Conspiracy theorists around the world are nervous after a supposed Russian astronomer predicted that a massive asteroid will strike the earth on Feb. 16 – the astronomer said the result will be a mega-tsunami that will wreak devastation over a wide portion of earth’s landmasses. But NASA officials say the people of earth have nothing to worry about. The American space agency guarantees the asteroid will miss the earth by 32 million miles on Feb. 25.

Asteroid Close Flyby

The object was first detected by NASA last year. Dubbed 2016 WF9, the hunk of space debris appears to be a hybrid object, part comet and part asteroid in composition. It’s a sizable object measuring an estimated 0.3 to 0.6 miles across, but not large enough to produce significant damage if it collides with earth. The object will pass within 32 million miles of earth, not terribly close even in astronomical terms

A Fake Astronomer

Other also point out that Dr. Dyomin Damir Zakharovich, the Russian astronomer predicting the impact, may not only be a “self-proclaimed astronomer,” but may not be a real person at all. Several media sites, including the New Daily, say they have been unable to identify any legitimate astronomer in Russia, or any country, by the name of Dyomin Damir Zakharovish. No university system in Russia lists such a scientist on staff, nor are there any scientific papers published under the name.

The story gained steam after a British tabloid published a story about 2016 WF9 striking the earth quoting the mysterious astronomer, and an Australian publication picked up the story and ran it again. The story quickly went viral across the Internet fueled mostly by conspiracy theory websites and chat rooms.

But a real astronomer and professor at the University of Southern Queensland denounced the story as “categorically wrong.” Jonti Horner said the story is a classic example of the powerful “Murdoch Press” acting in an egregiously irresponsible manner.

Spotted by NASA Space Probe

The 2016 WF9 object was first spotted by NASA’s NEOWISE project on Nov. 27, 2016. NEOWISE is a deep space satellite telescope launched in 2009. Its primary mission is to spot and study asteroids and comets in our solar system, but also deep space objects. The space probe has discovered thousands of minor planets and numerous star clusters.

Its observations also supported the discovery of the first Y Dwarf and Earth trojan asteroid. The NEOWISE craft developed trouble with its transmitter in 2011 causing NASA to place it into hibernation. It was successfully reactivated in 2013, however. Another goal of its mission is to create infrared images of 99% of the sky.

The Nibiru Connection

The conspiracy theory surrounding 2016 WF9 was bolstered by relating the object to a fictional planet called Nibiru, a mysterious “Planet X” around which a tremendous mythology has developed in recent years. The so-called Russian astronomer said 2016 WF9 was “spun out” of the Nibiru system.

The concept of planet Nibiru has been greatly magnified by the enormous popularity of the books of speculative historian Zecharia Sitchin, an ancient astronaut theorist who claims that Sumerian culture was created by alien beings from the planet Nibiru thousands of years ago.

Nibiru supposedly exists in an extreme elliptical orbit and only comes into close proximity with earth once every 3,600 years, at which time aliens living on Nibiru visit our planet and meddle with human affairs. Sitchin’s book, The 12th Planet, published in 1976, has sold millions of copies and been translated into 25 languages. The book continues to sell briskly today in its 45th printing.

Photo by Hubble ESA, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Scientists have confirmed that three babies produced by a female zebra shark in Townsville City, Australia, were conceived asexually. Although this shark, named Leonie, had shark babies with a male partner in the early 2000s, aquarium workers noticed Leonie was pregnant yet again in early 2016.

Sure enough, three baby sharks were birthed later this year. Although asexual reproduction is rare in sharks, scientists have known for awhile that many vertebrate species have the ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually.

Background On Leonie’s Case

Leonie was first put into the Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville City in 1999. She had a male partner with her at the beginning. Over the years, Leonie had some two dozen babies with the male shark. Then, in 2012, the aquarium staff decided to move the male shark out of Leonie’s tank to give her some privacy. From 2012 until today, Leonie has had no male contact.

After these years of isolation, Leonie suddenly produced three shark offspring in early 2016. This quickly caught the attention of local researcher Christine Dudgeon, a professor at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.

