NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has spotted a galaxy which resembled to TIE Fighter, a famous and fictional ship from Star Wars.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/artificial-intelligence-identifies-50-new-planets-from-nasa-data-323333" hreflang="en">Artificial Intelligence identifies 50 new planets from NASA data</a>

This galaxy is 500 million light-years away from Cassiopeia. The galaxy is called TXS 0128+554. It is an active galaxy that emits more life than all of the stars within the galaxy altogether.

This galaxy was originally discovered in 2015 through gamma rays. However, scientists haven’t had a full grasp of what it looked like until now.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/indian-satellite-astrosat-detects-uv-light-from-galaxy-93-billion-light-years-away-from-earth-322936" hreflang="en">Indian satellite AstroSat detects UV light from galaxy 9.3 billion light-years away from Earth</a>

Matthew Lister, Purdue University professor and lead author of the study that examined the galaxy, said it reminded him of “Star Wars.”

He said: "We zoomed in a million times closer on the galaxy using the (Very Long Baseline Array’s) radio antennas and charted its shape over time. The first time I saw the results, I immediately thought it looked like Darth Vader’s TIE fighter spacecraft from ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.’"&nbsp;

"That was a fun surprise, but its appearance at different radio frequencies also helped us learn more about how active galaxies can change dramatically on decade time scales," he added.&nbsp;

NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has spotted a galaxy which resembled to TIE Fighter, a famous and fictional ship from Star Wars. Also read: Artificial Intelligence identifies 50 new planets from NASA data This galaxy is 500 million light-years away from Cassiopeia.

NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has spotted a galaxy which resembled to TIE Fighter, a famous and fictional ship from Star Wars. Also read: Artificial Intelligence identifies 50 new planets from NASA data This galaxy is 500 million light-years away from Cassiopeia. The galaxy is called TXS 0128+554. It is an active galaxy that emits more life than all of the stars within the galaxy altogether. This galaxy was originally discovered in 2015 through gamma rays. However, scientists haven’t had a full grasp of what it looked like until now. Also read: Indian satellite AstroSat detects UV light from galaxy 9.3 billion light-years away from Earth Matthew Lister, Purdue University professor and lead author of the study that examined the galaxy, said it reminded him of “Star Wars.” He said: "We zoomed in a million times closer on the galaxy using the (Very Long Baseline Array’s) radio antennas and charted its shape over time. The first time I saw the results, I immediately thought it looked like Darth Vader’s TIE fighter spacecraft from ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.’" "That was a fun surprise, but its appearance at different radio frequencies also helped us learn more about how active galaxies can change dramatically on decade time scales," he added.

NASA scientists discover a galaxy similar to Star Wars 'TIE Fighter'

There’s so much about our planet that we don’t know. The biggest mystery besides the fact that we live on a gaseous ball floating in space is perhaps how little knowledge we have of our oceanic bodies.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/world/ocean-bed-now-has-more-microplastics-than-ever-before-296144" hreflang="en">Ocean bed now has more microplastics than ever before</a>

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), about 95 per cent of the world’s oceans and 99 per cent of the ocean floor remain unexplored, implying we know little to nothing about the ocean. 
 
A sinkhole of sorts

A few years ago, scientists discovered “blue holes” on the ocean floor. Now, they’re set on studying it.

A blue hole is intrinsically a sinkhole in the ocean floor, which creates a cave like structure. Located off Florida’s coast, the hole has been nicknamed the “Green Banana”.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/science/dinosaur-era-microbes-lying-dormant-in-ocean-resuscitated-by-scientists-316620" hreflang="en">Dinosaur-era microbes lying dormant in ocean resuscitated by scientists</a>

Reported first by the Independent, the exploration mission for Green Banana is starting this month. The hole is 300 feet deep, which very little is known about.

Scientists are looking for a lot of answers, primarily whether the water inside the hole is different than the regular saltwater found in the ocean, which is situated higher than the cavern.

Freshwater caves?

It is entirely possible that these holes are a product of freshwater micro-bodies in the ocean. “Green Banana” hosts a lot of life, including fish and aquatic plants. Scientists want to understand what creates such conditions near the hole.

The water looks different too. As opposed to the general ruggedness of the ocean water, the water surrounding the hole is much clearer, which is another mystery that remains unsolved.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/world/plastic-pollution-flowing-into-oceans-to-triple-by-2040-study-315624" hreflang="en">Plastic pollution flowing into oceans to triple by 2040: Study</a>

To better understand this, researchers intend to drop a piece of hardware into the water. Similar to objects sent to space, a “lander” of an aquatic kind will be hoisted in the Green Banana hole.

At the same time, scientists will collect samples from the water. The lander will try to understand the basic differences between ocean water and blue hole water.

The mission, which begins later in August, is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Many scientists believe that the vicinity of blue holes situated close to one another might hold some key in understanding them - perhaps a cave like network of freshwater springs hiding in the innards of the ocean.

There’s so much about our planet that we don’t know. The biggest mystery besides the fact that we live on a gaseous ball floating in space is perhaps how little knowledge we have of our oceanic bodies.

There’s so much about our planet that we don’t know. The biggest mystery besides the fact that we live on a gaseous ball floating in space is perhaps how little knowledge we have of our oceanic bodies. Also read: Ocean bed now has more microplastics than ever before According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), about 95 per cent of the world’s oceans and 99 per cent of the ocean floor remain unexplored, implying we know little to nothing about the ocean. A sinkhole of sorts A few years ago, scientists discovered “blue holes” on the ocean floor. Now, they’re set on studying it. A blue hole is intrinsically a sinkhole in the ocean floor, which creates a cave like structure. Located off Florida’s coast, the hole has been nicknamed the “Green Banana”. Also read: Dinosaur-era microbes lying dormant in ocean resuscitated by scientists Reported first by the Independent, the exploration mission for Green Banana is starting this month. The hole is 300 feet deep, which very little is known about. Scientists are looking for a lot of answers, primarily whether the water inside the hole is different than the regular saltwater found in the ocean, which is situated higher than the cavern. Freshwater caves? It is entirely possible that these holes are a product of freshwater micro-bodies in the ocean. “Green Banana” hosts a lot of life, including fish and aquatic plants. Scientists want to understand what creates such conditions near the hole. The water looks different too. As opposed to the general ruggedness of the ocean water, the water surrounding the hole is much clearer, which is another mystery that remains unsolved. Also read: Plastic pollution flowing into oceans to triple by 2040: Study To better understand this, researchers intend to drop a piece of hardware into the water. Similar to objects sent to space, a “lander” of an aquatic kind will be hoisted in the Green Banana hole. At the same time, scientists will collect samples from the water. The lander will try to understand the basic differences between ocean water and blue hole water. The mission, which begins later in August, is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Many scientists believe that the vicinity of blue holes situated close to one another might hold some key in understanding them - perhaps a cave like network of freshwater springs hiding in the innards of the ocean.

Scientists to begin studying 'blue holes' situated deep in the ocean this month

Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed an AI device with a sense of touch that can identify objects and textures. The device, officially dubbed ACES (Asynchronous Coded Electronic Skin), is composed of 100 different small sensors and is about 1 square centimetre in size.

Star Wars-inspired 'smart skin' developed by Singapore scientists

Stonehenge, a Neolithic wonder in southern England, has vexed historians and archaeologists for centuries with its many mysteries: How was it built? What purpose did it serve? Where did its towering sandstone boulders come from?

That last question may finally have an answer after a study published Wednesday found that most of the giant stones -- known as sarsens -- seem to share a common origin 25 kilometers (16 miles) away in West Woods, an area that teemed with prehistoric activity.

The finding boosts the theory that the megaliths were brought to Stonehenge about the same time: around 2,500 BCE, the monument's second phase of construction, which in turn could be a sign its builders were from a highly organized society.

It also contradicts a previous suggestion that one large sarsen, the Heel Stone, came from the immediate vicinity of the site and was erected before the others.

The new paper appeared in the journal Science Advances.

Lead author David Nash, a professor of physical geography at the University of Brighton, told AFP he and his team had to devise a novel technique to analyze the sarsens, that stand up to nine meters tall (30 feet) and weigh as much as 30 metric tons.

They first used portable x-rays to analyze the chemical composition of the rocks, which are 99 percent silica but contain traces of several other elements.

"That showed us that most of the stones have a common chemistry, which led us to identify that we're looking for one main source here," said Nash.

Next, they examined two core samples from one of the stones that were obtained during restoration work in 1958 but which then went missing until resurfacing in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

They performed a more sophisticated analysis on these samples using a mass spectrometry device, which detects a bigger range of elements at a higher precision.

The resulting signature was then compared to 20 possible source sites for these sedimentary rocks, with West Woods, Wiltshire found to be the closest match.

Only the 17th century English natural philosopher John Aubrey had previously postulated a link between "Overton Wood," probably a former name for West Woods, and Stonehenge.

Previous work has found that Stonehenge's smaller "bluestones" came from Wales, about 200 kilometers (160 miles) to the west, and the new study says that they and the sarsens were placed at the same time.

"So it must have been an enormous endeavor going on at that time," said Nash. "Stonehenge is like a convergence of materials being brought in from different places."

Just how the early Britons were able to transport the boulders weighing up to 30 tons a distance of 25 kilometers remains unknown -- though the prevailing idea is they were dragged along sleds. The site's significance also remains mysterious.

"I think you're looking at a very organized society there," added Nash.

As for why they picked West Woods, he said, it could have been a case of pragmatism as it was one of the closest sites.

But the area was also a hive of Early Neolithic activity.

It is home to a huge ancient burial site known as a barrow, a large circular earthwork, prehistoric cultivated fields that are now woodland, and a polissoir -- a rock used to sharpen ancient stone axes.

Nash said that the technique the research team had devised could help answer further archaeological questions, such as the route used to transport the boulders -- which can be inferred if sarsen chippings are discovered at waypoints.

He and his team also hope to use the techniques on other ancient sarsen sites scattered around Britain.

Stonehenge, a Neolithic wonder in southern England, has vexed historians and archaeologists for centuries with its many mysteries: How was it built? What purpose did it serve?

