Topological control of chirality and spin with structured light - Light: Science & Applications - Nature

IntroductionArtificial light at night (ALAN)Global insect decline is a major environmental problem with implications for many important ecosystem services1,2. In this context, artificial light at night (ALAN) has emerged as a significant environmental stressor (light pollution), with wide-ranging effects on both terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems3,4,5, particularly for nocturnal species6. Besides being able to influence offspring developmental time and number7, ALAN interferes with many photoperiodic responses. This includes e.g. a regulation of diapause induction of moth species, resulting in miss-timed development and increased mortality8,9. ALAN further disrupts natural behaviours such as foraging, mating and migration across various taxa10,11,12,13,14. Moreover, nocturnal activity of insects may be higher than diurnal activity (with large differences between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems), indicating that a large proportion of species interactions will be affected11,15.

With 302 neurons, 200 of them in their heads, hermaphrodite female roundworms reveal surprising sex-specific differences in the nervous system and how these differences influence behavior, reproduction, and aging. Researchers at Northeastern University compared brain activity in male and hermaphroditic Caenorhabditis elegans, a microscopic worm widely used in biological research to understand how sex wires males and female nervous systems differently.

Artist’s concept of the new dinosaur species Invictibellatrix amberina, along with the fossil from which it was identified. The fossil had been sitting in a drawer for 100 years, until researchers pulled it out and became curious. Image via Sergey Krasovskiy and Pedro Salas/ Natural History Museum London. You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter.

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a new view of NGC 1827, an intermediate spiral galaxy seen edge-on in the constellation Columba. This Hubble image shows the edge-on, intermediate spiral galaxy NGC 1827. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Michael Jones, California Institute of Technology / Gladys Kober, NASA / Catholic University of America.