Jul 12 2021

Golden Target: Unique Exoplanet Photobombs CHEOPS Study of Nearby Star System

Artist’s impression of the Nu2 Lupi planetary system. Credit: © ESA

Photobombs — when something or someone unexpectedly enters a camera’s field of sight during the taking of a photograph — happen every day. Sometimes it is a friend, other times a stranger or perhaps a bird. Rarely, however, is it a whole planet. Yet, this is exactly what happened while CHEOPS, the Swiss-led space telescope, was taking pictures of a planetary system 50 light-years away.

A planet like no other

The planetary system is located in the constellation Lupus (latin for Wolf), around a star called Nu2 Lupi, visible to the naked eye (but not from Switzerland). In 2019, Swiss astronomers announced the detection of three exoplanets around this bright, Sun-like star. The three exoplanets have masses between those of Earth and Neptune (17 times the Earth) and take 12, 28, and 107 days to circle their parent star. “What makes these exoplanets really outstanding is that we can see them passing just in front of their star; they’re said to ‘transit,’” says Yann Alibert, professor of astrophysics at the University of Bern and co-author of the study which has been published in Nature Astronomy. “We knew that already for the two inner planets, which led us to point CHEOPS to the system in the first place. However, the third planet is quite far away from the star, no one was expected to see its transit!” Alibert adds. In fact, the farther away the planet is from its star, the less likely it is to transit.

This infographic reveals the details of the Nu2 Lupi planetary system. This bright, Sun-like star is located just under 50 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Lupus (the Wolf), as shown to the left of the frame, and is known to host three planets (named ‘b’, ‘c’ and ‘d’, with the star deemed to be object ‘A’). The relative sizes, orbital periods, and possible compositions of these three planets are depicted to the centre and lower right of the frame, while planet d’s comparative position within our Solar System is shown to the upper right (as defined by the amount of incident light it receives from its star, Nu2 Lupi). Credit: © ESA

This proved a game changer, as it is the first time an exoplanet with a revolution period of over 100 days — which corresponds to a distance from the star somewhere between that of Mercury and Venus from the Sun — has been spotted transiting a star that is bright enough to be visible to the naked eye.

“Due to its relatively long period, the amount of stellar radiation reaching the planet is mild in comparison to many other discovered exoplanets. The less radiation a planet receives, the less it changes over time. Therefore, a planet with a long period could have retained more information about its origin,” says David Ehrenreich, professor at the University of Geneva and mission scientist of CHEOPS, who co-signed the study. But so far, the few such exoplanets astronomers had found orbited faint stars. In other words: little of their light reaches Earth and therefore makes them difficult to study. Not this time: “Since its bright host star is quite close to us, it is easier to study. This makes it a golden target for future study with no known equivalent,” Ehrenreich adds.

Artist’s impression of CHEOPS. Credit: © ESA / ATG medialab

Further insights from other telescopes

The high-precision measurements of CHEOPS reveal the third planet, called nu2 Lupi d, to be about 2.5 times the size of Earth and almost 9 times its mass. By combining these measurements with archival data from other observatories and numerical models developed by the University of Bern, Laetitia Delrez, a visiting researcher at the University of Geneva and lead-author of the study, was able to accurately characterize the density and composition the planet and its neighbors. “The innermost planet is mainly rocky, while the outer two appear to be enshrouded in envelopes of hydrogen and helium gases beneath which they hold large amounts of water,” Delrez explains. Far more water, in fact, than the Earth has: a quarter of each planet’s mass is made up of water, compared to less than 0.1% for Earth. This water, however, is not liquid, instead taking the form of high-pressure ice or high-temperature steam, making the planets uninhabitable. But these insights could only be the beginning.

Laetitia Delrez, Visiting researcher at the University of Geneva, now at the University of Liège, Belgium. Credit: © ULiege/JLWertz

“Now that we discovered that all three planets transit and have precisely measured their properties, the next step is to study them with bigger and more powerful instruments than CHEOPS, like the Hubble Space Telescope or its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. They could reveal further details, such as the composition of the atmosphere” says Ehrenreich. Given its overall properties and orbit, planet d is going to become the poster-child of exoplanets with a mild-temperature atmosphere around a star similar to the Sun.

Reference: “Transit detection of the long-period volatile-rich super-Earth ν2 Lupi d with CHEOPS” by Laetitia Delrez, David Ehrenreich, Yann Alibert, Andrea Bonfanti, Luca Borsato, Luca Fossati, Matthew J. Hooton, Sergio Hoyer, Francisco J. Pozuelos, Sébastien Salmon, Sophia Sulis, Thomas G. Wilson, Vardan Adibekyan, Vincent Bourrier, Alexis Brandeker, Sébastien Charnoz, Adrien Deline, Pascal Guterman, Jonas Haldemann, Nathan Hara, Mahmoudreza Oshagh, Sergio G. Sousa, Valérie Van Grootel, Roi Alonso, Guillem Anglada-Escudé, Tamás Bárczy, David Barrado, Susana C. C. Barros, Wolfgang Baumjohann, Mathias Beck, Anja Bekkelien, Willy Benz, Nicolas Billot, Xavier Bonfils, Christopher Broeg, Juan Cabrera, Andrew Collier Cameron, Melvyn B. Davies, Magali Deleuil, Jean-Baptiste Delisle, Olivier D. S. Demangeon, Brice-Olivier Demory, Anders Erikson, Andrea Fortier, Malcolm Fridlund, David Futyan, Davide Gandolfi, Antonio Garcia Muñoz, Michaël Gillon, Manuel Guedel, Kevin Heng, László Kiss, Jacques Laskar, Alain Lecavelier des Etangs, Monika Lendl, Christophe Lovis, Pierre F. L. Maxted, Valerio Nascimbeni, Göran Olofsson, Hugh P. Osborn, Isabella Pagano, Enric Pallé, Giampaolo Piotto, Don Pollacco, Didier Queloz, Heike Rauer, Roberto Ragazzoni, Ignasi Ribas, Nuno C. Santos, Gaetano Scandariato, Damien Ségransan, Attila E. Simon, Alexis M. S. Smith, Manfred Steller, Gyula M. Szabó, Nicolas Thomas, Stéphane Udry and Nicholas A. Walton, 28 June 2021, Nature Astronomy.
DOI: 10.1038/s41550-021-01381-5

CHEOPS — in search of potential habitable planets

The CHEOPS mission (CHaracterizing ExOPlanet Satellite) is the first of ESA’s newly created “S-class missions” — small-class missions with an ESA budget much smaller than that of large- and medium-size missions, and a shorter timespan from project inception to launch.

CHEOPS is dedicated to characterizing the transits of exoplanets. It measures the changes in the brightness of a star when a planet passes in front of that star. This measured value allows the size of the planet to be derived, and for its density to be determined on the basis of existing data. This provides important information on these planets — for example, whether they are predominantly rocky, are composed of gases, or if they have deep oceans. This, in turn, is an important step in determining whether a planet has conditions that are hospitable to life.

CHEOPS was developed as part of a partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Switzerland. Under the leadership of the University of Bern and ESA, a consortium of more than a hundred scientists and engineers from eleven European states was involved in constructing the satellite over five years.

CHEOPS began its journey into space on Wednesday, December 18, 2019, on board a Soyuz Fregat rocket from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Since then, it has been orbiting the Earth on a polar orbit in roughly an hour and a half at an altitude of 700 kilometers following the terminator.

The Swiss Confederation participates in the CHEOPS telescope within the PRODEX programme (PROgramme de Développement d’EXpériences scientifiques) of the European Space Agency ESA. Through this program, national contributions for science missions can be developed and built by project teams from research and industry. This transfer of knowledge and technology between science and industry ultimately also gives Switzerland a structural competitive advantage as a business location — and enables technologies, processes and products to flow into other markets and thus generate added value for our economy.

University of Bern 0 Comments

Innovative New Nanotechnology Will Enable “Healthy” Electric Current Production Inside the Human Body

Jul 11 2021

The innovative material that creates green energy through mechanical force.

