November 2024 - Page 7 of 7

Nov62024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Mysterious Tessera Terrain on Venus Could Be the Remains of Giant Ancient Impacts

In the chaotic early days of the Solar System, planets endured a relentless barrage of cosmic collisions. Most of the rocky worlds including Mercury, Mars, and Earth's Moon still bear scars of these ancient impacts in the form of vast craters and impact basins. However, Venus has been a strange outlier, with scientists finding no evidence of large craters over 300 kilometers wide. This missing piece of Venus's violent past has puzzled researchers for years. A recent study now suggests that these long-sought impact structures may indeed exist on Venus but look very different from our expectations. Geologist Vicki Hansen of the Planetary Science Institute and her team propose that a peculiar formation called the Haastte-Baad Tessera could be Venus’s largest and oldest impact structure. Lo...

Nov52024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Japan Launches LignoSat the World’s First Wooden Satellite, Aiming for Space Sustainability

Breaking News, Space

In a groundbreaking move Japan has sent the world’s first wooden satellite, LignoSat into space. Developed by Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, this palm-sized satellite was launched on a SpaceX mission to the International Space Station (ISS), where it will later be released into Earth’s orbit at around 400 km altitude. LignoSat’s mission is to explore timber's viability as a space-grade material, a concept Takao Doi, a former astronaut and professor at Kyoto University, believes could revolutionize off-Earth habitation. Doi envisions a 50-year plan where timber structures on the Moon or Mars could support human life. “With timber, a material we can produce ourselves, we could live and work in space indefinitely,” he remarked. Kyoto University scientists chose honoki wood, nat...

Nov52024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Flood Maps Backfire at Coastal Residents Feel Less Concerned About Rising Seas

Breaking News, Disasters, Environment

The study reveals a surprising challenge for climate risk communication: while maps of projected sea-level rise (SLR) are often used to raise awareness, they may not effectively increase personal concern among coastal residents. Instead, these visual aids may unintentionally reduce perceived personal risk, even for those whose properties are directly threatened by future flooding. When shown maps indicating that their homes could be permanently flooded by 2100, residents tended to view SLR as a broader societal issue, less likely to impact them personally. This detachment underscores a common psychological barrier in risk perception, where people perceive climate threats as more abstract or distant from their immediate lives. Interestingly, the study found that emphasizing infrastruc...

Nov42024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Deep-Sea Rocks Reveal a Surprising Source of Oxygen That Could Support Life Beyond Light’s Reach

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

Oxygen essential to most complex life on Earth, is primarily produced by plants and photosynthetic organisms on land and underwater. However, a new study published in Nature Geoscience unveils a surprising discovery: oxygen production can occur in complete darkness, deep within the ocean where sunlight never penetrates. Scientists, aiming to understand oxygen consumption on the seafloor, unexpectedly observed a rise in oxygen levels in certain deep-sea sediments. This finding puzzled researchers, as it defied the typical expectation of oxygen depletion in such environments. The study found that the source of this “dark oxygen” production lies in polymetallic nodules and metalliferous sediments—concentrated deposits of metals on the ocean floor. These nodules, rich in metals like mang...

Nov42024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Scientists Edge Closer to Creating Heaviest Element Ever Using New Titanium Beam Technique

Breaking News, Disasters, Environment

In a groundbreaking experiment, scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have fused vaporized titanium with plutonium, successfully creating a few atoms of livermorium, one of the heaviest elements known. This accomplishment, achieved by using a new technique involving titanium-50 heated to nearly 1,650°C, marks an essential step toward synthesizing even heavier elements. Livermorium, first discovered in 2000, contains 116 protons and is far from the heaviest superheavy element ever produced—oganesson holds that record with 118 protons. However, this experiment isn’t about rediscovering old elements; it's a strategic move to develop the tools needed to produce element 120, known as unbinilium, a potential breakthrough in the field of nuclear science. ...

Nov22024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Spain Deadliest Floods Claim Over 200 Lives Rescue Efforts Intensify Amid Rising Tensions

Breaking News, Disasters

Spain faced a somber day as the death toll from the week’s devastating floods climbed past 200, marking the country's deadliest natural disaster in recent history. Heavy rains continued Friday, battering already-stricken regions and challenging strained rescue operations. The Valencia region suffered the worst, with 202 confirmed deaths, as announced by regional president Carlos Mazón. With an additional three fatalities reported in neighboring areas, the total has reached 205, and officials fear the count could rise as rescue teams work through mud-soaked towns and debris-filled streets. Late Thursday and early Friday, intense rains spread to other southern regions. In Andalusia, the province of Huelva was hit hardest as Halloween celebrations turned dangerous under relentless rain....

Nov12024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Historic Flooding in Spain’s Valencia Region Highlights Climate Change’s Role in Intensifying Ocean Heat and Extreme Weather

Breaking News, Disasters

Spain's Valencia region faced catastrophic flooding due to record-setting torrential rains, resulting in at least 95 deaths and massive damage to infrastructure and homes. Rainfall totals reached a staggering 20 inches (500 mm) in some areas equivalent to the region's usual annual total. This devastating event was fueled by a low-pressure system that drew on an atmospheric river carrying high moisture levels from the unseasonably warm Tropical Atlantic. According to the Climate Shift Index: Ocean (CSI: Ocean), the unusually high sea surface temperatures were made up to 300 times more likely due to human-caused climate change. How Climate Change is Amplifying Ocean Heat The Climate Shift Index: Ocean, a tool grounded in peer-reviewed science and reliable data, evaluates the extent ...