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Scientists Discover the Oldest Black Hole Known to Mankind
Cosmic sinkholes that are straight out of Star Wars
By: Matthew Campbell
Space seems endless to the naked eye. One may look at the stars at night and wonder how young the Earth is in comparison to the stars we see. However, the starlight that we see actually takes light years to reach Earth. In a way, looking at the stars is like looking back in time, due to the fact that the light we see now is light the stars emitted years ago. Now, with the help of modern technology, scientists have discovered the oldest black hole known to mankind with the use of the James Webb Space Telescope.
The black hole was discovered inside galaxy GN-z11, with the James Webb Space Telescope. This telescope is able to detect this supermassive black hole because of the glow of the disk that circles it. This disk, called an accretion disk, glows brightly because of the hot gas and dust which radiates ultraviolet energy rays, surrounding what is known as a “cosmic sinkhole.” The discovery of this black hole was led by an international team of scientists from the University of Cambridge. It is believed that this black hole formed a mere 400 million years after the Big Bang, which is over 13 billion years ago. To put that into comparison, the Earth is 4.6 billion years old and modern humans have been on Earth for only 200,000 years!
This discovery has opened new doors as to how black holes form. According to an article published by The University of Cambridge, “‘It’s very early in the universe to see a black hole this massive, so we’ve got to consider other ways they might form,’ said Professor Robert Maiolino, from Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory and Kavli Institute for Cosmology.” Black holes are still a relatively new idea: scientists still don't fully understand how they work or what could be past the event horizon. According to NASA, “A black hole's ‘surface,’ called its event horizon, defines the boundary where the velocity needed to escape exceeds the speed of light, which is the speed limit of the cosmos. Matter and radiation fall in, but they can't get out.” This discovery could give new insight on how black holes function and form as well as what their purpose is in the universe.
According to an article published by The University of Cambridge, “The sensitivity of JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) means that even older black holes may be found in the coming months and years.” This brings a promising future for space discovery, meaning it is likely that findings of the universe and black holes are probable in the near future.
Looking out at night into the vastness of space gives one the idea of how small we are compared to all other planets, stars, galaxies, and especially black holes. Who knows what else might be found in outer space. It could be black holes or something unimaginable, and only time will tell.
Gene Therapy for Deaf Children Enables First-Time Hearing Experiences
Can the solution really lie in a harmless virus replacing a missing gene?
By: Ava Proto
Hearing loss affects more than 1.5 billion people worldwide, and according to Zheng-Yi Chen, an associate scientist at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, this includes about 30 million cases of genetic impairment in children. In a new study, researchers observe the impacts of the OTOF gene, which creates the protein responsible for signal transmission from the ear to the brain. The protein encoded by the OTOF gene, otoferlin, assists in transmitting sounds that bend the ear’s hair cells. When this protein is not properly created by the OTOF gene, it can cause complete deafness. However, many of these individuals have hair cells that have the potential to work if neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that allow ear neurons to communicate with the brain, are provided.
Globally, 200,000 people are born with two mutated copies of the OTOF gene. Researchers at Fudan University’s Eye & ENT Hospital in Fudan, China, believe that they can use these functioning hair cells to their advantage. In their study, the researchers treated six children aged 1 to 7 who have a condition called DFNB9, which, due to a mutation on the OTOF gene, results in total deafness. The study examined four older children with cochlear implants and two children below the age of 2 with no assistive hearing devices.
Researchers aimed to create a virus that, when injected into the child’s cochlea, would insert a harmless virus containing the missing gene. The replacement OTOF genes would then begin to manufacture the missing otoferlin protein. However, before the study began, researchers faced an issue: the full OTOF gene is so large, being 6000 bases in length, that it could not fit into a single virus. To overcome this obstacle, researchers divided the gene into two separate viruses, each one containing a piece of OTOF’s DNA sequence. They then injected a mixture with both halves of the gene into the cochlea.
Over the 26-week trial period, 5 out of 6 participants showed hearing improvements. The three older children were even able to understand and respond to speech by 26 weeks without their cochlear implants.