Innovative New Nanotechnology Will Enable “Healthy” Electric Current Production Inside the Human Body

A new nanotechnology development by an international research team led by Tel Aviv University researchers will make it possible to generate electric currents and voltage within the human body through the activation of various organs (mechanical force). The researchers explain that the development involves a new and very strong biological material, similar to collagen, which is non-toxic and causes no harm to the body’s tissues. The researchers believe that this new nanotechnology has many potential applications in medicine, including harvesting clean energy to operate devices implanted in the body (such as pacemakers) through the body’s natural movements, eliminating the need for batteries.

The study was led by Prof. Ehud Gazit of the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research at the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, along with his lab team, Dr. Santu Bera and Dr. Wei Ji.

Also taking part in the study were researchers from the Weizmann Institute and a number of research institutes in Ireland, China, and Australia. As a result of their findings, the researchers received two ERC-POC grants aimed at using the scientific research from the ERC grant that Gazit had previously won for applied technology. The research was published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.

Prof. Ehud Gazit. Credit: Tel Aviv University

Prof. Gazit, who is also Founding Director of the BLAVATNIK CENTER for Drug Discovery, explains: “Collagen is the most prevalent protein in the human body, constituting about 30% of all of the proteins in our body. It is a biological material with a helical structure and a variety of important physical properties, such as mechanical strength and flexibility, which are useful in many applications. However, because the collagen molecule itself is large and complex, researchers have long been looking for a minimalistic, short and simple molecule that is based on collagen and exhibits similar properties.

“About a year and a half ago, in the journal Nature Materials, our group published a study in which we used nanotechnological means to engineer a new biological material that meets these requirements. It is a tripeptide — a very short molecule called Hyp-Phe-Phe consisting of only three amino acids — capable of a simple process of self-assembly of forming a collagen-like helical structure that is flexible and boasts a strength similar to that of the metal titanium. In the present study, we sought to examine whether the new material we developed bears another feature that characterizes collagen — piezoelectricity. Piezoelectricity is the ability of a material to generate electric currents and voltage as a result of the application of mechanical force, or vice versa, to create a mechanical force as the result of exposure to an electric field.”

In the study, the researchers created nanometric structures of the engineered material, and with the help of advanced nanotechnology tools, applied mechanical pressure on them. The experiment revealed that the material does indeed produce electric currents and voltage as a result of the pressure. Moreover, tiny structures of only hundreds of nanometers demonstrated one of the highest levels of piezoelectric ability ever discovered, comparable or superior to that of the piezoelectric materials commonly found in today’s market (most of which contain lead and are therefore not suitable for medical applications).

According to the researchers, the discovery of piezoelectricity of this magnitude in a nanometric material is of great significance, as it demonstrates the ability of the engineered material to serve as a kind of tiny motor for very small devices. Next, the researchers plan to apply crystallography and computational quantum mechanical methods (density functional theory) in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the material’s piezoelectric behavior and thereby enable the accurate engineering of crystals for the building of biomedical devices.

Prof. Gazit adds: “Most of the piezoelectric materials that we know of today are toxic lead-based materials, or polymers, meaning they are not environmentally and human body-friendly. Our new material, however, is completely biological, and therefore suitable for uses within the body. For example, a device made from this material may replace a battery that supplies energy to implants like pacemakers, though it should be replaced from time to time. Body movements — like heartbeats, jaw movements, bowel movements, or any other movement that occurs in the body on a regular basis — will charge the device with electricity, which will continuously activate the implant.”

Now, as part of their continuing research, the researchers are seeking to understand the molecular mechanisms of the engineered material with the goal of realizing its immense potential and turning this scientific discovery into applied technology. At this stage, the focus is on the development of medical devices, but Prof. Gazit emphasizes that “environmentally friendly piezoelectric materials, such as the one we have developed, have tremendous potential in a wide range of areas because they produce green energy using mechanical force that is being used anyway. For example, a car driving down the street can turn on the streetlights. These materials may also replace lead-containing piezoelectric materials that are currently in widespread use, but that raise concerns about the leakage of toxic metal into the environment.”

References:

“Molecular engineering of piezoelectricity in collagen-mimicking peptide assemblies” by Santu Bera, Sarah Guerin, Hui Yuan, Joseph O’Donnell, Nicholas P. Reynolds, Oguzhan Maraba, Wei Ji, Linda J. W. Shimon, Pierre-Andre Cazade, Syed A. M. Tofail, Damien Thompson, Rusen Yang and Ehud Gazit, 11 May 2021, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22895-6

“Rigid helical-like assemblies from a self-aggregating tripeptide” by Santu Bera, Sudipta Mondal, Bin Xue, Linda J. W. Shimon, Yi Cao and Ehud Gazit, 15 April 2019, Nature Materials.
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-019-0343-2

Tel-Aviv University 0 Comments

Jul 10 2021

Research has ruled out the possibility of life on Venus, but Jupiter gives hope

A new study rules out the possibility of life in the clouds of Venus, the Associated Press and AFP reported.

Scientists in Europe and the United States said Monday that there was not enough water in the clouds around the planet to sustain life as we know it.

The researchers set about the study after their colleagues surprisingly announced last September that small organisms could inhabit the dense veil of strongly acidic clouds that encircle Venus up to 60 kilometers high.

Astronomers have used data from observations of spacecraft and found that the water content in the clouds of Venus is more than a hundred times lower than necessary for life to exist on Earth.

“It’s almost at the bottom of the cliff and an insurmountable distance from what you need for an active life,” said study leader John Holsworth, a microbiologist at Queens University Belfast in Northern Ireland.

However, he and his colleagues believe that there is enough water in the clouds of Jupiter and suitable atmospheric temperatures for life.

“I’m not saying there is life on Jupiter, I’m not even saying there could be life there because it will need nutrients, and we can’t be sure they have them,” Holsworth told reporters. “But the discovery is insightful and exciting, completely unexpected,” he said.

News desk 0 Comments

Jul 9 2021

Removal of molars can stimulate taste buds

Removing molars could improve taste perceptions decades after the intervention, Medical Express reported, citing a study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

The study involved 1,255 people, 891 of whom had molar teeth removed. Their taste perceptions were tested by five different concentrations of sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid and caffeine.

They had to drink from each solution, splash with it and spit it out, and then indicate what taste they felt – sweet, salty, sour or bitter.

It turned out that in each of the four solutions the taste perceptions of the people with extracted sages were stronger than those of the control group. It has also been found that this is more pronounced in women.

The researchers concluded that people whose molars were removed a long time ago experienced an improvement of between 3% and 10% in taste perceptions.

“This study shows us that taste perceptions can improve slightly between and up to 20 years after the intervention. This is a surprising but impressive finding that needs to be better understood,” said Richard Dotty of the University of Pennsylvania. who is leading the study.

The data from the study are published in the journal Chemical Science.

News desk 0 Comments

Jul 8 2021

German geneticists have found the oldest plague patient

German geneticists examined the remains of four people who lived in Latvia more than five thousand years ago and found that one individual was infected with the oldest known strain of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis – the oldest case of plague infection. Scientists assume that this disease spread rather slowly at that time, and the man became infected through the bite of an animal, for example, a beaver. The article was published in the journal Cell Reports. The plague has been known since ancient times, evidence of which is found in many early written sources, for example, in the Bible. However, the general fear of this disease emerged after the medieval pandemics, especially the Justinian and Black Death. Outbreaks of plague led to severe demographic changes and social upheaval. So, in the second half of the 18th century, Moscow was engulfed in the Plague Riot. Today in Russia, cases of infection with this disease are rare, although in some regions, for example, in the Astrakhan region or the Altai Republic, there are natural foci. You can learn more about where it is now possible to become infected with the plague and why it has not yet been completely defeated, can be found in our material “Territory of the Black Death”.

For a long time, it was believed that the first cases of plague infection occurred about three thousand years ago. However, in 2015, geneticists analyzed DNA sequences obtained from the teeth of 101 people from Eurasia who lived during the Bronze Age. They found that seven individuals suffered from the plague, and two representatives of the Afanasiev culture from Gorny Altai met with the causative agent of the disease about 4,800 years ago – these are the oldest known cases.

