Dear subscribers, welcome back to Universal-Sci Weekly! After a brief pause, we’re back—refreshed and ready to dive in!
In this issue: how lunar soil could supply water, oxygen, and fuel for long-term life on the Moon; why texture (and chewing!) may be a quiet pillar of brain health; complex organics found in a planet-forming disk; a clever pathway for RNA and amino acids to team up on early Earth; and a rare, direct look at a Jupiter-class world forming around a Sun-like star.
Our Book of the Week is Helen Czerski’s Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life—a lively tour of the big science hiding in popcorn pops, coffee rings, and fridge magnets.
As always, please enjoy the read!
Book of the week
Our pick this week is: Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life
Storm in a Teacup is Helen Czerski's lively, entertaining, and richly informed introduction to the world of physics. Czerski provides the tools to alter the way we see everything around us by linking ordinary objects and occurrences, like popcorn popping, coffee stains, and fridge magnets, to big ideas like climate change, the energy crisis, or innovative medical testing.
Purchasing through our affiliate link supports Universal-Sci Weekly—thank you!
Lunar Soil Shows Potential to Sustain Life on the Moon
It might be possible that astronauts in the future live and work comfortably on the moon without the need for resources to be shipped from Earth. This would be made possible by a new technology that enables scientists to extract water directly from lunar soil and convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuel. A study published in the scientific journal Joule describes how this would work. - (Read more)
Are Soft Foods Quietly Compromising Your Brain Health?
You might not now this but the simple act of chewing has a big impact on your brain health. In this article, we explore why texture and oral care matter so much.
Drawing on insights from neuropsychologist Prof. Dr. Erik Scherder, you’ll see how a “chew-first” mindset can turn dinner from mere calories into real brain therapy. - (Read more)
Building Blocks of Life Discovered in Planet-Forming Disc Around Distant Star
Using the powerful ALMA telescope, astronomers have detected complex organic molecules (key ingredients for life) in a disc of gas and dust surrounding a young star. They published their findings in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
This discovery raises a fascinating possibility: the building blocks of life might have formed in space long before planets like Earth even existed. - (Read more)
Major Advance: How Life’s Building Blocks May Have First Joined Together
Chemists at University College London (UCL) have found a way to show how two of life’s essential ingredients (RNA and amino acids) might have come together nearly four billion years ago. Their work, published in Nature, offers fresh insight into one of the biggest questions in science: how life began. - (Read more)
Remarkable Find: Second-Ever Planet Forming Around a Sun-Like Star
Astronomers have directly observed a planet in the act of forming around a youthful analogue of the Sun, offering a rare look at how giant worlds assemble. The object, dubbed WISPIT 2b, appears to be a Jupiter-class gas giant roughly 5 million years old—an astronomical newborn.
The discovery, made by researchers from Leiden University, the University of Galway, and the University of Arizona, is detailed in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. - (Read more)
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