Stonehenge, a Neolithic wonder in southern England, has vexed historians and archaeologists for centuries with its many mysteries: How was it built? What purpose did it serve? Where did its towering sandstone boulders come from? That last question may finally have an answer after a study published Wednesday found that most of the giant stones -- known as sarsens -- seem to share a common origin 25 kilometers (16 miles) away in West Woods, an area that teemed with prehistoric activity. The finding boosts the theory that the megaliths were brought to Stonehenge about the same time: around 2,500 BCE, the monument's second phase of construction, which in turn could be a sign its builders were from a highly organized society. It also contradicts a previous suggestion that one large sarsen, the Heel Stone, came from the immediate vicinity of the site and was erected before the others. The new paper appeared in the journal Science Advances. Lead author David Nash, a professor of physical geography at the University of Brighton, told AFP he and his team had to devise a novel technique to analyze the sarsens, that stand up to nine meters tall (30 feet) and weigh as much as 30 metric tons. They first used portable x-rays to analyze the chemical composition of the rocks, which are 99 percent silica but contain traces of several other elements. "That showed us that most of the stones have a common chemistry, which led us to identify that we're looking for one main source here," said Nash. Next, they examined two core samples from one of the stones that were obtained during restoration work in 1958 but which then went missing until resurfacing in 2018 and 2019, respectively. They performed a more sophisticated analysis on these samples using a mass spectrometry device, which detects a bigger range of elements at a higher precision. The resulting signature was then compared to 20 possible source sites for these sedimentary rocks, with West Woods, Wiltshire found to be the closest match. Only the 17th century English natural philosopher John Aubrey had previously postulated a link between "Overton Wood," probably a former name for West Woods, and Stonehenge. Previous work has found that Stonehenge's smaller "bluestones" came from Wales, about 200 kilometers (160 miles) to the west, and the new study says that they and the sarsens were placed at the same time. "So it must have been an enormous endeavor going on at that time," said Nash. "Stonehenge is like a convergence of materials being brought in from different places." Just how the early Britons were able to transport the boulders weighing up to 30 tons a distance of 25 kilometers remains unknown -- though the prevailing idea is they were dragged along sleds. The site's significance also remains mysterious. "I think you're looking at a very organized society there," added Nash. As for why they picked West Woods, he said, it could have been a case of pragmatism as it was one of the closest sites. But the area was also a hive of Early Neolithic activity. It is home to a huge ancient burial site known as a barrow, a large circular earthwork, prehistoric cultivated fields that are now woodland, and a polissoir -- a rock used to sharpen ancient stone axes. Nash said that the technique the research team had devised could help answer further archaeological questions, such as the route used to transport the boulders -- which can be inferred if sarsen chippings are discovered at waypoints. He and his team also hope to use the techniques on other ancient sarsen sites scattered around Britain.

Scientists have finally solved the mystery about the origin of the Stonehenge

In a series of unfortunate news coming in from Antarctica, scientists have just discovered an active leak in the seabed.

Methane is a harmful gas and is one of the primary contributors to climate change.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/science/polar-bears-will-be-gone-by-2100-if-greenhouse-emissions-are-left-unchecked-314852" hreflang="en">Polar bears will be gone by 2100 if greenhouse emissions are left unchecked</a>

Nobody really knows why the leak happened, or the events leading up to it. A large quantity of methane is stored under the seabed in Antarctica, with this leak suspected to be a product of the warming of oceans. This has been termed “incredibly concerning" by scientists. Ironically, the location where it was found - Ross Sea is not currently heating at levels enough to expel methane.

First spotted by divers in 2011, the leak was taken up for research by scientists in 2016.

"Not good news"

The lead researcher of the study, Andrew Thurber told The Guardian that the leak is not the only concerning part. The fact that microbes did not show up is more worrying.

“It is not good news”, he said.

<h6><img alt="This image released by the Chilean Antarctic Institute shows Antarctica without snow at Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva on Fildes Bay, King George Island, on February 14, 2020. While the new coronavirus spreads all over the world, there is only one continent that still breathes relieved: Antarctica. Due to strict control measures and a little luck, the territory remains free from contagion." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="f9f42e74-7708-4fc3-bd5d-2aed624e819a" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design-2_41.jpg" /> 
This image released by the Chilean Antarctic Institute shows Antarctica without snow at Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva on Fildes Bay, King George Island, on February 14, 2020. While the new coronavirus spreads all over the world, there is only one continent that still breathes relieved: Antarctica. Due to strict control measures and a little luck, the territory remains free from contagion. | AFP</h6>

Usually considered a direct consequence of global warming and a signifier of its pace, the release of this harmful gas from underwater sources will have long-lasting negative impacts on the ocean and marine life.

Thurber referred to the discovery as a “natural laboratory” to undertake additional research. The seep is located next to an active volcano but Thurber doesn’t believe it came from there.

More spillage

The lag in between release of methane and its consumption means increased rates of spill into the ocean, which might be coming from decaying algae deposits that are located in the deep innards of the seabed. But in the absence of gas consuming microbes, the gas will most likely leak into the atmosphere.

Thurber further claimed that the microbes in question came from an unexpected strain. He added how it might take over 10 years for the a community to fully adapt to consuming methane.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/world/scientists-prepare-a-map-of-antarctica-turning-green-due-to-climate-change-300122" hreflang="en">Scientists prepare a map of Antarctica turning green due to climate change</a>

This is not the first methane leak to be spotted. In 2014, a similar leak was spotted in South Georgia, making it the first leak in Southern Ocean.

However, the understanding of these holes will vary, as they are located in fundamentally different ocean regions and sustain different conditions for life.

All research on the region remains suspended owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fear of carrying it to the remote region is the concern, not contracting the virus, for the continent is coronavirus free.

In a series of unfortunate news coming in from Antarctica, scientists have just discovered an active leak in the seabed. Methane is a harmful gas and is one of the primary contributors to climate change.

In a series of unfortunate news coming in from Antarctica, scientists have just discovered an active leak in the seabed. Methane is a harmful gas and is one of the primary contributors to climate change. Also read: Polar bears will be gone by 2100 if greenhouse emissions are left unchecked Nobody really knows why the leak happened, or the events leading up to it. A large quantity of methane is stored under the seabed in Antarctica, with this leak suspected to be a product of the warming of oceans. This has been termed “incredibly concerning" by scientists. Ironically, the location where it was found - Ross Sea is not currently heating at levels enough to expel methane. First spotted by divers in 2011, the leak was taken up for research by scientists in 2016. "Not good news" The lead researcher of the study, Andrew Thurber told The Guardian that the leak is not the only concerning part. The fact that microbes did not show up is more worrying. “It is not good news”, he said. This image released by the Chilean Antarctic Institute shows Antarctica without snow at Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva on Fildes Bay, King George Island, on February 14, 2020. While the new coronavirus spreads all over the world, there is only one continent that still breathes relieved: Antarctica. Due to strict control measures and a little luck, the territory remains free from contagion. | AFP Usually considered a direct consequence of global warming and a signifier of its pace, the release of this harmful gas from underwater sources will have long-lasting negative impacts on the ocean and marine life. Thurber referred to the discovery as a “natural laboratory” to undertake additional research. The seep is located next to an active volcano but Thurber doesn’t believe it came from there. More spillage The lag in between release of methane and its consumption means increased rates of spill into the ocean, which might be coming from decaying algae deposits that are located in the deep innards of the seabed. But in the absence of gas consuming microbes, the gas will most likely leak into the atmosphere. Thurber further claimed that the microbes in question came from an unexpected strain. He added how it might take over 10 years for the a community to fully adapt to consuming methane. Also read: Scientists prepare a map of Antarctica turning green due to climate change This is not the first methane leak to be spotted. In 2014, a similar leak was spotted in South Georgia, making it the first leak in Southern Ocean. However, the understanding of these holes will vary, as they are located in fundamentally different ocean regions and sustain different conditions for life. All research on the region remains suspended owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fear of carrying it to the remote region is the concern, not contracting the virus, for the continent is coronavirus free.

Scientists discover a methane leak in Antarctica's seabed

Scientists in New Zealand claim to have invented a warning system which will effectively predict volcanic eruptions to prevent loss of life.

A volcanic blast on White Island in 2019 killed 21 people, for there was no predictive&nbsp;warning system in place.&nbsp;

"Early warning"

The research behind the mechanism says that it is able to track and predict seismic activity before a potential eruption takes place.

In conversation with the Guardian, the University of Auckland researchers Dempsey and Cronin claimed that had this “early warning” system been in place last year when the tragedy occurred on White Island, red flags would have been raised “16 hours before the volcano’s deadly eruption”.

The country already has a series of monitoring tools, namely the one operated by GNS Science and called “The Geonet”, which measures the movements and tremors on earth.

<h6><img alt="Smoke rises from Mount Aso, an active volcano, near the city of Aso in Kumamoto prefecture on December 13, 2019. Mount Aso's huge caldera dominates the southwestern main island of Kyushu, where the 1,592-metre (5,253-foot) volcano is a popular tourist spot." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2b3537f9-eb27-4d77-bce1-dc6a2c2d44c6" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design-2_39.jpg" /> 
Smoke rises from Mount Aso, an active volcano, near the city of Aso in Kumamoto prefecture on December 13, 2019. Mount Aso's huge caldera dominates the southwestern main island of Kyushu, where the 1,592-metre (5,253-foot) volcano is a popular tourist spot. | AFP 
&nbsp;</h6>

However, it is a log system which collects and collates data from thousands of earthquakes, without offering prediction.

Dempsey and Cronin claim to have applied data from the past to set up “machine learning algorithms”, which lets them spot patterns leading up to and after the eruptions.

For instance, they claimed that the 2019 eruption happened after 17 hours of seismic activity, and hence could have been avoided by ringing alarm bells.

A pressure cooker? Kind of!

According to them, this began with a “strong four-hour burst of seismic activity”, which caused “magmatic fluid” to rise up and to creature pressure on the gas and water which was trapped in the rock.

Comparing it to a pressure cooker lid blasting off, they said this is what led to the eruption in the end.&nbsp;They also claimed that a similar pattern of seismic signals and activity was recorded in August 2013, and before other two similar eruptions in 2012.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/world/probes-into-new-zealand-volcano-tragedy-to-take-months-and-carry-criminal-penalties-268452" hreflang="en">Probes into New Zealand volcano tragedy to take months and carry criminal penalties</a>

Even though the system faces its own loopholes and drawbacks, the researchers are confident that four out of five times, it will successfully contain an eruption, especially large ones along the lines of the one in 2019.

They added that the warnings would require people to avoid the area altogether and desert it for a month every year.&nbsp;In a bid to make the system operational and ready to save lives, the two researchers are now working with GNS Science. Additionally, the data and software is open source, offering people the chance to offer improvement updates.

In the aftermath of the White Island tragedy in December last year, tourists have stopped visiting the island altogether, clubbed with coronavirus fears.