Julian Susat, together with colleagues from the University of Kiel, examined the remains of four people found at the Rinnukalns site in Latvia. They belonged to two adult men 20-30 and 35-45 years old, a girl 12-18 years old and a baby boy. Radiocarbon dating has shown that these people lived about 5,300-5050 years ago.

The researchers sequenced DNA from the remains of all four individuals. In the course of further work, which included screening for pathogens, they found that a man in his 20s and 30s was infected with the plague. Geneticists were able to restore the DNA sequence of the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which turned out to be basal in relation to all known ancient and modern strains. This early and independent lineage arose about seven thousand years ago, shortly after the separation from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.

The lifestyle of the infected individual corresponded to that of an ordinary hunter-gatherer in the Baltic region of the time. Analysis of its genome has shown that it is associated with populations of eastern hunter-gatherers that inhabited the forest-steppe zone between the Black and Baltic seas six thousand years ago.

Scientists suggest that the ancient strains had lower virulence. Almost all known early cases are sporadic infections. Probably, the man from Rinnukalns was infected by an animal bite, which led to the development of a septic form of the plague. Among the potential carriers of this disease, genetics named beavers, whose bones are present in the parking lot.

Earlier on N + 1, we already said that researchers from Denmark and Great Britain found evidence indicating the death of seven people from the Bronze Age from the plague, and in the Volga region they found the oldest causative agent of the medieval Black Death.

News desk 0 Comments

Jul 4 2021

Archaeologists find the oldest shark attack victim

British archaeologists have examined the remains of a man from the Japanese site of Tsukumo dating back to 1370-1010 BC. Scientists have identified at least 790 cuts on the bones, left by a tiger or white shark. This is the earliest direct evidence of the attack of these fish on humans. The article was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

Shark attacks on humans are quite rare, as a rule, in the modern world no more than a hundred such cases are recorded per year, while most of the injuries received were not fatal. Most often they occur in Australia, South Africa, USA, Brazil and New Zealand. There are only a few archaeological examples of such attacks.

One of the earliest known attacks on humans occurred off the coast of Puerto Rico around 789-1033 AD. While fishing in a canoe, a man lost an arm after being thrown by a tiger shark and died on the spot from loss of blood. The remains of this 29-year-old man were found in the early 2000s. He was buried in fetal position with prehistoric pottery, stone artifacts, clam shell, and ocher.

During construction work in the 1860s in Japan, in the city of Kasaoka, an ancient shell burial mound was discovered at the Tsukumo site. During excavations in 1915, more than 170 human skeletons were found here, which, judging by the ceramics, belonged to the end of the Jomon period (2540-435 BC).

Julie White and colleagues from Oxford University examined the remains from the Tsukumo shell mound, located three kilometers from the Seto Inland Sea. These bones, which have numerous deep, striking linear marks, were excavated at the beginning of the 19th century. However, until now, the nature of these injuries remained unclear.

The skeleton under study from Tsukumo belonged to a young or middle-aged man about 158 centimeters tall. Radiocarbon dating, followed by calibration, put this find back in 1370-1010 BC. The injuries on the remains number in the hundreds and vary in size. Their greatest concentration is observed on the upper and lower extremities. The body of the deceased was buried in accordance with the funeral custom of the Jomon period, which helped him to remain in excellent condition, but makes it difficult to understand the tragic circumstances of death.

Research has shown that about three thousand years ago, a man from Tsukumo was attacked by a tiger or white shark in the Seto Inland Sea. Most likely, during the attack, he lost his right leg and left arm. The injuries sustained were clearly fatal, with at least 790 tooth marks. Scientists believe the large arteries in the lower extremities were severed early in the attack. This led to a relatively rapid death from blood loss.

The combination of archaeological and forensic methods made it possible to find out the causes of death. Scientists have concluded that this is the earliest direct evidence of a shark attack on humans. This find not only provides a new perspective on Ancient Japan, but also serves as a rare example of how archaeologists can reconstruct a dramatic episode from the life of prehistoric society.

Scientists are increasingly reporting finding evidence of injuries or rare diseases on ancient remains. So, at N + 1, they said that an ancient Celtic from Switzerland suffered from skeletal dysplasia, and in a cemetery of the Merovingian era, the remains of a woman were found, who has the most severe case of Madelung’s deformity.

News desk 0 Comments

Jul 4 2021

Rosatom becomes a superconductor supplier to CERN

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has successfully completed acceptance tests for Russian niobium-tin superconductors manufactured under the Future Circular Collider (FCC) project, which is to replace CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

The construction of the superconducting fibers and the technology of their production were developed at the High-Tech Research Institute for Inorganic Materials “Academician A. Bochvar” in Moscow, and the pilot batch of wires with a total length of 50 km is the work of the Chepetsk Mechanical Plant in Glazov.

The activities are under an agreement between CERN and the fuel company of Rosatom – TVEL.

As a result of the successful tests of the production, TVEL became a qualified supplier of superconductors for CERN’s programs for the development of particle accelerators.

The magnetic system is one of the key elements of the Future Circular Collider. Its colossal size – the length of the circle is about 100 kilometers, requires the supply of a significant amount of superconducting filaments, which can be produced only with the joint efforts of countries with such technology – Russia, USA, South Korea, Japan and China.

The future circular collider in Switzerland is a key international research project that should make it easier for scientists to take fundamental research in the field of particle physics to a new level. The new particle accelerator will help to understand the nature of dark matter, the emergence of asymmetry antimatter – matter in the universe and to solve other issues beyond the so-called standard model of modern physics.

Unlike the superconductors created at Rosatom for the international thermonuclear reactor ITER, which is being built in France, the threads for the Future Circular Collider project were obtained by a method that allows the construction of a conductor with a significantly higher critical current density – necessary condition for the creation of modern magnetic systems of accelerators and installations in the field of high energy physics.

Applied superconductivity is one of the strategic directions in the development of non-nuclear technologies in the fuel company of Rosatom – TVEL. Low-temperature superconducting materials are indispensable for the creation of modern medical equipment (magnetic resonance imaging), as well as in analytical equipment with high and ultra-high resolution, such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers.

“We are proud that the superconductors produced by us will help implement the largest Russian and international research projects in the field of high energy physics and fusion – the Future Circular Collider, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, the NICA accelerator complex and the study of ions and antiprotons FAIR. We are also developing niobium-titanium conductors for the Future Collider and especially pure resonator niobium, which will be needed for the manufacture of its acceleration systems, “said the president of TVEL Natalia Nikipelova.

News desk 0 Comments

Jul 4 2021

The biblical herb that cures all diseases

God’s plant, an herb described in the Bible and the Qur’an! People believed that God created her to heal everything he could to torture a human being!

Black cumin

Black cumin is an annual plant of the buttercup family. Famous for its fruit – black seeds called black cumin (do not confuse it with ordinary cumin, which can be found in almost every store). One of the most popular herbs in the history of medicine. In ancient Egypt, it was used to improve digestion, with colds, headaches, infections and toothaches. The seeds of black cumin were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. It is mentioned in the Bible and the Qur’an. The Islamic prophet Muhammad speaks of him as follows: “.

Black cumin cures every disease except death “

A panacea

Black cumin was used in ancient Egypt, and today is known as one of the most effective herbs for the prevention and treatment of a number of health problems. Many refer to it as a panacea, those who treat almost all diseases.

More than 200 studies have been conducted at various universities and it has been shown that black cumin has a beneficial effect on a large number of diseases, especially autoimmune – such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, asthma, allergies, allergic rhinitis, as well as lowering cholesterol and triglycerides, reducing diabetes, high blood pressure, eczema, acne, bronchitis, pneumonia and sinusitis, gastritis, ulcers, Helicobacter pylori disease, black poor movement, cancer, and is of great help in chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Clinically proven black cumin relieves the symptoms of allergies, allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma. Its oil dilates the airways and makes breathing easier, has an antibiotic action and prevents the development of secondary bacterial infections, which often occur with seasonal allergies. Naturally and safely prepares the body to react to milder allergens and gradually increases the body’s tolerance to them.

