Science This Week | Success of NASA’s DART mission, Asian megacities at risk from sea level rise and more

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This week has been filled with the most interesting discoveries. From finding 500-year-old spices in a Baltic shipwreck to studying the impact of NASA’s DART mission to knock an asteroid off its course, here are the most riveting discoveries and findings in the field of science.

NASA’s DART spacecraft slammed into the asteroid Dimorphos at a spot between two boulders during last September’s first test of a planetary defence system, sending debris hurtling into space and changing the rocky oblong-shaped object’s path a bit more than previously calculated. Those were among the findings revealed by scientists in the most detailed account of the U.S. space agency’s proof-of-principle mission on using a spacecraft to change a celestial object’s trajectory - employing sheer kinetic force to nudge it off course just enough to keep Earth safe.

Scientists from the Physical Research Laboratory, a unit of the Department of Space, have built a comprehensive three-dimensional thermophysical model for the Moon to derive its surface and sub-surface temperatures. This model will help understanding the local thermal environment of any location on the Moon which is an essential aspect for future human exploration and lunar habitat.

A research team identified several Asian megacities that may face especially significant risks by 2100 if society continued to emit high levels of greenhouse gases: Chennai, Kolkata, Yangon, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Manila. Studies have also indicated that sea level rise will vary regionally because shifts in ocean currents will likely direct more water to certain coastlines, including the northeastern United States.

Negotiators from more than 100 countries completed a U.N. treaty to protect the high seas on Saturday, a long-awaited step that environmental groups say will help reverse marine biodiversity losses and ensure sustainable development. Economic interests were a major sticking point throughout the latest round of negotiations with developing countries calling for a greater share of the spoils from the “blue economy”, including the transfer of technology. An agreement to share the benefits of “marine genetic resources” used in industries like biotechnology also remained an area of contention until the end

Rising cases of intense cough lasting for over a week coupled with fever, observed in most parts of the country, can be linked to Influenza A H3N2, a subtype of a virus that causes flu, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). At least 92% of the hospitalised severe acute respiratory infections patients detected with the virus were showing up with fever and upto 86% have cough. Additionally, 27% progressed to breathlessness and 16% showed wheezing symptoms. Also, 16% had signs of pneumonia and 6% presented with seizures.

Archaeologists say they have uncovered a “unique” cache of well-preserved spices, from strands of saffron to peppercorns and ginger, on the wreck of a royal ship that sunk off Sweden’s Baltic coast more than 500 years ago. Rediscovered by sports divers in the 1960s, sporadic excavations of the ship have taken place in recent years. Previous dives recovered large items such as figureheads and timber. Now an excavation has found the spices buried in the silt of the boat.