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The Sahara Desert, often depicted in films as a vast sea of sand dunes, is surprisingly only 25% sandy, with the remaining 75% comprising rocky plateaus, gravel plains, and dry valleys. Covering an area of 9.4 million square kilometers, this means approximately 2.35 million square kilometers are sandy, including the expansive Grand Erg Oriental, the largest dune sea. The Sahara is also home to around 90 major oases, such as the Guelta d'Archei in Chad, though these are sparse. Historically, the region experienced wetter periods, notably between 8000 and 3000 BCE, when it was lush and supported cattle farming. Recent extreme weather events, like an extratropical cyclone in October 2024, have even led to rare flooding, temporarily transforming parts of the desert into lakes. Despite its harsh conditions, the Sahara's diverse landscape challenges common perceptions of this iconic desert. 
Published: Mar 19 2025, 4 pmeznews.inA Russian physicist, Alexander Berezin, has proposed a troubling explanation for the Fermi Paradox, which questions why we have not yet encountered 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 in their quest for growth. Berezin likens this to a construction crew demolishing an anthill, as these civilizations may prioritize their expansion over the existence of others. He posits that humanity might not be the ants but rather the potential destroyers of countless civilizations, as we are among the first to reach an interstellar stage. While his hypothesis is grim, Berezin expresses hope that we might discover alien life before embarking on a destructive path, suggesting that our future could hinge on our ability to coexist rather than conquer.
Published: Mar 19 2025, 2 pmeznews.inIn a bid to explore sustainable living on other planets, the ambitious Biosphere 2 project aimed to create a self-sustaining ecosystem for humans, costing between $150-200 million. Located in the Arizona desert, the 2.75-acre facility housed eight individuals alongside 3,800 species of plants and animals. However, the experiment faced immediate challenges, including a serious injury to a crew member and insufficient food production, leading to weight loss among the residents. As oxygen levels plummeted to dangerous lows, the crew struggled with health issues and morale declined, exacerbated by the facility's transformation into a tourist attraction. Despite attempts to maintain the project, including secret food supplies, the situation deteriorated further when Steve Bannon took over management. Ultimately, the experiment ended prematurely in 1994 when former crew members breached the biosphere to restore outside air, highlighting the unexpected complexities of creating a viable extraterrestrial habitat.
Published: Mar 19 2025, 9 pmeznews.inThe European Space Agency's Euclid telescope has made significant strides in unraveling the enigmas of dark energy and dark matter, releasing its first data batch that includes detailed observations of millions of galaxies. This initial dataset features the classification of 380,000 galaxies and 500 gravitational lens candidates, marking just a fraction of the 26 million galaxies Euclid observed in its first week. ESA's Director of Science, Professor Carole Mundell, hailed the telescope as a "discovery machine," emphasizing its potential to enhance our understanding of the universe's structure and the forces at play. Over its six-year mission, Euclid will conduct multiple observations of three deep field areas, ultimately generating 100 gigabytes of data daily and classifying 1.5 billion galaxies. The collaboration of citizen scientists and AI will be crucial in managing this vast data, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries in modern astronomy.
Published: Mar 19 2025, 9 pmeznews.inA substantial body of scientific evidence has firmly established that there is no causal link between vaccines and autism, a misconception that gained traction following a discredited 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield published in *The Lancet*. This paper, which suggested a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism, was retracted after serious flaws were identified, including a small sample size and allegations of data manipulation. Despite the retraction and Wakefield's subsequent disqualification from practicing medicine, vaccine hesitancy has persisted, leading to a resurgence of preventable diseases like measles. Numerous high-quality studies, including a 2019 analysis of over 657,000 children, have consistently shown no association between vaccinations and autism. Experts emphasize that the timing of autism symptoms often coincides with vaccination schedules, but this is purely coincidental. Vaccines remain crucial in preventing serious diseases and protecting public health.
