Important scientific discoveries and developments in various fields witnessed last May, whether they were new discoveries or the publication of results of scientific experiments that were studied over many years.
Over the past month, scientists in many fields have published new discoveries that have been worked on over decades; From the smallest living things to the largest things in the universe.
Since all these discoveries and mysteries have one thing in common; And it’s science, so humanity has a lot to celebrate.
Lava on Jupiter’s Moon
Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, has four moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Io.
Io is famous for its increased volcanic activities, unlike its other fellows, as a result of the tremendous gravitational pressure it is exposed to from Jupiter, the Sun and other moons in its cosmic neighborhood.
Because Io is geologically active, scientists believe that its constant surface remodeling is due to lava flows.
But according to a recent study published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, scientists discovered that the interaction between underground lava flows and sulfur dioxide may be enough to generate winds and blast sand particles around them, leading to the formation of sand dunes on the moon’s surface.
cancer light detector
Usually hundreds – even thousands – of “biopsies” are done daily for confirmed cases of skin cancer.
A “biopsy” is cutting a piece of tissue and sending it to a laboratory for analysis, then waiting for the results. This process, although easy, is painful and results in a lot of unnecessary anxiety in many cases.
Therefore, scientists were able to develop a faster and less invasive diagnostic device, while maintaining a similar level of efficacy.
This device uses millimeter waves, the same technology for screening at airports for example, to detect skin cancers.
When light strikes the skin, it creates inverse scattering patterns that vary depending on whether the tissue is benign or malignant.
The duration of this simple process is approximately 20 seconds, according to research published in the medical journal “Nature”, in addition to the possibility of differentiating between types of cancers as well.
Black hole in the Milky Way
This discovery is one of the most important scientific discoveries of space, as astronomers were able, using the “Event Horizon” telescope, to photograph the first black hole located in the middle of our galaxy known as the “Milky Way”.
Scientists named the hole “Sagittarius A”, which is about 26,000 light-years away from Earth.
Scientists described the hole as “a gravitational anchor around which our galaxy revolves.”
It is reported that scientists previously used the same telescope to photograph another black hole, about 55 million light-years away from our galaxy. The hole was called “Messier 87”.
Bees and sports operations
Several experiments conducted by a group of scientists confirmed that bees are not only able to perform simple arithmetic operations, but can also complete the tasks of equalizing numbers and distinguishing between odd and even quantities.
The study concluded that bees are able to accomplish these mathematical tasks despite having brains containing only about one million neurons, compared to 86 billion neurons in the human brain.
She noted that bees can accomplish seemingly complex tasks through relatively simple methods.
Volcanic icy water on the moon
Covers of frozen water ice are known to exist at the moon’s north and south poles, but until now it’s not clear how they got there.
A recent study, whose results were published in The Planetary Science Journal, indicates that a large part of the moon’s water ice may have accumulated as a result of volcanic activity that occurred between 2 and 4 billion years ago.
The study used data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to create models of water on the moon’s surface.
While impact delivery is still likely to be an important contributor to the overall presence of water, volcanic eruption may be comparable in terms of the total mass of water ice.
Genetic modifications to combat heart disease
Verve Therapeutics, a US company that specializes in trying to reduce the number of deaths from heart disease, has conducted human trials on patients who already have heart disease.
The goal of these experiments is to edit the genes responsible for the accumulation of bad cholesterol (LDL).
When successful, this genetic modification can then improve the conditions for inherited conditions that lead to an abnormal build-up of cholesterol. These modifications will not necessarily replace preventive changes in a patient’s lifestyle, but they may significantly reduce risk.
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States.
The latest data shared by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that nearly 700,000 deaths in 2020 were caused by heart-related diseases, a serious percentage that represents more than 20% of all deaths in America.