In the United States, 11 year old Assam Dam was the first person to receive gene therapy for his congenital deafness at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The therapy had remarkable results for Asam’s hearing. When one interviewer asked Asam his favorite sound, Asam held up the letter “P” and moved his hands in circles—the sign for “People.”
Some members of the deaf community, however, feel that gene therapy is unnecessary as it is the belief of many deaf people that deafness does not need to be cured and is not a disability. Jeffrey Holt, a professor at Harvard Medical School who studies gene therapy for deafness, responded to such arguments by saying, "The way we think about it is we want to provide options. We don’t want to force this on anybody,”
As research develops, scientists hope that when a newborn fails the routine hearing tests at birth they will have the option to be treated immediately. Researchers say that with time, there will be other uses for these types of gene therapies, which includes deafness caused by defects in genes such as TMPRSS3 as well as Usher syndrome, a disorder that leads to blindness.
Climate Change Drives Extreme Drop in Snow Levels
Global warming continues to cause problems and change our world
By: Oluwadamilola Konigbagbe
Almost every child has experienced the inexplicable joy that comes with snow days. After long weeks at school, there is usually a sigh of relief that comes with finding out that school is canceled or delayed for a couple hours, providing an opportunity to sleep-in.
Most adults can also identify with this experience, as snowy conditions often leave no means of getting to work, making it possible to either work from home or go to work later in the day. Snow days are only one of the many reasons to love snow. Unfortunately, this year’s winter was a disappointment for many snow lovers. Connecticut did not receive its first measurable snowfall until January 7, 2024, almost two years since the last snow flurries, and several weeks after winter’s official start.
These saddening numbers can be attributed to climate change. According to the United Nations, climate change refers to “long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.” While occasional changes in weather patterns are natural and are as a result of the sun’s activities, the climate change that the earth currently faces is largely a by-product of human activity, namely the burning of fossil fuels.
The earth’s problems with climate change can be traced back to the time period of about 1800-1960, during which most nations of the world experienced an industrial revolution. According to NASA, in this time period, human activities “raised atmospheric CO2 by 50% .”In the atmosphere, this CO2 has the effect of increasing global temperatures. Like other greenhouse gasses, CO2 does this by absorbing and retaining the heat that is ordinarily reflected by the earth into space.
CO2 is not entirely detrimental to the earth. For example, CO2 is a major part in the process of photosynthesis, which produces the oxygen that all living species rely on. CO2 only becomes a problem when it accumulates in the earth’s atmosphere in excess. In addition to being a driving factor for the drop in snow levels, climate change has caused many other catastrophic events. For instance, climate change is the cause behind the drought being experienced in some nations like South Africa as of 2024. This drought has made farming impossible, resulting in increased hunger and starvation for many families.
Aware of the many problems that global warming might cause on earth, several nations have made ambitious yet feeble plans to solve the climate crisis. These nations create climate initiatives and set goals—like “no carbon emissions by 2050—that sound impactful, but rarely do anything to address the issue at hand. These measures, more often than not, fall short of the government regulation needed to keep industries in check and in compliance with these initiatives. The earth’s current situation is a byproduct of these failed efforts at addressing climate change. Until climate change is addressed, the already hard-to-manage situations that several nations face will be exacerbated.For snow lovers, this means even lower snow levels and shorter winters.
New Program Takes on The Battle Against Malaria Killing Children
How immunization can save millions
By: Sally Liao
Cameroon’s kids got the world’s first malaria vaccine, RTS,S, on Monday, January 22, 2024. Developed by the British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline(GSK) and distributed by the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, RTS,S is the first malaria vaccine approved by the World Health Organization(WHO) in October 2021. This vaccine is targeted to help children 5 and under who account for almost 80% of deaths. GSK is said to be producing 15 million of these vaccines a year to match the required 4 doses to be fully vaccinated. Although the road to the vaccine was met with delays and many trials, it came out in the end. “The work towards a malaria vaccine has been long and hard,” expressed Gavi CEO, Dr Seth Berkley. “Today we begin a new chapter: alongside existing interventions, this new tool will allow us to save more lives in countries hit hardest by this killer disease.” The vaccine is predicted to save thousands globally with the help of preventive measures and a second vaccine that's on the way. The making of this first vaccine came with obstacles along the way, proving to be no easy feat.
