Latest news with #DurhamUniversity
Observer
3 days ago
- Science
- Observer
The Tradition of Beekeeping in Oman
Across Oman's rugged landscapes, a skilled yet vital tradition continues to thrive — one that hums gently through oases, mountain terraces, and acacia-dotted wadis: beekeeping. As the worldmarked World Bee Day earlier this year, Oman's story was one of heritage and the close relationship between people and nature. Long before honey filled shelves in shops, Omanis tended to bees using practices handed down through generations. Two native species — the small but hardy Apis florea, known locally as Abu Tuwaiq (Father of the Little Collar), and the larger Apis mellifera jemenitica — have been part of Oman's ecosystem and livelihoods for centuries. While the Little Bee is known for foraging in high temperatures and building its single wax comb in trees — and absconding when disturbed — the Big Bee prefers the security of a hive and forages for nectar and pollen in the cooler early mornings and late afternoons. The Big Bee is naturally found in Dhofar and, since the 1600s, has been kept in log hives within the shelter of deep wadis (Sahtan; Bani 'Awf; Bani Kharus) that drain the northern mountains near Rustaq. They were probably introduced, from Yemen, by Imam Saif bin Sultan. Behind these bees are the people who have quietly nurtured them — Omani beekeepers whose skills have produced not only honey but also preserved a profound relationship between land and life. One of the earliest foreign researchers to recognise this was Robert Whitcombe, a young British ecologist who arrived in Oman in 1977. Initially part of a rural development project involving Durham University in the UK, Petroleum Development Oman, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Robert became captivated by the bees — and the people who kept them. C:fakepathIMG_4018 'Oman was little-known back then,' he recalls, 'but I was made welcome and worked closely with farmers. They shared their intimate knowledge of bees and the Omani flora — the source of several delicious honeys despite a harsh climate.' Robert and his colleagues introduced modern hives in the 1970s and 80s, but while his connection to Omani beekeeping persisted, his ecological research expanded into environmental and national planning roles. 'Omani beekeepers are guardians of nature,' he states. 'I've witnessed the close relationship between people and the landscape that sustains them. While Oman has made enormous strides in urban development, the importance of planning that cherishes rural areas should not be overlooked. These areas conserve vital elements of Oman's cultural and natural heritage and offer opportunities for sustainable livelihoods linked to tourism.' One such guardian was the late Nasr Ahmed Al Ghaythi, a dedicated beekeeper from Zahib near Al Mudhaybi, who managed over 30 colonies of Little Bees — probably more than anyone else in the world. His eldest son, Ahmad, reflects: 'My father didn't just keep bees. He trekked into the mountains to find wild colonies, carefully relocated them to our farm, and nurtured them like children. Beekeeping wasn't just a craft for him; honey was not merely food but how he supported our family.' Today, tradition and innovation live on in Misfat Al Abriyeen, where beekeeper Ahmed Mohammed Saif Al Abri has turned a hobby into a thriving business. Starting with just four hives in 1997, Ahmed now tends over 200, exports honey, and offers guided tours. 'We explain our methods to visitors and let them taste Sidr and Samr honey. It's become a way to support the village and share our culture,' he says. These efforts are part of a broader movement to promote eco-tourism and rural livelihoods, supported by local community figures like Abdulrahman Al Abri, founder of Canyon Adventures and Tours. His work connects communities to responsible mountain tourism and environmental education in Al Hamra, Misfah, and further afield in Wukan and Suwgrah. In May, the British Omani Society celebrated the publication of Honeybees in Oman, a book that tells the story of the Little and Big Bees and their guardians. Through a charitable initiative, the Society showcased illustrations by artist Jenny Ryrie. Proceeds from the sale of the original artwork will support conservation efforts led by the Environmental Society of Oman (ESO). Paintings are still available for those wishing to support this cause. As Oman modernises, conservationists emphasise that rural heritage must not be left behind. 'Honeybees are a barometer of environmental health,' says Robert. 'When we protect them, we protect much more — landscape, biodiversity, cultural identity, and sustainable livelihoods.' In a world under increasing environmental pressure, Oman's bees — and their quiet guardians — offer more than just honey. They remind us that some of the most vital treasures are also the smallest, humming softly amidst wildflowers and palms.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
What astronomers recently discovered about space using supercomputers
