​In-flight turbulence intensifies ● Space flights affect astronauts’ brains ● Record temperatures just recorded in Siberia

Turbulence increases during flights

Are you afraid of flying? If so, we don’t have the best news for you. In fact, not us, but a team of specialists from the University of Reading, UK, in a study recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The researchers analyzed data from 1979-2020 on the amount and scale of turbulence recorded by aircraft during flights. As you have already understood, these phenomena become more and more serious with the passage of time.

The authors of the study believe that climate change is to blame and explain why. Thus, increasingly high air temperatures associated with a high concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere cause significant changes in air flows both vertically and horizontally. And this turns into more and more intense turbulence.

In numbers, this means that from 1979 to 2020, total severe turbulence increased by 55%, while moderate turbulence increased by 37% over the same time period. In fact, what worries experts is that all of this growth is greater than anyone expected given climate projections.

Undoubtedly, similar phenomena will become more frequent. And this means more fuel consumption, implicitly higher costs. The good thing is that at least now you’re not in danger of falling out of the plane. In fact, there are no serious reasons for concern, the authors note. In any case, if you are afraid of flying, it is better to skip this news and go straight to the next one.

Spaceflight damages astronauts’ brains

We already know that man is not evolutionarily designed for life in space. After all, we are a product of the environment in which we have lived throughout the history and prehistory of our species. That’s why astronauts undergo countless tests after the mission is over, to be able to see how life in space affects them in every way.

The latest of the studies conducted by NASA in collaboration with specialists from several research centers in the United States, the study, published in the journal Nature, highlights an effect that has so far been little studied. More precisely, it refers to the changes that occur in the morphology of the brain (white matter, gray matter, microstructure, volume of ventricles, etc.).

Tests conducted on 30 astronauts before and after the mission revealed that they suffered from enlargement of the ventricles of the brain, the cavities in which cerebrospinal fluid is produced. The effect of the absence of gravity, causing the respective ventricles to dilate. And the longer the time spent in space, the greater the expansion.

Doctors also noted that the recovery period for astronauts who spend more than six months in space is at least three years. None of the 18 tested astronauts (who took part in six-month missions) returned to normal in a shorter period.

So far, there is no data that would give clues about what happens to the brains of astronauts who spend more than six months in space. It is also unknown how the brain will affect long-duration missions. And this will definitely have a big impact on decisions about sending human crews on missions of this kind. Moreover, a permanent lunar base should be built in the coming years, and a mission to Mars is already in NASA’s calculations.

Temperatures unprecedented in history have just been recorded in Siberia

Despite the fact that it is only the beginning of June, a time when Siberia still sometimes snows, this part of the world has been gripped by unusual heat, and temperatures have broken absolutely all records in this matter.

Less than a week ago, at least 37.9 degrees were recorded in Yalturivsk in the shade. Only a few days ago, the weather station in Bayevo, located on the border with Kazakhstan, recorded a maximum of 39.6 degrees Celsius, and in Barnaul – 38.5 degrees.

What’s worse, such negative records fall one after another. Just three years ago, for example, 38 degrees Celsius was recorded in Verkhoyansk, a small town located in the arctic zone in Yakutia. A temperature that is considered impossible in this part of the world. In addition, the forest fires that have affected Siberia over the past decade are the worst in official records.

And not only Siberia suffered. Temperatures of over 45 degrees Celsius were recorded in China in the middle of this week. In Uzbekistan, 43 degrees were recorded, in Kazakhstan – 41. And summer has just begun.

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