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In a groundbreaking achievement, scientists have successfully created mice with two fathers capable of producing offspring, marking a significant advancement in mammalian reproduction research. Led by Yanchang Wei from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the team injected two sperm cells into an egg cell, employing epigenome engineering to reprogram the sperm DNA. Out of over 250 embryos implanted in female mice, only two male mice survived to adulthood, both of which were fertile and fathered their own offspring. This success follows previous attempts to create mice with two fathers, which were hindered by genomic imprinting—a process that affects gene expression. While the research offers insights into the genetic barriers of unisexual reproduction, experts caution that translating these findings to humans remains a distant prospect due to practical challenges and low success rates. Nonetheless, the study enhances our understanding of reproduction and could have implications for future reproductive technologies. 
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Jun 24 2025, 9 pmeznews.inThe king cheetah, a rare big cat found in southern Africa, challenges the conventional understanding of cheetah patterns. Unlike typical cheetahs, which have rounded black spots, king cheetahs display a unique coat with elongated spots and thick stripes along their spines. Initially thought to be a hybrid of a leopard and a hyena, or even a separate species (_Acinonyx rex_), the true nature of the king cheetah's distinctive appearance was revealed in 2012. Researchers discovered that a mutation in the _Taqpep_ gene, responsible for coat patterns in domestic cats, also accounts for the king cheetah's blotchy design. Conservationist Ann van Dyk played a crucial role in this research, maintaining detailed breeding records that supported the genetic findings. While only about ten king cheetahs are believed to exist in the wild, conservation efforts may help increase their numbers in the future.
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Jul 23 2025, 10 ameznews.inNASA's latest simulations indicate that asteroid 2024 YR4, discovered in December 2024, has a 4.3% chance of impacting the Moon on December 22, 2032, a significant increase from earlier estimates. Initially, the asteroid posed a 1% risk of colliding with Earth, which has since dropped to just 0.004%. If it strikes the Moon, it could create a crater approximately 1 kilometer wide and release energy equivalent to 6.5 megatons of TNT, potentially ejecting up to 108 kilograms of lunar material into space. This debris could lead to spectacular meteor showers on Earth, but it also poses risks to satellites in orbit, with the potential for increased meteoroid impacts. While the event could be visually stunning, NASA emphasizes that the Moon's orbit would remain unchanged. Observations of the asteroid will resume in 2028 as it returns to visibility.
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Jul 19 2025, 4 pmeznews.inRussian physicist Alexander Berezin has proposed a troubling explanation for the Fermi Paradox, which questions why we have yet to encounter extraterrestrial civilizations. His theory, dubbed the “First in, last out” solution, suggests that advanced civilizations, once capable of interstellar expansion, may inadvertently eliminate other life forms without malice, akin to a construction crew demolishing an anthill. Berezin posits that humanity might not be the innocent bystanders in this scenario; rather, we could be the future destroyers of countless civilizations. He argues that the drive for growth and expansion could overshadow the existence of other life, drawing parallels to historical colonialism and capitalism. While his hypothesis raises concerns about humanity's future, Berezin remains hopeful that we might discover alien life before embarking on a destructive path, potentially allowing us to evolve into a more benevolent civilization.
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Jul 22 2025, 2 pmeznews.inIn a surprising revelation, the first-ever footage of a Hoffmann's two-toed sloth has confirmed that these notoriously slow creatures do indeed fart, dispelling the long-held belief that they absorbed digestive gases back into their bloodstream. The video, shared by veterinarian Andrés Bräutigam and broadcaster Lucy Cooke, showcases the sloth's flatulence, which is significant enough to interfere with medical imaging and even aid in buoyancy while swimming. Sloths, which primarily consume leaves and fruits, have a notably slow metabolism, leading to infrequent bowel movements. This discovery adds to the growing interest in animal flatulence, a topic that has sparked curiosity and research, including a book titled *Does It Fart?* by Dr. Dani Rabaiotti. The findings not only enhance our understanding of sloth behavior but also contribute to the broader study of animal digestion and gas emissions.
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Jul 22 2025, 11 pmeznews.inForty-six years after Voyager 1's historic flyby of Jupiter, the magnetic data it collected remains a source of fascination, revealing the planet's complex magnetosphere. This region, where Jupiter's powerful magnetic field—16 to 54 times stronger than Earth's—interacts with the solar wind, creates a bow shock akin to a sonic boom. Voyager 1's findings in 1979, which showed a smaller magnetosphere than expected due to intense solar wind, laid the groundwork for subsequent missions, including Juno, which crossed the bow shock in 2016. Juno's observations unveiled an even more intricate boundary structure, with the magnetosphere extending up to 745 million kilometers behind Jupiter. As scientists continue to study this extreme world, new discoveries, such as previously unseen plasma waves, highlight the ongoing quest to understand Jupiter and its magnetic behavior, crucial for insights into other celestial bodies across the universe.
