The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for the invention of machine learning using artificial neural networks
The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Hopfield of Princeton University and Geoffrey Hinton of the University of Toronto “for their fundamental discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning using artificial neural networks.” Geoffrey Hinton, the 2024 Nobel laureate in Physics, expressed concerns about his own discoveries and inventions that made machine learning possible using artificial neural networks.
The Erigone family of asteroids are water-rich space rocks that offer a window into the solar system’s past
A family of primitive asteroids is giving astronomers a window into the past as they seek to unravel the history of these small space rocks that are believed to have once brought water to Earth.
Asteroids still pose a danger to our planet. Earth scientists are actively working on this problem
NASA’s new NEO Surveyor spacecraft will search for the hardest-to-find asteroids and comets that could pose a threat to our planet, making it the agency’s first space telescope designed specifically for planetary defense. The impact craters that scar the Earth’s surface are evidence of the enormous impact asteroids have had on the history and development of our planet.
Radioactive tritium from Fukushima found near the Southern Kuril Islands
Laboratory analyses of the first water samples obtained during the expedition of the research vessel Akademik Oparin showed elevated tritium levels in the main branch of the Kuroshio Current, which was to be expected based on the current pattern in the region, as well as elevated tritium levels in the area of the South Kuril Islands. Therefore, the goal of the new expedition is a more thorough study of the waters of the Kuril Islands and the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, which is the most important fishing zone in Russia, the press service of the V. I. Ilychev Pacific Oceanological Institute (TOI) of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences told TASS.
Increased number of extreme forest fires due to climate change has become a global problem
Energetically extreme fires have a huge impact on the Earth system, releasing huge plumes of smoke into the atmosphere comparable to volcanic eruptions. They release vast stores of carbon and cause severe damage to ecosystems and societies, sometimes destroying entire cities or suburbs. A new study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution has tracked the rapid increase in energetically extreme wildfires across the planet over the past two decades.
Jet fuel and fires are new global air pollutants
Wildfires in Canada have emitted more CO2 than almost all of the world’s countries combined in a year. They have released 647 million tons of carbon atoms into the atmosphere, equivalent to 2.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide. Ultrafine particles from jet fuel pose a health risk.
Invasive house mice eat wandering albatrosses alive in southern South Africa
Marion Island’s wandering albatrosses can’t protect themselves from an invasive mouse population that’s eating the birds alive, but conservationists say a rodenticide ‘bomb’ could save them. Invasive mice are eating albatrosses alive on a remote Indian Ocean island, so conservationists have come up with an explosive solution: ‘mouse bombing’.
Earthquakes continue to rage along the Pacific coast
A strong earthquake occurred off the coast of Sakhalin on August 10, a powerful earthquake occurred off the coast of Japan on August 8, and an earthquake occurred off the coast of the Southern Kuril Islands on July 30. A strong earthquake occurred in Taiwan on April 3, which was the most powerful on the island in the last 25 years.
The Arctic and Antarctica continue to melt rapidly, revealing ancient things hidden beneath the ice
The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth. Ice and snow are melting, and Arctic sea ice is thinning and retreating. This means that algae living on the bottom of the sea ice are getting more sunlight, leading to an annual summer bloom once there is enough light. Erebus, located on Antarctica’s Ross Island (separated from the mainland by McMurdo Sound), is the southernmost active volcano on Earth; the second-tallest on the sixth continent, at 3,794 metres.
The mortality rate in megacities from heat waves is 46% higher than in villages. By 2050, this figure will increase
A person who is 40 today will be about 70 years old in 2050. The world is undergoing unprecedented and inexorable change: scientists predict that by 2050, more than 20% of the world’s population will be over 60. This demographic shift coincides with another major change: the warming of the Earth due to human-caused climate change.
Global warming or Ice Age? Dangerous games of carbon dioxide
According to research by experts from the University of Colorado Boulder, more and more fresh water has been entering the Arctic Ocean over the past two decades. If this trend continues, the freshening of the North Atlantic could disrupt ocean currents, the authors of the study fear. During the last ice age, the Earth experienced the highest increase in CO2: 14 parts per million in just 55 years. Deep beneath the ice of Antarctica, a giant river system has been discovered that existed 40 million years ago.
