann probes: rational propulsion interstellar transfer timing." As he told Universe Today at the time of the paper's publication, ''The solar system is huge and mostly unexplored, and the probes could be very small. There could be probes everywhere: in craters on the moon, or lurkers in the Asteroid Belt and Kuiper Belt. There are 100 million objects in the Kuiper Belt alone, and we have examined only two, one of which was very anomalous in its shape." Similarly, Ellery considers how SETI researchers and future explorers could look for evidence of extraterrestrial probes through a dedicated search. The first step, he argues, is to consider the rationale for sending out self-replicating probes. Source:Phys.org @EverythingScience

Suspected debris strike delays Chinese spaceship's return A suspected strike by "tiny space debris" has delayed the return of the Chinese spaceship Shenzhou-20 and three astronauts, Beijing's space agency said on Wednesday. "The Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft is suspected of being hit by a tiny piece of space debris, and an impact analysis and risk assessment are under way," the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said in a statement. The return of the spacecraft and the three astronauts, planned for Wednesday, has been postponed to ensure their safety, the statement said. Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie had been expected to touch down at the Dongfeng landing site in northern Inner Mongolia. The CMSA did not give a new date for their return. A relief crew arrived at the Tiangong space station aboard the Shenzhou-21 last week. Source:Phys.org @EverythingScience

Exercise “Trains” the Immune System, New Research Reveals Regular physical activity not only benefits the muscles, lungs, and heart, but also enhances the body’s immune defenses. This conclusion comes from a study involving older adults with long-term experience in endurance exercise, which includes activities such as long-distance running, cycling, swimming, rowing, and walking. An international group of scientists examined the immune cells of these participants and discovered that their “natural killer” cells, the body’s sentinels against viruses and abnormal cells, were more adaptable, showed lower levels of inflammation, and functioned with greater metabolic efficiency. Supported by FAPESP and published in Scientific Reports, the study focused on natural killer (NK) cells, a type of white blood cell (lymphocyte) responsible for identifying and destroying infected or diseased cells, including cancer cells. These cells play a vital role in immune defense by recognizing and attacking harmful invaders such as viruses and other pathogens. The team examined blood samples from nine participants with an average age of 64, separated into two groups: those who were physically untrained and those who had practiced endurance exercise. “In a previous study, we found that obesity and a sedentary lifestyle can trigger a process of premature aging of defense cells. This made us want to investigate the other side of the story, that is, whether an older adult who has been practicing endurance exercises for more than 20 years may have a better-prepared immune system. And that’s indeed what we found. In these individuals, NK cells functioned better in the face of an inflammatory challenge, in addition to using energy more efficiently. Therefore, it’s as if exercise also trains the immune system,” says Luciele Minuzzi, a visiting researcher at Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) in Germany. Source:SciTechDaily @EverythingScience

Sun unleashes 2 colossal X-class solar flares, knocking out radio signals across the Americas and Pacific The sun has fired off not one but two colossal X-class solar flares in less than 12 hours, causing radio blackouts across the sunlit portion of Earth at the time of eruption and marking a dramatic uptick in solar activity. The first eruption, an X1.8-class flare, exploded from sunspot AR4274 and peaked at 12:34 p.m. EST (1734 GMT). It triggered a strong R3 radio blackout across much of North and South America. A few hours later, at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT), a second X.1.1-class flare erupted from a region still hidden beyond the sun's southeastern limb, triggering another strong radio blackout across the North Pacific Ocean, New Zealand and parts of eastern Australia. Both eruptions unleashed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — vast plumes of magnetized plasma — but early modelling shows neither is directed at Earth. However, the outer edges of these CMEs could interact with a fast stream of solar wind later this week, sparking strong (G3) geomagnetic storm conditions around Nov. 6-7, according to NOAA. This possible uptick in activity is good news for aurora chasers, as geomagnetic storms can result in some particularly vibrant and dynamic aurora shows. Source:Space.com @EverythingScience

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Can Now Be Seen From Earth – Even By Amateur Telescopes! Two weeks ago, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was at conjunction, on the opposite side of the Sun with respect to Earth. Last week, it reached perihelion, the closest point it would ever get to the Sun. Now it is back from behind the Sun and we can see it again. In fact, Earth is moving towards it as the comet moves away from the Sun, so the next several weeks are a great time to study it. And everyone can get involved. The comet will be visible for anyone with a telescope or very good binoculars in the hours before dawn. The telescope doesn’t need to be anything extravagant to catch this object, but don't expect to see a spectacle like Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet of 1997. Still, this is a chance to see an object that formed 10 billion years ago, somewhere beyond our Solar System. How to find Comet 3I/ATLAS in the sky “November will be the ideal month to observe Comet 3I/ATLAS, a rare interstellar visitor that will shine near Venus and the bright star Spica in Virgo. Around November 3, the comet will rise about two hours before sunrise. Its brightness may reach magnitude 10 — faint but visible through a telescope or good binoculars,” Dr Franck Marchis, senior astronomer and Director of Citizen Science at the SETI Institute and Chief Science Officer and co-founder of Unistellar, told IFLScience last week. “To find it, start with Venus or Spica as guides. If you’re unsure where to look, use a stargazing app (like SkySafari, Stellarium, or Sky Tonight) or a stellar map. Comets are unpredictable, so their brightness may change after perihelion — meaning this might be your best chance to catch it!” Source:IFLScience @EverythingScience