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Seismologists were mystified by a strange signal that persisted for nine days in 2023 – now its source has been identified as a standing wave caused by a landslide in Greenland

Researchers have discovered why lithium-ion batteries, which power most electronic devices, lose capacity overtime. The findings could enable the development of electric vehicles that go far longer without needing a charge.

A newly discovered mechanism for the flow and freezing of ice sheet meltwater could improve estimates of sea level rise around the globe. Researchers have found a new mechanism that explains the process of how impermeable horizontal ice layers are formed below the surface, a process critical for determining the contribution of ice sheet meltwater to sea level rise.

Scientists have uncovered the detailed structure of the aluminum oxide surface, a challenge that has baffled researchers for decades.

Researchers have developed a groundbreaking smartphone app that measures blood pressure using a smartphone's built-in sensors, eliminating the need for traditional cuffs. This technology can make blood pressure monitoring more accessible and convenient, especially for underserved populations. By allowing users to measure their blood pressure anytime and anywhere, the app could revolutionize cardiovascular care and improve early detection of hypertension.

Could invisibility cloaks become a reality? New research brings this science fiction concept a step closer, with a breakthrough software package that simulates how waves interact with complex materials.

Could invisibility cloaks become a reality? New research brings this science fiction concept a step closer, with a breakthrough software package that simulates how waves interact with complex materials.

Several fields of mathematics have developed in total isolation, using their own 'undecipherable' coded languages. Mathematicians now present 'big algebras,' a two-way mathematical 'dictionary' between symmetry, algebra, and geometry, that could strengthen the connection between the distant worlds of quantum physics and number theory.

A groundbreaking study takes advantage of advanced spectroscopic methods and theory to shed light on the intricate processes involved in converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable chemicals like ethylene and ethanol. This research holds significant promise for advancing sustainable practices in the chemical industry.

Extreme conditions prevail inside stars and planets. The pressure reaches millions of bars, and it can be several million degrees hot. Sophisticated methods make it possible to create such states of matter in the laboratory -- albeit only for the blink of an eye and in a tiny volume. So far, this has required the world's most powerful lasers, and the opportunities for experiments are correspondingly rare. A research team has now succeeded in creating and observing extreme conditions with a much smaller laser.

Extreme conditions prevail inside stars and planets. The pressure reaches millions of bars, and it can be several million degrees hot. Sophisticated methods make it possible to create such states of matter in the laboratory -- albeit only for the blink of an eye and in a tiny volume. So far, this has required the world's most powerful lasers, and the opportunities for experiments are correspondingly rare. A research team has now succeeded in creating and observing extreme conditions with a much smaller laser.

A new study reveals how different synthesis methods can profoundly impact the structure and function of high entropy oxides, a class of materials with applications in everyday electronic devices.

A new study reveals how different synthesis methods can profoundly impact the structure and function of high entropy oxides, a class of materials with applications in everyday electronic devices.

Astronomers have directed NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to examine the outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy. Scientists call this region the Extreme Outer Galaxy due to its location more than 58,000 light-years away from the Galactic Center. (For comparison, Earth is approximately 26,000 light-years from the center.)

Researchers mined the molecular foundations of cancer and uncovered a new reason chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T cell therapy) fails in some patients. This discovery has fueled new strategies that incorporate antibodies and gene editing to improve the outcome of this breakthrough treatment for patients.

Researchers have been able to initiate a controlled movement in the very heart of an atom. They caused the atomic nucleus to interact with one of the electrons in the outermost shells of the atom. This electron could be manipulated and read out through the needle of a scanning tunneling microscope. The research offers prospects for storing quantum information inside the nucleus, where it is safe from external disturbances.

Researchers have been able to initiate a controlled movement in the very heart of an atom. They caused the atomic nucleus to interact with one of the electrons in the outermost shells of the atom. This electron could be manipulated and read out through the needle of a scanning tunneling microscope. The research offers prospects for storing quantum information inside the nucleus, where it is safe from external disturbances.

A research team has made a major discovery by designing molecules that could revolutionize computing.

An area of missing Antarctic sea ice twice the size of Texas adds to concerns that the ice has seen a lasting “regime shift”, with consequences for ecosystems and global ocean circulation

A new book looks at the latest scientific insights versus a key question in astronomy and space science.

It’s tough to answer a scientific question, with a just data point of one. How special are we, and how common (or rare) is the story of how life arose on the Earth in the grander drama of the cosmos?

A new book out this week entitled Is Earth Exceptional? The Quest for Cosmic Life by Mario Livio and Jack Szostak looks at the scientific state of answering this key question. The book offers a sweeping view of the nascent science of astrobiology, a multi-disciplinary field melding biology, chemistry, astronomy and more.

Astrophysicist Mario Livio is also the author of Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein, Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists that Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe and The Equation That Couldn’t be Solved: How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry.

Co-author and Nobel laureate Jack Szostak worked on the Human Genome Project and was the co-recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine for discovering how telomeres defend chromosomes.

The basic premise of the book looks at the riddle of how the basic building blocks of life—from amino acids, RNA and the first cells—emerged on Earth. Could the same processes by common elsewhere?

An artist’s conception, of an Earth analog. Credit: NASA

Remember Rare Earth from about 20 years back? That book definitely made ripples in the fledgling field of astrobiology, by positing that a series of rare circumstances led to life to arise on the Earth. Is Earth Exceptional? Updates the science on this question and debate a generation later.

Exceptional Earth

The book doesn’t shy away from some pretty extensive organic chemistry in the first half. It’s rather tantalizing to researchers that simple life came into existence almost as soon as the conditions were ready for it. Was this a fluke, or a cosmic imperative? The chemistry of primordial life is a big mystery. Is Earth Exceptional looks at the latest findings, and what breakthroughs may be imminent in the field of astrobiology.

We live in an amazing time, a golden age of astronomy that may give us hard answers to these questions in our lifetimes. SETI searches, exoplanet surveys, and space telescopes such as TESS, JWST and the Nancy Grace Roman space telescope (set to launch in 2027) could bare fruit this century. The book points out that even a null result—however disappointing—could still be profound.

JWST’s direct views of an exoplanet. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/Alyssa Pagan(STScI)

The answer could come from missions to worlds in our own solar system searching for signs of life past or present on Mars, Europa or Titan. The book deals with prospects for life on worlds in our solar system, and implications of such a discovery. Farther afield, detections of signs in exoplanet spectra could also herald the detection of exobiology on distant worlds.

An artist’s conception of ‘Orbilander’ on the surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Credit: NASA

For example, we now have the ability to see what’s known as the Vegetation Red Edge. This would be a very strong hint that photosynthesis was afoot via chlorophyll. This is a molecule that—as far as we know—only arises due to life.

A conceptualization of Earth’s ‘Red Edge’ due to vegetation. Credit: NASA

All amazing thoughts to consider, as you read Is Earth Special and ponder the state of modern astrobiology.

The post Book Review: Is Earth Exceptional? appeared first on Universe Today.