Latest news with #UniversityofArizona
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Savannah James reveals she stepped out of her comfort zone for Zhuri, shares heartwarming video of her involvement in building her brand
Savannah James, entrepreneur and wife of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, recently launched her skincare line. She has now shared the story behind the creation of the brand, and it has a connection to her only daughter, Zhuri Nova. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Her fans were impressed with her heartwarming story, cheered for her, and showed their interest in her new venture on Instagram. Zhuri is 10 and plays volleyball as a sport. Savannah James pens a note as she shares her brand story Savannah James shared a video of how she worked for hours to come out with the brand. It also includes a glimpse of Zhuri. She wrote along with it: 'A few years back, my daughter Zhuri looked at me and said that when she grew up, she wanted to be just like me. That moment made me reflect: what blueprint had I established for her to follow?' Coming up with an answer, she further wrote, 'So I stepped out of my comfort zone—for Zhuri, but really for myself. I set out to create a skincare brand that was inclusive—not just of skin tones and types—but of all aspects of culture: fashion, music, art, design. I surrounded myself with experts in every field and let my curiosity guide me. The journey of bringing Reframe to life has been exhilarating and overwhelming. It's proof that doing things in a new way usually means taking the steeper, longer route. But that's exactly why I'm so proud of what we've built: exceptional formulas, expertly crafted, and clinically validated.' She added that she has exclusively used these products for the last two years, and her skin has never felt or looked better. Therefore, she wants her fans to use the brand. Savannah's fans loved her post and showed their enthusiasm for her skincare line. 'And when they hit the shelves we're buying!' reacted a fan. Another wrote, 'Go queen! congrats!!! I'm def excited to try!' One more said, 'Congratulations Savannah! We've been waiting for the skincare routine and you OVER delivered!' A fan also called her 'Perfection.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A fan also wrote a small message for her: 'I understand that you want something tangible for her to admire but just know being her mom was already enough. You are everything and I don't even know you! So poise, always gracious and incredible mother & wife. You have already set the standard of greatness for her! We are all so proud of you!' Also Read: Savannah and LeBron James have three kids, with Zhuri being the youngest. Their two older sons, Bronny and Bryce, have followed in the footsteps of their father by choosing basketball as a career option. While Bronny joined the NBA and went on to play with LeBron as part of the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryce is committed to play for the University of Arizona's Wildcats.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Are we in a sixth mass extinction?
Around 66 million years ago, a six-mile-wide asteroid hit Earth, triggering the extinction of three-quarters of all living species. The age of dinosaurs, which had lasted 165 million years, ended with a fiery crash and suddenly sooty skies. Farther back in our planet's history, volcanic eruptions, rapid climate change, and plummeting oxygen levels have caused at least four additional mass extinctions, with smaller pulses of biodiversity loss also showing up in the fossil record. In each of the five largest events, which spanned anywhere from thousands to tens of millions of years, at least 75 percent of Earth's species died out. These are the most commonly agreed upon major mass extinctions in paleontology. You've also likely heard about a sixth one. Many ecologists and biologists say we're on the precipice (or already in the midst) of another era of mass extinction. This sixth mass extinction, also referred to as the Holocene or Anthropocene extinction, is described as ongoing and caused by human activities. Hunting, overfishing, habitat destruction, human encroachment, and invasive species introductions are the major drivers of the losses incurred thus far. Human-caused climate change is also set to become another factor, as decades of rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and increasingly extreme weather catch up to already stressed ecosystems. It's indisputable that humans shape life on Earth in major ways, and that animals and plants are dying out at an alarming rate. But is it true that our impact is on par with that of an asteroid? Not all scientists agree. There is no question that Earth is losing species fast. 'Biodiversity crisis is a pretty accurate term' to describe the present moment, says John Wiens, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Arizona. 'Extinction crisis' is another, he adds, 'based on the large number of species that are threatened with extinction.' Five other experts that Popular Science corresponded with for this article all agree on this 'crisis' terminology. In comparison with background levels of extinction, all of our sources said that current extinction rates are much higher. Extinction isn't always a sign of disaster. It's also a natural outcome of evolution. As species diverge, compete, and struggle to survive, not all of them make it long-term. Conditions on Earth shift over geologic time, and those forces inevitably lead to some dead ends on the tree of life. [ Related: Earth's 5 catastrophic mass extinctions, explained. ] However, throughout most of our planet's history, the rate of new species emerging has exceeded the rate of species dying out, says Gerardo Ceballos, an ecologist and conservation biologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Thus, biodiversity normally exists in a positive