Published By: Sayan Paul

Science & Space Roundup: Top News of the Day (Nov 19)

Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.

ISRO-SpaceX Collab: GSAT-N2 Launched into Space

Elon Musk's Space X on Tuesday successfully launched the ISRO's (Indian Space Research Organization) communication satellite GSAT-N2 from Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, using a Falcon 9 rocket. This is the first of many collaborations between the Indian space agency and the US company.

Credit: Dr Jitendra Singh

Jointly developed by ISRO's Satellite Center and Liquid Propulsion Systems Center, the GSAT-N2 is a communication satellite with 48 Gbps data transmission capacity. The satellite is expected to remain in operation for 14 years, with an objective to enhance broadband services and provide in-flight connectivity nationwide.

Credit: SpaceX

Nasa's Viking Landers May Have Killed Life on Mars - Claims Scientist

During the 1970s, NASA launched its Viking mission to trace signs of life on Mars (by mixing water and nutrients into soil samples). The spacecraft was in orbit around Mars' Chryse Planitia region for over six years, while the landers detected some signs of microbial activity in the soil, leading to enormous interest at the time. However, the discoveries were eventually termed as negative.

Now, astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch of the Technische Universität Berlin in Germany claims that the Viking spacecraft may have accidentally killed potential life on Mars by putting water on it. In his words, "In hyperarid environments, life can obtain water through salts that draw moisture from the atmosphere. These salts, then, should be a focus of searches for life on Mars. The experiments performed by NASA’s Viking landers may have accidentally killed Martian life by applying too much water."

Credit: NASA

Fat Cells Restrict Weight Loss with its 'Memory' of Obesity, Finds Study

Losing excess weight is a difficult task, and there are several reasons behind that. However, a recent study in mice and human cells shows that the fat cells in our body remember past obesity, which resists our attempts at weight loss. According to the research findings, in people with obesity, fat tissues create a "cellular memory" of obesity, which reduces metabolism and makes it hard to lose weight.

Prof Ferdinand von Meyenn, a senior author on the study at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, said in a statement: “Our study indicates that one reason maintaining body weight after initial weight loss is difficult is that the fat cells remember their prior obese state and likely aim to return to this state. The memory seems to prepare cells to respond quicker, and maybe also in unhealthy ways, to sugars or fatty acids."

Scientists Discover Volcano-Like Structure in Arctic Ocean, Near Alaska

According to the latest reports, scientists working on a research ship in the Arctic Ocean may have discovered a massive underwater volcano near Alaska. While working on an ambitious project to map the seafloor off the coast of Alaska (in the north-west United States), the crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Healy found it 1,600 meters beneath them. They detected a possible gas plume from it, which, however, poses no threat to those on land as it's far under the water.

Captain Meghan McGovern from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a statement, "These findings are exciting and offer insight into what may exist beneath the ocean's surface, much of which is unknown in this region."

Notably, this trip was part of the project called the Alaskan Arctic Coast Port Access Route Study.

147-Million-Year-Old Fossil Unveils Evolution of Ancient Flying Reptiles

A 147-million-year-old fossil has been discovered in Bavaria, Germany, that unveils a new species of pterosaur. The pterosaurs are extinct flying reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs in the ancient age.

Researchers (led by paleontologist Dr. David Hone of the Queen Mary University of London) named it 'Skiphosourabavarica' meaning 'sword tail from Bavaria'. The specimen has nearly every single bone preserved in three dimensions (which is a bit unusual). According to the researchers, it bridges the gap between early long-tailed pterosaurs and the short-tailed species that would later evolve into giants like Quetzalcoatlus.

Credit: Gabriel N. U

Dr. David Hone said in a statement, "This is an incredible find. It really helps us piece together how these amazing flying animals lived and evolved. Hopefully, this study will be the basis for more work in the future on this important evolutionary transition." Adam Fitch, from the University of Wisconsin-Maddison, said, "Pterosaurs have long been symbols of the unique life of the past. Skiphosoura represents an important new form for working out pterosaur evolutionary relationships and, by extension, how this lineage arose and changed."