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Based on our experiments, the ‘safe’ sampling depth for amino acids on Europa is almost 8 inches (around 20 centimeters) at high latitudes of the trailing hemisphere (hemisphere opposite to the direction of Europa’s motion around Jupiter) in the area where the surface hasn’t been disturbed much by…

How deep will future landers to Jupiter’s moon, Europa, and Saturn’s moon, Enceladus have to dig to find organic molecules aka the building blocks of life? This is what a recent study published in Astrobiology hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated whether near-surface organic molecules on Europa and Enceladus could survive the intense solar and cosmic radiation since neither moon has a magnetic field like the Earth to shield it. This study holds the potential to help scientists better understand the conditions for finding life beyond Earth and the methods for finding that life, as well.

Image of Jupiter’s moon, Europa, obtained by NASA’s Juno spacecraft in September 2022. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing: Kevin M. Gill CC BY 3.0)

Image of plumes emanating from the south pole of Enceladus obtained by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. (Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)

For the study, the researchers exposed several amino acids in ices and dead organisms using liquid nitrogen to varying levels of radiation to ascertain how fast they degrade under these harsh conditions. The goal was to determine if organic molecules could survive the harsh environments on Europa and Enceladus since neither moon possesses a magnetic field like the Earth to shield their surfaces from harmful cosmic radiation. The team discovered that while certain amino acids experienced initial declines at low doses, no further declines were observed for increased doses, which they note could bode well for sampling from the surfaces of Europa or Enceladus.

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To tackle this issue, Israeli medical technology startup NanoSynex has developed a rapid personalized diagnostic test, which will enable doctors to prescribe the correct antibiotics at the moment they are needed most.

“There is a clear issue of misuse and overuse of antibiotics, and one of the ways to address this crisis, other than developing new antibiotics, is to better use existing antibiotics, by boosting the development of rapid and reliable diagnostic solutions, which is what we are doing at NanoSynex,” Diane Abensur, CEO and co-founder of NanoSynex, tells NoCamels.

NanoSynex offers laboratories better and faster solutions to determine the best treatment plan by providing rapid and accurate results for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST), tests that are used to determine which specific antibiotics a particular bacteria or fungus is sensitive to.

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My latest video about the work of Dr. Robert Enzmann. The Pulse Starship is the ultimate generation ship, capable of carrying thousands of colonists at thousands of kilometers per second!
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Hundreds of US flights were canceled Monday, as carriers, particularly Delta Air Lines, work to recover four days after a global tech outage caused massive delays and left travelers stranded at airports around the nation.

Delta is facing mounting pressure to get passengers back in the air, as it continues to rack up the majority of canceled US flights. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has expressed frustration with the pace of Delta’s recovery and its CEO has apologized to affected travelers.

More than 900 flights into, within or out of the United States were canceled by midday Monday, and 3,100 flights were delayed, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. Delta passengers have been slammed by more than 4,500 cancellations since Friday, including 748 on Monday, by far the most of any airline.

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A newly discovered fossil snake species in Wyoming is transforming our understanding of snake evolution. Unearthed from a burrow where four well-preserved specimens were found intertwined, this species, named Hibernophis breithaupti, lived in North America 34 million years ago. This discovery provides valuable insights into the origins and diversification of boas and pythons.

Hibernophis breithaupti has unique anatomical features, in part because the specimens are articulated—meaning they were found all in one piece with the bones still arranged in the proper order—which is unusual for fossil snakes. Researchers believe it may be an early member of Booidea, a group that includes modern boas and pythons. Modern boas are widespread in the Americas, but their early evolution is not well understood. These new and very complete fossils add important new information, in particular, on the evolution of small, burrowing boas known as rubber boas.

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For the first time, a phenomenon astronomers have long hoped to directly image has been captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). In this stunning image of the Serpens Nebula, the discovery lies in the northern area (seen at the upper left) of this young, nearby star-forming region.

Astronomers found an intriguing group of protostellar outflows, formed when jets of gas spewing from newborn stars collide with nearby gas and dust at high speeds. Typically these objects have varied orientations within one region. Here, however, they are slanted in the same direction, to the same degree, like sleet pouring down during a storm.

The discovery of these aligned objects, made possible due to Webb’s exquisite spatial resolution and sensitivity in near-infrared wavelengths, is providing information into the fundamentals of how stars are born.

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Chip design can rapidly and efficiently test for multiple pathogens simultaneously, potentially reducing foodborne illness. Researchers have developed a new method for detecting foodborne pathogens that is faster, cheaper, and more effective than existing methods. Their microfluidic chip uses light to detect multiple types of pathogens simultaneously and is created using 3D printing, making it easy to fabricate in large amounts and modify to target specific pathogens. The researchers hope their technique can improve screening processes and keep contaminated food out of the hands of consumers.

Every so often, a food product is recalled because of some sort of contamination. For consumers of such products, a recall can trigger doubt in the safety and reliability of what they eat and drink. In many cases, a recall will come too late to keep some people from getting ill.

In spite of the food industry’s efforts to fight pathogens, products are still contaminated and people still get sick. Much of the problem stems from the tools available to screen for harmful pathogens, which are often not effective enough at protecting the public.

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