Great for the heart

Cumin is also good for the cardiovascular system. By strengthening the walls of blood vessels and increasing their resistance leads to the regulation of blood pressure.

Studies show that the use of black cumin oil lowers total cholesterol, triglycerides, and so-called bad (LDL) cholesterol levels. It can be used to lower blood sugar levels by stimulating the pancreas to secrete insulin and increasing the sensitivity of cells to it. It shows a special effect in type two diabetes.

In recent years, research has shown the antitumor activity of black cumin and can be used as an aid in the treatment of cancer because it acts directly on cancer cells and strengthens the body’s defenses.

Treatment and beautification with black cumin oil against hair loss and stimulation of hair growth; in nervous disorders; to relieve cough; in the fight against fatigue; improving memory; reduction and erasure of wrinkles; against inflammation in the body; in the fight against high cholesterol; against lichens; pain relief in rheumatism; against headache; against acids; in case of eye problems; to reduce high blood pressure against diarrhea; fungal treatment; for the prevention of colds.

Black cumin seed treatment to prevent miscarriage; against kidney stones; in gastrointestinal diseases; with sore throat; to strengthen the body.

News desk 0 Comments

Jul 4 2021

Oxford: A third dose of AstraZeneca protects even more

A third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at Oxford University and AstraZeneca has elicited a strong immune response, Reuters reported, citing a study by scientists.

The authors of the study emphasize that so far there is no evidence that a third dose is needed to boost the immune response, especially given the lack of vaccines in some countries.

A study by the University of Oxford found that a third dose of the vaccine boosted immune protection with antibodies and T-cells, with the second dose being delayed by up to 45 weeks and also triggering a strong immune response.

The British government has announced that it is considering a plan for a vaccination campaign in the autumn to strengthen protection, after three-fifths of the country’s adult population has already been immunized with two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Oxford Vaccine Group Director Andrew Pollard said the evidence that the vaccine protects against the now-widespread variants of the new coronavirus for some time means that a booster third dose is unlikely to be needed.

“However, we must be able to strengthen the defense if this proves necessary … but we have no evidence that this will be necessary,” he told reporters.

“For now, with the high level of protection among the UK population and no evidence that it is being lost, it is not acceptable to give a third dose in the UK while other countries have not been vaccinated at all,” he said.

Previous studies have shown that the vaccine, invented at Oxford University and licensed by AstraZeneca, is more effective if the second dose is taken on the twelfth week after the first, instead of four weeks after it.

The study, announced Monday before its official release, was conducted among 30 people who received a late second dose and 90 people who received a third dose. All participants are over 55 years old.

The results alleviate concerns that vector vaccines such as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson may lose their effect if annual immunizations are needed because of the risks that the body reacts against the vector that imports the genetic information into the vaccine.

“There were some concerns that we would not be able to use this vaccine with a booster vaccination regimen, and the study data definitely do not indicate this,” study author Teresa Lamb of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University told Reuters.

News desk 0 Comments

Jul 4 2021

Iraq wants to build eight nuclear reactors by 2030

Iraq, which is suffering from a chronic power shortage, wants to build eight nuclear reactors by 2030 to reduce its external energy dependence, AFP reported, citing an official.

The country currently uses imports of electricity and gas from neighboring Iran to generate about a third of its electricity. “By 2030-2031, we want to generate 25 percent of our electricity needs through nuclear energy,” Kamal Latif, head of the Iraqi Radioactive Regulators Authority, told AFP.

Nuclear energy “is cheaper and more accessible every day of the year, as opposed to solar or other renewable energy,” he added.

Latif said negotiations currently under way with “Russian, Korean, Chinese, American and French” companies could lead to a “signing” of a deal by the end of the year.

He declined to comment on reports that the new reactors cost $ 40 billion, saying only that Iraq would negotiate payment mechanisms for “over 20 years, with the possibility of low-interest loans.”

Russia’s Rosatom, quoted by TASS, said it was discussing with Iraq “the entire program for possible co-operation in the energy and non-energy applications of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.”

Experts believe that instead of relying on nuclear power plants, Iraq should upgrade its infrastructure, as it loses 30 to 50 percent of its energy during transmission due to outdated circuits.

Iraq, the second-largest producer in the OPEC oil cartel, has already announced a multi-year plan to capture natural gas, which is currently burning. To upgrade its energy infrastructure, Iraq has signed memoranda of understanding with Germany’s Siemens and US General Electric, but projects have not yet begun.

News desk 0 Comments

Jul 4 2021

Archaeologists illuminated a cave with Paleolithic methods

Through a series of experiments, scientists have established the main characteristics of light sources that people of the Upper Paleolithic era could use in caves. Having built a model of illumination for one of the caves with rock art monuments, the researchers showed that Paleolithic man, apparently, used all the light sources available to him – bonfires, torches and lamps based on animal fat. Knowing their advantages and disadvantages, he chose the best lighting method depending on the circumstances.

The study is described in an article in the journal PLoS One.

Deep parts of the caves, in which there is no natural light, were unsuitable for permanent human habitation and never served as dwellings. However, archaeological finds show that the Paleolithic people from ancient times used such caves for ritual purposes. At the earliest stages of the emergence of spiritual culture, primitive burials were apparently arranged in caves, for example, such as in Sima de los Huesos (Spain), where many remains of people of the species Homo heidelbergensis were found, dating back to about 430 thousand years ago. However, the first reliable evidence of deliberate human visitation comes from the Brunickel Cave in southern France. In the depths of it, about 176.5 thousand years ago, the Neanderthals built ring-shaped structures of a ritual nature from the fragments of stalagmites. Traces of fire were found in the cave, for which the bones of animals served as fuel.

The systematic use of deep caves for cult purposes is associated with the activities of the Sapiens in the Upper Paleolithic. And the brightest monuments of the presence of people in the depths of the cave space, where natural sunlight does not fall, could not appear without sufficiently effective lighting. These are numerous examples of rock art and painting. From the Upper Paleolithic era, archaeologists know the traces left by three types of lighting devices: bonfires, torches and grease burners (lamps in which a wick soaked in animal fat burned).

Analysis of the remains of fire sites in Upper Paleolithic caves shows that people used both wood and bone as fuel. Torch marks are recorded in the form of soot on the walls and ceilings, as well as scattered fragments of charcoal. In a number of cases, archaeologists have found (1, 2) the remains of the torches themselves, made of pine or juniper branches. There are also finds of fatty lamps – stones with depressions or fragments of shells, on which there are traces of soot and fat and charred remnants of wicks. These sources are characterized by different intensity of light, and each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. Upper Paleolithic man could use these features when visiting caves.

Spanish researchers led by Maria Ángeles Medina-Alcaide from the University of Cordoba conducted a series of experiments with all three types of light sources. For the experiments, they chose the Isunza I karst cave in the Basque Mountains in northern Spain. All lighting fixtures were created through reconstruction based on archaeological finds. Scientists measured the duration of burning, the intensity of light, the temperature of the flame, the range of the source and the amount of illumination, and also took into account the degree of smoke that occurs with this or that method.

The researchers made five torches from ivy-tied juniper and birch bark twigs, mixed with pine resin and deer bone marrow. Their burning time ranged from 21 to 61 minutes, and they all smoked quite a lot and gave an uneven flame. However, in order to achieve a more intense combustion, it was enough to wave a torch. The most effective was a torch 55 centimeters long and 11 centimeters thick from carefully dried branches without the addition of resin. It burned longer than others with an average illumination radius of 2.47 meters. The maximum combustion temperature of this torch reached 633 degrees, and the luminous intensity was 10.48 candela. The average illumination at a distance of 40 centimeters was 21.94 lux.

In the experiments, the properties of two lamps on animal fat were also studied, for filling which the scientists used 23 grams of bovine bone marrow. Dried and split juniper branches served as wicks for them. The greases burned at a temperature of about 176 degrees and gave a weak (on average 0.59 candela) light in a radius of 1.57 meters. At 40 centimeters from the flame, the average illumination was 3.71 lux. Despite their weakness, these lamps have important advantages: they burn for a long time (more than an hour) and practically do not produce smoke.

