Lifeboat Foundation

What secrets can Pluto’s moon, Charon, reveal about the formation and evolution of planetary bodies throughout the solar system? This is what a recent study published in Nature Communications hopes to address as an international team of researchers led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to conduct the first-time detection of hydrogen peroxide and carbon dioxide on Charon’s surface, which adds further intrigue to this mysterious moon, along with complementing previous discoveries of water ice, ammonia-bearing species, and organic materials, the last of which scientists hypothesize could explain Charon’s gray and red surface colors.

“The advanced observational capabilities of Webb enabled our team to explore the light scattered from Charon’s surface at longer wavelengths than what was previously possible, expanding our understanding of the complexity of this fascinating object,” said Dr. Ian Wong, who is a staff scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute and a co-author on the study.

Detecting hydrogen peroxide is significant since it forms from the broken-up oxygen and hydrogen atoms after water ice is exposed to cosmic rays, solar wind, or solar ultraviolet light. This indicates that the Sun’s activity influences surface processes so far away, with Charon being approximately 3.7 billion miles from the Sun. The researchers determined that Charon’s carbon dioxide serves as a light coating on Charon’s water-ice heavy surface. While the surface of Charon was studied in-depth from NASA’s New Horizons mission in 2015, these new findings provide greater understanding of the physics-based processes responsible for Charon’s unique surface features.

Battery performance is heavily influenced by the non-uniformity and failure of individual electrode particles. Understanding the reaction mechanisms and failure modes at nanoscale level is key to advancing battery technologies and extending their lifespan. However, capturing real-time electrochemical evolution at this scale remains challenging due to the limitations of existing sensing methods, which lack the necessary spatial resolution and sensitivity.

Vanderbilt University researchers, led by alumnus Bryan Gitschlag, have uncovered groundbreaking insights into the evolution of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). In their paper in Nature Communications titled “Multiple distinct evolutionary mechanisms govern the dynamics of selfish mitochondrial genomes in Caenorhabditis elegans,” the team reveals how selfish mtDNA, which can reduce the fitness of its host, manages to persist within cells through aggressive competition or by avoiding traditional selection pressures. The study combines mathematical models and experiments to explain the coexistence of selfish and cooperative mtDNA within the cell, offering new insights into the complex evolutionary dynamics of these essential cellular components.

Gitschlag, an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, conducted the research while in the lab of Maulik Patel, assistant professor of biological sciences. He is now a postdoctoral researcher at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in David McCandlish’s lab. Gitschlag collaborated closely with fellow Patel Lab members, including James Held, a recent PhD graduate, and Claudia Pereira, a former staff member of the lab.

Long known as a messenger within cells, RNA is increasingly seen as life’s molecular communication system — even between organisms widely separated by evolution.

How do the characteristics of Neptune-like exoplanets, also known as exo-Neptunes, differ from each other? This is what a recent study published in Astronomy and Astrophysics hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated a new classification known as the “Neptunian Ridge”. This complements previous classifications of “Neptunian Desert” and “Neptunian Savannah”, with the former identifying exo-Neptunes that are rare in number but orbit very close to their parent stars while the “Neptune Savannah” describes exo-Neptunes that orbit much farther out. This study holds the potential to help astronomers better understand the formation and evolution of exo-Neptunes throughout the cosmos.

For the study, the researchers used confirmed and candidate exoplanets that comprise the Kepler DR25 catalog to ascertain the characteristic variations in exo-Neptunes while providing additional insights into the formation and evolution of exo-Neptunes, as well. In the end, they determined that this “Neptunian Ridge” exists as a middle-ground between the “Neptunian Desert” and “Neptunian Savannah”, with the former hypothesized to have formed from moving inward in their system from high-eccentricity tidal migration and the latter forming from disk-driven migration, which occurs right after planetary formation.

“Our work to observe this new structure in space is highly significant in helping us map the exoplanet landscape,” said Dr. David Armstrong, who is an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Warwick and a co-author on the study. “As scientists, we’re always striving to understand why planets are in the condition they are in, and how they ended up where they are. The discovery of the Neptunian ridge helps answer these questions, unveiling part of the geography of exoplanets out there, and is a hugely exciting discovery.”

For the past few years, a series of controversies have rocked the well-established field of cosmology. In a nutshell, the predictions of the standard model of the universe appear to be at odds with some recent observations.

There are heated debates about whether these observations are biased, or whether the cosmological model, which predicts the structure and evolution of the entire universe, may need a rethink. Some even claim that cosmology is in crisis. Right now, we do not know which side will win. But excitingly, we are on the brink of finding that out.

Continue reading “Cosmology Is at a Tipping Point—We May Be on the Verge of Discovering New Physics” »

Can an exoplanet’s atmosphere exhibit east-west asymmetry, meaning its two edges are vastly different from each other? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy hopes to address as an international team of researchers led by the University of Arizona investigated the atmosphere of WASP-107 b, which is a Jupiter-sized exoplanet located approximately 211 light-years from Earth. This study holds the potential to help astronomers better understand the formation and evolution of exoplanets and how we can hopefully find Earth-like exoplanets, as well.

“This is the first time the east-west asymmetry of any exoplanet has ever been observed as it transits its star, from space,” said Matthew Murphy, who is a graduate student at the University of Arizona Steward Observatory and lead author of the study. “I think observations made from space have a lot of different advantages versus observations that are made from the ground.”

For the study, the researchers used NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe the atmosphere of WASP-107 b, which is tidally locked to its parent star, meaning one side is always facing its parent star, much like how our Moon always has one side facing the Earth. This also makes studying an exoplanet’s atmosphere tricky since astronomers can only observe the back side of the exoplanet and analyzing the starlight passing through its atmosphere. However, with the help of novel methods, the researchers were able to analyze data obtained from the front side of WASP-107 b, thus confirming its atmospheric east-west asymmetry. Additionally, WASP-107 b also exhibits low density and low gravity, resulting in its atmosphere being inflated.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a vital biological molecule that plays a significant role in the genetics of organisms and is essential to the origin and evolution of life. Structurally similar to DNA, RNA carries out various biological functions, largely determined by its spatial conformation, i.e. the way the molecule folds in on itself.

Now, a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) describes for the first time how the process of RNA folding at low temperatures may open up a novel perspective on primordial biochemistry and the evolution of life on the planet.

The study is led by Professor Fèlix Ritort, from the Faculty of Physics and the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IN2UB) of the University of Barcelona, and is also signed by UB experts Paolo Rissone, Aurélien Severino, and Isabel Pastor.

Nobel Laureate Roger Penrose joins Brian Greene to explore some of his most iconic insights into the nature of time, black holes, and cosmological evolution.

Moderator: Brian Greene.
Participant: Sir Roger Penrose.

Continue reading “Roger Penrose: Time, Black Holes, and the Cosmos” »