SpaceX launched Starship for 5th time on Oct. 13, 2024 from Starbase in south Texas. The Super Heavy booster was caught by the launch tower‘s ‚chopsticks‘ shortly after separation from Starship.
Archiv: Natur, Wissenschaft, Raumfahrt / nature, science, space flight
SpaceX’s Starship rocket completes fifth test flight, lands booster in dramatic catch
The company successfully used the arms of its launch tower to catch the rocket’s booster, a major milestone toward SpaceX’s goal of making Starship a fully reusable rocket system.
Starship continued on into space, traveling halfway around the world before splashing down in the Indian Ocean.
POLARIS DAWN
During their multi-day mission to orbit, Dragon and the crew will endeavor to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown since the Apollo program and participate in the first-ever extravehicular activity (EVA) by commercial astronauts wearing SpaceX-developed EVA suits. They will also conduct 36 research studies and experiments from 31 partner institutions designed to advance both human health on Earth and during long-duration spaceflight, and test Starlink laser-based communications in space.
LIVE! SpaceX Polaris Dawn Launch
Watch LIVE as SpaceX launches Polaris Dawn on its multi-day mission to orbit, which will see Dragon and its crew fly to the highest Earth orbit ever flown since the Apollo program and participate in the first-ever extravehicular activity (EVA) by commercial astronauts wearing SpaceX-developed EVA suits.
When and Why Did Human Brains Decrease in Size? A New Change-Point Analysis and Insights From Brain Evolution in Ants
(22 October 2021)
But we also find that human brain size reduction was surprisingly recent, occurring in the last 3,000 years. Our dating does not support hypotheses concerning brain size reduction as a by-product of body size reduction, a result of a shift to an agricultural diet, or a consequence of self-domestication. We suggest our analysis supports the hypothesis that the recent decrease in brain size may instead result from the externalization of knowledge and advantages of group-level decision-making due in part to the advent of social systems of distributed cognition and the storage and sharing of information. Humans live in social groups in which multiple brains contribute to the emergence of collective intelligence. Although difficult to study in the deep history of Homo, the impacts of group size, social organization, collective intelligence and other potential selective forces on brain evolution can be elucidated using ants as models.
Evolution: Das ist der Grund, wieso die Gehirne der Menschen schrumpfen
(16.11.2021)
Dass unser Gehirn langsam etwas an Masse verloren hat, ist jedoch nicht ganz so lange her: Erst vor rund 3.000 Jahren begann es zu schrumpfen.
(…)
Die Art und Weise, wie sich Individuen in einem Ameisenstaat organisieren, ähnelt unseren modernen Gesellschaftsstrukturen. Die Insekten haben, verglichen mit ihrer Körpergröße, ein Mini-Gehirn. Es ist etwa eine Million Mal kleiner als das eines Menschen – sie können aber Großes leisten. Das Prinzip dahinter ist eine Art kollektive Intelligenz. Nicht jeder muss alles können oder wissen, es gibt eine klare Aufgabenteilung.
3 Things Scientists Need to Know About the IPCC
(September 1, 2015)
Now let’s take a look at point #2: Scientists are not in charge at the IPCC. Its latest report contains 60 chapters and totals more than 7,000 pages. Many good, sincere scientists toiled away on their own small portion of that enormous report. These people no doubt did their best to be honest and accurate.
But here’s the problem: almost no one will ever read that 7,000-page report. (…)
Everyone knows this. Which is why the IPCC also produces documents in the 20 to 30-page range bearing the title: Summary for Policymakers. (…)
In fact, IPCC authors only draft these summaries. And then something incredible transpires.
A big IPCC meeting takes place. Attended by governments. Although some people in the room are scientists, the vast majority are diplomats, politicians, foreign affairs specialists, bureaucrats, and assorted other officials. These people then spend the next week re-writing the summary authored by scientists.(…)
But the bad news doesn’t stop there. There’s actually a step in the IPCC process in which the original, lengthy report gets amended so that it conforms to the politically-negotiated Summary. I am not making this up.
Earth got hammered by cosmic rays 41,000 years ago due to a weak magnetic field
(24 April 2024)
The question is, Do periods of low magnetosphere intensity also correlate with major upheavals in Earth‘s biosphere, the complete zone of our planet over which life exists, ranging from mountaintops to the deepest ocean trenches?
„Understanding these extreme events is important for their occurrence in the future, space climate predictions, and assessing the effects on the environment and on the Earth system,“ Sanja Panovska, a scientist at GFZ Potsdam in Germany, said in a statement.
