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Recently, humankind has been revealed as a lot more insignificant than other forms of life, but at the same time, extremely dominant and with an incredible impact in the grand scheme of things. According to a new study, which the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences recently published, the 7.6 billion people on Earth represent only 0.01% of all living things on the planet. However, since our apparition, the human race has caused the extinction of 83% of all wild mammals and 50% of all plants. At the same time, the livestock that humans own is abundant.

It’s interesting that this new study is the first of its kind to assess the weight of every class of living creatures. At the same time, it seems that it has managed to turn certain assumptions on their heads. It seems that while bacteria are abundant on the planet, 13%, plants are the most common form of life, 82% of everything. What remains, all of the other creatures including fungi, animals and fish represent only 5% of all living things. Also, the majority of life is land-based, with ocean life representing just 1% of all biomass.

Humans are a minority, but an impactful one

According to said Professor Ron Milo, the leader of this interesting study, he was very surprised that nobody had done such an assessment before. These results should offer people a brand-new perspective regarding the role they play on Earth. It’s also interesting that this huge influence that humans have on the planet has prompted experts to declare a new geological era: the Anthropocene.

Proof of this stand the bones of domestic chicken that exist everywhere on the planet. It seems that farmed poultry represents 70% of all birds on Earth. About 60% of all mammals on the planet are livestock, while 36% are human and only 4% are wild animals.

Image source: wikimedia

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Sometimes, it’s better to stop for a minute and think about the relationships that we, as humans, have with other environments. Like the ocean for example. A few millennia after and we are still to discover more than 5% of the ocean’s well-kept secrets. This is probably why, as days go by, experts continue to discover some of the most bizarre and unexpected creatures that somehow, get close enough to us to be seen. A very good example is the recently-discovered prehistoric shark with a snake head and a lot of teeth that scientists found swimming off the coast of Portugal.

It seems that this serpentine creature with crazy teeth, apart from being the stuff of nightmares, is actually a frilled shark. In fact, it is one of the oldest and creepiest creatures that are still living on this planet. This shark is so special that it survived what his contemporaries, like the T. rex and triceratops, did not. Ages and catastrophes have passed, yet the frilled shark is still swimming in very deep waters, below the surface of the oceans of our planet.

Creepy and prehistoric frilled shark discovered

The story of how this creature was first discovered stars back in November 2017, when a group of European Union scientists were analyzing the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Their mission was to find a way to decrease the number of unwanted catches in commercial fishing. However, they stumbled upon this horrifying creature that might have served as inspiration for the 19^th century tales involving sea serpents.

Because the frilled shark has looked the same since the supercontinent Pangea broke up, the team immediately realized what it was. They can grow as large as six feet and have about 300 reasons to never go near it in its mouth in the form of needle-like teeth. Other than that, it has a very simple anatomy, probably because it’s so old. Still, it represents a good reason for us to try and discover more things about the ocean. Just in case.

Image source: flickr

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In a recently-published study in the journal Nature Microbiology, Professor William Inskeep and his team mates are talking about the very diverse thermal environments found at the Yellowstone National Park and how they could provide some incredible opportunities to study the evolutionary history of our planet. This is mainly due to the habitats there that look very much like how early Earth might have looked like. It’s worth noting that there are three main domains of life that exist: the archaea, the bacteria and the eukaryotes. Bacteria and archaea are single-cell organisms, while the eukaryotes are more complex organisms, like animals, plants, fungi and humans.

In their study, the experts called the newly-discovered archaeal lineage Marsarchaeota, after the planet Mars. They did this because these organisms live in habitats that are very rich in iron oxides. Within the Marsarchaeota lineage they also found two sub-groups that live in Yellowstone and like hot, acidic water. Actually, the water they like to live in is as acidic as grapefruit juice. Inskeep says that the iron minerals that these organisms like are very similar to those that exist on the surface of the Red Planet.

New discovery might be relevant to the origin of life on Earth

At Yellowstone, the team of researchers analyzed certain microbial mats. It seems that the microorganisms in there can create iron oxide. In turn, this creates terraces which are able to block streams. When the water runs over these terraces, the oxygen from the atmosphere reaches the Marsarchaeota.

This research could help researchers understand a lot more about life on early Earth. Apart from this, it could provide details about potential life on Mars as well as helping them understand more about high-temperature biology. The results from this new paper came to be after a decade-long research at Yellowstone National Park.

Image source: wikimedia

 

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In a very unexpected move, it seems that scientists might have finally found real evidence that the mysterious planet nine actually exists in the solar system. The discovery of a Trans Neptunian object with an orbit potentially altered by a ninth planet has baffled experts. In fact, evidence regarding the existence of this planet has been mounting for years now, but it was never something clear. Now, a new study, which the arXiv physics reprint server recently published, claims that planet nine might be to blame for the unusual orbit of a Trans Neptunian space object.

