Science & TechnologyS


Volcano

Mile-wide underwater volcano ready to erupt off the West Coast

Kameryn Griesser
CNN
Thu, 08 May 2025 09:29 UTC
sea erupt
© UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF-ROPOSWhite clouds of microbial waste billow from the seafloor
Things are heating up hundreds of miles off the coast of Oregon, where a large undersea volcano is showing signs of impending eruption, scientists say.

The volcano, known as Axial Seamount, is located nearly 1 mile (1.4 kilometers) underwater on a geological hot spot, where searing gushes of molten rock rise from Earth's mantle and into the crust. Hotspot volcanoes are common on the seafloor. But Axial Seamount also happens to be located on the Juan de Fuca Ridge — an area where two massive tectonic plates (the Pacific and the Juan de Fuca plates) are constantly spreading apart, causing a steady buildup of pressure beneath the planet's surface.

The frequency of earthquakes has recently picked up dramatically as the volcano inflates with increasingly more magma, signaling an eruption could be near, according to researchers at the National Science Foundation's Ocean Observatories Initiative Regional Cabled Array, a facility operated by the University of Washington that monitors the activity of Axial Seamount.
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Better Earth

The sun just spat out the strongest solar flares of 2025 — and more could be headed toward Earth

Jess Thompson
Live Science
Mon, 19 May 2025 01:48 UTC
Solar Flare
© SDO/AIC/NASASolar Flares • May 13, 2025
The sun has released several powerful M- and X-class solar flares over the past few days, resulting in radio blackouts around the world.

The sun has had an active few days, firing several powerful solar flares and plumes of searing-hot solar material out into space.

On Tuesday (May 13), a sunspot on the sun's surface named AR4086 exploded, releasing an X1.2-class solar flare, part of the most powerful category of flare. Then, during the early hours of Wednesday (May 14), another sunspot named AR4087 spat out an M5.3 flare, followed by an even more powerful X2.7 flare, and yet another M7.7 flare a few hours later.

The radiation of these solar flares triggered radio blackouts on the sun-facing side of the planet at the time of the flares, affecting North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
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Galaxy

Is our universe trapped inside a black hole? This James Webb Space Telescope discovery might blow your mind

Robert Lea
Live Science
Sat, 17 May 2025 00:00 UTC
Galaxies
© Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2025)Galaxies observed by the JWST with those rotating one way circled in red, those rotating the other way circled in blue.
Without a doubt, since its launch, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revolutionized our view of the early universe, but its new findings could put astronomers in a spin. In fact, it could tell us something profound about the birth of the universe by possibly hinting that everything we see around us is sealed within a black hole.

The $10 billion telescope, which began observing the cosmos in the Summer of 2022, has found that the vast majority of deep space and, thus the early galaxies it has so far observed, are rotating in the same direction. While around two-thirds of galaxies spin clockwise, the other third rotates counter-clockwise.

In a random universe, scientists would expect to find 50% of galaxies rotating one way, while the other 50% rotate the other way. This new research suggests there is a preferred direction for galactic rotation.
enhanced
© KJNPhoto: galaxies enhanced for detail
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Info

World's oldest star chart may be 2,300 years old and from China — but not everyone agrees

Joanna Thompson
Live Science
Thu, 15 May 2025 21:07 UTC
Is the Star Manual of Master Shi the oldest known astronomical catalog? Experts are divided.
Oldest Star Map
© CPA Media Pte Ltd via AlamyThe Dunhuang map (not the chart studied in the new research) is an early star map from China dating to the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618 to 907).
The oldest star chart in the world was made in China more than 2,300 years ago, a hotly debated preprint study finds.

Researchers at the Chinese National Astronomical Observatories analyzed the "Star Manual of Master Shi," the oldest surviving star catalog in China, using a novel digital image processing technique. The method, called Generalized Hough Transform, uses a type of artificial intelligence known as computer vision to find and mitigate significant errors between similar images.

They found that the ancient star chart actually dates to 355 B.C. — 250 years earlier than previously thought — and that it was later updated around A.D. 125. This would make it the oldest-known star catalog of its kind in the world, predating a star chart by ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus by more than 200 years.

"I think this is pretty definitive,"said David Pankenier, a professor emeritus of Chinese astronomy at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania who was not involved with the research. Pankenier told Live Science that the study confirms previous research — notably, the work of Joseph Needham, a British biochemist known for his expertise on ancient Chinese science and technology. And the new study places the manuscript's origin around the same time the historical Master Shi Shen was thought to have lived.

But other experts are less convinced.
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Arrow Down

Satellite study reveals the fastest sinking city in the US

Patrick Pester
LiveScience
Fri, 09 May 2025 00:00 UTC
Houston
© Ryan J Lane/Getty ImagesHouston, Texas fastest sinking city in the USA
Satellite data revealed that Houston is the fastest-sinking city in the U.S., and that all of the other biggest cities are dropping in at least some areas. Researchers say groundwater extraction is largely to blame for the sink.

All of the biggest cities in the United States are sinking into the ground in places, new satellite data reveal — and 34 million people are affected. However, some cities are sinking faster and over a much larger area than others.

A study found that Houston is the fastest-sinking city, with some areas dropping at a rate of 0.4 inches (10 millimeters) per year, while most major cities have localized zones where the land is sinking faster than 0.2 inches (5 mm).

Cities are sinking for a variety of reasons, but the most common cause is groundwater extraction. The sinking is a problem because it increases the risk of flooding and threatens buildings and other infrastructure, according to the study, published Thursday (May 8) in the journal Nature Cities.

