Scientists have discovered the oldest star LAMOST J1010+2358 currently known in the Galactic Halo, enabling experts to broaden their understanding of the evolution of early stars and of the universe.
According to the findings of the study, the star was born in the gas cloud left by a first-generation star having mass up to 260 times our Sun.
The new study was published in the journal Nature Wednesday.
The research was carried out under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and was led by Chinese astronomers at the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC).
The project leader Zhao Gang stated that the first stars illuminated the universe during the cosmic dawn and put an end to the cosmic “dark ages” that followed the Big Bang.
“However, the distribution of their mass is one of the great unsolved mysteries of the cosmos,” he added.
As per the numerical simulations of the formation of the first stars, the mass of the early stars could reach up to masses similar to hundred suns.
This image the remains of RCW 86, the oldest documented example of a supernova. — Nasa/File
Zhao noted: “Among them, the first stars with masses between 140 and 260 solar masses ended up as a special type of supernovae, called pair-instability supernovae [PISN], which would imprint a unique chemical signature in the atmosphere of the next generation of stars.”
However, he underlined, “no direct evidence of such type of supernovae had been previously found.”
Given the star’s chemical characteristics, it is consistent with the theory of PISN.
The first survey was conducted by the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) in China after that the follow-up observation was carried out by the Subaru telescope in Japan, identifying this chemically peculiar star.
“Our discovery is the first clear direct evidence of the existence of a PISN from a very massive first-generation star in the early universe,” Xing Qianfan, a key member of the study said.
Timothy Beers, a professor at the University of Notre Dame in the US, noted: “This paper presents what is, to my knowledge, the first definitive association of a Galactic halo star with an abundance pattern originating from a PISN.”
Wang Xiaofeng, a professor at Tsinghua University, said that the “next generation stars carry the elemental imprints formed by the evolution and death of the previous generation stars.”
“It’s like we can trace the characteristics of a child’s father by examining the child’s DNA.”
“Understanding the properties of the first-generation stars is crucial for us to understand the formation of stars, galaxies, and the large-scale structure of the universe,” said Han Zhanwen, of CAS.
Toshitaka Kajino, a professor at Beihang University underlined: “I think that this discovery, with many findings expected to come in the future, might shed light on the still unknown mechanism of very massive black hole formation in the early universe.”
The New York-based cybersecurity firm Wiz has discovered a cache of sensitive data from the Chinese artificial intelligence business DeepSeek that was mistakenly exposed to the public internet.
In a blog post released on Wednesday, Wiz reported that examinations of DeepSeek’s infrastructure revealed that the company had inadvertently exposed over a million lines of unencrypted data. The materials were digital software keys and chat logs that seemingly documented prompts transmitted from consumers to the company’s complimentary AI assistant.
The chief technical officer of Wiz stated that DeepSeek promptly safeguarded the data following the notice from his organisation.
“It was removed in under an hour,” stated Ami Luttwak. “However, this was exceedingly easy to locate, leading us to believe we are not the sole discoverers.”
DeepSeek did not promptly respond to a request for comment.
DeepSeek’s rapid success after the introduction of its AI helper has exhilarated China and incited concern in America. The Chinese company’s evident capacity to rival OpenAI’s skills at a significantly reduced cost has raised concerns regarding the viability of the business models and profit margins of U.S. AI behemoths like Nvidia and Microsoft.
By Monday, it surpassed the U.S. competitor ChatGPT in downloads from Apple’s App Store, prompting a worldwide decline in technology stocks.
WhatsApp has initiated testing of a bulk channel administration feature on iOS for select beta users, enabling the simultaneous selection of many channels, hence enhancing the efficiency of managing following channels.
This essential update enables users to perform bulk activities, including muting many channels simultaneously, designating them as read, and altering notifications. If the chosen channels are muted, users will now have the option to activate notifications. Users can swiftly silence unmuted channels in one action.
Additionally, this feature enables users to unfollow many channels simultaneously, thereby optimizing the process of decluttering their channel list. This change is particularly beneficial for users that oversee numerous subscriptions, as reported by WABetaInfo.
Previously, users were required to manage each channel individually, rendering tasks such as muting or designating channels as read laborious and time-consuming.
The functionality provides enhanced flexibility and control over channel subscriptions, enabling users to efficiently manage notifications. The solution streamlines laborious operations for consumers who subscribe to numerous channels, hence enhancing their entire experience.
Accessibility The bulk management feature is presently accessible exclusively to a limited number of beta testers who installed the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS using the TestFlight application. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, plans to expand the feature’s availability to a larger user base in the next weeks.
This update demonstrates WhatsApp’s dedication to enhancing user experience by offering a clear and efficient method for managing channels and notifications.
Even after two weeks, the global submarine cable AAA-1 problem that was discovered on January 2 near Qatar has not been fixed, causing sluggish internet connection in several Pakistani towns.
According to a representative for Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the issue has affected customers’ capacity to effectively access social media applications and browse the online. Even with initiatives to fix the problem, social networking sites still lag during busy times.
Internet traffic has been redirected via alternate channels to lessen the impact, and more capacity has been set up to stabilize the service.
The PTCL representative promised that “Internet service across the country is operating normally, and there will be no issues with web browsing,” noting that social media applications’ lag is common during