The research is set to be published in Nature Communications this week. New Zealand and surrounding regions are highly susceptible to volcanic eruptions, putting many lives at risk.

Scientists in New Zealand claim to have invented a warning system which will effectively predict volcanic eruptions to prevent loss of life. A volcanic blast on White Island in 2019 killed 21 people, for there was no predictive warning system in place.

Scientists in New Zealand claim to have invented a warning system which will effectively predict volcanic eruptions to prevent loss of life. A volcanic blast on White Island in 2019 killed 21 people, for there was no predictive warning system in place. "Early warning" The research behind the mechanism says that it is able to track and predict seismic activity before a potential eruption takes place. In conversation with the Guardian, the University of Auckland researchers Dempsey and Cronin claimed that had this “early warning” system been in place last year when the tragedy occurred on White Island, red flags would have been raised “16 hours before the volcano’s deadly eruption”. The country already has a series of monitoring tools, namely the one operated by GNS Science and called “The Geonet”, which measures the movements and tremors on earth. Smoke rises from Mount Aso, an active volcano, near the city of Aso in Kumamoto prefecture on December 13, 2019. Mount Aso's huge caldera dominates the southwestern main island of Kyushu, where the 1,592-metre (5,253-foot) volcano is a popular tourist spot. | AFP However, it is a log system which collects and collates data from thousands of earthquakes, without offering prediction. Dempsey and Cronin claim to have applied data from the past to set up “machine learning algorithms”, which lets them spot patterns leading up to and after the eruptions. For instance, they claimed that the 2019 eruption happened after 17 hours of seismic activity, and hence could have been avoided by ringing alarm bells. A pressure cooker? Kind of! According to them, this began with a “strong four-hour burst of seismic activity”, which caused “magmatic fluid” to rise up and to creature pressure on the gas and water which was trapped in the rock. Comparing it to a pressure cooker lid blasting off, they said this is what led to the eruption in the end. They also claimed that a similar pattern of seismic signals and activity was recorded in August 2013, and before other two similar eruptions in 2012. Also read: Probes into New Zealand volcano tragedy to take months and carry criminal penalties Even though the system faces its own loopholes and drawbacks, the researchers are confident that four out of five times, it will successfully contain an eruption, especially large ones along the lines of the one in 2019. They added that the warnings would require people to avoid the area altogether and desert it for a month every year. In a bid to make the system operational and ready to save lives, the two researchers are now working with GNS Science. Additionally, the data and software is open source, offering people the chance to offer improvement updates. In the aftermath of the White Island tragedy in December last year, tourists have stopped visiting the island altogether, clubbed with coronavirus fears. The research is set to be published in Nature Communications this week. New Zealand and surrounding regions are highly susceptible to volcanic eruptions, putting many lives at risk.

Scientists in New Zealand invent a warning system that predicts volcanic eruptions

More than 100 scientists and clinicians have questioned the authenticity of an influential study that concluded that treating people who have Covid-19 with chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine did not help and might have increased the risk of abnormal heart rhythms and death, a report in the New York Times said.

More than 100 scientists and clinicians have questioned the authenticity of an influential study that concluded that treating people who have Covid-19 with chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine did not help and might have increased the risk of abnormal heart rhythms and death, a report in the New York Times said. In an open letter to The Lancet’s editor, Richard Horton, and the paper’s authors, the scientists asked the journal to provide details about the provenance of the data and called for the study to be independently validated by the World Health Organization or another institution, the report added. Use of the malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to prevent and treat Covid-19 has been a focus of intense public attention. US President Donald Trump has promoted the promise of hydroxychloroquine, despite the absence of gold-standard evidence from randomized clinical trials to prove its effectiveness, and recently said he was taking it himself in hopes of preventing coronavirus infection. The scientists’ challenges to The Lancet paper come at a time of increasing debate about the risks of the rush to publish new medical findings about Covid-19. The paper, published May 22, included data on tens of thousands of patients hospitalized through April 14, meaning that the authors analyzed the trove of data, wrote the paper and went through the journal’s peer review of its findings in just over five weeks, much faster than usual.

Scientists question authenticity of study on hydroxychloroquine drugs

A team of scientists has discovered a galaxy that looks like a "cosmic ring of fire" and could help us understand more about how galactic structures form and evolve, according to CNN.

A team of scientists has discovered a galaxy that looks like a "cosmic ring of fire" and could help us understand more about how galactic structures form and evolve, according to CNN. The report said the incredibly rare kind of galaxy has a similar mass to our Milky Way but is shaped like a doughnut with a hole in the middle, according to a press release from the ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D). Astronomers from the institution managed to capture an image of the galaxy and can now reveal what it looked like 11 billion years ago. "It is a very curious object that we've never seen before," said lead researcher Tiantian Yuan, from the center, in a statement. "It looks strange and familiar at the same time." The galaxy, which has been named R5519, is 11 billion light-years from our Solar System. The hole at its center has a diameter two billion times longer than the distance between Earth and the sun, according to the press release on Monday. "It is making stars at a rate 50 times greater than the Milky Way," said Yuan. "Most of that activity is taking place on its ring -- so it truly is a ring of fire." The discovery is described in full in the journal Nature Astronomy. Yuan and a group of colleagues from around the world used spectroscopic data to identify the galaxy, and evidence suggests it may be the first "collisional ring galaxy" located in the early universe.

Scientists discover giant fiery doughnut-shaped galaxy: Report

Scientists find new fossils of car-sized prehistoric turtle in South America

Scientists say a giant floating raft of pumice, .about the size of Manhattan, may help restore parts of the ailing Great Barrier Reef. The giant pumice is heading towards Australia. It came from an underwater volcano eruption.

Scientists say giant floating pumice may help restore ailing Great Barrier Reef

Watch WION Playlist, 29th August 2019. To know more watch the video...

Watch WION Playlist, 29th August 2019

Scientists on Wednesday (August 28) announced the landmark discovery in Ethiopia of a nearly complete skull of an early human ancestor that lived 3.8 million years ago, a species that possessed an intriguing mixture of ape-like and human-like characteristics. Watch this video to know more.

Your Story: Fossil discovery reveals face of human ancestor

Scientists have warned that the wreckage of the Titanic, which sank in 1912 killing more 1,500 people, is deteriorating rapidly due to the particular types of bacteria that inhabit the ship.

New video shows Titanic deterioration

NASA scientists are crisscrossing Greenland on a mission to track melting ice. Greenland has been melting faster in the last decade and this summer, it has seen two of the biggest melts on record since 2012.

Scientists fly over Greenland to track melting ice

Scientists studying the scale and impact of plastic pollution on wildlife in the Sargasso Sea have found "extreme concentrations" of microplastic, which they worry will threaten sea turtles and other marine species that live there. Watch this video to know more.

Your Story: Sargasso sea turtles & marine life in danger

Sargasso sea turtles threatened by ‘extreme concentrations’ of microplastic

Scientists find two drugs having high survival rates

Congo Ebola Outbreak: Ebola preventable & treatable soon?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO scientists in an audio message released after the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2.

Chandrayaan-2 reaching moon 1 week early: PM Modi

Relentless pursuit of economic growth, twinned with the impact of climate change, has put an "unprecedented" one million species at risk of extinction, scientists said on Monday in a landmark report on the damage done by modern civilisation to the natural world.

Only a wide-ranging transformation of the global economic and financial system could pull ecosystems that are vital to the future of human communities worldwide back from the brink of collapse, concluded the report, which was endorsed by 130 countries, including the United States, Russia and China.

"The essential, interconnected web of life on Earth is getting smaller and increasingly frayed," said Professor Josef Settele, who co-chaired the study, launched in Paris on Monday by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

"This loss is a direct result of human activity and constitutes a direct threat to human well-being in all regions of the world."

Compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries, the study is a cornerstone of an emerging body of research that suggests the world may need to embrace a new "post-growth" form of economics if it is to avert the existential risks posed by the mutually-reinforcing consequences of pollution, habitat destruction and carbon emissions.

Known as the Global Assessment, the report found that up to one million of Earth's estimated eight million plant, insect and animal species is at risk of extinction, many within decades.

The authors identified industrial farming and fishing as major drivers – with the current rate of species extinction tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the last 10 million years.

Climate change caused by burning the coal, oil and gas produced by the fossil fuel industry is exacerbating the losses, the report found.

Change needed at every level

Robert Watson, a British environmental scientist who chairs the IPBES, said it would be possible to start conserving, restoring and using nature sustainably only if societies were prepared to confront "vested interests" committed to preserving the status quo.

"The report also tells us that it is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global," Watson said in a statement.

"By transformative change, we mean a fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values."

The report's blunt language echoed the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which said in October that profound economic and social changes would be needed to curb greenhouse gases quickly enough to avert the most devastating consequences of a warming world.

The findings will also add to pressure for countries to agree bold action to protect wildlife at a major conference on biodiversity due to take place in China towards the end of next year, a focal point for governments and campaigners.

The Global Assessment contained a litany of estimates made after a three-year review of some 15,000 scientific papers that showed the profound impact of the rise of a globalised industrial society on the planet over the past half-century.

Combining wide-ranging disciplines to measure how the loss of the natural world affects human societies, the report identified a range of risks, from the disappearance of insects vital for pollinating food crops, to the destruction of coral reefs that support fish populations that sustain coastal communities, or the loss of medicinal plants.

The report found that the average abundance of native species in most major land-based habitats has fallen by at least 20 per cent, mostly since 1900.

The threatened list includes more than 40 per cent of amphibian species, almost 33 per cent of reef-forming corals, and more than a third of all marine mammals. The picture was less clear for insect species, but a tentative estimate suggests 10 per cent are at risk of extinction.

"We have been running from one frontier to another frontier trying to find cheap nature (to exploit) in every corner of the planet," Eduardo Brondizio, a professor of anthropology at Indiana University in the United States who co-chaired the Global Assessment, told Reuters.

Relentless pursuit of economic growth, twinned with the impact of climate change, has put an "unprecedented" one million species at risk of extinction, scientists said on Monday in a landmark report on the damage done by modern civilisation to the natural world.