An experimental bonfire measuring 23 centimeters, built of oak and juniper branches with the addition of birch bark, burned at a temperature of about 587 degrees and gave an uneven flame with an average illumination radius of 3.3 meters and a maximum of up to 4.5 meters. However, at a distance of more than two meters, the illumination values turned out to be close to zero. The average luminous intensity produced by the fire was about three candelas, and the illumination of 40 centimeters was 19.2 lux. Due to the lack of ventilation, the smoke in the part of the cave where the fire was made was very strong, and after 30 minutes the researchers stopped the experiment. This shows how important it was to select a well-ventilated cave site for the campfire.

Based on these results, Medina Alcaide and her colleagues simulated lighting options for the Achurra Cave in the same area. It contains images of animals – bison, horses, deer – belonging to the Late Paleolithic Madeleine culture, which was widespread in Western and Central Europe 17000-12000 years ago. Under the engraved cave paintings on a massive stone ledge 2.5 meters high, there are traces of three fireplaces, charcoal particles were found in various places of Achurra, and a stone lamp from this cave served as a model for experimental firemen.

Simulations showed that the images on the wall were nearly impossible to see if any light source was below the rock ledge – even taking into account the reflection of light from the walls of the underground gallery. The location of the bonfires on the ledge was not accidental: the bonfires burning there not only made it possible to see the drawings, but made the entire surface of the decorated wall accessible for viewing. The scattered fragments of coal were apparently left behind after moving with torches. It takes about 40 minutes to reach this section of the cave, and researchers believe that two juniper torches were enough to provide a way back and forth. However, it is likely that when going into the cave, people took spare grease and torches. Why fat lamps were used in Achurra is still unclear. They may have been used to create images or complement the lighting created by bonfires.

The results of the experiment also allow one to imagine what the rock paintings looked like to the visitors of the cave. With any of the studied light sources, the so-called mesopic, or twilight, vision is activated. It is less associated with color sensitivity than daytime, and more with the perception of contrast between illuminated and unlit areas. At the same time, the rays of the long-wavelength parts of the spectrum – yellow, orange and red – emitted by the flame of a fire, torch or lamp are more clearly perceived. In Achurra, the engravings are black, but in other caves, ocher pigments were often used for painting, which appeared more saturated under these lighting conditions. According to scientists, the features of twilight vision associated with the selectivity of color perception and increased sensitivity to the play of light and shadow played a large role in rituals inside the space of the caves.

Analysis by Spanish scientists shows that people in the Upper Paleolithic era could purposefully apply light sources with different characteristics, knew about the properties of available combustible materials and used the morphology of caves to achieve optimal results. They knew how to make quite complex lighting devices that made it possible to penetrate far into the depths of the caves and stay there for a long time. The authors of the article plan to conduct research on more material in the future and extend the modeling to caves with different profiles and arrangement of drawings.

Earlier, archaeologists talked about the oldest rock carvings of an animal found in a cave on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, explained why climate change entails the destruction of this most valuable monument, and also reported the discovery of the first evidence of a Paleolithic man hunting a small cave bear.

News desk 0 Comments

Jul 4 2021

Scientists are trying to artificially cool the Earth

Scientists are working on opportunities for artificial cooling of the Earth. So far, there are three technologies. Can solar geoengineering solve the problem of global warming?

“Humans are no doubt able to cool the planet artificially,” said Professor David Keith of Harvard University. He deals with solar geoengineering – a very controversial scientific field. It focuses on how humans could manipulate the sun’s radiation to the Earth to deter climate change. Here are the main technologies that could possibly allow this to happen, presented by DW:

On June 15, 1991, tons of ash and gas were released into the atmosphere during the eruption of Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines. It was the second largest volcanic eruption in a century. To the surprise of many scientists, the event cooled the Earth in the coming months by about half a degree. The tiny particles in the air, the so-called aerosols, reflected more sunlight back into space. The result: reduced warming of the Earth.

Scientists like Keith want to achieve the same effect artificially based on a theory called “Stratospheric aerosol injection.” The idea is to scatter aerosols in the stratosphere – between 15 and 50 km above the earth’s crust. There they will contact water particles and for a period of one to three years will reflect more sunlight than usual. In this way, “many of the major climate threats can be curtailed – such as changes in access to water, changes in temperatures, including extreme temperatures,” Keith said.

However, for the cooling effect to be lasting, aerosols must be dispersed over decades and on a large scale. Balloons, artillery, planes or huge towers could be used for this purpose. And the solution is not without risks – some scientists fear increased cataclysms over time, acid rain or damage to the ozone layer.

So far, the theory has hardly been put into practice – it was planned for the first time this year to experiment with a balloon in the atmosphere over Sweden, and then to assess the results and risks of the method. But due to protests from local people and environmental activists, the experiment was canceled at the last minute.

The sea like a mirror

It sounds incredible, but some scientists are exploring how the Earth can be cooled by covering large parts of its water cover with artificial foam. The procedure is called Ocean foaming or Microbubbles.

About 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. The water, which is dark because of the depth, reflects very little sunlight and retains a lot of heat. According to the so-called Albedo effect, the brighter a surface, the less it heats up. This could also be used for water.

The idea is this: “Develop a foam that reflects some of the sun’s rays and then directs them to strategic points where a certain climate effect could be achieved,” said Corey Gabriel, a climatologist at the University of California, San Diego.

Theoretically, this foam could reflect ten times more sunlight than dark water surfaces. With enough foam, the planet could cool by 0.5 degrees Celsius. Some scientists suggest that the foam be applied by special ships or container vessels. This method has not been sufficiently studied so far and will not be implemented soon. And the consequences for marine ecosystems of applying huge amounts of foam to water are still completely unclear. In addition, the effects on climate and local weather would be difficult to control.

Cities in white

In the summer in many cities it gets really hot compared to less populated areas. In New York, for example, the temperature is between 1 and 3 degrees Celsius higher than in the surrounding area. The reason: dark roofs, streets and sidewalks heat up more than trees, lighter fields and areas where plants cast shade.

And for this there is a solution – the houses and roofs to be painted white. It is both easy and relatively cheap, and it will also cool down. A white roof is about 30% cooler than a black one. In traditional architecture in African, Arab and southern European countries, this has long been done to repel the heat.

“Local temperatures could drop by about a degree. On very hot days, when the sun’s radiation is very strong, the effect could be even higher,” said Professor Sonia Seneviratne, a climatologist at the Technical University of Zurich.

In New York, under a special program since 2009, more than one million square meters of roofs have been painted white. This color not only cools buildings, but also saves energy, for example for air conditioners.

Scientists predict that if all roofs and sidewalks around the world are painted white, greenhouse gas emissions will be saved as much as 700 medium-sized coal-fired power plants.

Will solar geoengineering come into operation?

Repainting the roofs in white has an effect on the local climate, in addition, there are no dangerous side effects. However, due to the potential risks, the spraying of aerosols in the stratosphere and the application of foam on the water surface will hardly be applied soon.

There are two camps in the scientific community that are in opposing positions on whether it is worth investing in research in the field of solar geoengineering.

“If we don’t do research, the next generation will have to make decisions without the knowledge they need – and it could go so far as to apply methods of this kind without research,” said David Kate. “That would be stupid, and I think there’s something like an ethical imperative – to provide information to the next generation.”

Even if many scientists think differently from Kate, they are all united in one respect – we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible and in the long run find ways to adapt to climate change. Because even solar geoengineering will not be able to turn the clock back and prevent global warming.

News desk 0 Comments

Jul 4 2021

The 82-year-old will become the oldest man to fly in space

Wally Funk will accompany Jeff Bezos on the alien voyage on July 20

Wally Funk, 82, will accompany Jeff Bezos into space on a Blue Origin flight on July 20, AFP and the Associated Press reported.

She will become the oldest person to fly in space.

