British RAF Officer Met Human-Looking Alien Named Mr. Janus In London In 1950s

The impressive career of Sir Peter Horsley began in 1939 after he joined the Royal Air Force during the war outbreak. He was only 18 years old when he started working with the British military. First, he was an air gunner, then a pilot in the RAF, and also worked as a flight instructor. Besides, he was a pilot of Major General Sir Miles Graham. Having so many accomplishments in the RAF, he had never thought that one day, he would have a chance to meet an extraterrestrial in  London.

After the Second World War ended, Horsley returned to England in 1947 and was appointed Adjutant to the Oxford University Air Squadron in 1948. In the following year, he served as a Squadron for the British royal family and also acted as an assistant officer for Queen Elizabeth II and her husband. He became a Wing Commander in 1952 and from 1953 to 1956, he was a full-time Equerry to Prince Philip. He retired from the Royal Air Force as the Deputy-Commander-in-Chief of Strike Command.

In his autobiography “Sounds From Another Room” which was released in 1998, Horsely wrote about a two-hour meeting with an extraterrestrial being named Mr. Janus in a dark room in some London house.

“I don’t care what people think — it was what happened. I would say they come from another planet somewhere in the universe but not in our galaxy. They are benign, not aggressive and, like us, are explorers,” Horsely said. (Source)

This amazing resume has something interesting in it. It talks about a possible meeting with an alien named “Mr. Janus.” This story is found in Horsley’s book from 1998 called “Sounds From Another Room.”

“Janus was there, sitting by the fire in a deep chair. He asked: ‘What is your interest in flying saucers?’ We talked for hours about traveling in space and time. I don’t know what or who he was. He didn’t say he was a visitor from another planet but I had that impression. I believe he was here to observe us. I never saw him again. I have no qualms about the reaction to my experience with Mr. Janus.”

Horsely found out that Prince Philip had a fascination for UFOs. What’s more, he felt strange at the royal palace. He wrote in his book: “[The Duke] was quite interested. As always his mind was open. He agreed I should do a study on the subject in my spare time; as long as I kept it in perspective and didn’t bring the Palace into disrepute. He didn’t want to see headlines about him believing in little green men.”

In 1954, Horsely met General Martin who believed that the UFOs were sent to Earth by an alien civilization to prevent a nuclear war (a similar claim was also made by Edgar Mitchell who said before his death, “Aliens Arrived To Stop Nuclear War”). One day, Martin called Horsely, inviting him to meet a mysterious woman named Mrs. Markham at her residence in Smith Street, Chelsea, London. The next morning, he was introduced to a stranger named Mr. Janus.

Janus straightly asked Horsely what he knew about UFOs. They had a conversation for hours, talking about traveling into space and through time. Horsely had no clue who Janus was. But somewhere in his mind, he thought that Janus was a visitor from outer space who had come to Earth to observe the people.

Read also:

• Aliens From Andromeda Told US Army Personnel That Humans Are Composite Of 22 Different E.T. Races
• Former CIA Director Believes In UFOs & His Friend’s Aircraft Stopped At 40,000 Feet In The Air

• USAF Flight Nurse Interviewed Alien Named Airl, Said Earth Was Alien Prison Before 30,000 BCE
• Bizarre UFO Encounter Of US Farmer: Three Aliens Gave Him Pancakes

During a chat with Janus, Horsely was surprised when Janus told him that he would like to meet Prince Philip. Horsely replied that it would not be easy. He asked why he would like to meet the Duke of Edinburgh. Janus replied: “He is a man of great vision. . . who believes strongly in the proper relationship between man and nature which will prove of great importance in future galactic harmony… perhaps you and I can discuss the subject first and you will be able to judge whether I’m dangerous or not.”

According to The Sun, Prince Philip got interested in UFOs because his uncle, Lord Mountbatten, wrote about a silver spaceship landing on his estate in 1955. The report was kept secret until Lord Mountbatten died in 1979. It said a man named Fred Briggs saw the craft and a figure in overalls and a helmet coming out of it. Then Briggs got knocked off his bike and held down by something he couldn’t see.

In 2016, Nick Pope, who ran the Ministry of Defence’s UFO project told the Daily Star that Philip at one time was ‘absolutely fascinated’ with extraterrestrial activity.

He said: ‘This royal interest in UFOs was extremely difficult for us at the MoD because our policy was to downplay the true extent of our interest and involvement in UFOs…We routinely told Parliament, the media, and the public that the subject was of very limited interest and ‘no defense significance.”

UFO researcher Timothy Good, who spoke with Peter Horsley on the matter, related: “In my second and last meeting with Sir Peter Horsley at his home in 2000, he revealed that, in addition to being disturbed by the realization that Janus was reading his mind, he was even more disturbed by the fact that this extraordinary man ‘knew all Britain’s top-secret nuclear secrets.’”

Interestingly, Janus told Horsely that extraterrestrials were constantly watching humanity, as humans have a low level of consciousness. American author Richard Dolan wrote in his book “The Alien Agendas: A Speculative Analysis of Those Visiting Earth” that Horsely mentioned the mysterious group known as The Observers who had been studying Earth for a long time and also interacted with people.

Those observers “have highly developed mental powers, including the extra-sensory, thought-reading, hypnosis and the ability to use different dimensions,” Dolan wrote. He also talked about gray aliens, reptilians, insectoids, hybrid beings, and others in his book.

Janus thought, maybe this strange event was part of a plan by the government to see if Sir Peter was loyal to the country. Researchers Clarke and Roberts had this interesting idea. They asked Horsley if he thought it was possible that MI5, like the FBI in the United States, set him up to test him.

Horsley said firmly, “no.” He kept believing this until he died in 2001. He said, “I don’t care what people think – it was what happened. I would say they come from another planet somewhere in the universe but not in our galaxy. They are benign, not aggressive and, like us, are explorers.”

• https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/UK/defe-24-2031-1.pdf
  

{ https://www.howandwhys.com/ }

19-09-2024 om 01:38 geschreven door peter  

Story by Robert Lea

On Friday, 13, 2029, Earth will have a fascinating and intimidating visitor in the form of the "God of Destruction" asteroid Apophis. The asteroid — named after the Egyptian serpent god of chaos and destruction Apep — is so large and will pass within 19,000 miles (30,600 kilometers) of Earth, so close to our planet that it could be visible to the naked eye. 

Will Apophis Hit Earth in 2036?

New research has suggested that if other much smaller space rocks hit Apophis, the asteroid, which is almost as wide as the Empire State Building is tall, could be redirected, and Earth might not be narrowly missed by it during subsequent passages or in extreme circumstances, even during the 2029 passage. But don't panic just yet. 

Research author Paul Wiegert, an astronomer at the University of Western Ontario, told Space.com that the odds of a dangerous asteroid strike on Apophis are very low. "The odds are essentially 1 in a million that an asteroid strike could deflect Apophis enough to put it in danger of a future post-2029 collision, and only 1 in a billion that it could send Apophis colliding with Earth in 2029," he said.

"I calculated the odds of asteroid Apophis, whose current path is computed to take it near but safely past our planet in 2029, being deflected onto a more dangerous path by an unexpected small asteroid impact," Wiegert explained. "These are the same kind of small asteroids that occasionally appear in our atmosphere as 'shooting stars' or 'fireballs' and could strike Apophis just as unexpectedly."

Related:

•  'God of Destruction' asteroid Apophis will come to Earth in 2029 — and it could meet some tiny spacecraft

Wiegert explained that in the research, he questioned whether an asteroid would strike during the period from 2021 to 2027 when our telescopes couldn't observe Apophis and if this could deflect it enough to make it dangerous. 

"Asteroid Apophis is essentially unobservable from now until 2027 because it is in the daytime sky, and so it could be hit without us being immediately aware of the event," he continued.

A chaotic event could mean the rise of Apophis

Discovered in 2004, Apophis (full designation Apophis 99942) immediately rose to the top of tables that measure the risk of so-called potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) asteroids with widths of 460 feet (140 meters) or more that come within 20 lunar distances of Earth. 

Both the size of Apophis and its trajectory saw it remain at the top of both the European Space Agency's (ESA's) "impact risk list" of PHAs and NASA's Sentry Risk Table for almost two decades.

That was until a close flyby of the asteroid in March 2021 allowed NASA scientists to determine Apophis actually won't hit the Earth for at least 100 years. 

Now, this new research shows that chance encounters with other space rocks could redirect the 1,000-foot-wide (305-meter-wide)  Apophis to put it on a collision course with Earth in 2029 or later, meaning it could rocket back to the top of the risk tables. 

Wiegart calculated the effect that objects of different sizes would have if they struck Apophis and then used the number of objects of these sizes that strike Earth each year to determine the probability of such an impact.

"An asteroid about 60 centimeters (24 inches) across could, if it struck Apophis from exactly the right direction, put Apophis onto a post-2029 collision course. But it would take a 3 meter (10 foot) diameter asteroid to strike Apophis, again, in just the right direction, to put in danger of a collision in 2029," Wiegart said. "These kinds of collisions are extremely rare."

When considering the angle necessary to divert Apophis so that it could strike Earth on a future passage, Wiegart found the chance of the asteroid being diverted to hit our planet after 2029 to be 1 in 1 million. The chances of a roughly 3-meter-wide asteroid hitting Apophis and putting it on a collision course with Earth in 2029 were  1 in 2 billion.

An illustration of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, as it approaches its target. Could such measures be deployed against Apophis??

(Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL)© Provided by Space

These low odds are fortunate considering the huge damage Apophis would cause were it to strike Earth. The Planetary Society estimated that if Apophis were to hit Earth it could release energy equal to more than 1,000 megatons of TNT, equivalent to the detonation of tens or even hundreds of nuclear weapons.

This could spread devastation across a radius of hundreds of miles. Even though it won't come close to the devastation caused 65,000,000 years ago by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs and two-thirds of all species on Earth, millions of people would die if Apophis hit a highly populated metropolitan area.

If we discover Apophis is on a collision course with Earth during its next passages in 2029, 2036, and 2068, we would have some options to attempt to divert it. For instance, just as a small impact could shift the God of Destruction space rock toward Earth, another small collision could reorientate its trajectory away again if space agencies had enough warning.

In 2022, NASA tried out this idea, striking the asteroid system Dimorphos and Didymos with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impactor and measuring the change in its motion.

"It is possible that a mission like DART could be used to divert Apophis back onto a safe path, but exactly how and if this would work has yet to be worked out," Wiegart said. 

Other diversions range from the forceful, such as hitting an asteroid with a nuclear weapon, to the sublime, such as painting one side of an asteroid black, causing it to absorb more solar radiation, shifting its center of mass, and altering its trajectory. These methods are well-founded scientifically but are yet to be tested.

"It's difficult to say what other diversion methods would work, but scientists are thinking hard about our options," Wiegart said.

Though Apophis is unlikely to live up to its fearsome name in 2029 by impacting Earth, its scientific impact will be immeasurable. Plans are already being hatched to use spacecraft and satellites to rendezvous with the asteroid as it heads toward its closest approach to our planet.

"Apophis' upcoming close pass in 2029 is a natural milestone for our planet, as we move into a time where we as a global community have the ability to avoid disastrous asteroid impacts like those that may have extinguished the dinosaurs," Wiegart concluded. "The astronomical community as a whole is continuing to think about dangerous asteroids like Apophis as well as possible next steps."

• Wiegart's Apophis research was published in The Planetary Science Journal.

Watch it here:

Animation of Asteroid Apophis’ 2029 Close Approach with Earth

Apophis, The Asteroid That Could Hit Earth In 2029

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/ }

19-09-2024 om 01:13 geschreven door peter  

• https://youtu.be/XYu9YC_rGII

Engineers at NASA have successfully fired up a set of thrusters Voyager 1 hasn’t used in decades to solve an issue that could keep the 47-year-old spacecraft from communicating with Earth from billions of miles away.

When Voyager 1 lifted off to space on September 5, 1977, no one expected that the probe would still be operating today.

As a result of its exceptionally long-lived mission, Voyager 1 experiences issues as its parts age in the frigid outer reaches beyond our solar system. When an issue crops up, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have to get creative while still being careful of how the spacecraft will react to any changes.

Currently the farthest spacecraft from Earth, Voyager 1 is about 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away. The probe operates beyond the heliosphere — the sun’s bubble of magnetic fields and particles that extends well beyond Pluto’s orbit — where its instruments directly sample interstellar space.

Earlier this year, engineers spotted an issue when the fuel tube inside one of Voyager’s thrusters became clogged. If the thrusters are clogged, they can’t generate as much force to keep the spacecraft steady. Voyager’s thrusters keep the spacecraft oriented in a way that it can communicate with Earth.

If Voyager 1 isn’t positioned in such a way so that its antenna is pointed at Earth, the spacecraft can’t “hear” commands from mission control or send back data, according to Calla Cofield, media relations specialist at JPL.

“If the thrusters that keep the antenna pointed at Earth get clogged, that would be end of mission,” she said.

The team realized it would have to send commands to the spacecraft to switch to another set of thrusters, but the fix wouldn’t be a simple one.

A recurring problem

It’s not the first time Voyager 1 has needed to switch over to another set of thrusters in recent decades. Fortunately, the spacecraft has three sets of thrusters: two sets of attitude propulsion thrusters and one set devoted to trajectory correction maneuvers.

Voyager 1 used the thrusters for a variety of purposes as it flew by planets such as Jupiter and Saturn in 1979 and 1980, respectively.

Now, the spacecraft is traveling on an unchanging path away from our solar system, so it just requires one set of thrusters to help keep its antenna pointed at Earth. To fuel the thrusters, liquid hydrazine is converted into gas and released in about 40 short puffs per day to keep Voyager 1 oriented correctly.

Over time, engineers discovered that a fuel tube inside the thrusters can become clogged with silicon dioxide, a byproduct of the fuel tank’s rubber diaphragm aging. As the thrusters become clogged, they generate less force.

In 2002, the team commanded Voyager 1 to switch to its second set of attitude propulsion thrusters when the first set showed signs of clogging. Engineers switched again to the trajectory correction thruster set in 2018 when the second set also appeared clogged.

But when the team recently checked on the status of Voyager’s trajectory correction thrusters, they were even more clogged than the previous two sets of thrusters.

When the team initially switched Voyager over to the trajectory correction thrusters six years ago, the tube opening was 0.01 inches (0.25 millimeters) across. But now, clogging has reduced it to 0.0015 inches (0.035 millimeters) — half the width of a human hair, according to NASA.

It was time to rotate back to another set of attitude propulsion thrusters.

Making a challenging swap

As Voyager 1 and its twin probe, Voyager 2, have aged, the mission team has slowly turned off nonessential systems on both spacecraft to conserve power, including heaters. As a result, components on Voyager 1 are colder now, and the team knew it couldn’t just send a command to Voyager 1 to switch immediately to one of the attitude propulsion thrusters without doing something to warm them up.

But Voyager 1 doesn’t have enough power to switch any heaters back on without turning something else off, and its scientific instruments are too valuable to shut off in case they don’t come back on, the team said.

After going back to the drawing board, the team realized it could shut off one of the spacecraft’s main heaters for about an hour, which would enable engineers to turn on the thruster heaters and safely make the switch.

This plan worked, and by August 27, Voyager 1 was back to relying on one of its original thruster sets to stay in touch with Earth.

The team has taken steps to use the thrusters less, and it is expecting to get another two to three years out of the original set, said Todd Barber, Voyager propulsion engineer.

Once the spacecraft has exhausted this thruster set, Voyager 1’s remaining option is the other already clogged set of attitude propulsion thrusters.

“All the decisions we will have to make going forward are going to require a lot more analysis and caution than they once did,” said Suzanne Dodd, Voyager’s project manager, in a statement.

Voyager 2 has also gone through thruster swaps in 1999 and 2019, and “the situation there is less dire,” Barber said. Voyager 2 has traveled more than 12 billion miles (20 billion kilometers) from Earth.

The information collected by these long-lived probes is helping scientists learn about the cometlike shape of the heliosphere and how it protects Earth from energized particles and radiation in interstellar space.

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{ http://www.cnn.com/ }

19-09-2024 om 00:20 geschreven door peter  

Massive underground ocean found 700 km below Earth’s surface : Groundbreaking discovery stuns scientists

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery that challenges our understanding of Earth's water cycle. A massive underground ocean, three times larger than all surface oceans combined, has been found 700 kilometers beneath the Earth's surface. This astonishing find could revolutionize theories about the origin of water on our planet and its long-term stability.

Unveiling the hidden reservoir

The monumental reservoir lies hidden within a blue rock formation known as ringwoodite, deep within Earth's mantle. This layer of scorching rocks, situated between the planet's surface and core, harbors an aqueous secret of immense proportions. The discovery lends credence to the theory that oceans may have gradually seeped from Earth's interior, rather than originating from cometary impacts.

Steven Jacobsen, lead researcher from Northwestern University in Illinois, states, "This is tangible evidence that water on Earth came from within." The implications of this finding are far-reaching, potentially explaining the consistent size of surface oceans over millions of years.

The underwater expanse is not a traditional ocean but rather water molecules trapped within the crystal structure of ringwoodite. This unique arrangement allows for an enormous amount of water to be stored in a relatively compact space.

Innovative research techniques

To uncover this subterranean ocean, scientists employed cutting-edge seismological methods. The research team utilized an extensive network of 2,000 seismographs across the United States to study seismic waves generated by over 500 earthquakes. These waves, capable of penetrating deep into the Earth's core, can be detected at the surface, providing valuable data about the planet's internal structure.

By measuring the velocity of these waves at various depths, researchers were able to determine the composition of the rocks they traversed. The presence of water was detected when the waves slowed significantly upon entering the water-rich rock layer. Jacobsen describes it as "a layer of rocks with water along the edges between the grains, as if they were sweating."

This innovative approach to studying Earth's interior has opened new avenues for understanding our planet's composition and evolution. The team's methodology can be summarized as follows :

• Deployment of seismographs across a wide area
• Collection of data from numerous earthquakes
• Analysis of seismic wave velocities at different depths
• Interpretation of rock composition based on wave behavior

Implications for Earth's water cycle

The discovery of this colossal subterranean reservoir has profound implications for our understanding of Earth's water cycle. Scientists now believe that this hidden ocean may play a crucial role in maintaining the stability of surface water bodies. "We should rejoice at the presence of this reservoir," Jacobsen remarks. "If it weren't there, it would be on the Earth's surface, and mountain tops would be the only visible land."

This finding challenges previous theories about the origin of Earth's water, which often attributed it to cometary impacts during the planet's early history. The new evidence suggests a more complex interplay between the planet's interior and surface, with water potentially cycling between these realms over geological timescales.

To better understand the global implications of this discovery, researchers plan to gather additional seismic data from around the world. Their goal is to determine whether mantle melting is a common phenomenon or unique to certain regions. The results could provide invaluable insights into Earth's water cycle and its long-term stability.

