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Signatures of Gravitational Atoms from Black Hole Mergers

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Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar famously stated that black holes are “the most perfect macroscopic objects there are in the Universe: The only elements in their construction are our concepts of space and time.” His observation relates to the fact that astrophysical black holes, as described by the Kerr spacetime, can be characterized by just two parameters: mass and spin. However, things might get more complex. Theorists have predicted that if a bosonic field interacts with a Kerr black hole, perturbations in the field can grow to form a cloud around the black hole, creating a “gravitational atom,” in which the bosons surrounding the black hole behave somewhat like the electrons surrounding an atomic nucleus . What’s more, if such a gravitational atom is part of a binary involving a second black hole, excitations and ionization processes akin to those occurring in hydrogen atoms may affect how the black hole binary evolves. Giovanni Tomaselli of the University of Amsterdam and collaborators...
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Mars's gravity pulls Earth closer to the Sun, warming our climate

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  New research hints at a fascinating and completely unexpected connection between Mars’s gravitational field and Earth’s climate. Geological evidence spanning over 65 million years suggests that deep-sea currents on Earth undergo recurring cycles of strength every 2.4 million years. These cycles, referred to as “astronomical grand cycles,” appear linked to gravitational interactions between Earth and Mars. Mars’s gravitational pull on Earth Mars and Earth tug on each other with their gravity as they move through space, creating small but noticeable effects called gravitational perturbations. Even though the planets are usually tens of millions of miles apart, their gravitational pull is strong enough to cause slight tweaks to each other’s orbits. During opposition, when Mars and Earth come closest – roughly every 26 months – Mars’s gravity nudges Earth’s orbit just a little. These changes are tiny and don’t disrupt Earth’s path in any major way, but over long periods, they can add...
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Using plasma technology to recycle CO₂ from steelmaking

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Plasma is all around us, comprising 99% of the visible universe, including the stars at night and the branch of lightning we see cracking open the sky. Researchers are using the power of this superheated matter for everything from making computer chips to healing wounds. And in Belgium, three companies are collaborating on a world-first technology: a plasma reactor that turns captured CO₂ into carbon monoxide (CO) for steel and chemical production. The process holds promise for decarbonizing steelmaking. The role of CO₂ recycling The steel sector creates more CO₂ than any other heavy industry and is considered challenging to electrify. This is because traditional steelmaking in blast furnaces uses coal as both a source of heat and, in the chemical process, as a reductant for converting iron ore to elemental (‘pig’) iron. While the sector looks to future-proof with technologies such as electric arc furnaces and direct reduction of iron ore with hydrogen, it is looking to CO₂ capture, ut...
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Plant-animal hybrid cells make solar-powered tissues, organs or meat

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Scientists in Japan have created hybrid plant-animal cells, essentially making animal cells that can gain energy from sunlight like plants. The breakthrough could have major benefits for growing organs and tissues for transplant, or lab-grown meat. Animal and plant cells have different energy-producing structures inside them. For animals, that’s mitochondria, which convert chemical energy from food into a form that our cells can use. Plants and algae, meanwhile, use chloroplasts, which perform photosynthesis to generate energy from sunlight to power their cells. In a new study led by the University of Tokyo, the team inserted chloroplasts into animal cells, and found that they continued to perform photosynthetic functions for at least two days. The chloroplasts were sourced from red algae, while the animal cells were cultured from hamsters. Previous studies had found success in transplanting chloroplasts into yeast, granting them the new ability of photosynthesis. But that’s a fungus –...
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Creating the perfect ecosystem for cybersecurity

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Cybersecurity is an ever-evolving field and cannot be set up once and then forgotten. As data and applications move to the cloud, businesses can enjoy various benefits, but many struggle to protect their networks from constantly changing cyber threats. Ransomware attackers have recognized the value of targeting smaller organizations and tailored their attacks to exploit businesses that they believe will pay immediately, often supported by cyber insurance, rather than investing in defense measures. Tight security for data and resources is crucial for ensuring that business operations run smoothly and are not disrupted to the point of closure. However, how can small and medium-sized businesses achieve comprehensive security management and threat intelligence while on a budget? The solution lies in forming partnerships and alliances. Implementing shared threat intelligence across an alliance of cybersecurity experts creates a stronger security approach. Vendors can now offer integrated s...
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Gorringe seamount expedition reveals threats facing ocean biodiversity

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The Gorringe seamount, located 200 kilometres off the Portuguese coast in the Atlantic Ocean, is the tallest underwater mountain in western Europe. Formed where the African and Eurasian tectonic plates converge, it sits at the confluence of multiple ocean currents, making it a magnet for marine life and a hotspot for biodiversity. With habitats ranging from shallow algal forests to cold-water corals, the Gorringe seamount is a unique and vital ecosystem, say scientists at the Oceano Azul Foundation, who recently undertook a scientific expedition to the region. Oceano Azul Foundation is an international marine conservation organisation based in Portugal, whose mission is to “create a unified movement of change towards ocean conservation”, through funding, education, ocean science and research. To find out more, New Scientist joined the last leg of its recent expedition to the Gorringe seamount. A collaboration with the Portuguese Navy and the (Institute for Conservation of Forests and ...
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Hydropower Survive Climate Change?

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Hydropower is the largest source of clean energy in the world, generating more electricity than all other renewable energy resources combined. However, the global rate of hydropower expansion is falling, and the technology faces an existential threat in many parts of the world due to changing weather patterns associated with climate change. This could spell major trouble for global decarbonization efforts as net-zero scenarios rely on a strong continued role for hydropower with an ideal annual growth rate of around 4%. “In the last five?years the average growth rate was less than one-third of what is required, signaling a need for significantly stronger efforts, especially to streamline permitting and ensure project sustainability,” the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports. “Hydropower plants should be recognised as a reliable backbone of the clean power systems of the future and supported accordingly.” While hydropower remains an essential part of any net-zero scen...
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