Wally Funk will be the fourth passenger on the first flight of the space travel company’s New Shepard spacecraft. She will fly with the billionaire, his brother Mark Bezos and the winner of the auction, whose name has not been announced.

After taking off from the desert in West Texas, the journey will last 10 minutes, four of which passengers will spend over the Pocket Line, which marks the recognizable boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and space.

Jeff Bezos has chosen Wally Funk as a guest of honor. She was one of 13 women trained as Mercury astronauts in the 1960s. However, they did not fly in space, they were not even accepted into the squad of astronauts because of their gender.

“No one has waited any longer,” Jeff Bezos wrote on Instagram. “It’s time. Welcome to the crew, Wally.”

Funk is a pilot and former instructor. She is the first inspector in the Federal Aviation Administration.

News desk 0 Comments

Jul 4 2021

Umuamua – an asteroid, comet or spaceship

A Harvard professor claims that an alien civilization has “deposited small probes” on our planet

“Umuamua, the mysterious asteroid that passes through our solar system, is very likely to be a spaceship that aliens have launched to receive signals from their sensors located on Earth,” said Professor Avi Loeb of Harvard University. Science.

According to Avi Loeb, an ancient alien civilization has long installed sensors all over planet Earth to study life here, and the Umuamua rock is simply a “receiver” that takes measurements from their sensors.

“Umuamua’s overall behavior indicates that it is an artificial object on a targeted mission to the Sun to collect data from a habitable region near Earth. It can even be assumed that it is extracting data from probes that have already been sprinkled on Earth. in that case, “Umuamua’s thin, flat shape could be that of a receiver,” the professor said.

The asteroid’s predecessor may have been an alien spacecraft that deposited small probes in Earth’s atmosphere without being noticed because it visited Earth before the Pan-STARRS system began operations.

Loeb came to his “thesis” by examining a large number of phenomena of inexplicable things in the sky. These “things,” called unexplained celestial phenomena (NNFs), are either drones from Russia and China, as is commonly believed, or aliens associated with the Umuamua stone.

Since Umuamua entered our solar system in 2017, the rock has been the subject of debate. Whether it is part of an asteroid or a comet is not known, but it is known to rotate and even accelerate as it moves through space. This movement leads Loeb to conclude that its wider flat surfaces may contain equipment that can pick up signals from any hidden sensors or probes.

Initially, Umuamua was considered a comet and was named C / 2017 U1 (PAN-STARRS), and was later re-categorized as an asteroid named A / 2017 U1. It was last identified as a hyperbolic asteroid of interstellar origin. Oumuamua in Hawaiian means “ambassador from afar, first come.” Judging by the trajectory of approach, Umuamua most likely comes from Vega, the constellation Lyra. Umuamua is the first interstellar object discovered by man. The cigar-shaped asteroid is 400 meters long and about 30 meters in diameter.

“Instead of just wondering about possible scenarios, we need to gather more accurate scientific data and clarify the nature of the NNF,” Loeb wrote in SciAm magazine.

He proposes to deploy state-of-the-art cameras on broadband telescopes that observe the sky in different places to solve the NSF mystery once and for all.

“The sky is not classified. It’s just government sensors,” Loeb said, adding that it was time for scientists, not the US government, to explain the phenomenon.

As noted in my recent book, Aliens, I do not rely on science fiction stories, as the plot lines often violate the laws of physics. But we must be open to the possibility that science will one day reveal a reality that was once considered fiction, “he concluded.

News desk 0 Comments

Jun 24 2021

Energy Saving Electronics Breakthrough – Paving Way for a Carbon-Neutral Society

Quantifying electric fields in semiconductor devices: The schematic shows electric field distribution in the channel of a GaN transistor; laser beams highlight the second harmonic generation (SHG) nature of the technique. Credit: Yuke Cao

Researchers at the University of Bristol have discovered a method that will allow for faster communication systems and better energy-saving electronics.

The breakthrough was made by establishing how to remotely measure the electric field inside a semiconductor device for the first time. A semiconductor is a material, such as Silicon, which can be used in electronic devices to control electric current.

Now, in this new study, published on June 21, 2021, in Nature Electronics, scientists outline how to precisely quantify this electric field, meaning next-generation power and radio frequency electronic devices can be developed which have the potential to be faster, and more reliable, as well as more energy-efficient.

Semiconductor device design can be trial and error, though more commonly it is based on a device simulation which then provides the basis for the manufacture of the semiconductor devices for real-life applications. When these are new and emerging semiconductor materials, it has often been unknown how accurate and correct these simulations actually are.

Prof Martin Kuball of the University of Bristol’s School of Physics said: “Semiconductors can be made to conduct positive or negative charges and can therefore be designed to modulate and manipulate current. However, these semiconductor devices do not stop with Silicon, there are many others including Gallium Nitride (used in blue LEDs for example). These semiconductor devices, which for instance convert an AC current from a power line into a DC current, result in a loss of energy as waste heat — look at your laptop for example, the power brick is getting warm or even hot. If we could improve efficiency and reduce this waste heat, we will save energy.

“One applies a voltage to an electronic device, and as a result there is an output current used in the application. Inside this electronic device is an electric field which determines how this device works and how long it will be operational and how good its operation is. No one could actually measure this electric field, so fundamental to the device operation. One always relied on simulation which is hard to trust unless you can actually test its accuracy.”

To make good performance and long-lasting electronic devices out of these new materials it is important that researchers find the optimal design, where electric fields do not exceed the critical value which would result in their degradation or failure. Experts plan to use newly emerging materials such as Gallium Nitride and Gallium Oxide rather than Silicon, allowing operation at higher frequency and at higher voltages, respectively, so that new circuits are possible which reduce energy loss. This work published by the University of Bristol group will provide an optical tool to enable the direct measurement of electric field within these new devices. This will underpin future efficient power electronics in applications such as solar or wind turbine stations feeding into the national grid, electric cars, trains, and planes. Reduced energy loss means societies do not need to produce as much energy in the first place.

Prof Kuball said: “Considering that these devices are operated at higher voltages, this also means electric fields in the devices are higher and this, in turn, means they can fail easier. The new technique we have developed enables us to quantify electric fields within the devices, allowing accurate calibration of the device simulations that in turn design the electronic devices so the electric fields do not exceed critical limits and fail.”

Prof Kuball and his team plan to work with key industrial stakeholders to apply the technique to advance their device technology. Within an academic context, they will engage with partners within the $12M US Department of Energy (DOE) ULTRA center, they are partnered in, to use this technique to make ultra-wide bandgap device technology a reality, allowing energy savings in excess of 10% across the globe.

“This development helps the UK and the world to develop energy-saving semiconductor devices, which is a step towards a carbon-neutral society,” he added.

The technique was developed as part of an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) project.

Reference: “Electric field mapping of wide-bandgap semiconductor devices at a submicrometre resolution” by Yuke Cao, James W. Pomeroy, Michael J. Uren, Feiyuan Yang and Martin Kuball, 21 June 2021, Nature Electronics.
DOI: 10.1038/s41928-021-00599-5

University of Bristol 0 Comments

Jun 22 2021

The nuclear power plant in Iran was closed as a matter of urgency

Local authorities do not disclose why this was necessary

The only nuclear power plant in Iran has been shut down as a matter of urgency. The Bushehr plant was shut down on Saturday and will be closed for several days.

There may be power outages in the country. This is the first time that Iran has reported an emergency shutdown of its plant in the southern port city of Bushehr, the Associated Press reported. It was included in the network in 2011 with the help of Russia. Iran is required to send spent fuel from the reactor back to Russia as a measure to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials.

Earlier yesterday, Tavanir issued a statement saying the nuclear power plant was under repair without further explanation. According to the company, the repair work will continue until Friday.

Newsdesk 0 Comments

Jun 22 2021

Russian archaeologists grappling with the mystery of a Byzantine temple in Syria

Russian archaeologists investigated a Byzantine Christian temple of the 5th-6th centuries AD in the ruins of the ancient city of Apameya in Syria as part of an expedition led by Natalia Solovieva, deputy director of the Institute of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Recently Apamea was the site of active fighting. You can only move here with great care: there may be anti-personnel mines in the grass, so sappers ensure the safety of scientists.