To address the sinking, the researchers suggested measures like flood mitigation, retrofitting vulnerable structures and limiting building in areas at greatest risk.
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Galaxy

New data analysis uncovers evidence of a unknown planet hiding at the edge of our solar system

Chris Melore
The Daily Mail
Sun, 11 May 2025 21:01 UTC
artis impression planet nine
© Caltech/R.Hurt (IPAC)Artist's impression of Planet Nine
Astronomers have found new evidence that a mysterious ninth planet may be hiding at the edge of the solar system - rewriting what we know about the cosmos again.

An international team from Taiwan, Japan, and Australia used 40 years' worth of data from two space probes to track down what they believe are signs of this distant planet moving around our sun.

Planet Nine (or Planet X as NASA calls it) first emerged as a real possibility in 2016, when two astronomers from the California Institute of Technology presented evidence of a large gravitational force (a planet) far beyond Neptune.

Now, a new study has whittled a list of 13 candidates down to just one potential object slowly moving around our sun approximately 46.5 billion to 65.1 billion miles away.

Comment: More theorizing on Planet Nine's existence:

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HAL9000

Researchers secretly infiltrated a popular Reddit forum with AI bots, causing outrage

Angela Yang
NBC News
Tue, 29 Apr 2025 20:33 UTC
reddit
© Michael Nagle / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
In recent months, a group of researchers conducted a secret experiment on Reddit to see how artificial intelligence can be used to influence human opinion. Now, Reddit says it is considering legal action.

Researchers from the University of Zurich deployed a slew of AI bots posing as real people and engaging with users without their knowledge or consent to try to change minds on the popular Reddit forum r/changemyview, where posts often ask users to challenge their views on contentious topics.

The bots, whose accounts are now banned, left more than 1,000 comments throughout the subreddit, taking on identities such as a rape victim, a Black man who opposes the Black Lives Matter movement and a trauma counselor who specializes in abuse.

One AI bot, under the username u/catbaLoom213, left a lengthy comment arguing against the opinion that AI should never interact with humans on social media, according to a full copy of the bots' comments compiled by the subreddit's moderators.
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Volcano

Zombie volcano in Bolivia shows signs of activity after 250,000 years of dormancy


The Express Tribune
Tue, 06 May 2025 00:00 UTC
Uturuncu volcano
© UnknownSigns of activity at dormant Zombie volcano
New study reveals Bolivia's Uturuncu volcano remains active without the risk of eruption.

The Uturuncu volcano in Bolivia's Andes Mountains, dormant for 250,000 years, is exhibiting warning signs of a potential eruption that could threaten lives and cause destruction.

Uturuncu, the highest mountain in southwestern Bolivia, caused a region near its summit — about 150 kilometers (93 miles) wide — to rise and fall, creating a sombrero-like shape.

Over 1,700 recent earthquakes have prompted scientists to study Uturuncu.

By integrating satellite data, seismic analysis, and computer models of rock behaviour under pressure, researchers have gained a clearer understanding of the internal workings of Uturuncu, uncovering the cause of its unusual activity. Their findings were published on April 28 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Black Cat 2

Feral Finnish cats exhibit new coat pattern: "Salty licorice"

Heidi Anderson, Ph.D.
MyCatDNA
Fri, 15 Nov 2024 21:33 UTC
cat genetics coat color salty licorice
© Ari KankainenA cat showing the double-recessive coat pattern dubbed 'salty licorice'
Feast your eyes on the newest coat color and understand the genetics behind its captivating look.

There's always something new to uncover in the world of feline genetics. When that discovery is an eye-catching coat pattern, it draws the attention of geneticists and pet parents alike. That's exactly what happened when a distinctive fur color — now called salmiak — was first identified. Read on to learn about this coat color variant and how the Wisdom Panel team contributed to the understanding of the genetics behind the distinctive look.

A striking new coat pattern

Back in 2007, cats with a unique fur pattern were observed in domestic cats in the central Finland region. These cats, typically found in a feral cat population consisting of black and black-and-white colored cats, displayed a normal black-and-white "tuxedo" coloration with additional gradation of color within hairs on its colored areas. This resulted in hair with a colored base and white hair tips.

Since first observed, cats with this color pattern have remained a rare sight in central Finland. They descend from the same wild population, and only non-pedigreed cats are known to have this coat pattern. And since all cats brought in from the streets were neutered, no one knew if they could reproduce. That is, until recent evidence showed a cat with this coat pattern giving birth to a litter of four kittens.
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Stop

US plans to end International Space Station before 2030


RT
Sun, 04 May 2025 08:45 UTC
space station
© File/Getty ImagesInternational Space Station
A federal road map calls for reduced staffing and an expanded role for private companies in space operations.

The US government has confirmed it will begin winding down operations on the International Space Station (ISS), with the goal of retiring the orbiting lab by 2030. The decision is included in the White House's Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request released on Friday.

NASA first detailed the plan to decommission the ISS in December 2021. This was reiterated in follow-up documents published in early 2022.

According to the new document: "The Budget reflects the upcoming transition to a more cost-effective commercial approach to human activities in space as the space station approaches the end of its life cycle."

The 2026 budget request would allocate around $18.6 billion to NASA, down from $24.9 billion in fiscal year 2024, with deep cuts to science programs. The Trump administration stated that crewed and cargo missions to the ISS would be significantly reduced during the transition period. Remaining onboard research will focus on long-duration spaceflight studies crucial to upcoming Moon and Mars missions - efforts that are strongly backed by US President Donald Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
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