Relentless pursuit of economic growth, twinned with the impact of climate change, has put an "unprecedented" one million species at risk of extinction, scientists said on Monday in a landmark report on the damage done by modern civilisation to the natural world. Only a wide-ranging transformation of the global economic and financial system could pull ecosystems that are vital to the future of human communities worldwide back from the brink of collapse, concluded the report, which was endorsed by 130 countries, including the United States, Russia and China. "The essential, interconnected web of life on Earth is getting smaller and increasingly frayed," said Professor Josef Settele, who co-chaired the study, launched in Paris on Monday by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). "This loss is a direct result of human activity and constitutes a direct threat to human well-being in all regions of the world." Compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries, the study is a cornerstone of an emerging body of research that suggests the world may need to embrace a new "post-growth" form of economics if it is to avert the existential risks posed by the mutually-reinforcing consequences of pollution, habitat destruction and carbon emissions. Known as the Global Assessment, the report found that up to one million of Earth's estimated eight million plant, insect and animal species is at risk of extinction, many within decades. The authors identified industrial farming and fishing as major drivers – with the current rate of species extinction tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the last 10 million years. Climate change caused by burning the coal, oil and gas produced by the fossil fuel industry is exacerbating the losses, the report found. Change needed at every level Robert Watson, a British environmental scientist who chairs the IPBES, said it would be possible to start conserving, restoring and using nature sustainably only if societies were prepared to confront "vested interests" committed to preserving the status quo. "The report also tells us that it is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global," Watson said in a statement. "By transformative change, we mean a fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values." The report's blunt language echoed the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which said in October that profound economic and social changes would be needed to curb greenhouse gases quickly enough to avert the most devastating consequences of a warming world. The findings will also add to pressure for countries to agree bold action to protect wildlife at a major conference on biodiversity due to take place in China towards the end of next year, a focal point for governments and campaigners. The Global Assessment contained a litany of estimates made after a three-year review of some 15,000 scientific papers that showed the profound impact of the rise of a globalised industrial society on the planet over the past half-century. Combining wide-ranging disciplines to measure how the loss of the natural world affects human societies, the report identified a range of risks, from the disappearance of insects vital for pollinating food crops, to the destruction of coral reefs that support fish populations that sustain coastal communities, or the loss of medicinal plants. The report found that the average abundance of native species in most major land-based habitats has fallen by at least 20 per cent, mostly since 1900. The threatened list includes more than 40 per cent of amphibian species, almost 33 per cent of reef-forming corals, and more than a third of all marine mammals. The picture was less clear for insect species, but a tentative estimate suggests 10 per cent are at risk of extinction. "We have been running from one frontier to another frontier trying to find cheap nature (to exploit) in every corner of the planet," Eduardo Brondizio, a professor of anthropology at Indiana University in the United States who co-chaired the Global Assessment, told Reuters.

One million species risk extinction due to modern civilisation: Scientists

Astronomers on Wednesday unveiled the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/remarkable-image-of-black-hole-released-in-space-breakthrough-209318"> first photo of a black hole</a>, one of the star-devouring monsters scattered throughout the Universe and obscured by impenetrable shields of gravity.

The image of a dark core encircled by a flame-orange halo of white-hot gas and plasma looks like any number of artists' renderings over the last 30 years.

But this time, it's the real deal.

Scientists have been puzzling over invisible "dark stars" since the 18th century, but never has one been spied by a telescope, much less photographed.

The supermassive black hole now immortalised by a far-flung network of radio telescopes is 50 million lightyears away in a galaxy known as M87.

"It's a distance that we could have barely imagined," Frederic Gueth, an astronomer at France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and co-author of studies detailing the findings, told AFP.

Most speculation had centred on the other candidate targeted by the Event Horizon Telescope -- Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the centre of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.&nbsp;

By comparison, Sag A* is only 26,000 lightyears from Earth.

Locking down an image of M87's supermassive black hole at such distance is comparable to photographing a pebble on the Moon.

European Space Agency astrophysicist Paul McNamara called it an "outstanding technical achievement".

It was also a team effort.

"Instead of constructing a giant telescope that would collapse under its own weight, we combined many observatories," Michael Bremer, an astronomer at the Institute for Millimetric Radio Astronomy (IRAM) in Grenoble, told AFP.

Earth in a thimble

Over several days in April 2017, eight radio telescopes in Hawaii, Arizona, Spain, Mexico, Chile, and the South Pole zeroed in on Sag A* and M87.

Knit together "like fragments of a giant mirror," in Bremer's words, they formed a virtual observatory some 12,000 kilometres across -- roughly the diameter of Earth.&nbsp;

In the end, M87 was more photogenic. Like a fidgety child, Sag A* was too "active" to capture a clear picture, the researchers said.

"The telescope is not looking at the black hole per se, but the material it has captured," a luminous disk of white-hot gas and plasma known as an accretion disk, said McNamara, who was not part of the team.&nbsp;

"The light from behind the black hole gets bent like a lens."

The unprecedented image -- so often imagined in science and science fiction --- has been analysed in six studies co-authored by 200 experts from 60-odd institutions and published Wednesday in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

"I never thought that I would see a real one in my lifetime," said CNRS astrophysicist Jean-Pierre Luminet, author in 1979 of the first digital simulation of a black hole.

Coined in the mid-60s by American physicist John Archibald Wheeler, the term "black hole" refers to a point in space where matter is so compressed as to create a gravity field from which even light cannot escape.

The more mass, the bigger the hole.

At the same scale of compression, Earth would fit inside a thimble. The Sun would measure a mere six kilometres edge-to-edge.

A successful outcome depended in part on the vagaries of weather during the April 2017 observation period.

"For everything to work, we needed to have clear visibility at every [telescope] location worldwide", said IRAM scientist Pablo Torne, recalling collective tension, fatigue and, finally, relief.

'Hell of a Christmas present'

Torne was at the controls of the Pico Veleta telescope in Spain's Sierra Madre mountains.

After that, is was eight months of nail-biting while scientists at MIT Haystack Observatory in Massachusetts and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn crunched the data.

The Universe is filled with electromagnetic "noise", and there was no guarantee M87's faint signals could be extracted from a mountain of data so voluminous it could not be delivered via the Internet.

There was at least one glitch.

"We were desperately waiting for the data from the South Pole Telescope, which -- due to extreme weather conditions during the southern hemisphere winter -- didn't arrive until six months later," recalled Helger Rottmann from the Max Planck Institute.

It arrived, to be precise, on December 23, 2017.

"When, a few hours later, we saw that everything was there, it was one hell of a Christmas present," Rottmann said.

It would take another year, however, to piece together the data into an image.

"To be absolutely sure, we did the work four times with four different teams," said Gueth.

Each team came up with exactly the same spectacular, history-making picture of a dark circle encased in a flaming-red halo.

Astronomers on Wednesday unveiled the first photo of a black hole, one of the star-devouring monsters scattered throughout the Universe and obscured by impenetrable shields of gravity.

Astronomers on Wednesday unveiled the first photo of a black hole, one of the star-devouring monsters scattered throughout the Universe and obscured by impenetrable shields of gravity. The image of a dark core encircled by a flame-orange halo of white-hot gas and plasma looks like any number of artists' renderings over the last 30 years. But this time, it's the real deal. Scientists have been puzzling over invisible "dark stars" since the 18th century, but never has one been spied by a telescope, much less photographed. The supermassive black hole now immortalised by a far-flung network of radio telescopes is 50 million lightyears away in a galaxy known as M87. "It's a distance that we could have barely imagined," Frederic Gueth, an astronomer at France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and co-author of studies detailing the findings, told AFP. Most speculation had centred on the other candidate targeted by the Event Horizon Telescope -- Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the centre of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. By comparison, Sag A* is only 26,000 lightyears from Earth. Locking down an image of M87's supermassive black hole at such distance is comparable to photographing a pebble on the Moon. European Space Agency astrophysicist Paul McNamara called it an "outstanding technical achievement". It was also a team effort. "Instead of constructing a giant telescope that would collapse under its own weight, we combined many observatories," Michael Bremer, an astronomer at the Institute for Millimetric Radio Astronomy (IRAM) in Grenoble, told AFP. Earth in a thimble Over several days in April 2017, eight radio telescopes in Hawaii, Arizona, Spain, Mexico, Chile, and the South Pole zeroed in on Sag A* and M87. Knit together "like fragments of a giant mirror," in Bremer's words, they formed a virtual observatory some 12,000 kilometres across -- roughly the diameter of Earth. In the end, M87 was more photogenic. Like a fidgety child, Sag A* was too "active" to capture a clear picture, the researchers said. "The telescope is not looking at the black hole per se, but the material it has captured," a luminous disk of white-hot gas and plasma known as an accretion disk, said McNamara, who was not part of the team. "The light from behind the black hole gets bent like a lens." The unprecedented image -- so often imagined in science and science fiction --- has been analysed in six studies co-authored by 200 experts from 60-odd institutions and published Wednesday in Astrophysical Journal Letters. "I never thought that I would see a real one in my lifetime," said CNRS astrophysicist Jean-Pierre Luminet, author in 1979 of the first digital simulation of a black hole. Coined in the mid-60s by American physicist John Archibald Wheeler, the term "black hole" refers to a point in space where matter is so compressed as to create a gravity field from which even light cannot escape. The more mass, the bigger the hole. At the same scale of compression, Earth would fit inside a thimble. The Sun would measure a mere six kilometres edge-to-edge. A successful outcome depended in part on the vagaries of weather during the April 2017 observation period. "For everything to work, we needed to have clear visibility at every [telescope] location worldwide", said IRAM scientist Pablo Torne, recalling collective tension, fatigue and, finally, relief. 'Hell of a Christmas present' Torne was at the controls of the Pico Veleta telescope in Spain's Sierra Madre mountains. After that, is was eight months of nail-biting while scientists at MIT Haystack Observatory in Massachusetts and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn crunched the data. The Universe is filled with electromagnetic "noise", and there was no guarantee M87's faint signals could be extracted from a mountain of data so voluminous it could not be delivered via the Internet. There was at least one glitch. "We were desperately waiting for the data from the South Pole Telescope, which -- due to extreme weather conditions during the southern hemisphere winter -- didn't arrive until six months later," recalled Helger Rottmann from the Max Planck Institute. It arrived, to be precise, on December 23, 2017. "When, a few hours later, we saw that everything was there, it was one hell of a Christmas present," Rottmann said. It would take another year, however, to piece together the data into an image. "To be absolutely sure, we did the work four times with four different teams," said Gueth. Each team came up with exactly the same spectacular, history-making picture of a dark circle encased in a flaming-red halo.

First image of black hole unveiled by astronomers in landmark discovery

The decade from 2014 to 2023 could end up being the warmest in over 150 years of records, say scientists who predict that the global average surface temperature for the next five years will be one degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The figures released by the UK Met Office include data from a number of sources including the latest publication of provisional figures for 2018. 
&nbsp; 
Records for annual global average temperature extend back to 1850.

