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Please send in your wildlife photos! Do I have to beg? Very well, then, I’m begging.

Today we have some photos by ecologist Susan Harrison: mostly birds but two mammals and one astronomy picture. Her captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

More miscellany of early 2025

It’s been a turbulent time at work and a slow time for birdwatching, so it’s challenging to come up any wildlife photos, let alone ones with a theme.   But here are a few more random sights from around Davis, California in January – early February 2025.

Overwintering Snow Geese (Anser caerulescens):

American Beaver (Castor canadensis) in the local stream:

Mountain Bluebird (Sialis curricucoides), an uncommon overwintering bird around here, hunting crickets in a plowed field:

Merlin (Falco columbarius), distinguished from the similar-sized American Kestrel by having a white eyebrow instead of a black mustache (as birders call the vertical facial stripe):

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) for comparison:

Miniature goats (Capra hircus), seemingly puzzled that the human is looking up into trees rather than bringing them carrots:

Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris), which always look to me like they’re searching for someone’s lost keys:

American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana), in which females have more upcurved bills than males, possibly giving them different feeding niches:

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), inexorably drawn to stony surfaces like gravel roads and railroad beds:

Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera) pairing up, Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), and a rear-end view of a Northern Pintail (Anas acuta):

Mixed ducks flying away, as they are—sadly but for good reason—very shy of humans:

Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), a drab little bird with not much to fear from a human:

And finally, though I’m no celestial photographer, the Moon being approached by Mars:

A new look at fossils from the Cambrian Period around 500 million years ago has revealed that some of the earliest animals spent time on mudflats that were sometimes exposed to the air – a find that could rewrite the story of when life first left the oceans

It’s a familiar sight to see astronauts on board ISS on exercise equipment to minimise muscle and bone loss from weightlessness. A new study suggests that jumping workouts could help astronauts prevent cartilage damage during long missions to the Moon and Mars. They found that the knee cartilage in mice seems to grow stronger after jumping exercises, potentially counteracting the effects of low gravity on joint health. If effective in humans, this approach could be included in pre-flight routines or adapted for space missions.

In space, astronauts experience significant loss of bone and muscle mass due to microgravity. Without Earth’s gravitational pull, bones lose density, increasing fracture risk, while muscles, especially in the lower body and spine, weaken from reduced use. This deterioration can impair mobility when back on Earth and effect overall health. To combat this, astronauts follow rigorous exercise routines, including resistance and cardiovascular training, to maintain strength and bone integrity. 

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst gets a workout on the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED). Credit: NASA

The next obvious step as we reach out into the Solar System is the red planet Mars. Heading that far out into space will demand long periods of time in space since its a 9 month journey there. Permanent bases on the Moon too will test our physiology to its limits so managing the slow degradation is a big challenge to space agencies. A paper published by lead author Marco Chiaberge from the John Hopkins University has explored the knee joints of mice and how their cartilage grows thicker if they jump! They suggest astronauts should embed jumping activities into their exercise regiment. 

Mars seen before, left, and during, right, a global dust storm in 2001. Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS

Cartilage cushions the joints between bones and decreases friction allowing for pain free movement. Unlike many other tissues in the body, cartilage does not regenerate as quickly so it is important to protect it. Prolonged periods of inactivity, even from bed rest but especially long duration space flight can accelerate the degradation. It’s also been shown that radiation from space can accelerate the effect too. 

To maintain a strong healthy body, astronauts spend a lot of time, up to 2 hours a day running on treadmills. This has previously shown to slow the breakdown of cartilage but the new study has shown that jumping based movements is particularly effective. T

The team of researchers found that, over a nine week program of reduced movement, mice experienced a 14% reduction in cartilage thickness in joints. Other mice performed jumping movements three times a week and their cartilage was found to be show a 26% increase compared to a control group of mice. Compared to the group that had restricted movement, the jumping mice had 110% thicker cartilage. The study also showed that jumping activities increased bone strength too with the jumping mice having a 15% higher density than the control.

An interesting piece of research but further work is needed to see whether jumping would herald in the same benefits to humans but the study is promising. If so, then jumping exercises are likely to be a part of pre-flight and inflight exercise programs for astronauts. It is likely that for this to be a reality in the micro-gravitational environment, astronauts will be attached to strong elasticated material to simulate the pull of gravity. 