Extreme heat waves cause deadly heat stress and fires around the world
Unbearable temperatures exceeding 40° and 50° are increasingly observed in many parts of the world, paralyzing society and creating a serious threat to the health and well-being of people. One of the main consequences of global warming is extreme weather events, which include, in particular, periods of abnormally high temperatures in winter, heat waves in summer. They can cause severe heat stress for the human body, against which background already existing diseases are most often exacerbated.
Tropical rains have moved north and deadly thunderstorms have become more frequent
Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have found that carbon dioxide emissions will cause tropical rains to shift north in the coming decades. This will have a profound impact on agriculture and the economy of the Earth’s equatorial belt. Eastern China has seen heavy rains that have caused significant water levels in the Yangtze and other rivers, forcing the evacuation of nearly a quarter of a million people. In 2022, lightning strikes across India killed nearly 3,000 people. In Central America, continuous rainfall has killed at least 27 people in landslides and floods over the past week.
Magnetic field and sea
German zoologists have found that bottlenose dolphins are as good as sharks and other fish in their ability to sense very weak electric fields, which allows these cetaceans to use the Earth’s magnetic field for orientation in space. Underwater compasses have recorded disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field deep under water.
Scientists have linked the development of life with a magnetic field and concluded about magnetic fields on other planets
The weakening of the Earth’s magnetic field has led to a dramatic acceleration in the evolution of multicellular life. Fossil evidence has been found in Brazil and South Africa that the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field was about 30 times weaker than today’s values at the end of the Ediacaran period, about 590 to 560 million years ago. One of the defining features of the Earth is its magnetic field. It forms a protective shield against high-energy particles ejected by the Sun, and thus may have provided a safer place for life to grow into the complex array of organisms we see today.
Scientists have found that life on our planet could not have appeared without the Earth’s magnetic field
The movement of the iron core generates electricity, which results in a magnetic orientation of the entire planet. Scientists can trace the magnetic history of our planet through cooled lava. Because the planet’s magnetism deflects solar radiation, it allows life to exist on Earth. In fact, throughout the history of our planet, the poles have even changed their position several times, and the magnetic field strength has increased and decreased. The rocks indicate that Earth had a strong magnetic field 3.7 billion years ago, but scientists are not sure where the field might have come from. Magnetized boulders have also been discovered on the Moon.
Magnetic Universe. New discoveries – from everyday use to neutron stars
Scientists smashed atom against atom and unleashed a magnetic monster. A groundbreaking experiment has created a field so strong it could eclipse the grip of a neutron star. Rotating magnets can create levitation that is almost impossible to physics. For the first time, physicists had a clear understanding of how individual atoms behave like waves.
Scientists have proven: there are asteroids – piles of rubble that carry water, carbon and amino acids
Scientists have proven that there are asteroids that are resistant to external influences. This means that the tested methods are not suitable for protecting the Earth from such objects. Scientists have discovered possible “seeds of life” in the matter of asteroids: The idea that life originated outside our solar system has been around for a very long time, and now analysis of new asteroid samples is providing evidence for this “panspermia” theory.
Space debris threatens not only the further exploration of outer space, but also directly the inhabitants of the Earth
NASA confirms that the object that crashed into a house in Florida was indeed space debris from the ISS. Satellites are burning up in the upper atmosphere – and we still don’t know what impact this will have on the Earth’s climate. Space pollution threatens the Earth’s magnetosphere; the deposition of highly conductive materials can reduce the planet’s protective capabilities, an expert says.
Global warming will allow species of flora and fauna to colonize previously uncharacteristic territories
In Russia, it was revealed that the fauna of Siberia is becoming more southern due to climate change. Global warming will allow tropical species from the Atlantic to colonize the Mediterranean Sea. Global warming is making some species of marine animals more susceptible to the spread of diseases such as avian influenza due to the animals congregating in breeding and feeding areas or changing migration patterns. Some researchers are concerned that current rates of warming could make oceans as warm and acidic as they were during the end of the Permian extinction, 250 million years ago, when up to 90 percent of marine species died out.
Microplastics have been found in the bodies of people, animals and in various parts of the world – from snow in the distant Arctic to the clouds of Mount Fuji
Researchers are already finding microplastics in all environments and organisms. There is still no clear opinion about the dangers of micro- (particles less than 5 mm) and nanoparticles (less than 100 nm) plastic to humans and to the terrestrial biota in general. Apparently, common plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene are harmless in themselves. However, additives added by manufacturers to plastics to improve their performance properties and which are secret know-how to society and regulatory authorities can cause serious harm to the environment. And most importantly, plastic particles are adsorbents and carriers of chemical and bacterial pollution.
