Scientific American-Today in Science

"How Project 2025 threatens science."

Views expressed in this science and technology update are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 22 July 2024, 2015 UTC.

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Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencejournal.blogspot.com).

 

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July 22, 2024: Oxygen is arising from the depths of the ocean, some types of dogs are harder to read, and how Project 2025 would harm science. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

TOP STORIES

Dark Oxygen The floor of the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone is littered with potato-size hunks of minerals called polymetallic nodules. The nodules look like chunks of charcoal and are rich in metals like cobalt and manganese. Researchers measured the electric charge on the surface of the nodules and found they carried nearly one volt (for comparison, a AA battery carries about 1.5 volts). The researchers hypothesize that this charge splits seawater to create oxygen, even 13,000 feet below the ocean’s surface–more than two miles deep. Why this is so cool: The oxygen gas on planet Earth is thought to come from living organisms that convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and sugar. That some of the gas may come from inanimate minerals in total darkness “really strongly goes against what we traditionally think of as where oxygen is made and how it's made,” says Jeffrey Marlow, a microbiologist at Boston University and a co-author of the latest study. Why this matters: Environmental surveys have shown that the nodules and surrounding sediment are a habitat for deep-sea life: everything from single-celled microbes to bigger animals like fish, sea stars and worms. These regions are a target for deep-sea mining because of the rich concentration of metals.

Gerard Barron, CEO of the Metals Company, holds a polymetallic nodule. The company helped fund new research that found that such nodules can produce oxygen without sunlight. Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Doggy Face Researchers examined videos of dogs’ faces while they interacted with each other or humans. The team tested how well nine emotions (such as anxiety, curiosity, happiness and surprise) could be detected based on the animals’ facial expressions (excluding barks and body language). The researchers were able to determine the dogs’ emotions from their facial expressions about two thirds of the time. In cases where they could not tell what the dogs were feeling, the dogs were specialized breeds likely to have exaggerated physical traits, such as floppy ears and the short, squashed muzzles of pugs and Boston terriers. That is, less wolf-like. Why this is interesting: The researcher’s model was able to accurately interpret wolves’ expressions three quarters of the time. Domestic dogs’ features can prevent them from expressing cues with their ears and minimize their ability to bare their teeth. In the study, fear was most often confused for other emotions, especially happiness. What the experts say: “We don’t yet have comprehensive knowledge about how dogs may use those expressions they produce differently than wolves,” says canine researcher Annika Bremhorst of the University of Bern. Dogs who express fewer emotions with their faces may compensate by barking more to get their points across.

SCIENCE PUZZLER

The Monty Hall Probability Puzzle In this classic probability problem, a gameshow host asks you to select from three doors in front of you. Behind one of the doors is a new car. Behind the other two doors are goats. After you pick a door, say number one (but it does not open), the host throws open one of the doors you did not select, revealing a goat. Then the host gives you the option of switching your selection to door two. Should you stay with door one, or should you switch to door two? Most people think it doesn’t matter whether they stick with their original choice or switch to the other unopened door because the odds are 50–50—that it’s nothing more than a coin toss. But you should always switch doors. Read about the statistics of why.

TODAY'S NEWS

• Our editors read all 922 pages of Project 2025, the conservative plan that would likely form the foundation of another Trump presidency. Here's the effect it could have on science. | 9 min read

• This is how SpaceX will supercharge its Dragon capsule to send the International Space Station to a watery retirement. | 4 min read

• If Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic presidential nominee, reproductive rights will likely be a key focus of her campaign, experts say. | 6 min read

• How heat combined with Hurricane Beryl to cause misery in Houston. | 8 min read

• Tornado science has advanced a lot between the 1996 flick Twister and the new sequel, Twisters. | 4 min read

More News

A CUSTOM ARTICLE SPONSORED BY LEGEND BIOTECH CAR-T Cells Approach Cancer’s Front Lines CAR-T therapies extend lives, but often reach patients too late. Now that’s changing.

EXPERT PERSPECTIVES

• We should equip a large language model like ChatGPT to transmit into the universe so that, if its message is intercepted, extraterrestrial civilizations could indirectly converse with us and learn about us without being hindered by the vast distances of space and its corresponding human lifetime delays in communication, write Frank Marchis, the director of citizen science at SETI, and Ignacio G. López-Francos, a research engineer at NASA. "The time has come to leverage our AI advancements for a new era of interstellar communication," they say. | 5 min read

More Opinion

If you enjoyed the Monty Hall probability puzzler, check out a special collection on games and puzzles we released for summer. I'll be featuring more puzzles and games in Today in Science in the coming weeks, so stay with me!

Email me anytime with feedback and thoughts: newsletters@sciam.com. See you tomorrow.

—Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor