New Delhi: Astronomers have spotted a rare celestial visitor: 3I/ATLAS, the third confirmed object from outside our solar system. Discovered on July 1 by a telescope in Chile that’s part of NASA’s ATLAS project, this object is moving at a record 68 km per second, which is faster than any interstellar body seen before. The discovery was described in a circular by the France-based International Astronomical Union on 2 July.
Its open, hyperbolic path confirms its origin beyond our Sun’s gravitational grip. Currently, it is just inside Jupiter’s orbit and will pass through the inner solar system in October, providing us a brief but exciting window for study. Signs of a tail visible in it suggest it’s behaving like a comet, venting gas and dust as it heats up.
Astronomers are gearing up to observe it across different wavelengths to learn about its composition, shape, and origin. Findings could offer insights into planetary formation in other star systems. With advanced telescopes like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, scientists said that more such interstellar visitors may soon follow.
New gene therapy holds promise for the hearing impaired
Gene therapy is showing real promise for people with congenital deafness, according to a new international study involving Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
In a peer-reviewed paper published on 2 July in Nature Medicine Journal, researchers described how they treated 10 patients, aged 1 to 24, in five different hospitals, who had severe hearing loss caused by mutations in the OTOF gene. This gene affects a protein called otoferlin, which is needed to send sound signals from the ear to the brain.
The researchers injected a healthy copy of the gene directly into the inner ear. The results were remarkable with most patients regaining some hearing within a month, and all showed significant improvement after six months. The best responses came from children aged 5 to 8. One seven-year-old even began holding conversations within four months.
The treatment was also deemed to be safe, with no serious side effects reported in the first 12 months. Researchers are now looking to expand this approach to treat other genetic causes of deafness, using the same gene therapy method.
Forest collapse some 252 million years ago
A new study has revealed that the worst extinction event on the Earth, 252 million years ago, led to the collapse of tropical forests, whose effects were felt for millions of years after. During what is known as the Permian-Triassic “Great Dying” event, there was a lot of global warming caused by volcanic activity in Siberia. This global warming was seen as the main reason why most of the living beings died off.
But scientists were confused about why the Earth’s temperature remained so high even millions of years after the eruptions.
Now, researchers from the University of Leeds and the China University of Geosciences in a new peer-reviewed study published 2 July in Nature Communications Journal suggest that the destruction of tropical forests due to the extinction event drastically slowed down carbon sequestration—the process by which plants trap carbon dioxide. Without forests, CO₂ built up and stayed in the atmosphere, keeping the planet hot.
They studied ancient fossils and rocks to reconstruct changes in plant life and climate. Their data matched simulations showing how forest loss could explain the prolonged warming. The findings, according to the study, serve as a stark warning: if today’s tropical forests collapse due to climate change, we might trigger a similar long-term climate crisis.
The first ever complete human genome sequenced from Egypt
In a new breakthrough, Italian and British scientists have sequenced the first complete human genome from ancient Egypt, using DNA extracted from a 4,500 to 4,800-year-old skeleton. The study was published in Nature Journal on 2 July.
The man whose genome was sequenced lived during the era of the first pyramids and was buried in a hillside tomb in southern Egypt. Genetic analysis shows his ancestry was about 80 percent North African and 20 percent West Asian, which shows the first ever DNA-based evidence of human movement between Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The remains reveal signs of hard physical labour, possibly as a potter, though the elaborate burial suggests a higher social status. Extracting ancient DNA from Egypt has long been a challenge due to heat-related degradation of the samples, but new techniques have made this feat possible.
This individual’s genome opens a new window into Egypt’s early history and human migration. Researchers hope future collaborations with Egyptian institutions will expand understanding of ancestry and movement in the ancient world.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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