science

The shower of stars caused by Halley’s Comet will be seen at night and early in the morning of this October 21 and 22

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The Orionid meteor shower reaches its peak in the early morning of Wednesday, October 21 to Thursday, October 22, 2020. At Orionids they are known as “meteor shower“Although they are not, because in reality they are the remains of Halley’s Comet. This object passes through the Earth every 75 or 76 years, the last time it was seen in 1986 and according to specialists it will be possible to observe it again in 2062.

But as the icy kite turn the Sol, leaves a trail of debris that the Earth passes through each year. These tiny comet fragments, some as small as a grain of sand, enter Earth’s atmosphere, becoming meteors. The friction of air resistance causes them to heat up, creating a bright trail and burning commonly known as a shooting star.

These meteors are named after Orionids by the constellation of Orion. From Earth it gives the impression that it is a falling star shower. According to NASA, the Orionid meteors have a great brightness, as well as a great speed that can reach up to 66 kilometers per second. What makes it one of the most intense and fastest meteor showers of the year, points out the ABC portal.

“You can see pieces of Halley’s Comet during the Eta Aquarids (in May) and the Orionid meteor shower (in October and November),” the NASA meteorite expert told Space.com Bill Cooke. On the night of this 21 and early morning of this October 22, 2020, with a Moon approaching its crescent phase, the best time for observation will be the second part of the night, that is to say, early Thursday morning says the expert.

Where to look

Orionid meteors are visible from anywhere on Earth and they can be seen anywhere in the sky. They take their name because they seem to radiate from the constellation Orion, also known as that of the hunter. But it is not advisable to look directly at this place “because the meteors near the radiant have short paths and are more difficult to see, so you must look away from Orion,” says Cooke.

The National Geographic Institute of Spain says that “the best time for observation will be the second part of the night, once the moon has set.”

As is the case with most evening events observation of the sky, the Light pollution can obstruct the view of the rain from Orionids. If possible, stay away from city ​​Lights, which can hinder the show. Binoculars and telescopes will not improve eyesight, because they are designed to see static objects in the sky.

The lucky ones with clear skies will be able to see some very fast and bright Orionids.

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World Stuttering Day – Health First

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On the occasion of World Stuttering Day, we take stock of this communication disorder. It is characterized by interruption, repetition or hesitation during the utterance. This fluency abnormality can appear at any time in a person’s life, although it mainly occurs in childhood, and more commonly in boys.

How and at what age is stuttering most common? How is this communication disorder explained? What treatments, what types of support exist?

  • Isabelle Lecron-Miossec, speech therapist in Paris. Regional delegate of stuttering speech association and teacher at the speech therapy school

  • Faysal Hamzah, speech therapist at the CHU Campus in Lomé, Togo

  • Thomas Lefevre, 30 years old, a former stutterer patient, he works in marketing and sales.

► To go further: Helping your child to speak and communicate (50 cards against stammering and stammering), Véronique Aumont Boucand and Elisabeth vincent, published by De Boeck Supérieur.

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Professor Explains Severe Headache With Coronavirus

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Scientist considers this to be the most typical manifestation of COVID-19.

Alexander Kukharchuk, MD, professor, director of ReeLabs (Mumbai, India) called the unbearable headache the first and most common symptom of coronavirus infection. Followed by complaints of severe, extreme weakness. Other signs of illness such as fever, cough, conjunctivitis, rash, etc. at the initial stage of the disease may be absent.

A person close to me caught covid back in February, when it seemed that the deadly virus was somewhere very far away. We learned that it was COVID-19 much later, when the tests appeared. And then most of all I remembered complaints about a terrible headache, from which I could climb on the walls, because nothing helped, except for the advice of the doctor of the next “ambulance” – to take a very hot shower.

“The first and most frequent symptom is an unreasonable strong and prolonged headache, which cannot be relieved by the usual drugs for the patient. Nothing more! – Professor Alexander Kukharchuk writes on his page on social networks. – This is already 90% of the correct diagnosis: remove hypertension, vegetative-vascular disorders and head trauma in the anamnesis by interviewing the patient – the diagnosis in a pandemic becomes 99% accurate. One percent can be left to alarmists and neurasthenics. “

The doctor considers the second most frequent symptom to be extreme weakness and weakness, when a person complains that he cannot raise his hand, it is difficult to tear his head off the pillow. Some admit that they are simply dying of weakness. According to the professor, this is not intoxication familiar to most people, but a deep violation of metabolism, that is, metabolism.

Other symptoms in the initial phase of the disease are much less common and, according to the scientist, have practically no diagnostic value, although they should arouse suspicion. For example, coronavirus conjunctivitis, in adults, as the first manifestation of COVID-19 occurs in 5% of cases, more often in dentists and ophthalmologists who worked without eye protection.

Since there is still no direct-acting drug against the coronavirus, and the severity of the disease largely depends on the number of viral particles that entered the body during infection, treatment in the early stages, in fact, is the prevention of the development of severe forms.

