Scientists

Two scientists will board a suborbital flight in 2027 to do the first real study of menstruation in microgravity

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If all goes well, in 2027 Virgin Galactic will launch Operation Period-01, a suborbital mission aimed at studying something that has never been done before: the effects of microgravity on menstruation. The first woman to travel to space was Valentina Tereshkova. He did it in 1963. Since then, around 100 women have traveled beyond Earth. However, in all this time it has not been studied how microgravity influences something that happens to the vast majority of adult women a few days a month for several decades of their lives. For whatever. Now, two engineers and astronauts in training want to solve the problem and both the Redshift laboratory and Virgin Galactic have made available the means to study menstruation in space, specifically in a suborbital flight. A study to close a gap that should never have been opened. Since space travel began, has been studied how microgravity affects bone density, muscle atrophy, sleep, cardiovascular function or mental health, among other issues. No trace of something that affects 50% of the population. For this reason, the two scientists who direct this project, Manju Bangalore and Priya Abiram, consider that there is a gap when it comes to studying the health of astronauts, which must be closed. What is known. In reality, there have already been women who have menstruated in space without posing operational difficulties. That is to say, beyond the generation of waste, they have not had the slightest problem in carrying out their functions within the mission. Therefore, we know that, in principle, menstruation symptoms do not worsen in space. However, as these scientists remember, everything that is known is due to historical records, not to well-designed research. Since there have been few cases of women menstruating in space, there is not enough information to draw solid conclusions. It is well known that microgravity affects fluid dynamics. This has a lot to do with menstruation. Therefore, it is logical that it should be studied further. For now, Bangalore and Abiram have done it in their laboratory, as part of the studies carried out by the organization Operation Period. Until next year they will not be able to do it in a real microgravity environment. History teaches us that it is necessary. In 1982, Sally Ride became the first American woman to travel to space. The second in the world to do so, after Tereshkova. According to her own account, when supplies for the ship were being prepared, she was asked if 100 tampons would be enough. 100 tampons for a mission that would last a week. With this it is clear that the people in charge of preparing these supplies do not have much idea about menstruation. Although they also offered her a makeup kit that she rejected. It seems like they had no idea about many things. On the other hand, it is known that in the 70s there were doctors who feared that women would travel to space, for fear of the effects of microgravity on menstruation. They thought that remnants of the endometrium could move into the abdomen and cause something similar to endometriosis. Today we know that, in principle, this does not happen, because it has not happened to any of the women who have menstruated during their missions. However, despite their “concern,” it never occurred to any doctor or scientist to conduct studies on the development of menstruation in space. Sally Ride was offered to bring 100 tampons for a week Most prefer not to have menstruation in space. There are female astronauts who have spoken openly about their management of menstruation in space. This is the case of the Italian Samantha Cristoforetti, who in 2022 he made statements about her personal case and that of some colleagues. She explained that they have a large arsenal of pads and tampons and that the management of menstruation in space is similar to what is done on Earth. However, the systems that process and recycle urine are not as good with menstrual blood. Extra filters are needed and can be tedious. For all this, many astronauts choose to suppress their period through the consumption of contraceptives. The freedom to decide. With their study, those responsible for Operation Period-01 hope that future astronauts will be able to make more informed decisions about the management of menstruation in space. If they finally want to take contraceptives, no problem. The bad thing is that, nowadays, since they have not studied in depth how microgravity affects menstruation, they prefer to avoid it directly. If suitable filters have already been found for urine recycling systems, that should not be a problem. Applications here on Earth. These scientists believe that, by studying menstruation in extreme conditions, their development could be much better understood and that knowledge applied here on Earth. For example, it would be useful in the study of reproductive medicine, as well as underdiagnosed diseases that affect menstrual health, including endometriosis and PCOS, which, by the way, recently a new name has been proposed. Breaking records. Manju Bangalore and Priya Abiram will carry out experiments that have never been done in space. It is not outer space, but it is a suborbital flight with real microgravity. That said, it should be noted that this is not the only thing in which they hope to overcome barriers; Well, if everything goes according to plan, they would become two of the youngest South Asian women to travel to space. It is clear that they are two women who want to break molds. It is great news that there are scientists like them. Image | Magnific/NASA In Xataka | Period pain in adolescence is not “normal”: massive study links it to increased risk of chronic pain in adulthood

Scientists threw a cow into the depths of the China Sea. They discovered eight unexpected guests at the feast

