From the launch of Ariane 5 rocket for ESA’s JUICE mission to study the icy moons of Jupiter to viruses hiding in DNA’s of unicellular organisms, a lot has happened this week in the field of science. Read more about the newest discoveries and findings of this week here.
Webb space telescope shows off ‘amazing’ power by spotting compact galaxy
The detection of a highly compact galaxy that formed relatively soon after the Big Bang and displayed an impressive rate of star formation is the latest example of how the James Webb Space Telescope is reshaping our understanding of the early universe. The galaxy, dating to 13.3 billion years ago, has a diameter of approximately 1,000 times smaller than the Milky Way but forms new stars at a rate very similar to that of our much-larger present-day galaxy.
Scientists unveil new and improved ‘skinny donut’ black hole image
The 2019 release of the first image of a black hole was hailed as a significant scientific achievement. Now, scientists unveiled a new and improved image of this black hole - a behemoth at the centre of a nearby galaxy - mining the same data used for the earlier one but improving its resolution by employing image reconstruction algorithms to fill in gaps in the original telescope observations. The image remains somewhat blurry due to the limitations of the data underpinning it - not quite ready for a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster, but is an advance from the 2019 version.
Europe’s Jupiter moons mission launches on second attempt
The European Space Agency’s JUICE probe blasted off April 14 on a mission to explore Jupiter’s icy, ocean-bearing moons, a day after the first attempt was called off due to the threat of lightning. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) plans to take a long and winding path to the gas giant. It will use several gravitational boosts along the way, first by doing a fly-by of Earth and the Moon, then by slingshotting around Venus in 2025 before swinging past Earth again in 2029 and reaching Jupiter in July 2031.
Can viruses hide in the DNA of unicellular organisms?
Scientists at the University of Innsbruck have discovered over 30,000 viruses by using the high-performance computer cluster ‘Leo’ and sophisticated detective work. The viruses hide in the DNA of unicellular organisms. In some cases, up to 10% of microbial DNA consists of built-in viruses. Built into the genome of the microbes, they found the DNA of over 30,000 previously unknown viruses. These viruses do not appear to harm their hosts. On the contrary, some may even protect them.
As Earth warms, more ‘flash droughts’ will suck soil and plants dry
Climate change is making droughts faster and more furious, especially a specific fast-developing heat-driven kind that catches farmers by surprise. The study found droughts in general are being triggered faster. But it also showed that a special and particularly nasty sudden kind — called “flash droughts” by experts — is casting an ever bigger crop-killing footprint. It comes only in the growing season – mostly summer, but also spring and fall – and is insidious because it’s caused not just by the lack of rain or snow that’s behind a typical slow-onset drought
‘Climate change pitting humans and wildlife against each other’
Climate change is increasing the intensity of wildfires, reducing vegetation and making poor people more reliant on forests, resulting in an increase in conflict between wildlife and humans over habitat and resources, conservationists say, A report by NTCA said climate change threatens the survival of tigers in the Sunderbans and is one of the major challenges facing the wildlife in the Western Ghats.
Plant with Jurassic link under stress in Bhutan
An evergreen, palm-like plant with a Jurassic link is under stress in Bhutan, a new study has said. Cycas pectinata, listed as vulnerable in the IUCN’s Red List, are one of the most ancient gymnosperms, possibly originating in the late Carboniferous period 300-325 million years ago and reaching the greatest diversity during the Jurassic-Cretaceous period when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The genetic information contained in cycads makes them valuable for scientific research and conservation.
