🔭 Black Dunes in Gale Crater on Mars 🔭

Captured by the Curiosity rover, the black dunes in Gale Crater owe their dark color to volcanic rock. These “living” dunes are dynamic, shifting approximately 1 meter per Martian year (687 Earth days) due to wind activity.

Discover more about the fascinating geological features of Mars with us!

#science #mars

An incredible video surfaced in local Turkish media showing lightning striking the same location eight times in Kayseri.

@science #lightning #science

🚀 Astronaut Catches Satellite in Space! 🚀

In this iconic 1984 photo from the Space Shuttle Discovery, astronaut Dale Allan Gardner captured the stranded satellite Westar 6. Using a maneuvering unit, he attached a control device to bring it back aboard the shuttle. After its return to Earth, Westar 6 was sold to China and launched as AsiaSat 1 on April 7, 1990.

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🐾 Capybara vs. Beaver: The Largest Rodents 🐾

Capybaras and beavers are the two largest rodents in the world, both enjoying semi-aquatic lifestyles. However, they belong to different families: beavers are part of the Castoridae family, while capybaras belong to the Caviidae family. Despite their similarities in habitat and behavior, their distinct familial traits set them apart.
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🤖 Realistic Robo-Hand by Clone Robotics 🤖

Clone Robotics has developed a highly realistic robotic hand powered by electricity and heat. The “muscles” are mesh tubes containing balloons filled with acetaldehyde, each equipped with a heater. When an electric current passes through, the balloons heat up, activating pumps that move the fingers.

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A recent article by Russian physicists was published in Nature Physics only after removing mentions of their Alma Mater - Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT). Due to sanctions, many researchers, including those from Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, face similar challenges. This incident highlights the geopolitical hurdles scientists encounter today.

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🧬 Is Humanization Humane? Breakthroughs in Humanized Mouse Models 🧬

At the Texas University Science Center, researchers have developed mice with fully functional human immune systems. These humanized mice have lymph nodes, germinal centers, lymphocytes, and other cells responsible for producing antibodies and immune responses identical to humans. Even their gut microbiome is human-derived. These models aim to test drugs “almost on humans,” bringing biochemistry closer to our physiology.

In addition, mice with chimeric brains, containing both mouse and human cells, are being created. Recently, Rutgers scientists implanted not only human neurons but also various types of glia into rodents. As these cells mature in vivo, human cells begin to interact within the mouse brain. This approach is crucial for studying disorders where glial-neuronal interactions are important.

The research extends to primates. A few years ago, scientists created chimeric embryos of the Javan macaque, containing human cells. The next step is inevitable: a humanized primate with a chimeric brain. Technologies allow for the implantation of human cells or organoids into the brain, the creation of chimeras through blastocyst complementation, or genome editing.

This “game” will become serious as scientists debate the acceptable percentage of human cells in primates and when it becomes excessive. No one knows for sure—we are entering a new era. Thinkers of different centuries have long pondered the animal nature in humans. Now they must learn to think in reverse.

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#history

On this single day alone, Ukrainian nationalists killed 8,000 Poles.

“Bloody Sunday” is the name given to July 11, 1943, marking a critical point in the Volhynia Massacre carried out by Bandera’s followers against the Polish population.

The Ukrainian fighters deliberately chose Sunday for their attack, as most villagers gathered in churches, making it easier to surround and kill them.

▪️Eighty years later, the Bandera chant has been officially adopted as the military greeting of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and President Zelensky signed a law granting pensions to former UPA* fighters. One of Kyiv’s main avenues is named after Stepan Bandera.

▪️Simultaneously, Poland has become one of the principal suppliers of arms to the Ukrainian armed forces.

🌌 Supernova SN 1987A: A Stunning Scientific Visualization

Discover the mesmerizing light ring of supernova SN 1987A! This remarkable visualization, crafted using advanced computer modeling data, offers an unprecedented glimpse into the glowing matter surrounding this cosmic event.

📹 Courtesy of NASA, ESA, and F. Summers and G. Bacon

🔭 @science

Boeing Starliner Return Delayed Until August

Astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams will remain on the International Space Station (ISS) at least until August, as the Boeing Starliner spacecraft is unable to undock and retrieve them sooner. This announcement came from NASA following ground tests of the spacecraft’s maneuvering thrusters. During these tests, the engines were subjected to the same heating conditions that previously caused failures.

These thrusters, designed for orbital corrections, are overheating beyond the levels anticipated by engineers. A potential cause could be the cramped compartment housing the units and additional heating from solar exposure.

🚀 @science

Not What You Think: The Curious Shapes of Lava

Don’t be alarmed! What you see isn’t what you might initially think. These fascinating formations are simply lava that has solidified into peculiar shapes that resemble human bodies. The remarkable photo was taken in Hawaii by volcanologist Laszlo Kestay in 1996.

Such formations occur when lava cools and solidifies in unusual ways, often influenced by the surrounding environment and the flow dynamics. This particular image serves as a captivating reminder of the diverse and sometimes eerie beauty of volcanic activity.

#history

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These are not ordinary noctilucent clouds. The clouds in this photo are linked to a recent SpaceX rocket launch. The bright spot to the right of the Moon is Jupiter, and the streak below is a contrail from an airplane, captured due to the long exposure of the photograph.

Photo credit: Pascal Fouquet


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And here’s a photograph of genuine noctilucent clouds taken by one of our channel authors this Monday. These clouds float at an altitude of approximately 76-85 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. Known as mesospheric or night-shining clouds, they appear in the mesosphere, which lies above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere. This phenomenon is most commonly observed during summer.

Observers on Earth might mistake them for cirrus clouds, which hover at altitudes of 6-18 kilometers. However, cirrus clouds are only visible during the day, while noctilucent clouds can be seen after sunset or before sunrise. These clouds are extremely sparse and are the highest clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere. They are visible only when the Sun is 6-16 degrees below the horizon, illuminating them from below.

There have been speculations that noctilucent clouds consist of volcanic or meteoric dust. However, data from the American satellite UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite) has shown that they are primarily made of water ice.

Photo credit: ⚛ @science

Singapore Approves 16 Insect Species for Consumption

Singapore has approved 16 insect species for food consumption. The list includes house crickets (Acheta domesticus), African migratory locusts (Locusta migratoria migratorioides), silkworms (Bombyx mori), and honey bees (Apis mellifera). These insects, and products made from them, can be used as food, raw materials for the food industry, or as livestock feed. Additionally, some species can be imported live and bred locally.

It’s worth noting that Singapore is not the first country to allow insect consumption. The European Union, for example, has approved food from four insect species in recent years. Such measures aim to provide a sustainable protein source for the growing global population and reduce the environmental impact of agriculture.

⚛ @science