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The ocean is full of surprises. Sometimes, as happened several years ago in Canada, enigmas appear floating in a of human feet adrift. However, in others, the majority, you have to go down to the depths to try to solve the mysteries. That was precisely what a group of researchers proposed. It all started by throwing the carcass of a cow. A cow at 1,600 meters. In one of the most unusual marine experiments in recent years, a group of scientists threw a dead cow 1,629 meters deep on a continental slope of the South China Sea, off the Chinese island of Hainan, with the aim of simulating the sinking of a whale and studying the scavenger behavior of deep waters. What they found surprised even the most experienced researchers: eight sleeper sharks of the Pacific (Somniosus pacificus) appeared at the site, marking the first documented observation of this species in the region. The discovery not only unexpectedly expands the distribution map of this elusive shark, but also provides valuable information about its behavioral patterns, feeding hierarchies, physiological adaptations and its possible geographical expansion. An unexpected visitor. Although the Pacific sleeper shark is a species with a wide distribution in the northern Pacific Ocean (from Japan to Alaska and south to Baja California), its detection in waters off southern China was not only unexpected, but raises questions about the actual extent of its habitatits possible displacement due to the effect of climate change or even the existence of a stable and not yet registered population in that region. Food label. The recorded images The underwater cameras not only confirmed its presence, but also revealed unusual behavior for large predators: a kind of shift systemin which the sharks lined up to feed on the corpse, giving way to other individuals that approached from behind. This type of “food label”rarely observed in predatory species, suggests that feeding order could be determined by the competitive intensity of each individual, rather than a chaotic struggle for resources, which would indicate a more complex level of social organization than previously suspected in these animals. New clues. He study also documented variations in behavior depending on body size. The specimens that exceeded 2.7 meters in length were very more aggressive and direct in attacking the carrion, while the smaller sharks opted for cautious movements, circling the carcass before approaching. The pattern suggests that even in an environment where food is scarce and opportunities are random, sleeper sharks could have developed a coexistence strategy with hierarchical ranks that minimize direct conflict. One more thing. Another notable finding was a behavior of eye retraction observed during feeding. Since this species lacks nictitating membrane (the protective “third eyelash” that other vertebrates such as cats or certain reptiles have), researchers believe that this retraction reflects a evolutionary adaptation to protect the eyes during bites or struggles, which provides new information about the defensive physiology of these sharks in their natural environment. The unknown. And more, since the recordings also showed other revealing aspects. To wit: several sharks carried visible parasites in his eyes, identified like copepodsalthough it was not possible to accurately classify the species. This detail reinforces the biological parallel between Pacific sleeper sharks and their better-known relatives, the Greenland sharkswhich also tend to harbor parasites in their visual organs. Aside from sharks, the experiment attracted a surprising variety of deep-sea fauna, such as snail fish and numerous amphipodsall attracted to the source of decaying organic matter. These records confirm that the deep areas of the South China Sea not only host a biodiversity that is still poorly documented, but could be more productive than previously believed, contrary to the idea that the tropical depths are biologically poorer than their polar counterparts. The great unknown. Ultimately, the presence of these sharks raises a crucial question: is this a recent expansion of their range due to global warming, or has it always been part of their habitat and simply never been observed? The species is known to have occasionally appeared in such remote regions like Palau or the Solomon Islandssuggesting that there could be more southern populations than the scientific literature indicates. However, the “frequent occurrence” in the southwest China Sea, according to the team itself researcher led by Han Tian, ​​suggests rather a structural lack of data in an underexplored region rather than a recent change in the distribution pattern. In that sense, the experiment with the cow corpse has not only provided a specific observation, but has also opened a way to review key concepts about the marine biogeography of abyssal species. The new discovery. In February 2026, it was documented, for first time in historya shark (of the sleeper family, possibly a southern sleeper shark, a very close relative of the Pacific sleeper shark) off the South Shetland Islands, in Antarctic waters, 490 meters deep. This is the first time that an elasmobranch has been filmed in the Southern Ocean, and several experts suggest that warming waters could be facilitating the movement of this family of sharks to areas where they were not previously expected, although they also warn that they could have been there for a long time without having been detected. Know the depths. All these findings They highlight the usefulness of simple but carefully designed experiments to obtain data about remote, inaccessible and often poorly understood environments. The idea of ​​simulating a whale sinking with a cow not only proved effective, it proved to be a powerful ecological magnet capable of revealing complex biological interactions. In a context where the climate change and human activity are altering ecosystems even at great depth, this type of research is crucial to understanding the invisible functioning of the deep ocean. The appearance of eight sleeper sharks where no one expected them, behaving with order, measured aggression and sophisticated adaptive mechanisms, is further proof that the deep sea they keep secrets that we are only beginning to understand. A version of this article was published in July … Read more

