125 articles from FRIDAY 9.9.2022

NASA Eyes New Launch Dates For Its Giant Moon Rocket

For the past 23 days, the Space Launch System (SLS) moon rocket has been more monument than machine, standing 32-stories tall on launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, the most conspicuous object for miles around as it towers over the flat Florida landscape. On Aug. 29 and again on Sept. 3, the rocket was supposed to take off on an uncrewed mission around the moon—kicking off...

At the Great Salt Lake, record salinity and low water imperils millions of birds

Utah’s Great Salt Lake is smaller and saltier than at any time in recorded history. In July, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the world’s third-largest saline lake had dropped to the lowest level ever documented. And last week researchers measured the highest salt concentrations ever seen in the lake’s southern arm, a key bird habitat. Salinity has climbed to 18%,...

Five new embryos created after 10th oocyte collection in northern white rhinoceroses

Three years after starting its ambitious program to save the northern white rhino from extinction through advanced assisted reproduction technologies, the BioRescue consortium draws a positive interim conclusion: Following the 10th event of harvesting immature egg cells (oocytes) in the northern white rhino female Fatu, the international team produced five additional embryos -- bringing the total...

DART sets sights on asteroid target

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft recently got its first look at Didymos, the double-asteroid system that includes its target, Dimorphos. On Sept. 26, DART will intentionally crash into Dimorphos, the asteroid moonlet of Didymos. While the asteroid poses no threat to Earth, this is the world's first test of the kinetic impact technique, using a spacecraft to deflect an...

Stone age surgery: Earliest evidence of amputation found

Researchers have uncovered the oldest case of surgical amputation to date in Borneo. The find presents a remarkable feat in human prehistory. The discovery describes the skeletal remains of a young adult found in a cave in Borneo, who had part of the left lower leg and left foot amputated, probably as a child, at least 31,000 years ago. The person survived the surgical procedure, living for at...

The roots of biodiversity: How proteins differ across species

To better understand what drives biological diversity on Earth, scientists have historically looked at genetic differences between species. But this only provides part of the picture. The traits of a particular species are not merely the result of its genes but also the proteins those genes code for. Understanding the differences between species' proteomes—or all of the proteins that can be...

Fix up Earth to exit COVID-19: Critical link between environment, pandemics

Ecosystem restoration can assist in COVID-19 recovery if it is closely integrated with socioeconomic, health and environmental policies, scientists say. The repair of ecosystems as a core public health intervention can reduce the risk of infection and play an integral role in the long-term rehabilitation from COVID-19, which has so far claimed up to 15 million lives globally through direct and...

Food insecurity has lasting impacts on the brains and behavior of mice

The pandemic saw an increase in the number of food-insecure households with children in America, but what are the consequences? A new study, conducted in mice, is among the first to look at impacts on the brain and behavior of food insecurity apart from other adversities in the environment. Mice raised with uncertain food resources exhibited changes in adulthood in the brain's dopamine network and...

Surprising discovery shows a slowing of continental plate movement controlled the timing of Earth's largest volcanic events

Scientists have shed new light on the timing and likely cause of major volcanic events that occurred millions of years ago and caused such climatic and biological upheaval that they drove some of the most devastating extinction events in Earth's history. Surprisingly the new research suggests a slowing of continental plate movement was the critical event that enabled magma to rise to the Earth's...

The roots of biodiversity: How proteins differ across species

In a new study, Yale researchers have compared the proteomes of skin cells from 11 mammals, which, they say, will help scientists understand the molecular drivers of biodiversity and how these factors have evolved over time. They found that while many proteins are similarly variable both across and within species, some are more variable between species, providing clues about which proteins might...

Why are we mourning the Queen when we didn’t (really) know her? | Sarah Wayland

She may not have been part of our immediate family but many of us feel that, during her 70-year reign, we have ‘grown up’ with herGet our free news app, morning email briefing or daily news podcastThe death of Queen Elizabeth II has prompted public displays of grief around the world – from public gatherings at Buckingham Palace in London, and condolences from world leaders, to individuals...

Fire in the sky: on the trail of space rocks with New Zealand’s meteorite hunters

Weeks after installing a network of meteor-detecting cameras, the members of Fireballs Aotearoa were granted their dearest wish: a rock that fell to EarthIt looks like a scene from a crime show as a search party in hi-vis jackets walks in formation, heads down, searching the brush for clues. But this group is not looking for evidence of a crime, they are after something harder to find: celestial...