At first, Dudgeon and colleagues thought that Leonie must have stored sperm from her male mate and only chose to use it to fertilize her eggs much later. However, after testing Leonie’s three new children, researchers discovered that they only contained the DNA of her mother. There were no traces of the father’s DNA in these three little sharks.

This discovery made it clear that Leonie must have reproduced these offspring asexually. As mentioned before, this isn’t the first time a vertebrate has been observed asexually producing children. Scientists have documented Komodo dragons, eagles, and boa constrictors doing the same thing.

The interesting thing about Leonie’s case is that she switched from sexual to asexual reproduction exactly when her external conditions demanded she make an adaptation. This leads many in the scientific community to wonder just how common asexual reproduction is in the wild.

What Scientists Are Learning From This Zebra Shark

Scientists note that Leonie’s case is the first time on record they’ve observed a female zebra shark making the switch from sexual to asexual reproduction so quickly. Researchers say this decision to reproduce asexually clearly shows the importance of external pressure.

It also proves many animals that reproduce with partners have the ability to reproduce on their own if they feel the need to.

The actual biological function that allows this sexual/asexual switch is still unknown to scientists, but Leonie’s case offers a few more clues into its evolutionary function.

Dudgeon argues that the asexual function in female zebra sharks might be “a holding-on mechanism” so that a mother’s “genes get passed down from female to female until there are males available to mate with.”

In addition to learning more about this asexual reproductive function, researchers now have a clearer sense of the evolution of zebra sharks over time. Over the course of the species’ history, there are many periods of sharp reductions in the zebra shark population.

These declines often occurred during ice ages. Dudgeon believes that during these periods of population decline females must have preserved the species by reproducing asexually.

Hope For The Survival Of Zebra Sharks

The news of Leonie’s asexual reproduction isn’t only helping scientists better understand this mysterious evolutionary adaptation, it’s also giving them hope for the future. Zebra sharks are now considered a vulnerable species. The main threat to their survival comes from inshore fisheries.

Still, if female zebra sharks adapt to their circumstances and can start reproducing asexually, many marine biologists are hopeful zebra sharks will make it into the future just fine.

Image source: pexels.com/photo/underwater-no-person-water-fish-108056/

New data shows that the Arctic’s floating sea ice levels are the lowest ever recorded. Although we’ve only been monitoring the earth’s sea ice levels with satellite technology since the 1970s, some scientists believe this could be the lowest level ever. Meteorologists around the world are pointing to this data as yet another warning sign of the disastrous implications of global warming.

How Bad The New Data Really Is

This new satellite data comes from the U.S. National Snow & Ice Data Center located in Boulder, Colorado. On this center’s latest graph, which was officially published on January 14th, Arctic ice levels are documented from 1978 to the start of 2017. It is clear to spot the outlier in the 2016 line.

This red line dips well below the average during the months of October, November, and December. Most scientists, perhaps unsurprisingly, believe global warming played a key role in this year’s decline. To further prove their point, scientists also point to another graph that details the shrinking Arctic sea ice levels during the winter season.

Yet another graph released by the Snow & Ice Data Center shows how Antarctica’s sea ice area has been shrinking rapidly during the southern summer season. However, most meteorologists are not screaming in panic just yet over these Antarctica numbers. Although these numbers aren’t great, many climatologists believe 2016’s low Antarctica number was exacerbated by natural temperature variability.

John Turner, who works as a climatologist for the British Antarctic Survey, believes the main reason we see this low number for the 2016 Antarctica ice levels has to do with the weaker winds found around Antarctica. Turner told reporters that Antarctica’s climate is “extremely variable,” and that slight changes in winds “can have a huge effect on sea ice.”

Scientists Focus On Arctic Numbers

It’s the data surrounding the Arctic that has more climatologists worried. Since the Arctic’s ice levels have been in a steady decline for decades now, most meteorologists believe it must be due to the increased pressure from global warming. Warm air is entering into the Arctic, which causes the ice to melt more rapidly over time.