An Evolutionary Timeline of Homo Sapiens
(February 2, 2021)
Neanderthals once stretched across Eurasia from Portugal and the British Isles to Siberia. As Homo sapiens became more prevalent across these areas the Neanderthals faded in their turn, being generally consigned to history by some 40,000 years ago. (…)
Despite the bits of genetic ancestry they contributed to living people, all of our close relatives eventually died out, leaving Homo sapiens as the only human species. Their extinctions add one more intriguing, perhaps unanswerable question to the story of our evolution—why were we the only humans to survive?
A global environmental crisis 42,000 years ago
(19 Feb 2021)
Do terrestrial geomagnetic field reversals have an effect on Earth‘s climate? Cooper et al. created a precisely dated radiocarbon record around the time of the Laschamps geomagnetic reversal about 41,000 years ago from the rings of New Zealand swamp kauri trees. This record reveals a substantial increase in the carbon-14 content of the atmosphere culminating during the period of weakening magnetic field strength preceding the polarity switch. The authors modeled the consequences of this event and concluded that the geomagnetic field minimum caused substantial changes in atmospheric ozone concentration that drove synchronous global climate and environmental shifts.
(…)
We precisely characterize the geomagnetic reversal and perform global chemistry-climate modeling and detailed radiocarbon dating of paleoenvironmental records to investigate impacts. We find that geomagnetic field minima ~42 ka, in combination with Grand Solar Minima, caused substantial changes in atmospheric ozone concentration and circulation, driving synchronous global climate shifts that caused major environmental changes, extinction events, and transformations in the archaeological record.
(…)
In addition, chronological uncertainties are complicated in radiocarbon-dated terrestrial and marine records around the Laschamps because of the elevated production of C and Be, cosmogenic radionuclides resulting from the substantial increase in high-energy cosmic radiation reaching the upper atmosphere. The high Be flux has been well described from Greenland and Antarctic ice core records (6, 20, 21), which reveal synchronous century-long Be peaks across the Laschamps that appear to reflect a series of pronounced Grand Solar Minima (GSM; prolonged periods of low solar activity similar to the Spörer and Maunder Minima: 1410 to 1540 CE and 1645 to 1715 CE), with unknown climate impacts (20, 21).
50 years ago, scientists named Earth’s magnetic field as a suspect in extinctions
(November 19, 2020)
Effects of Earth’s magnetic field — Science News, November 21, 1970
„Earth’s magnetic field has frequently reversed at intervals of 1 million to 100 million years. A few scientists now suspect that these reversals may have had drastic effects on terrestrial life.… During the past 2.5 million years, eight species of one-cell marine animals called Radiolaria became extinct. Six of these extinctions occurred simultaneously throughout their geographic range immediately following magnetic reversals.“
Scientists link Earth’s magnetic reversals to changes in planet’s life and climate
(April 19, 2021)
The researchers examined the rings of the tree to look for changes in the amount of carbon-14 over a period of years, Gramling explains. Carbon-14 is useful not only for dating things, but because the interaction of cosmic rays with molecules in the atmosphere produces a lot of it. And when the Earth has a weakened magnetic field, more cosmic rays hit the planet.
The scientists indeed found a large spike in carbon-14 in the tree, which they could then compare with the rock record that indicated a magnetic reversal. (…)
In addition, there is the documented rise in cave art right about 41,000-42,000 years ago, Gramling points out.
Earth‘s Magnetic North Pole Has Shifted So Much We‘ve Had to Update GPS
(Feb 6, 2019)
Scientists on Monday released an emergency update to the World Magnetic Model, which cellphone GPS systems and military navigators use to orient themselves.
It‘s a minor change for most of us – noticeable only to people who are attempting to navigate very precisely very close to the Arctic.
World Magnetic Model Updated
(December 16, 2014)
Changes in the Earth‘s outer core trigger unpredictable changes in its magnetic field, an invisible force that extends from Earth‘s interior to where it meets a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun.
Magnetic effect on CO 2 solubility in seawater: A possible link between geomagnetic field variations and climate
(August 2008)
Correlations between geomagnetic-field and climate parameters have been suggested repeatedly, but possible links are controversially discussed. Here we test if weak (Earth-strength) magnetic fields can affect climatically relevant properties of seawater. We found the solubility of air in seawater to be by 15% lower under reduced magneticfield (20 mT) compared to normal field conditions (50 mT). The magnetic-field effect on CO2 solubility is twice as large, from which we surmise that geomagnetic field variations modulate the carbon exchange between atmosphere and ocean. A 1% reduction in magnetic dipole moment may release up to ten times more CO2 from the surface ocean than is emitted by subaerial volcanism.