Global warming tipping point could trigger ice age
Temperatures in Western Europe could fall by 5 to 10 degrees Celsius over the course of the century. While this may sound good in an era of rising temperatures around the world, such a climate event would have devastating consequences for agriculture. As one climate scientist told Inside Climate News, it would be like “trying to grow potatoes in Northern Norway.” According to Slate, other places (such as Norway) will simply become too cold for human habitation.
In the Russian city of Orsk on April 5, a dam broke, 1,121 people were evacuated, including 331 children
Water continues to arrive in Orsk. At the moment, about 600 houses on nine streets are flooded. Earlier, the Orsk mayor’s office reported that a dam that protected the city from the Ural River had broken. There is a massive evacuation of people from the Old City, where several villages are located that fell into the flood zone. Temporary accommodation centers have been prepared for those evacuated from the flooded area. The mayor’s office clarified that the protective dam in the area of Orenburgskaya Street broke through. 4,258 houses and 10,987 people fall into the flood zone. The city has prepared temporary accommodation centers for 6.5 thousand places, housing 235 people, including 73 children.
New natural sources of greenhouse gases and associated climate control technologies
Layers of methane are locked under permafrost in Arctic regions, but if they were released it could cause problems for the rest of the world. Researchers also discovered intense methane emissions deep in the Baltic Sea. Methane can be a real problem for the environment. The greenhouse gas, made up of carbon and hydrogen and about 80 percent more potent than carbon dioxide, occurs naturally in sedimentary layers of the seafloor and is responsible for about 30 percent of global temperature rise.
Heavy hydrogen used in nuclear energy and water turned out to be older than Earth
In protoplanetary disks, water is virtually omnipresent. Recent studies of the water content of early planetary systems like ours show that water is an abundant and ubiquitous molecule, originally synthesized on the surface of tiny grains of interstellar dust by hydrogenation of frozen oxygen, reports the journal Elements. In the molecular cloud from which a new planetary system will emerge, oxygen attaches and freezes to the dust grains it encounters. Once a hydrogen molecule intersects with this frozen oxygen, water ice is formed.
In 18% of the regions of the planet Earth, the circulation of fresh water has been significantly disrupted as a result of human activity
A new study by an international team of scientists has concluded that aquifer depletion is affecting countries around the world and can threaten both the stability of local ecosystems and water security, with groundwater pumping causing the entire planet to tilt. Also, an international team of hydrologists and climatologists comprehensively studied the fresh water cycle on Earth and came to the conclusion that in 18% of the planet’s regions, the circulation of fresh water between rivers, ponds, lakes, other bodies of water and other environments has been significantly disrupted as a result of human activity.
Melting permafrost could release nuclear waste and pathogens
A team of scientists has discovered that thawing permafrost could release a dangerous legacy of the Cold War – nuclear waste that is still radioactive. In addition, the release of pathogenic microorganisms is possible, reports Nature Climate Change. Melting Arctic glaciers could release radioactive waste from Cold War-era nuclear submarines and reactors. The Arctic’s nine million square miles of ice have been accumulating for more than a million years a variety of substances that could be released into the air and water due to climate change.
The threat of nuclear war looms over humanity
Russia and China may overtake the United States in the number of nuclear weapons. This was stated by the head of the Strategic Command of the US Armed Forces, Air Force General Anthony Cotton. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with participants of the “Everything for Victory” forum in Tula, said that Russian strategic nuclear forces have been almost completely updated. Moreover, their marine component is almost 100%.
In Haiti, almost four thousand prisoners escaped from prison
According to Agence France-Presse, of the approximately 3.8 thousand prisoners held in the prison before the attack, about a hundred remain in prison at present. Armed men attacked the national prison in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, where unrest was taking place, and released an unknown number of prisoners. Ten people died in a mass escape of prisoners from Haiti’s largest prison.
