Ten percent of the oxygen we breathe comes from one type of bacteria – Prochlorococcus – that inhabits the seas and oceans. Laboratory studies have shown that plastics, which are present in increasing amounts in the oceans, impair the growth of these bacteria and their ability to photosynthesize.

Pollution of morz and the oceanoin plastics is an extremely serious problem. It affects not only sea creatures, but the entire global ecosystem. Plastic present in the oceans has a significant impact on the development ofoj cyanobacterial species Prochlorococcus, the most abundant organismow photosynthesizing on Earth producing about 10 percent of the. Oxygen, whichorym we breathe.

As Australian and Danish scientists have shown, plastics in the oceans can release roSome chemical compounds thatore strongly disrupt the development ofoj cyanobacteria and their ability to photosynthesize. The findings were published in „Communications Biology”.

– We have discovered that chemicals emitted from plastics interfere with theoficient growth, photosynthesis and oxygen production in cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthesizing bacteria in the oceans – said study leader Dr. Sasha Tetu of Macquarie University in Sydney. – We now need to investigate whether plastic pollution has the same effect on these microorganisms in the oceans, she added.

It is estimated that plastic trash causes more than 13 billion in litter annuallyow USD economic losses in marine ecosystems and are now widely recognized as a serious threat to the marine environment. The current rate of increase in global plastic production, poor management of plastic waste and slow environmental degradation means that further increases in ocean pollution levelsoin plastics seems to be inevitable.

The dangers of plastic trash in the water roof chemicals have not received as much attention, such as the problems associated with marine creatures ingesting wasteoin plastics. Most non-biodegradable polymersow is considered stable and biologically inert. However, during product manufacturingoin plastics are added ro¿ne chemical compounds to improve the quality, hardness or elasticity of the productoin and on the ogow are not chemically bound to a polymer.

Sunlight, in particularoliveness ultraviolet radiation, as well as salt water, causes plastic in the oceans to break down and degrade. Plastic products are being converted into smaller and smaller fragments and, over time, release harmful chemicals. These substances include catalyst residues, solvents, plasticizers, dyes, flame retardants, UV stabilizers or antioxidants. Many of these additivesow have been detected in marine waters around the world.

Although the processes involved in getting rotion ofow chemicals from plastic trash into the marine environment are currently poorly understood, this recent research has shown that someore additives from poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) are released after more than a year in the water.

– This pollution can penetrate the marine environment, but unlike the dangers of plastics, in ktore entangled by animals or ingested by them, leached from plasticow chemical compounds receive little attention – admitted Dr. Lisa Moore, coopublication router.

In the first study of its kind, scientists looked at the effects of these chemicals on the smallest organisms present in the oceans – photosynthesizing marine bacteria – Prochlorococcus. These microbes absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

These cyanobacteria are fundamental to the health of the oceanow, but not only the oceanow. – These small microorganisms are crucial to the marine food chain, contribute to the carbon cycle and are thought to account for 10 percent of the world’s total oxygen production – explained Moore. – So one in ten breaths is made possible by these tiny bacteria, but almost nothing is known about how they respond to human contaminants, she added.

Two strains Prochlorococcus, found on rot depths in the ocean, exposed in the lab to chemicalsow leached from twooch ordinary productow of plastics – plastic adsoshopping bags made of high-density polyethylene and PVC mats.

The researchers found that exposure to these chemicals impairs the growth and function of these microorganismsow. The amount of oxygen produced has been disturbed. There has been a roalso to alter the expression of a large number of their genesow.

– Our data show that plastic pollution can have widespread effects on the ecosystem beyond the known effects on macroorganismsoin, such as seabirds and ¿olwie. If we really want to understand the full impact of plastic pollution in the marine environment and find ways to mitigate it, we need to consider its effects on key groups of microbesow, including photosynthesizing microbes – emphasized Tetu.

