Why walking slows with age

Looking directly at the Sun is impossible and capturing a clear image of it is even more difficult. However, new images of the star at the center of our solar system have been released showing its surface in extraordinary detail. The images were captured by the Inouye Solar Telescope located in the US state of Hawaii. It is considered the world’s most powerful solar telescope and is capable of observing the Sun in unprecedented detail. The telescope has captured images of the Sun before but these new photographs provide the most detailed views yet of the surface of our solar system’s star. A unique wing-like pattern can be seen across the Sun’s surface in the images. According to scientists, this pattern is associated with the Sun’s magnetic field which is moving in a wave-like manner due to hot gases. Closer look at Sun’s surface The images reveal processes occurring on the Sun’s surface that may help explain a decades-old mystery: why the Sun’s outer atmosphere known as the corona is millions of times hotter than its visible surface. Experts say these are the highest-resolution images of the Sun’s surface ever captured. In earlier observations, the telescope detected sand-like structures on the Sun’s surface making it appear as though grains of sand were being viewed under a microscope. Each of these structures was roughly the size of France in terms of area but the new images reveal much greater detail. The new photographs show a distinctive pattern on the Sun’s surface associated with rapidly moving plasma. Scientists have identified this pattern as Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities (KHIs). Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities have been observed on Earth during the formation of patterns in lakes, oceans and clouds. They have also been detected on Jupiter and Saturn but their presence on the Sun had not previously been confirmed. Why Sun’s magnetic activity matters? Solar activity particularly changes in the Sun’s magnetic fields can affect power grids, satellites, GPS positioning and global communications on Earth. These magnetic fields are generated by the Sun’s extremely hot plasma but scientists have not yet fully understood how they work. Experts know that these magnetic fields can trigger sudden releases of enormous amounts of heat but exactly why this happens remains unclear. The new images, however, provide clues that could help explain why the Sun’s visible surface has a temperature of around 6,000°C while its outer atmosphere can reach temperatures of millions of degrees Celsius.

US researchers have claimed to have developed new viruses with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) that did not previously exist in nature. The development is being described as an important breakthrough in the scientific community. According to a study published in the scientific journal Science, researchers from Stanford University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard used a naturally occurring phage as a basis and employed AI to generate thousands of genetic designs. A phage is a type of virus that infects bacteria. The researchers chemically synthesized around 300 of these genetic designs and tested them in a laboratory. Of these, 16 viruses proved to be viable. According to the study, a combination of the AI-designed viruses was more effective than naturally occurring viruses at eliminating E. coli bacteria. The researchers said the approach expands the scope of synthetic genomics and could pave the way for more effective phage therapies against rapidly evolving pathogens. However, experts have expressed concerns about potential biological security risks alongside the possible medical benefits of the development. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto and Toronto General Hospital said AI-designed viruses could have certain benefits such as creating specialized bacteriophages that could help tackle antibiotic-resistant infections. He warned that the same ability to design complete and functional viruses could pose a serious biological security threat if used to create harmful pathogens. Therefore, strong safety regulations, screening and monitoring are necessary alongside the technology. Professor Fatima Wafai of the University of New South Wales in Sydney said the current research does not pose a direct threat to humans because phages infect only bacteria. However, she noted that the methods used in the research could potentially be misused for harmful purposes. Tom Ellis, an expert in synthetic genome engineering at Imperial College London described the research as impressive but said it also demonstrates that AI is still far from being able to design complex genomes, cells and large viruses. He explained that the phage genome used in the study is very small and relatively simple while the genome of the virus that causes COVID-19 is approximately six times larger. The complexity of designing larger genomes increases rapidly. According to Ellis, the research does have implications for biological security. However, modifying naturally occurring viruses remains a more serious and immediate threat than creating new pathogens with AI. Hsu Li Yang, director of the Asia Centre for Health Security in Singapore also said that it may be possible to use AI to make viruses more dangerous. However, he cautioned against exaggerating the implications of the research. He clarified that the study does not mean that anyone with basic scientific or laboratory knowledge can now create life-saving or dangerous viruses at home. Considerable technical expertise is still required to physically produce a virus in a laboratory after it has been designed. Experts say the research is both medically promising and concerning from a biological security perspective as it demonstrates a technology that could potentially be used for both beneficial and harmful purposes.