Science This Week | India joins Artemis Accords, the U.S. approves sale of lab-grown meat and more Premium

Check out The Hindu’s science wrap featuring top 7 stories on new discoveries, findings, and studies in the scientific world from this week.

From spotting a giant explosion that could have spelled the death of two neutron stars to finding out that lower oxygen content at high altitudes may increase lifespan, this week has been full of exciting discoveries. Read more about the latest findings here.

Astronomers have spotted a giant explosion in a far away galaxy that could have been caused by two neutron stars colliding. This kind of stellar event have only been predicted before but scientists now have tangible proof. Scientists say that the fast radio burst they observed could have been caused by two densely packed neutron stars in a chaotic environment near a supermassive black hole at the center of the ancient elliptical galaxy. They suspect the two doomed stars packed roughly the mass of our sun into a sphere only the size of a city.

India has decided to join the Artemis Accords, which brings like-minded countries together on civil space exploration, and NASA and ISRO have agreed to a joint mission to the International Space Station in 2024. Grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (OST), the Artemis Accords are a non-binding set of principles designed to guide civil space exploration and use in the 21st century. It is an American-led effort to return humans to the moon by 2025, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond.

New research has shown how space travel dials down the activity of genes in white blood cells crucial to the immune system. A study involving 14 astronauts who spent 4-1/2 to 6-1/2 months aboard the International Space Station found that gene expression in white-blood cells, also called leukocytes, quickly decreased when they reached space and then returned to normal not long after returning to Earth. The findings offer insight into why astronauts are more susceptible to infections during flights, showing how the body's system for fighting off pathogens is weakened in space.

In addition to its tranquil quality and a sense of peace, the fresh, crisp, pollutant-free mountain air could help some animals live longer. Specifically, the lower oxygen content at high altitudes increases lifespan significantly in ageing mice, according to a new study. The researchers have noted that theirs is the first study to demonstrate that oxygen restriction, or continuous hypoxia, can extend lifespan in an ageing mammal. Previous reports on oxygen restriction lengthening lifespan have come from mammalian cells grown in Petri dishes, yeast, and in less complex lab animals such as roundworms and fruit flies.

The mitochondria, which are the energy-generating organelles of eukaryotic cells, and the photosynthesizing chloroplasts found in plant cells, have evolved from free-living bacteria. At what stage in the evolution of life did this symbiotic relationship between two cells come about? The ancestor of mitochondria was a proteobacterium that was engulfed by an Asgard archaean organism. Descendants of this endosymbiotic union gave rise to animals, fungi and plants. In plants, the Asgard-mitochondrial union was followed by the intake of a photosynthesizing cyanobacterium, which became the chloroplast.

“Cell-cultivated chicken” – that’s the official name of chicken meat that is grown in a laboratory for human consumption. On June 21, two California-based companies were cleared to make and sell cell-cultivated chicken in the country in what is being hailed by stakeholders in the concept as a major step forward for reducing the carbon emissions associated with the food industry worldwide. To make cell-cultivated meat, these two companies isolate the cells that make up this meat (the meat that we consume), and put them in a setting where they have all the resources they need to grow and make more copies of themselves. These resources are typically nutrients, fats, carbohydrates, amino acids, the right temperature, etc.