balance. Currently, we're losing species far faster than new ones emerge. Present extinction rates are up to 100 times faster than background levels, according to one 2015 study co-authored by Ceballos. In that analysis, Ceballos and his colleagues estimated the natural vertebrate extinction rate sits at around two species lost per 10,000 species each century. Then, they compared that statistic with the number of confirmed and likely extinctions recorded on the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. They determined that, even using conservative numbers, the extinction rate for every vertebrate group was between eight and 100 times the background rate. The species losses incurred in the past 100 years would have taken thousands of years to occur naturally, per the assessment. Other counts find the current rate of extinction is even higher. One often cited 2014 study concluded Earth is losing species 1,000 times faster than natural background rates. That analysis also reported the level of loss is poised to accelerate to 10,000 times the background rate in the near future. These numbers vary widely in large part because the estimates of background extinction rates are difficult to pin down. The fossil record is incomplete, so scientists generally rely on mathematical models and reconstructions of the past to determine what was once alive and when it died out. Small shifts in starting assumptions can lead to major changes in the final calculations. The time period you're calculating average extinction rate over and types of organisms you're assessing also impact the result. This same ambiguity in estimating extinction rate persists in the present. Though Wiens describes our moment as a biodiversity crisis, he doesn't believe it meets the bar for a sixth mass extinction. 'No one has provided a quantitative analysis that has really shown that,' he says. If the top five major mass extinctions in the paleontological record each killed off at least 75 percent of species at the time, then the sixth one should theoretically cross the same threshold. Yet so far, the IUCN has confirmed fewer than 1,000 extinctions from the past 500 years–just about 0.1 percent of all known species, according to an analysis co-authored by Wiens in April. We have not catalogued every living species, and the IUCN is far from having assessed all known species. The IUCN database is also biased, skewing towards large, charismatic vertebrates and wealthy regions like North America. The criteria for extinction are strict, requiring extensive surveys, and yet sometimes species reappear after being declared gone forever. Still, the IUCN dataset is among the best windows we have into the state of life on Earth, and it suggests there's a way to go before three quarters of species are gone. [ Related: Earth's 'Great Dying' killed 80-90% of life. How some amphibians survived. ] However, it's worth noting that other assessments estimate a much higher proportion of species have already disappeared. One 2022 paper, which extrapolated extinction rates from data on mollusks, found that upwards of 10 percent of all species may have gone extinct in the past 500 years. And, those like Ceballos who argue a major mass extinction has already begun, point to calculations that indicate we could reach that grim, 75 percent mile marker in just a few centuries. If all IUCN threatened species went extinct in the next 100 years, and that rate of species loss continued, Earth would surpass 75 percent loss of species across most vertebrate animal groups in under 550 years, according to a landmark 2011 review paper. This study published in Nature, remains among the most thorough quantitative assessments of extinction trends. Yet to write every threatened species off as doomed to imminent extinction would be a mistake, says Stuart Pimm, a conservation biologist at Duke University and president of the conservation non-profit, Saving Nature. 'We have no idea what the future is,' he says. And, in the meantime, 'there's a lot of things we can do.' Pimm points to conservation success stories like the rebound of certain baleen whale populations and the stabilization of savanna elephant numbers over the past 25 years. He worries that claims about the sixth extinction might leave the public resigned to what might otherwise be a preventable catastrophe. 'It's not inevitable,' Pimm says. From the paleontological perspective, mass extinctions are something that can only be definitively confirmed in the past tense. They are defined based on the proportion of species that existed before, but not after a cataclysmic event like a major asteroid strike. If there's not yet an after, it's impossible to say for sure what number of lineages died out. There are no crystal balls in science. And in that uncertainty, there's room for hope that we could stop species from sliding off the cliff. But nearly half of all animals are losing population worldwide, according to a 2023 estimate, based on trend data for more than 71,000 species. Barring exceptional levels of investment and intervention, lots of species are already doomed to extinction, says Sarah Otto, an evolutionary biologist at the University of British Columbia. 'Many of the extinctions we think that humans are causing haven't actually happened yet. These are the 'living dead' species whose population sizes are small, whose habitats are fragmented,' she explains. 