Freezing eggs costs up to 5,000 euros. These scientists propose rejuvenating oocytes so they do not have to freeze them

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Today, many women they postpone motherhood until well past 30. The search for advancement in one’s professional career, work-life balance problems or economic instability tend to be the main causes why the average age of motherhood in Spanish women is now over 32 years old. In reality, in many cases, everything starts from economic instability. It is the reason why many women wait until they are successful in their careers to have children and also the reason why they cannot financially afford to pay people to help them take care of their babies without having to exploit grandparents. In short, having a child is expensive, so it takes many years to save enough. Unfortunately, the longer motherhood is postponed, the more difficult it is to achieve pregnancy and the greater the risk that the baby will be born with certain chromosomal syndromes. Oocyte freezing is often offered as a solution, but this is also expensive. If there is no money to have children, there may not be any to freeze oocytes when they are still young enough. Therefore, the proposal by a team of scientists from the Czech Republic, Germany and the United Kingdom to rejuvenate oocytes with the help of a single protein seems most promising. A protein to rejuvenate them all. One of the main reasons why fertility problems occur as age increases is the appearance of errors in meiosis. The authors of this researchwhich was presented last January at the British Fertility Conference in Edinburgh, they realized that there is a protein called Shugoshin 1, which has the ability to prevent precisely those errors in meiosis. By microinjecting this protein into oocytes donated to a fertility clinic, the effects on meiosis decreased, going from 53% in untreated oocytes to 25% in treated oocytes. For this reason, these scientists are already seeking the necessary permits to carry out clinical trials with patients who are going to undergo an in vitro fertilization (IVF) process. Clarification here: Although colloquially we always talk about eggs, the egg is the final maturation phase of the oocyte, which normally ends if there is fertilization. Therefore, what is donated or extracted for an assisted reproduction cycle is an oocyte. What happens in meiosis. Meiosis is a cellular process by which one cell divides into four others, with half as many chromosomes as the original. It is very important in sexual reproduction, since eggs and sperm are obtained which, when they fuse, add their chromosome ends and give rise to a zygote with the original number of chromosomes that human cells have. That is, if humans normally have 46 chromosomes, the egg produces 23 and the sperm produces the other 23. The two parts of meiosis. This process has two parts, each composed of several phases. Broadly speaking, after an initial crossing over phase to give rise to genetic variability, the pairs of chromosomes are placed in an orderly manner in the center of the cell. Afterwards, each member of the pair moves to one pole of the cell, so that it divides into two equal ones. Each of these cells will have one member of each pair of chromosomes. Those chromosomes that have separated still have two chromatids, with the characteristic X shape with which they are usually represented. Thus they reach the second part of meiosis in which the process is repeated again. All the X-shaped chromosomes go to the center of the cell. Then, a chromatid from each chromosome goes to each pole of the cell, which divides as before. Each of those chromatids will be a chromosome in the new cell. Thus, in the end, there will be four cells with half as many chromosomes as the initial one, although only one thrives to finally become an egg. The problems of age. There are several problems by which age can affect meiosis. However, it has been seen that the Shugoshin 1 protein has an essential role, since it acts as a kind of glue, preventing chromosomes and chromatids from separating prematurely or in an inappropriate way. That is why they wanted to test the experiment that has given these scientists such good results. A limitation. Success rates in IVF They usually begin an increasingly rapid decline after the age of 35. For this reason, these scientists wanted to make a distinction in their study between oocytes from children and adults of that age. Although the average was what we have already mentioned (change from 53% to 25% defects), with oocytes from over 35 years of age it only went from 65% to 44%. It’s not that statistically significant. However, there were only 9 oocytes in that age group, so it was not a sufficient number to draw conclusive results. Be that as it may, with the total it is clear that this protein can be very beneficial. It shouldn’t be frozen. Oocyte freezing It’s a strategy which is used to keep these cells in a more youthful state. If a 25-year-old woman freezes her oocytes, but decides to have children at 30, she can use those oocytes, which will have more or less maintained the qualities of the 25-year-old, and undergo an assisted reproduction process in which it will be easier to achieve pregnancy. The problem is that, at least in Spain, the price of freezing oocytes It can range between 2,000 and 5,000 euros. If a woman is not financially ready to have children at 25 or 30, she may not be ready to pay that sum of money either. In search of the clinical trial. Microinjection into oocytes already exists among assisted reproduction techniques. It is carried out through ICSI, a tool that consists of microinjecting the sperm directly into the oocyte. It is very useful in case there are few sperm and/or they are not very mobile. That makes clinics ready to microinject the Shugoshin 1 protein into oocytes. Even so, logically, the viability of this process must be tested. That is why the authors of the … Read more

German scientists have discovered that the Earth has been receiving radioactive fallout for more than 100 million years due to the violent “kiss” of two supernovae.

