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Some of the water around Antarctica has been getting saltier. And that has affected the amount of sea ice at the bottom of the planet.

A study published on June 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that increases in salinity in seawater near the surface could help explain some of the decrease in Antarctic sea ice that have been observed over the past decade, reversing a previous period of growth.

“The impact of Antarctic ice is massive in terms of sea-level rise, in terms of global warming, and therefore, in terms of extremes,” said Alessandro Silvano, a senior scientist at the University of Southampton studying the Southern Ocean and lead author of the study. The findings mean “we are entering a new system, a new world”, he said.

Each year, the sea ice floating atop the Earth’s polar oceans melts in the summer and refreezes in the winter, acting as a mirror that bounces the sun’s heat back into space. Since the late 1970s, as global temperatures ratcheted upward, sea ice in the Arctic has been swiftly declining. But in the Antarctic sea ice continued to grow into the 2010s.

The study used data from satellites to track changes by using a brightness measurement that subtly correlates to salt content. But because the signal is small and easily drowned out by other factors, Dr Silvano said, it wasn’t possible to analyse them effectively until recent advances in algorithms.

When Dr Silvano and his co-authors first noticed the rising salinity, they doubted the signal was real, suspecting an error in the satellite data. But as physical measurements from ocean instruments began to confirm the trend, they realised the signal was accurate.

“Because melting ice should freshen the ocean, we thought that we should have seen freshening, right?” Dr Silvano said, adding that climate change is also increasing precipitation and runoff from melting glaciers in the Antarctic, which should mean more fresh water coming into the ocean’s surface. “Instead, we saw increasing salinity.”

As the salt content increases, the density of the water changes, drawing warmer water – typically stashed deep under the surface – upward. Hotter water causes the ice floating on it to melt, and prevents it from growing back in the winter as much as it used to.

Because less sea ice means less fresh water balancing out the salinity and warmth, it’s a feedback loop that threatens greater warming, he said.

Sharon Stammerjohn, a senior research associate at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, who was not involved in the research, described the paper as a sort of missing link for the potential drivers of Antarctic sea-ice changes.

“We have been struggling for about the last decade to try to figure out why Antarctic sea ice had such a rapid decline and continues to decline,” she said.

Typically, Dr Stammerjohn said, the ocean acts as a bank of planetary heat. Because fresher water is less dense, it acts as a lid, holding back the salt and trapping heat deep below the surface. Rising salinity means the layers of the ocean are mixing more, and letting more heat escape to the surface. “Up until 2015 we kind of kept a lid on that,” she said.

Cecilia Bitz, a professor of climate science at the University of Washington, said observations of the Antarctic’s complex dynamics and vast, hard-to-access landscape remained sparse until about 10 years ago. Then, improvements in satellite data along with a growing fleet of autonomous buoys with sensors, known as Argo floats, which provided some of the data used in Dr Silvano’s study, began to fill in the gaps.

Recently, the Department of Defense announced it would be no longer be providing some of the satellite data that researchers use to monitor changes in sea ice. According to an announcement Monday, the data will become unavailable after July 31.

“This not only affects polar researchers who rely on this for Antarctic sea ice and Arctic sea ice, but another sensor on there is key for hurricane forecasting,” Dr Stammerjohn said.

While the details of how the scientific community might adapt when this program is canceled are unclear, she said, there are other satellite products, including ones maintained by the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, that may be able to fill the gap. NYTIMES

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The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has revealed its first imagery, which will be followed by more detailed observations to gain a deeper understanding of the universe

Located at the top of Cerro Pachón in Chile, the observatory is a joint venture by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE), designed to transform our understanding of the cosmos.

In just over ten hours of early test observations, the observatory has already captured millions of stars and galaxies, along with thousands of asteroids.

A next-generation eye on the sky

Rubin Observatory stands out as one of the most advanced optical astronomical facilities ever built. Its 8.4-meter telescope features the largest digital camera in the world, paired with an advanced data processing system capable of handling a massive volume of astronomical information.

Set to begin its full scientific operations in 2025, the observatory’s main project, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), will scan the entire visible Southern Hemisphere sky every few nights for ten years. This effort will produce a dynamic, high-resolution time-lapse view of the night sky, unlike anything seen before.

The universe’s most profound mysteries

A key goal of the Rubin Observatory is to help scientists investigate some of the biggest unanswered questions in cosmology. These include the nature of dark matter and dark energy, mysterious forces that together comprise approximately 95% of the universe but remain poorly understood.