"2015 was the first year that global annual average surface temperatures reached 1.0 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels and the following three years have all remained close to this level," said Adam Scaife, Head of Long-Range Prediction at the Met Office in the UK.&nbsp;

"The global average temperature between now and 2023 is predicted to remain high, potentially making the decade from 2014 the warmest in more than 150 years of records," said Scaife.

Averaged over the five-year period 2019-2023, forecast patterns suggest enhanced warming is likely over much of the globe, especially over land and at high northern latitudes, particularly the Arctic region.

"A run of temperatures of 1.0 degree Celsius or above would increase the risk of a temporary excursion above the threshold of 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels," said Doug Smith, a research fellow at Met Office.&nbsp;

"Predictions now suggest around a 10 per cent chance of at least one year between 2019 and 2023 temporarily exceeding 1.5 degree Celsius," Smith said.

2018 is cited to be the fourth warmest year on record globally. It follows 2015, 2016 and 2017, which are the three warmest years in the 169-year record.

The effects of climate change are not limited to surface temperature. Warming of the climate system is seen across a range of climate indicators that build a picture of global changes occurring across the land, atmosphere, oceans and ice.

The decade from 2014 to 2023 could end up being the warmest in over 150 years of records, say scientists who predict that the global average surface temperature for the next five years will be one degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The decade from 2014 to 2023 could end up being the warmest in over 150 years of records, say scientists who predict that the global average surface temperature for the next five years will be one degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The figures released by the UK Met Office include data from a number of sources including the latest publication of provisional figures for 2018. Records for annual global average temperature extend back to 1850. "2015 was the first year that global annual average surface temperatures reached 1.0 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels and the following three years have all remained close to this level," said Adam Scaife, Head of Long-Range Prediction at the Met Office in the UK. "The global average temperature between now and 2023 is predicted to remain high, potentially making the decade from 2014 the warmest in more than 150 years of records," said Scaife. Averaged over the five-year period 2019-2023, forecast patterns suggest enhanced warming is likely over much of the globe, especially over land and at high northern latitudes, particularly the Arctic region. "A run of temperatures of 1.0 degree Celsius or above would increase the risk of a temporary excursion above the threshold of 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels," said Doug Smith, a research fellow at Met Office. "Predictions now suggest around a 10 per cent chance of at least one year between 2019 and 2023 temporarily exceeding 1.5 degree Celsius," Smith said. 2018 is cited to be the fourth warmest year on record globally. It follows 2015, 2016 and 2017, which are the three warmest years in the 169-year record. The effects of climate change are not limited to surface temperature. Warming of the climate system is seen across a range of climate indicators that build a picture of global changes occurring across the land, atmosphere, oceans and ice.

'Earth may be experiencing warmest decade on record,' say experts

Earth's magnetic north pole is drifting by about 55 kilometres a year. And the drift is picking&nbsp;up pace; in 2000, the magnetic north pole was moving at about 15 kilometres a year.&nbsp;

The magnetic north pole was first measured in 1831 in the Canadian Arctic. It has since then moved some 2,300 kilometres. It&nbsp;crossed the International Date Line in 2017 and is now leaving the Canadian Arctic for Siberia.

The movement of course has begun to mess up navigation.&nbsp;

NASA uses the magnetic north pole, as do airplanes and boats, usually as backup navigation. The drifting magnetic north is also messing up compasses in smartphones and some consumer electronics.

GPS, fortunately,&nbsp;is not affected since it is satellite-based.&nbsp;

AP quoted University of Maryland geophysicist Daniel Lathrop as saying the&nbsp;reason behind the shift is&nbsp;turbulence in the Earth's liquid outer core. There is a hot liquid ocean of iron and nickel in the planet's core and its motion generates an electric field.

For now, the magnetic south pole is moving far more slowly than the north. Finally, the two will flip places.&nbsp;

Not to worry, it's happened before in the past — several times, just not in the last 780,000 years.&nbsp;

Earth's magnetic north pole is drifting by about 55 kilometres a year. And the drift is picking up pace; in 2000, the magnetic north pole was moving at about 15 kilometres a year.

Earth's magnetic north pole is drifting by about 55 kilometres a year. And the drift is picking up pace; in 2000, the magnetic north pole was moving at about 15 kilometres a year. The magnetic north pole was first measured in 1831 in the Canadian Arctic. It has since then moved some 2,300 kilometres. It crossed the International Date Line in 2017 and is now leaving the Canadian Arctic for Siberia. The movement of course has begun to mess up navigation. NASA uses the magnetic north pole, as do airplanes and boats, usually as backup navigation. The drifting magnetic north is also messing up compasses in smartphones and some consumer electronics. GPS, fortunately, is not affected since it is satellite-based. AP quoted University of Maryland geophysicist Daniel Lathrop as saying the reason behind the shift is turbulence in the Earth's liquid outer core. There is a hot liquid ocean of iron and nickel in the planet's core and its motion generates an electric field. For now, the magnetic south pole is moving far more slowly than the north. Finally, the two will flip places. Not to worry, it's happened before in the past — several times, just not in the last 780,000 years.

Magnetic north pole moving 55 kilometres a year, disrupting navigation

The old cry of sailors sighting a whale's waterspout is taking on new meaning as scientists turn to drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, to gather samples of the fluids exhaled by the huge mammals and track their health.

Marine researcher Vanessa Pirotta of Sydney's Macquarie University, says a drone has been used for the first time to collect whale mucus from humpback whales at sea in a technique that could help monitor the health of whales around the world.

"We're collecting...that visible plume of spray rising from the whale's blowhole, as they come to the surface to breathe," she told Reuters Television.

"This approach may ultimately enable a better understanding of the patterns and drivers of disease emergence in wild populations," Pirotta and eight co-authors say in a paper published in an online open-access journal, Viruses.

The scientists collected whale blow samples from 19 humpback whales during the 2017 annual northward migration from Antarctica to northern Australia, they added.

The spray is collected in a petri dish attached to the top of a quadcopter drone, with a flip-lid opened by the craft's pilot as the drone flies above the whale.

The method is less invasive than using a boat to get close and collecting samples on a pole, Pirotta said and represents an advance over past techniques that depended on samples from stranded whales or those killed for the purpose.

The whale spray collected by a drone contains DNA, proteins, lipids and types of bacteria.

"We can collect bacteria, in my case, to look at the types of bacteria living in whale lungs for an assessment of whale health," Pirotta said.

In this way, drones serve as an early-warning detection system to monitor potential changes in whales' health.

"We can adapt this method to other whale populations around the world not doing so well, like the North Atlantic right whale," Pirotta added.

An international ban on whaling took effect in 1986, but Japan, which says eating whale is part of its culture, last year said it would resume commercial whaling from July in its waters and exclusive economic zone.

The old cry of sailors sighting a whale's waterspout is taking on new meaning as scientists turn to drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, to gather samples of the fluids exhaled by the huge mammals and track their health.

The old cry of sailors sighting a whale's waterspout is taking on new meaning as scientists turn to drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, to gather samples of the fluids exhaled by the huge mammals and track their health. Marine researcher Vanessa Pirotta of Sydney's Macquarie University, says a drone has been used for the first time to collect whale mucus from humpback whales at sea in a technique that could help monitor the health of whales around the world. "We're collecting...that visible plume of spray rising from the whale's blowhole, as they come to the surface to breathe," she told Reuters Television. "This approach may ultimately enable a better understanding of the patterns and drivers of disease emergence in wild populations," Pirotta and eight co-authors say in a paper published in an online open-access journal, Viruses. The scientists collected whale blow samples from 19 humpback whales during the 2017 annual northward migration from Antarctica to northern Australia, they added. The spray is collected in a petri dish attached to the top of a quadcopter drone, with a flip-lid opened by the craft's pilot as the drone flies above the whale. The method is less invasive than using a boat to get close and collecting samples on a pole, Pirotta said and represents an advance over past techniques that depended on samples from stranded whales or those killed for the purpose. The whale spray collected by a drone contains DNA, proteins, lipids and types of bacteria. "We can collect bacteria, in my case, to look at the types of bacteria living in whale lungs for an assessment of whale health," Pirotta said. In this way, drones serve as an early-warning detection system to monitor potential changes in whales' health. "We can adapt this method to other whale populations around the world not doing so well, like the North Atlantic right whale," Pirotta added. An international ban on whaling took effect in 1986, but Japan, which says eating whale is part of its culture, last year said it would resume commercial whaling from July in its waters and exclusive economic zone.

'Thar she blows!' Scientists use drones to monitor whale health

Lord of the rings: Saturn's halo may be relatively recent trait

Hawaii Governor David Ige on Monday said he has contacted the Trump administration to request an emergency declaration so the area can get federal help with volcano recovery efforts.

"I called FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) right away to let them know that we anticipate an event, that we want their support and most importantly I called the White House to let them know," he said.

This new eruption would entail danger to our community that I felt was very important that we assure that state, federal and county assets would be available to keep all of you safe, Ige added.

He was speaking at a community meeting in Pahoa.

Kilauea is one of the world's most active volcanoes and has been erupting continuously since 1983.

There's no indication when this particular lava flow might stop or how far it might spread.

"Yesterday when we went to look at the volcano, you could hear it. It's like a freight train and a huge wave coming at you. It was very scary," said Briyani Carley, a local who was evacuated by authorities.

Scientists from the US Geological Survey expect the flow to continue until more magma drains from the system.

On Sunday, some of the evacuees were allowed to return briefly to gather medicine, pets, and other necessities.

"We are feeling sorry for the people that have lost their houses because we know some of our neighbours have lost theirs. But at least up until now we are okay," said Carley.

They will be able to do so each day as long as authorities believe it is safe.

'I called FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) right away to let them know that we anticipate an event, that we want their support and most importantly I called the White House to let them know,' he said

Hawaii Governor David Ige on Monday said he has contacted the Trump administration to request an emergency declaration so the area can get federal help with volcano recovery efforts. "I called FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) right away to let them know that we anticipate an event, that we want their support and most importantly I called the White House to let them know," he said. This new eruption would entail danger to our community that I felt was very important that we assure that state, federal and county assets would be available to keep all of you safe, Ige added. He was speaking at a community meeting in Pahoa. Kilauea is one of the world's most active volcanoes and has been erupting continuously since 1983. There's no indication when this particular lava flow might stop or how far it might spread. "Yesterday when we went to look at the volcano, you could hear it. It's like a freight train and a huge wave coming at you. It was very scary," said Briyani Carley, a local who was evacuated by authorities. Scientists from the US Geological Survey expect the flow to continue until more magma drains from the system. On Sunday, some of the evacuees were allowed to return briefly to gather medicine, pets, and other necessities. "We are feeling sorry for the people that have lost their houses because we know some of our neighbours have lost theirs. But at least up until now we are okay," said Carley. They will be able to do so each day as long as authorities believe it is safe.