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Planet Earth is home to the ocean depths a radioactive plutonium deposit that could only be formed in space, during a violent cosmic cataclysm. Although there are reserves of this radioactive dust at great depths, it has been proven that it continues to rain down on us today. That would lead one to think that it was a recent cataclysm in astronomical terms. However, according to a recently published study by German scientistsit was hundreds of millions of years ago. Two isotopes to understand everything. Plutonium-244 does not exist naturally on Earth. In fact, the only isotope of this element that can be produced naturally in some geological processes is plutonium-239. and it does so mostly in the form of traces. Plutonium-244 is the heaviest isotope of this element. That is, the one with the most neutrons. It is known that it is usually formed by cosmic phenomena during something known as the r process, where lighter atoms quickly absorb neutrons into their nuclei. Generally, the event that usually gives rise to this phenomenon is the kilonova, an explosion resulting from the merger of two neutron stars. In the process, curium-247 is also formed, which is why these scientists have also analyzed its levels. Taking this data into account, they have discovered that the explosion in question must have occurred more than 100 million years ago, but less than one billion years ago. And, also, that the radioactive fallout has not stopped since then. The key is in the ferromanganese crust. Ferromanganese bark It is a layer of the ocean floor which is formed when metals dissolved in sea water, such as iron and manganese, are deposited and solidify. This occurs at a fairly slow rate, with growth of between 1 and 10 millimeters per million years. The deposits do not only have iron and manganese. Mixed with them are other substances that have fallen into the sea at that time. Therefore, this crust is a perfect chemical photograph of the history of our planet. A section with surprise. The authors of this study analyzed a section of this crust extracted at a depth of 4,830 meters in 1976. This had already been analyzed previously and had pointed out something surprising. And, in addition to plutonium, iron-60 was also found, another radioisotope associated with supernova explosions, which has a fairly short half-life of 2.6 million years. This figure means that, every 2.6 million years, half of the initial atoms of this isotope will have decayed. In another 2.6 million years half of what remained and so on. Since it is a fairly short half-life, it was concluded at the time that the kilonova that caused the fall of radioactive dust took place about 3 million years ago. However, the authors of the study just published debunked that hypothesis. Half-life of the study isotopes Curio to the rescue. The formation of plutonium-244 when neutron stars merge is always accompanied by the formation of curium-247. The plutonium isotope has a half-life of 81 million years, while that of curium “only” has a half-life of 15.6 million years. When analyzing the ferromanganese bark sample, these researchers found no curium. Therefore, it must have completely disintegrated. That places the explosion more than 100 million years ago. Be careful, remember that the half-life is the time it takes for half of the radioactive material to decay. Every 15.6 million years, half of it disintegrates, so in 100 million years there should be no curium left, but a lot of plutonium, which only lost half of it 19 million years ago. For plutonium to completely disappear, it would take 1 billion years. What about iron? The reason why there is iron-60 in the sample, despite having a lower half-life than that of curium-247, is that they originated in different events. In fact, the level changes of iron do not coincide with those of plutonium. On the other hand, it has been seen that plutonium continues to appear uniformly in the upper layers, hence it has been concluded that the radioactive fallout has not ended. At least it hadn’t ended in 1976 and that in astronomical terms was before yesterday. And now what? These scientists think that the cataclysm that released this long radioactive fallout must have been immense. Possibly even affected life on Earth. But at the moment it is something that cannot be known. We will have to continue investigating to have the answer. Image | University of Warwick/Mark Garlick | B. Schröder/HZDR/NASA, ESA, J. Hester, A. Loll/ASU In Xataka | Gravitational waves work their magic: we are closer to revealing the enigmas of neutron stars