Is Earth’s Magnetic Shield Eroding?
(29.3.2018)
The strength of Earth’s main magnetic field is currently about 29.5 microteslas, down 5 microteslas, or 14 percent from its strength three centuries ago.
We know this. There is no question of this.
Possible Eoarchean Records of the Geomagnetic Field Preserved in the Isua Supracrustal Belt, Southern West Greenland
(24 April 2024)
The preservation of a temperate climate and liquid water on early Earth depends critically upon the strength of the magnetosphere (Sterenborg et al., 2011; Tarduno et al., 2014). Recent atmospheric escape models have suggested that both weak (<10 μT) and strong (>1 mT) magnetic fields could substantially enhance atmospheric escape under present-day solar wind conditions via the polar wind or cusp escape, respectively (Gronoff et al., 2020; Gunell et al., 2018; Lundin et al., 2007). During the Archean, the Sun was rotating faster, generating a stronger stellar dynamo and therefore the solar wind was more intense than today (Vidotto, 2021). An increased solar wind strength causes greater interaction with the upper atmosphere and greater escape of ions assuming a constant level of protection from Earth‘s magnetosphere. Previous magnetohydrodynamic simulations have suggested that if Earth‘s magnetic field was half its present day strength 3.5 Ga ago, the area of the polar cap (the area containing open dipolar magnetic field lines, allowing atmospheric escape via the polar wind) could increase by up to 50% (Sterenborg et al., 2011).
The Earth’s Magnetic Field Is At Least 3.7-Billion-Years Old, New Evidence Shows
The age of the Earth’s magnetic field remains under question in part because we don’t fully understand what causes it today. We know it is a product of movements in the molten outer core, whose high iron content turns convection currents into a dynamo, and these currents in turn are produced by the solidification of the inner core.
Earth‘s magnetic field formed before the planet‘s core, study suggests
(24 April 2024)
Today, the magnetic field is driven by the churning of the liquid part of the core and the transfer of heat from the solid inner core to the convective outer core as the former cools. But researchers think the core didn‘t solidify until about a billion years ago.
How does the Earth‘s core generate a magnetic field?
The Earth‘s outer core is in a state of turbulent convection as the result of radioactive heating and chemical differentiation. This sets up a process that is a bit like a naturally occurring electrical generator, where the convective kinetic energy is converted to electrical and magnetic energy. Basically, the motion of the electrically conducting iron in the presence of the Earth‘s magnetic field induces electric currents. Those electric currents generate their own magnetic field, and as the result of this internal feedback, the process is self-sustaining so long as there is an energy source sufficient to maintain convection.
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2222 (XXI). Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
(19. Dezember 1966)
Article III
States Parties to the Treaty shall carry on activities in the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, in accordance with international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and promoting international co-operation and understanding.
Article IV
States Parties to the Treaty undertake not to place in orbit around the earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.
The moon and other celestial bodies shall be used by all States Parties to the Treaty exclusively for peaceful purposes. The establishment of military bases, installations and fortifications, the testing of any type of weapons and the conduct of military manoeuvres on celestial bodies shall be forbidden. The use of military personnel for scientific research or for any other peaceful purposes shall not be prohibited. The use of any equipment or facility necessary for peaceful exploration of the moon and other celestial bodies shall also not be prohibited.
Neuralink Is Now Recruiting Human Subjects
(20.09.2023)
It‘s only a tiny incremental step towards Musk‘s sweeping vision for his company‘s brain chip. In 2020, Musk promised Neuralink devices could solve numerous neurological conditions, including addiction or memory loss, or restore movement for people with spinal cord injuries. He‘s even promised that one day, a Neuralink brain chip could allow for human-to-human telepathy.
In short, despite Musk‘s grand ambitions, Neuralink still has a lot of work to do to catch up with its competitors — and isn‘t about to completely revolutionize the field just yet.
LunaNet: 5G players debate an Internet for the moon
(May 8, 2023)
LunaNet is being developed through NASA‘s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program office, who oversee the operations, maintenance and advancement of NASA‘s current networked operations.“
Psyche mission launches as NASA’s first trip to a metal world
(October 13, 2023)
To accomplish the rest of the mission, the van-size spacecraft will rely on its new solar electric propulsion system, powered by Hall-effect thrusters, Oh said. The thrusters will utilize the spacecraft’s large solar arrays and “use electricity to ionize xenon gas and accelerate those charged ions through an electric field to very, very high speeds,” Oh said. (…)
Also along for the ride is the Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration, or DSOC. Occurring during the first two years of the journey to Psyche, it will be NASA’s most distant experiment of high-bandwidth laser communications, testing the sending and receiving of data to and from Earth using an invisible near-infrared laser.
