Why microbes could be changing the world's weather patterns?

Microbes are everywhere, both good and bad, and scientists at NASA believe that these microbes could be changing our weather patterns, both  here in the UK and worldwide.  

Research has been carried out across NASA compounds. One these in Texas.To carry out the experiment they send up, into space, a balloon and a mesh which collects the samples of the microbes. They collect samples at heights 70,000 ft to 10,000 ft. Scientists have analysed the aerodynamic properties of these microbes and they have found that these particular molecules can be suspended in our atmosphere for up to three weeks. 

A process called "Ice Nucleation" is happening all of the time in our atmosphere, this means that any solid particles in our atmosphere makes it a lot easier for ice to form around the solid particle however big or small this is.

 For crystals, whatever sort they are need something solid to form around, if this happens then the ice crystals can be a lot bigger than without the solid particle (in this case the microbe). When ice forms in our atmosphere, clouds form. This will eventually make it rain. 

So, if there are more microbes in the atmosphere it is easier for ice, therefore clouds to form. More clouds, mean that it will rain more. 

Mars' atmosphere was "oxygen rich"

Scientists at NASA have discovered using their Spirit Rover that Mars once had an oxygen rich atmosphere 4 billion years ago. This was 1,500 million years prior to the formation of earth. The scientists came to this conclusion because they had analysed samples that the Spirit Rover had collected, they also compared these samples with Martian meteorites that have crashed into earth. The Scientists then were able to examine the composition of the meteorites and the samples collected, they then discovered a high percentage of oxygen. Also  Mars' distinct red colour, shows evidence of a process called oxidation, which obviously as the name suggests needs a high quantity of the oxygen. It is likely that the Red Planet was warm, wet and rusty, billions of years before Earth's atmosphere became oxygen rich, enough for life to develop on Earth. 

This could mean that life did exist on Mars, and it could mean that at some point we could end up living on Mars! 

How does the sun "burn" if there is no oxygen in space?

At first glance, an image of the sun may resemble a roaring fire. However when astronomers talk about the sun "burning" they are actually talking about a process called nuclear fusion. This process involves the forcing together of tiny hydrogen nuclei in the core. Nuclear fusion takes place in the core as nuclear fusion need high pressure and high temperatures, both of which are present in the sun's core. 

Why has the UK had such hot weather this July?

June saw the weather across the UK as decidedly mixed with some good weather, but interspersed with this, we saw many spells of wet and windy weather. This was due to the jet stream being across the Atlantic, slightly further south than what is normal for this time of year. 

A major change took place just after the start of July as the jet stream took a dramatic shift northwards. This meant that the newly placed jet stream deflected the bad weather towards Ireland and Scandinavia. Then high pressure was dominant across the UK, in meteorological terms this is known as a blocked pattern. At this time of year, high pressure generally signals good weather and this coupled with the strength of sun can bring very high temperatures 

One thing unusual for the UK is that most of the UK has benefited from this good weather, and these high temperatures haven't been confined to one area. Also we have had very few thunderstorms in the last few weeks. Most people think that these always accompany the hot weather, in this case it is because the hot weather isn't from France or Spain. 

However this hot weather isn't good for everyone, the Met Office and Public Health England have been collaborating to provide advice through the Heat Health Watch. 

Compared to last year, this hot weather is in complete contrast when we experienced a succession of weather systems that we got from the Atlantic. There was no recorded change to the position of the jet stream it was a constant feature throughout the summer of 2012.

What are black holes?

Black holes vary in size. Some are only as big as a single atom, but their mass is huge. The mass is just the amount of matter or "stuff" in the object. 

There is another type of black hole that's called "stellar" these have up to twenty times more than the mass of the sun. There might be many stellar black holes in the Earth's galaxy (the Milky Way) 

The largest black holes are called "supermassive." This type of black holes have masses that total to more than 1 million suns together. Scientists have found proof that every large galaxy contains a supermassive black hole at its centre. The supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy is called Sagittarius A. It has a mass equal to about 4 million suns and would fit inside a very large ball that could hold a few million Earths. 

NASA is using satellites and telescopes that are traveling in space to learn more about black holes.

How Do Black Holes Form?

Scientists believe that the black holes were formed when the universe was first formed. Stellar black holes are made when the center of a very big star falls in upon itself, or collapses. When this happens, it causes a supernova. A supernova is an exploding star that blasts part of the star into space. 

Scientists think supermassive black holes were made at the same time as the galaxy they are in, so for example made at the same time the Milky Way was formed. 

This image of the center of the Milky Way galaxy was taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Image Credit: NASA/CXC/MIT/F.K. Baganoff et al.

If Black Holes are "black" why do scientists know they exist? 

A black hole can not be seen because strong gravity pulls all of the light into the middle of the black hole. However scientists can see how the strong gravity affects the stars and gas that surround the black hole. Scientists can study stars to find out if they are flying around, or orbiting, the black hole.

When a black hole and a star are close together, high-energy light is made. This kind of light can not be seen with human eyes. Scientists use satellites and telescopes in space to see the high-energy light. 

Could a Black Hole Destroy Earth?

Black holes do not go around in space eating stars, moons and planets. Earth will not fall into a black hole because no black hole is close enough to the solar system for Earth to do that. 

Even if a black hole the same mass as the sun were to take the place of the sun, Earth still would not fall in. The black hole would have the same gravity as the sun. Earth and the other planets would orbit the black hole as they orbit the sun now. 

The sun will never turn into a black hole. The sun is not a big enough star to make a black hole. 

What is Solar Wind?

Solar Winds are streams of energized charges particles, these are mostly electrons and protons. The winds flow from the sun through the solar system. Sometimes these can be of speeds as high as 900km/s and at a temperature of 1 million degrees celsius.

The Sun's corona, taken by the SOHO satellite with a special camera that blocks out light from the Sun's main disk. Courtesy of SOHO consortium. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA."

The solar wind is what blows the tails of comets back away from the bodies of comets as they go through the solar system.

How do the northern lights form?

The aurora borealis (the Northern Lights) and the aurora australis (the Southern Lights) have always been on people's wish list to visit, but how they actually form is a mystery to many people.   Both of the auroras surrounding the north and South Pole occur when highly charged electrons from solar wind (see next post) interact with elements within our atmosphere. These particular solar winds can be up to speeds of 1 million miles per hour! They then reach earth some 40 hours since leaving the sun. They follow the lines of the magnetic field (much like you would see on a diagram). The solar winds then flow through the earths magnetosphere, this is a teardrop shaped area of highly charged electrical fields.

When the electrons enter the earth's paper  atmosphere they come across atoms of oxygen and nitrogen at altitudes from 20 to 200 miles above the earth's surface. The colour of the aurora depends on which atom is struck and the altitude at which this happens. 

• Green - oxygen, up to 150 miles in altitude
• Red - oxygen, above 150 miles in altitude
• Blue - nitrogen, up to 60 miles in altitude
• Purple/violet - nitrogen, above 60 miles in altitude

The magnetic and electrical forces react with each other, which creates the "shifting" combinations of colours and patterns, some people might say that the auroras "dance". The auroras then move along with the atmospheric currents, which can be as high as 50,000 volts. To put this into context circuit breakers in your home start working when the current reaches 120 volts. 

The northern or southern lights generally happen along the "auroral ovals", these are at the centre of the magnetic poles and they roughly coincide with the Arctic and Antarctic circles. They can however, appear further south when there is alot of sunspots, these occur in a rough 11 year cycle the last happened in 2011/12 where many people enjoyed the northern lights outside their normal range. 

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What causes heat haze?

The appearance of any object depends on the optical properties if the air between you and the object or person. These are determined by the density and temperature of the air, so any source of heat, maybe from a barbecue or the sun can cause uneven changes to the density of the air. These changes produce optical distortions which we know to be heat haze.

How is our genetic code stored?

Genes define who we are. This genetic information is coded into our DNA, which has four bases, A, C, G and T that pair up in complementary base pairings. These bases are like instructions to make a protein. Humans have an estimated 20,500 genes that vary in length in each cell.  And if you were to stitch all 46 human chromosomes they would measure nearly 2m. They determine all aspects of how the body works, from your physical appearance to the biochemical reactions that happen deep inside your body.

Every individual has two copies of every gene, one which is inherited from each parent. Within your body there are several alleles of each gene. Alleles are different forms of the same genetic code with minor alterations within the code. Overall these alleles perform the same function, but the subtle differences within the code makes each of us unique.

Inside each of our cells ( except red blood cells) is a nucleus where our genetic information is stored. The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is made up of A (adenine), C (cytosine), G (guanine) and T (thymine). Francis Crick who was partly credited with the discovery of DNA put it "DNA makes RNA, RNA makes proteins and proteins make us" 

RNA is ribonucleic acid which is a temporary copy of the DNA which enables it to be carried out into the cytoplasm (outside the nucleus) to the ribosomes which is where the proteins are made. This copying means that each cell can retain the same DNA with the new cell being identical to the first.

How does sunscreen work?

Sunscreen is made up of a mixture of organic and inorganic particles to protect your body from potentially harmful UV radiation. The sunlight is made up of various different types of UV radiation; these include UVA, UVB and UVC radiation. Each of these types of UV radiation is of different wavelength which makes the sunscreen easier or harder to protect your skin from burning. For example UVC radiation has a wavelength of 280 -100mm, this very short wavelength radiation are blocked by the earth’s atmosphere even before it reaches you. But not all sunscreens protect against UVA radiation and over exposure to this type of radiation can, over time cause skin cancer.

The organic particles within the sunscreen (often a chemical called octyl methoxycinnamate or oxybenzone) absorb the rays; these are then dissipated within the body as heat which therefore prevents your skin burning. The inorganic particles (often zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) reflect and scatter the radiation which forms a physical barrier and therefore also helps prevent the skin from burning. It is these inorganic particles in the sunscreen which makes it appear white; however nowadays the particles are so small the sunscreen is clear so you can’t see it.

Clearly labelled on every sunscreen bottle is the “SPF” which stands for the sun protection factor. This only measures the amount of UVB radiation protection which that particular sunscreen provides. This SPF works on the basis that you would burn if you were in direct sunlight for one hour and therefore with an SPF 15 you could stay in the sun for fifteen hours. However this should only be treated as a basis given that there is a higher level of UV radiation at midday since the sun is lower in the sky. So the amount of time that you can spend safely out in the sun depends on the time of day as well as the level of sunscreen that you have applied and how well the sunscreen has been absorbed.

Is the sun actually good for you?

Thunderstorms earlier today across the south east of the UK marked the climax of the heat wave that brought the hottest temperatures in seven years. The temperature even reached 33^oC in Heathrow, London yesterday. But is the sun actually good for you?

Sure the sun has some health benefits as is widely known, for example it can decrease your chances of getting diseases like Rickets, which is a painful bone softening condition caused by a vitamin D deficiency. As little as

half an hour of sunshine can provide you with more vitamin D than in six tablespoons of cod liver oil or 200 eggs.  Recently the British Medical Journal reported a rise in the number of cases of rickets, which has been blamed due to children staying indoors playing on video games, however much like any disease or illness there are a lot more causes of rickets. For example if you have darker skin you are more susceptible to rickets, so a growing number of cultural backgrounds in the UK could possibly also be partly to blame.

Are you one of the 250,000,000 nut allergy sufferers in the UK? If so then you may well be surprised to find out that if you were to live in Australia, or anywhere in the less sunny south then you would be more prone to develop or to have an allergy to eggs or peanuts than children who live in the north almost 4,800km closer to the equator and which would therefore have a hotter climate. Those are also twice as likely to develop eczema. Researchers at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry now want to go on to look at if this is down to a Vitamin D deficiency or other factors such as temperature.

Some would quite understandably stay indoors in the tropical conditions and may not like the sun surprisingly you have good reasons to do so, for example some believe that the sun can bring on a tanning addiction. For example some regular beachgoers of the Glaveston Island beach in Texas were showing signs of substance abuse and no not alcohol or narcotics such as heroin or cocaine! The substance was actually UV radiation. The sensation of the UV radiation on the skin creates a feeling of wellbeing, this feeling can actually lead to a physical dependence and lead to obsessive tanning, both indoors and outdoors.

Amongst other effects such as skin cancer or going blind, the “Tortoise face” is one that all of us are presumably keen to avoid, a combination of UVA and UVB radiation (different types of UV radiation) can cause the skin to thicken and loose its natural elasticity. This could well lead to premature aging, wrinkles and bags under your eyes!