With the new vaccine coming in, it's still important to keep preventive measures such as insecticide bed nets and malaria pills, because, like most firsts, the vaccine isn't perfect. It’s only been shown to work in 36% of malaria cases. It’s not the "silver bullet," reasons Willis Akhwale of End Malaria Council Kenya, it’s not guaranteed to finish malaria. However, that's still a lot of people that are being saved if you take into account the 600,000 global deaths per year. Meaning that even with the vaccines low efficacy, it will still dramatically decrease the amount of severe infections and hospitalizations. Although the vaccine will still greatly reduce the amount of malaria deaths, some experts argue that at least some of the profits should continue to be used on the prevention measures that are already in place instead of on more vaccines. As of now, the vaccine won’t be the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs but it will significantly reduce the amount of malaria related deaths.
Widespread malaria countries, including Cameroon, will receive vaccines accordingly, depending on age and vulnerability. It’s the first country in the routine immunization campaign with an aim to meet their goal of 250,000 immunized kids. 20 other African countries follow, also working with Gavi to reach their goal of immunizing 6.6 million kids through the next 2 years with Burkina Faso next.
It’s impressive how far the vaccine has come. Climate change, Covid-19 and malaria resistance caused delays in the development of the vaccines. In 2019-2021 pilot campaigns were tested in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. The results showed a 13% decrease in child deaths. Although the vaccine has met some setbacks it still proves that reducing the amount of malaria deaths is possible.
Luckily, a second vaccine is on the way. Approved in December of 2023 by the World Health Organization (WHO), Oxford University's R21/Matrix-M is expected to be the game changer in the fight against malaria. R21 is said to be cheaper and more effective, showing to meet the WHO's goal of 75% efficacy. With only 3 doses needed per person and 249 million cases to prevent, the vaccine will be mass produced 200 million a year by the Serum Institute of India. About 100 million are already anticipated to be manufactured this May or June, filling the gap in the shot shortage. Oxford's vaccine “is expected to result in sufficient vaccine supply to meet the high demand and reach millions more children," Kate O'Brien, WHO's director of Immunization stated in the malaria briefing at the WHO. With the approval of this second vaccine comes a greater hope of winning the malaria battle.
Obviously malaria isn’t going anywhere for a long time and there's still so much research to be done and trials to be conducted before it's finally eradicated. But for now this vaccine is a beacon of hope for people in Cameroon, especially for victims of Malaria like Mohammed Abdulaziz of Africa’s CDC, "For a long time, we have been waiting for a day like this. It brings more than just hope. It brings a reduction in the mortality and morbidity associated with malaria". So, we may never see the end of this parasitic borne disease in our lifetimes, but it's reassuring to know that the first big step on the path to ending Malaria is being taken.
Millions Wear Safety Glasses to Watch Rare Appearance of April Solar Eclipse
Folks travel for miles to experience the rare and short-lived vision
By: Sally Liao
On April 8, 2024 a total solar eclipse will cross the skies of North America. With the total eclipse’s onset comes flocks of people from all corners of the globe to come see this once in a lifetime opportunity. As this new day begins the Earth rotates on its axis while down on it the people prepare. Families crowd into parks. Scientists bring in their coronographs and photographers set up their camera equipment. Everybody gathers together and stares up at the sky, with their eclipse glasses clenched and their breath held, they wait. A total solar eclipse was in motion.
Eclipses are phenomenons formed when one astronomical object goes into another astronomical object’s shadow. Those that occur and we see from earth involve the sun and moon. There are lots of different types of them and they get classified based on 2 things. What we see and how much of it is blocked, by either earth’s shadow or the moon. These determine whether an eclipse is either lunar or solar and if its partial, annular, or total. Whether people see the sun or the moon depends on the order in which they align. In solar eclipses the moon is between the earth and the sun, making the configuration Sun, Moon, Earth (SME). During this the sun’s light radiates to earth but the aligned moon blocks a fraction of that light, creating a solar eclipse. The same goes with lunar eclipses, except the moon is on the other side of the earth instead of being in the middle(SEM), making the moon viewable with the sun’s light on it. Eclipses also get categorized into how much is seen of the sun or moon, falling into either partial, annular, or total. Partial is when a partial part is seen of the sun or moon, this makes it look like a crescent.
