Baby great white shark wows scientists
A baby great white shark was photographed off the California coast in July 2023 credit: Carlos Guana/The Malibu Artist
Jan. 31, 2024
A newborn great white shark has been sighted off the California coast and scientists hope it will shed light on a mystery surrounding the threatened species.
The pup was photographed on July 9, 2023 and was unlike any other great white ever documented.
Wildlife filmmaker Carlos Guana and UC Riverside biology student Phillip Sternes found the juvenile and have presented their findings in a study in the Jan. 29, 2024 edition of the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes.
The five-foot shark appeared to be thin and short, with rounded fins usually found in shark embryos. It was totally white, unlike adult great whites which are gray with a white underside. The newborn appeared to be shedding a white film, which the researchers think may be a milky fluid that pregnant females produce for their offspring to consume.
Scientists have not been able to determine where great whites birth their young and this sighting may help answer that question, Guana said.
“Where great whites give birth is one of the holy grails of shark science,” he said. “There have been dead white sharks found inside deceased pregnant mothers, but nothing like this.”
The pup was photographed on July 9, 2023 and was unlike any other great white ever documented.
Wildlife filmmaker Carlos Guana and UC Riverside biology student Phillip Sternes found the juvenile and have presented their findings in a study in the Jan. 29, 2024 edition of the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes.
The five-foot shark appeared to be thin and short, with rounded fins usually found in shark embryos. It was totally white, unlike adult great whites which are gray with a white underside. The newborn appeared to be shedding a white film, which the researchers think may be a milky fluid that pregnant females produce for their offspring to consume.
Scientists have not been able to determine where great whites birth their young and this sighting may help answer that question, Guana said.
“Where great whites give birth is one of the holy grails of shark science,” he said. “There have been dead white sharks found inside deceased pregnant mothers, but nothing like this.”
Flesh eating infections may be summer heat related
Scientists are investigating a possible connection between an outbreak of flesh-eating bacteria last year and record-breaking heat along the eastern seaboard.
A new report analyses how Vibrio vulnificus may have played a part in the outbreak because it lives in coastal waters and can infect humans through an open wound. It can cause a severe infection that kills surrounding tissue.
Victims can also become very sick by eating bacteria laden raw or undercooked seafood. Symptoms may include watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever or deadly septic shock.
The bacteria thrives in warm water, and during the summer of 2023, a heat wave caused above average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean. Health officials in Connecticut, New York and North Carolina reported 11 severe infection cases during that period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Five patients died, including three who succumbed to septic shock. One septic patient survived, the report stated.
Six victims were likely exposed in seawater or nearby fresh water, while two others likely became sick after the microbe entered their system through a cut while preparing seafood. Another patient ate raw oysters while yet another both ate raw oysters and had a wound exposed to brackish water.
The report offered advice to prevent such problems from happening to summer vacationers.
“As coastal water temperatures increase, V. Vulnificus infections are expected to become more common.” Persons can take steps to prevent illness by avoiding wound contact with brackish water, salt water and raw seafood, and by thoroughly cooking oysters and other seafood before eating.”
A new report analyses how Vibrio vulnificus may have played a part in the outbreak because it lives in coastal waters and can infect humans through an open wound. It can cause a severe infection that kills surrounding tissue.
Victims can also become very sick by eating bacteria laden raw or undercooked seafood. Symptoms may include watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever or deadly septic shock.
The bacteria thrives in warm water, and during the summer of 2023, a heat wave caused above average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean. Health officials in Connecticut, New York and North Carolina reported 11 severe infection cases during that period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Five patients died, including three who succumbed to septic shock. One septic patient survived, the report stated.
Six victims were likely exposed in seawater or nearby fresh water, while two others likely became sick after the microbe entered their system through a cut while preparing seafood. Another patient ate raw oysters while yet another both ate raw oysters and had a wound exposed to brackish water.
The report offered advice to prevent such problems from happening to summer vacationers.
“As coastal water temperatures increase, V. Vulnificus infections are expected to become more common.” Persons can take steps to prevent illness by avoiding wound contact with brackish water, salt water and raw seafood, and by thoroughly cooking oysters and other seafood before eating.”
Moon flight delayed another year
A planned circumnavigation of the moon by astronauts won’t take place this year, NASA officials announced this week.
The launch of Artemis II was to have taken place in November but will now be postponed to September of 2025. Artemis II involves a flight by four astronauts around the moon without landing. The new timetable places an actual crewed landing on the moon-Artemis III-in 2026.
Delays are necessary so engineers can conduct more tests on the Orion moon ship, the Space Launch System Rocket and a proposed lunar space station.
