Reasons for optimism at the turn of the year: reflections on the fediverses, the ATmosphere, and whatever comes next
https://privacy.thenexus.today/reasons-for-optimism-at-the-turn-of-the-year/
Reasons for optimism at the turn of the year: reflections on the fediverses, the ATmosphere, and whatever comes next
https://privacy.thenexus.today/reasons-for-optimism-at-the-turn-of-the-year/
Webb observes exoplanet that may have an exotic helium and carbon atmosphere
#HackerNews #exoplanet #discovery #helium #atmosphere #carbon #science #news #NASA #Webb #telescope
I took this at 13:26 hours on Monday. It wasn’t dark. Nothing like it. In the other direction it was a clear day. This view made me stop the car and take a quick shot. It is not enhanced except by cropping. It is a close-up. I was ready for it.
“Dark of the moon and the longest night.
The deepest dark is here. Long live the light!”
A traditional Solstice chant or blessing, typically recited during Yule. It hails the 'rebirth of the sun'
I took this at 13:26 hours on Monday. It wasn’t dark. Nothing like it. In the other direction it was a clear day. This view made me stop the car and take a quick shot. It is not enhanced except by cropping. It is a close-up. I was ready for it.
“Dark of the moon and the longest night.
The deepest dark is here. Long live the light!”
A traditional Solstice chant or blessing, typically recited during Yule. It hails the 'rebirth of the sun'
Complex #life began to develop earlier, and over a longer span of time, than previously believed.
Nee findings indicate that complex organisms evolved long before there were substantial levels of #oxygen in the #atmosphere, something which had previously been considered a prerequisite to the #evolution of complex life.
The #earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, with the first #microbial life forms appearing over 4 billion years ago.
These organisms consisted of two groups – #bacteria and the distinct but related #archaea, collectively known as #prokaryotes.
Prokaryotes were the only form of life on earth for hundreds of millions of years, until more complex eukaryotic cells including organisms such as #algae, #fungi, #plants and #animals evolved.
Previous ideas on how and when early prokaryotes transformed into complex #eukaryotes has largely been in the realm of speculation. Estimates have spanned a billion years, as no intermediate forms exist and definitive fossil evidence has been lacking.
By collecting evidence from multiple #gene families in multiple biological systems and focusing on the features which distinguish eukaryotes from prokaryotes, researchers were able to begin to piece together the developmental pathway for complex life.
They obtained evidence that the transition began almost 2.9 billion years ago – almost a billion years earlier than by some other estimates – suggesting that the nucleus and other internal structures appear to have evolved significantly before #mitochondria.
The process of cumulative complexification seems to have taken place over a much longer time period than previously thought.
#biology
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2025/december/complex-life-developed-earlier-than-previously-thought-new-study-reveals.html
Paper by Kay et al. (2025): https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09808-z
Complex #life began to develop earlier, and over a longer span of time, than previously believed.
Nee findings indicate that complex organisms evolved long before there were substantial levels of #oxygen in the #atmosphere, something which had previously been considered a prerequisite to the #evolution of complex life.
The #earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, with the first #microbial life forms appearing over 4 billion years ago.
These organisms consisted of two groups – #bacteria and the distinct but related #archaea, collectively known as #prokaryotes.
Prokaryotes were the only form of life on earth for hundreds of millions of years, until more complex eukaryotic cells including organisms such as #algae, #fungi, #plants and #animals evolved.
Previous ideas on how and when early prokaryotes transformed into complex #eukaryotes has largely been in the realm of speculation. Estimates have spanned a billion years, as no intermediate forms exist and definitive fossil evidence has been lacking.
By collecting evidence from multiple #gene families in multiple biological systems and focusing on the features which distinguish eukaryotes from prokaryotes, researchers were able to begin to piece together the developmental pathway for complex life.
They obtained evidence that the transition began almost 2.9 billion years ago – almost a billion years earlier than by some other estimates – suggesting that the nucleus and other internal structures appear to have evolved significantly before #mitochondria.
The process of cumulative complexification seems to have taken place over a much longer time period than previously thought.
#biology
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2025/december/complex-life-developed-earlier-than-previously-thought-new-study-reveals.html
Paper by Kay et al. (2025): https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09808-z
Another big jump in atmospheric CO2, (still) measured at Mauna Loa: Based on daily values, the November average was ~426.5 ppm, that's around 2.7 ppm higher than last year!
Another big jump in atmospheric CO2, (still) measured at Mauna Loa: Based on daily values, the November average was ~426.5 ppm, that's around 2.7 ppm higher than last year!
If this result holds up, it’s potentially big: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02481-0
In short, it implies that #LightPollution is decreasing the efficiency with which #plants remove carbon from the atmosphere. It concludes that artificial light at night increases “ #ecosystem respiration” (plants, microbes, and animals releasing carbon dioxide through their activity and growth), but there is no corresponding increase in #photosynthesis.
The result is that plants exposed to ALAN emit more #carbon than they absorb from the #atmosphere. The authors write: “Our findings show that ALAN disrupts the fundamental energetic constraints on ecosystem metabolism, warranting the inclusion of light pollution in global change and carbon–climate feedback assessments.”
"The surge in megasatellite constellations is creating problems beyond amplifying the Earth-circling space debris, according to new research. Reentering spacecraft and rocket stages may also be damaging Earth’s atmosphere. 'Space waste,' spacecraft reentering the atmosphere, injects a considerable amount of its matter into the mesosphere and lower #thermosphere — enough to potentially weaken the Earth’s #ozone layer."