There could be many more satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way than previously thought or observed, according to astronomers. As many as 100 undiscovered galaxies that are too faint to be seen could be surrounding the galaxy that houses Earth and the solar system, new research has found. MORE: Webb telescope discovers stars forming in 'toe beans' of Cat's Paw Nebula Cosmologists at Durham University in England made the discovery using a new technique that combines the highest-resolution supercomputer simulations in existence with mathematical modeling, they announced at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Durham on Friday. The supercomputer predicted the existence of missing "orphan" galaxies -- suggesting that up to 100 or more satellite galaxies are orbiting the Milky Way at close distances. "We know the Milky Way has some 60 confirmed companion satellite galaxies, but we think there should be dozens more of these faint galaxies orbiting around the Milky Way at close distances," said Isabel Santos-Santos, the lead researcher at Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology, in a statement. If the galaxies are seen by telescopes, it could provide strong support for the theory on Lambda Cold Dark Matter -- the standard model of cosmology that explains the large-scale structure how galaxies form, the researchers said. The model suggests that galaxies form in the center of "gigantic" clumps of dark matter called halos and hypothesizes that ordinary matter in the form of atoms represents only 5% of the Universe's total content, while 25% is cold dark matter, and the remaining 70% is dark energy. MORE: Astronomers spot 'interstellar object' speeding through solar system Most of the galaxies in the Universe are satellite low-mass dwarf galaxies that orbit around a more massive galaxy, such as the Milky Way, according to astronomers. The existence of these galaxies poses challenges to LCDM because the model suggests the presence of many more companion galaxies than previous simulations have produced, the researchers said. But the new technique allowed the scientists to track the abundance, distribution and properties of the orphan galaxies. The model provides "clear illustration" of the power of physics and mathematics, Carlos Frenk, a co-researcher at the Institute for Computational Cosmology, said in a statement. "Using the laws of physics, solved using a large supercomputer, and mathematical modelling we can make precise predictions that astronomers, equipped with new, powerful telescopes, can test," Frenk said. "It doesn't get much better than this." Existing cosmological simulations do not have the resolution needed to study the faint satellite galaxies, the experts said. They also lack the precision needed to study the evolution of the small dark matter halos that host the dwarf galaxies, which leads to the artificial disruption of some halos, according to the researchers. "If our predictions are right, it adds more weight to the Lambda Cold Dark Matter theory of the formation and evolution of structure in the Universe," Santos-Santos said. MORE: How astronomers used gravitational lensing to discover 44 new stars in distant galaxy New advances in telescopes and instruments could eventually give astronomers the ability to detect the faint objects through viewing. "One day soon we may be able to see these 'missing' galaxies, which would be hugely exciting and could tell us more about how the Universe came to be as we see it today," Santos-Santos said.
CBC
4 days ago
- Science
- CBC
This plant peacefully houses warring ant species by giving them their own apartments
When Guillaume Chomicki sliced into the bulbous part of a plant growing on the side of a tree in Fiji, he expected to find it filled with ants. After all, it was Chomicki and his colleagues who first proved that Squamellaria plants have a symbiotic relationship with ants, providing shelter in exchange for nutrients. What he didn't expect, though, was to discover two colonies of ants from two different species inside the same basketball-ball sized tuber. "It doesn't really make sense," Chomicki, an evolutionary biologist at the U.K.'s Durham University, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "Ants are known to be very aggressive and territorial." Chomicki is the lead author of a new study, published in Science, that shows how Squamellaria plants house warring species of ants by building them their own little walled-off compartments with separate entrances. The researchers liken it to a landlord/tenant relationship. Gotta keep 'em separated Squamellaria plants are epiphytes, which means they don't have roots that attach to the soil. Instead, they grow on top of other plants and trees. They produce round, mostly hollow tubers that Chomicki says are like "huge potatoes the size of a soccer ball or even larger." In Fiji, they're known locally as "testicles of the trees." "They are huge, quite hairy dangling things up the trees. So I think the name is quite self-explanatory," Chomicki said. Because these plants are not rooted, they rely on other sources for their nutrients. That's where the ants come in. The tubers make for excellent accommodations for ant colonies, giving them protection from the elements and predators. In turn, the ants fill the tubers with detritus and defecation, which provide sustenance for the plant. But while Squamellaria love ants, and ants love Squamellaria, ants don't usually like other groups of ants. "In general, a species does not co-operate with multiple