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Jul 23 2025, 12 ameznews.inChina has commenced construction on the Yarlung Tsangpo River megadam, poised to become the world's largest hydropower facility, surpassing the Three Gorges Dam. Premier Li Qiang announced the groundbreaking on July 19 in Nyingchi City, where the dam will feature five cascade hydropower stations, generating an estimated 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually—nearly three times the output of the Three Gorges Dam. This renewable energy project, which has attracted around 1.2 trillion yuan ($167.8 billion) in investment, aims to enhance China's green energy transition while delivering power beyond Tibet. However, the initiative has raised geopolitical tensions, particularly with downstream nations like India and Bangladesh, which rely on the river's flow and fear potential impacts on their water security. As climate change exacerbates water scarcity, concerns over resource control may lead to future conflicts in the region.
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Jul 22 2025, 9 pmeznews.inA recent study led by Dr. Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad from the University of Nottingham suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic may have accelerated brain aging, even in individuals who did not contract the virus. Analyzing brain scans from nearly 1,500 participants, researchers found significant differences in brain structure between those scanned before and after the pandemic, indicating that stress, isolation, and disruption during this period could have detrimental effects on brain health. While the average brain age difference was only five months, experts caution against overinterpretation, noting that the cognitive performance gap was minimal. Additionally, those infected with COVID-19 exhibited more pronounced cognitive declines. The findings underscore the broader health impacts of global crises, highlighting the need for further research to understand and mitigate these effects in future pandemics. The study is published in *Nature Communications*.
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Jul 22 2025, 9 pmeznews.inA video from Alberta, Canada, has sparked intrigue as it captures a glowing blue-white orb moving slowly across a field for approximately 20 seconds before vanishing. Filmed by weather enthusiasts Ed and Melinda Pardy while searching for funnel clouds post-storm, the orb hovered about 7 meters above the ground. Ed speculated it could be the elusive phenomenon known as "ball lightning," which has been reported since the 12th century but remains scientifically unexplained. While some researchers suggest it may result from lightning vaporizing soil, producing silicon and other elements, the orb's size and color differ from typical ball lightning reports. Experts, including storm chaser George Kourounis, propose that the phenomenon could instead be an "electric power line arc," which can emit similar colors. Without further evidence, the true nature of the orb remains uncertain, but it has certainly captured the public's imagination.
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Jul 22 2025, 10 pmeznews.inAstronomers have unveiled that the Milky Way may be a mere fragment of a vast cosmic structure, potentially reshaping our understanding of the universe's evolution. This research suggests that our galaxy is part of a larger "basin of attraction" (BoA), which could be ten times the volume of the Laniakea Supercluster, where the Milky Way resides alongside the Local Group and the Virgo Supercluster. The study, which analyzed the movements of 56,000 galaxies, indicates that these BoAs are not gravitationally bound but exhibit common flow patterns, akin to watersheds on Earth. The findings raise questions about the limitations of current cosmological models, as they suggest structures larger than previously thought. While the Milky Way's exact position remains uncertain—there's a 60% chance it may belong to the Shapley concentration—the implications of this research could significantly alter our comprehension of cosmic architecture. The study was published in *Nature Astronomy*.
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Jul 19 2025, 6 pmeznews.inA recent study led by Dr. Yanagisawa Kuniaki from Kobe University reveals significant differences in brain activity between optimists and pessimists. While optimists exhibit similar patterns of brain activity when envisioning future events, pessimists display a diverse range of neural responses, suggesting a more original and creative approach to negative outlooks. The research, involving 87 married participants in fMRI scans, indicates that optimists process negative scenarios more abstractly, reducing emotional impact, while vividly imagining positive outcomes. This distinction raises questions about whether such shared optimistic thinking is innate or developed through experience. The study also hints at the evolutionary advantages of pessimism, suggesting that a mix of traits within social groups may enhance problem-solving diversity. Although the findings were significant for self-referential scenarios, they noted limitations in partner-related imaginings, which the authors aim to address in future research. The study is published in the *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*.
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Jul 22 2025, 4 pmFor the fastest, latest, not so wokest news, 'experts say' you need to visit Eznews
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