This would explain why many nations in both Europe and Asia experienced extremely low temperatures last year. As the warm air moves into the Arctic, it pushes all the cold air out into these continents.

Eric Holthaus, a popular meteorologist on Slate, took to social media after analyzing these Arctic numbers. Holthaus tweeted on January 14th,

There is, right now (as of Jan. 12th), the least area of sea ice on our planet that we’ve ever measured—probably the lowest in millennia.

Holthaus also posted graphs with both the current Arctic sea ice levels and 18,000-year reconstructions.

As the sea ice melts, scientists observe that the ocean gets exposed to more sunlight. Since lower ocean levels are darker than the ice above, the ocean naturally absorbs more heat from the sun. This effect has led some in the meteorological community to fear the melting of a huge ice sheet by Greenland.

Once this ice sheet melts, the waters will flow from the land into the ocean and raise sea levels. Today, Greenland’s ice sheet is 1.9 miles thick. If it melts, it could raise global sea levels by as much as 25 feet.

Future Predictions For Arctic Sea Levels

Although these numbers are sobering, many scientists believe the Arctic numbers will increase over the next few years. After a few years of increase, these numbers will most likely slide down even further. Ed Hawkins, a professor at the University of Reading, said that huge falls like this are often followed by a rebound.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the trend for Arctic ice levels will move upwards. All scientists urge world leaders, especially President Donald Trump, to put global warming policies on the top of their agendas while humanity still has time.

Image source: pexels.com/photo/snow-on-sea-photography-196789/

Locals attribute these strange occurrences to the existence of fairies.

Strange circles found around the coastal Namib Desert in southern Africa have baffled researchers for decades. Hundreds of these arid circles, measuring between 7 to 50 feet in diameter, are dotted along the long desert. Two major theories have attempted to explain these so-called “fairy circles” throughout the years, and, interestingly, both may be true.

The Two Major Fairy Circle Theories and Recent Research

Some theorists believe that termites deep beneath the soil form the circles. This group claims the insects clear all the vegetation situated right above their underground nests. Since the soil becomes more permeable without vegetation, rainwater easily flows 50 centimeters below the earth’s surface and into their nests. This, theorists claim, helps form a healthy balance between both the termites and the local environment.

The second main theory behind the Namibian fairy circles is called the water competition theory. As the name suggests, the adepts of this theory believe the fairy circles appear due to intense competition for water between plants.

As long as the vegetation is dense, water levels are maintained and the plants have enough nutrients. However, lonely specimens that do not benefit from the shade of their companions are forced to grow longer roots, extracting water from deep within the soil.

In order to settle this debate, Corina Tarnita, an assistant professor of ecology at Princeton University, decided to look into this matter. She teamed up another Princeton ecology professor, Robert Pringle, to run some intricate computer tests.

They first looked into the termite model using computer models. Their simulation showed that it is very likely various termite colonies establish borders, which would then result in the circular patterns on the desert’s surface. Termite colonies are well known for fighting over territory. Whenever there’s a stalemate, they often form a border.

Both Tarnita and Pringle discovered that every single settlement was surrounded by about six neighboring colonies. This wasn’t only true for the Namibian fairy circles but also correlated to how termites in areas such as Kenya, Arizona, and Mozambique often behave.

Despite these findings, both researchers felt like they hadn’t done the water competition theory enough justice. Tarnita wondered if both theories could actually be right simultaneously.

Tarnita and Pringle ran a computer model that computed for both a large-scale termite pattern and a small-scale pattern resulting from plants fighting over water. They saw a real possibility for both of these theories to be true. Eventually, the researchers headed out to Namibia to see these fairy circles for themselves.

Once the scientists arrived at the Namib Desert, they found the larger circles made by termites, but they also spotted numerous smaller circles that hadn’t been noted before. These smaller circles measured about 20 centimeters in diameter and were roughly 20 centimeters apart from each other. This matched Tarnita and Pringle’s computer model perfectly, and it suggested that both theories could be simultaneously true.