Problems with the systems batteries and circuitry have been found, and scientists are concerned about problems with the capsule’s heat shield needed to protect astronauts as they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, according to Mashable
“We are facing challenges both technical and just dealing with going back to the moon, but the Artemis team is solving them,” said NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free.
Problems are also cropping up in the lunar lander being built by SpaceX, the aerospace company owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Two Earth orbiting flights of the vehicle have ended in disaster with both models exploding before reaching space.
In 2022, NASA’s Artemis I sent an unmanned spaceship into orbit around the moon and returned it to Earth safely. NASA’s first lunar landing occurred in July 1969 and subsequent missions through the Apollo program explored more of the surface until 1972. Returning to the moon will be the first step in NASA’s goal of eventually sending humans to Mars.
COVID 19 causes surge in virus cases
Though the pandemic is over, the coronavirus is still a problem for Americans.
Hospitals are experiencing a surge in admissions linked to the highly contagious JN.1 variant, according to TIME magazine. More than 35,000 patients were admitted to hospitals with COVID 19 symptoms during the week ending Dec. 30. That’s fewer than were hospitalized during the Omicron variant wave, but a 20 percent increase over the previous week. Analysis of wastewater samples suggest that more than one million people a day may be infected nationwide before this surge is over.
Approximately 1,000 people die each day from coronavirus virus-related symptoms, according to TIME.
Since the pandemic was declared over, Americans have returned to their normal lifestyle, gathering in large numbers without wearing masks to prevent infections. The Centers for Disease Control recommends at least one COVID-19 booster for everyone 5 years of age or older, but the rate of vaccinations is down substantially, officials said.
But the Biden administration’s former COVID-19 response coordinator is not worried.
Dr. Ashish Jha said most of the U.S. population has some form of virus immunity, and knows how to mask and test for the virus. An anti-viral drug Paxlovid is also available for patients at risk for severe symptoms, she said.
“The straight facts are: COVID is not gone, it’s not irrelevant but it’s not the risk it was four years ago or even two years ago,” she said. “It’s totally responsible for people to go back to living their lives.”
A planned circumnavigation of the moon by astronauts won’t take place this year, NASA officials announced this week.
The launch of Artemis II was to have taken place in November but will now be postponed to September of 2025. Artemis II involves a flight by four astronauts around the moon without landing. The new timetable places an actual crewed landing on the moon-Artemis III-in 2026.
Delays are necessary so engineers can conduct more tests on the Orion moon ship, the Space Launch System Rocket and a proposed lunar space station.
Problems with the systems batteries and circuitry have been found, and scientists are concerned about problems with the capsule’s heat shield needed to protect astronauts as they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, according to Mashable
“We are facing challenges both technical and just dealing with going back to the moon, but the Artemis team is solving them,” said NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free.
Problems are also cropping up in the lunar lander being built by SpaceX, the aerospace company owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Two Earth orbiting flights of the vehicle have ended in disaster with both models exploding before reaching space.
In 2022, NASA’s Artemis I sent an unmanned spaceship into orbit around the moon and returned it to Earth safely. NASA’s first lunar landing occurred in July 1969 and subsequent missions through the Apollo program explored more of the surface until 1972. Returning to the moon will be the first step in NASA’s goal of eventually sending humans to Mars.
COVID 19 causes surge in virus cases
Though the pandemic is over, the coronavirus is still a problem for Americans.
Hospitals are experiencing a surge in admissions linked to the highly contagious JN.1 variant, according to TIME magazine. More than 35,000 patients were admitted to hospitals with COVID 19 symptoms during the week ending Dec. 30. That’s fewer than were hospitalized during the Omicron variant wave, but a 20 percent increase over the previous week. Analysis of wastewater samples suggest that more than one million people a day may be infected nationwide before this surge is over.
Approximately 1,000 people die each day from coronavirus virus-related symptoms, according to TIME.
Since the pandemic was declared over, Americans have returned to their normal lifestyle, gathering in large numbers without wearing masks to prevent infections. The Centers for Disease Control recommends at least one COVID-19 booster for everyone 5 years of age or older, but the rate of vaccinations is down substantially, officials said.
But the Biden administration’s former COVID-19 response coordinator is not worried.
Dr. Ashish Jha said most of the U.S. population has some form of virus immunity, and knows how to mask and test for the virus. An anti-viral drug Paxlovid is also available for patients at risk for severe symptoms, she said.
“The straight facts are: COVID is not gone, it’s not irrelevant but it’s not the risk it was four years ago or even two years ago,” she said. “It’s totally responsible for people to go back to living their lives.”