The observatory’s detailed and frequent observations will provide important data to improve scientific models of how galaxies form and evolve, as well as how the universe is expanding and whether previously unknown cosmic phenomena exist.

Improving planetary defence

The Rubin Observatory will also revolutionise our understanding of the solar system. Its nightly sky scans will detect millions of asteroids, comets, and even interstellar objects, many of which have never been observed before.

This capability makes Rubin the most powerful solar system discovery tool ever constructed. Its findings will be vital for planetary defence efforts, potentially identifying space rocks that pose a future threat to Earth or the moon.

Creating a stream of data

The observatory’s data output is expected to surpass the combined total of all previous optical observatories, just in its first year of operation. Over its decade-long mission, Rubin will produce an archive of information,
The imagery and insights generated will be publicly accessible, enabling collaboration not only among professional scientists but also among citizen scientists and educators worldwide.

Named in honour of astronomer Vera C. Rubin, who provided the first compelling evidence for dark matter, the observatory is set to create a new era of astronomical discovery.

China’s Tianwen-2 probe has officially begun its deep space mission by capturing a stunning image of Earth and the Moon from 590,000 kilometers away. Released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on July 1, the image symbolises the start of a decade-long journey to explore a near-Earth asteroid and a distant comet. Launched on May 29, Tianwen-2 will collect samples from asteroid Kamo’oalewa by 2027 and later investigate comet 311P/PANSTARRS. This dual-target mission marks a significant step forward for China’s space program, aiming to unlock key secrets about the origin of the Moon, water, and life.

Tianwen-2 probe: Earth-Moon images from deep space released by CNSA

The stunning photo was taken on May 30, 2025, when Tianwen-2 was nearly 590,000 kilometers away from Earth. The picture beautifully frames Earth and its natural satellite, the Moon, together in the vast darkness of space. This image was captured using the spacecraft’s narrow-field-of-view navigation sensor, an instrument designed to help the spacecraft maintain its orientation and enable precise autonomous navigation.This camera plays a critical role in guiding Tianwen-2 through deep space, allowing it to operate independently from ground control while maintaining stability during its long voyage.

Source: CNSA

Source: CNSA

Tianwen-2 marks milestone with over 12 million km travelled since May 29 launch

As of July 1, 2025, CNSA reports that Tianwen-2 is operating smoothly. As reported, the Tianwen-2 probe has been in orbit for 33 days with a distance of 12 million kilometres since its May 29 launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center aboard a Long March 3B rocket. Its successful performance in this early stage builds confidence in its ability to complete its complex multi-target mission.This probe is part of China’s broader space strategy to expand its scientific reach beyond the Moon and Mars, pushing boundaries into asteroid and comet exploration—domains previously dominated by NASA, ESA, and JAXA.

Tianwen-2 heads toward Kamo’oalewa; a mysterious near-Earth asteroid

Tianwen-2 is heading toward Kamo’oalewa, a small near-Earth asteroid that orbits the Sun in a path similar to Earth’s. What makes this asteroid particularly intriguing is the hypothesis that it might be a fragment of the Moon, dislodged by a massive impact event in the distant past.Upon arrival in 2026, the spacecraft will conduct detailed investigations, including:

The samples will then be returned to Earth by 2027, providing researchers with rare, untouched material from a near-Earth object—potentially from the Moon’s ancient past.

Tianwen-2 to explore mysterious comet after asteroid sample return

Tianwen-2’s mission doesn’t end after the asteroid sample returns. It will be re-tasked to study the comet 311P/PANSTARRS, known for its active tail and mysterious dust ejection events. This phase of the mission could begin shortly after the asteroid visit and will involve:

Scientists hope this exploration could provide vital clues about the origin of Earth’s water and organic molecules, helping to answer one of science’s oldest questions—how life-supporting ingredients arrived on our planet.

Tianwen-2 sets a new standard with 10-year asteroid-to-comet space voyage

According to The Astronomy Magazine, the Tianwen-2 mission is planned to last more than 10 years, making it one of the longest and most scientifically rich deep-space missions in China’s history. Its dual-phase nature—first targeting an asteroid, then a comet—requires exceptional engineering and mission planning.This strategy mirrors the complexity and ambition of missions like NASA’s OSIRIS-REx and ESA’s Rosetta, but with a uniquely Chinese twist: combining asteroid sample return and comet observation into a single, seamless voyage.Also Read | NASA alert! 120-foot airplane-sized asteroid 2025 MM to make closest flyby on Earth today; should we be concerned

Published today (July 1) in Astronomy & Astrophysics, the project has announced its first published major discovery – a bright exploding star.

