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Biden Hosting Congressional Summit on Foreign Aid

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Way back in the 1930s‚ American entomologist Elwood Zimmerman discovered three tiny beautiful bees on tahetahe flowers in Polynesia. While the bees themselves were beautiful‚ what fascinated subsequent entomologists the most was how these tiny insects came to be on the islands – over 4‚000 kilometers (2‚485 miles) away from the nearest other bee population in Hawai'i and 6‚000 kilometers (3‚728 miles) away from Australia. Well‚ 59 years later the mystery has finally been solved thanks to some long-handled nets.The original three tiny bees were kept in the Bernice P Bishop Museum of Honolulu until 1965‚ when they were formally described as Tuamotu’s masked bee (Hylaeus tuamotuensis) by bee specialist Professor Charles Michener. After that‚ the species was not seen again‚ leading to fear that the bees may have gone extinct. Now‚ researchers have discovered eight more new species in the genus Hylaeus discovered between 2014 and 2019 that are all related to the original Tuamotu’s masked bee species.       Six of the eight species were found in Fiji‚ with one found in Polynesia and one species discovered in Micronesia. Using morphological features and DNA data they were able to distinguish the eight species and provide evidence of the hylaeine bees in the South Pacific east of Vanuatu that have never been recorded before. “Here we show that‚ despite almost a decade of sampling for bees in Fiji‚ there is a whole group of species that flew right over our heads until now. By exploring new sampling techniques‚ we discovered an unknown species radiation of Hylaeus masked bees in the forest canopy‚” said Dr James Dorey – lecturer at the University of Wollongong‚ adjunct lecturer at Flinders University‚ and lead author of the study – in a statement.What made this discovery possible was a change in sampling method; previous trips had focused on sampling from flowering plants found at ground level‚ while the new species were discovered in the tree canopy. “It wasn’t until we brought very long nets to Fiji and started collecting from the trees that we started to find our mysterious little bees. Maybe we should not be surprised when the etymology of Hylaeus might mean ‘belonging to the forest’‚” said Dorey.While the bees might not have been able to travel the enormous distance between Hawai'i and Polynesia in one go‚ the team thinks they are likely to find more species in the hundreds of small islands that lie between‚ especially since they now know where to look. They strongly suggest that other research trips focus on looking in the canopy to uncover more previously overlooked bee species. This discovery also helps explain the mystery of how the bees came to be on these far-flung islands in the first place. Mount Tomanivi is Fiji’s highest peak‚ and while it is home to bee species has yet to be sampled for the Hylaeus genus.Image Credit: James Dorey Photography CC BY“With these bees we can solve the mystery: the ancestors of H. tuamotuensis reached French Polynesia by island-hopping via Fiji and the southwest Pacific!” continued Dorey.The team also suggests that strong weather could have dispersed the bees across different islands. “Because most masked bees nest in wood‚ it’s likely that they rafted between islands‚ especially when tropical cyclones wash masses of plant materials down rivers and out to sea. It is also possible that they were blown by high winds‚ but that would have been a much more perilous journey for our little bees‚” said Dorey.One of the new species has been named veli’s Hylaeus in reference to the veli of folklore in Fiji who are known as powerful people associated with the forest. “Hence‚ the name is meant to invoke a sense of responsibility for protecting these new forest-specialist species and their trees‚” reminded the authors.The paper is published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

With the planet getting warmer‚ so too is the frozen layer of ground underneath its coldest regions. According to a new study‚ the thawing of this permafrost could bring with it a significant health hazard to those living in sub-Arctic communities: increased exposure to the cancer-causing gas‚ radon.Permafrost – a layer of ground frozen for more than two years – normally acts as a protective barrier from gas stores that lie beneath our feet‚ including radon. However‚ if it thaws‚ radon may be able to travel to the surface and accumulate in buildings. This presents a potential problem because radon‚ which is naturally occurring and radioactive‚ can also lead to cancer. “Radon is known to be the second most important cause of lung cancer after smoking. Smoking also exacerbates radon-acquired lung cancer rates by about 26 times‚ and smoking is up to 4.4 times more prevalent in Arctic communities‚” said study author Professor Paul Glover in a statement. “Consequently‚ an unexpected plume of radon could represent a dangerous health hazard if it is not planned for."To assess the dangers it might pose with increased permafrost thawing‚ Glover and colleagues modeled radon production and how the gas might flow through soil‚ permafrost‚ and buildings (including those with basements and those without)‚ depending on the depth of the permafrost and how fast it might thaw.The model confirmed that permafrost acts as a barrier‚ but also ends up increasing the concentration of the radon trapped beneath it by up to 12 times. It also revealed that for buildings with basements‚ permafrost thaw could lead to a dramatic and long-lasting increase in radon concentration compared to background levels. Permafrost is often thought of as permanently frozen‚ but climate change is causing it to thaw.Image credit: Margo Photography/Shutterstock.comThough there’s no known safe level of radon‚ for up to seven years‚ the concentration could be greater than the 200 becquerel per cubic meter value used by several countries as a threshold to take action – this can include increasing ventilation and sealing up cracks.“Our results show clearly that the pent-up reservoir of radon can be released into the basements of buildings over a long period and will remain above radiation action levels for four to seven years‚” explained Glover.Although the authors caution that the results are based on a model that made many assumptions‚ the potential health risks to sub-Arctic populations‚ particularly those with lots of smokers‚ still lends them importance.“If the permafrost were stable‚ there would be no cause to be concerned. However‚ it is now widely recognised that climate change is leading to significant thawing of permafrost‚ with a 42 percent expected loss of permafrost in the Arctic Circumpolar Permafrost Region (ACPR) by 2050‚” said Glover.“Since there has been no perceived historical radon problem in these communities and the gas itself is undetectable without specialist devices‚ we regard this as an important and totally avoidable threat to the health of the northern communities.”The study is published in Earth’s Future.