Why do people with COVID-19 experience severe headaches?

– The fact is that headache in coronavirus infection is associated with damage to vascular endothelial cells, – comments Lev Kaktursky, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, scientific director of the Research Institute of Human Morphology, President of the Russian Society of Pathologists. – This applies not only to the lungs, but to all organs absolutely. With inflammation of the walls of blood vessels, their lumen narrows, as a result of which insufficient blood flow occurs. Headache is a sign of hypoxia, that is, a lack of oxygen, which is carried with the blood stream. This is a cry for oxygen starvation. Due to vascular damage, blood clots and hemorrhages occur, which aggravate the blood supply to the tissues.

– What picture is observed during autopsy after COVID-19?

“On autopsy, we find inflamed blood vessels. On a micrograph of the brain of a deceased patient with coronavirus infection, we see a blood vessel with signs of inflammation: the lumen is sharply narrowed, the wall is infiltrated with inflammatory cells. Such a vessel cannot provide the necessary blood supply to the brain tissue, which causes oxygen starvation (hypoxia) of the brain tissue, which is manifested by a sharp headache.

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Noise causes dementia and Alzheimer’s

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A study of more than 5,000 citizens of the United States of America over 65 showed that high levels of city noise increase the likelihood of developing senile dementia. The research results are published in the scientific journal Alzheimer & Dementia.

In the study group, 30% of the study participants developed mild cognitive impairment and 11% suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers carefully studied the noise level in their place of residence for 5 years.

When the noise was 10 dB higher than the permissible values, there was a slight decrease in mental abilities. This happened 36% more often than people living with noise pollution below the limit value, and the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease with a noise of 10 dB increased by 30%. “These data suggest that increased levels of noise pollution in cities can affect the brain activity of older people,” – said one of the study’s authors, Sarah Edard.

About 50 million people are now suffering from dementia in the world, two-thirds of whom have Alzheimer’s disease. The number of patients with this disease is increasing every year.

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‘Milky Way has lumpy halo in which stars are recycled’ | NOW

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Astronomers at the University of Iowa have discovered that the Milky Way, the galaxy in which our solar system resides, has a “lumpy halo”. This substance consists of hot gases and matter that are continuously expelled at the birth and death of stars.

According to the researchers, the halo, also called the circumgalactic medium, acts as a kind of nursery for stars. For example, the halo was the breeding ground for the Milky Way itself about ten billion years ago.

American astronomers suspect that dying stars “return” gas to the galactic clump. According to that theory, new stars are born from that same gas. “For example, the Milky Way is concerned with recycling,” say the astronomers.

According to the researchers, the halo could also contain dark matter. This matter is not observable with current technology, but scientists suspect that more than a quarter of the universe consists of this.

The astronomers made the discovery on the basis of observations made with the HaloSat, a satellite that receives X-rays from the halo. Most of the X-rays were present in places where the most stars are formed.

The findings from the study were published Monday in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy.

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Named a sweetness that protects against hypertension and cholesterol

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There is one sweetness that helps improve heart and brain function, Insider reports. It is noted that it is dark chocolate. Also protects against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Dark chocolate contains flavonoids that remove toxins from the body and improve blood circulation. Thanks to dark chocolate, memory and attention can be improved. Also, dark chocolate reduces the risk of hypertension – all thanks to the substances contained in the treat, which thin the blood and relax the blood vessels.

Dark chocolate raises the level of “good” cholesterol and reduces the level of “bad”. Thus, dark chocolate indirectly affects the reduction of the risk of blood clots and strokes.

Bitter chocolate has anti-inflammatory properties and helps fight diabetes. Also, the content of substances in such chocolate fight free radicals that have a harmful effect on DNA.

The higher the cocoa content of the chocolate, the better. Bitter chocolate is one with at least 80% cocoa. Also, such chocolate should be low in sugar.

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European probe to Mercury reaches Venus, first of two flyby’s | NOW

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The European mission to Mercury, BepiColombo, reached the planet Venus for the first time on Thursday at 5.58 am, the European space agency ESA reports. The probe flew past 10,720 kilometers. It’s the first of two flyby’s, where the probe uses Venus’s gravity to catapult itself towards Mercury.

During the flyby, some of BepiColombo’s instruments were already turned on, to be able to conduct research into the environment and atmosphere of Venus. ESA has attempted to take pictures of the planet with small cameras on board the probe. The large camera on the probe only turns on later.

BepiColombo performs flyby’s to use the gravity of planets to get to Mercury. If the probe had been launched directly towards the sun, it would be moving too fast due to the sun’s gravity. BepiColombo would then shoot past Mercury.

By catapulting itself with the gravity of Earth and Venus, combined with a thrust motor that runs on solar energy, the speed of BepiColombo can be controlled. This way, ESA can guarantee that the probe arrives at the target planet in good order.

