Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
Mars was once struck by a huge impact that melted parts of it, and evidence has been found buried inside the Red Planet. Long-hidden rocky remains from monumental impacts in Mars’ earliest days have been discovered scattered as giant lumps throughout the planet’s mantle, offering unprecedented clues about the Red Planet’s deep interior and ancient past. These mantle fragments, some as large as 4 kilometers across, are relics from cataclysmic collisions about 4.5 billion years ago, when enormous rocky bodies, including potential protoplanets, bombarded the young Mars. The massive rocky lumps have survived billions of years thanks to Mars’ lack of tectonic plate activity; unlike Earth, whose constant crustal recycling erases many geological features, Mars' interior remains relatively unchanged, keeping its ancient secrets intact.
A team of researchers has developed an AI-powered stethoscope that can diagnose three serious heart conditions in just 15 seconds. This innovation could revolutionise cardiac care by providing rapid, early detection of heart failure, heart valve disease, and abnormal heart rhythms. The new device is a major upgrade to the traditional stethoscope, a medical tool that has been in use for over two centuries. Using artificial intelligence, the hi-tech stethoscope can analyse tiny variations in heartbeat and blood flow that the human ear cannot detect. It also performs a quick ECG at the same time, giving doctors a comprehensive, instant assessment.
A new pill called baxdrostat lowered stubbornly high blood pressure by nearly 10 mmHg in a major global trial, offering a powerful new option for patients at high risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Globally around 1.3 billion people have high blood pressure (hypertension), and in around half of cases the condition is uncontrolled or treatment resistant. These individuals face a much greater risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and early death. Blood pressure is strongly influenced by a hormone called aldosterone, which helps the kidneys regulate salt and water balance. Some people produce too much aldosterone, causing the body to hold onto salt and water. This aldosterone dysregulation pushes blood pressure up and makes it very difficult to control. Baxdrostat works by blocking aldosterone production, directly addressing this driver of high blood pressure (hypertension).
A mysterious 300,000-year-old skull discovered over 60 years ago may have been finally identified. Originally found attached to a wall in Petralona Cave in northern Greece in 1960, the Petralona skull has baffled scientists for long who could not identify its origins. Now, after using a precision technique called uranium-thorium dating, scientists claim that the skull might belong to a primitive, extinct hominid that lived alongside the Neanderthals. Once thought to be between 170,000 and 700,000 years old, the uranium-series analysis of the calcite coating on the skull found it to be at least 286,000 years old. The findings align with previous research suggesting that the individual may have lived in Europe alongside Neanderthals, but was part of the Homo heidelbergensis group, which is distinct from both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals.