The team called this object 2015 BP519, and its orbit around the sun is 35 to 862 times the radius of our planet’s orbit around the sun. The anomaly is that unlike all the other planets orbiting the sun, the unusual object orbits at a 54° angle. Actually, this is the most extreme Trans-Neptunian Object ever found. So, in order to reach their unexpected conclusion, the team used some computer simulation of the solar system. This is how they found that the object had a very unusual orbit.

The ninth planet might be real after all

After that, the team added certain properties of a possible ninth planet which some researchers from Caltech theorized about in 2015. Guess what? The object’s orbit matched almost exactly. According to David Gerdes, this is not clear evidence that there is indeed a planet nine. However, the mere presence of this object and it strange orbit might make this a very clear possibility.

For years, astronomers have talked about the discovery of a planet nine in our solar system. Most theorized that it could be a super-sized Earth-like planet. Astrophysicist Konstantin Batygin says that now, there are five line of observational evidence that point towards a ninth planet existing. Now, this new Trans-Neptunian object only adds to this mounting evidence.

Image source: flickr

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New gene-editing techniques might revive some woolly mammoth genes in the hope of fighting off the effects of climate change. These huge animals have been extinct for about 4,000 years but now, they might prove to be the key to a very modern problem. So far, researchers have tried to bring the enormous woolly beasts back to life using their DNA which has been preserved in permafrost. However, recently, some experts have been trying a different approach to this issue. Their idea is not to bring back woolly mammoths exactly the way they were before extinction. Instead, their plan is to combine some of their genes with those of modern Asian elephants.

According to George Church, a Harvard and MIT geneticist and leader of the team conducting the project, this would drastically increase the elephants’ resistance to low temperatures. Bringing back woolly mammoths as they were might not even be a very good idea in today’s world. However, their special genes might lend a helping hand in today’s global warming issue. By making Asian elephants more tolerant to cold, they could be reintroduced to the northern areas of the planet. There, they could keep the areas warm during wintertime, therefore making that ecosystem a lot more climate-friendly.

Mixing woolly mammoths’ genes with those of Asian elephants

When the mammoths were living in the so-called “mammoth steppe”, the area was very rich in grasses. However, after they went extinct, the area gave in to the tundra. According to experts, these areas play a very big role in the climate change phenomenon taking place nowadays.

Church says that back then, elephants helped cold air hit the ground during wintertime by knocking down trees. In the summer, they allowed grass to grow and reflect sunlight. By combining these two factors now could bring back a richer ecosystem and trigger a cooling of the soil.

Image source: wikimedia

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The result of collaborative research between a number of universities shows that life can survive outside our Universe, regardless of the Multiverse hypothesis. Many scientists have debated over whether or not our own universe is singular or one of many others. Fiction writers and philosophers have rallied around this theory, in the hope of finding the truth to it. According to most experts, the main problem about this idea is that it’s impossible to test. Others have called supporters of the parallel universes theory “non-supporters of life evolution”.

However, Jaime Salcido, a masters student from the Durham’s Institute for Computational Cosmology, thinks that the multiverse theory inly indicates that our own universe is one of many. Moreover, this concept shows that new universes are born like bubbles in an enormous multiverse that has both physical laws and fundamental constants. When it comes to the evolution of life forms, Salcido claims that the dark energy and gravity strength matter a lot. Dr. Luke Barnes, who helped Salcido in his effort, many people thought of the Multiverse theory as the explanation to our very lucky ticket. We are lucky enough to live in a universe that has beautiful galaxies which allow life.

The Multiverse theory and alien life

The simulations that the team conducted showed that expansion caused by dark energy has nothing to do with the birth of stars. Therefore, it also has nothing to do with where life can exist. This idea proves that life can exist anywhere in the Multiverse. But this research does not look to debunk the Multiverse theory. Instead, it claims that the small quantity of dark energy in our universe could be explained by the natural law. The only problem? This has not yet been discovered.

Experts are now looking to come up with a new physics law which could explain the property of the universe. It seems that the theory of the Multiverse cannot do this.

Image source: Wikimedia

 

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A memory transplant procedure might sound like something out of a sci-fi movie. In fact, this has recently been achieved on snails, opening new doorways into the future. A team of scientists has managed to successfully transplant memories from one snail to another by transferring genetic information known as RNA. As for the snails, the team trained then beforehand to develop a defensive reaction to this procedure. The research could offer new clues regarding the physical basis of memory.

RNA actually means ribonucleic acid and it’s a large molecule that fulfills many important roles within the biological organisms. For example, it assembles proteins and allows genes to express. For this experiment, the team gave electric shocks to the tails of marine snails from the species Aplysia californica. After this, the defensive withdrawal reflex of the snails became a lot more pronounced. This means that the snails usually contract in order to protect themselves. When taping the snails, the experts noticed that those that had received a shock contracted for 50 seconds. On the other hand, those that did not receive shocks had a defensive contraction that lasted for only one second.

Memory transplant has been achieved on snails

The next step was to extract RNA from the snails’ nervous systems, but only from those that had received the shocks. After that, they injected it into some marine snails that had not received the shocks. The reaction they had amazed the entire team. The snails acted the same way as if they had been administered shocks. They displayed a defensive contraction that lasted for 40 seconds.