As scientists continue to probe the depths of our planet, more revelations about Earth's complex systems are likely to emerge. The discovery of this enormous underground ocean not only reshapes our understanding of the planet's water cycle but also opens up new questions about the potential for life in extreme environments and the long-term sustainability of Earth's ecosystems.

• https://youtu.be/aPBVGXdsR0I

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/ }

18-09-2024 om 23:59 geschreven door peter  

Enter EVE, which consists of three main components. The transport rails allow the robot to move to the correct location in the greenhouse. Its robotic “arm” enables the robot to position itself effectively to complete its assigned task, and the end effector can push, pull, pick up, or perform other manual tasks. The system uses about 700W and weighs about 170 kg fully installed.

First, let’s look at the transport trails. It’s actually an off-the-shelf commercial system for use in industrial automation. The eXtended Transport System, made by Beckhoff, an industrial automation company, can be mounted in different configurations. It allows whatever is attached to it to be driven to various locations based on a series of signals that control the “mover” to which the robotic arm would be connected.

The robotic arm is based on DLR’s “This Is Not an Arm” (TINA) project. It has seven degrees of freedom, which allows for precise positioning of its end effector. Each of its three joints has around three electronic controllers for motor control, power management, and communication. It’s supported by a camera system that senses its surroundings and allows remote operators to tell where the end effector is positioned.

The Compliant Low-Cost Antagonistic Servo Hand (CLASH) is the end effector. It has two “fingers” and a “thumb” to grip soft objects using force feedback sensors in its fingertips. It can also sense pressure from other components, such as the hand’s “tendons” and thumb and figure position.

These positioning and end-effector systems can work effectively together to perform the greenhouse’s daily maintenance tasks. For now, at least, it will require a skilled operator to do so, but that operator doesn’t have to be co-located with the greenhouse on the Moon – it could be back on Earth or even on the Lunar Gateway station orbiting above the lunar surface. Continuous operation is essential, though, as the first stages of the permanent occupation of the Moon involve temporary stays, where there will be long stretches with no human inhabitants.

DLR is fully backing the development of the EDEN LUNA greenhouse and the EVE robotic arm. Later this year, EVE will be fully integrated into the greenhouse at the Institute of Space Systems in Bremen, followed by a specially designed facility for the greater LUNA project of ESA/DLR in Cologne. As of now, both EVE and EDEN LUNA seem on track to be put through their paces before officially supporting the continual human occupation of the Moon within the next decade.

Learn More:

• Prince et al. – EDEN Versatile End-effector (EVE): An Autonomous Robotic System to Support Food Production on the Moon
• UT – Plants Could Grow in Lunar Regolith Using Bacteria
• UT – A Greenhouse on the Moon by 2014?
• UT – Practical Ideas for Farming on the Moon and Mars

Lead Image:

• Greenhouse concept art on the Moon.
  Credit – DLR

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

18-09-2024 om 23:17 geschreven door peter  

Mars has always held a special place in our hearts, likely from hints over the decades of perhaps finding signs of life, albeit fossilised and primitive. It’s been the subject of study from telescopes and space missions alike, most notably ESA’s Mars Express which has been observing the red planet for 20 years. Over the two decades of observation it has studied an amazing variety of atmospheric phenomenon which have now been catalogued in a new ‘Cloud Atlas.’ Many will be familiar to sky watchers on Earth but some are very different. 

The atmosphere of the red planet is thin and mostly composed of carbon dioxide. There are traces of nitrogen and argon but with an atmospheric pressure of just 1% of the Earth’s it’s inhospitable for human life. The rarefied atmosphere provides insufficient insulation to the surface leading to aggressive temperature fluctuations from -125°C on night time side to 20°C during the day. It’s not unusual for dust storms to whip up in the atmosphere sometimes encircling the entire planet. It’s in this atmosphere that a multitude of cloud features have been observed. 

Over the last 20 years, Mars Express has been studying the cloud formations in the Martian atmosphere. It was launched in June 2003 to study Mars remotely from an orbit around the red planet. Mars Express was not only studying atmospheric phenomenon but also the surface, subsurface and geological history. With a suite of scientific instruments from high resolution cameras and radar to spectrometers and atmospheric sensors, Mars Express is well equipped for the task. 

Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud (AMEC): This elongated cloud has formed as a result of wind encountering the Arsia Mons mountains. It forms almost every day during a specific season, from early morning until noon. 

(Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/A. Cowart)

Using the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HSRC) on board Mars Express, images of a multitude of clouds have been captured. The clouds are usually the result of microscopic dust particles in the atmosphere around which, water and carbon dioxide crystals form. The dust particles themselves can be left hanging in the atmosphere following unusually strong winds that lift large quantities of dust into the atmosphere. They are occasionally seen as large beige coloured clouds. In the north polar regions it’s possible to see giant spiral dust storms as cyclonic storm systems develop. They are one of the drivers of the global weather systems seen on Mars and studying them is crucial to understanding the dynamics of the atmosphere. 

So called ‘gravity waves’ are a common sight on Mars as they are on Earth. Somewhat resembling rolling hills or the rippling of water, they are usually seen in the mid-latitudes in the colder winter months. A particular type of these gravity waves, known as Lee waves, can build up on the downwind side of mountains and ridges. The presence of the mountain or other large obstacle disturbs the laminar flow of air to generate the effect.

Seemingly parallel white lines are Martian clouds sculpted by gravity waves, while the splotches of brown are wind-lifted dust clouds left wafting in the air due to seasonally sharp differences in temperatures and pressures. 

(Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin)

An example of cloud streets over Vastitas Borealis, a large area near the North Pole mostly devoid of craters

(Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/A. Cowart)

Lee waves are a special type of cloud created by the wind encountering obstacles and build up on the ‘leeward‘ or downwind side. The geometries of the lee waves depend on the shape of the obstacles.

(Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin)

The study has led to a Martian cloud spotters dream, the publication of a fully browsable 20-years of cloud images and data. It was created by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Berlin and is proving invaluable helping researchers to gain a better understanding of the Martian atmosphere. In particular how the different dynamical processes can lead to the clouds seen. The ‘Atlas’ which is available to the public here has been presented at the Europlanet Science Congress in Berlin by Daniela Tirsch form DLR.

Source : 

• Cloud Atlas of Mars Showcases Array of Atmospheric Phenomena

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

18-09-2024 om 23:07 geschreven door peter  

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

18-09-2024 om 22:43 geschreven door peter  

On the night of August 31, at exactly 10.13, an American couple caught sight of a mysterious, shining object in the night sky above Montana, US.

“Is that a shooting star?” one of them exclaimed.

However, when they moved to get a clearer view, both were astonished by the ‘jaw-dropping’ sight of an enormous craft with blinking lights and an orange-red glow swirling at its base.

This extraordinary Reddit entry post from two weeks ago – describing what is known as ‘close encounters of the third kind’ from the eponymous Hollywood hit – adds to a growing list of UFO sightings reported in the US ahead of a congressional hearing on what is officially called ‘unexplained aerial phenomena’.

According to media reports, the hearing is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

The incident detailed in the post occurred in Choteau, a small and quiet city nestled in the heart of the US state of Montana —just 60 miles from a US Air Force nuclear weapons base.

In May, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who confirmed the upcoming hearing, had expressed concern about unidentified drones near military sites.

“It is deeply concerning that they are spyware by adversaries, and so we want to have more information on that,” Gillibrand said during an interview with the Ask a Pol podcast, where the point of discussion was on the implications of a declassified All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) report.

“We also want to try to continue to build credibility within this office (AARO) so more of the public can feed in sightings and have a place and a platform to send information and inquiries,” the New York Democrat was quoted as saying.

“Because that's eventually what this office is supposed to do.”

The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) was established in 2022 following a 2021 Pentagon report on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), which documented 144 sightings, but could only explain one, attributing the lack of conclusions for the remaining 143 to insufficient data​.

Read More

• Pentagon receives 'several hundreds' of new UFO reports

AARO’s aim has not only been to address security concerns arising from the frequent encounters between military facilities or aircraft and unidentified flying objects, but also to explore the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Under the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, the office was required to issue a report to Congress detailing the government's historical record relating to “unidentified anomalous phenomena” (UAP) since 1945.

It delivered the first of two volumes of that to Congress in March, which found “no evidence” linking sightings to aliens or extraterrestrial intelligence, instead attributing most incidents to “ordinary objects and phenomena” or cases of misidentification.

“AARO recognizes that many people sincerely hold versions of these beliefs which are based on their perception of past experiences, the experiences of others whom they trust, or media and online outlets they believe to be sources of credible and verifiable information,” the report said.

However, the AARO report has been a point of contention since its release, with critics arguing that it is riddled with numerous errors and omissions and fails to adequately address the historical and scientific aspects of UAP phenomena.

“While I appreciate AARO's efforts, their recent report lacks depth and transparency,” Dr. Beatriz Villarroel, an astronomer at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics in Stockholm, tells TRT World.

“For example, their downplaying of the 1952 Washington D.C. UFO event was particularly notable”.

In July 1952, a series of unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings were reported over Washington D.C., in an event often called the “1952 Washington Flap.”

Following the reports, the US government scrambled fighter jets to intercept the objects, but the UFOs reportedly outmanoeuvred and outran the jets.

Although the Air Force later attributed the sightings to possible radar glitches from temperature inversions, the incident, which prompted widespread public attention at the time, remains one of the most debated UFO cases in history.