The project to clean the oceans of plastic trash initiated by the Ocean Cleanup organization has been temporarily halted. The arm that was supposed to help deal with garbage drifting in the oceans broke into two parts. The device is now sailing to a port where it will undergo repairs and more tests, before returning to the ocean again.

The project of the Ocean Cleanup organization, founded in 2013 by Boyan Slate, is an endeavor thatorego goal is to clean up the oceanow of the floating debris in the. Engineers worked for five years to design a cleaning arm. They finally got it right last year, and in September the device, dubbed System 001, set off from the San Francisco harbor.

The cleaning arm is 610 meters longoIt was decided that the device will be used to clean the oceans and cost nearly 6 millionoin euros. Initially, testing was going smoothly, but 116 days after setting sail, coordinators on site noticed that an 18-meter section had detached from the structure. Those involved in the project even gave it a name: Wilson.

It was decided that the device wroci to a port in Hawaii, where it will undergo repairs and additional tests. However, those responsible for the project assure us that this is not the end of it. The originator and head of the project Boyan Slat assures that once the necessary repairs are made, the arm wrothose on the ocean.

– The project did not end in disaster. We were already planning to returnot the device to port – Slat wrote on Twitter. The glitch only accelerated the powrot. The device is intended to float on the water, with an impermeable material to collect plastic trash from its surface. The likely cause of the failure was that the forces acting on the structure were too high or the material from which it was made was too weak.

Those working on the project assure that when they return to port they will carefully examine the damaged parts and draw appropriate conclusions. After repairs will set off towards the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The seas and oceans contain huge amounts of wasteoin plastics. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest of the islands of plastic wasteow, whichore formed in the oceans. It consists of about 1.8 trillion pieces ofoin plastic and weighing about 80,000 tons. Its surface area is 1.6 million kilometersoin square – is an area almost five times larger than Poland.

This offshore dump consists of a majorownie of particles measuring less than 0.5 millimeters, although much larger waste is found there – Fishing nets, plastic crates or plastic bottles. Amongrod wasteow has even spotted sediment. This garbage comes not only from ships passing through the Pacific Oceanow. First of all, they flow into the ocean carried along with rivers, and ocean currents clump them into large islands.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not the only. Similar clusters of plastic wasteow have formed throughout the oceans. The larger ones are five, the smaller ones no one counts. Despite the declarations of virtually all governmentoin coastal states about reducing the amount dumped into rivers and then into the oceanoIn plastics, the situation is getting worse and worse. If nothing changes, the amount of plastic in the oceans will triple in 10 years, and by 2050 plastic waste willoin the planet‘s waters will outnumber the fish swimming in them.

System 001 is a structure measuring more than 600 metersoin length, whichora makes use of the floating patternsoin to float into areas with high concentrations of plastic, creating a horseshoe-shaped barrier to contain the waste, whichore pocan later be collected and recycled.

The thick-walled tube provides a floating element for the structure. The system is equipped with beacons, radar reflectors, beacons, GPS and collision avoidance signals. Solar panels provide power.

A 3-meter-long mesh was mounted below the floating structureow, ktora is to help keep the garbage collected. If the pilot design passes the test, a whole fleet of similar devices will be created. Tworicians of System 001 claim that it does not threaten any marine life, ktore will be able to slide between the plastic waste.

Uranus’ upper atmosphere is dominated by hydrogen sulfide, a gas that imparts a distinctive and unpleasant odor… rotten eggs. Although scientists had previously suspected its existence on the penultimate planet of the Solar System, it has only now been confirmed.

Syndromeoł astronomerow using the spectrograph, whichory is located on the 8-meter Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, studied the chemical composition of the atmosphere siodmej planet from the sun – Uranus. The results of their work have been published in „Nature Astronomy”.

Despite decades of observation, the composition of Uranus’ clouds has been quite difficult to determine. It is known that the composition of the planet’s atmosphere includes methane. To him, Uranus owes itsoj blue color. From the data from the Voyager 2 probe, we also know that there are wateror and helium. But the concentration of other compoundsow, such as water, ammonia and hydrogen sulfideor, was somewhat more difficult to determine. All because of the distance, whichora separates us from Uranus.

