Science This Week | Russia launches lunar landing craft after 50 years and more

In this photo released by Roscosmos State Space Corporation, the Soyuz-2.1b rocket with the moon lander Luna-25 automatic station takes off from a launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russia’s Far East, on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. The launch of the Luna-25 craft to the moon will be Russia’s first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union. The Russian lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on Aug. 23, about the same day as an Indian craft which was launched on July 14.

From Russia launching a landing craft to the moon to finding fossils that point towards a possible third human lineage, here are the top findings and discoveries from the field of science.

Russia launches space landing craft to the moon after almost 50 years

A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft blasted off Friday on Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years, racing to land on Earth’s satellite ahead of India’s Chandrayaan-3. The launch from Russia’s Vostochny spaceport in the Far East of the Luna-25 craft to the moon is Russia’s first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union. The Russian lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on August 23, about the same day as Chandrayaan-3 which was launched on July 14. The Luna-25 is to take samples of moon rock and dust. The samples are crucial to understanding the moon’s environment ahead of building any base there

The odd behaviour of a subatomic particle may shake up physics

The peculiar wobble of a subatomic particle called a muon in a U.S. laboratory experiment is making scientists increasingly suspect they are missing something in their understanding of physics – perhaps some unknown particle or force. Researchers have announced new findings about the muon, a magnetic and negatively charged particle similar to its cousin the electron but 200 times more massive, in their experiment at the U.S. Energy Department’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. The new findings, building on data released in 2021, continue to hint at some mysterious factor at play as the researchers try to sort out the discrepancy between the theoretical prediction and the actual experimental results.

Scientists puzzled by super-bright light from the sun

Researchers at the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory, in Puebla, Mexico, reported in the journal Physical Review Letters that HAWC had detected TeV-energy gamma rays from the sun. TeV stands for tera-electron-volt, or 1 trillion eV, a very high amount of energy for particles. This, the paper’s authors write, is the first time such energetic gamma rays have been detected from the sun. HAWC also found more such high-energy gamma rays than expected. Existing models of the sun’s magnetic field and atmosphere can’t account for this ‘excess’ energy and brightness, and scientists will need to figure out why.

Did scientists unearth another ancient human lineage in China?

Scientists in China may have found an entirely new lineage of ancient humans after studying fragments of the mandible, skull and leg bones of a fossilised hominid that dates back at least 300,000 years. A mosaic of traits from different human lineages has led scientists to believe that the specimen possessed a combination of characteristics from both ancient hominids and modern humans. The study thus implies that this particular species probably shared close evolutionary relationships with hominin from the Middle to Late Pleistocene which resulted in shared characteristics.

North India more affected by El Nino

Ahead of every monsoon, meteorologists track, with a degree of nervousness, temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Six in ten years, a half degree or more rise — an El Nino — corresponds to diminished rainfall in India. The converse, or a La Nina, is linked to increased rain. A study last week however suggests that this cyclical swing — called the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) — affects vast regions of India differently. Since 1981, the study published this week in Scientific Reports notes, monsoon rainfall over Central India — known as the monsoon core zone and where agriculture is largely rainfed — is increasingly getting disassociated from the ENSO with only 10% of droughts or excess rains linked to ENSO fluctuations.

Unique study shows we can train wild predators to hunt species they’ve never seen before

In a newly published study in Biological Conservation, scientists trained wild Australian native predatory rats to recognise an unfamiliar species of cockroach prey. It worked – in a simulated cockroach invasion, this training increased predation rates by the rats. As humans have engaged in global trade, various species have moved across otherwise impossible-to-cross geographical barriers and into new environments. These species are known as alien species, and their number continues to grow. The study is the first to train free-living predators to hunt species they’ve never seen before. It shows the potential for training our native species to fight biological invasions.

Hawaii’s deadly wildfires

The terrifying wildfire that destroyed a historic Hawaiian town seems to have caught many occupants unaware. A brush fire was initially reported in the Lahaina area around 6:30 am Tuesday, sparking a limited evacuation. By late afternoon, the fire was reported to have flared up again, forcing an evacuation warning for some residents, with others “advised to shelter in place.” The fire that swept through Maui this week has killed at least 89 people, authorities said Saturday, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire of the past century. The western side of Maui doesn’t get much rain because it is sheltered by an extinct volcano, but this year has been particularly dry. The way it is used has also changed. Crucially, powerful winds were whipping the island, fueled by a hurricane churning in the ocean hundreds of kilometres to the southwest. The island’s topography — the volcano slopes down towards Lahaina — was also a significant factor.