This type occurs on average twice a year and happens when the sun, moon, and earth aren’t perfectly lined. An annular eclipse is when only a ring (sometimes referred to as the ‘Ring of Fire’) of the sun is visible; this happens when the moon is farther away from from the earth, making it look smaller compared to the sun(Annular lunar eclipses don’t happen because earth’s shadow is bigger than the moon, so it isn’t big enough to make a ring show!). Total eclipses are when two objects are perfectly aligned with each other. Total eclipses happen about every 18 months, but most of the time they happen over oceans or in other invisible spots that make it harder for everyday urban-living people to see. This year we’ll have a few eclipses, but of all them the total solar eclipse this April is the one with the most attraction.
First the eclipse will start out in the Pacific Ocean at 11:07 am PDT and steadily inclines up to Mexico. Soon it’ll reach the US and continue into US north eastern states. The shadow moves onto Dallas, Texas at around 12:23 pm CDT and enters max totality here at 1:42pm; while shadowing Idabel, Oklahoma 5 mins later. The eclipse will follow the path of totality, the 115m wide predicted path the shadow will take (have to be in to see totality), into Little Rock, Arkansas and Poplar, Missouri. We’ll see it reach max coverage at 2:01 pm CDT in both Paducah, Kentucky and Carbondale, Illinois. Then it’ll progress into Evansville, Indiana and on to Cleveland, Ohio. Next, Erie, Pennsylvania will be able to see totality at 3:18 pm EDT and Buffalo, New York at 3:20pm EDT. Soon the eclipse will pass over Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and will leave the US to Canada and out to the Atlantic where it will fade away.
Watching any type of solar eclipse is exciting, but to do it safely you first need to protect your eyes from the sun. When watching a solar eclipse you need to wear eclipse glasses or any other ISO 12312-2:2015 certified solar filter, like handheld solar viewers(Totality is the only time when you can look at the sun filter free, but right after you must wear filters). Solar filters are thousands of times darker than regular sunglasses and the ones sold are rigorously regulated, but if you ever find that your solar filters were made before 2015 or are damaged. (This includes if they’re scratched, torn, and/or have wrinkled lenses) do NOT use them. Do NOT watch through your phone, camera or telescope without proper solar filters, concentrated sun rays will burn through the lens. (Don’t use regular solar filters with those, special filters are required). Otherwise all of these would lead to severe damage to the eyes. But, if you can’t get solar filters you can make a pinhole/eclipse projector to view the solar eclipse.
Eclipses are uncontrollable forces, not to be reckoned with. They represent the unstoppable power of the universe. Eclipses used to be seen as the end of the world but today they’re seen as wondrous feats of nature that get viewed and studied every year.
A look at How Scientists Unveil the Secrets of the World's Oldest Forest
Carbon-dating "stories" unfold through roots, trunks and branches
By: Haram Lee
The New England region is covered with several forests, but one tucked away would be crucial to the advancement of life on Earth. Near an abandoned quarry in Cairo, New York, nestles the world’s oldest forest. Researchers gather in this area to observe, gather information, and admire this 385 million year old beauty.
This ancient forest predates the Age of Dinosaurs, with the discovery of forests or any other remnants of prehistoric periods such as this being considered rare. Only a couple years before the discovery of this area, the nearby Gilboa Forest was considered to be the oldest petrified forest. “The Cairo site is very special," says team member Christopher Berry, a paleo botanist at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. Berry and his team of colleagues had first discovered this area back in 2009, but the fossils found are still being analyzed for carbon-dating. This area, equivalent to about a half the size of an American football field, displays the petrified roots of prehistoric trees ingrained within the floor of the quarry. "Standing on the quarry surface we can reconstruct the living forest around us in our imagination." says Berry.
The imprinted roots and trunks on the surface of this area are said to belong to an antediluvian ancestor to the modern trees such as Archaeopteris and other mid-Devonian period plants and organisms. The most conspicuous remains are those that belong to the Archaeopteris (not to be confused with the Archaeopteryx, the first known dinosaur-bird).