Anomalous red snow fell in the Primorsky Territory
Specialists of the Scientific Center for Marine Biology named after. A.V. Zhirmunsky Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences analyzed samples and found that tens of thousands of crustaceans – representatives of zooplankton of the genera Neocalanus, Pseudocalanus, Metridia and Microcalanus – were frozen into the ice. It turned out that due to the presence of carotenoid pigments in the bodies of the crustaceans, the water turned red. The phenomenon was recorded during monitoring in the area of the Vostok Marine Biological Station in the bay of the same name. The discovered species of copepods form the basis of the zooplankton population in the bay in winter and are typical inhabitants of its open deep-sea areas, said specialists from the National Scientific Center for Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
More than 100 world leaders have pledged to end deforestation by 2030
More than 100 world leaders have pledged to end deforestation by 2030 in the first major deal at the Glasgow climate summit. Countries that supported the decision include Brazil, Russia, Canada, Colombia, the US, the UK and Indonesia. It is noted that in total these countries account for about 85% of the world’s forests. The agreement includes the allocation of $20 billion, part of which will be used to restore already damaged forest areas and fight forest fires. The governments of 28 countries also pledge to stop deforestation for agricultural production, in particular for the production of palm oil, cocoa and soybeans.
Carbonaceous materials from an asteroid, chelates and soda lakes: scientists are closer to understanding the origin of life
The research results may explain how life arose on Earth and can also be applied to other planets and bodies in the solar system and to exoplanets.
Cases of attacks by tigers and bears on livestock and people in the Primorsky Territory have become more frequent
Tiger attacks on livestock have become more frequent in the Primorsky Territory. Specialists from the Amur Tiger Center are confident that the problem is not related to a lack of food, but to the negligence and carelessness of local residents. In their opinion, people themselves create favorable conditions for attacks by predators. But in any case, the center provides compensation to the owners of animals that died from the paws of a tiger.
With the help of a new invention, people will be able to telepathically communicate with electronic devices
The first person received an implant from Neuralink and is recovering well from surgery. According to Musk, the first data obtained on the operation of the device show promising results. Musk later added that Neuralink’s new device is called Telepathy. According to him, it gives the owner the ability to control a smartphone or computer using the power of thought and, first of all, is created for people who have lost the ability to use their limbs. “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a typist or an auction host. That’s the goal,” Musk added.
Russian station “Vostok” in Antarctica explores Lake Vostok
Lake Vostok was the last major geographical discovery on Earth, and it was made by Russia. The existence of the lake under four kilometers of ice was proven in 1994. In February 2012, for the first time in human history, as a result of drilling into the ice sheet, Russian scientists reached the surface of the subglacial Lake Vostok at a depth of 3769.3 meters. The Russian research station “Vostok” is one of the most modern and well-equipped in Antarctica, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the ceremony of putting into trial operation a new wintering complex.
Groundwater reserves are catastrophically declining
Groundwater supplies are being depleted in aquifers around the world, a new study has found, with the rate of decline accelerating over the past four decades in nearly a third of the aquifers studied. Rapid declines in water levels are most common in aquifers beneath cropland in drier regions, the largest analysis of groundwater trends shows.
75% of the world’s industrial fishing vessels are not trackable
An innovative study by Sentinel-1 and AI (European Space Agency) combining satellite data and artificial intelligence has shed light on the number of ships, wind turbines and oil platforms at sea. Shockingly, the study shows that about 75% of the world’s industrial fishing vessels were previously hidden from publicly available tracking systems. The study, published recently in the journal Nature, was conducted by Global Fishing Watch, an organization that seeks to improve ocean governance through increased transparency of human activity at sea.
The largest living organism on Earth is the mycelium of the honey fungus, its age is more than 2.5 thousand years
The honey mushroom is recognized as the largest living organism in the world. Or rather, not he himself, but his mycelium, which amazes even experienced mushroom pickers and biologists with its parameters. This giant creature grows in the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon (USA). Its territory covers about 1,000 hectares; about 1,600 football fields could fit on it. The weight of the mycelium Humongous Fungus subspecies Armillaria ostoyae exceeds 600 tons, and its age is more than 2500 years.
The oldest forests on Earth are over 32 million years old
Kelp forests arose on the floor of the Pacific Ocean at least 32 million years ago, not 14-15 million years ago as previously thought. This calls into question the prevailing ideas about the evolution of their inhabitants, the press service of the University of California at Berkeley reported. Researchers have found that these important oceanic ecosystems appeared in the Pacific Ocean at the beginning of the Oligocene era, over 32 million years ago. The largest kelp forests are found in cold seas (Arctic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Nordic Seas), but in 2007 kelp forests were also discovered in tropical waters near Ecuador.