unrelated partners," Chomicki said. "Because the same partners would be competing for the same resources, and that could lead to the collapse of the whole system." Squamellaria plants, it turns out, have a solution to this conundrum. Chomicki says 3D scans reveal the tubers contain a "network of galleries." "These galleries are not carved by the ants. They are made by the plant itself. It's all plant genetics," Chomicki said. "All the ants are in different compartments, and that's exactly what makes the system stable." Breaking down barriers leads to carnage Each compartment has its own entrance to outside, the study found, but they are completely walled off from each other. When Chomicki and his colleagues broke down those walls to see what would happen, all hell broke loose. "They have been living together for years, but the second that I cut these walls that separate them, a huge fight broke [out], and in half an hour, pretty much all the ants were dead," he said. Aaron Fairweather, an entomologist in Guelph, Ont., who wasn't involved in the study, called it "super cool," and says the findings illustrate the "incredible world of complexity in these micro-habitats." "I've studied a lot of ant/plant interactions," they said. "Finding out about, you know, the kind of apartment-style situation that this plant has with a bunch of different ant species is just really fascinating." Fairweather wasn't surprised to learn the ants in the Squamellaria plants fought to the death once they were made aware of each other's existence. There are an estimated 20 quadrillion ants on the planet, and Fairweather says they often wage war with each other. "One of the interesting things about ants is they are so successful in the environment that they no longer really need to compete with environmental factors or other species per se," Fairweather told CBC. "But they have to compete with other ants, which are as successful as them." And when they fight, Fairweather says, it's not pretty. "They start grabbing legs and tearing off limbs and antennae go flying and heads are popping," they said. "It's brutal." All the more reason, then, for them to have some space to themselves inside their Squamellaria homes. "Forming symbiosis with multiple ... species of ants is something that that theory was always predicting is not possible. You know, the system cannot be stable. And here I've shown that this is actually possible," Chomicki said.
4 days ago
- Science
100 undiscovered galaxies could be orbiting the Milky Way, according to new research
There could be many more satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way than previously thought or observed, according to astronomers. As many as 100 undiscovered galaxies that are too faint to be seen could be surrounding the galaxy that houses Earth and the solar system, new research has found. Cosmologists at Durham University in England made the discovery using a new technique that combines the highest-resolution supercomputer simulations in existence with mathematical modeling, they announced at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Durham on Friday. The supercomputer predicted the existence of missing "orphan" galaxies -- suggesting that up to 100 or more satellite galaxies are orbiting the Milky Way at close distances. "We know the Milky Way has some 60 confirmed companion satellite galaxies, but we think there should be dozens more of these faint galaxies orbiting around the Milky Way at close distances," said Isabel Santos-Santos, the lead researcher at Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology, in a statement. If the galaxies are seen by telescopes, it could provide strong support for the theory on Lambda Cold Dark Matter -- the standard model of cosmology that explains the large-scale structure how galaxies form, the researchers said. The model suggests that galaxies form in the center of "gigantic" clumps of dark matter called halos and hypothesizes that ordinary matter in the form of atoms represents only 5% of the Universe's total content, while 25% is cold dark matter, and the remaining 70% is dark energy. Most of the galaxies in the Universe are satellite low-mass dwarf galaxies that orbit around a more massive galaxy, such as the Milky Way, according to astronomers. The existence of these galaxies poses challenges to LCDM because the model suggests the presence of many more companion galaxies than previous simulations have produced, the researchers said. But the new technique allowed the scientists to track the abundance, distribution and properties of the orphan galaxies. The model provides "clear illustration" of the power of physics and mathematics, Carlos Frenk, a co-researcher at the Institute for Computational Cosmology, said in a statement. "Using the laws of physics, solved using a large supercomputer, and mathematical modelling we can make precise predictions that astronomers, equipped with new, powerful telescopes, can test," Frenk said. "It doesn't get much better than this." Existing cosmological simulations do not have the resolution needed to study the faint satellite galaxies, the experts said. They also lack the precision needed to study the evolution of the small dark matter halos that host the dwarf galaxies, which leads to the artificial disruption of some halos, according to the researchers. "If our predictions are right, it adds more weight to the Lambda Cold Dark Matter theory of the formation and evolution of structure in the Universe," Santos-Santos said. New advances in telescopes and instruments could eventually give astronomers the ability to detect the faint objects through viewing. "One day soon we may be able to see these 'missing' galaxies, which would be hugely exciting and could tell us more about how the Universe came to be as we see it today," Santos-Santos said.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
100 undiscovered galaxies may be orbiting the Milky Way, supercomputer simulations hint
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Milky Way may be surrounded by dozens of yet-to-be-detected satellite galaxies, scientists claim. Using the highest-resolution simulation of our galaxy's dark matter — an invisible entity that shapes the large-scale structure of the universe — and new mathematical models, cosmologists predict that more than 100 additional satellite galaxies beyond the ones already cataloged may be swirling around our own. If those galaxies are spotted by telescopes, they could offer support for the standard model of cosmology — the dominant model of our universe that explains how galaxies form. The researchers presented their findings July 11 at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Durham, England. "We know the Milky Way has some 60 confirmed companion satellite galaxies, but we think there should be dozens more of these faint galaxies orbiting around the Milky Way at close distances," lead researcher Isabel Santos-Santos, a graduate student at Durham University, said in a statement. "One day soon we may be able to see these 'missing' galaxies, which would be hugely exciting and could tell us more about how the Universe came to be as we see it today." According to the standard theory of cosmology, known as lambda cold dark matter (LCDM), both dwarf galaxies and large ones such as our own take shape within clumps called galactic halos. These vast spheres of stars float like leaves on a pond of dark matter, the mysterious substance believed to make up 85% of the universe's matter. Dark matter doesn't reflect light, so it hasn't been observed directly. But scientists see evidence for it in the shapes of galaxies, the warping of starlight as it passes through them, and the acceleration of stars to otherwise inexplicable speeds as they orbit galactic centers. Related: Scientists discover rare planet at the edge of the Milky Way using space-time phenomenon predicted by Einstein This dark matter halo gives the Milky Way a hefty gravitational pull. The pull is so strong, in fact, that over the course of billions of years, it has captured a number of dwarf galaxies (those containing less than a few billion stars) as satellites. Despite being predicted as plentiful by LCDM, satellite galaxies are faint and therefore hard to detect; many more should exist than astronomers have been able to observe or even simulate. Taken at face value, their absence is yet another crack of doubt in the standard model of cosmology. But the scientists behind the new research propose a reason for this lack of supporting evidence, at least within simulations: They're not precise enough to model galaxy evolution, so the simulated halos get disrupted, leading to the loss of their satellite galaxies. RELATED STORIES —'This doesn't appear in computer simulations': Hubble maps chaotic history of Andromeda galaxy, and it's nothing like scientists expected —Unproven Einstein theory of 'gravitational memory' may be real after all, new study hints —Fast radio burst traced to the outskirts of an ancient 'graveyard' galaxy — and the cause remains a mystery To better simulate the possible hidden galaxies, the astronomers turned to the Aquarius simulation, the highest-resolution reconstruction of a Milky Way dark-matter halo. They used the Aquarius simulation to run the GALFORM model — a code that tracks gas cooling, stars forming and matter clumping to form galaxies similar to our own. According to the simulation, dwarf galaxies have been orbiting the Milky Way for much of the universe's life. Yet during their repeated passes, their dark matter and stars were gradually snatched away by the Milky Way's enormous galactic halo, causing them to appear extremely faint in the present day. This means that anywhere from 80 to over 100 more dwarf galaxies might exist around our galaxy's outskirts, according to the researchers. If these galaxies are really there, it may not be long before they're detected; the new Vera Rubin Observatory, which is equipped with the largest digital camera ever constructed, could resolve some of these hidden galaxies. "If the population of very faint satellites that we are predicting is discovered with new data, it would be a remarkable success of the LCDM theory of galaxy formation," co-researcher Carlos Frenk, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Durham, said in the statement. "It would also provide a clear illustration of the power of physics and mathematics. Using the laws of physics, solved using a large supercomputer, and mathematical modelling we can make precise predictions that astronomers, equipped with new, powerful telescopes, can test."