– If a person were ever to descend through Uranus’ clouds, he or she would encounter very unpleasant conditions – said Patrick Irwin of Oxford University, one of the members of theoin a team studying the chemical composition of Uranus.

Researchers have made the most detailedohe spectroscopic analysis of Uranus’ clouds to date. Near the top of theoin the clouds of this planet, they have found a sulfurousor. The signatures of this gas were weak, at the limit of detection,.

Sulfideor in the atmosphere of Uranus was not a surprise. Observations from the 1990s. showed that it is very likely that the gas is there. However, this has only now been confirmed.

Uranium’s hydrogen sulfide clouds odroThey are separating it from the gas giantsow, Jupiter and Saturn, ktohe tops of the clouds are the headownie ammonia. Can provide an indication ofowks concerning Neptune, ktory is compositionally similar to Uranus, but is even further away.

Discoveries of scientistsow suggest some answers regarding the formation period of the Solar System. – During the formation of the solar system rohe balance between nitrogen and sulfur (and thus ammonia and the newly detected hydrogen sulfide on Uranus) was determined by the temperature and location in which theorej the planet was formed – said Leigh Fletcher of the University of Leicester. This is because researchers believe that in the early stages in our system, planets moved around, and the chemical composition will moheadoc in determining birthplace.

More detailedołow on the outer planets of our system will certainly be provided by new telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, ktorego launch has been postponed once again and the current date is May 2020. However, for the really detailedoThe analysis requires a space probe sent to the orbit of Uranus.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC LMB) have discovered that the chances of developing aoj life on the surface of a rocky planet such as Earth are linked to the type and intensity of light, whichore emitted by the parent star.

In a study published in „Science Advances” They argue that a key factor responsible for the development of theoj life, may be the amount of ultraviolet (UV) light coming from the parent star. Ultraviolet light powers a series of chemical reactions thatore produce the bricks of life.

On this basis, the researchers identified a group of extrasolar planets thatore could have developed life in a similar wayob, as probably occurred on Earth. UV radiation reaching this group of planets from the parent star is sufficient to allow these chemical reactions to take place. These planets are also found in the so-called. ecosphere – wok zoneoł stars where conditions are suitable for keeping liquid water on the surface.

– Life as we know it requires rotive molecular structures, whichore full roThe different functions in the comorki. These include DNA, RNA, proteins and cell membranesorkowe, whichore composed of a relatively simple building block – lipidow, nucleotideow and amino acidow. For a long time it was a mystery where these bricks of life came from, but recently this has been clarified – said Paul Rimmer of the University of Cambridge, head of theow author of the publication. – For example, UV rays incident on cyanideor in water, together with a negatively charged ion, such as sulfuric acid, leads to sugarsow – explained Rimmer.

Under the right conditions, hydrogen cyanideor, whichory in large quantities is found in protoplanetary disks can form high concentrations of many bricks of life. But for that, enough UV light is needed. This was demonstrated by experiments conducted in 2015. By emitting ultraviolet radiation on hydrogen cyanide, scientists have led to the formation of lipidow, amino acidow and nucleotideow, with ktorych all are components of living comorek. When they did not provide enough UV light, this reaction did not occur.

The research was led by Professor John Sutherland of the MRC LMB. In a paper published in 2015 in „Nature Chemistry”, he concluded that cyanide, although a poison, was in fact a key ingredient in the primordial soup from which theorej comes all life on Earth. In this hypothesis, carbon from meteoritesoin striking the young Earth interacted with nitrogen in the atmosphere, forming hydrogen cyanideor, whichory fell to the surface, where it reacted with other elements using UV light.

Rimmer and his teamoł they used this as the basis of their research. Porownali the amount of UV light used in the 2015 experiment to the light emitted by stars, wokoł ktorciated by the known exoplanets found in the ecosphere.