Scientists have put kombucha to the test against stress. and has lost

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For many people, kombucha is a super drink. They consider it the ideal option for replace soft drinksbecause it is better than water and does not cause health problems, but it does bring many benefits. Some experts have warned that we must be careful, since many commercial kombuchas have a large amount of added sugar, so the benefits can be overshadowed by the risks. However, it’s not just about the risks related to sugar. According to a team of Australian scientistswe could be relating kombucha to more benefits than it really has. Having the bioactive compounds is not enough. These scientists carried out two studies in the same group of healthy adults. On the one hand, they analyzed blood and urine samples in search of metabolites associated with the positive effects of kombucha. On the other hand, they analyzed how the consumption of this drink affects a controlled stress test in the laboratory. Although most of the benefits conferred on kombucha are digestive, there has been a lot of talk lately about how it can help reduce stress through the gut-brain axis. That is why this second test was carried out. In the first, as expected, they found very interesting metabolites. This indicates that kombucha contains bioactive ingredients, which have effects on metabolism. However, in the second test they did not find the benefits they expected. Not all kombuchas are the same. Kombucha is a drink obtained by fermenting tea with sugar, thanks to the bacteria and fungi present in a culture called scoby. As a result, some beneficial tea polyphenols are mixed with organic compounds and metabolites resulting from fermentation. Beyond that, it is important to clarify that not all kombuchas are the same. The final result depends on factors such as the storage method, the tea used, the fermentation process or added sugars. There is also a big difference if technologies such as filtering or pasteurization are used. That’s why, in an article for The Conversationthe authors of the Australian study point out that one cannot compare some studies with others without taking into account that possibly very different kombuchas were used. Homemade Kombucha The studies. To avoid the problem of different kombuchas, all participants in the Australian study drank the same kombucha. It was a drink based on organic black and green tea fermented for 4 weeks. Half of the participants drank 330 ml of this drink, once a day for 8 weeks. The other half did the same, but with a placebo with a similar flavor. Before, during and after the process, blood, saliva and urine samples were taken and they were subjected to a stress test that consisted of alternately putting their hand in cold water and doing mathematical calculations under a stopwatch. Basically, it is a way of mixing physical and mental stress. The results. Blood and urine samples showed that those who drank kombucha had higher levels of beneficial metabolites. The compounds in this fermented drink had acted on their metabolism in an apparently advantageous way. The problem is that, as they concluded with the second experiment, not everything that has bioactive ingredients generates visible benefits. There is nothing more to see than the Saliva levels of cortisolthe famous stress hormone, did not improve with kombucha consumption. They increased with the stress test, but did not decrease with the kombucha, but rather with the passage of time. There were also no beneficial effects on other stress markers such as sweating, heart rate or self-observed stress. Yes, there was habituation. As time passed and the stress test was repeated, cortisol levels and the rest of the markers improved. This, according to the authors of the study, is due to a habituation phenomenon, but most likely not to the kombucha, since there were no differences with the placebo. Studies will have to be improved. These Australian scientists consider that, in the future, it would be interesting to carry out studies with more participants, for a longer time. If possible, also with people with high basal stress. It would be the best way to thoroughly study whether there are real effects of kombucha on stress. At the moment, with what they have observed, it seems that we have overestimated this drink. In the end, if you need a raise in your salary or for your landlord to lower your rent, it seems that kombucha is not going to solve anything for you. Image | Magnificent In Xataka | Neuroscientists believe they have found the trick to solving the most complicated problems: taking a nap

a group of scientists just changed it

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Predict a solar flare it’s not simple. What is normally done is to use high-resolution instruments to follow the propagation of a coronal mass ejection that has already occurred and thus decide whether precautions should be taken on Earth. Unfortunately, there is not always time to design an action plan. Therefore, the ideal would be to predict the solar flare before it occurs. Until now, this has not been possible. However, last May a team of scientists from the New Jersey Institute of Technology discovered a series of changes in the atmosphere of the sun that could be the prelude to a solar flare. Three parameters. These scientists they observed that in the three hours before a solar flare, very specific changes occurred in three parameters of the plasma that makes up the solar atmosphere. Brightness, movement towards or against the observer and non-thermal speed. The latter measures certain turbulent changes and low-scale motions in the plasma. It was seen that, during the indicated period, all these parameters increase. But, in addition, within this increase, there are also regular cycles that last between 18 and 21 minutes. At the moment it has only been observed before a solar eruption, but if it is observed in others it could be the prediction we have been waiting for for so long. The right place at the right time. The authors of this study worked with the help of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) from NASA, whose mission is to concisely analyze very narrow fragments of the solar atmosphere. They used it to analyze a region of the Sun in which several solar flares had been detected in recent days. This meant that It was a very active regionalthough it could not be known for sure that another solar flare would occur. However, they were fortunate that they did indeed have the right instruments in the right place at the right time. The risks. Solar flares are explosions of electromagnetic radiation that occur in the solar atmosphere. They are often followed by solar flares, in which, in addition to radiation, powerful bursts of plasma are produced. That is, a large number of electrically charged particles are shot from the Sun. When these gusts When they impact the Earth’s magnetosphere, they can be deflected or penetrate through it and reach the atmosphere of our planet. If that happens, phenomena as beautiful as auroras or as dangerous as geomagnetic storms can occur. These generally do not pose a risk to humans, but they do alter our telecommunications infrastructureswith everything that entails. We will have to investigate more. At the moment, it is not known why these changes in the plasma occur just before a solar flare. In fact, further research will be necessary to verify whether these changes in the plasma also occur with other solar flares. If so, astrophysicists might finally have tools to predict geomagnetic storms well in advance. There would be no need to wait for the flare, time could be gained. In cases like this, time is money. Image | POT In Xataka | A sunspot 17 times larger than Earth caused red auroras across half the world. It is a very rare event