Villarroel also pointed out a broader issue within the scientific community, saying that many journals remain reluctant to publish research on UFOs, with papers often being rejected outright before they even undergo peer review.

This lack of academic engagement, she believes, leads to “a gap in knowledge” where governments are expected to provide answers without proper scientific engagement.

Ever since the 2021 Pentagon report documented numerous sightings of UAP without ruling out extraterrestrial possibilities; more and more people have started to believe in the existence of UFOs, according to statistics.

In 2022, a YouGov poll indicated that the percentage of Americans who believe that UFOs are likely alien ships or life forms has increased from 20 percent in 1996 to 34 percent in 2022, a year after the Pentagon report was published.

A Gallup poll from 2021 also supports these findings, with figures indicating that over 40 percent of Americans believe alien spacecraft have visited Earth, up from 33 percent in 2019.

SOURCE:

• TRTWorld and agencies

 

{ https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/  }

18-09-2024 om 18:26 geschreven door peter  

By Adry Torres For Dailymail.com

Several residents of Mexico shared shocking video footage of a UFO seemingly hovering to the ground, drawing a mixed response.

Videos on social media captured what appeared to be an oval-sized object hovering over the western city of Zitácuaro on September 8.

The footage shows the UFO-like figure hovering near a tree while a second recording captured it slowly moving in front of the overcast skies.

The alleged flying saucer sightings were reported in the neighborhoods of El Naranjo and Manzanillos.

Residents in Mexico debated whether they had spotted a UFO in the western city of Zitácuaro last week. Some believe that it was just one of the many sky lanterns that are seen floating across the country

A flying object that reportedly resembled a UFO was spotted flying over El Naranjo and Manzanillos, two neighborhoods located in the western city of Zitácuaro

Following the videos, some users took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their belief that aliens had made their way to Mexico.

'That's that eye diamond UFO shape,' one person commented. '(Must) be some kind of organic ship.'

'Spectacular video, contact between humans and alien races is getting closer and closer,' another X user chimed in. 'Anyone who continues to believe that it is a balloon, a drone, a hologram or something else is either blind or does not want to see reality.'

However, others were quick to dispel the claims, pointing out that it was most likely just one of the many sky lanterns that float across the Mexican skies during the Globos de Cantoya festival. 

A large sky lantern floats towards a mountain outside of Paracho, a city in the western Mexican state of Michoacán, during the annual Globos de Cantoya festival

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

18-09-2024 om 18:12 geschreven door peter  

New Research Reveals How El Niño Caused the Greatest Ever Mass Extinction

Mega ocean warming El Niño events were key in driving the largest extinction of life on planet Earth some 252 million years ago, according to new research.

The study, published in  Science and co-led by the University of Bristol and China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), has shed new light on why the effects of rapid climate change in the Permian-Triassic warming were so devastating for all forms of life in the sea and on land.

Scientists have long linked this mass extinction to vast volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia. The resulting carbon dioxide emissions rapidly accelerated climate warming, resulting in widespread stagnation and the collapse of marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

But what caused life on land, including plants and usually resilient insects, to suffer just as badly has remained a source of mystery.

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Co-lead author Dr Alexander Farnsworth, Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol, said: “Climate warming alone cannot drive such devastating extinctions because, as we are seeing today, when the tropics become too hot, species migrate to the cooler, higher latitudes. Our research has revealed that increased greenhouse gases don’t just make the majority of the planet warmer, they also increase weather and climate variability making it even more ‘wild’ and difficult for life to survive.”

The Permian-Triassic catastrophe shows the problem of global warming is not just a matter of it becoming unbearably hot, but also a case of conditions swinging wildly over decades.

“Most life failed to adapt to these conditions, but thankfully a few things survived, without which we wouldn’t be here today. It was nearly, but not quite, the end of the life on Earth,” said co-lead author Professor Yadong Sun at China University of Geosciences, Wuhan .

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Surface temperature (°C) of the warmest month during peak-warmth for the Permian-Triassic mass extinction 252 million years ago. (University of Bristol and China University of Geosciences (Wuhan))

The scale of Permian-Triassic warming was revealed by studying oxygen isotopes in the fossilized tooth material of tiny extinct swimming organisms called conodonts. By studying the temperature record of conodonts from around the world, the researchers were able to show a remarkable collapse of temperature gradients in the low and mid latitudes.

Dr Farnsworth, who used pioneering climate modelling to evaluate the findings, said:

“Essentially, it got too hot everywhere. The changes responsible for the climate patterns identified were profound because there were much more intense and prolonged El Niño events than witnessed today. Species were simply not equipped to adapt or evolve quickly enough.”

In recent years El Niño events have caused major changes in rainfall patterns and temperature. For example, the weather extremes that caused the June 2024 North American heatwave when temperatures were around 15°C hotter than normal. 2023-2024 was also one of the hottest years on record globally due to a strong El Niño in the Pacific, which was further exacerbated by increased human-induced CO ₂ driving catastrophic drought and fires around the world.

“Fortunately such events so far have only lasted one to two years at a time. During the Permian-Triassic crisis, El Niño persisted for much longer resulting in a decade of widespread drought, followed by years of flooding. Basically, the climate was all over the place and that makes it very hard for any species to adapt,” co-author Paul Wignall, Professor of Paleoenvironments at the University of Leeds.

The results of the climate modelling also help explain the abundant charcoal found in rock layers of that age.

“Wildfires become very common if you have a drought-prone climate. Earth got stuck in a crisis state where the land was burning and the oceans stagnating. There was nowhere to hide,” added co-author Professor David Bond, a paleontologist at the University of Hull.

The researchers observed that throughout Earth’s history there have been many volcanic events similar to those in Siberia, and many caused extinctions, but none led to a crisis of the scale of the Permian-Triassic event.

They found Permian-Triassic extinction was so different because these Mega-El Niños created positive feedback on the climate which led to incredibly warm conditions starting in the tropics and then beyond, resulting in the dieback of vegetation. Plants are essential for removing CO ₂ from the atmosphere, as well as the foundation of the food web, and if they die so does one of the Earth's mechanisms to stop CO ₂ building up in the atmosphere as a result of continued volcanism.

This also helps explain the conundrum regarding the Permian-Triassic mass extinction whereby the extinction on land occurred tens of thousands of years before extinction in the oceans.

“Whilst the oceans were initially shielded from the temperature rises, the mega-El Nino’s caused temperatures on land to exceed most species thermal tolerances at rates so rapid that they could not adapt in time,” explained Dr Sun.

“Only species that could migrate quickly could survive, and there weren’t many plants or animals that could do that.”

Mass extinctions, although rare, are the heartbeat of the Earth’s natural system resetting life and evolution along different paths.

“The Permo-Triassic mass extinction, although devastating, would ultimately see the rise of Dinosaurs becoming the dominant species thereafter as would the Cretaceous mass extinction lead to the rise of mammals, and humans,” Dr Farnsworth concluded.

Top image: A geological field section reveals a desiccated (extreme dryness) land surface that was common all over the world 252 million years ago - a sign of our future to come.       Source: University of Bristol and China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)

• This article was first published under the title, ‘New Research Reveals How El Nino Caused the Greatest Ever Mass Extinction’ by the University of Bristol.

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/science }

18-09-2024 om 17:59 geschreven door peter  

Story by Michael Le Page

Illustration of the end-Permian extinction event, when extreme temperatures may have killed off forests

RICHARD JONES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The Great Dying at the end of the Permian Period 250 million years ago may have been amplified by El Niño events far stronger and longer lasting than any today.

These mega El Niños caused wild swings in the climate that killed off forests and many land animals, says Alexander Farnsworth at the University of Bristol in the UK.

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They also triggered feedback processes that helped make this mass extinction as bad as it was, he says. “There are knock-on effects of this sort of El Niño event becoming stronger and lasting longer.”

Around 90 per cent of all species alive at the time may have gone extinct during the end-Permian extinction, making it the worst ever mass extinction. It is widely thought that it was triggered by massive volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia.

These eruptions released huge quantities of carbon dioxide – possibly by heating rocks full of fossil carbon – that led to extreme global warming. The ocean became stagnant and low in oxygen, killing off marine creatures.

But this doesn’t explain everything. In particular, land species started going extinct tens of thousands of years earlier than those in the sea.

Many ideas have been put forward to explain this, from volcanic winters to the loss of the ozone layer. The idea that extreme El Niños might be involved emerged from studies of past ocean temperatures, based on oxygen isotypes in fossils, led by Yadong Sun at the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan.

Now, Farnsworth and his colleagues have run computer models to explore what might have happened at end of the Permian that could explain Sun’s findings.

Today, El Niño occurs when warm water in the western Pacific spreads eastwards across the surface of the ocean. This creates an area of abnormally warm water that heats the atmosphere and affects weather across the planet. 

Before the Permian extinction began, the researchers found, El Niños were probably of a similar intensity and duration as today. That is, the anomalously warm water was about 0.5°C (0.9°F) hotter than average and the events lasted for a few months.

These events, however, were happening in a massive ocean called Panthalassa, which was 30 per cent wider at the equator than the Pacific Ocean is today. This means the area of anomalously warm water during El Niños was much larger than today, and thus had a bigger planetary impact.

As CO2 levels rose at the end of the Permian, these El Niño events got stronger and lasted longer, the team’s models suggest. They caused extreme swings in the weather on land that killed off forests, which stopped soaking up CO2 and started releasing it, leading to more warming and even more extreme El Niños.

