Scientists analyzed satellite images of 82 Chinese cities with a total population of almost 700 million people. 45 percent of the urban areas examined are in the subsidence zone. Researchers estimate that by 2120 the area of cities below sea level will triple. This will affect 55-128 million residents, jeopardize infrastructure and buildings, and increase … Read more
Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations have held several meetings to discuss a peace agreement between the countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin subsequently stated that the agreement was ready, but its signing was thwarted by Ukraine. The material states that no final texts were … Read more
Gamma-ray bursts are the brightest electromagnetic events that occur in the Universe, when a few seconds of the burst release as much energy as the Sun would emit in 10 billion years. The powerful explosion, BOAT or GRB 221009A, occurred approximately 2.4 billion light-years from Earth, in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, and lasted … Read more
An international team of scientists has discovered the first nitrogen-fixing organelle inside a eukaryotic cell that can replace fertilizers. The discovery described in the article published in the journal Science, refutes the established idea that only bacteria are capable of taking nitrogen from the atmosphere and converting it into a form suitable for life. The … Read more
The scientists used a mathematical tool called out-of-time-order correlators, or OTOCs, which are considered a measure of quantum chaos. OTOCs were invented 55 years ago to calculate how electrons in superconductors are affected by disturbances caused by impurities. This influence is similar to the “butterfly flapping effect” that mathematician Edward Lorenz used to illustrate chaos … Read more
An international team of astronomers has for the first time discovered a super-Earth that is tidally locked, meaning one of its hemispheres is forever facing its parent star. The discovery is reported in the article, published in The Astrophysical Journal. The researchers observed exoplanet LHS 3844b and analyzed data from the Spitzer Space Telescope to … Read more
Molecular biologists have identified a complex of proteins in cells that help control the pause or complete stop of DNA replication, ensuring the process runs smoothly. The process of DNA replication involves many protein complexes with highly specialized functions, including participation in the unwinding of the DNA double helix and the copying of both strands … Read more
According to the RNA world hypothesis, the first replicators (structures capable of reproduction) on Earth were RNA molecules capable of catalyzing their own reproduction without the help of protein enzymes. However, it was not clear how such a molecule could arise from precursors incapable of catalytic activity. It turns out that a ribozyme that can … Read more