Western scientists have been debating the origin of Kamo’oalewa for years. China went looking for him

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If everything goes according to schedule, the Chinese Tianwen-2 mission will be about to arrive at Kamo’oalewa, the co-orbital object on Earth to which it is heading to discern once and for all whether it is an asteroid or a lunar fragment. Actually this It is not the only coorbital on our planet. There are other objects that take exactly the same time as us to go around the Sun, so they can be said to be our traveling companions. However. z Kamo’oalewa has been one of the best characterized since it was discovered in 2016. Since then, European and American scientists have been striving to find out its origin, leaving the balance more tilted on some occasions towards the lunar fragment and on others towards the asteroid. But it is clear that to have a definitive answer we need to analyze samples of its surface. In order to obtain them, China jumped to the rescue. A mission to answer once and for all. The Tianwen-2 mission was launched in May 2025 bound for Kamo’oalewa. In the next few days it should reach the satellite, to start taking samples next month. The samples will later make the return journey and land on our planet in 2027 so that scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences can investigate them. Then we will finally know where our traveling companion comes from. Two hypotheses, many changes of opinion. Kamo’oalewa was first observed in April 2016, thanks to the Pan-STARRS telescope at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii. That same year, a team of European scientists made his first characterization. Thanks to them we had very specific information about this object. For example, its orbit was calculated and its thermal inertia was analyzed. That is, the speed with which its surface responds to changes in temperature. After that characterization, further investigations were carried out at the Arizona Planetary Science Institute. From those analyzes two hypotheses emerged for its origin: it could be an asteroid that escaped from the asteroid belt or a fragment of the Moon that jumped from there due to a large impact. This last hypothesis arose from spectroscopic observations made with the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) and the Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT). The spectra indicated that this object is very rich in silicates, like the lunar samples collected on the Apollo missions. In addition, there was a reddish band that seemed to correspond to the spectrum of lunar soil that has received many impacts from micrometeorites and solar wind. The first hypothesis returns. This same year, a team of European scientists has carried out a new study in which the probabilities of both hypotheses are analyzed. Clearly, the asteroid option wins over the lunar fragment option. China to the rescue China to the rescue. As Tianwen-2 approaches Kamo’oalewa, Chinese scientists have begun to make their own characterizations from a distance. For example, a study was recently published in which they compared the spectrum they measured in Arizona with that of a chondrite bombarded by laser. The chondrites They are rocky asteroids that have impacted the Earth in the form of meteorites. Laser bombardment mimics the effects of several million years of impacts. When analyzing the spectrum of this manipulated chondrite, they saw a reddish band very similar to that of Kamo’oalewa. Therefore, it is possible that it is an asteroid rich in silicates. There doesn’t have to be just them. on the moon. Specifically, they believe that it may be from the Flora family, coming from the asteroid belt. The hypothesis that is winning. Currently the asteroid hypothesis wins, although there will be no clear answer until the Tianwen-2 samples reach Earth. After many debates by scientists from Europe and the United States, the answer will be brought by a Chinese ship. This, once again, shows us how important it is to work as a team to answer the big questions of the Universe. Image | 中国新闻社 In Xataka | There is a silent race to take over the Moon’s waves: dozens of companies have claimed part of its spectrum

We have small and giant black holes, but the intermediate ones do not appear. Now some scientists have designed a method to search for them and they already have two candidates