ILLUMA-T
NASA wants to update its existing radio communications system on the International Space Station (ISS) with optical communication technology. Optical communication systems, which use laser beams to transmit information through space, promise the ability to transmit data between a spacecraft and Earth at a much higher rate than radio-frequency systems. Our researchers are designing ILLUMA-T*, a laser terminal that will provide an optical communications link from the ISS to NASA‘s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration satellite, which, in turn, will use optical communications to relay the data from the ISS link to a ground terminal at a rate 10 to 100 times faster than current radio frequency communications systems.
NASA’s Laser Communications Relay: A Year of Experimentation
(Jun 28, 2023)
The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) uses infrared light, or invisible lasers, to transmit and receive signals rather than radio wave systems conventionally used on spacecraft. Infrared light’s tight wavelengths allow space missions to pack significantly more data – 10 to 100 times more – into a single transmission. More data means more discoveries.
Now, at the halfway point in its experimentation phase, LCRD has shown laser communications’ significant advantages over traditional radio wave systems.
Forschung als Friedensprojekt
SESAME ist ein Zentrum der Materialforschung. Die im Elektronensynchrotron beschleunigten Teilchen erzeugen elektromagnetische Strahlung in allen Frequenzbereichen – und diese wird verwendet, um Materialien aller Art zu durchleuchten. Das können archäologische Artefakte oder Gewebsproben von Lebewesen sein .
KI bestimmt Risiko für genetische Erkrankungen
(19.09.2023)
Die Suche nach den Ursachen für genetische Erkrankungen ist ein großes Unterfangen, bei dem vermehrt auch künstliche Intelligenz (KI) zum Einsatz kommt. Ein neues KI-Werkzeug von Google DeepMind kann das Krankheitsrisiko abschätzen, das von bestimmten Genmutationen ausgeht. Die entstandene Datenbank soll künftige Untersuchungen zur Entstehung der Krankheiten deutlich erleichtern.
New predictions of genetic variant pathogenicity using AlphaFold protein structures
(19.09.2023)
Google DeepMind has developed a new tool called AlphaMissense, which uses the AlphaFold human protein structure models to predict whether a sequence variant which changes one amino acid in a protein is likely to be tolerated or to impact protein function.
The Ensembl Variant Effect Predictor now integrates Google DeepMind’s new AlphaMissense Catalogue.
AlphaFold, meet AlphaMissense: Google DeepMind‘s AI successor predicts how 71M mutations cause disease
Google DeepMind has developed an AI system that predicts the chances that tens of millions of genetic variants will cause disease.
A more diverse human reference genome
(10 May 2023)
The work was led by the international Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC), a group funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and consisting of 14 institutes, including EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI). (…)
The majority of the genomes used to create the human pangenome reference were collected as part of the 1000 genomes project, the largest public catalogue of human variation and genotype data from a wide range of populations. (…)
In order to understand the differences in the genes present across the individual genomes represented in the human pangenome, researchers in EMBL-EBI’s Ensembl team needed to map the high-quality annotations on the reference human genome generated as part of the GENCODE project, across the pangenome.
1000 Genomes Project
Some genomic differences may not affect fitness. Neutral variation, previously thought to be “junk” DNA, is unaffected by natural selection resulting in higher genetic variation at such sites when compared to sites where variation does influence fitness.[14]
It is not fully clear how natural selection has shaped population differences; however, genetic candidate regions under selection have been identified recently. (…)
It was found that on average, each person carries around 250–300 loss-of-function variants in annotated genes and 50-100 variants previously implicated in inherited disorders. Based on the two trios, it is estimated that the rate of de novo germline mutation is approximately 10−8 per base per generation.
The 1000 Genomes Project: Welcome to a New World
(Dec 2015)
“Now this is not the end… But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning” as Winston Churchill said. Large-scale sequencing projects will continue for more regional or ethnic groups, in order to extend the global coverage. Much effort will focus on a better understanding of the relationship between genetic variation and common disorders. The translation of this massive genetic information to human health will benefit from the development of complex databases gathering genetic, clinical, and biological data, such as multi-omics profiles, while maintaining protection of potentially sensitive personal information (3). Efforts are also underway to increase genetic awareness in the public and to educate health professionals
GENCODE
The goal of the GENCODE project is to identify and classify all gene features in the human and mouse genomes with high accuracy based on biological evidence, and to release these annotations for the benefit of biomedical research and genome interpretation.