Source : Jumping Workouts Could Help Astronauts on the Moon and Mars, Study in Mice Suggests.

The post Should Astronauts Add Jumping to their Workout Routine? appeared first on Universe Today.

My younger self, seeing that title – AI Powered Bionic Arm – would definitely feel as if the future had arrived, and in many ways it has. This is not the bionic arm of the 1970s TV show, however. That level of tech is probably closer to the 2070s than the 1970s. But we are still making impressive advances in brain-machine interface technology and robotics, to the point that we can replace missing limbs with serviceable robotic replacements.

In this video Sarah De Lagarde discusses her experience as the first person with an AI powered bionic arm. This represents a nice advance in this technology, and we are just scratching the surface. Let’s review where we are with this technology and how artificial intelligence can play an important role.

There are different ways to control robotics – you can have preprogrammed movements (with or without sensory feedback), AI can control the movements in real time, you can have a human operator, through some kind of interface including motion capture, or you can use a brain-machine interface of some sort. For robotic prosthetic limbs obviously the user needs to be able to control them in real time, and we want that experience to feel as natural as possible.

The options for robotic prosthetics include direct connection to the brain, which can be from a variety of electrodes. They can be deep brain electrodes, brain surface, scalp surface, or even stents inside the veins of the brain (stentrodes). All have their advantages and disadvantages. Brain surface and deep brain have the best resolution, but they are the most invasive. Scalp surface is the least invasive, but has the lowest resolution. Stentrodes may, for now, be the best compromise, until we develop more biocompatible and durable brain electrodes.

You can also control a robotic prosthetic without a direct brain connection, using surviving muscles as the interface. That is the method used in De Lagarde’s prosthetic. The advantage here is that you don’t need wires in the brain. Electrodes from the robotic limb connect to existing muscles which the user can contract voluntarily. The muscles themselves are not moving anything, but they generate a sizable electrical impulse which can activate the robotic limb. The user then has to learn to control the robotic limb by activating different sequences of muscle contractions.

At first this method of control requires a lot of concentration. I think a good analogy, one used by De Lagarde, is to think of controlling a virtual character in a video game. At first, you need to concentrate on the correct sequence of keys to hit to get the character to do what you want. But after a while you don’t have to think about the keystrokes. You just think about what you want the character to do and your fingers automatically (it seems) go to the correct keys or manipulate the mouse appropriately. The cognitive burden decreases and your control increases. This is the learning phase of controlling any robotic prosthetic.

As the technology develops researchers learned that providing sensory feedback is a huge help to this process. When the user uses the limb it can provide haptic feedback, such as vibrations, that correspond to the movement. Users report this is an extremely helpful feature. It allows for superior and more natural control, and allows them to control the limb without having to look directly at it. Sensory feedback closes the usual feedback loop of natural motor control.

And that is where the technology has gotten to, with continued incremental advances. But now we can add AI to the mix. What roll does that potentially play? As the user learns to contract the correct muscles in order to get the robotic limb to do what they want, AI connected to the limb itself can learn to recognize the user behavior and better predict what movements they want. The learning curve is now bidirectional.

De Lagarde reports that the primary benefit of the AI learning to interpret her movements better is a decrease in the lag time between her wanting to move and the robotic limb moving. At first the delay could be 10 seconds, which is forever if all you want to do is close your fist. But now the delay is imperceptible, with the limb moving essentially in real time. The limb does not feel like her natural limb. She still feels like it is a tool that she can use. But that tool is getting more and more useful and easy to use.

AI may be the perfect tool for brain-machine interface in general, and again in a bidirectional way. What AI is very good at is looking at tons of noisy data and finding patterns. This can help us interpret brain signals, even from low-res scalp electrodes, meaning that by training on the brain waves from one user an AI can learn to interpret what the brain waves mean in terms of brain activity and user intention. Further, AI can help interpret the user’s attempts at controlling a device or communicating with a BMI. This can dramatically reduce the extensive training period that BMIs often require, getting months of user training down to days. It can also improve the quality of the ultimate control achieved, and reduce the cognitive burden of the user.