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Today astrophysicists have a lot of information about black holes. They have even been photographed. However, there are only two types of black holes for which a multitude of evidence has been found: supermassive black holes, which are colossal in size, and stellar black holes, which are formed by the collapse of a star when it runs out of fuel. Supermassive ones usually have masses between 100,000 and 10,000 million solar masses. The stellar ones are much smaller, with approximately a mass equivalent to that of 3 to 100 suns. So what happens in the intermediate range? Don’t black holes of intermediate mass exist, between 100 and 100,000 solar masses? This is a question astronomers have been asking for a long time. Theoretically, they could exist, but no evidence has been detected. Now, a team of scientists from Yangtze University in China, has devised a method which could be useful to find them once and for all. Gravitational microlensing of fast radio bursts. These scientists have used a method that is based on searching for fast radio bursts that have experienced a gravitational microlensing deformation. These deformations are caused by massive objects that stand between the path of the blast and the Earth. By studying the effects of these disturbances, its mass can be calculated. For this reason, these scientists have analyzed a catalog of these bursts, looking for those that may have been distorted by gravitational microlensing and have been left with two candidates whose mass would correspond to an intermediate black hole. The best? They also fit with primordial black holes, so they could even serve to better understand dark matter. Clarifying concepts. Now let it be understood. Fast radio bursts are short bursts of radio waves, which come from far away, beyond the Milky Way. There is no consensus on its origin, but many have been detected, it even seems that there are a large number in a single day. For their part, gravitational microlensing are formed when a very massive object comes between a light source and the Earth. It is so massive that, due to the action of gravity, it doubles space-time and, with it, the path of light that reaches Earth. As a result, multiple and/or magnified images may form. The point is that fast radio bursts themselves can be altered by gravitational microlensing when a very massive object crosses their path. Gravitational microlensing Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). This is a Canadian radio telescope initially designed to map the presence of hydrogen in large fractions of the observable universe. Thanks to its large collecting area and field of vision and its bandwidth, over time it was seen that It was also very useful to detect fast radio bursts. They are very fast, but when observing so much sky at once they do not go unnoticed. For all this, the authors of the study that has just been published have analyzed the CHIME catalogwith special attention to bursts that at some point have suffered a disturbance by gravitational microlensing. Two candidates. Of all the distorted bursts they found, there were two whose size matched possible black holes of intermediate size. One had between 539 and 609 solar masses and the other between 1,544 and 2,571 solar masses. Curiously, there were no galaxies or galactic clusters around it. When black holes form through physically well-known collapse processes, they are usually in the centers of galaxies. However, when they are isolated, as is this case, what is expected is that they are primordial black holes. That is, black holes that formed in the early stages of the Big Bang, before there were even stars that could collapse. something unexpected. These scientists expected to find intermediate black holes, but they may also have found evidence of the origin of dark matter. One of the hypotheses about this mysterious matter that makes up most of the Universe is that it is partly composed of primordial black holes. The problem is that the existence of primordial black holes has not been proven. With this new study, two birds could have been killed with one stone: demonstrating that intermediate mass black holes and also primordial black holes exist, in turn helping to unravel the dark matter mystery. Without a doubt, it is a cosmic carom that is worth continuing to investigate. Image | THAT | POT In Xataka | Stephen Hawking made a prediction about black holes in 1971. A new signal has proven him overwhelmingly right

We are misdiagnosing PCOS. Therefore, these scientists have proposed changing its name