The object underwent an extreme brightening (increasing by 2500 times) that was not seen when compared to the image taken 2 days earlier. The quick response and diligent work of the public allowed the object to be studied and classified early in its evolution, identifying it as a cataclysmic variable star, and given the name GOTO0650.

Co-lead of Kilonova Seekers, Dr. Tom Killestein, Warwick Prize Fellow in the Astronomy and Astrophysics group, University of Warwick said: “Kilonova Seekers is a unique opportunity for members of the public to take part in true real-time astrophysics. Remarkably, public volunteers identified this star as an object of interest within 3 1/2 hours of the image being taken by the GOTO telescopes – this discovery could have been missed among many other objects without their efforts.

“The involvement of the volunteers didn’t stop there, as there was a huge follow-up response from the public. It was flagged for further observations from the Swift and Einstein Probe space observatories, and GOTO0650 was bright enough for amateur astronomers to take impressively high-quality observations of with their own equipment, which formed a key part of the paper and really helping us understand the object.”

Cataclysmic variable stars sporadically increase in brightness by large amounts before dropping back to normal levels. They are compact binary star systems, consisting of a white dwarf star stealing matter from its companion donor star. Periodically, material from the donor star hits a critical density and temperature within the disc of gas that surrounds the white dwarf, which causes an explosive outburst and bright flashes of light.

The fast response of the public enabled the team to get an unusually highly complete dataset on the star, including spectroscopy, X-ray, and UV measurements, supplemented by the impressively high-quality observations of the amateur astronomers. These observations suggest it is a period bouncer, the final state of a cataclysmic variable star, and a rare object to find even in the age of widespread wide-field imaging surveys.

Co-lead of Kilonova Seekers, Dr Lisa Kelsey, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Institute of Astronomy and Kavli Institute for Cosmology, Cambridge said: “Citizen science is a powerful way to make novel serendipitous discoveries in vast datasets that would normally need to be analysed in depth by scientists.

“With over 2.8 million classifications so far, the discovery of GOTO0650 is really the pinnacle of 2 years of consistent hard work from our volunteers. Without the Kilonova Seekers volunteers flagging this object, rapid follow-up would not have been possible, and this object may have been missed entirely.”

The Kilonova Seekers Project is approaching its two-year anniversary of inviting members of the public to analyse near real-time data collected from the Warwick-led Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) project. This project takes all-sky survey images of space from two arrays of telescopes located on opposite sides of the planet — in Spain and Australia.

The vast numbers of observations taken in these imaging surveys will soon be beyond the capacity of individual and small teams of scientists to label and validate. Citizen Science is a viable, mutually beneficial solution to avoid objects like GOTO0650 being missed.

As a shining example of such efforts, Kilonova Seekers has provided over 3,500 members of the public with the opportunity to discover supernovae and variable stars using real data. With volunteers from around the world, there is almost always someone online looking at the data in real-time.

Svetoslav Alexandrov, Kilonova Seekers Volunteer based in Bulgaria said: “Traffic in Sofia, Bulgaria, is always awful during the mornings so I have to pass time on the bus somehow, and contributing to citizen science is an excellent way to do that! Kilonova Seekers is on the top of my list, because it’s mobile-friendly and most importantly, it offers us fresh imagery almost every single day.

“I literally screamed with joy when I saw that I was going to be a co-author of the research paper. I’m certain that people on the street raised their eyebrows when they saw me screaming and dancing, but I didn’t care. I knew I am a co-discoverer of something significant, and this was all that mattered”

Cledison Marcos da Silva, Kilonova Seekers Volunteer based in Brazil said: “This discovery was very important to me, as I was going through a serious health problem and the citizen science we do at Kilonova Seekers was distracting me from my situation. I never imagined that we would discover such a bright transient, so it was a huge surprise, and we were very happy when we found out. This discovery shows the importance of citizen science, both scientifically and personally. Even from your bed, or on the street with your cell phone, there is the possibility of making a very important discovery.”