We are already past the point of having usable robotic prosthetic limbs controlled by the user. The technology is also advancing nicely and quite rapidly, and AI is just providing another layer to the tech that fuels more incremental advances. It’s still hard to say how long it will take to get to the Bionic Man level of technology, but it’s easy to predict better and better artificial limbs.

The post AI Powered Bionic Arm first appeared on NeuroLogica Blog.

One of the basic principles of cosmology is the Cosmological Principle. It states that, no matter where you go in the Universe, it will always be broadly the same. Given that we have only explored our own Solar System there is currently no empirical way to measure this. A new study proposes that we can test the Cosmological Principle using weak gravitational lensing. The team suggests that measuring tiny distortions in light as it passes through the lenses, it may just be possible to find out  if there are differences in density far away. 

The Cosmological Principle is a fundamental assumption stating that the universe is homogeneous on a large scale. In other words regardless of location or direction, the universe appears uniform and it underpins many cosmological models, including the Big Bang theory. Taking the assumption that physical laws apply consistently everywhere makes calculations and predictions about the universe’s structure and evolution far simpler, but research has been testing its validity by searching for potential anomalies.

This illustration shows the “arrow of time” from the Big Bang to the present cosmological epoch. Credit: NASA

A paper has been published by a team of astrophysicists, led by James Adam from the University of Western Cape in South Africa and explains that the Standard Model of Cosmology predicts the Universe has no centre and has no preferred directions (isotropy.) The paper, which was published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, articulates a new way to test the isotropy of the Universe using the Euclid space telescope.

The Euclid telescope is a European Space Agency mission to explore dark matter and dark energy. It was launched in 2023 and maps the positions and movements of billions of galaxies. It’s using this instrument that the team hope to search for variations in the structure of the Universe that might challenge the Cosmological Principle. 

Artist impression of the Euclid mission in space. Credit: ESA

Previous studies have found such anomalies before but there are conflicting measurements of the expansion rate of the Universe, in the microwave background radiation and in various cosmological data. Further independent observations are required though, providing more data to see if the observations were the result of measurement errors. 

The team explore using weak gravitational lenses, which occur when matter sits between us and a distant galaxy, slightly bending the galaxies light. Analysis of this distortion can be separated into two components; E-mode shear (caused by the distribution of matter in an isotropic and homogenous Universe) and B-mode shear which is weak and would not appear in an isotropic Universe at large scale. 

If the team can detect large scale B-modes this in itself wouldn’t be enough to confirm the anisotropies since the measurements are tiny and prone to measurement errors. To confirm, and finally test the Cosmological Principles, E-mode shear needs to be detected as well. Such discovery and correlation of E-mode and B-mode shear would suggest the expansion of the Universe is anisotropic. 

Ahead of the Euclid observations, the team simulated the effects of an anisotropic universe expansion on a computer. They were able to use the model to describe the effect of the weak gravitational force and predict that Euclid data would be sufficient to complete the study. 

Source : Does the universe behave the same way everywhere? Gravitational lenses could help us find out

The post Do We Live in a Special Part of the Universe? Here’s How to Find Out appeared first on Universe Today.

For more than 40 years, Jonathan McDowell has tirelessly catalogued the space industry. Now he is planning to retire, and looking to pass on his extensive collection of knowledge

A UK start-up is producing dyes made by bacteria and yeast rather than fossil fuel-derived chemicals, which could help clothes manufacturers cut energy use and pollution

$160 million is a lot of money, especially when you consider its not just money. It's lost dreams, careers, and discoveries.

The post Open Letter II: President Levin, There Are Now 160 Million Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Have Censored We Want Them Infected Doctors first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.

Fossil teeth of extinct megalodon sharks have grooves made by other megalodon teeth, hinting at violent encounters between these giant predators

The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and NTT Research, Inc., a division of NTT, announced the publication of research showing an application of machine-learning directed optimization (ML-DO) that efficiently searches for high-performance design configurations in the context of biohybrid robots. Applying a machine learning approach, the researchers created mini biohybrid rays made of cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) and rubber with a wingspan of about 10 mm that are approximately two times more efficient at swimming than those recently developed under a conventional biomimetic approach.

