Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
Researchers have made a stunning new analysis of lunar dust as countries across the world prepare to send humans to live and work on the Moon. The team has found that lunar dust is less harmful to human lung cells than previously feared. They added that it is significantly less toxic than common Earth-based air pollution. The findings suggest that while lunar dust may cause some immediate irritation to the airways, it does not appear to pose a risk for chronic, long-term diseases like silicosis, which is caused by materials like silica dust. The analysis revealed that dust found on Earth had a greater inflammatory response and was more toxic to the cells than the lunar dust simulants.
In a recent study, biologists measured the weak glow coming from the human brain. Remarkably, they found that the intensity of this glow changes based on brain activity. The researchers believe this could lead to a new method of monitoring brain health, which they've called "photoencephalography". Though still in its early stages, this approach could one day provide non-invasive insights into brain function and well-being. Everything in the universe above absolute zero emits thermal radiation, including humans. However, ultra-weak photon emissions (UPEs) are different from this thermal radiation. UPEs occur in near-visible to visible wavelengths and result from electrons releasing photons as they lose energy, a natural part of metabolism. The team demonstrated that brain-derived UPE signals can be distinguished from background photon measures.
Researchers came across a shocking new insight into Earth's natural processes, revealing how an industrial waste product turned into solid rock in a span of just 35 years. Slag is a solid waste generated in the process of steel making, mainly composed of oxides of calcium, iron, silicon and magnesium. It was turned into solid rock, baffling the researchers as they previously assumed that the process would take thousands or millions of years. The study found these human-made materials being incorporated into natural systems and becoming lithified - essentially turning into rock - over the course of decades instead, that challenges the previous understanding of how rock is formed. Researchers revealed that this is an example of the microcosm, which highlights the fact that all the activity on Earth's surface will eventually end up in the geological record as a rock.
The researchers have found a ghost plume slowly under Oman, rising quietly for centuries. These plumes are columns of very hot rock that rise from deep inside the Earth, starting near the boundary between the core and the mantle, about 2,890 kilometres down. Mantle plumes are responsible for many of the volcanic tracks that extend across Earth’s surface. They play a fundamental role in the evolution of our planet. By analysing how Earth's plates moved in the past, the researchers concluded that the Dani plume likely arrived during the late Eocene period and even influenced how the Indian plate moved. Meanwhile, the Indian Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and parts of Afghanistan, as well as parts of the Indian Ocean floor.