Professor David Glanzman, who was part of the experiment, said that the snails acted as if they transferred their memory. Also, it’s worth noting that the snails were not hurt during this experiment. This is a huge step towards understanding how memory is stored and works, even in people.

Image source: pixabay

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A spacecraft fleet belonging to NASA has recently discovered a new kind of magnetic phenomenon that occurs in Earth’s magnetic field outer layer. This is a very important discovery, according to experts, mainly because it might provide them with answers regarding the influence of this phenomenon on our planet. Also, it could shed some light on the role it plays in other areas of the universe. The other name of this event is magnetic reconnection, which NASA’s unmanned Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission spacecraft stumbled upon recently.

It’s worth noting that NASA launched the MMS spacecraft back in 2015 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex. It had one very important mission: to gather information regarding the microphysics of this mysterious phenomenon. In the past, experts have witnessed this event taking place in various parts of the universe, including in a region called the magnetosphere. This is located somewhere in our planet’s magnetic fields.  Moreover, they also managed to analyze how the ionized hydrogen atoms were emanating from it. Recently, the team caught a glimpse of this fascinating phenomenon once more. This time, it occurred in an area known as the magnetosheath.

The mysterious event called magnetic reconnection

The area called magnetosheath is actually located above the planet and has the purpose of protecting Earth against the solar wind. The newly-observed phenomenon also has another name, electron magnetic reconnection, as it’s a bit different from the one they initially observed. Instead of ionized hydrogen atoms, it emanates smaller electron jets. These electrons are much faster than the ions and a lot more difficult to keep track of.

It’s worth noting that these turbulent magnetic fields that are surrounding our planet are caused by solar wind when it hits Earth’s magnetic field. This discovery is very important as it could one day lead to a better understanding of space environment. Also, one day, we might know more about the universe’s properties and how they function.

Image source: flickr

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At Red Fleet State Park in Utah, the strangest thing is happening. The park’s impressive collection of dinosaur tracks is slowly being destroyed by vandals who are picking up the large stone slabs and throwing them into a reservoir that is nearby. The bigger problem is that most of the time, these people are not even aware o what they are destroying. The dinosaur tracks have been preserved in a very good condition in 200-million-year-old rock. According to Devan Chavez, a spokesperson for the Utah Division of State Parks, the problem is getting more and more serious with each passing day.

It is no longer a joke, or something that has only happened once, for fun or by accident. People are regularly throwing these rocks off the slide. Unfortunately, they have no idea that they are completely covered in valuable dinosaur tracks and that basically, they are throwing history away. Park officials are saying that it has become a habit of those visitors to see something splash into the reservoir water. So, when they go looking for rock to throw, they inevitably stumble upon these fossilized tracks. Unknowingly, they destroy them one by one.

Ancient dinosaur tracks destroyed for fun

It seems that the number of these acts of vandalism has increased over the past six months. Unfortunately, nobody is sure just how many dinosaur tracks have been lost forever in this game that the tourists are playing. Now, the park officials are planning to send a diving team to swim to the bottom of the reservoir and gather as many rocks with tracks on them as possible. Sadly, most of them might have been completely destroyed, so their effort might be in vain.

For now, the park is adding more warning signs in an attempt to make visitors realize that what they have been doing is wrong. Let’s hope that they will stop throwing these valuable fossils into the water soon.

Image source: flickr

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Experts have by now discovered a large number of potentially habitable planets outside our solar system. Also, there are surely a lot more out there waiting to be found. But the same question remains: are we alone in the universe? Probably not. However, if that’s the case, why haven’t we been contacted or found other alien life forms? It’s uncertain but one thing is sure. Experts are now planning to begin the hunt for extraterrestrial life by studying the biological products of these planets’ atmospheres.

There are like fingerprints of life, also known as biosignatures. Those can only be detected using some next-generation telescopes that can measure the gas composition that surrounds these far away planets. The problem is that sometimes, the measurements of these biosignatures can be misleading. This is why a team of researchers is now developing a quantitative framework for dynamic biosignatures based on how the Earth’s atmosphere is changing seasonally. The Astrophysical Journal Letters has recently published the paper called Atmospheric Seasonality As An Exoplanet Biosignature, in which lead author is Stephanie Olson is detailing this initiative.

Seasonality of the Earth, the hope for finding alien life

Seasons happen because our planet orbits the Sun. This means that at certain times of the year, certain areas on the globe receive more sunrays than others, hence the warm or cold seasons. The weather is the first thing that changes, along with the length of days and nights. However, apart from those unsurprising facts, the atmospheric composition also changes. This is what the scientists want to base their initiative on finding alien life on.

According to Olson, the atmospheric seasonality of our planet is the most promising biosignature. This is mainly because it’s modulated on an inhabited planet, the Earth. Because of this, it’s highly likely that it may occur on other possibly habited planets too.

Image source: flickr