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Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects approximately 13% of women. women of childbearing age. However, it is estimated that there are approximately 70% of cases undiagnosed. Many patients are not aware of having this syndrome until they they try to have children and they see that it costs them a lot of work. Others never receive a diagnosis. For whatever reason, this is quite common in diseases that only affect women. All you have to do is see the endometriosis figures. Now, an international team of scientists has been exploring one of the reasons they believe there may be behind this underdiagnosis and have even proposed a curious solution: changing the name of the disease. Polyendrocrine metabolic syndrome of the ovary (SOM). These scientists they have spoken with experts and have surveyed more than 14,000 patients and healthcare professionals from around the world with different specialties. This has led them to realize that there is great discomfort with the name of the condition revolving around polycystic ovaries. It is true that this is a diagnostic criterion, but not all people with this syndrome develop this condition. Therefore, if the name revolves solely around that, there may be fewer diagnoses or even stigma towards those who insist that something is wrong with them, without having been able to put a name to their condition. After observing this data, they have chosen to propose a new name: ovarian polyendocrine metabolic syndrome. This refers to the factors that are common in all patients. An affectation of your hormones, which has effects on the ovaries and can also affect metabolism. It all starts with androgens. Generally, PCOS (or SOM, whatever we want to call it), is characterized due to excessive synthesis of androgens in the ovaries. These are what are colloquially known as male hormones, although they are also produced in the ovaries. However, its levels in the female body are usually much lower. When they rise, they affect the ability of the ovaries to ovulate correctly and, in addition, they affect the levels of other hormones linked to the menstrual cycle, such as LH and FSH. FSH usually tends to decrease, while LH increases. This hormone has many functions, among which is promote the synthesis of more androgens. Therefore, even more male hormones continue to be generated. It’s a vicious circle. The symptoms. People with this syndrome usually have symptoms such as absent or altered menstrual cycle, anovulation, facial hair growth, acne, hair loss or ovarian cysts. We should not confuse polycystic ovary syndrome with polycystic ovaries. The latter is a phenomenon that can be seen on ultrasound and does not necessarily mean the presence of the syndrome. For this reason it has been proposed to change the name. Continuing with the symptoms, PCOS is also usually accompanied by insulin resistance. That is the reason why it is also considered a metabolic syndrome. Other conditions, such as type 2 diabetes or obesity, can sometimes occur as a result. 2 of 3. PCOS is diagnosed when 2 of 3 diagnostic criteria are met. These are excess androgens, irregular or absent menstrual periods and polycystic ovaries. Cysts occur because, as ovulation cannot occur properly, the follicles in which the eggs mature remain. stuck in their immature state and accumulate. The egg is not released and the cyst occurs. However, is calculated that 30% of people with PCOS do not have these cysts. In fact, the percentage could be even higher. What happens is that, perhaps because of that inappropriate name, attention is not being paid to these cases. It is not definitive. The new name for PCOS is a proposal. Now, the competent health authorities, as well as other independent scientists, must evaluate it. In England, the NHS has already assured who will evaluate the proposal carefully. It’s certainly a start. Now we just need to pay much more attention to the suffering of women. Cover | Magnificent | Sydney Fought In Xataka | ‘Children of Men’ is ceasing to be a dystopia: the global sperm count has been sinking for years

Japanese scientists have discovered what the clouds of Venus have to do with your kitchen sink

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In 2016, the Japanese Akatsuki mission detected a massive disturbance on Venus which left scientists baffled. For a long time, its origin has been a mystery. However, now a team of researchers from the University of Tokyo has found the answer. An answer that, curiously, has a lot to do with your kitchen sink. Simulations. Through atmospheric simulations and fluid dynamics models, scientists at the University of Tokyo have discovered that a phenomenon takes place in the atmosphere of Venus, called hydraulic jump, which also happens in your sink every time you turn on the tap. You have surely noticed that, right at the point where the water hits the sink, it moves quickly and in a very thin layer. However, a circle is formed whose outer layers are thicker and move much more slowly. In other words, rapidly flowing liquid abruptly slows down and increases in height. The reasons. Initially, when water falls into the sink, its speed is greater than the local speed of the waves that are generated. However, friction with the sink surface slows down the waterso just the opposite happens. As a result, water begins to accumulate, forming a deeper layer that also moves more unstablely. What was seen on Venus. In 2016, a massive disturbance was detected moving 6,000 kilometers wide around the equator of Venus. This, in addition, was moving through the clouds, leaving behind a dark patch of denser clouds. These images taken on August 18 (left) and August 27 (right), 2016, by the near-infrared camera of Japan’s Akatsuki Venus probe, show the clear line of denser (darker) clouds moving across the planet. Special clouds. The clouds of Venuscomposed mostly of sulfuric acid, are an interesting mystery. They are known to rotate very quickly, with a speed 60 times greater than the planet’s own rotation. This, as explained in Universe Todaywould be more or less equivalent to a Formula 1 car circling a bicycle. They are made up of 3 layers, of which only the outermost one is well known. The two innermost ones harbor many mysteries, which is why these scientists have searched there. An unstable wave. In one of these internal layers, something known as a Kelvin wave is formed. It moves east very quickly, but there comes a time when it becomes periodically unstable. At that point, the wind speed slows down, like tap water, and the atmosphere builds up into a thicker layer, like water over a sink. This drastic change causes a powerful upward current of air, which pushes sulfuric acid vapor into the atmosphere, where it condenses and forms that broad wall of clouds that was detected in 2016. other planets. This is the largest hydraulic jump that has been detected in the solar system. However, these scientists believe that, using similar models, perhaps something similar could be detected on other planets. For example, they believe that Mars is a good candidate to host this phenomenon. It would be interesting to check, since Venus is too inhospitable a planet to colonize, but science Yes, he has his sights set on colonizing Mars in the future. Knowing perfectly the mysteries that its sky houses is necessary for the success of this type of missions. Image | MIT/Zeimusu | T. Imamura, Y. Maejima, K. Sugiyama et al., 2026 In Xataka | A green beam illuminated Venus in the night sky. It is not an unknown phenomenon, but it is very difficult to see

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