In the sea, the temperature variations would have been less severe, and marine animals can more easily migrate to avoid them. This explains why marine extinctions happened later, when global warming got more intense. “The killer extreme global warming that was the cause of marine extinction was worse because of these El Niños taking away the carbon sink,” says Farnsworth.

By the peak of the extinction, the temperature anomaly during El Niños was up to 4°C (7.2°F), with each event lasting more than a decade, he says.

Something strange is happening in the Pacific and we must find out why

© Provided by New Scientist

Something strange is happening in the Pacific and we must find out why

Unexpectedly, the eastern Pacific Ocean is cooling. If this “cold tongue” continues, it could reduce greenhouse gas warming by 30 per cent – but also bring megadrought to the US

It isn't clear if something similar will happen in the future. Computer models vary in their forecasts of how El Niños will change as the planet warms, says Farnsworth. But they are already having a bigger impact because they are happening in a warmer world.

“The El Niño we just had was helping set record temperatures everywhere and leading to a huge amount of forest fires,” he says. “And the thing that disturbs me most is tentative signs during this El Niño of dieback in the Amazon.”

The study shows that under specific climate conditions, El Niño events can cause extinctions, says Pedro DiNezio at the University of Colorado, Boulder. But these mega El Niños couldn't occur today because the Pacific is smaller than Panthalassa, they say.

“These results are very exciting to understand the past, not so much the near future. To answer what El Niño will do, we need to look at intervals in the past with similar continental configurations as today,” says DiNezio.

“I think it’s a compelling study,” says Phil Jardine at the University of Münster in Germany, who found the first direct evidence for the loss of the ozone layer during the Permian extinction.

“I don’t think that this and other extinction drivers, including ozone degradation, are mutually exclusive,” he says. “The deadly thing about the end-Permian mass extinction seems to be that a lot of things were happening at once, and interacting with each other as they cascaded through the Earth system.”

Journal reference:

• Science DOI: 10.1126/science.ado2030

The Great Dying: The Permian Mass Extinction

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather?ocid=bingnewsserp }

18-09-2024 om 17:48 geschreven door peter  

Mega El Niño Events Caused End-Permian Mass Extinction, Researchers Suggest

Illustration of the end-Permian extinction event, when extreme temperatures may have killed off forests

RICHARD JONES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The end-Permian mass extinction, which occurred about 252 million years ago, was the most severe extinction event in the past 540 million years, eliminating more than 90% of marine and 75% of terrestrial species. Scientists have long linked this extinction to vast volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia. The resulting carbon dioxide emissions rapidly accelerated climate warming, resulting in widespread stagnation and the collapse of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. But what caused life on land, including plants and usually resilient insects, to suffer just as badly has remained a source of mystery.

An illustration depicting the onset of the end-Permian mass extinction.

Image credit: Dawid Adam Iurino / PaleoFactory, Sapienza University of Rome / Jurikova et al, doi: 10.1038/s41561-020-00646-4.

“Climate warming alone cannot drive such devastating extinctions because, as we are seeing today, when the tropics become too hot, species migrate to the cooler, higher latitudes,” said University of Bristol’s Dr. Alexander Farnsworth.

“Our research has revealed that increased greenhouse gases don’t just make the majority of the planet warmer, they also increase weather and climate variability making it even more ‘wild’ and difficult for life to survive.”

“The Permian-Triassic catastrophe shows the problem of global warming is not just a matter of it becoming unbearably hot, but also a case of conditions swinging wildly over decades.”

“Most life failed to adapt to these conditions, but thankfully a few things survived, without which we wouldn’t be here today. It was nearly, but not quite, the end of the life on Earth,” said China University of Geosciences Professor Yadong Sun.

The scale of end-Permian warming was revealed by studying oxygen isotopes in the fossilized tooth material of tiny extinct swimming organisms called conodonts.

By studying the temperature record of conodonts from around the world, the researchers were able to show a remarkable collapse of temperature gradients in the low and mid latitudes.

“Essentially, it got too hot everywhere,” Dr. Farnsworth said.

“The changes responsible for the climate patterns identified were profound because there were much more intense and prolonged El Niño events than witnessed today.”

“Species were simply not equipped to adapt or evolve quickly enough.”

A geological field section reveals a desiccated (extreme dryness) land surface that was common all over the world 252 million years ago. Image credit: University of Bristol / China University of Geosciences.

In recent years, El Niño events have caused major changes in rainfall patterns and temperature.

For example, the weather extremes that caused the June 2024 North American heatwave when temperatures were around 15 degrees Celsius hotter than normal.

2023-2024 was also one of the hottest years on record globally due to a strong El Niño in the Pacific, which was further exacerbated by increased human-induced carbon dioxide driving catastrophic drought and fires around the world.

“Fortunately such events so far have only lasted one to two years at a time,” said University of Leeds Professor Paul Wignall.

“During the Permian-Triassic crisis, El Niño persisted for much longer resulting in a decade of widespread drought, followed by years of flooding.”

“Basically, the climate was all over the place and that makes it very hard for any species to adapt.”

The results of the climate modeling also help explain the abundant charcoal found in rock layers of that age.

“Wildfires become very common if you have a drought-prone climate,” said University of Hull Professor David Bond.

“Earth got stuck in a crisis state where the land was burning and the oceans stagnating. There was nowhere to hide.”

The researchers observed that throughout Earth’s history there have been many volcanic events similar to those in Siberia, and many caused extinctions, but none led to a crisis of the scale of the end-Permian event.

They found the extinction was so different because these mega-El Niños created positive feedback on the climate which led to incredibly warm conditions starting in the tropics and then beyond, resulting in the dieback of vegetation.

Plants are essential for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as the foundation of the food web, and if they die so does one of the Earth’s mechanisms to stop carbon dioxide building up in the atmosphere as a result of continued volcanism.

This also helps explain the conundrum regarding the end-Permian mass extinction whereby the extinction on land occurred tens of thousands of years before extinction in the oceans.

“Whilst the oceans were initially shielded from the temperature rises, the mega-El Nino’s caused temperatures on land to exceed most species thermal tolerances at rates so rapid that they could not adapt in time,” Dr. Sun said.

“Only species that could migrate quickly could survive, and there weren’t many plants or animals that could do that.”

“The Permo-Triassic mass extinction, although devastating, would ultimately see the rise of dinosaurs becoming the dominant species thereafter as would the end-Cretaceous mass extinction lead to the rise of mammals, and humans,” Dr. Farnsworth said.

• The results were published in the journal Science.
• Yadong Sun et al. 2024. Mega El Niño instigated the end-Permian mass extinction. Science 385 (6714): 1189-1195; doi: 10.1126/science.ado2030

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

18-09-2024 om 17:32 geschreven door peter  

Massive UFO Encounter: Air Force Crew Faces Unidentified Craft Over Nuclear Silo

In the quiet skies of North Dakota, an extraordinary event unfolded one night that would forever embed itself in the annals of UFO history. Involving U.S. Air Force personnel stationed at Minot Air Force Base, the encounter revolved around an unidentified flying object (UFO) appearing over one of America’s most secure military installations — a nuclear missile silo. This mysterious incident not only unsettled the maintenance crew but also raised concerns about national security during the height of the Cold War.

The Cold War Context and Minot Air Force Base

During the Cold War, Minot Air Force Base played a crucial role in the United States’ defense strategy, housing both B-52 nuclear bombers and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). The base was fortified by 150 Minuteman missile silos, each containing a nuclear missile capable of retaliating against a potential Soviet strike.

On an otherwise quiet night, airmen John O’Connor and Lloyd Isley, two maintenance technicians, were dispatched to perform routine checks at one of these silos, codenamed “November 7.” These young technicians were not trained in combat; their job was to ensure the missiles were operational. But on this particular night, their mission would quickly turn from routine to extraordinary.

The Strange Light in the Sky

As O’Connor and Isley drove towards the missile silo, O’Connor spotted an unusual bright light in the sky. Initially dismissing it as a farmer’s light, he soon realized that the light was moving — and worse, it seemed to be pacing their vehicle. The strange object floated just above the ground and followed them as they continued their journey. Unease set in, and O’Connor decided to radio the control tower, asking if there were any aircraft or military maneuvers occurring in the area. The response he received confirmed their fears: there were no military operations or aircraft in the vicinity.

The light, now moving closer, emitted a strange noise akin to a jet engine, heightening the tension. Both men believed that they were being monitored by the object, which only grew larger and brighter as it approached. They soon realized this was no ordinary aircraft or drone; it was something far more mysterious.

A Potential Threat to the Missile Silo

With the object now hovering near the missile site, O’Connor and Isley felt a growing sense of danger. O’Connor, fearing for the safety of the nuclear missile, immediately reported the situation to the base, calling for backup. Isley, unarmed and anxious, grabbed an axe from the back of their vehicle as a makeshift defense. Though they were maintenance personnel and not combat-trained soldiers, the gravity of the situation pushed them to prepare for the unknown.

As the mysterious object moved over the silo, both men noticed its immense size, estimating it to be a quarter the size of an aircraft carrier. Despite the overwhelming size of the craft, it remained eerily silent except for the faint engine-like sound.

Backup Arrives and a National Security Concern

Meanwhile, the security team stationed at the base, including Airmen Joe Jablonsky and Gregory Adams, had been dispatched to aid O’Connor and Isley. As the security team raced toward the scene, they too witnessed the bright light in the sky. By this time, the object was so large and close to the ground that it also appeared on radar, confirming its presence and elevating the situation to a matter of national security.

