Unravelling the Swirling Chaos Around Supermassive Black Holes, Climate Effects over the Atlantic Ocean and the Threats to Koala Bears
Key Highlights :
This week, researchers have been busy unraveling the mysteries of the universe, from the swirling chaos around supermassive black holes to the effects of climate change on the Atlantic Ocean, and the threats facing koala bears.
The motion of 27 stars chaotically orbiting Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, can now be predicted with confidence for only 462 years before prediction confidence plummets. This is an astonishingly short period compared to the 12 million years that can be predicted for solar system objects. The reason for the shorter horizon at Sag A* is the fact that the area is populated with stellar-mass objects rather than the relatively light and portable planetary bodies of the solar system. In addition, the system around Sag A* is 30,000 times more chaotic due to the gravitational shoving that occurs when two or three stars approach each other closely, which affects all 27 stars in the cluster.
It is now widely accepted that changes in climate and weather patterns are human induced. This was recently demonstrated again by scientists at the University Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, who used a grand ensemble simulation technique combining the averages of 400 worldwide climate model simulations. According to the results of the simulation, human aerosol emissions suppressed hurricane activity in the Atlantic and produced a drier Sahel desert in West Africa in the years after World War II. As aerosol emissions decreased in the 1980s, hurricane activity and rainfall in the Sahel increased.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham in the U.K. are now developing what they're calling bio-nanoantennae, gold nanoparticles functionalized with electron acceptor-donor species. Remote electrical stimulation regulated electron transport between the acceptor-donor species selectively, and in experiments in vitro, this modulating of the electron transport triggered apoptosis (cell death) in glioblastoma cells, leaving healthy cells unharmed. This could potentially represent the first quantum therapeutic for glioblastoma.
Koala bears, one of the most beloved animals on the planet, have been facing a number of threats to their survival. Researchers at the University of Queensland School of Veterinary Science analyzed KoalaBASE data to determine the most frequent causes of koala bear death in southeast Queensland, Australia: cars (52%), chlamydia (34%) and dog attacks (14%). The study spanned a five-year period from 2009 to 2014. It is hoped that the findings of this study can help policymakers to create interventions to reduce koala deaths and help protect these beloved creatures.
In conclusion, this week researchers have been busy uncovering the mysteries of the universe, from the swirling chaos around supermassive black holes to the effects of climate change on the Atlantic Ocean, and the threats facing koala bears. Their findings are helping us to understand our universe better and to protect our beloved animals.