– This allowed us to pick out the best places to look for extraterrestrial life. This brings us somewhat closer to answering the question of whether we are alone in the universe? – assessed Rimmer.

Both groups of scientistsow have joined forces and conducted a series of experimentsoin the lab to measure how quickly bricks of life can form under UV rays. – Chemical processes also occur in the dark, but they are much slower – admitted Didier Queloz of the Cavendish Laboratory.

The same experiment conducted in the dark with hydrogen cyanide and sulfuric acid yielded an inert compound, whichowhich could not be used to build the basic elements of theoin life. An experiment conducted with UV light produced the necessary bricks of life.

In the next step, scientists analyzed the amount of UV rays emitted by rotive stars and have calculated the amount of these rays available to every known exoplanet. This gave a picture of where such chemical reactions could be activated. Researchers called it the zone of abiogenesis.

In the course of their work, the scientists observed that the ecosphere and the abiogenesis zone do not always coincide. On Earth, we are in an ideal place in orbit wokoł the right kind of star. The researchers also discovered that it was the stars, whichore have the same temperature as our Sun, produce the right amount of UV light. Cooler stars do not produce enough UV light to activate the processes mentioned earlier – unless there are frequent flares on themoin the sun, although these, as we now know, may be roalso disastrous for life.

Amongod known exoplanets, whichore reside in the abiogenesis zone, there are several planets detected by the Kepler Space Telescope. It m.in. Kepler exoplanet 452b, whichora was named „Earth’s cousin”, However, it is too far away from us to be studied with the technology currently available to us. Ross 128b, on the other hand, may be a barren world, although it has so far been considered an extremely promising place to search for life.

– Unfortunately, we don’t know how likely life is to have originated, as we only know one example, so it is worth looking for extraterrestrial life in places that most resemble our planet. There is an important roThe difference between what is necessary and what is sufficient. Bricks of life are necessary, but may be insufficient. Perhaps they can occur for billions of years and nothing will happen. Nevertheless, it is worth looking at places where the necessary conditions exist – emphasized Rimmer.

According to the latest estimatesoThere are as many as 700 million in the observable Universeoin the trillionoin rocky planets. – Conditions conducive to the origin of life are not everything. We still do not know how likely life is to arise, even given the favorable circumstances. If it’s really unlikely, we may be alone, but if not, we may have company – Sutherland said.

Project management is important in virtually all industries. Smaller or larger projects are planned and implemented in every company. The term projects can be used to describe anything that has a planned beginning and end. In organizations that are considered leaders in their industry, there are entire departments responsible for project management. Specialists in this area can also be found in smaller companies, where there is at least one Project Manager.

Looking at the development ofoj technology and changes in the labor market, you can see that project management is increasingly important. Postgraduate courses on the subject are increasingly being opened at universities, and training companies are providing courses on. What to choose, wanting to specialize in the field of project management?

For whom project management training, and for whom studies?

Both solutions are noteworthy, but for other osob. Everything depends on what knowledge we have before we start further education and what our goal is. Postgraduate studies are most often chosen by those whooThose who know nothing or little about management. Wybor of such a direction will allow you to acquire the basics, without whichorych it would be difficult to start working as a Project Manager. However, studies take a long time, sometimes even two years. On top of that, it is practically just lectures, so theoretical knowledge. Meanwhile, a project management specialist must have roalso practical knowledge.

Project management training is perfect for someone who wants to improve their skills. He is a manager and works on projects on a daily basis, but he intends to improve his work and that of his team. Project management training is conducted by an experienced Project Manager. Many workshops are emergingow and practical problemsow. In this way, the training has the character of exercises. No theory, rather analysis of specific situations. Someore training is very specific and may be in a particular area, such as methodology. It is also an opportunity to discuss your projectow and solutions with other management professionals.

Benefits

And project management studies and training are associated with a number of benefits. In the first place, we get confirmation in the form of a diploma or certificate. In the case of studiow we can learn about a new industry and verify that project management is something we want to specialize and work in. Besides, project management is considered one of the most forward-looking majorsow. Fachowcomore and more will be sought in this field.

In contrast, when it comes to training, we hone our skills. We are an increasingly valued employee and are able to guide the team and the project so that it is completed on time and the work itself is carried out to the highest standardsow. The better the education and experience with project management, the better prospects await the manager. Not only in Polish companies. Can successfully apply for employment at multinational companies.

At the end of December last year, a bolide entered the Earth’s atmosphere and exploded with the power of 173 kilotons of TNT. However, traces of the space rock intrusion were only spotted last week, even though it was the third strongest meteoroid explosion in more than 100 years.

On December 19, a meteoroid exploded over the Bering Sea off the coast of Kamchatka. This event, however, went virtually unnoticed. Peter Brown of Canada’s Western University found traces of the explosion in at least 16 infrasound monitoring stations around the world. It’s a global network designed to monitor the planet for atmospheric outburstsow.

The powerful explosion had rown value of 173 kilotons of TNT. That’s about 10 times the energy of a nuclear bomb explosion, whichora exploded in Hiroshima. This is also the third strongest meteoroid explosion in more than 100 years – After the 2013 explosion in Chelyabinsk (440 kilotons) and the 1908 Tunguska disaster (at least 3 megatons).

It is certainly the remote location of the bolide’s intrusion into Earth’s atmosphere that caused the event to go unnoticed. However, traces of the explosion appeared in data from US satellitesoin the military, ktore detected visible and infrared light from the bolide. In addition, a trail of smoke was accidentally captured by the camera of Japan’s Himawari-8 weather satellite.

Based on satellite data, NASA scientists calculated that the space rock entered Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of about 32 km/s, at an angle of 7 degrees and exploded at an altitude of 25.6 km. Based on data from infrasound monitoring stations, Brown calculated that the meteoroid had a diameter of about 10 metersow and a mass of about 1,400 tons.

Photo. :Simon Proud, University of Oxford/Japan Meteorological Agency

It is estimated that millions of meteoroidsow enter the Earth’s atmosphere every day. The vast majority of them are small and burn up on entering the atmosphere, but there are also some larger rocks. NASA’s Lindley Johnson said in an interview with the BBC News service that objects as large as the one last December or the one from Chelyabinsk in 2013 enter our planet’s atmosphere 2-3 times every 100 years.

Since 1988, NASA has registered 774 bolides, whichore entered Earth’s atmosphere. Most of them, like the one thatory exploded over the Bering Sea, went unnoticed because these events often occur over oceans or sparsely inhabited areas of the.

Hi, fantastic post on the meteor.
I quickly checked MODIS-Terra. they seem to have had a pass roughly at the right time (incredible coincidence!). I cropped the 250m res below or check the link.https://t.co/JJskoBkPFL pic.twitter.com/ctgB9yEcsy

— Giorgio Savini (@UCLOAstroSphinx) March 18, 2019

Sourceobackground: Science Alert, BBC, photo. Simon Proud, University of Oxford/Japan Meteorological Agency

An international group of astronomers led by scientists from the University of Sydney has analyzed the chemical composition of more than 340,000 stars in the Milky Way. The goal of the study is to look for siblings of our Sun scattered around the galaxy.

The study is part of the Galactic Archaeology with HERMES project, in skroGALAH and just published the first data collected in it. This project was launched at the end of 2013 and aims to better understand the process ofoin the formation and evolution of galaxies. The premise is to examine a million stellar. Astronomers from Europe and Australia are working on it.

Scientists analyze stars for the amount of elementsoin chemicals, such as iron, aluminum and oxygen, whichoThey are located in. This will help determine „DNA” stars. During the analysis, scientists use the HERMES spectrograph on the nearly 4-meter Anglo-Australian Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory.

The data will help determine the origin of stars by showing astronomers how the Universe has changed since timeoin the Big Bang, when it was filled only with hydrogen and helium, to its present state with all the elements thatore found on Earth and whichore are essential for life.

– No other study has been able to measure so many elementalow for so many stars – Said Gayandhi De Silva of the University of Sydney, ktory supervised the work of the astronomerow. – The data will enable discoveries such as the original star clusters of our galaxy, including the cluster where our sun and its siblings were born. There is no other such collection of data – added.

The Sun, like all other stars, was born in a group or cluster, ktora begets thousands of other stars. – Each star in this cluster will have the same chemical composition, something like a „DNA”. These clusters have been torn apart by our galaxy and are now scattered throughout the Milky Way – explained Dr. Sarah Martell of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, who directs the GALAH observations. – The team’s goal is to match „DNA” stars to find their long-lost siblings – added.

Researchers are using a technique called spectroscopy in their work. The light emitted by the stars is collected by the telescope and then passes through an instrument called a spectrograph, whichory splits them into a particularołowe spectra.

Astronomers measured the locations and sizes of dark lines in spectra to calculate the amount of each element in a star’s spectrum. – Each chemical element leaves a unique pattern ofor dark bands of a certain wavelength in these spectra. It’s something like the fingerprints ofow – explained Professor Daniel Zucker of Macquarie University and the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO).

The accumulation of sufficient photonoin order to moc It takes about an hour to determine the chemical composition of a gyrase. – Fortunately, we can observe 360 stars simultaneously – emphasized Jeffrey Simpson of the AAO.

Measuring the abundance of each chemical in so many stars is a huge challenge. To do so, the compositeoGALAH has developed advanced analysis techniques. – We are training our computer code, The Cannon, to recognize patterns in the subset spectraoin the stars, whichore we analyzed. Then, through the use of algorithmsoin machine learning The Cannon determines the amounts of each element for all 340,000 stars – said Sven Burden of the Max Planck Institute in Germany. The code was named after Annie Jump Cannon, an American astronomer who lived 100 years ago, whoora has classified the spectra of about 340,000 stars.

At around 1:00 p.m. Polish time on May 5, 2018, NASA’s InSight mission, the first-ever mission dedicated to exploring the deep interior of Mars, will take off. Exploring the interior of the Red Planet was made possible by the Polish company Astronika, which designed and manufactured a mechanism that will penetrate 5 meters into the Martian soil.

The mission is expected to last two Earth years. InSight landing on Mars is scheduled for November 26, 2018. This is NASA’s first mission since the timeoin the Apollo lunar missions, as part of whichorejet seismometer will be placed on the surface of an alien planet – A device to record and measure earthquakes.

– In a wayob InSight is such a scientific time machine that theory will provide us with information about the earliest stages of Mars’ history 4.5 billion years ago. It would help us find out howob form rocky objects such as Earth, its moon and even planets in other planetary systems – said Bruce Banerdt, head of theowny explorer of the InSight mission.

The goal of the InSight mission is to conduct geophysical surveys on Mars, whichore will provide groundbreaking information about the internal structure of the planet and its coohe modern geological activity. The mission will provide a better understanding of the evolution and formation of Mars, and in ogole Earth-type planets. A seismometer aboard the lander will allow recording events related to the activity of Mars’ interior, as well as meteorite fallsow on the surface of the planet.

Poland’s participation in the Insight mission

The mission will send an unmanned lander to Mars, which willory is expected to make a historic exploration of the planet Mars. One of the three mainow other devices, ktore will take with it the InSight mission will be HP3 (Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package) – probnik to measure heat flux from inside the planet, ktory will be inserted 5 meters deep into the Martian soil.

The maker of the insertion mechanism „HP3 mole” is the Polish company Astronika, whichorej engineers have made the Polish space industry known at NASA for producing the world’s best penetrating devices for space missions. Astronika as coordinator of the production process „Crete HP3” engaged several Polish centers for subcontractingoin science, m.in. Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Aviation, the Institute of Welding, the Technical University of ŁoThe Polish government and the Warsaw University of Technology.

– This is a big event for Astronika, but also a big success for the domestic space industry, because for the first time in history a Polish company has created a complete mechanism for a space mission. It is also a significant step forwardod, as far as space exploration in ogole, because such a device will for the first time ever penetrate as much as 5 meters below the surface of Mars and provide data, ktoThe mission will provide answers to many questions about the structure of this planet – mowi Bartosz Kędziora, president of the company founded by Polish engineersow and scientistsoin Astronika company.

The HP3 mole is a complete device entirely made in Poland, which is a breakthrough for the Polish space sector, because for the first time in history a Polish company, together with its subcontractors, provides a complete subsystem, rather than individual components or processes (screws, springs).

The task of this device will be to study the history of the formation of Mars, study the changes that are taking place in the structure of the planet, temperature, study the nucleus of the planet. Never before has any device penetrated the surface of Mars to such depths.

Made by Astronica „Mole” became visitsowk of the Polish company and the entire Polish space industry. One of Poland’s best-known scientistsoat NASA Artur Chmielewski congratulated the Poles on preparing the device this way:

For the first time in history, a representative of a Polish company is the so called “Polish”. „co-investigator” NASA missions. This is Jerzy Grygorchuk of Astronika, whoory has already designed the MUPUS penetrator for the Rosetta mission in his career – The first mission in human history thatohe goal was to land on the comet.

The Ultima Thule object, also referred to by experts as theo2014 MU69, located at the edge of the Solar System in the Kuiper Belt. It is 44 times farther from the Sun than the Earth. It is about 30 kilometers longoin diameter and possibly reddish in color, but beyond that we know little about it.

Mission control scientists were delighted, but also a bit surprised, by the photographs sent back by New Horizons. There are still more than 150 million between the probe and the asteroidoin kilometerow, but the LORRI (Long Range Reconnaissance Image) instrument aboard the probe managed to spot the target of the subroży.

The probe sent a total of 48 images of the object to Earth. Researchers located Ultima Thule on them, but it was no easy task. – It’s really like finding a needle in a haystack – admitted Hal Weaver, head of theowny scientist on the New Horizons project from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel.

In the first images sent by the probe, Ultima Thule appears as a small, pale object in a thicket of stars, whichore are about 17 times brighter than 2014 MU69. But the asteroid will get brighter and bigger every day.

– Our teamoł worked hard to determine the locations of Ultima Thule from such a great distance, and the result is clear. We are on Ultima’s doorstep and an amazing exploration awaits us! – said Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute.

On the left, an image composed of 48 images taken by the LORRI camera on August 16, 2018. On the right is an enlarged view of the region with the ¿olt field after subtracting the brightness of the background whistle, on which theorym clearly shows Ultima Thule, the target of the New Horizons probe. Photo. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

Observations of the asteroid over the next four months will help the team leading the mission refine the spacecraft’s course and plan possible corrective maneuvers so that the close flyby will provide as much data as possible about Ultima Thule.

If everything poIf it goes according to plan, the New Horizons probe will be the first-ever mission to study a small Kuiper Belt object. Ultima Thule will be the farthest located and explored planetary body in history.

The New Horizons probe was launched into space in January 2006. Its goal was to take measurementsow and examining Pluto and its moonow. This goal was reached in 2015. The second of the targetsow is to study one of the objectsoin located in the Kuiper Belt called 2014 MU69.

The end of the mission is scheduled for June 2022, but if the probe is in good condition, the mission could continue. This has happened in many cases. The Opportunity rover was supposed to stay on Mars for three months, and is now 13 years old. Not to mention the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes, whichore were to explore Jupiter and Saturn, and are now the farthest and still operational object sent into space by humans.

The winners of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine are James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo. The researchers were credited with developing anti-cancer therapies that involve unblocking the immune system’s action so that it attacks cancer cells.

As reported by the Karolinska Institute, whichorego assembly professorow chooses the winneroIn the Nobel Prize, James P. Allison studied a protein thatore acts as "inhibitor" of the immune system. – He realized the possibility of releasing this "brake" and release our cellorec immune system to attack tumors, the Karolinska Institute reported in a news release. This "brake" is referred to by experts as anow, as a negative regulation of the immune response.

Tasuku Honjo, on the other hand, has discovered a protein found in comoimmune cells and revealed that it acts roalso as "brake", that is, a mechanism that stops the immune system’s response, but has a different mechanism of functioning. Therapies based on his discovery proved strikingly effective in the fight against cancer.

– This year’s laureates have shown how theob rolar unblocking strategies "brakeow" The immune system can be used to treat cancer. Their findings are a turning point in our fight against cancer, the Karolinska Institute reports in a press release. American James P Allison and Japanese Tasuku Honjo have discovered that the body’s immune system can be used to treat cancerow.

Scientists looking for effective cancer therapies have long thought it was possible to harness the immune system to fight the disease. Despite the many prob failed to force the cellorek of the immune system to attack the comorks of the cancer. And this is partly because there is a mechanism in the human body that inhibits the action of lymphocytesow against attacking tumorsow. It wasn’t until the discoveries of this year’s Nobelow have allowed the release of „brake” allowing the immune system to attack a tumoroin cancer.

Allison studied located on lymphocytes, comorks of the immune system, CTLA-4 receptors. It is thanks to them that it is possible to bypass the mechanism that inhibits the immune system’s response and, importantly, stimulate the system to effectively attack the comork cancer.

RoIn parallel, studies on the receptors of lymphocyteoin called PD-1 led Honjo. These receptors identified as checkpoints have proven to be a breakthrough in the fight against melanoma or lung and kidney cancer. Drugs developed on the basis of his research, the so-called “immune checkpoint receptors. point inhibitorsoin control have proven to be extremely effective.

Why there is a mechanism in the human body that inhibits lymphocytes from acting? To prevent the body from attacking itself. Comork cancer cells for lymphocytesoin T cells look like other cellsorks of the body and do not pose a threat, therefore they are not attacked. The exploratory role, whether the comorka is "foreign" or not, perform the aforementioned receptors. An antibody developed by Allison helps inform lymphocytes what they are really up against.

Cancer kills millions of people each year. The disease is one of humanity’s greatest health challenges. By stimulating our immune system’s ability to attack cancer cellsocancerous cells, this year’s Nobel laureates have established an entirely new method of fighting cancer.

Immune therapies, whichohe basis of which is due to the prize-winning scientists, revolutionized cancer treatment and fundamentally changed the way weothe way we view cancer therapies. The first drug approved for use based on the findings of Nobel laureateow appeared in 2011. Patients have been treated with it for several years now, and the effectiveness of the therapy can be assessed in retrospect. The results are extremely convincing.

James Allison works at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Tasuku Honjo works at Kyoto University.

Watch the moment the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is announced.

Presented by Thomas Perlmann, Secretary-General of the Nobel Committee. pic.twitter.com/uSV5gp6A5P

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 1, 2018

To date, 108 Nagrod Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and was awarded to 214 scientistsow. No one has yet received the Nobel Prize in this field twice. Only 12 women were honored with the. Last year’s winners were Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young for explaining the mechanismoin controlling diurnal rhythms.

A provision in the rules of the award stands that it can be awarded to a maximum of three people. The laureate or laureates will receive 9 million this yearoin Swedish kronor. That translates to about 870,000. euro. They will also receive a medal and a diploma.

The nomination database has some interesting tidbits about the prize. For example, Sigmund Freud has been nominated for the prize as many as 32 times, but never received it. Appointments have been kept secret for 50 years.

The youngest laureate was Frederick G. Bantenga, whichory received the award in 1923 at the age of 32 for the discovery of insulin. The oldest, however, was Peyton Rousa, whoory has been wyroWife of the prestigious award in 1966 for the discovery of cancer-causingor virusow. He was 87 years old at the time.