“Now we are in the temple, which bears the code name” rotunda ” , – told reporters a researcher at the Institute Yegor Blokhin.

Scientists collect data for projects to restore architectural monuments destroyed during the war against terrorists. Using a drone, they create 3D models of architectural complexes in both the visible and infrared ranges. These models should serve as the basis for the restoration of old buildings.

In Apamea, there are buildings from three different eras: antiquity, the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Middle Ages. On the mountain, in particular, the Arab fortress Kaalat Al-Mudik rises.

“When there is a war, it is clear that no conservation measures are in effect. And only one thing is possible: to take measures as soon as the territory is liberated, it is imperative to take measures to preserve them. … And in order to take measures for preservation, you need to have documentation for this or that object in order to understand what urgent measures, how it looked, “Natalia Solovyova, Deputy Director of the Institute of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained the task of the Russian mission.

“I would like to say a big thank you to the grouping of Russian troops in Syria, the National Defense Center, the Ministry of Defense as a whole, without their help the expedition would not have taken place,” Solovyova added.

Russian scientists have already collected detailed digital information on early Christian monuments in other areas of Syria. In the old part of Aleppo, they found a church hidden inside the medieval Al-Halawiyya madrasah. During the fighting, several shells hit the temple, but, probably, its restoration will begin in the near future.

Newsdesk 0 Comments

Jun 22 2021

Major Ocean-Observing Satellite – Copernicus Sentinel-6 – Goes Live!

The Copernicus Sentinel-6 Poseidon-4 dual-frequency (C- and Ku-band) radar altimeter uses an innovative interleaved mode that has improved performance compared to previous satellite altimeter designs. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab

Following liftoff last November and more than six months spent carefully calibrating the most advanced mission dedicated to measuring sea-level rise, Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich is now operational – meaning that its data are available to climate researchers, ocean-weather forecasts and other data users.

Sentinel-6 is one of the European Union’s family of Copernicus missions but its implementation is the result of an exceptional cooperation between the European Commission ESA, Eumetsat, NASA and NOAA, with contribution from the CNES French space agency. The mission comprises two identical satellites launched five years apart: Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich launched on November 21, 2020 and Copernicus Sentinel-6B, which will be launched in 2025.

Sea-level rise is a key indicator of climate change so accurately monitoring the changing height of the sea surface over decades is essential for climate science, for policy-making and, ultimately, for protecting the lives of those in low-lying regions at risk.

Improvement of Sentinel-6 significant wave height with respect to Jason-3. Over the last six months Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich has been orbiting in tandem with current altimetry reference mission, Jason-3, so that the satellites have the same ‘view’ of the ocean. Establishing the differences between Sentinel-6 and Jason-3 is important if stability in the sea-level rise time series from satellite altimetry is to be maintained. The plot shows the standard deviation of the significant wave height over ocean for different significant wave heights for a full 10-day cycle of Copernicus Sentinel-6 and Jason-3 using low-resolution mode data. Significant wave height is defined as the upper-third of wave height for a given sample of sea state. The plot highlights the improved (lower) significant wave height noise from Copernicus Sentinel-6 compared to Jason-3. The background bar chart shows the percentage number of data points as a function of the significant wave height (0.1 m binning). Credit: CLS

Using the latest radar altimetry technology, developed by ESA, this new mission will advance the long-term record of sea-surface height measurements that began in 1992 by the French–US Topex-Poseidon satellite and then the Jason series of satellite missions.

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich will soon pick up the baton and extend this dataset – a dataset that is the ‘gold standard’ for climate studies.

Julia Figa Saldana, ocean altimetry program manager at Eumetsat, said, “We have been flying Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich on the same orbit as the current altimetry reference mission, Jason-3, for the past six months so that the satellites have the same ‘view’ of the ocean.

“Experts from around the world have collaborated intensively over the past six months, despite the workplace constraints caused by the coronavirus pandemic, to cross-calibrate their data to ensure accuracy. The data are now being processed at Eumetsat in Darmstadt, Germany, from where the satellite is also being controlled, and from where the data are released to ocean and weather forecasting users.”

Improvement of Sentinel-6 range noise with respect to Jason-3. Over the last six months Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich has been orbiting in tandem with current altimetry reference mission, Jason-3, so that the satellites have the same ‘view’ of the ocean. Establishing the differences between Sentinel-6 and Jason-3 is important if stability in the sea-level rise time series from satellite altimetry is to be maintained. The plot shows the standard deviation of re-tracked altimeter range over ocean for different significant wave heights for a full 10-day cycle of Sentinel-6 and Jason-3 using low resolution mode data. Significant wave height is defined as the upper-third of wave height for a given sample of sea state. The plot highlights the improved (lower) range noise from Sentinel-6 compared to Jason-3. The background bar chart shows the percentage number of data points as a function of the significant wave height (0.1 meter binning). Credit: CLS

Craig Donlon, ESA’s Sentinel-6 mission scientist, said, “Building on a long line of European heritage dual-frequency altimeter missions, Sentinel-6’s Poseidon-4 altimeter was designed to bring new high-resolution Ku- band synthetic aperture radar measurements into the altimetry reference time series.

“To manage the transition from Jason-3’s lower resolution measurements to Sentinel-6’s high-resolution products with confidence, Poseidon-4 acquires both conventional low-resolution measurements simultaneously with high-resolution synthetic aperture radar measurements. The high-resolution products will be available later this year. We are really pleased to see that the data from Sentinel-6 show great performance based on validation by independent measurements on the ground.”

The Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration on the island of Crete in Greece is home to a transponder (CND1) that is key to this validation, ensuring that Sentinel-6’s low-resolution data are the same as that of Jason-3. The transponder receives the Sentinel-6 radar signal, which is amplified and transmitted back to the satellite providing a well-characterised external calibration source.

Dr. Donlon explained, “Measurements from the CDN1 transponder show that the absolute difference between measurements from Sentinel-6 and Jason-3 is less than 2 mm, which is remarkable for two independent satellites operating at an altitude of 1330 km.

“Establishing the differences between Sentinel-6 and Jason-3 is important if stability in the sea-level rise time series from satellite altimetry is to be maintained with low uncertainties.”

[embedded content]

Nadya Vinogradova-Shiffer, NASA program scientist for Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, said, “The release of this data marks the beginning of a new Sentinel era of ocean satellite altimetry for the NASA science community and the international Ocean Surface Topography Science Team, who are excited, ready, and eager to expand nearly three decades of discoveries in ocean and climate science.”

As of 22 June 2021, two data streams of low-resolution sea-surface height are available to the public. The first is available within hours of Sentinel-6’s Poseidon-4 altimeter collecting it and the second stream comes a couple of days after it is acquired. The difference in when the products become available balances accuracy with delivery timeliness for tasks like forecasting the weather or helping to monitor the formation of hurricanes.

The third data stream, which is slated for distribution later this year or early next year, will be the most accurate.

European Commission’s Director for Space, Matthias Petschke, said, “Preparing our resilience and adapting to sea-level rise as an effect of climate change is a top priority in the decades to come, as part of the European Green Deal. From scenarios published in 2015 for Cop21, we can observe that the sea-level rise phenomenon is accelerating faster than expected. It will affect our EU coasts in decades to come, this is a certainty, and this is critical for some European countries.

“Jason missions, in the past, and now Copernicus Sentinel-6, are unique solutions to give us accurate information on this trend, observing and monitoring it accurately, as well revealing this alarming acceleration of the rise.”

European Space Agency (ESA) 0 Comments

Jun 22 2021

Nano Optics Breakthrough: Researchers Observe Sound-Light Pulses in 2D Materials for the First Time

Yuval Adiv, Yaniv Kurman, Ido Kaminer, Raphael Dahan and Kangpeng Wang

Research team, L-R: Yuval Adiv, Yaniv Kurman, Professor Ido Kaminer, Raphael Dahan and Dr. Kangpeng Wang. Credit: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

A Spatiotemporal Symphony of Light

Using an ultrafast transmission electron microscope, researchers from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have, for the first time, recorded the propagation of combined sound and light waves in atomically thin materials.

