Science This Week | ISRO launches LVM3-M3, hormonal contraceptives increase risk of breast cancer and more Premium

A weekly science wrap that lists the top 7 science stories from this week. The wrap includes scientific discoveries, findings and studies from India and all over the world.

This week has seen a lot of activity in the world of science. With ISRO launching the heaviest payload rocket, an asteroid zooming past Earth and archaeologist finding the oldest pearl town in UAE, here are some of the latest scientific findings and discoveries from the field of science.

ISRO’s heaviest payload rocket, LVM3 carrying 36 OneWeb satellites onboard took off on Sunday from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota. The 43.5 metre-tall vehicle weighs 643 tonne. This is the second mission for Network Access Associates Limited, United Kingdom (OneWeb Group Company) under a commercial agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) to launch 72 satellites to Low-Earth Orbits. The first set of 36 satellites was launched in LVM3-M2/OneWeb India-1 mission on October 23, 2022.

An asteroid big enough to wipe out a city zipped harmlessly between Earth and the moon’s orbit this weekend, missing both celestial bodies. While asteroid flybys are common, NASA said it’s rare for one so big to come so close — about once a decade. Scientists estimate its size somewhere between 130 and 300 feet (40 meters and 90 meters). Saturday’s close encounter will allow astronomers to study a space rock from just over 100,000 miles (168,000 kilometres) away. 

All hormonal contraceptives carry a slightly increased risk of breast cancer, including the increasingly popular progestogen-only pills, a new study said. According to the study, women taking hormonal contraceptives have a 20 to 30% higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who do not use them. The risk remains about the same regardless of the delivery method -- oral pill, IUD, implant or injection -- or whether it is a combined pill or progestogen alone.

Observations of open water in the Lincoln Sea raise concerns about the stability of the final stronghold of perennial Arctic sea-ice. Proxy evidence supports modelling studies that indicate a transition from perennial to seasonal sea-ice in the Arctic during the Early Holocene. Anthropogenic warming and Arctic amplification suggest an imminent transition to seasonal sea-ice in the southern Lincoln Sea, regardless of efforts to limit global temperature rise.

Scientists have learned about the internal workings of volcanoes by studying the northward movement of the Australian continent over a ‘hotspot’ inside the Earth during the last 35 million years, which left behind volcanic relics across its landscape. The hotspot was incredibly strong in its early stages, generating some of eastern Australia’s most beloved natural attractions.

A new species of orchid with delicate, glass-like blooms has been discovered by Japanese scientists, who found the pink and white plant hiding in plain sight. Despite its presence in Japan’s parks and gardens, it took researchers at Kobe University a decade to confirm that the plant -- dubbed the “  Spiranthes hachijoensis“ -- was a previously unknown species. The plant, with its spiralling blossoms, was even mentioned in Japan’s oldest anthology of poems, the eighth-century “Manyoshu”.