The security team arrived, but despite their presence and preparations, the UFO continued to hover over the missile silo. The military personnel faced an unprecedented dilemma: while they were trained to protect the base and its nuclear weapons, they had never encountered a threat like this. They couldn’t fire without clear provocation, especially over sensitive military grounds.

A B-52 Bomber’s Encounter

At the same time, a B-52 bomber returning from a training mission was preparing to land at Minot Air Force Base. The bomber’s crew was asked to observe and confirm the sighting. Not only did the crew confirm the presence of the strange object, but they also witnessed a second UFO at a higher altitude, approximately 12,000 feet in the air. This indicated that there were now two unidentified objects in the vicinity.

Moments after this confirmation, the UFO over the silo suddenly rocketed into the sky, disappearing from view. The B-52 crew also reported their object vanishing at the same time.

Aftermath and Military Investigation

The aftermath of the sighting sparked immediate concern at the highest levels of the U.S. military. The situation had implications not only for national security but also for the protection of nuclear assets. Given that multiple credible witnesses, including Air Force personnel and radar operators, had confirmed the presence of the object, the incident warranted serious investigation.

The U.S. Air Force initiated an inquiry through its UFO investigation division, Project Blue Book. Captain Bradford Run, the B-52 pilot who witnessed one of the objects, provided a detailed sketch of what he saw, adding further legitimacy to the account. However, the official explanation that emerged from the investigation was unsatisfactory to many. The sightings were attributed to a rare atmospheric phenomenon known as plasma balls, where ionized gas in the atmosphere could create glowing, moving objects.

Continuing Mysteries at Nuclear Sites

This event at Minot Air Force Base was not an isolated incident. Similar UFO sightings have been reported at other U.S. nuclear facilities, including Malmstrom, Loring, and Warren Air Force Bases. In many cases, military personnel witnessed unidentified objects hovering near nuclear missile sites. The recurring nature of these sightings has led some to speculate that UFOs might have a particular interest in nuclear weapons, though no conclusive evidence has ever been presented.

VIDEO:

• https://youtu.be/YpQnLaDys1U

The UFO encounter over Minot Air Force Base remains one of the most compelling cases of unidentified objects interacting with military personnel, especially near sensitive nuclear installations. With multiple credible witnesses and radar confirmation, the event continues to intrigue UFO researchers and skeptics alike. While the official explanation may point to natural atmospheric phenomena, many who were involved believe they encountered something far more mysterious that night, something that remains unexplained to this day.

{ https://www.latest-ufo-sightings.net/ }

18-09-2024 om 17:09 geschreven door peter  

Scientists find microplastics in worrying new body part

• READ MORE:  Mothers pass cancer-causing 'forever chemicals' to newborns

By Nikki Main Science Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Two new studies have revealed that that thousands of toxic chemicals are seeping into our bodies through every day food packaging.

Scientist from Switzerland identified 3,601 toxic chemicals in items like Tupperware, water bottles and canned goods, which were found in human blood, urine, hair and breast milk. 

The chemicals included Bisphenol A, or BPA, and heavy metals that have been linked to cancer and reproductive problems.

A separate team from Brazil made another startling discovery after detecting microplastics in a part of the nose connected to the brain, which could be linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Thousands of potentially toxic chemicals were found in the human body, new research showed. The chemicals were found to seep into food through their containers

The compounds infiltrate food by simply coming into contact with the product through it's packaging or by heating up food in the plastic to-go containers handed out at restaurants. 

'There are known hazardous chemicals that are known to be linked with adverse human health outcomes, and these chemicals leach out of packaging,' said the study's co-author and the chief scientific officer of the Food Packaging Forum, Jane Muncke.

There are 14,000 chemicals used in packaging and the new study led by the Food Packaging Forum Foundation in Switzerland found that 25 percent of them are 'largely unregulated.'

'This is a staggering number and shows that food contact materials are a significant source of chemicals in humans,' Martin Wagner, a professor of biology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim told CNN.

'The study is the first to systematically link the chemicals we use in materials to package and process foods to human exposure.'

Read More

• Here are three cancer-causing household products YOU should avoid 

The study, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, reported that the researchers identified BPA in both food and the human body that had previously been used in baby bottles, sippy cups and infant formula containers.

The chemical remained in the products until parents boycotted it more than a decade ago, however, it is still found in other packaging containers today. 

BPA has been linked to heart disease, erectile dysfunction, diabetes and cancer in adults and has also been found to increase the risk of early death by 49 percent.

Heavy metals were also discovered in the products, which can harm human's DNA by binding proteins and displacing essential metal ions that can alter the way protein functions in the body and can cause cell dysfunction.

They can become toxic as they gradually increase and accumulate in the body and can cause cardiovascular disease, cancer and impair brain development and cause lower IQs in children.

A lesser-known item is tiny containers of sauces that are popular at fast-food restaurants.

The researchers noted that the small cups have a better chance of contaminating food because of the close proximity between the chemicals in the packaging and the products

Food packaging like small sauce containers can contaminate the food, causing dangerous chemicals to enter the body

Muncke told The Washington Post that she was recently on a flight and was giving a small container of salad dressing that raised immediate red flags.

'They served the salad with a 15 milliliter little plastic bottle with olive oil and vinegar that you could pour over it,' she said. 'I thought, 'Well, I'm not doing that.'

'We don't think about how the (mostly) plastic packaging adds chemicals to our food, but it's an important source of human exposures,' R. Thomas Zoeller, an emeritus professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst who was not involved in the research, told The Post. 

'This is an early indication that harmful chemicals — largely unregulated — are making it into the human population.'

On top of toxic chemicals found throughout the body, a separate study also published this month was the first to identify microplastics from water bottles in the olfactory bulb. 

The olfactory bulb is a small portion of tissue inside the nose that's separated from the nasal canal and researchers found that this bulb is housing between five millimeters and one nanometer of plastic particles.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Health, found that the tissue could create a direct pathway for microplastics to enter the brain, although no published studies have confirmed the presence of PFAS in the brain.

The research team led by the University of São Paulo in Brazil said the microplastics could have reached the olfactory bulb either through systemic circulation, through the respiratory pathway or by crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Microplastics, or fragments of any plastic that measure less than five millimeters in length, lurk in oceans, the air, food, and even drinking water.

Humans constantly inhale and ingest them, raising the odds of experiencing whole-body inflammation, neurological effects, DNA damage, and a weakened immune response.

A total of 16 synthetic particles were found in eight of of the 15 deceased individuals studied.

Polypropylene - a thermoplastic found in food packaging - was the most prevalent polymer found, accounting for 48 percent of the microplastics in the bulb.

These findings could pave the way for future research to understand where microplastics originate.

Philip Landrigan, MD, who wasn't involved with the study told MedPage Today: 'I think there'll be a lot more information in the next few years about how microplastics are getting into the human body -- and what they're doing once they get in there.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

18-09-2024 om 16:49 geschreven door peter  

Scientists discover a 'smiley face' on Mars - and it could contain signs of life

• READ MORE: NASA discovers first 'possible' signs of life on Mars 

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

Astronomers have discovered a smiley-face-shaped structure on Mars - and it could be more than just a planetary quirk. 

Researchers believe that it may be harboring signs of past life on the Red Planet. 

This grinning formation is made up of a pair of crater eyes and rings of ancient salt deposits.

These deposits are the remains of an ancient body of water that dried up long ago, leaving behind this emoji-like remnant that is only visible when viewed with an infrared camera.

The European Space Agency (ESA) - which snapped the photo - said: 'These deposits, remnants of ancient water bodies, could indicate habitable zones from billions of years ago.'

The European Space Agency snapped this photo of a smiley-face-shaped salt deposit on Mars that could harbor evidence of ancient alien life on the Red Planet

Scientists aren't sure exactly how big the smiley-face is, but it's one of 965 other salt deposits that have recently been catalogued on Mars' surface, which range in size from 1,000 to 10,000 feet wide.

Salt deposits are accumulations of salt - or chloride - found on a planetary surface. On Mars, they are the remnants of ancient bodies of water that dried up when the planet underwent a major climatic shift eons ago. 

Read More

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Before the last puddles of Mars' liquid water disappeared, they may have been a 'haven' for microbial life, according to the ESA. 

These puddles would have been extremely salty, and thus the remains of microbes that once lived in them may still be preserved to this day - hiding in deposits like this smiley face. 

The ESA captured this image using their ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, which has been measuring the levels of methane and other gases in Mars' atmosphere since 2016 to help scientists understand possible biological or geological activity on the Red Planet.

Normally, salt deposits on Mars' surface are invisible. 

But the orbiter's infrared cameras allow us to see them glowing pink or violet - revealing the smiley-face.

The photo was published as part of a study in the journal Scientific Data. 

These salt deposits are typically invisible, but the infrared cameras on the ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter allow us to see them glowing pink or violet

As Mars' liquid water disappeared, the last salty puddles could have harbored surviving microbial life, and their remains could be preserved in the resulting salt deposits

The research team, led by scientists from the University of Bern in Sweden, used images taken by the orbiter to create the most robust catalog of Mars' chloride salt deposits to-date. 

The new catalog contains data for nearly 1,000 different deposits located all across the planet's surface. 

These deposits paint a picture of ancient Mars that is very different than the red desert planet we know today. Billions of years ago, Mars hosted bodies of liquid water.

'In the distant past, water formed magnificent landforms such as riverbeds, channels, and deltas on the Red Planet,' said planetary scientist and study lead author Valentin Bickel in an ESA statement. 

But studies suggest that sometime between three billion and two billion years ago, severe climate change caused these bodies of water to dry up. 