Hawaii seeks US government's help with recovery efforts after volcano eruption

&nbspHawaii's Big Island remains on high alert on Saturday after the Kilauea volcano spewed lava into residential areas, forcing hundreds to evacuate, and a series of earthquakes, included a powerful tremor, shook the island.

Scientists and local officials warned residents that seismic and volcanic activity may continue after a 6.9 tremor shook buildings on the island's southeast corner a little after noon (2200 GMT) on Friday and more lava fissures were reported in a residential subdivision, where residents have been ordered to leave.

"Until we see earthquake activity dying down and the ground stops moving, it's likely that this activity is going to continue," said Tina Neal, a scientist in charge at the USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory after a community meeting attended by about 300 people on Friday.

Some attendees shed tears as they asked officials about looting, travel restrictions and safety precautions at the Puna Geothermal Venture, a power plant in the eruption area.

"Today’s been a challenging day for everyone," Neal said.

The meeting came hours after the 6.9 tremor caused buildings to shake at the Community Center in Pahoa town, one of two evacuation centers in the area hastily set up after lava started burbling up through fissures in the ground in neighborhoods nearby.

Friday also saw several more eruptive lava fissures, each several hundred yards long, in the Leilani Estates subdivision in the Puna District about a dozen miles (19 km) from the volcano.

The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said in an alert that a total of six fissures had occurred. Although no significant lava flows have yet formed, additional outbreaks of lava, which can reach temperatures of about 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit (1,150 Celsius), were expected, the agency said.

Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes and one of five on the island, has been in constant eruption for 35 years. Lava flows from the volcano have covered 48 square miles (125 square km), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Scientists say it is nearly impossible to predict how long an eruption will last.

On Thursday, Kilauea began spewing lava into residential areas after a series of earthquakes over the past week. Starting around 11 a.m. on Friday, the island experienced a flurry of earthquakes, culminating in the massive magnitude 6.9 tremor.

Some 1,700 residents in Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions were ordered to evacuate on Thursday after public works officials reported steam and lava erupting from fissures in the road, the Civil Defense agency said.

No injuries or deaths were reported, but Hawaii Governor David Ige activated the Hawaii National Guard to provide emergency help.

Two houses have been destroyed, officials said.

Civil defense officials have warned the public about high levels of sulfur dioxide near the volcano, one reason for the evacuation orders. The gas can cause skin irritations and breathing difficulties.

Scientists and local officials warned residents that seismic and volcanic activity may continue after a 6.9 tremor shook buildings on the island's southeast corner a little afternoon on Friday

&nbspHawaii's Big Island remains on high alert on Saturday after the Kilauea volcano spewed lava into residential areas, forcing hundreds to evacuate, and a series of earthquakes, included a powerful tremor, shook the island. Scientists and local officials warned residents that seismic and volcanic activity may continue after a 6.9 tremor shook buildings on the island's southeast corner a little after noon (2200 GMT) on Friday and more lava fissures were reported in a residential subdivision, where residents have been ordered to leave. "Until we see earthquake activity dying down and the ground stops moving, it's likely that this activity is going to continue," said Tina Neal, a scientist in charge at the USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory after a community meeting attended by about 300 people on Friday. Some attendees shed tears as they asked officials about looting, travel restrictions and safety precautions at the Puna Geothermal Venture, a power plant in the eruption area. "Today’s been a challenging day for everyone," Neal said. The meeting came hours after the 6.9 tremor caused buildings to shake at the Community Center in Pahoa town, one of two evacuation centers in the area hastily set up after lava started burbling up through fissures in the ground in neighborhoods nearby. Friday also saw several more eruptive lava fissures, each several hundred yards long, in the Leilani Estates subdivision in the Puna District about a dozen miles (19 km) from the volcano. The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said in an alert that a total of six fissures had occurred. Although no significant lava flows have yet formed, additional outbreaks of lava, which can reach temperatures of about 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit (1,150 Celsius), were expected, the agency said. Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes and one of five on the island, has been in constant eruption for 35 years. Lava flows from the volcano have covered 48 square miles (125 square km), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Scientists say it is nearly impossible to predict how long an eruption will last. On Thursday, Kilauea began spewing lava into residential areas after a series of earthquakes over the past week. Starting around 11 a.m. on Friday, the island experienced a flurry of earthquakes, culminating in the massive magnitude 6.9 tremor. Some 1,700 residents in Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions were ordered to evacuate on Thursday after public works officials reported steam and lava erupting from fissures in the road, the Civil Defense agency said. No injuries or deaths were reported, but Hawaii Governor David Ige activated the Hawaii National Guard to provide emergency help. Two houses have been destroyed, officials said. Civil defense officials have warned the public about high levels of sulfur dioxide near the volcano, one reason for the evacuation orders. The gas can cause skin irritations and breathing difficulties.

High alert after strongest quake in 40 years jolts Hawaii's Big Island

Scientists have unearthed in a Sahara Desert oasis in Egypt fossils of a long-necked, four-legged, school bus-sized dinosaur that lived roughly 80 million years ago, a discovery that sheds light on a mysterious time period in the history of dinosaurs in Africa.

Researchers said on Monday the plant-eating Cretaceous Period dinosaur, named Mansourasaurus shahinae, was nearly 33 feet (10 metres) long and weighed 5.5 tons (5,000 kg) and was a member of a group called titanosaurs that included Earth&#39;s largest-ever land animals. Like many titanosaurs, Mansourasaurus boasted bony plates called osteoderms embedded in its skin.

&nbsp;Mansourasaurus, which lived near the shore of the ancient ocean that preceded the Mediterranean Sea, is one of the very few dinosaurs known from the last 15 million years of the Mesozoic Era, or age of dinosaurs, on mainland Africa. Madagascar had a separate geologic history.

&nbsp;Its remains, found at the Dakhla Oasis in central Egypt, are the most complete of any mainland African land vertebrate during an even larger time span, the roughly 30 million years before the dinosaur mass extinction 66 million years ago, said paleontologist Hesham Sallam of Egypt&#39;s Mansoura University, who led the study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

&nbsp;The scientists recovered parts of its skull, lower jaw, neck and back vertebrae, ribs, shoulder and forelimb, back foot and osteoderms.

&nbsp;A lot of Africa is covered in grasslands, savannas and rainforests that obscure underlying rock where fossils may be found, said postdoctoral researcher Eric Gorscak of the Field Museum in Chicago, who was formerly at Ohio University.

&nbsp;While as massive as a bull African elephant, Mansourasaurus was modestly sized next to titanosaur cousins such as South America&#39;s Argentinosaurus, Dreadnoughtus and Patagotitan and Africa&#39;s Paralititan, some exceeding 100 feet (30 metres) long.

&nbsp;&quot;Mansourasaurus, though a big animal by today&rsquo;s standards, was a pipsqueak compared to some other titanosaurs,&quot; said paleontologist Matt Lamanna of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

The researchers determined Mansourasaurus was more closely related to European and Asian titanosaurs than to those from elsewhere in Africa and other Southern Hemisphere land masses including South America formerly joined in a super-continent called Gondwana.

&nbsp;&quot;This, in turn, demonstrates for the first time that at least some dinosaurs could move between North Africa and southern Europe at the end of the Mesozoic, and runs counter to long-standing hypotheses that have argued that Africa&rsquo;s dinosaur faunas were isolated from others during this time,&quot; Lamanna said.

Mansourasaurus, which lived near the shore of the ancient ocean that preceded the Mediterranean Sea, is one of the very few dinosaurs known from the last 15 million years of the Mesozoic Era, or age of dinosaurs, on mainland Africa.

Scientists have unearthed in a Sahara Desert oasis in Egypt fossils of a long-necked, four-legged, school bus-sized dinosaur that lived roughly 80 million years ago, a discovery that sheds light on a mysterious time period in the history of dinosaurs in Africa. Researchers said on Monday the plant-eating Cretaceous Period dinosaur, named Mansourasaurus shahinae, was nearly 33 feet (10 metres) long and weighed 5.5 tons (5,000 kg) and was a member of a group called titanosaurs that included Earth's largest-ever land animals. Like many titanosaurs, Mansourasaurus boasted bony plates called osteoderms embedded in its skin. Mansourasaurus, which lived near the shore of the ancient ocean that preceded the Mediterranean Sea, is one of the very few dinosaurs known from the last 15 million years of the Mesozoic Era, or age of dinosaurs, on mainland Africa. Madagascar had a separate geologic history. Its remains, found at the Dakhla Oasis in central Egypt, are the most complete of any mainland African land vertebrate during an even larger time span, the roughly 30 million years before the dinosaur mass extinction 66 million years ago, said paleontologist Hesham Sallam of Egypt's Mansoura University, who led the study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. The scientists recovered parts of its skull, lower jaw, neck and back vertebrae, ribs, shoulder and forelimb, back foot and osteoderms. A lot of Africa is covered in grasslands, savannas and rainforests that obscure underlying rock where fossils may be found, said postdoctoral researcher Eric Gorscak of the Field Museum in Chicago, who was formerly at Ohio University. While as massive as a bull African elephant, Mansourasaurus was modestly sized next to titanosaur cousins such as South America's Argentinosaurus, Dreadnoughtus and Patagotitan and Africa's Paralititan, some exceeding 100 feet (30 metres) long. "Mansourasaurus, though a big animal by today’s standards, was a pipsqueak compared to some other titanosaurs," said paleontologist Matt Lamanna of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. The researchers determined Mansourasaurus was more closely related to European and Asian titanosaurs than to those from elsewhere in Africa and other Southern Hemisphere land masses including South America formerly joined in a super-continent called Gondwana. "This, in turn, demonstrates for the first time that at least some dinosaurs could move between North Africa and southern Europe at the end of the Mesozoic, and runs counter to long-standing hypotheses that have argued that Africa’s dinosaur faunas were isolated from others during this time," Lamanna said.

Fossil of school bus-sized dinosaur dug up in Egyptian desert

Scientists have developed the first robotic car that can drive over snow-covered roads, paving the way for autonomous vehicles that can safely navigate through slippery stretches.