The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and NTT Research, Inc., a division of NTT, announced the publication of research showing an application of machine-learning directed optimization (ML-DO) that efficiently searches for high-performance design configurations in the context of biohybrid robots. Applying a machine learning approach, the researchers created mini biohybrid rays made of cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) and rubber with a wingspan of about 10 mm that are approximately two times more efficient at swimming than those recently developed under a conventional biomimetic approach.

Researchers demonstrated the first fully 3D-printed, droplet-emitting electrospray engine. The low-cost device can be fabricated more quickly than traditional thrusters, potentially from on board a spacecraft, and could enable CubeSats to perform precise, in-orbit maneuvers, aiding space research projects.

Researchers demonstrated the first fully 3D-printed, droplet-emitting electrospray engine. The low-cost device can be fabricated more quickly than traditional thrusters, potentially from on board a spacecraft, and could enable CubeSats to perform precise, in-orbit maneuvers, aiding space research projects.

Hypervelocity stars have been seen before but NASA scientists have just identified a potential record-breaking exoplanet system. They found a hypervelocity star that has a super-Neptune exoplanet in orbit around it. This discovery could reshape our understanding of planetary and orbital mechanics. Understanding more about these fascinating high velocity stars challenges current models of stellar evolution. However it formed, its amazing that somehow, it has managed to hang on to its planet through the process!

High-velocity stars travel through space at extraordinarily high speeds, often in excess of hundreds of kilometres per second. These rapidly moving stars are usually expelled from their galaxies due to gravitational forces, perhaps from close encounters with supermassive black holes or other stars. Some of them move so fast that they can break free from the Milky Way’s gravitational pull. It’s important to study them as they offer crucial insights into the dynamics of our Galaxy, interactions with black holes, and even the distribution of dark matter across the cosmos.

The positions and reconstructed orbits of 20 high-velocity stars, represented on top of an artistic view of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. Credit: ESA (artist’s impression and composition); Marchetti et al. 2018 (star positions and trajectories); NASA / ESA / Hubble (background galaxies)

Details of the discovery were published in a paper that was authored by lead astronomer Sean Terry in The Astronomical journal. It tells of the discovery of what the team think is a super-Neptune world that is in orbit around a star with a low mass. The system is travelling at an estimated 540 kilometres per second! If it were aligned with our own Solar System and the star was where our Sun was, then the planet would sit somewhere between the orbits of Venus and Earth. Terry, who is a researcher at the University of Maryland and said “it will be the first planet ever found orbiting a hypervelocity star.” 

Finding objects like this in space is tricky. This object was first seen in 2011 following analysis of data from the Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics survey that had been conducted by the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. The study had been on the lookout for evidence for exoplanets around distant stars. 

The star-filled sky in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope photo lies in the direction of the Galactic centre. The light from stars is monitored to see if any change in their apparent brightness is caused by a foreground object drifting in front of them. The warping of space by the interloper would momentarily brighten the appearance of a background star, an effect called gravitational lensing. One such event is shown in the four close-up frames at the bottom. The arrow points to a star that momentarily brightened, as first captured by Hubble in August 2011. This was caused by a foreground black hole drifting in front of the star, along our line of sight. The star brightened and then subsequently faded back to its normal brightness as the black hole passed by. Because a black hole doesn’t emit or reflect light, it cannot be directly observed. But its unique thumbprint on the fabric of space can be measured through these so-called microlensing events. Though an estimated 100 million isolated black holes roam our galaxy, finding the telltale signature of one is a needle-in-a-haystack search for Hubble astronomers.

The presence of a mass between Earth and a distant object creates these microlensing events. As such a mass passes between us and a star, its presence can be revealed through analysis of its light curve. In the 2011 data, the signals revealed a pair of celestial bodies and allowed the researchers to calculate that one was about 2,300 times heavier than the other. 

The 2011 study suggested the star was about 20 percent as massive as the Sun and a planet 29 times heavier than Earth. Either that, or it was a nearer planet about four times the mass of Jupiter, maybe even with a moon. To learn more about the object the team searched through data from Keck Observatory and the Gaia satellite. They found the star, located about 24,000 light years away so still within the Milky Way. By comparing the location of the star in 2011 and then ten years later in 2021, the team were able to calculate its speed. 

Having calculated the speed of the star to be around 540,000 kilometres per second, the team are keen to secure more observations in the years ahead. If it is around the 600,000 kilometres per second mark then it’s likely to escape the gravity of the Milky Way and enter intergalactic space millions of years in the future. 