Accepted By Some, Rejected By Others

After Tarnita and Pringle released their data to the world, it received mixed reviews from the scientific community. One of the strongest supporters of the termite theory, Norbert Jürgens of Germany’s University of Hamburg, said that he thought Tarnita’s work helped resolve the debate between termite supporters and water competition supporters. Jürgens now hopes for a “balanced discussion.”

One staunch water competition theorist, however, is not ready to admit both termite and water competition theories can co-exist. Stephan Getzin, who works at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, reported on fairy circles observed in Australia last year. Getzin said that he hasn’t seen any termites in either the Namib Desert or the Australian Outback.

Therefore, Getzin believes

“the termite theory cannot be considered as a strong explanation [of the fairy circles].”

The Theoretical War Isn’t Over Yet

Although Tarnita and Pringle’s research attempted to resolve this issue, the back and forth between staunch supporters of either side will probably go on for some time. Jürgens has already called Getzin’s claim that there are no termites in the Namib Desert ludicrous. After years of work in the field, Jürgens believes termites are always present in areas where these circles appear. Perhaps only further studies will put this fairy circle debate to a close.

Image Source: Wikipedia

Scientists are very excited about new lab experiments allowing them to restore eyesight in blind mice. The researchers used stem cells to give these mice the ability to see. This is the first time that they have been able to produce sight where it didn’t exist.

According to the team involved, they do not know if the same procedure would work in people or not, until human trials are completed. If this works out, then blind people may be able to see again as well.

How Did the Researchers Give Sight to Mice?

Researchers working at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, a large research facility in Japan, collected skin cells from the mice. In the lab, they were then able to induce them to make pluripotent stem cells. They were then able to convert these stem cells into retinal tissue. Finally, they transplanted the retina tissue into mice that had end-stage retinal degeneration.

The mice were then put into a test box with two different chambers. They first trained the mice to move from one chamber to the other, using a beep and a light, in order to avoid receiving an electrical shock. Eventually, the beep was eliminated to see if the mice could detect just the light.

In 40 percent of the mice, who had the procedure was done in just one eye, the mice responded to the light. In 45 percent of the mice, where both eyes were transplanted, the mice could see as well. That’s a high percentage for a trial to restore eyesight with no previous groundwork to rely on.

The researchers hope that over time, eye-brain connection techniques can be improved to make these percentages even higher.

Can the Same Thing Happen in Humans?

Lead researcher Dr. Michiko Mandai says:

From a clinical point of view, although we think that these results are very promising, human eyes may have a different environment from mice.

He adds that without human studies, there is no way to know if human eyes would accept such retina transplants and then make connections with the brain. In his opinion, those answers can only be found when human tests are done.
According to the scientists, it would be very exciting if it did work, because this would restore eyesight and light sensitivity to those currently struggling with blindness. They believe that it would also mean those affected could see large objects.

If successful, this would be particularly great news for people with retinal degeneration. While there are several different types of this disease, everyone suffering from it experiences damage to photoreceptor cells (which allow them to sense light). Depending on the stage of degeneration, the person may see a blurred image, distorted, or see no image at all.

The most common type of retinal degeneration is age-related macular degeneration. This disease that is usually seen in people over 50 slowly destroys the ability to see straight ahead. It can eventually make a person go totally blind.

Caucasians are more likely to experience this disease than people from other ethnic groups. Scientists know that over 20 genes that can be passed down can cause age-related macular degeneration.

Therefore, people are at a higher risk if one or both parents have the disease. Those who smoke or do not exercise are also more likely to develop this disease. Eating a well-balanced diet can also help prevent it.

Conclusion

For the first time, scientists have been able to grow retina tissue in the lab from stem cell. They were also able to transplant it into mice and restore eyesight at least partially (in regards to perceiving light). Scientists are still not sure if the same will work in humans or not without completing a human trial.

If the procedure works for human subjects, people with retinal degeneration will be able to see again. This would be great news for everyone suffering from age-related macular degeneration.

Image source: here.