Saturday’s quote: Cold dark matter takes a hit. A new paradigm in biology. those fracking earthquakes

This week, researchers developed a new way to calculate the probability of intelligent life forming in the universe. Investigation of a meteorite that occurred on Mars has revealed that it once interacted with liquid water. And analysis of fossilized teeth suggests that long childhoods are a prerequisite for the evolution of large brains. Additionally, astronomers doused the cold dark matter with cold water. Biologists have proposed a new holistic approach to the field. And if we have to do fracking, it’s better to do it with less earthquakes.

Webb is perplexed.

The cold dark matter theory holds that galaxies formed gradually in the early universe. So, according to the CDM, when astronomers finally have the optical means (to the annoyance of engineers, we like to say “horsepower”) to look back at the early stages of the universe; I always thought I would find something small, dim, and vaguely embarrassing. Galaxies that have not yet accreted enough material to become the robust star-forming galaxies we know from more recent times in the universe.

Then, in 2022, the 25.4 square meter James Webb Space Telescope began scientific operations at L2, rapidly revealing a dazzlingly bright galaxy in the vast universe. The Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), which predicted in 1998 that large structures may have formed rapidly in the early universe, has a score of 1.

MOND predicts rapid aggregation of galaxy clumps expanding outward as the universe expands. As stronger gravity slows and then reverses this expansion, the matter itself collapses into galactic structures. In a recent paper, Webb explains this process in the context of the ongoing season of universal discovery, and the authors do not make much of a push for CDM.

“The bottom line is, ‘I told you so,'” says Stacey McGaw, an astrophysicist at Case Western Conservancy. “I grew up thinking it was rude to say that, but that’s the whole point of the scientific method: make a prediction and see if it comes true.”

Complicating McGaw’s argument is the discovery by astronomers at the University of Texas at Austin, who reported last summer that many of these galaxies are less massive than they appear. In many ancient galaxies, overly bright accretion disks around central black holes appear brighter and more populated than they really are.

living things are interdependent

Historically, biologists have studied organisms in silos as unobtrusive entities, unaffected by the ecosystem around them. Researchers are now promoting a new theory called holobiont biology, which takes a holistic approach to biology by considering the life of microorganisms, which are used to explain the development, processes, and evolution of higher life forms. I believe that it is the basis of An international collaboration of researchers has published a paper in the journal Science summarizing this approach.

Seth Bodenstein, a professor of biology and entomology at Penn State University, said in an interview that “What we’ve learned today and over the past decade is that variation in biological traits in organisms is due more to microorganisms than genes.” This is the fact.” For example, we look at a person’s likelihood of colon cancer, cholesterol levels, body mass index, and more. And, more importantly, when we consider host genetics and microbes together, we get a more complete picture. About how life changes and changes over time. ”

Good news about hydraulic fracturing

Hydraulic fracturing has given the oil industry access to previously inaccessible above-ground resources, with side effects such as air emissions, groundwater contamination, adverse health effects, and the frankly surprising phenomenon of man-made earthquakes.

Although many of these earthquakes are too small in magnitude to be detected by humans, many have been reported directly by affected residents, causing damage such as destroying the foundations of homes. Over the past two decades, Oklahoma has experienced a dramatic increase in seismic activity related to hydraulic fracturing.

U.S. Geological Survey researchers report that regulatory efforts to backfill injection wells with cement and reduce injection rates have reduced the rate of induced seismicity in Oklahoma. The findings suggest that reducing the depth of sewage injection could reduce seismic activity in other states.

“While each basin is different, we have repeatedly seen a relationship between injection depth and earthquake-inducing potential across the country,” said Robert Skumal of the U.S. Geological Survey.

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