Pakistan-India relations are united by air pollution
Delhi and Lahore have been named the most polluted cities in the world. Pakistani Lahore was once called the “city of gardens,” but now most of the trees in this city have been cut down, and in recent decades alone it has lost about 75% of its green spaces. Today, the population of Lahore is more than 13 million people, and the city itself has become one of the most polluted in the world. Scientists note that it will soon become unsuitable for life.
Getting closer to Jurassic Park – Harvard scientists clone mammoths
The woolly mammoth shares 99.6% of its DNA with the Asian elephant, leading scientists to believe they are well on their way to achieving their goal. “In the minds of many, this animal has disappeared forever. But not in the minds of our scientists and not in the laboratories of our company. We are already in the process of resurrecting the woolly mammoth. Our teams have collected viable DNA samples and are editing genes that will allow this remarkable megafauna to roam the Arctic again.” The long-extinct woolly mammoth will return from oblivion by 2027, according to Colossal, a biotech company actively working on the reincarnation of the ancient beast.
Dagestan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan announced an environmental disaster in the Caspian Sea
The water level in the Caspian Sea is rapidly decreasing; since 1996, the water level in the Caspian Sea has dropped by almost three meters. Fishing is rapidly declining, ships cannot enter the port due to shallowing. Some scientists call the situation with the Caspian shallowing catastrophic. The water level has dropped so much that shipping in the port of Makhachkala is increasingly stopped after a storm. And these days the ships are in the roadstead near Makhachkala because they cannot enter the port – the canals are covered with sand.
A wall of 17 artificial islands in the Pacific Ocean with a total length of 24 kilometers will be built around the capital of Indonesia
Jakarta, a metropolis of 10 million, is recognized as the most sinking city in the world. Every year the capital drops by 25 centimeters, and floods due to tides rise by 200 centimeters. Floods are already costing the state dearly – the disaster takes tens of billions of dollars from the government every year. According to forecasts, in the next 10 years there will be even more flooding, and by 2050 a third of the city risks being under water.
Scientists have grown a mini-biocomputer from human stem cells – Brainoware
Bioengineers from Indiana University in the US have combined lab-grown human brain tissue with microelectrodes. The scientists called their creation Brainoware. The biocomputer is in its early stages of development, but can already perform complex tasks such as voice recognition. Lead researcher Dr Feng Guo hopes his lighter-than-usual software will help advance artificial intelligence technology. This could also mean that AI hardware uses much less power than using silicon chips alone.
The UN and UNESCO drew attention to the problems of artificial intelligence
“The existential risk does not come from a robot-created Armageddon that will lead to our demise. The real existential risk is that we will all go crazy because we can’t believe what we see, hear or read… The fact that we have raised this conversation on a global level gives me great hope. The media has a very important role to play and it must reclaim its role as the “fourth estate” and we need it now more than ever. There are many ways to fact check the news, and that is what serious media organizations should be doing,” said Carme Artigas, co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Body.
Scientists are really into animal cloning
Cloning is a reality of our time; similar scientific activities are carried out all over the world; most often, pets are cloned. For example, to date, ViaGen Pets has produced more than a thousand completely healthy individuals of various species. However, although the cloned animals are raised in the United States, the company ships cloned pets to other countries.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Has Its Own Flora and Fauna
Scientists have discovered more than 40 species of animals living in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of man-made debris in the North Pacific Ocean. In size it is more than 900 thousand square meters. km.
Scientists are discovering new species of animals on Earth
Experts have yet to discover several hundred more species of mammals. In addition, 5,000 viruses unknown to science were discovered in the ocean, 17 new species of millipedes in the Appalachians, a new species of turtle on the Galapagos Islands, and a new species of jellyfish in the depths of the bay near California.
Scientists from Shanghai are developing a method for growing mammalian offspring from a single egg
It is still very difficult to carry out the “virgin fertilization” procedure on a large scale in practice – it is impossible to edit with equal efficiency all the regions in the genome responsible for suppressing part of the genome, that is, for genomic imprinting. There is a high probability that at least one of them will not be “corrected” – and this immediately reduces the viability of the resulting new organism.
New data discovered for mosquito control
New landmarks for mosquitoes to find victims, respond to insecticides, and ways to combat malaria have been established.