Dust killed dinosaurs
Dust created by the collision of an asteroid into the Earth may have killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, a new study suggests.
Geoscientists reinvestigated the impact that formed Mexico’s Chicxulub crater and wiped out most life on earth. They examined rocks formed in what is now North Dakota, and found many small particles of silicate dust in the samples.
The asteroid impact likely created clouds of the small particles which blocked the Sun and prevented plants from photosynthesizing for up to two years, the team said. The plant die off indirectly killed many vegetation-eating animals including herbivorous dinosaurs and the meat eaters that preyed on them.
The dust may have even remained in the atmosphere for up to 15 years, lowering the global climate by up to 15 degrees.
Evidence suggests that the asteroid strike occurred off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and instantly killed almost all the animal life within the vicinity. The study is discussed in the journal Nature.
Seals help map undersea geology
Undersea geological maps are notoriously unreliable, but a group of researchers has recruited some helpful marine mammals to solve the problem.
They have placed trackers on elephant seals and Weddell seals who dive deep into Antarctic waters in search of food. By comparing the animals dive locations and depth data with existing seafloor maps, the scientists could determine how much the existing maps are inaccurate, according to Scientific American.
In one Antarctic bay, the seals helped locate a large hidden underwater canyon at least 5,000 feet deep, which was confirmed by sonar on a nearby research ship.
But the system is not foolproof, as the tracking devices could only locate the animals’ location within a mile or more. The seals also don’t dive all the way to the bottom, so they can only pinpoint where the water is deeper than on current maps.
More accurate readings will occur when researchers use GPS trackers, and analyze the animals diving patterns to determine if they have reached the seafloor or just stopped descending.
Interstellar meteor came to Earth nine years ago
A fireball that flared over the Earth in 2014 was an object from another star system.
Though the object was relatively small at 1.5 feet across, it hit the atmosphere at 130,000 miles per hour and broke up over Papua New Guinea, officials said.
Scientists insisted that the meteor’s speed and trajectory proved that it had come from “the deep interior of a star in the thick disk of the Milky Way galaxy.”
But their study was never published because the rock had been detected by sensors used to track incoming missiles and was classified as confidential by the military.
But in April of 2022, the meteor and its origin were confirmed by officials of the United States Space Command. Researchers hope to retrieve portions of the meteor from the ocean floor using a large magnetic sled, according to Popular Mechanics.
Dust created by the collision of an asteroid into the Earth may have killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, a new study suggests.
Geoscientists reinvestigated the impact that formed Mexico’s Chicxulub crater and wiped out most life on earth. They examined rocks formed in what is now North Dakota, and found many small particles of silicate dust in the samples.
The asteroid impact likely created clouds of the small particles which blocked the Sun and prevented plants from photosynthesizing for up to two years, the team said. The plant die off indirectly killed many vegetation-eating animals including herbivorous dinosaurs and the meat eaters that preyed on them.
The dust may have even remained in the atmosphere for up to 15 years, lowering the global climate by up to 15 degrees.
Evidence suggests that the asteroid strike occurred off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and instantly killed almost all the animal life within the vicinity. The study is discussed in the journal Nature.
Seals help map undersea geology
Undersea geological maps are notoriously unreliable, but a group of researchers has recruited some helpful marine mammals to solve the problem.
They have placed trackers on elephant seals and Weddell seals who dive deep into Antarctic waters in search of food. By comparing the animals dive locations and depth data with existing seafloor maps, the scientists could determine how much the existing maps are inaccurate, according to Scientific American.
In one Antarctic bay, the seals helped locate a large hidden underwater canyon at least 5,000 feet deep, which was confirmed by sonar on a nearby research ship.
But the system is not foolproof, as the tracking devices could only locate the animals’ location within a mile or more. The seals also don’t dive all the way to the bottom, so they can only pinpoint where the water is deeper than on current maps.
More accurate readings will occur when researchers use GPS trackers, and analyze the animals diving patterns to determine if they have reached the seafloor or just stopped descending.
Interstellar meteor came to Earth nine years ago
A fireball that flared over the Earth in 2014 was an object from another star system.
Though the object was relatively small at 1.5 feet across, it hit the atmosphere at 130,000 miles per hour and broke up over Papua New Guinea, officials said.
Scientists insisted that the meteor’s speed and trajectory proved that it had come from “the deep interior of a star in the thick disk of the Milky Way galaxy.”
But their study was never published because the rock had been detected by sensors used to track incoming missiles and was classified as confidential by the military.
But in April of 2022, the meteor and its origin were confirmed by officials of the United States Space Command. Researchers hope to retrieve portions of the meteor from the ocean floor using a large magnetic sled, according to Popular Mechanics.