Can science solve a seaweed problem? Plus, how COVID affects the brain; staring at the sun; living long in Costa Rica
|  | Wednesday, August 25, 2021 | | | | |
| In today’s newsletter, solving Mexico’s seaweed problem; staring at the sun; how COVID affects the brain; the alphabet soup of government agencies | |
 | VISUALIZATION BY KEL ELKINS, NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
| | By Victoria Jaggard, SCIENCE executive editor
It was the year that Pokémon first aired on American TV, Cher dominated the radio with obvious auto-tune, and (appropriately enough) both Armageddon and Deep Impact were among the 10 highest-grossing films. Arguably, 1998 was also the year that the world got hooked on news reports about potentially hazardous asteroids.
These days the internet is awash in stories about big space rocks sailing near Earth—some coming even closer to us than the moon. Since you’re here calmly reading this newsletter, you know that most of these interlopers don’t ever get close enough to cause significant damage to the planet. It’s tempting to roll my eyes sometimes at the alarmist-sounding headlines. But there is another way to think about it: It’s awesome to see how far we’ve come in finding, cataloging, and tracking near-Earth asteroids, especially since some of them do veer close enough to pose potential impact risks. And that effort got a massive boost in 1998, when astronomers shocked the world with news that a mile-wide asteroid was on a possible collision course with Earth.
As Michael Greshko reports in this month’s edition of National Geographic magazine, scientists have refined that asteroid’s orbit, and it’s not so likely to trigger an apocalypse when it makes its closest approach in 2028. But the kerfuffle spurred Congress to direct NASA to invest more in asteroid tracking, and that happened just as more advanced telescopes were coming online. (Above, the asteroid Bennu is the smallest celestial body ever orbited by a spacecraft; below, a capsule released by the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 landed in the Australian outback in December. It held debris the spacecraft had collected from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu in 2019).
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 | PHOTOGRAPH BY JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION AGENCY (LEFT) AND PHOTOGRAPH BY NORIKO HAYASHI (RIGHT)
| | In the past 23 years, we’ve learned so much more about the cornucopia of asteroids, comets, and other small bodies that litter the space in between the planets. We’ve discovered thousands of fascinatingly complex objects out beyond the orbit of Neptune, which led to the decision 15 years ago to revise the definition of a planet (sorry, Pluto). We’ve visited some of these bodies with spacecraft and found building blocks for life, spurring theories that Earth’s water and maybe also its biological starter kit were delivered by ancient impacts. We’ve even spotted the first known pieces of alien star systems zipping through our cosmic backyard.
The eight classic planets get a lot of the glory, perhaps because humans can see most of them with unaided eyes on a clear night. But it’s the planetary leftovers that may truly hold the keys to solving some of the biggest mysteries about our solar system: How did we get here? Why does life exist (as far as we know) only on Earth? And will our species be able to stop our own annihilation if a space rock takes aim at the planet? With new missions launching and even better telescopes being built, we should soon dramatically increase what we know about small bodies, making this an exciting time for better understanding of our place in the cosmos.
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| Cognitive impact of COVID widespread: Even with mild cases of the coronavirus, some patients are reporting brain fog, forgetfulness, the inability to read text messages, and lack of concentration. Perhaps 30 percent of COVID patients suffer some type of neurological or psychiatric symptoms, and the cognitive issues linger for months after infection. The cause is still a mystery, Emily Mullin reports for Nat Geo.
‘Touch hunger’: Not being able to see and touch loved ones because of social distancing protocols has taken a toll. There are biological reasons we missed hugs, Kory Floyd writes for the Conversation. When people feel deprived of touch, their well-being can suffer. Even in normal times, touch hunger is associated with greater stress, anxiety and loneliness, and lower-quality sleep. Sharing affection with pets can help.
CDC, FDA, NIH… Confused by which governmental agency does what? You’re not alone. Each plays a role in the pandemic at home and abroad. Erin Blakemore spells out their missions and their evolutions for Nat Geo.
Why Costa Ricans live so long: The country’s increase in health is far outpacing its increase in wealth. The per capita income of the Central American country is a sixth of that of the United States, but life expectancy there is 81 years. In the U.S., it was just under 79 in 2014 and has declined since. How did they do it? They’ve made public health a priority for decades, the New Yorker reports. Listen to the article. | | | |
| Harmed by heat: Sugarcane harvesters in Nicaragua toil in the increasingly hotter conditions that climate change has created for agricultural workers around the world. Heat stress-related diseases like chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes have been sickening tens of thousands of workers. The temperature gauge on the chest of this worker represents hope for the future. The device tracks how heat, exertion, and time impact body temperature. The workers are not getting as sick and productivity has increased.
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY PATRICK H. CORKERY, LOCKHEED MARTIN | | | Lucy in the Sky with Asteroids: How did the planets form? How did life happen? Where did Earth’s water come from? To answer questions like these, scientists used to go big—looking at planets, dwarf planets, and moons—but now small is the new big, Michael Greshko tells us in the newest episode of our Overheard podcast. Technology is zooming in on the pint-size stuff—asteroids, comets, meteors, and other chunks of space rock—that couldn’t be studied before, and NASA’s Lucy, a spacecraft designed to visit eight different asteroids near Jupiter, is poised to learn how the secrets inside these small bodies are reshaping ideas about the big old solar system. (Pictured above, a solar array for Lucy unfurls as it’s tested at a Lockheed Martin facility in Colorado).
Subscriber exclusive: Unlocking secrets of the solar system
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY BÉNÉDICTE DESRUS, SIPA USA/AP | | | Trouble in paradise: The Yucatán coastline between Cancún and Tulum, Mexico, is clogged with seaweed, making the water nearly unswimmable and harming marine life. Plus, the macroalgae, called sargassum, stinks, causing illness among beachgoers. Scientists are investigating alternative uses for the sprawling seaweed, from creating biostimulants for farmers to using the seaweed to create plant-based leather and cosmetics, Nat Geo reports. (Pictured above, workers with rakes and a tractor remove sargassum from a Playa del Carmen beach). | | | |
 | | ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW FAZEKAS | | | Sunset sky show: After sunset this week look for a beautiful alignment of four ‘stars’ pinning down the low western sky. The brightest and easiest to locate is planet Venus. Off to its east is 250-light-year-distant Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. To the lower right of the pair, perhaps needing binoculars to punch through the sunset glow, are planets Mercury and Mars. You will need a clear line of sight down to the western horizon to catch these two innermost worlds. Friday late night use binoculars to look for the waning gibbous moon in the east, which will guide you to the green planet Uranus. Look for a trickle of shooting stars as the Alpha-Aurigid meteor shower peaks on Saturday night. Then late-night Sunday and early Monday, look for the moon rising in the east, joined by the bright orange star Aldebaran in Taurus. — Andrew Fazekas | | | |
 | | People talk about children as the next generation of conservationists. I like to call them a ‘new’ generation because children can be conservationists today.” | | | Shivani Bhalla
| Conservation biologist, Nat Geo Explorer
From: For the lions, for Kenya
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 | | VIDEO BY TOM BRIDGMAN AND SCOTT WIESINGGER, NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER | | Our hot spot: Composed of electrified gas called plasma, the sun is an ever-shifting erupting force. As we near the maximum of its 11-year cycle of magnetism, we’ll witness increasingly frequent and extreme outbursts of energy. Take a closer look at the sun now with our interactive guide. Go ahead; it’s safe as long as you keep it virtual. (Pictured above, a coronal mass ejection as seen over three hours from the Solar Dynamics Observatory).
This feature was supported by the National Geographic Society, which through the power of science, exploration, education, and storytelling is committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world. Learn more about the solar system in the National Geographic Society’s education collection.
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This newsletter has been curated and edited by Monica Williams and David Beard, and Jen Tse has selected the photos. Have an idea or a link to share? We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for stopping by!
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