The experiments were performed in the Robert and Ruth Magid Electron Beam Quantum Dynamics Laboratory headed by Professor Ido Kaminer, of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical & Computer Engineering and the Solid State Institute.

Single-layer materials, alternatively known as 2D materials, are in themselves novel materials, solids consisting of a single layer of atoms. Graphene, the first 2D material discovered, was isolated for the first time in 2004, an achievement that garnered the 2010 Nobel Prize. Now, for the first time, Technion scientists show how pulses of light move inside these materials. Their findings, “Spatiotemporal Imaging of 2D Polariton Wavepacket Dynamics Using Free Electrons,” were published in Science following great interest by many scientists.

Illustration of a Sound-Light wave in 2D materials and its measurement using free electrons. Credit: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

Light moves through space at 300,000 km/s. Moving through water or through glass, it slows down by a fraction. But when moving through certain few-layers solids, light slows down almost a thousand-fold. This occurs because the light makes the atoms of these special materials vibrate to create sound waves (also called phonons), and these atomic sound waves create light when they vibrate. Thus, the pulse is actually a tightly bound combination of sound and light, called “phonon-polariton.” Lit up, the material “sings.”

The scientists shone pulses of light along the edge of a 2D material, producing in the material the hybrid sound-light waves. Not only were they able to record these waves, but they also found the pulses can spontaneously speed up and slow down. Surprisingly, the waves even split into two separate pulses, moving at different speeds.

The experiment was conducted using an ultrafast transmission electron microscope (UTEM). Contrary to optical microscopes and scanning electron microscopes, here particles pass through the sample and then are received by a detector. This process allowed the researchers to track the sound-light wave in unprecedented resolution, both in space and in time. The time resolution is 50 femtosecond – 50X10-15 seconds – the number of frames per second is similar to the number of seconds in a million years.

[embedded content]

“The hybrid wave moves inside the material, so you cannot observe it using a regular optical microscope,” Kurman explained. “Most measurements of light in 2D materials are based on microscopy techniques that use needle-like objects that scan over the surface point-by-point, but every such needle-contact disturbs the movement of the wave we try to image. In contrast, our new technique can image the motion of light without disturbing it. Our results could not have been achieved using existing methods. So, in addition to our scientific findings, we present a previously unseen measurement technique that will be relevant to many more scientific discoveries.”

This study was born in the height of the COVID-19 epidemic. In the months of lockdown, with the universities closed, Yaniv Kurman, a graduate student in Prof. Kaminer’s lab, sat at home and made the mathematical calculations predicting how light pulses should behave in 2D materials and how they could be measured. Meanwhile, Raphael Dahan, another student in the same lab, realized how to focus infrared pulses into the group’s electron microscope and made the necessary upgrades to accomplish that. Once the lockdown was over, the group was able to prove Kurman’s theory and even reveal additional phenomena that they had not expected.

While this is a fundamental science study, the scientists expect it to have multiple research and industry applications. “We can use the system to study different physical phenomena that are not otherwise accessible,” said Prof. Kaminer. “We are planning experiments that will measure vortices of light, experiments in Chaos Theory, and simulations of phenomena that occur near black holes. Moreover, our findings may permit the production of atomically thin fiber-optic “cables”, which could be placed within electrical circuits and transmit data without overheating the system – a task that is currently facing considerable challenges due to circuit minimization.”

L-R: Yaniv Kurman and Professor Ido Kaminer. Credit: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

The team’s work initiates the research of light pulses inside a novel set of materials, broadens the capabilities of electron microscopes, and promotes the possibility of optical communication through atomically thin layers.

“I was thrilled by these findings,” said Professor Harald Giessen, from the University of Stuttgart, who was not a part of this research. “This presents a real breakthrough in ultrafast nano-optics, and represents state of the art and the leading edge of the scientific frontier. The observation in real space and in real-time is beautiful and has, to my knowledge, not been demonstrated before.”

Another prominent scientist not involved with the study, John Joannopoulos from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, added that “The key in this accomplishment is in the clever design and development of an experimental system. This work by Ido Kaminer and his group and colleagues is a critical step forward. It is of great interest both scientifically and technologically, and is of critical importance to the field.”

Prof. Kaminer is also affiliated with the Helen Diller Quantum Center and the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute. The study was spearheaded by Ph.D. students Yaniv Kurman and Raphael Dahan. Other members of the research team were Dr. Kangpeng Wang, Michael Yannai, Yuval Adiv, and Ori Reinhardt. The research was based on an international collaboration with the groups of Prof. James Edgar (Kansas State University), Prof. Mathieu Kociak (Université Paris Sud), and Prof. Frank Koppens (ICFO, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology).

Reference: “Spatiotemporal imaging of 2D polariton wave packet dynamics using free electrons” by Yaniv Kurman, Raphael Dahan, Hanan Herzig Sheinfux, Kangpeng Wang, Michael Yannai, Yuval Adiv, Ori Reinhardt, Luiz H. G. Tizei, Steffi Y. Woo, Jiahan Li, James H. Edgar, Mathieu Kociak, Frank H. L. Koppens and Ido Kaminer, 11 June 2021, Science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.abg9015

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology 0 Comments

Jun 22 2021

Drinking Any Type of Coffee (Even Decaf) Associated With Reduced Risk of Chronic Liver Disease

Drinking coffee that is caffeinated (ground or instant) or decaffeinated is associated with a reduced risk of developing chronic liver disease and related liver conditions, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Public Health.

Researchers at the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh, UK, found that drinking any type of coffee was associated with a reduced risk of developing and dying from chronic liver disease compared to not drinking coffee, with the benefit peaking at three to four cups per day.

The authors studied UK Biobank data on 495,585 participants with known coffee consumption, who were followed over a median of 10.7 years to monitor who developed chronic liver disease and related liver conditions.

Of all participants included in the study, 78% (384,818) consumed ground or instant caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, while 22% (109,767) did not drink any type of coffee. During the study period, there were 3,600 cases of chronic liver disease, including 301 deaths. Additionally, there were 5,439 cases of chronic liver disease or steatosis (a build of up fat in the liver also known as fatty liver disease), and 184 cases of Hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer.

Compared to non-coffee drinkers, coffee-drinkers had a 21% reduced risk of chronic liver disease, a 20% reduced risk of chronic or fatty liver disease, and a 49% reduced risk of death from chronic liver disease. The maximum benefit was seen in the group who drank ground coffee, which contains high levels of the ingredients Kahweol and cafestol, which have been shown to be beneficial against chronic liver disease in animals.

Instant coffee, which has low levels of Kahweol and cafestol was also associated with a reduced the risk of chronic liver disease. While the reduction in risk was smaller than that associated with ground coffee, the finding may suggest that other ingredients, or potentially a combination of ingredients, may be beneficial.

Dr. Oliver Kennedy, the lead author said: “Coffee is widely accessible and the benefits we see from our study may mean it could offer a potential preventative treatment for chronic liver disease. This would be especially valuable in countries with lower income and worse access to healthcare and where the burden of chronic liver disease is highest.”

The authors caution that, as coffee consumption was only reported when participants first enrolled in the study, the study does not account for any changes in the amount or type of coffee they consumed over the 10.7-year study period. As participants were predominantly white and from a higher socio-economic background, the findings may be difficult to generalize to other countries and populations.

The authors suggest that future research could test the relationship between coffee and liver disease with more rigorous control of the amount of coffee consumed. They also propose validating their findings in more diverse groups of participants.

Reference: “All coffee types decrease the risk of adverse clinical outcomes in chronic liver disease: a UK Biobank study” 21 June 2021, BMC Public Health.
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-10991-7

BMC (BioMed Central) 0 Comments

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Category Archives: Science

A planet like no other

Further insights from other telescopes

CHEOPS — in search of potential habitable planets

A Spatiotemporal Symphony of Light

Your Privacy is important to us