BepiColombo will reach Mercury in October 2021

The spacecraft was launched in October 2018 launched orbiting the sun. In April of this year, the probe reached approximately 12,700 kilometers from Earth and used our planet’s gravity to bend its orbit toward the center of the solar system. This was the very first flyby from BepiColombo.

Thursday’s flyby was the second and the third will take place in August 2021, also around Venus. A month later the first flyby around Mercury takes place.

When the probe arrives at Mercury, it will split into two vehicles, one of which was built by the Japanese space agency JAXA. The BepiColombo mission will, among other things, investigate the structure of the inner planet of the solar system. She will also look at how planets in general can form when they orbit close to a star.

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Eight countries sign a secret agreement on the future of space exploration – Space – Science

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The signing of the so-called Artemis Agreement paves the way for its signatories – Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States – to participate in NASA’s Artemis program to transport astronauts to the moon in 2024.

“Artemis will be the largest and most diverse international human space exploration program in history, and the Artemis Agreement is the mechanism that will form this united global coalition,” said NASA Director Jim Braidenstein.

“By signing, we are joining our partners to explore the Moon and set out vital principles that will create a secure, peaceful and prosperous future in space for all of humanity to enjoy,” said Braidenstain.

Although NASA runs the Artemis program, it has emphasized the need for an international partnership to build a sustainable presence on the moon, which the agency sees as an important element in a possible human mission to Mars.

For example, NASA hopes to dig ice at the Moon’s South Pole to obtain both drinking water and rocket fuel for further flights.

It also plans to create an orbital space station, the Gateway.

NASA stated that the Artemis Agreement reinforces the 1967 Space Treaty and sets out ten principles.

The Contracting Parties undertake to adhere to the peaceful exploration of space in a transparent manner, to establish technical systems with which any other signatory State may work, and to register their space objects.

The principles also set out emergency assistance, the publication of scientific data, the conservation of space heritage and a plan for the safe disposal of space debris.

The agreement was signed the day after Dmitry Rogozin, director general of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, announced that Moscow was unlikely to participate in the Gateway space station.

The Artemis agreement also excludes China, which has its own lunar program with international partners.

In March last year, the administration of US President Donald Trump instructed NASA to transport people to the moon by 2024, accelerating plans for lunar colonization so that it could be used for missions to Mars.

The last man to walk on the Moon was the American astronaut Eugene Sernan in December 1972 as part of the Apollo 17 mission.

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A “capsule with artificial intelligence” to map the intestine

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It is the returning CNRS on this advance which will make it possible to obtain ” 3D images and maps of the intestine. A new era in colorectal cancer screening is dawning ».

« About the size of a large olive, this autonomous probe called Cyclops will pass through the digestive system. She will carry out a detailed mapping of the colon and intestine. If abnormalities such as polyps are lodged there, the capsule will detect them », Explains the National Center for Scientific Research.

In order to save the doctor’s time, “ Cyclops’ artificial intelligence systems will allow him to recognize images where polyps appear and to transmit only these ».

And if this story reminds you of an old movie, it is also the case of Bertrand Granado, one of the scientists of the project (and researcher at the Computer Science Laboratory of Paris 6): “ I sometimes make the analogy between this project and the film The Fantastic Journey ».

Development is on track for now. ” In two years, a prototype could be ready to be tested on animal models », Indicates the CNRS.

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Researchers film the last moments of a torn star – Science

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For the first time it has been possible to capture how a star is torn apart by a black hole – a process known as spaghetti.

Astronomers have succeeded in capturing the final moments of a star torn apart by a supermassive black hole. Using telescopes from the European Southern Observatory (ESO), they were able to observe the star’s flash of light produced during the process.

If a star gets too close to a supermassive black hole, it is sucked in by the extreme gravitational pull and can be pulled into long threads – a process known as spaghetti. When strands of the star are sucked into the black hole, a flash of light is created. Until now, astronomers have had difficulty examining these flashes of light because they are often hidden by a curtain of dust and debris.

The researchers working with first author Matt Nicholl from the British University of Birmingham have now been able to examine the phenomenon of the so-called tidal disruption event in unprecedented detail. At a distance of just over 215 million light years from Earth, it was also the closest process of its kind to date.

Spaghetti builds a curtain out of dust and debris

“The idea that a black hole would suck up a nearby star sounds like science fiction,” said Nicholl. “But that’s exactly what happens at a tidal disruption event.” Since the astronomers discovered the flash of light only a short time after the star was torn apart, they were able to watch the curtain of dust and debris build up. The luminosity first increased over the course of about six months and then gradually faded.

The observations suggested that the star was roughly the same mass as our Sun, Nicholl said. The black hole, however, is “a monster that is over a million times more massive”. The team hopes that its discovery will help to better understand the behavior of matter in the gravitational environment of supermassive black holes. They published their latest results in the specialist magazine “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society“.

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