Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
Scientists have identified a never-before-seen type of cell that may help to heal brain damage. This unique kind of cell is astrocyte, a star-shaped cell that supports communication between brain cells, or neurons, and keeps them healthy by stabilizing the brain's protective barrier and regulating neurons' balances of charged particles and signalling molecules. The researchers identified two distinct types of white-matter astrocytes. The first performed the role of a "housekeeper," which physically supported nerve fibers and aided neurons in communicating with one another. Meanwhile, the second type performed a function that was previously unheard of for an astrocyte in the white matter — it had a unique ability to proliferate, thus making new astrocytes.
Ancient footprints and drag marks at White Sands National Park in New Mexico suggest the earliest known Americans dragged wooden travois-like vehicles. Researchers discovered sled-like drag marks alongside ancient footprints at White Sands National Park in New Mexico — potentially the oldest human footprint site in North America. The research suggested that the marks were left by some kind of travois, a wooden frame made from two poles bound together. Children and older women also rode in them at that time, according to the study. Based on the size and positioning of the ancient footprints found next to the drag marks, adults likely pulled the travois while children followed.
(Credit: NASA)
The January wildfires in California devastated local habitats and communities. In an effort to better understand wildfire behavior, NASA scientists and engineers tried to learn from the events by testing new technology. The new instrument is known as the Compact Fire Infrared Radiance Spectral Tracker (c-FIRST), which was tested when NASA’s B200 King Air aircraft flew over the wildfires in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, California. Managed and operated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, c-FIRST gathers thermal infrared images in high-resolution and other data about the terrain to study the impacts of wildfires on ecology. In a single observation, c-FIRST can capture the full temperature range across a wide area of wildland fires – as well as the cool, unburned background – potentially increasing both the quantity and quality of science data produced.
(Credit: NASA)
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured a supernova remnant called the Veil Nebula. The remnant of a star roughly 20 times as massive as the Sun that exploded about 10,000 years ago, the Veil Nebula is situated about 2,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. The image shows just a small fraction of the Veil Nebula; if you could see the entire nebula without the aid of a telescope, it would be as wide as six full Moons placed side-by-side. Although this image captures the Veil Nebula at a single point in time, it helps researchers understand how the supernova remnant evolves over decades.
