Reconstruction of Lokiceratops in the 78-million-year-old swamps of northern Montana, as two Probrachylophosaurus move by in the background. Credit: Fabrizio Lavezzi
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Reconstruction of Lokiceratops in the 78-million-year-old swamps of northern Montana, as two Probrachylophosaurus move by in the background. Credit: Fabrizio Lavezzi
What did scientists do this week? Exactly four things, all of which are summarized below.
‘This sweet baby could hold 4.3 million suns’
Supermassive black holes: how do they get so big? This simple question is much more complicated than it sounds. Science is annoying. But an international team of astronomers may have found an answer. In the relatively nearby galaxy ESO320-G030, which surrounds a supermassive black hole, they discovered a powerful, rotating magnetic wind.
They chose this galaxy for observation because it is very active and is forming new stars at a rate 10 times faster than our own galaxy. It is therefore very bright in the infrared, making it possible to capture details in the center of the galaxy that would otherwise be hidden from view. visible light and dust clouds.
Using ALMA, they peered through the surrounding dust to zoom in on the dense gas surrounding the black hole. They were able to distinguish patterns in the gas that strongly indicate the presence of a rotating, magnetized wind. Unlike other types of wind and jets, which tend to blow matter away from supermassive black holes, the magnetic wind can carry material into the black hole, causing it to grow larger over time. The researchers say the process is analogous to the way baby stars accrete matter, albeit on a much larger scale.
Microbe Temperance League
Binge drinking is generally defined as the consumption of a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time, leading to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher. Binge drinking behavior poses short-term health risks, but also carries an increased risk of alcohol use disorders later in life. Although young people have reported decreased illicit drug and alcohol consumption in recent years, researchers note that many young people regularly binge drink.
Current support for alcohol use disorders is primarily through interventions such as therapy and peer-led mutual aid groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, as there are few approved medications available; researchers are interested in developing new and more effective pharmaceutical treatments.
A team from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine reports that binge drinkers have different microbiota patterns in their gut than non-drinkers; their intestinal microorganisms also produce a different mix of short-chain fatty acids, associated with the fermentation of undigested dietary fiber and protein. They theorized that the microbiome could influence drinking behavior.
Using mice bred to express binge drinking behavior, the researchers examined whether dietary changes influenced drinking patterns. Mice were allowed to drink alcohol at night for four nights and during the experiment they were given different types of short-chain fatty acids in their food for ten days. The researchers found that increasing valeric acid in their diet corresponded to a 40% reduction in alcohol consumption in the manipulated mice.
“There are likely multiple mechanisms involved in how valerate reduces drinking,” says microbiome scientist Yanjiao Zhou of the UConn School of Medicine. “But the impact of this microbial metabolite on brain epigenetics can be quite powerful in regulating drinking behavior.”
If 3.14 isn’t good enough
A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science who model interactions between high-energy particles accidentally discovered a new series representation for pi. Because these interactions involve so many parameters, one of the researchers was tasked with optimizing. Using the Feynman diagram, a mathematical representation of energy exchange during particle interaction and scattering, and the Euler-Beta function, they managed to optimize their model of particle interactions, but also produced a new series representation of pi, involving specific parameters were combined so that researchers quickly arrive at the value of pi, which can then be incorporated into calculations.
“Our efforts initially were never intended to find a way to look at pi. All we did was study the high-energy physics in quantum theory and try to develop a model with fewer and more precise parameters to calculate.” understand how particles interact.” excited when we got a new way to look at pi,” says Aninda Sinha, professor at the Center for High Energy Physics.
A new dinosaur just fell
A multi-institutional team of paleontologists reports the discovery of a new herbivorous dinosaur in northern Montana with a spectacular set of frilly horns that resembles the headdress worn by Loki, the trickster god in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And since the specimen is now in Denmark, the researchers went ahead and named it Lokiceratops rangiformis. The fossilized bones were discovered in 2019, three kilometers south of the Canadian border.
After collecting the skull fragments, researcher Joseph Sertich of Colorado State University and professor Mark Loewen of the University of Utah realized they had discovered a new species. Lokiceratops lived about 78 million years ago; the same rock layer yielded remains of four other species, indicating that they had all lived at the same time. They estimate that Lokiceratops was 20 feet long and weighed 11,000 pounds, making it the largest of the centrosaurine horned dinosaurs in North America.
“This new dinosaur pushes the boundaries of bizarre ceratopsian headgear, with the largest frill horns ever seen on a ceratopsian animal,” Sertich said.
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