New Delhi: The hardy moss can survive just about anywhere, even in space. The slippery, green grass seen on rocks, concrete, footpaths, and even on soil was just sent to space and back by scientists from Hokkaido University in Japan, to test its resilience. In a new paper in iScience on 20 November, the scientists described how they took a tube of moss spores to the International Space Station (ISS) and just attached it to the outside of the station, exposing it to UV rays, radiation and the vacuum of space.
Moss has been known to be extremely ancient and also extremely resilient. The oldest form of moss dates back to even before the dinosaurs, and it has been found everywhere from the Himalayas to Death Valley in the US, which is the hottest place on Earth.
The new paper confirmed that 80 percent of the moss was unaffected by space and grew normally when it came back to the Earth. The scientists found that the tough outer casing of moss spores acted as a natural shield, offering nearly 1,000 times more UV tolerance than other moss structures. They also estimated that this moss could endure as long as 15 years in space.
The findings are rare evidence that early plants on the Earth possessed built-in mechanisms to withstand space conditions. It could be a push towards exploring mechanisms needed in other plants for cultivating in space.
AI’s dark threat
A new study by Dartmouth College highlighted an understudied impact of artificial intelligence on exit polls and surveys. The Dartmouth researchers, in a new paper in PNAS Journal published on 20 November, found that AI can now infiltrate public polls and skew results with ease, making them untrustworthy and maybe even irrelevant soon enough.
The researchers show that a simple AI system — like a common large language model — can bypass standard bot-detection checks in an online survey, mimic demographic behaviour, and alter results in a poll.
For example, in 7 national polls before the 2024 US elections, the researchers found that if they inserted between 10-50 AI-generated responses, they could completely flip the predicted results. The study explained how this is a danger not just for electoral polls, but also economic surveys and psychological evaluations, with the threat of AI responses looming.
The paper said that AI now poses an ‘existential’ threat to polls and surveys, prompting the researchers to suggest that public opinion should now be measured by newer, safer ways in this AI world.
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One pill wonder
Scientists from China have developed an ingestible pill, which is actually a bacterial sensor, that can potentially replace colonoscopies. Instead of invasive colonoscopies, this pill is enough to detect gastrointestinal diseases like IBD, IBS and constipation.
Published in the journal ACS Sensors on 19 November, the study talks about these new hydrogel “pills” containing bacteria that are engineered to light up in the presence of heme, which is a marker of intestinal bleeding. Along with that, the pill comes with magnetic particles which can be easily retrieved from stool samples for studying.
The scientists tested these pills on mice and found that the pills were able to signal the severity of bleeding through their lighting up – the more advanced the disease, the brighter the glow.
The paper added that this pill could be adapted to detect additional gut disorders, and while human trials are still needed, it does point toward a faster, gentler diagnostic method for millions living with colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease.
No ending to global warming?
Carbon neutrality might not be able to stop global warming right in its tracks, with intense heatwaves predicted for years after the world achieves net-zero emissions.
A new study based on climate modelling by the University of Melbourne has shown that there will be more intense heatwaves for centuries after the world reaches net zero emissions, in different scenarios. Published in ‘Environmental Research: Climate’ on 17 November, the study uses large-scale climate simulations to project how heatwaves could evolve over the next thousand years.
Essentially, the researchers looked at timelines of net-zero global emissions promised by different countries, from 2030 and 2060. They found that every five-year delay in reducing emissions could lead to hotter, longer and more frequent heatwaves. More importantly, the study found that even if emissions were completely stopped and the world reached net zero, the intensity of heatwaves would remain the same for centuries after.
This indicates that the world doesn’t just need to cut global carbon emissions, but also prepare for a rapidly warming world, to help communities adjust to it.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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