Today, we look at the planets where life could be even more abundant than on Earth, investigate the idea of a nuke that could fry the grid, explore how cuttlefish camouflage themselves and more. Worlds more habitable than Earth? They’re out there.
When it comes to hosting life, Earth may not be the ideal archetype. After all, the fact that we’re not located at a special place in the cosmos (that we revolve around the sun, not that it revolves around us) is what the Copernican revolution was all about. In fact, Earth is only marginally habitable. Most astrobiologists think water must be present on a planet’s surface for life to arise, and indeed the first bacteria appeared on Earth almost as soon as water pooled on its cooling surface roughly four billion years ago. But if Earth were just 2 percent closer to the sun, that pooling wouldn’t have happened. Instead, all of Earth’s water would have boiled away. We got lucky. That’s where the idea of “superhabitable worlds” comes in — planets that would allow carbon-based life to persist longer and become even more complex and diverse than on Earth. How many are out there? Where might we find them? Read more about super-Earths here. An enormous surge of energy
For more than a decade, conservative activists held that a single atomic bomb could, without killing Americans directly, lay waste to the country — a claim that built fervor for war with Iran. But is that threat real? Read here about how senior Trump officials stoked fears of a nuke that could fry the power grid. Then jump into the comments section, where Times readers are discussing how to gauge the threat from electromagnetic pulses:
The plague labs at the heart of a Russian mystery
Nearly two weeks after a 28-year-old researcher died from a mysterious infection while working in a Russian plague research laboratory, health officials around the world are still waiting for answers. Darya Shipilova, a lab worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, was initially reported to have contracted pneumonic plague, raising concerns about the kinds of research being conducted at the institute and the safety measures employed there. The institute in Irkutsk never functioned as a military center, but it was part of the broad yet secretive “Anti-Plague System.” At hundreds of field sites and labs across the Soviet Union, thousands of researchers were responsible for tracking emerging strains of plague and other endemic diseases, exterminating disease-causing rodents and developing vaccines. These facilities, experts said, had also provided pathogen samples to the military labs responsible for creating bioweapons during the Soviet era. Most of these facilities are still functioning, and while those in Russia remain closely guarded, some in former Soviet states have opened their doors to international researchers looking to learn about the fabled system. How do cuttlefish hide?
Coleoid cephalopods, a group that encompasses cuttlefish, octopus and squid, have mystified scientists for centuries. Endowed with large brains that evolved entirely independently of vertebrates’, they can solve problems, form memories and engage in social behavior. Aristotle, who observed cuttlefish in a bay on the Greek island of Lesbos, called them “the most cunning” of soft-bodied animals. Some cephalopods, including cuttlefish, can camouflage themselves with stunning precision, changing the pattern, color and texture of their skin to match coral reefs and sandy seabeds. Scientists have long wanted to understand the neural basis for that otherworldly transformation. How does the cuttlefish — which studies suggest is colorblind — take in the visual world and project it on its skin in as little as a second? We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
One more thingTEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE This question comes from a record that was set this week, when NASA announced that its Perseverance rover had driven farther than any other vehicle in the solar system — except those on Earth, of course. Click an answer to see if you’re right. (The link will be free.) As of Monday, exactly how far has the Perseverance rover traveled since it landed on Mars in February 2021? Thanks for joining us this week! Let us know how we’re doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com.
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