SCIENCES ENERGIES ENVIRONNEMENT /PROGRAMME

 VOICI LE COYRIER DE SCIENCE  ET  DANS LEQUEL VOUS TROUVREZ MES TRADUCTIONS DE LA SEMAINE /

Dear olivier hartmanshenn,

Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 27:

	American mink regrow their brains in a rare reversal of the domestication process Farm animals look different from their wild counterparts in many ways, and one difference is consistent: their brains are smaller than those of their ancestors. From sheep to pigs to cows, domesticated animals have smaller relative brain sizes compared to their wild counterparts—a phenomenon known as the domestication effect.
	Quasar 'clocks' show the universe was five times slower soon after the Big Bang Scientists have for the first time observed the early universe running in extreme slow motion, unlocking one of the mysteries of Einstein's expanding universe. The research is published in Nature Astronomy.
	Chemists discover why photosynthetic light-harvesting is so efficient When photosynthetic cells absorb light from the sun, packets of energy called photons leap between a series of light-harvesting proteins until they reach the photosynthetic reaction center. There, cells convert the energy into electrons, which eventually power the production of sugar molecules.
	Artificial cells demonstrate that 'life finds a way' Evolutionary biologist Jay T. Lennon's research team has been studying a synthetically constructed minimal cell that has been stripped of all but its essential genes. The team found that the streamlined cell can evolve just as fast as a normal cell—demonstrating the capacity for organisms to adapt, even with an unnatural genome that would seemingly provide little flexibility.
	AI combined with CRISPR precisely controls gene expression Artificial intelligence can predict on- and off-target activity of CRISPR tools that target RNA instead of DNA, according to new research published in Nature Biotechnology.
	Astronomers witness energetic switch on of black hole A team of astronomers led by researchers from the University of Birmingham, University College London and Queen's University Belfast have discovered one of the most dramatic 'switches on' of a black hole ever seen. They will present their findings on Tuesday 4 July at the 2023 National Astronomy Meeting in Cardiff. The work will also be published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
	In the aftermath of 'The China Initiative' a survey finds a third of Chinese scientists feel unwelcome in U.S. A small team of biostatisticians and engineers from Princeton, Harvard, and MIT, has found via survey, that Chinese scientists working in the U.S. no longer feel welcome in the country.
	New radio observations confirm unintended electromagnetic radiation emanating from large satellite constellations Scientists from a number of leading research institutions including the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, used the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope to observe 68 of SpaceX's satellites. The authors conclude that they detected "unintended electromagnetic radiation" emanating from onboard electronics.
	Researchers peer into Earth's inner core: Data show solid metal sphere is 'textured' At the center the Earth is a solid metal ball, a kind of "planet within a planet," whose existence makes life on the surface possible, at least as we know it.
	Study shows the Earth formed from dry, rocky building blocks Billions of years ago, in the giant disk of dust, gas, and rocky material that orbited our young sun, larger and larger bodies coalesced to eventually give rise to the planets, moons, and asteroids we see today.
	Why does matter exist? Roundness of electrons may hold clues In the first moments of our universe, countless numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons formed alongside their antimatter counterparts. As the universe expanded and cooled, almost all these matter and antimatter particles met and annihilated each other, leaving only photons, or flashes of light, in their wake.
	A user-friendly platform for virtual exploration of chemical reactions A new online platform to explore computationally calculated chemical reaction pathways has been released, allowing for in-depth understanding and design of chemical reactions.
	Machine learning enables accurate electronic structure calculations at large scales for material modeling The arrangement of electrons in matter, known as the electronic structure, plays a crucial role in fundamental but also applied research, such as drug design and energy storage. However, the lack of a simulation technique that offers both high fidelity and scalability across different time and length scales has long been a roadblock for the progress of these technologies.
	Physicists develop a metamaterial that can count A block of rubber that can count to ten and even remember the order in which it is pressed—physicists Martin van Hecke and Lennard Kwakernaak (Leiden University and AMOLF Amsterdam) have published about this latest metamaterial in the journal Physical Review Letters.
	Stressed rattlesnakes found to calm down in the company of a nearby 'friend' When a creature's stress levels decrease because of the presence of a companion, it is known as social buffering. In highly social animals, such as mammals and birds, this phenomenon is well studied. Now, researchers have examined social buffering in rattlesnakes and found that the presence of a second snake significantly reduced rattlesnakes' change in heart rates after they experienced disturbance. It is the first evidence of social buffering in reptiles.
	New glass could cut carbon footprint by nearly half and is 10x more damage resistant Worldwide, glass manufacturing produces at least 86 million tons of carbon dioxide every year. A new type of glass promises to cut this carbon footprint in half. The invention, called LionGlass and engineered by researchers at Penn State, requires significantly less energy to produce and is much more damage resistant than standard soda lime silicate glass. The research team recently filed a patent application as a first step toward bringing the product to market.
	Solar storm on Thursday expected to make Northern Lights visible in 17 states A solar storm forecast for Thursday is expected to give skygazers in 17 American states a chance to glimpse the Northern Lights, the colorful sky show that happens when solar wind hits the atmosphere.
	First direct visualization of a zero-field pair density wave In the field of superconductivity—the phenomenon in which electrons can flow through a material with essentially zero resistance—the "holy grail" of discovery is a superconductor that can perform under everyday temperatures and pressures. Such a material could revolutionize modern life. But currently, even the "high-temperature" (high-Tc) superconductors that have been discovered must be kept very cold to function—too cold for most applications.
	This AI system only needs a small amount of data to predict molecular properties Discovering new materials and drugs typically involves a manual, trial-and-error process that can take decades and cost millions of dollars. To streamline this process, scientists often use machine learning to predict molecular properties and narrow down the molecules they need to synthesize and test in the lab.
	Apex predator of the Cambrian likely sought soft over crunchy prey Biomechanical studies on the arachnid-like front "legs" of an extinct apex predator show that the 2-foot (60 centimeter) marine animal Anomalocaris canadensis was likely much weaker than once assumed. One of the largest animals to live during the Cambrian, it was probably agile and fast, darting after soft prey in the open water rather than pursuing hard-shelled creatures on the ocean floor. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.