Published: Mar 19 2025, 10 pmeznews.inNew research has revealed the blue-headed quail dove, a unique bird native to Cuba, is facing an even graver threat than previously thought. Once considered closely related to Central and South American doves, genetic analysis has shown that this species, _Starnoenas cyanocephala_, diverged from other doves around 50 million years ago, making it more evolutionarily distinct than the dodo. Lead author Jessica Oswald from the Florida Museum of Natural History emphasized the significance of this finding, noting that the dove's lineage is older than that of humans and chimpanzees. With only about 1,000 mature individuals remaining, the blue-headed quail dove is critically endangered due to habitat loss, overhunting, and invasive species. The study, published in *Biology Letters*, highlights the urgent need for conservation efforts to protect this beautiful bird, often dubbed "the dodo of the Caribbean."
Published: Mar 19 2025, 7 pmeznews.inNASA astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore returned to Earth on March 18, 2024, after an extended mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) that lasted nearly nine months, significantly longer than the planned eight days due to issues with Boeing's Starliner capsule. Their return, facilitated by a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, was marked by an unexpected welcome from a pod of dolphins that surfaced near the capsule as the crew prepared to disembark. The astronauts, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksandr Gorbunov and NASA's Nick Hague, landed safely in the Gulf of Mexico at 5:57 PM EDT. NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro expressed relief and excitement over their safe return, highlighting the crew's contributions to vital scientific research during their time in orbit, which included a record-breaking spacewalk. After reaching shore, the astronauts were flown to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to reunite with their families.
Published: Mar 19 2025, 8 pmeznews.inAround 66 million years ago, a catastrophic asteroid impact, widely believed to be the Chicxulub event, marked the end of the dinosaurs, leading to a mass extinction that wiped out all non-avian species. While debates continue regarding other potential factors, such as volcanic activity and environmental changes, the aftermath allowed mammals to thrive in the ecological void left by dinosaurs. Despite their dominance for over 100 million years, dinosaurs did not re-evolve after their extinction, as evolution is a complex process influenced by chance and environmental factors. Some paleontologists suggest that certain dinosaur species were already in decline prior to the impact, but recent studies indicate that not all were struggling. Interestingly, modern birds are direct descendants of theropod dinosaurs, having survived due to their small size and adaptability. While genomic sequencing raises hopes for de-extinction, recreating complex organisms like dinosaurs remains far from feasible.
Published: Mar 17 2025, 1 ameznews.inA new online tool, the Vampire Apocalypse Calculator, developed by Dominik Czernia, a physics PhD student in Krakow, allows users to explore how long humanity would survive in various vampire scenarios, based on mathematical models. This calculator stems from research that applies the Lotka-Volterra equations to simulate predator-prey dynamics between humans and vampires, drawing from classic and contemporary vampire lore, including works by Bram Stoker, Stephen King, and Anne Rice. The findings reveal that in scenarios inspired by Anne Rice, humanity could face extinction within 49 years, while the Stoker-King model predicts an 80% human population decline within just 165 days. Conversely, the more benign depictions in _Twilight_ and _True Blood_ suggest a potential for coexistence, as vampires could sustain themselves on animal blood. Users can customize the calculator to reflect their preferred vampire narratives, making it a unique blend of entertainment and science.
Published: Mar 18 2025, 7 pmeznews.inA groundbreaking study by computational biologists reveals that modern humans, _Homo sapiens_, do not trace their lineage from a single ancestral population but rather from at least two distinct groups that diverged over a million years ago before reuniting approximately 300,000 years ago. Utilizing an advanced algorithm to analyze genetic data from the 1000 Genomes Project, researchers found that one ancestral group contributed 80% of modern human DNA, while the other contributed 20%, particularly influencing brain function and neural processing. This research challenges the prevailing notion of a linear evolutionary path, suggesting a more complex history marked by interbreeding and genetic exchange among various hominin species, including _Homo erectus_ and _Homo heidelbergensis_. The findings underscore the intricate nature of human evolution, likening it to a tangled bush rather than a straightforward family tree. The study is published in *Nature Genetics*.
Published: Mar 18 2025, 11 pmFor the fastest, latest, not so wokest news, 'experts say' you need to visit Eznews
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