Astronomers have added three new moons to the Solar System. Both Uranus and Neptune have got new companions – well‚ new to us at least – although one was once observed back in 2002 before disappearing from our observations for 22 years. This brings the number of moons in our Solar System to 293.The new Uranian moon is provisionally known as S/2023 U1. Being only 8 kilometers (5 miles) across‚ it is believed to be the smallest moon of the icy planet. It orbits Uranus in 680 days and it is officially the 28th moon known to go around it. It will eventually be given a proper name‚ picked from one of Shakespeare’s plays like all the other moons of the ice giant. S/2023 U1 was discovered on November 4‚ 2023‚ but it was then found in archival images of the planet. All were from ground-based telescopes.“The three newly discovered moons are the faintest ever found around these two ice giant planets using ground-based telescopes‚” the discoverer‚ Carnegie Science’s Scott S. Sheppard‚ said in a statement. “It took special image processing to reveal such faint objects.”The detection of the Neptune moons had a more convoluted process. One of them was first seen in 2002 and then seen again in 2021. The second was discovered in 2021 as well. But it took several observations‚ including with some of the most sensitive ground-based telescopes on the planet. Neptune is 1.5 times further away from the Sun than Uranus‚ so observations are trickier.And these moons are small. The brighter of the two‚ S/2002 N5‚ is 23 kilometers (14 miles) in size and it goes around the planet every nine years. S/2021 N1 is around 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) and has an orbit of almost 27 years. They will be named after Nereids‚ sea nymphs in Greek mythology. There are now 16 confirmed moons of Neptune.“Once S/2002 N5’s orbit around Neptune was determined using the 2021‚ 2022‚ and 2023 observations‚ it was traced back to an object that was spotted near Neptune in 2003 but lost before it could be confirmed as orbiting the planet‚” Sheppard explained. The discovery of these moons shows that all giant planets in the Solar System have similar configurations of distant moons captured by gravity. All four giants had wildly different histories and yet they all showcase the same arrangement of distant satellites.“Even Uranus‚ which is tipped on its side‚ has a similar moon population to the other giant planets orbiting our Sun‚” Sheppard explained. “And Neptune‚ which likely captured the distant Kuiper Belt object Triton– an ice rich body larger than Pluto – an event that could have disrupted its moon system‚ has outer moons that appear similar to its neighbors."The observations allow astronomers to state that no new moons around Uranus and Neptune exist that are larger than 8 and 14 kilometers respectively. For Jupiter and Saturn‚ the limit is much lower‚ with 2 and 3 kilometers (1.2 and 1.8 miles) as the largest possible new moons yet to be discovered.

The Pentagon‚ the US Department of Defense powerhouse in Virginia‚ was the world's largest office building for over eight decades – but not anymore. That title has recently been yanked away by the Surat Diamond Bourse‚ a freshly opened diamond trading floor in western India.The Surat Diamond Bourse consists of nine towers‚ each with 15 floors‚ connected by a central spine. According to Morphogenesis‚ the architecture firm behind its design‚ the building encompasses 660‚451 square meters (7‚109‚045 square feet) of office space‚ surpassing the Pentagon’s floor space of 620‚000 square meters (6‚636‚360 square feet). As its name suggests‚ its prime business will be diamond dealing‚ housing the offices of over 4‚500 diamond traders. It will also feature a first-of-its-kind diamond mall‚ including 27 diamond jewellery showrooms.The structure was built with the environment in mind. While some of the office spaces will feature air conditioners‚ much of the complex will be self-shaded from the sun. Furthermore‚ it’s orientated to maximize natural ventilation from the wind‚ and features an extensive array of solar panels on its roof. The dazzling building was opened at an inauguration ceremony on December 17‚ 2023‚ attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It’s set to become the centerpiece of the Diamond Research and Mercantile City (DREAM)‚ an up-and-coming business district in Surat. Currently‚ much of the surrounding landscape is merely cleared land and constructed sites‚ but the area has aspirations of becoming the diamond capital of the world.                              IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.India is not even in the top 10 producers of diamonds in the world‚ but the city of Surat has risen to become an important hub in the diamond trade‚ where 90 percent of the planet’s processed diamonds are cut.In years gone by‚ diamond dealers would have to travel 241 kilometers (150 miles) southwards to Mumbai to do business‚ but the Surat Diamond Bourse hopes to save that commute and offer merchants a one-stop destination for trade. However‚ there are some reservations that the diamond trading mega-complex may be all glitz and no substance‚ according to The Times of India. Kiran Gems – an industry giant that played an instrumental role in the building’s development – relocated their HQ back to the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai just three months after moving to the Surat Diamond Bourse. This has led to some speculation about whether the grand plan will flop in the face of competition from Mumbai."There is always resistance to change. Even if Surat is not happening today‚ it will progress within five years‚" Tehmasp Printer‚ CEO of International Gemological Institute‚ told the Indian newspaper. "The good news is that the world-class infrastructure is ready. Now‚ the city needs to rev up‚ ensure better connectivity‚ get hotels‚ hospitals and schools"‚ he added.