Why mice with enhanced muscles are flying to International Space Station
A group of mice that have been genetically manipulated for enhanced muscle growth are on their way to the International Space Station on board a SpaceX rocket.
These ‘mighty mice’ may help researchers understand how microgravity affects muscles in space. The experiment can help scientists find ways of limiting muscle and bone loss in humans while they’re in space.
Other research supplies aboard the SpaceX flight will support a number of experiments, including those that will test basic theories of gravity, how fire behaves in space and potential therapies for heart disease. Read more on CNN.
Climate change forces 50 polar bears to ‘enter’ Russian village
A village in Russia is on high alert since over 50 polar bears were spotted roaming around in search of food last week.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), vast swathes of Russia are losing ice due to climate change, forcing these animals to shift south and enter areas populated by humans. More on The Independent.
A black hole that is 40 billion times more massive than Sun
Astronomers have found the biggest black hole ever measured — about 40 billion times the Sun’s mass.
The gigantic black hole was found in a supermassive galaxy, Holm 15A, that was probably formed from the collisions of at least eight smaller galaxies.
Astronomers have captured a snapshot of Holm 15A’s stars in orbit around the galaxy’s central black hole and created a model to help them calculate the black hole’s mass. More on Astronomy.com.
A week in the dark can alter brain networks of mice
Depriving adult mice of vision for a week can alter the way their brain cells interact, scientists have found. The research, conducted by scientists at the University of Maryland, shows that sight deprivation changes the way brain cells interact with one another, altering neuronal networks and shifting the mice’s sensitivity to different frequencies of hearing. The research shows that manipulating vision can have a significant impact on the ability of an animal to hear, long after the window for auditory learning was thought to have closed. More about it on Technologynetworks.com.
(Edited by Myithili Hazarika)
Also read: Amazon forest fires melting glaciers 1,000 miles away