The fully autonomous robot car Martti, developed by researchers at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, also succeeded in making a new speed record of 40 kilometres per hour.

Martti is equipped with cameras, antennas, sensors and laser scanners, just like its counterpart Marilyn.

It three laser scanners sensing the environment only in front of the car, whereas its &#39;spouse&#39; Marilyn has two scanners looking forwards and one looking backwards.

&quot;When in spring 2017 we taught the automated car Marilyn to drive, this autumn it has been teaching us on how to make Martti such that it can get along with its spouse, and follow GPS and positioning information on its route,&quot; said project manager Matti Kutila from VTT&#39;s RobotCar Crew.

&quot;Martti has been designed for demanding weather conditions and Marilyn shines as the queen of urban areas,&quot; said Kutila.

On the intelligent road of Muonio, Martti was also given intensive training.

&quot;It clearly has a very determined mindset, and after a persistent 24-hour training session, it started functioning,&quot; said Ari Virtanen, who was in charge of building the car and its equipment.

&quot;Earlier, Marilyn required a lot more work, because its control software was created from scratch. Martti uses the same software, which did no longer require more than minor adjustments,&quot; Virtanen said.

Martti made its speed record when it was allowed to pick up speed after having felt its way for a little while.

&quot;It probably also made a new world record in fully automated driving, making 40 kilometres per hour in a snowfall on snow-covered terrain without lane markings,&quot; Kutila said.

&quot;It could have had even more speed, but in test driving it is programmed not to exceed the limit of 40 kilometres per hour,&quot; he said.

The next step for VTT&#39;s autonomous cars will be changing the wavelengths of the optical components, increasing the resolution of the radar, and building more intelligence in the software monitoring the capabilities of the sensors.

These are intended to enhance the vehicle&#39;s functioning capacity step by step also on slippery road surfaces, where concealed edge of the road or fog may obstruct visibility.&nbsp;

Martti is equipped with cameras, antennas, sensors and laser scanners, just like its counterpart Marilyn

Scientists have developed the first robotic car that can drive over snow-covered roads, paving the way for autonomous vehicles that can safely navigate through slippery stretches. The fully autonomous robot car Martti, developed by researchers at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, also succeeded in making a new speed record of 40 kilometres per hour. Martti is equipped with cameras, antennas, sensors and laser scanners, just like its counterpart Marilyn. It three laser scanners sensing the environment only in front of the car, whereas its 'spouse' Marilyn has two scanners looking forwards and one looking backwards. "When in spring 2017 we taught the automated car Marilyn to drive, this autumn it has been teaching us on how to make Martti such that it can get along with its spouse, and follow GPS and positioning information on its route," said project manager Matti Kutila from VTT's RobotCar Crew. "Martti has been designed for demanding weather conditions and Marilyn shines as the queen of urban areas," said Kutila. On the intelligent road of Muonio, Martti was also given intensive training. "It clearly has a very determined mindset, and after a persistent 24-hour training session, it started functioning," said Ari Virtanen, who was in charge of building the car and its equipment. "Earlier, Marilyn required a lot more work, because its control software was created from scratch. Martti uses the same software, which did no longer require more than minor adjustments," Virtanen said. Martti made its speed record when it was allowed to pick up speed after having felt its way for a little while. "It probably also made a new world record in fully automated driving, making 40 kilometres per hour in a snowfall on snow-covered terrain without lane markings," Kutila said. "It could have had even more speed, but in test driving it is programmed not to exceed the limit of 40 kilometres per hour," he said. The next step for VTT's autonomous cars will be changing the wavelengths of the optical components, increasing the resolution of the radar, and building more intelligence in the software monitoring the capabilities of the sensors. These are intended to enhance the vehicle's functioning capacity step by step also on slippery road surfaces, where concealed edge of the road or fog may obstruct visibility.

First robot car that can drive through snow developed

Scientists announced the launch of another large HIV vaccine efficacy study on Thursday, fuelling hopes for a protective shot against the virus that causes AIDS, despite past disappointments.

The start of the new trial involving 2,600 women in southern Africa means that for the first time in more than a decade there are now two big HIV vaccine clinical trials taking place at the same time.

The new study is testing a two-vaccine combination developed by Johnson &amp; Johnson with the US&nbsp;National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation. The first vaccine, also backed by NIH, began a trial last November.

Both studies aim to build on the modest success of a previous trial in Thailand in 2009, when an earlier vaccine showed a 31-percent reduction in infections.

&quot;We&#39;re making progress,&quot; said J&amp;J Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels, who believes it should be possible to achieve effectiveness above 50 per cent.

&quot;That is the goal. Hopefully, we get much higher,&quot; he told Reuters.

The new vaccines require one dose to prime the immune system and a second shot to boost the body&#39;s response.

Significantly, J&amp;J&#39;s latest vaccine uses so-called mosaic technology to combine immune-stimulating proteins from different HIV strains, representing different types of virus from around the world, which should produce a &quot;global&quot; vaccine.

One reason why making an HIV vaccine has proved so difficult in the past is the variability of the virus.

Although modern HIV drugs have turned the disease from a death sentence into a chronic condition, a vaccine is still seen as critical in rolling back the pandemic, since the number of people infected is still growing.

Some 37 million individuals around the world currently have HIV and around 1.8 million became newly infected last year.

For the new study, sexually active women in South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe will be given the experimental vaccine or a placebo and then followed for three years to see if it prevents infections.

Initial clinical results reported at an AIDS conference in Paris in July showed the mosaic vaccine was safe and elicited a good immune response in healthy volunteers.

Scientists announced the launch of another large HIV vaccine efficacy study on Thursday, fuelling hopes for a protective shot against the virus that causes AIDS, despite past disappointments

Scientists announced the launch of another large HIV vaccine efficacy study on Thursday, fuelling hopes for a protective shot against the virus that causes AIDS, despite past disappointments. The start of the new trial involving 2,600 women in southern Africa means that for the first time in more than a decade there are now two big HIV vaccine clinical trials taking place at the same time. The new study is testing a two-vaccine combination developed by Johnson & Johnson with the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The first vaccine, also backed by NIH, began a trial last November. Both studies aim to build on the modest success of a previous trial in Thailand in 2009, when an earlier vaccine showed a 31-percent reduction in infections. "We're making progress," said J&J Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels, who believes it should be possible to achieve effectiveness above 50 per cent. "That is the goal. Hopefully, we get much higher," he told Reuters. The new vaccines require one dose to prime the immune system and a second shot to boost the body's response. Significantly, J&J's latest vaccine uses so-called mosaic technology to combine immune-stimulating proteins from different HIV strains, representing different types of virus from around the world, which should produce a "global" vaccine. One reason why making an HIV vaccine has proved so difficult in the past is the variability of the virus. Although modern HIV drugs have turned the disease from a death sentence into a chronic condition, a vaccine is still seen as critical in rolling back the pandemic, since the number of people infected is still growing. Some 37 million individuals around the world currently have HIV and around 1.8 million became newly infected last year. For the new study, sexually active women in South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe will be given the experimental vaccine or a placebo and then followed for three years to see if it prevents infections. Initial clinical results reported at an AIDS conference in Paris in July showed the mosaic vaccine was safe and elicited a good immune response in healthy volunteers.

Hopes for HIV vaccine buoyed by start of second big trial

By: Benjamin Scheele and&nbsp;David Lindenmayer

If you open Google and start typing &ldquo;Chinese cave gecko&rdquo;, the text will auto-populate to &ldquo;Chinese cave gecko for sale&rdquo; &ndash; just US$150, with delivery. This extremely rare species is just one of an increasingly large number of animals being pushed to extinction in the wild by animal trafficking. <img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/78342/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" style="font-size: 13px;" width="1" />

What&rsquo;s shocking is that the illegal trade in Chinese cave geckoes began so soon after they were first scientifically described in the early 2000s.

It&rsquo;s not an isolated case; poachers are trawling scientific papers for information on the location and habits of new, rare species.

As we argue in an essay published today in Science, scientists may have to rethink how much information we publicly publish. Ironically, the principles of open access and transparency have led to the creation of detailed online databases that pose a very real threat to endangered species.

We have personally experienced this, in our research on the endangered pink-tailed worm-lizard, a startling creature that resembles a snake. Biologists working in New South Wales are required to provide location data on all species they discover during scientific surveys to an online wildlife atlas.

But after we published our data, the landowners with whom we worked began to find trespassers on their properties. The interlopers had scoured online wildlife atlases. As well as putting animals at risk, this undermines vital long-term relationships between researchers and landowners.

The illegal trade in wildlife has exploded online. Several recently described species have been devastated by poaching almost immediately after appearing in the scientific literature. Particularly at risk are animals with small geographic ranges and specialised habitats, which can be most easily pinpointed.

Poaching isn&rsquo;t the only problem that is exacerbated by unrestricted access to information on rare and endangered species. Overzealous wildlife enthusiasts are increasingly scanning scientific papers,<a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6340/800"> </a>government and NGO reports, and wildlife atlases to track down unusual species to photograph or handle.

This can seriously disturb the animals, destroy specialised microhabitats, and spread disease. A striking example is the recent outbreak in Europe of a amphibian chytrid fungus, which essentially &ldquo;eats&rdquo; the skin of salamanders.

This pathogen was introduced from Asia through wildlife trade, and has already driven some fire salamander populations to extinction.

Rethinking unrestricted access

In an era when poachers can arm themselves with the latest scientific data, we must urgently rethink whether it is appropriate to put detailed location and habitat information into the public domain.

We argue that before publishing, scientists must ask themselves: will this information aid or harm conservation efforts? Is this species particularly vulnerable to disruption? Is it slow-growing and long-lived? Is it likely to be poached?

Fortunately, this calculus will only be relevant in a few cases. Researchers might feel an intellectual passion for the least lovable subjects, but when it comes to poaching, it is generally only charismatic and attractive animals that have broad commercial appeal.

But in high-risk cases, where economically valuable species lack adequate protection, scientists need to consider censoring themselves to avoid unintentionally contributing to species declines.

Restricting information on rare and endangered species has trade-offs, and might inhibit some conservation efforts. Yet, much useful information can still be openly published without including specific details that could help the nefarious (or misguided) to find a vulnerable species.

There are signs people are beginning to recognise this problem and adapt to it. For example, new species descriptions are now being published without location data or habitat descriptions.

Biologists can take a lesson from other fields such as palaeontology, where important fossil sites are often kept secret to avoid illegal collection. Similar practices are also common in archaeology.