“Like today’s oaks and maples, Archaeopteris boasted flat, green leaves ideal for absorbing sunlight and girthy, lumber-worthy trunks that helped the plant grow out as well as up.” says lead author William Stein, a paleo botanist at Binghamton University. The characteristics of these trees had reshaped the entire world. Their thick trunks would have efficiently absorbed the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, their leaves providing shade to the soil underneath, allowing the prosperity for other plant organisms. The sudden decrease of carbon dioxide would not only have increased oxygen levels, but would have also dropped the atmospheric temperature which may have led to an extended period of glaciation, promoting life to crawl onto land, which then evolved into massive creatures. “The arrival of these forests was the creation of the modern world,” Berry says.
Areas like the Cairo exhibit and Gilboa are thought to be part of the same landscape of the Catskill Mountains. Prosperous, until their demise. The remains in Cairo not only include plants and trees, but also well-preserved fossils of fish. This soon led researchers to theorize that the extinction of this forest near the end of the Devonian was probably caused by a massive flood that had drowned the plants and everything within the ecosystem.
Sites like Cairo still play a major role today. The preserved forest remains were dug up for the use of fossil fuels during the peak of industrialization in the early 20th century. These trees played a major role in the development of life, leading it to what we know it as today.
Does Love Impact The Brain: How Does it Happen and Why?
She loves me....she loves me not and the neuroscience behind it all
By: Zayna Saidi
A research conducted by Helen Fisher and her team in 2005 has now revealed a groundbreaking discovery about how the human brain responds to love. To obtain this conclusion, Fisher analyzed MRI scans of the brain under different circumstances revolving relationships. For the experiment, her team brought in college students to analyze their brain scans after being shown photos of people in which they knew. Among the photos, friends were shown in addition to one photo of a person who a student romantically loved.
In response to being shown photos of someone they love, the students’ brain scans showed more activity in the caudate nucleus and ventral tegmental area, regions containing more dopamine in comparison to other parts of the brain. Lucy Brown, a neuroscientist and professor of neurology at Einstein College of Medicine, stated that the ventral tegmental area is the location in the brain where many of the basic functions of the human body come from. From this, Brown states, “While we often think about romantic love as this euphoric, amorphous thing and as a complex emotion, the activation we see in this very basic part of the brain is telling us that romantic love is actually a drive to fulfill a basic need.”
Through further experiments, scientists have discovered that certain chemicals flood into the human brain when experiencing love, which explains the common experience of sweaty hands, blushing, and a racing heart. The rush of positive emotions one feels in the face of love is also explained by the discovery that the feeling of love causes the part of the brain responsible for negative emotions to be deactivated.
Interestingly, that area in which negative emotions are created is also the area in which judgment is formed. Due to the fact that this area of the brain is shut down when experiencing romance, judgment is often not registered by the human body, therefore the person in which one feels romantic love towards is not being assessed by the person’s brain. This concept seems to be the “neural basis of the ancient wisdom ‘love is blind’” according to Richard Schwartz, a professor of psychiatry at McLean Hospital.
Throughout the years together, a couple will no longer feel such intense emotions as they become used to and comfortable around each other. Due to the familiarity, their brain no longer sends such intense emotions throughout the body, causing what most refer to as the “spark” between two people to feel as if it lessens. However, that does not mean that people have fallen out of love due to becoming too close with one another.
A research done at Stony Brook University had multiple couples who had been together for many decades do the same test that the formerly mentioned college students had done. Through the analysis of the MRI scans of their brains, it was determined that despite the amount of years spent together, the same parts of the brain were more active when seeing a photo of someone they loved. With this, Fisher and her team concluded that despite losing that “spark” felt in romance, the excitement of love never leaves the human brain.
The World of Science Presents Alarming Update: 2023 Was the Warmest Year On Record
How do we keep our world from melting away?
By Will Sagnella
Climate change has been an ongoing issue in the world; since the late 19th century to be exact. Around this time people started to pay attention to the temperature rising and the ozone layer depleting. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, global temperatures have risen around 0.17°F per decade since 1901.