'There's a lot of extinction debt.' [ Related: An 'ancestral bottleneck' took out nearly 99 percent of the human population 800,000 years ago. ] A 2020 report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that an average of 25 percent of species across animal and plant groups are threatened with extinction within decades, and that the human impacts to blame are intensifying. Without preventative action, as species disappear, 'there will be a further acceleration in the global rate of species extinction,' the report authors write. Species depend on one another for survival, Otto notes. For example, in our acidifying and warming oceans, coral reefs are teetering on the brink. If they go, then the fate of the many species dependent on the infrastructure they provide is unclear. Major losses of marine life could then have knock-on effects on land. Notably, the IPBES report doesn't directly consider the influence of climate change on future extinction rate. If it did, 'those projected numbers could really go up,' says under Wiens' comparatively rosy outlook, he still expects 12 to 40 percent species losses over the next century. And if species don't disappear across their entire ranges, local losses and population declines can still have major repercussions for ecosystem function and human society. The 75 percent threshold is an arbitrary line, Otto notes. Lots can go wrong before we officially place sixth in the world's worst contest. Human impacts on biodiversity 'will be seen in the fossil record,' she says. 'Whether or not it's going to be up there in the top six is really a matter of what we do next.' This story is part of Popular Science's Ask Us Anything series, where we answer your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the ordinary to the off-the-wall. Have something you've always wanted to know? Ask us.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Uranus changed structure and brightened significantly, study finds
A new study revealed Uranus's structure as a planet changed and brightened significantly over the past 20 years. The study, performed by researchers from the University of Arizona and the University of Wisconsin, observed Uranus four times (2002, 2012, 2015, 2022) in the 20 years using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. 'Hubble observations suggest complex atmospheric circulation patterns on Uranus during this period, NASA said. 'The data that are most sensitive to the methane distribution indicate a downwelling in the polar regions and upwelling in other regions,' the agency added. Researchers discovered the south polar region of the planet got darker in winter shadow, while the north polar region brightened as it began to come into a more direct view as northern summer approached. Uranus's atmosphere is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, with a small amount of methane and traces of water and ammonia. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
2 days ago
- Science
- The Hill
Uranus changed structure and brightened significantly, study finds
A new study revealed Uranus's structure as a planet changed and brightened significantly over the past 20 years. The study, performed by researchers from the University of Arizona and the University of Wisconsin, observed Uranus four times (2002, 2012, 2015, 2022) in the 20 years using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. 'Hubble observations suggest complex atmospheric circulation patterns on Uranus during this period, NASA said. 'The data that are most sensitive to the methane distribution indicate a downwelling in the polar regions and upwelling in other regions,' the agency added. Researchers discovered the south polar region of the planet got darker in winter shadow, while the north polar region brightened as it began to come into a more direct view as northern summer approached. Uranus's atmosphere is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, with a small amount of methane and traces of water and ammonia.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Science
- Indian Express
Scientists uncover new details about Uranus' atmosphere, strange seasons
Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, owes its pale blue-green in colour to its atmosphere which absorbs the red wavelengths of sunlight, according to a new study. The study was published by a research group comprising scientists from the University of Arizona in the US as well as other institutions. It sheds light on the atmospheric composition and complex dynamics governing the mystery planet. The researchers were able to provide new information about Uranus after analysing images of the planet captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope over the last 20 years. The Hubble images of Uranus were taken between 2002 and 2022. As per the study, Uranus' atmosphere is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, along with small amounts of methane as well as minute quantities of water and ammonia. Uranus is located between Saturn and Neptune. As the seventh planet from the Sun, Uranus remains one of the least understood planets in our solar system which is why the new research study may be significant. Scientists who authored the study also provided more information about seasonal changes on the planet. Unlike other planets, Uranus' axis of rotation is nearly parallel to its orbital plane. It is likely that Uranus collided with an Earth-sized object, which might be the reason why it is said to be rotating in an 'overturned' position. As a result, it takes 84 years for the planet to complete one revolution around the Sun. This means that the surface of the planet gets sunshine for 42 years and the next 42-year-period is dark. Over the course of the 20-year-long study, researchers were able to observe only a part of the seasonal change of Uranus' atmosphere. The research builds on existing information about Uranus, like the fact that the planet is composed mainly of water and ammonia ice. It is approximately 51,000 kilometres in diameter, making Uranus four times bigger than the Earth with a mass that is 15 times greater than that of Earth's. Uranus also has 13 rings and 28 moons. NASA's Voyager 2 is the only space probe mission that has explored the planet by conducting a flyby in January 1986. However, the group of scientists behind the new study said that they will continue to observe Uranus and gather more information on seasonal changes in its polar regions.
