Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured its first direct image of a planet in a remote solar system, and it's lighter than any seen before. All signs, the object's brightness, color, orbital distance, and precise location in the disk, closely match predictions for a young, cold planet roughly 0.3 times Jupiter’s mass (about 100 Earth masses, approximately Saturn's mass) and with a temperature near 47 °C. This discovery is groundbreaking: if confirmed, TWA 7 b would become the lightest-mass planet ever directly imaged, and notably, the first planet seen carving a gap in its natal debris disk, offering compelling observational evidence of planet–disk interactions.
Inhabiting Mars has long been a futuristic fantasy fueled by science fiction. Good news is that, there has been a significant progress through several experiments. The recent one is a new synthetic lichen system that uses fungi and bacteria to grow building materials directly from Martian soil, completely autonomously and without human help. How does it work? The diazotrophic cyanobacteria fix carbon dioxide and dinitrogen from the atmosphere and convert them into oxygen and organic nutrients to help the survival and growth of filamentous fungi and increase the concentration of carbonate ions by photosynthetic activities. The filamentous fungi bind metal ions onto fungal cell walls and serve as nucleation sites for biomineral production, as well as enhance the growth of cyanobacteria by providing them water, minerals, and carbon dioxide. Both components secrete biopolymers that enhance the adhesion and cohesion among Martian regolith and precipitated particles to create a consolidated body.
Researchers discovered an unusual thing happening to the Earth beneath Africa. Rhythmic pulses, like the constant beating of our heart, were found surging deep under the Afar region of Ethiopia, where three tectonic plates meet. This phenomenon is caused by molten magma pounding the planet's crust from below. It is gradually tearing the continent apart, forming a new ocean. This is followed by seafloor spreading to progress along the entire length of the rift over millions of years. This has profound implications for how scientists interpret surface volcanism, earthquake activity, and the process of continental breakup.
A new study indicates that a single dose of psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, could revolutionise the treatment of depression and anxiety in patients. The trial showed that one dose, combined with therapy, significantly reduced emotional distress, with effects lasting over two years. In general, the two-thirds of the patients who responded well in initial experiment reported lasting positive changes in their mindsets, emotional health and relationships. In a multi-site clinical trial with 233 participants, 37% of the 79 who received a single 25 mg dose of psilocybin, coupled with psychotherapy, went into remission from major depression.
