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Categories: Geoscience: Geochemistry, Space: Astrophysics
Published First detection of secondary supermassive black hole in a well-known binary system
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of astronomers observed the second one of the two supermassive black holes circling each other in an active galaxy OJ 287.
Published The problems with coal ash start smaller than anyone thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Burning coal doesn't only pollute the air. The resulting ash can leach toxic chemicals into the local environments where it's kept. New research shows that the toxicity of various ash stockpiles relies heavily on its nanoscale structures, which vary widely between sources. The results will help researchers predict which coal ash is most environmentally dangerous.
Published Whales not to be counted on as 'climate savers'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Do whales increase the removal of carbon from the atmosphere? Despite some hope that this would be the case, a new study has found the amount of potential carbon capture by whales is too little to meaningfully alter the course of climate change. The team found the amount potentially sequestered by the whales was too minimal to make significant impact on the trajectory of climate change.
Published Microbes key to sequestering carbon in soil
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Microbes are by far the most important factor in determining how much carbon is stored in the soil, according to a new study with implications for mitigating climate change and improving soil health for agriculture and food production.
Published Webb Space Telescope detects universe's most distant complex organic molecules
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have detected complex organic molecules in a galaxy more than 12 billion light-years away from Earth -- the most distant galaxy in which these molecules are now known to exist. Thanks to the capabilities of the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope and careful analyses from the research team, a new study lends critical insight into the complex chemical interactions that occur in the first galaxies in the early universe.
Published Fungi stores a third of carbon from fossil fuel emissions and could be essential to reaching net zero, new study reveals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Mycorrhizal fungi are responsible for holding up to 36 per cent of yearly global fossil fuel emissions below ground -- more than China emits each year.
Published CRISPR/Cas9 reveals a key gene involved in the evolution of coral skeleton formation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New work uses cutting-edge CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing tools to reveal a gene that's critical to stony corals' ability to build their reef architectures. This research could inform coral conservation and restoration efforts.
Published NASA's Webb Space Telescope peers behind bars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A delicate tracery of dust and bright star clusters threads across this image from the James Webb Space Telescope. The bright tendrils of gas and stars belong to the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068, whose bright central bar is visible in the upper left of this image -- a composite from two of Webb's instruments.
Published Dying stars' cocoons could be new source of gravitational waves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Although astrophysicists theoretically should be able to detect gravitational waves from a single, non-binary source, they have yet to uncover these elusive signals. Now researchers suggest looking at a new, unexpected and entirely unexplored place: The turbulent, energetic cocoons of debris that surround dying massive stars.
Published Early universe crackled with bursts of star formation, Webb shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Among the most fundamental questions in astronomy is: How did the first stars and galaxies form? NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is already providing new insights into this question. One of the largest programs in Webb's first year of science is the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey, or JADES, which will devote about 32 days of telescope time to uncover and characterize faint, distant galaxies. While the data is still coming in, JADES already has discovered hundreds of galaxies that existed when the universe was less than 600 million years old. The team also has identified galaxies sparkling with a multitude of young, hot stars.
Published Weigh a quasar's galaxy with precision
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have managed to weigh -- more precisely than any other technique -- a galaxy hosting a quasar, thanks to the fact that it acts as a gravitational lens. Detection of strong gravitational lensing quasars is expected to multiply with the launch of Euclid this summer.
Published Eventually everything will evaporate, not only black holes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New theoretical research has shown that Stephen Hawking was likely right about black holes, although not completely. Due to Hawking radiation, black holes will eventually evaporate, but the event horizon is not as crucial as had been believed. Gravity and the curvature of spacetime cause this radiation too. This means that all large objects in the universe, like the remnants of stars, will eventually evaporate.
Published Mysterious dashes revealed in Milky Way's center
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the early 1980s, astronomers discovered gigantic, one-dimensional filaments dangling vertically near Sagittarius A*, our galaxy's central supermassive black hole. Now, astronomers have discovered a new population of filaments -- but these threads are much shorter and lie horizontally or radially, spreading out like spokes on a wheel from the black hole.
Published Researchers cultivate archaea that break down crude oil in novel ways
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The seafloor is home to around one-third of all the microorganisms on the Earth and is inhabited even at a depth of several kilometers. Only when it becomes too hot does the abundance of microorganisms appear to decline. But how, and from what, do microorganisms in the deep seafloor live? How do their metabolic cycles work and how do the individual members of these buried communities interact? Researchers have now been able to demonstrate in laboratory cultures how small, liquid components of crude oil are broken down through a new mechanism by a group of microorganisms called archaea.
Published Petit-spot volcanoes involve the deepest known submarine hydrothermal activity, possibly release CO2 and methane
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Underwater volcanism and its hydrothermal activity play an important role in marine biogeochemical cycles, especially the carbon cycle. But the nature of hydrothermal activity at 'petit-spot' volcanoes have not been revealed at all. Now, scientists reveal that petit-spot hydrothermal activity occurs on the deepest seafloor known to date and could release carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, which may have implications for the global carbon cycle.
Published Symbiotic and pathogenic fungi may use similar molecular tools to manipulate plants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Symbiotic and pathogenic fungi that interact with plants are distantly related and don't share many genetic similarities. Comparing plant pathogenic fungi and plant symbiotic fungi, scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) have discovered that these remote relatives are using a similar group of proteins to manipulate and live within plants.
Published Astrophysicists confirm the faintest galaxy ever seen in the early universe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source After the Big Bang, the universe expanded and cooled sufficiently for hydrogen atoms to form. In the absence of light from the first stars and galaxies, the universe entered a period known as the cosmic dark ages. The first stars and galaxies appeared several hundred million years later and began burning away the hydrogen fog left over from the Big Bang, rendering the universe transparent, like it is today. Researchers have now confirmed the existence of a distant, faint galaxy typical of those whose light burned through the hydrogen atoms; the finding should help them understand how the cosmic dark ages ended.
Published X-rays visualize how one of nature's strongest bonds breaks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The use of short flashes of X-ray light brings scientists one big step closer toward developing better catalysts to transform the greenhouse gas methane into a less harmful chemical. The result reveals for the first time how carbon-hydrogen bonds of alkanes break and how the catalyst works in this reaction.
Published Thermal energy stored by land masses has increased significantly
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There are many effects of climate change. Perhaps the most broadly known is global warming, which is caused by heat building up in various parts of the Earth system, such as the atmosphere, the ocean, the cryosphere and the land. 89 percent of this excess heat is stored in the oceans, with the rest in ice and glaciers, the atmosphere and land masses (including inland water bodies). An international research team has now studied the quantity of heat stored on land, showing the distribution of land heat among the continental ground, permafrost soils, and inland water bodies. The calculations show that more than 20 times as much heat has been stored there since the 1960s, with the largest increase being in the ground.
Published You can make carbon dioxide filters with a 3D printer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers demonstrated that it's possible to make carbon dioxide capture filters using 3D printing.