That extreme climatic shift was likely triggered by the loss of Mars' magnetic field, which allowed solar wind to erode the atmosphere and caused liquid water to freeze, evaporate or become trapped within the planet's surface.

Now, salt deposits are some of the only evidence we have of Mars' ancient water bodies. 

What's more, studying them could reveal clues about ancient microbial life that once lived in the planet's liquid water, according to the study.

'The new data has important implications for our understanding of the distribution of water on early Mars, as well as its past climate and habitability,' Bickel said. 

While there is no conclusive evidence pointing to past or present life on Mars, this study adds to a growing body of research that has reignited the search for microbes on the Red Planet.

European Space Agency Shares Pic Of 'Smiley Face' Spotted On Mars

See the post here:

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18-09-2024 om 00:40 geschreven door peter  

New map of Mars reveals hidden 'structures' below the Martian surface

• READ MORE:  Scientists discover smiley-face on Mars that may hold signs of life

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

A new map of Mars has revealed mysterious structures hiding beneath the sediment layers of a lost ocean.

The researchers detected about 20 features scattered around the planet's north polar cap that are significantly denser than their surroundings. 

The structures vary in shape and size, with one resembling the shape of a dog, leaving the team puzzled because they do not know exactly what the formations are or where they came from. But they do have some theories.

One idea is that the structures were compacted by ancient meteor strikes, or  formed by volcanic activity, but more research is needed to get to the bottom of these underground anomalies. 

A new analysis of Mars' gravitational field has revealed mysterious structures lurking beneath the planet's surface

The team of researchers from Denmark's TU Delft and Utrecht University presented their findings at the Europlanetary Science Conference in Berlin this week.

The team used tiny deviations in satellite orbits to create a picture of Mars' gravitational field, or the region of space around a planet where its gravitational force can be felt. 

Read More

• Bezos' Boeing moment: NASA delays upcoming Mars mission due to issues with Blue Origin rockets 

They did this to look for clues about how mass is distributed throughout the planet's subsurface. 

The team then combined these observations with data on the thickness and flexibility of the Mars' crust, as well as the dynamics of the planet's mantle and deep interior. 

These observations were collected by NASA's InSIGHT lander, which completed its study of Mars' crust, mantle and core in 2022.

This allowed the researchers to create a global density map of Mars that revealed the existence of 20 previously unknown underground structures scattered around the planet's north polar cap.

The structures are about 19 to 25 pounds per cubic foot denser than their surroundings, and vary in shape and size. 

Additionally, they are covered by a thick, smooth layer of sediment that may have once been a seabed. 

The researchers used tiny deviations in satellite orbits and data from NASA's InSIGHT lander to create a global density map of Mars

Their analysis revealed 20 previously unknown underground structures scattered around the planet's north polar cap

Billions of years ago, Mars was not the desert planet we know today. It was once covered in oceans and rivers, but water dried up in an extreme climactic shift. 

Now, the only evidence of these bodies of water lies in Mars' geologic record - like this sediment layer. 

As for the structures that lie beneath, 'there seems to be no trace of them at the surface,' lead author Bart Root, an assistant professor at TU Delft, said. 

'However, through gravity data, we have a tantalizing glimpse into the older history of the northern hemisphere of Mars.' 

This isn't the first time that scientists have uncovered oddities beneath the surface of Mars. 

In December 2023, China's Zhurong found large honeycomb-shaped crevasses buried dozens of meters beneath Mars' equator that likely formed when drastic temperature dips contract and fracture the ground.

But Root and his team are having a harder time figuring out what these most recently structures are, and where they came from. Right now, they have two main theories. 

Either the structures were compacted by ancient impact events, like meteor strikes, or they were formed by some kind of volcanic activity. This latter idea challenges scientists' longstanding view of Mars as a geologically inactive planet. 

But while studies have shown that Mars does not have as much geological activity as Earth, a growing body of evidence suggests that it isn't completely 'dead.'

Root's study adds to this evidence not just by discovering structures that may be volcanically formed, but through a totally separate finding. 

In addition to finding the mysterious structures, the team's analysis revealed that Mars' mantle may still host active geological processes that could be feeding Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano in the solar system.

Olympus Mons is located in the Tharsis Montes region near Mars' equator. Scientists estimate that it hasn't erupted for 25 million years.

The subterranean geology of the Tharsis region is incredibly dense, but Root and his team detected a much lighter mass lying 700 miles beneath the surface. 

He believes this mass is an enormous plume of magma that stretches 1,000 miles across in Mars' mantle. What's more, this plume might be in the process of bubbling to the surface.

'This means we need to rethink how we understand the support for the Olympus Mons volcano and its surroundings,' Root said. 

'It shows that Mars might still have active movements happening inside it, affecting and possibly making new volcanic features on the surface.' 

Intro to Areography | The Geography of Mars

A close-up photo taken by the Curiosity rover shows pure yellow sulfur crystals within a rock.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA’s Curiosity rover captured a close-up image of a rock nicknamed “Snow Lake." Nine days earlier, the rover had crushed a similar-looking rock and revealed sulfur crystals.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The Gediz Vallis channel is visible above the rocky area in the foreground.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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18-09-2024 om 00:23 geschreven door peter  

Huge landslide unleashes 650-foot 'mega-tsunami' and causes Earth to vibrate for 9 DAYS 

• READ MORE: California rocked by swarm of five earthquakes in just 48 hours

By Ellyn Lapointe For Dailymail.Com

After a mountaintop collapsed into the sea in Greenland, a 'mega-tsunami' as tall as a skyscraper shook the Earth for nine straight days, baffling scientists around the world.

No one was injured by the landslide or resulting tsunami, but the 650-foot-tall wave destroyed roughly $200,000 worth of infrastructure at an unoccupied research station on Ella Island. 

What's more, the events occurred near a route that is commonly traveled by cruise ships. Had one been sailing through at this time, it could have led to tragedy. 

Until now, no one knew what caused the mysterious seismic activity that began in September 2023 and lasted over a week. It took an international team of scientists to trace it back to the landslide.

'When we set out on this scientific adventure, everybody was puzzled and no one had the faintest idea what caused this signal,' said Kristian Svennevig, study lead author and geologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.

Before and after the massive landslide that dumped 33 million cubic yards of ice and rock into a Greenland fjord, triggering a 650-foot-tall 'mega-tsunami' that shook Earth for nine days

Svennevig and her colleagues now believe that climate change set the stage for this landslide by melting a glacier at the base of the mountain and destabilizing enough ice and rock to fill 10,000 Olympic swimming pools. 

And as rising global temperatures continue to melt Earth's polar regions, destructive landslides like this one could become more common. 

The research team published their findings today in the journal Science. 

When seismic monitoring networks first detected the activity, scientists were perplexed for two reasons. 

First, the signal was much more spread out than the typical tight squiggles that an earthquake produces on a seismograph - a device used to record ground shaking.

'It oscillated with a 92-second-interval between its peaks, too slow for humans to perceive,' according to a statement from the University of California San Diego, one of the institutions that contributed to the research.

Second, the signal remained strong for nine straight days. Typical seismic events decay much more rapidly - the average earthquake lasts only seconds to minutes.

Scientists around the world quickly began working to get to the bottom of this strange signal. 

Climate change set the stage for this landslide by melting a glacier at the base of the mountain and destabilizing enough ice and rock to fill 10,000 Olympic swimming pools

The mega-tsunami destroyed roughly $200,000 worth of infrastructure at an unoccupied research station on Ella Island, but no one was hurt

Discussions online eventually turned up reports of a massive landslide that occurred on a mountain overlooking a remote fjord in East Greenland on September 16 2023.

To determine whether the landslide was connected to the mysterious shaking, a team of researchers led by Svennevig digitally reconstructed the landslide and resulting shakes.

They did this using a combination of seismic recordings from around the world, field measurements, satellite imagery and computer simulations.

The researchers also used supercomputers to simulate the 650-foot-tall mega-tsunami triggered by the 33 million cubic yards of rock and ice that crashed into the fjord. 

The waves sloshed back and forth inside the fjord in a phenomenon known as seiche. The researchers concluded that this sloshing is what caused the nine-day stretch of seismic activity that rocked the Earth last year. 

'Ultimately, it took a plethora of geophysical observations and numerical modeling from researchers across many countries to put the puzzle together and get a complete picture of what had occurred,' said co-author Robert Anthony, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey's Earthquake Hazards program, in a statement.

The findings demonstrate the 'complex, cascading hazards' driven by the impact of climate change on Earth's polar regions, according to the researchers.

'Climate change is shifting what is typical on Earth, and it can set unusual events into motion,' said co-author Alice Gabriel, a seismologist at the University of California San Diego, in a statement. 

Fortunately, no people were in the area when the enormous landslide and resulting tsunami occurred. But this incident emphasizes the importance of monitoring polar regions as climate change accelerates. 

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17-09-2024 om 23:54 geschreven door peter  

The Moon has inspired poets and artists, musicians and playwrights. The sight of our one and only Moon is familiar to anyone that has ever glanced up at the night time (and sometimes day time sky!) Every so often though, our Moon (note the use of capital ‘M’)is joined by a small asteroid that wanders too close. Astronomers have detected an 11-metre wide asteroid that has the snappy name 2024 PT5 and it came within 567,000 kilometres of Earth and will become a temporary satellite from 29 September until 25 November when it will leave our system. 