Mayahuel Torres-Guerrero, Kilonova Seekers Volunteer based in Mexico said: “The journey from the discovery of GOTO0650 to the publication of the paper in Astronomy & Astrophysics has been personally rewarding. I had the opportunity to learn how to download data from LCO telescopes and to produce light curves that allowed us to monitor echo outbursts. It was very exciting when GOTO0650 produced an echo outburst on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day! It was a great journey for someone who has studied social sciences like me!”

GOTO is a network of telescopes that is principally funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and operated by the University of Warwick at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, Spain, and Siding Spring Observatory in NSW, Australia, on behalf of a consortium including the University of Warwick, Monash University, Armagh Observatory & Planetarium, the University of Leicester, the University of Sheffield, the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT), the University of Turku, the University of Portsmouth, the University of Manchester and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC).

Andrew McCarthy, an Arizona-based photographer, has captured a breathtaking image of the International Space Station (ISS) passing in front of the Sun, with vibrant solar flares erupting in the background. Taken from the Sonoran Desert, he named this photograph Kardashev Dreams to represent “our first steps to being a much greater civilisation.”

McCarthy described the photograph as one of his most cherished works. “While waiting for the ISS to transit the Sun, a sunspot group started flaring, leading to this once-in-a-lifetime shot,” he wrote on Instagram.

The image, which he named after Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev – known for proposing the Kardashev Scale to measure a civilisation’s technological advancement – captures the ISS in sharp silhouette against the Sun’s fiery surface, with solar flares adding a dramatic flair.

ALSO SEE: Photographer Snaps Milky Way’s Dusty Galactic Heart And It Has An Eerie Glow

“I call the piece ‘Kardashev Dreams’, representing our first steps to being a much greater civilisation,” McCarthy added. The photographer revealed he faced extreme conditions in the Sonoran Desert, where temperatures soared to nearly 50°C, as indicated by his car’s thermometer.

To protect his equipment from overheating, he used ice packs and thermoelectric coolers to help keep the telescopes and computers from overheating.

Bonus shot from my latest capture of the ISS transiting the sun: One of the captured frames sat right on the limb against these background prominences.

The ISS is so iconic, I’m going to miss it when it’s gone. pic.twitter.com/2NhiB6n0fw
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) June 30, 2025

In addition to the primary image, McCarthy shared a ‘bonus shot’, depicting the ISS positioned at the Sun’s edge, partially obscuring solar prominences – massive loops of plasma extending from the Sun’s surface. He also said he was surprised to see how much attention his pictures got and called them “one of my all time favorites!”

ALSO SEE: Photographer Captures Jaw-Dropping Video Of Rare ‘Jets’ Of Upside-Down Lightning

(Image: AndrewMcCarthy)

A recent study involving researchers from the University of Basel reveals that slowing down the intracellular transport of RNA-based drugs can significantly enhance their effectiveness. These promising therapeutics are currently used to treat rare genetic diseases.

In modern medicine, personalized therapies are becoming increasingly important – particularly in the treatment of genetic diseases. One such promising approach is the use of so-called antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). These small, synthetic molecules specifically interfere with cell metabolism by preventing the production of disease-causing proteins. Such RNA-based therapies are already being used successfully to treat previously incurable genetic disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Limited efficacy of RNA-based drugs

A key challenge, however, is that most ASOs fail to reach their intended target within the cell and thus cannot achieve their full therapeutic potential. In a collaborative study published in “Nature Communications”, an international research team – including Professor Anne Spang from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and scientists from Roche – used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to identify factors that significantly influence ASO activity. The findings open new avenues for improving RNA therapy efficacy and accelerating their development.

Antisense nucleotides are tiny, custom-designed genetic fragments that bind specifically to RNA molecules within the cell, thereby interfering with protein synthesis. Once administered, most ASOs are taken up by the cell and reach the cell’s sorting stations, so-called endosomes, via small transport vesicles. To exert their therapeutic effect, they must escape from the endosomes. Otherwise, they are declared as “cellular waste” and quickly shuttled to lysosomes for degradation. Since only a small fraction of ASOs manage to escape, their overall efficacy is limited.

Residence time in endosomes as a critical factor

The likelihood of ASOs escaping from the endosomes is closely linked to the speed of intracellular transport: the longer they remain in the endosome, the more time they have to escape. Using a genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screen, the researchers systematically knocked out thousands of genes to investigate their impact on ASO efficacy.

We identified a large number of genes that either improve or impair ASO activity. Many of these genes are involved in the intracellular transport of ASOs.”

Dr. Liza Malong, lead author and researcher at Roche

The team also discovered that the gene AP1M1 plays a key role in this process: it regulates the transport from the endosome to the lysosome. “By selectively switching off this gene, ASOs remain longer in specific endosomes,” explains senior co-author Dr. Filip Roudnicky, also a researcher at Roche. “This prolonged residence time increases their chance of escaping from the endosomes and becoming effective.” In both cell cultures and a mouse model, this approach significantly improved ASO efficacy without requiring an increased dosage.

Toward more effective RNA-based therapies

The study provides a comprehensive overview of genes that modulate ASO activity and demonstrates that slowing down endosomal transport can boost the therapeutic efficacy of ASOs. “The key to more effective therapies thus lies not only in the drug itself, but also in intracellular trafficking,” adds Anne Spang. “This concept may also apply to other drugs and even to bacterial and viral pathogens. Shortening the residence time of pathogens in endosomes could reduce their chance of escaping and replicating within the cell. This might represent a novel strategy in the fight against infections.”

FAYETTEVILLE, GA, UNITED STATES, July 1, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ — Soil viruses play an influential but often overlooked role in soil carbon (C) dynamics, directly affecting both the release and sequestration of carbon. The research uncovers the significant role these viruses play in enhancing the accumulation of recalcitrant carbon, such as dissolved organic matter (DOM) and mineral-associated organic carbon, which are vital for carbon sequestration.

Soil, a major global carbon sink, holds more than twice the amount of organic carbon found in vegetation biomass and the atmosphere. As climate change accelerates, understanding the dynamics of soil carbon has become increasingly important, particularly regarding microbial processes that control carbon emissions and storage. Viruses, which impact microbial communities, have been found to affect the mineralization and stabilization of organic carbon in soils. However, studies on how viruses influence both carbon loss and retention have been limited, necessitating further research to clarify these viral roles in soil carbon cycling.

A recent study (DOI: 10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.03.008) published in Pedosphere examines the role of soil viruses in carbon dynamics. The team from Zhejiang University (China) and La Trobe University (Australia) analyzed the impact of viruses on microbial activities and soil carbon emissions, identifying complex interactions between viral lysis and carbon sequestration. This research provides new insights into how viruses might contribute to both the release of CO2 and the stabilization of carbon in soils.

The study reveals that viruses can both stimulate and inhibit soil CO2 release, depending on the interplay between viral lysis and microbial recycling of lysates. The researchers found that, while viral activity led to variable carbon emissions across different soil types, it generally enhanced the accumulation of recalcitrant dissolved organic matter. This finding suggests that viruses may play a critical role in enhancing soil carbon sequestration, especially by facilitating the binding of carbon to soil minerals like iron and calcium. Interestingly, the study also found that soil viruses influence nitrogen cycling, highlighting the viral shuttle process that links carbon and nitrogen cycling in soil ecosystems.

The experiment involved introducing soil viruses into sterilized soils from different regions, including forest and cropland areas in China. The results demonstrated that viral lysis triggered a shift in the microbial biomass and nutrient cycling, with viral presence leading to increased microbial activity in some soil types, enhancing soil’s carbon storage capacity.

Professor Jianming Xu from Zhejiang University, a leading expert in soil and environmental science, comments: “This study is the first to demonstrate how soil viruses not only influence carbon release but also help to stabilize carbon through mineral-binding processes. Our findings suggest a more complex role for viruses in soil ecosystems, one that could have significant implications for climate change mitigation strategies.”

The findings from this study provide a novel perspective on the role of viruses in soil carbon cycling, emphasizing their potential impact on carbon sequestration. Understanding how viruses influence both microbial communities and soil carbon dynamics could inform future strategies for managing soil health and mitigating climate change. Furthermore, the research underscores the need for broader studies to explore the impacts of viral processes on various soil types, potentially leading to new methods for enhancing soil carbon sinks in agricultural and forested landscapes.

References
DOI
10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.03.008

Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.03.008

Funding Information
This study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2024YFD1501801), the Science and Technology Program of Zhejiang Province (No. 2022C02046), 111 Project (No. B17039), and China Agriculture Research System (No. CARS-01).

Lucy Wang
BioDesign Research
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