Day in Review: NASA Ocean World Explorers Have to Swim Before They Can Fly

n a competition swimming pool, engineers tested prototypes for a futuristic mission concept: a swarm of underwater robots... 

Missions __ News __ Galleries __ Events November 20, 2024 Technology NASA Ocean World Explorers Have to Swim Before They Can Fly In a competition swimming pool, engineers tested prototypes for a futuristic mission concept: a swarm of underwater robots that could look for signs of life on ocean worlds. Full Story, Video, and Images

Manage Your Subscription

This message was sent to ceo.studentlike.spuniv@blogger.com from jplnewsroom@jpl.nasa.gov

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASAJPL
4800 Oak Grove Dr
Pasadena, CA 91109

Save up to 50% when you subscribe

The perfect read for inquisitive minds

 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

View online

MAGAZINES A-Z GUIDES SINGLE ISSUES BINDERS

Save up to 50% when you subscribe today SHOP NOW

SAVE UP TO 50% WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TO HOW IT WORKS

Subscribe to How it Works and save up to 50%! With fascinating facts about the world around us, it's the perfect read for inquisitive minds of all ages. → Enjoy our issues immediately from your device → Access our back-issue library → Go paper free SAVE UP TO 50% SHOP ALL TITLES

DISCOVER BIG SAVINGS ON THESE TOP TITLES

SHOP NOW SHOP NOW SHOP NOW

Offer ends on the 2nd December 2nd, 2024. Offer open to new subscribers only. *Savings based on the full shop price. Single issues, binders, slipcases, guides and specials are not included in this offer. Payment is non-refundable after the 14-day cancellation period unless exceptional circumstances apply. Only available on subscriptions. For US inquiries, please call 1-844-779-2822 (8:30am-5pm Monday-Friday, EST). For all other enquiries please call: +44 (0)330 333 1113. Lines are open Monday-Friday, 8:30am-7pm, and Saturday, 10am-3pm GMT (excluding Bank Holidays) or e-mail: help@magazinesdirect.com. Calls to 0330 numbers will be charged at no more than a national landline call and may be included in your phone provider's call bundle. Exclusions: Plotfinder, MacLife Premium, Maximum PC Premium, The Magazine Gift Card, and all Future paywalls, are excluded from this offer.

© Future Publishing Limited. Reg No. 2008885 England. Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. This email is intended for submitpostforlive@gmail.com You are receiving this email because you opted in to hear about Future's other brands and services. To unsubscribe from Future Marketing emails or update your email preferences, please click here. Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms and Conditions

 

Today in Science: A "firehose" of rain is drenching the Pacific Northwest

This newsletter is for the science-curious mind in search of discovery and awe November 20, 2024: How horses shaped human history, why we like extreme versions of our own beliefs, and extreme weather in the Pacific Northwest. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor TODAY'S NEWS A weather system poised over the Pacific Ocean. NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-West • A "bomb cyclone" and atmospheric river are set to unleash a "firehose" of precipitation from California to British Columbia. | 2 min read • The physical act of smiling--even fake smiling--can boost your mood. | 4 min read • The nearby star Vega, featured in the 1997 movie Contact, appears to possess a smooth disk devoid of giant planets for reasons astronomers can't explain. | 5 min read • The National Institutes of Health, the world's largest public funder of biomedical research (a $47 billion research portfolio), is bracing for severe cuts and changes under the second Trump administration. | 5 min read More News TOP STORIES Drawings of horses in France's Chauvet Cave dating to more than 30,000 years ago.Heritage Images/Getty Images The Course of a Horse The ancestors of modern domestic horses originated on the Black Sea steppes around 2200 B.C.E., according to new genomic analyses. Archaeological digs have unearthed burial sites associated with Russia's Sintashta culture containing horses and chariots, some of the earliest evidence of domesticated horses. From there, radio carbon-dating and genetic records show that within only a few centuries domestic horses spread over huge swaths of the Eurasian continent. Why this matters: Domesticated horses rapidly transformed human civilization. People began using horses for transportation or labor. Some cultures used horses with and without chariots to dominate other cultures. Domesticated horses on the Silk Roads moved goods, plants and animals, ideas and culture, and even diseases across Eurasia and beyond. The roads and train routes of the modern world were built upon much older horse trails, including many postal roads. What the experts say: "The world we live in was built on horseback," writes William T. Taylor, an archaeozoologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, in the December issue of Scientific American. "Many people today rarely encounter horses, but this is a recent development. Only a few decades ago domestic horses formed the fabric of societies around the globe. Almost every aspect of daily life was linked to horses in an important way."  Like Me, but EXTREME People are attracted to those with similar political views, yes. But that's only half the story. In a series of studies, researchers asked 1,200 people to give their opinions on hot-button political issues–from police violence to gun control. Then the participants selected which peers' opinions they wanted to appear next in the study. Whether liberal or conservative, participants tended to choose peers whose views were more extreme than their own. This tendency is called acrophily, or a love of extremes.  Why this matters: Not only do people who think alike cluster together, acrophily speeds up the segregation of ideas. This makes it more difficult for politically-opposed groups to cooperate, compromise and find common ground. What the experts say: Correcting people's biased impressions about their own political leanings might help reduce acrophily. The most extreme members of a given group are unlikely to reflect the "average" perspective within that community, yet some people believe that to be the case.  If you want to dive deeper into the science that interests you most, consider a subscription to Scientific American. Take advantage of special discounts for Today in Science readers! WATCH THIS Scientific American visited the American Museum of Natural History to meet paleoanthropologist Ashley Hammond, a curator at the museum, and to learn why Lucy is such an important fossil. Watch the video on TikTok. And read more about the 50th anniversary of Lucy's discovery here.  EXPERT PERSPECTIVES • In March NASA slashed the budget for the Chandra X-ray Observatory from $68 million in 2024 to $41 million in 2025 and $26 million a year later, leaving only enough funding for mission closeout. This is a mistake, writes María Arias, an astronomer at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy. "Chandra is the only high angular resolution x-ray telescope in space, and there is no mission with similar capabilities scheduled to replace it until 2032 at the earliest," she says. | 4 min read More Opinion WHAT WE'RE READING • Oceanographers have discovered the world's largest coral, near the Solomon Islands. | National Geographic • One hundred years before Zoom, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers held a virtual meeting by phone that included 5,100 participants. | IEEE Spectrum • Rather than improving aged and dangerous roads, most state-run departments of transportation leave them as-is. | Vox A surprising fact I learned today that perhaps I should have known: Horses originated about 4 million years ago in North America. According to the Bureau of Land Management, federally-protected populations of wild horses have been declining over the last three years because of population control measures and severe weather. The agency has a delicate balancing act on its hands--the horses are a vital member of the natural ecosystems, and yet their herd sizes can grow rapidly and trample landscapes and overgraze.  Thank you for being a part of our community of science-curious readers! Tell me how I can improve this newsletter by emailing: newsletters@sciam.com. We'll be back tomorrow! —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters here. Scientific American One New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10004   Support our mission, subscribe to Scientific American here   Unsubscribe Email Preferences View in browser