Planets, comets, satellites and asteroids are the main constituents of our Solar System, plus of course, the Sun. The asteroids are small rocky objects that orbit the Sun with the majority in orbits between Mars and Jupiter. These remnants of the early Solar System come in a wide range of sizes from those measuring just a few centimetres to others measuring hundreds of kilometres. They have no atmosphere and are usually irregular in shape. 

Asteroids that pass within 1.3 astronomical units (one astronomical unit is the average distance between the Sun and Earth) are typically referred to as near-earth objects (NEOs.) Their proximity to Earth means they may – if not immediately – pose a potential impact threat to Earth. Most NEO’s pass by harmlessly on each orbit but they are tracked for future threats. The study of this family of asteroids helps us to understand about the formation of the Solar System. 

On occasions, Earth can capture asteroids from the NEO group and for a short period, pull them into an orbit. These temporary captures can be very short lived not even lasting for an entire orbit before returning to their regular trajectory.  Others like 2006RH120 remained in orbit around Earth for a year, while some have been captured for more than a year. These mini-moon events have even turned out to be pieces of space junk like one identified in 2020 which turned out to be a rocket booster from the launch of Surveyor 2 in 1966!

Asteroid 2024 PT5 is a NEO that was discovered on 7 August 2024 by ATLAS, the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System. It measures 11 metres across and can approach within 1 million kilometres of Earth in an orbit whose path resembles a horseshoe shape. This complex type of orbit occurs when a smaller object orbits a relatively larger object. In the case of 2024 PT5, the gravitational attraction of Earth changes the shape of the asteroids elliptical orbit. The horseshoe shape is only evident when the orbit of the asteroid is mapped relative to both the Sun and the Earth.

The dynamics of the two objects means that for a period of 56 days from 29 September to 25 November, 2024 PT5 will officially orbit the Earth although it is only classed as a ‘temporary captured flyby.’ It will only perform one single orbit however before it returns to its usual heliocentric, Sun centred orbit. This won’t be the only time though as it is predicted to return again in 2055. 

Don’t get too excited about seeing it though. The object will be far too faint to be seen with the naked eye, even beyond the visual range of amateur telescopes. It is however possible for experienced amateur astronomers to capture images of the asteroid using astronomical imaging techniques.

Source : 

• A Two-month Mini-moon: 2024 PT5 Captured by Earth from September to November

 { https://www.universetoday.com/ }

17-09-2024 om 22:01 geschreven door peter  

A skyscraper-sized asteroid is set to narrowly miss Earth next week, Nasa has warned.

The space rock, dubbed 2024 ON, has been classified as "potentially hazardous" - and is set to hurtle past our planet at a staggering speed of 19,685 miles per hour - approximately 25 times the speed of sound.

With a 220-480m diameter, 2024 ON dwarfs landmarks like the Shard or Eiffel Tower - and would sit at 14th in a list of the world's tallest skyscrapers.

But despite its size and speed, Nasa has maintained that 2024 ON is not expected to pose a danger to Earth or its inhabitants.

An asteroid is deemed "potentially hazardous" if it comes within 0.05 astronomical units (4.65 million miles) of Earth and exceeds 140m in diameter.

Fortunately, this space rock's closest approach to Earth will see it stay twice as far away as the moon - but 2024 ON is still classified as a near-Earth object (NEO) and is being monitored by Nasa.

Related video:

• The Most Dangerous Asteroid Is Here, But NASA Has a Plan (Bright Side)

The space agency's definition reads: "NEOs are comets and asteroids that have been nudged by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter the Earth's neighbourhood."

It goes on to detail that comets are formed in the cold outer planetary system, whilst rockier asteroids originated in the warmer inner solar system between Mars and Jupiter.

MORE SPACE NEWS:

• China space probe returns to Earth with first EVER samples from the Moon's unexplored far side
• Two astronauts stranded on International Space Station after major Boeing faults
• Nasa astronauts left stranded in space may have to wait MONTHS before return to Earth

Asteroid warning issued by Nasa as meteor travelling at 19,000 miles an hour to narrowly miss Earth© GB News

(CA)

At its maximum estimated size, 2024 ON is still dwarfed by the largest known asteroid, Ceres, which boasts a diameter of 580 miles.

And despite its impressive dimensions, the approaching space rock will be too small to observe with the naked eye or even an average telescope.

Asteroids, remnants of ancient solar system collisions, travel at high speeds due to intense gravitational forces in space, and orbit the sun in elongated paths whilst rotating erratically.

Nasa's online tracker lists 2024 ON as one of the upcoming close approaches and highlights the agency's vigilance in monitoring potential threats from space.

The scientific interest in these celestial bodies stems from their status as relatively unchanged remnants of the solar system's formation process, dating back some 4.6 billion years.

Whilst 2024 ON's approach may seem alarming, it's important to note that such events aren't uncommon.

Nasa continuously tracks and studies these objects to better understand our cosmic neighbourhood and assess any potential risks to our planet.

The agency's efforts in asteroid detection and monitoring play a crucial role in planetary defence strategies, ensuring Earth's safety from potential space-borne hazards.

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17-09-2024 om 18:10 geschreven door peter  

Life and death are traditionally viewed as opposites. However, the emergence of new multicellular life forms from the cells of a dead organism introduces a “third state” that lies beyond the traditional boundaries of life and death.

Usually, scientists consider death to be the irreversible halt of the functioning of an organism as a whole. However, practices such as organ donation highlight how organs, tissues, and cells can continue to function even after an organism’s demise. This resilience raises the question: What mechanisms allow certain cells to keep working after an organism has died?

We are researchers who investigate what happens within organisms after they die. In our recently published review, we describe how certain cells — when provided with nutrients, oxygen, bioelectricity, or biochemical cues — have the capacity to transform into multicellular organisms with new functions after death.

Life, death, and emergence of something new

The third state challenges how scientists typically understand cell behavior. While caterpillars metamorphosing into butterflies, or tadpoles evolving into frogs, may be familiar developmental transformations, there are few instances where organisms change in ways that are not predetermined. Tumors, organoids, and cell lines that can indefinitely divide in a petri dish, like HeLa cells, are not considered part of the third state because they do not develop new functions.

However, researchers found that skin cells extracted from deceased frog embryos were able to adapt to the new conditions of a petri dish in a lab, spontaneously reorganizing into multicellular organisms called xenobots. These organisms exhibited behaviors that extend far beyond their original biological roles. Specifically, these xenobots use their cilia — small, hair-like structures — to navigate and move through their surroundings, whereas in a living frog embryo, cilia are typically used to move mucus.

Researchers have also found that solitary human lung cells can self-assemble into miniature multicellular organisms that can move around. These anthrobots behave and are structured in new ways. They are not only able to navigate their surroundings but also repair both themselves and injured neuron cells placed nearby.

Taken together, these findings demonstrate the inherent plasticity of cellular systems and challenge the idea that cells and organisms can evolve only in predetermined ways. The third state suggests that organismal death may play a significant role in how life transforms over time.

Postmortem conditions

Several factors influence whether certain cells and tissues can survive and function after an organism dies. These include environmental conditions, metabolic activity, and preservation techniques.

Different cell types have varying survival times. For example, in humans, white blood cells die between 60 and 86 hours after organismal death. In mice, skeletal muscle cells can be regrown after 14 days postmortem, while fibroblast cells from sheep and goats can be cultured up to a month or so postmortem.

Metabolic activity plays an important role in whether cells can continue to survive and function. Active cells that require a continuous and substantial supply of energy to maintain their function are more difficult to culture than cells with lower energy requirements. Preservation techniques such as cryopreservation can allow tissue samples such as bone marrow to function similarly to that of living donor sources.

Inherent survival mechanisms also play a key role in whether cells and tissues live. For example, researchers have observed a significant increase in the activity of stress-related genes and immune-related genes after organismal death, likely to compensate for the loss of homeostasis. Moreover, factors such as trauma, infection , and the time elapsed since death significantly affect tissue and cell viability.

Factors such as age, health, sex, and type of species further shape the postmortem landscape. This is seen in the challenge of culturing and transplanting metabolically active islet cells, which produce insulin in the pancreas, from donors to recipients. Researchers believe that autoimmune processes, high energy costs, and the degradation of protective mechanisms could be the reason behind many islet transplant failures.

How the interplay of these variables allows certain cells to continue functioning after an organism dies remains unclear. One hypothesis is that specialized channels and pumps embedded in the outer membranes of cells serve as intricate electrical circuits. These channels and pumps generate electrical signals that allow cells to communicate with each other and execute specific functions such as growth and movement, shaping the structure of the organism they form.

The extent to which different types of cells can undergo transformation after death is also uncertain. Previous research has found that specific genes involved in stress, immunity, and epigenetic regulation are activated after death in mice, zebrafish, and people, suggesting widespread potential for transformation among diverse cell types.

Implications for biology and medicine

The third state not only offers new insights into the adaptability of cells. It also offers prospects for new treatments.

For example, anthrobots could be sourced from an individual’s living tissue to deliver drugs without triggering an unwanted immune response. Engineered anthrobots injected into the body could potentially dissolve arterial plaque in atherosclerosis patients and remove excess mucus in cystic fibrosis patients.

Importantly, these multicellular organisms have a finite life span, naturally degrading after four to six weeks. This “kill switch” prevents the growth of potentially invasive cells.

A better understanding of how some cells continue to function and metamorphose into multicellular entities sometime after an organism’s demise holds promise for advancing personalized and preventive medicine.

This article was originally published on The Conversation by Peter A Noble at University of Washington and Alex Pozhitkov at Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences at City of Hope. Read the original article here.

{ https://theconversation.com/ }

17-09-2024 om 17:33 geschreven door peter