Source : NASA Scientists Spot Candidate for Speediest Exoplanet System

The post A Hyper Velocity Star Found with an Exoplanet Hanging on for Dear Life appeared first on Universe Today.

Finding alien life may have just got easier! If life does exist on other worlds in our Solar System then it’s likely to be tiny, primative bacteria. It’s not so easy to send microscopes to other worlds but chemistry may have just come to the rescue. Scientists have developed a test that detects microbial movement triggered by an amino acid known as  L-serine. In lab testing, three different types of microbes all moved towards this chemical and could be a strong indicator of life.

The search for primitive alien life focuses on finding simple organisms, like microbes or bacteria that can survive in extreme environments. Scientists target places like Mars or moons of the outer planets like Europa (Jupiter,) and Enceladus (Saturn,) where liquid water and energy sources might exist. By studying extremophiles on Earth—organisms that seem to thrive in harsh conditions—researchers can gain clues about where and how to look for extraterrestrial life. Advanced technologies, including chemical sensors and microscopic imaging, are being developed to detect signs of life on future space missions.

Europa captured by Juno

One of the great challenges is exactly what to look for. One aspect of life be it primative or advanced, is the ability to move independently. The process where a chemical causes an organism to move in response is known as chemotaxis and it this that a team of researchers in Germany are interested in. They have developed a new method for creating the chemotactic movement in some of the most basic forms of life here on Earth. The team published their results in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences. 

The team undertook experiments with three different types of microbe, two of them were bacteria and one was an archaea – a single celled microorganism. Each one has the capability of surviving in the types of extreme environments that might be found in space. One of the microbes has the catchy name Bacillus Subtilis and is known to be able to survive temperatures up to 100°C while others can survive down to -2.5°C. Each of the microbes responded, moving toward the chemical L-serine. The positive response from the microbes gives scientists a great insight into searching for organisms that are living on other worlds in our Solar System. 

Image of a tardigrade, which is a microscopic species and one of the most well-known extremophiles, having been observed to survive some of the most extreme environments, including outer space. (Credit: Katexic Publications, unaltered, CC2.0)

The scientists used a microscope slide that contained two separate chambers that were separated by a thin membrane. The sample microbes were placed on one side with L-serine placed on the other. The concept is simple, if the microbes are alive, they will move toward the chemical. On a future space mission however, it may need some slight refinements, chiefly it would need to work without human interaction. 

It’s not the first time the chemical has been used to trigger movement in primative life and is thought to exist beyond the confines of Earth. Its presence beyond our home planet suggest that it may also be useful in helping the search for alien life. If L-serine does exist on other worlds in our Solar System then it may induce movement in microbes and may therefore help us to find that life. 

Source : Efforts to find alien life could be boosted by simple test that gets microbes moving

The post Efforts to Detect Alien Life Advanced by Simple Microbe Mobility Test appeared first on Universe Today.

New findings explain the Phoenix cluster's mysterious starburst. Data confirm the cluster is actively cooling and able to generate a huge amount of stellar fuel on its own.

A research team has developed two new autonomous navigation systems for cyborg insects to better navigate unknown, complex environments. The algorithms utilized only simple circuits that leveraged natural insect behaviors, like wall-following and climbing, to navigate challenging terrain, such as sandy, rock-strewn surfaces. For all difficulties of terrain tested, the cyborg insects were able to reach their target destination, demonstrating the potential of cyborg insects for surveillance, disaster-site exploration, and more.

A research team has developed two new autonomous navigation systems for cyborg insects to better navigate unknown, complex environments. The algorithms utilized only simple circuits that leveraged natural insect behaviors, like wall-following and climbing, to navigate challenging terrain, such as sandy, rock-strewn surfaces. For all difficulties of terrain tested, the cyborg insects were able to reach their target destination, demonstrating the potential of cyborg insects for surveillance, disaster-site exploration, and more.

DNA hydrogels are biocompatible drug delivery systems for targeted therapeutic interventions. Conventional DNA hydrogels, formed with many DNA nanostructure units, lead to increased preparation costs and design complexities.

Physicists and biomedical engineers unlocked new properties in capillary waves thanks to superhydrophobicity.