New Delhi: Scientists have often asked the question—if aliens are looking for us, where should they point their antennas? A new study by US-based Penn State and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on 21 August, has found that powerful radio transmissions that humans send to space are most detectable during planetary alignments.
Analysing 20 years of logs from NASA’s Deep Space Network, researchers have found that most signals sent by the Earth are directed toward Mars and telescopes near Sun-Earth Lagrange points. From the perspective of a distant star system, when Earth and Mars align, there’s a 77 percent chance our transmissions could be intercepted and detected by any aliens that could be looking for us.
NASA JPL’s Joseph Lazio said in a press statement that these are humanity’s strongest, most persistent radio signals. The study then suggests that we should reverse this logic, and look for alien signals near these planetary alignments, since that is where our strongest messages go.
Paracetamol usage by pregnant women under scrutiny
A widely used painkiller, called Tylenol in the US and paracetamol in India, is under new scrutiny. Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report that prenatal exposure to this drug, which is scientifically called acetaminophen, may raise the risk of autism spectrum disorder and ADHD in children.
However, it is not based on direct research by the scientists. This study by Mount Sinai, published in BMC Environmental Health on 14 August, analysed 46 other studies with data from over 100,000 participants worldwide. Using the “Navigation Guide” review method, the team found that the strongest, most rigorous studies consistently showed a link between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders in children.
Acetaminophen, taken by more than half of pregnant women globally, may cross the placenta, disrupt hormones, cause oxidative stress, and interfere with fetal brain development, the new research shows. However, this study is based on an analysis of previous research done by scientists across the world, and is not an independent analysis.
The authors still stress that the drug should only be used cautiously under medical supervision, and for limited periods. But what is more necessary is clinical research on the impact of acetaminophen on pregnant women that can more clearly establish this link.
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Evolution not a straight line
A new discovery of fossils in Ethiopia’s Afar region has rewritten our understanding of ancient human history and evolution. An international team of scientists working with Arizona State University’s Ledi-Geraru Research Project has unearthed 13 fossil teeth that belong to a new species of Australopithecus. The research paper was published in Nature on 13 August.
What is more interesting, however, is that this species is shown to have lived side-by-side with the earliest Homo Sapiens in Ethiopia between 2.6 and 2.8 million years ago. Until now, the Australopithecus species was thought to have vanished around 2.95 million years ago. But these teeth prove another branch of the genus persisted, and coexisted with Homo Sapiens.
Using volcanic ash layers, the fossils were precisely dated to this critical window in prehistory. Now several questions abound, including what this species ate, and whether they competed or coexisted peacefully with homo sapiens. The answers currently remain buried, awaiting the unearthing of more fossils.
The role of genes in ageing
Have you ever wondered why some people stay sharp and active into their 90s, while others face memory loss, frailty or chronic illness decades earlier? New research led by the University of Colorado, Boulder, offers answers.
Published in Nature Genetics on 4 August, the study identifies more than 400 genes in the human body that are linked to accelerated ageing. This is much more than the 37 genes that, according to previous research, influenced ageing. By analysing DNA from hundreds of thousands of people, scientists revealed that different sets of genes drive different types of unhealthy ageing, from cognitive decline, to mobility problems to social isolation.
According to lead author Isabelle Foote, this is the largest genetic study yet of frailty. She added that to treat ageing-related diseases, there is first need to understand the biology of ageing itself.
The findings support the “geroscience hypothesis”, which says that we must treat ageing, not just its diseases. While one single “anti-ageing pill” may remain out of reach, targeted therapies tailored to specific frailty types could be much closer.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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