Restricting the open publication of scientifically and socially important information brings its own challenges, and we don&rsquo;t have all the answers. For example, the dilemma of organising secure databases to collate data on a global scale remains unresolved.

For the most part, the move towards making research freely available is positive; encouraging collaboration and driving new discoveries. But legal or academic requirements to publish location data may be dangerously out of step with real-life risks.

Biologists have a centuries-old tradition of publishing information on rare and endangered species. For much of this history it was an innocuous practice, but as the world changes, scientists must rethink old norms.

Benjamin Scheele&nbsp;is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Ecology, Australian National University and David Lindenmayer&nbsp;is Professor at The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-are-accidentally-helping-poachers-drive-rare-species-to-extinction-78342">original article</a>.

Poachers are trawling scientific papers for information on the location and habits of new, rare species to illegally catch them for commercial benefits.

By: Benjamin Scheele and David Lindenmayer If you open Google and start typing “Chinese cave gecko”, the text will auto-populate to “Chinese cave gecko for sale” – just US$150, with delivery. This extremely rare species is just one of an increasingly large number of animals being pushed to extinction in the wild by animal trafficking. What’s shocking is that the illegal trade in Chinese cave geckoes began so soon after they were first scientifically described in the early 2000s. It’s not an isolated case; poachers are trawling scientific papers for information on the location and habits of new, rare species. As we argue in an essay published today in Science, scientists may have to rethink how much information we publicly publish. Ironically, the principles of open access and transparency have led to the creation of detailed online databases that pose a very real threat to endangered species. We have personally experienced this, in our research on the endangered pink-tailed worm-lizard, a startling creature that resembles a snake. Biologists working in New South Wales are required to provide location data on all species they discover during scientific surveys to an online wildlife atlas. But after we published our data, the landowners with whom we worked began to find trespassers on their properties. The interlopers had scoured online wildlife atlases. As well as putting animals at risk, this undermines vital long-term relationships between researchers and landowners. The illegal trade in wildlife has exploded online. Several recently described species have been devastated by poaching almost immediately after appearing in the scientific literature. Particularly at risk are animals with small geographic ranges and specialised habitats, which can be most easily pinpointed. Poaching isn’t the only problem that is exacerbated by unrestricted access to information on rare and endangered species. Overzealous wildlife enthusiasts are increasingly scanning scientific papers, government and NGO reports, and wildlife atlases to track down unusual species to photograph or handle. This can seriously disturb the animals, destroy specialised microhabitats, and spread disease. A striking example is the recent outbreak in Europe of a amphibian chytrid fungus, which essentially “eats” the skin of salamanders. This pathogen was introduced from Asia through wildlife trade, and has already driven some fire salamander populations to extinction. Rethinking unrestricted access In an era when poachers can arm themselves with the latest scientific data, we must urgently rethink whether it is appropriate to put detailed location and habitat information into the public domain. We argue that before publishing, scientists must ask themselves: will this information aid or harm conservation efforts? Is this species particularly vulnerable to disruption? Is it slow-growing and long-lived? Is it likely to be poached? Fortunately, this calculus will only be relevant in a few cases. Researchers might feel an intellectual passion for the least lovable subjects, but when it comes to poaching, it is generally only charismatic and attractive animals that have broad commercial appeal. But in high-risk cases, where economically valuable species lack adequate protection, scientists need to consider censoring themselves to avoid unintentionally contributing to species declines. Restricting information on rare and endangered species has trade-offs, and might inhibit some conservation efforts. Yet, much useful information can still be openly published without including specific details that could help the nefarious (or misguided) to find a vulnerable species. There are signs people are beginning to recognise this problem and adapt to it. For example, new species descriptions are now being published without location data or habitat descriptions. Biologists can take a lesson from other fields such as palaeontology, where important fossil sites are often kept secret to avoid illegal collection. Similar practices are also common in archaeology. Restricting the open publication of scientifically and socially important information brings its own challenges, and we don’t have all the answers. For example, the dilemma of organising secure databases to collate data on a global scale remains unresolved. For the most part, the move towards making research freely available is positive; encouraging collaboration and driving new discoveries. But legal or academic requirements to publish location data may be dangerously out of step with real-life risks. Biologists have a centuries-old tradition of publishing information on rare and endangered species. For much of this history it was an innocuous practice, but as the world changes, scientists must rethink old norms. Benjamin Scheele is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Ecology, Australian National University and David Lindenmayer is Professor at The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Science is accidentally helping poachers drive rare species to extinction

Anandibai Joshi

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The first female physician in the country to practice western medicine, she was motivated to become a doctor when her new-born baby died soon after birth.

Anna Mani

&nbsp;

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Anna Mani (Others)
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A student of renowned scientist CV Raman, she earned global fame for her work on meteorological&nbsp;instrumentation.

Janaki Ammal

&nbsp;

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The Indian botanist conducted scientific research in phytogeography and cytogenetics. The Padma Shree awardee is most known for her research on sugarcane and the eggplant.

Asima Chatterjee

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Asima Chatterjee (Image Courtsey: Indian Academy of Sciences) (Others)
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She is most known for her research in phytomedicine and organic chemistry to develop cancer medicine, anti-epileptic and anti-malarial drugs. Being the first woman to be named a Doctor of Science by an Indian university, she broke stereotypes and inspired many.

Charusita Chakravarty

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&nbsp;

Charusita Chakravarty was a professor of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. She was honoured with several awards for her work, most notably, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize.

Tessy Thomas

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Known as the &#39;Missile Woman&#39; of India, Tessy is the first female engineer to head a missile project in the country. Thomas is an engineer and the Project Director for Agni-IV missile in Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Rajeshwari Chatterjee

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Rajeshwari Chatterjee (@nirbhaavuka) (Twitter)
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The first woman engineer from Karnataka, she was given a scholarship by the government of Delhi to study abroad She studied at the University of Michigan where she obtained her Master&rsquo;s degree in electrical engineering. She returned to India to join the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering at IISc where she set up a microwave research laboratory. Her research on Microwave Engineering in greatly acknowledged.

 
Aditi Pant

The oceanographer was a part of the Indian expedition to Antarctica in 1983. She became the first Indian woman to visit Antarctica.

Kalpana Chawla

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The first Indian woman in space flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. In the unfortunate disaster of Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members killed.

 
Sudha Bhattacharya

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An&nbsp;academic, scientist and&nbsp;writer, she is recognised for her in-depth study of Entamoeba histolytica, an amoebiasis causing parasitic protozoan. Her laboratory was the first to detect&nbsp;Ribosomal RNA genes on Circular DNA.

Indira Nath

The immunologist is known for her research&nbsp;on the cellular immune responses in human leprosy. She has over 120 publications, reviews, opinions on recent developments in international journals. Her pioneering work is a remarkable step towards the development of vaccines for leprosy.

Shubha Tole

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Shubha Tole (Image Courtsey: Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research) (Others)
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The neurologist is most known for&nbsp;discovering a gene that is crucial to the proper formation of the hippocampus, amygdala, and cortex of the brain.&nbsp;She has won many accolades for her work, the Infosys Prize in the Life Sciences category being the most noteworthy.

Qamar Rahman

The scientist studied the physiological effects of nanoparticles. She is&nbsp;internationally acclaimed for her research on asbestosis, effects of slate dust and particulate pollution and methods for improving occupational health

(WION)

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On National Science Day, we celebrate women who have made great contributions in the field of science and paved paths for others

Anandibai Joshi Anandibai Joshi (Wikimedia Commons) (Others) × The first female physician in the country to practice western medicine, she was motivated to become a doctor when her new-born baby died soon after birth. Anna Mani Anna Mani (Others) × A student of renowned scientist CV Raman, she earned global fame for her work on meteorological instrumentation. Janaki Ammal Janaki Ammal (Wikimedia Commons) (Others) × The Indian botanist conducted scientific research in phytogeography and cytogenetics. The Padma Shree awardee is most known for her research on sugarcane and the eggplant. Asima Chatterjee Asima Chatterjee (Image Courtsey: Indian Academy of Sciences) (Others) × She is most known for her research in phytomedicine and organic chemistry to develop cancer medicine, anti-epileptic and anti-malarial drugs. Being the first woman to be named a Doctor of Science by an Indian university, she broke stereotypes and inspired many. Charusita Chakravarty Charusita Chakravarty (Image Courtsey: IIT Delhi, Official Website) (Others) × Charusita Chakravarty was a professor of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. She was honoured with several awards for her work, most notably, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. Tessy Thomas Terry Thomas (Youtube) (Others) × Known as the 'Missile Woman' of India, Tessy is the first female engineer to head a missile project in the country. Thomas is an engineer and the Project Director for Agni-IV missile in Defence Research and Development Organisation. Rajeshwari Chatterjee Rajeshwari Chatterjee (@nirbhaavuka) (Twitter) × The first woman engineer from Karnataka, she was given a scholarship by the government of Delhi to study abroad She studied at the University of Michigan where she obtained her Master’s degree in electrical engineering. She returned to India to join the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering at IISc where she set up a microwave research laboratory. Her research on Microwave Engineering in greatly acknowledged. Aditi Pant The oceanographer was a part of the Indian expedition to Antarctica in 1983. She became the first Indian woman to visit Antarctica. Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla (NASA, Public Domain by WikiMedia Commons) (Others) × The first Indian woman in space flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. In the unfortunate disaster of Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members killed. Sudha Bhattacharya Sudha Bhattacharya (Image Courtsey: Jawaharlal Nehru University, Official Website) (Others) × An academic, scientist and writer, she is recognised for her in-depth study of Entamoeba histolytica, an amoebiasis causing parasitic protozoan. Her laboratory was the first to detect Ribosomal RNA genes on Circular DNA. Indira Nath The immunologist is known for her research on the cellular immune responses in human leprosy. She has over 120 publications, reviews, opinions on recent developments in international journals. Her pioneering work is a remarkable step towards the development of vaccines for leprosy. Shubha Tole Shubha Tole (Image Courtsey: Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research) (Others) × The neurologist is most known for discovering a gene that is crucial to the proper formation of the hippocampus, amygdala, and cortex of the brain. She has won many accolades for her work, the Infosys Prize in the Life Sciences category being the most noteworthy. Qamar Rahman The scientist studied the physiological effects of nanoparticles. She is internationally acclaimed for her research on asbestosis, effects of slate dust and particulate pollution and methods for improving occupational health (WION)

Inspirational women scientists who made India proud

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