In 2023, the temperature finally hit an all time high. The average temperature in 2023 was 14.22°C, or 57.6°F. This was 1.46°C above the average pre-industrial temperature.
There is one clear reason for this increase; climate change. However, there is another reason for the warmer weather that many may overlook. There are two climate patterns called La Niña, and El Niño. These patterns disrupt the normal weather patterns and conditions we see day to day. The two patterns happen every 2 to 7 years, and operate in opposite ways. La Niña has a global cooling effect across most of the planet. During a La Niña year, the weather pattern starts over the Pacific Ocean and along the equator. It causes the sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean to drop below normal. The cooler temperature of the sea alters the air circulation in the atmosphere, resulting in cooler temperatures across most of the planet.
El Niño has the opposite effect. This weather pattern warms the water in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Like its sister pattern La Niña, the temperature of the water radiates up into the atmosphere, changing the temperature of the planet. In this case, the warmer sea temperature is circulated up into the atmosphere, causing temperatures to increase throughout most of the planet.
The last time either of these patterns occurred was in 2022. During this year the world was enduring a La Niña effect. Following right behind La Niña, would be El Niño in 2023. This particular El Niño effect was very strong; possibly ranking in the top 5 of all time. This year, the sea surface temperatures were so great that they caused a shift in the Walker Circulation, which is important in regulating and normalizing the weather and climate. More specifically, the Walker Circulation is a cycle that depicts the flow of air under normal conditions, in the tropical Pacific.
Going back to what happens in El Niño, the warm air from the sea causes more rising air and weaker upper-level and near-surface winds. This change in the air and winds causes for the Walker Circulation to become weaker, meaning the flow of the air was thrown off. The effect of the weaker Walker Circulation? Warmer temperatures.
The next piece of the warmer temperature puzzle is climate change. As many know by now, climate change is the shifts in our weather. These shifts may be warmer weather, more rain, or longer droughts. One of the biggest contributors of climate change are greenhouse gasses. These gasses cover the earth and absorb the sun's heat. By absorbing it, these gasses also prevent the heat from escaping, and trapping it in earth's atmosphere. Because the heat cannot leave, it makes earth's temperature increase, causing the shift in temperature. The biggest contributor to greenhouse gasses are fossil fuels. Simply put, they are fuels like oil, coal, and gas, that are burned and released into the atmosphere.
2023 was the warmest year to date. Incredibly, many credible organizations like Time Magazine and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are saying that 2024 has a one in three chance of being warmer than 2023 was. If it does not surpass 2023, then the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) says there is a 99% chance that 2024 will storm into the top 5 warmest years. If this trend continues, and every year gets warmer and warmer, how long before the temperature makes life unsustainable?
Beware the Bird Flu Outbreak
Do we really need one more thing to worry about?
By: Olivia Coish
Avian influenza, a virus that originates in waterfowl such as ducks, has infected other seabirds and mammals on the British Overseas Territory. Recently, scientists have reported that gentoo and king penguins have fallen victim to the spreading virus. High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been prevalent for decades, but the world is currently dealing with a flare up of H5NI, a strain of the virus that causes the death of countless wild and domesticated birds.
Bird Flu was first identified in the Brown Skua, a large scavenger seabird in South Georgia in October of 2023. Shortly after, the virus was detected in kelp gulls, then in January of this year, it was confirmed in elephant and fur seals. According to Dr. Ratcliffe, a scientist who confirms samples of Bird Flu at the International Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza, "Skuas winter around South America, as do giant petrels and we think these birds are the vector that brought the disease into South Georgia.”
Scientists are now continuing their studies, closely watching to see how Bird Flu interacts with the different penguin species including kings, gentoos, macaronis, and chin straps. Marconis, for example, spend much of the southern winter at sea, thereby helping them avoid infection. Kings and gentoos, on the other hand, live on shore, leaving them open to further exposure. Penguins tend to be at high exposure due to the close proximity in which they live their daily lives.
Dr. Ratcliffe says, “Surveillance is key,” a task that has been implemented by many cruise ships that sail in Antarctica waters. As the spread of Bird Flu continues to rise, members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) have enforced and heightened protocols to prevent the accidental spread of disease through tourists.
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