Rare primordial gas may be leaking out of Earth's core

1st 'gapless' human genome finally sequenced | Ukraine invasion's impacts on the world of science: Live updates | Rare primordial gas may be leaking out of Earth's core Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( April 1, 2022 CONNECT WITH LIVESCIENCE  [Facebook]( [Twitter](  [LIVESCIENCE]( Amazing science every day [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [WEBSITE](  [] Top Science News [] [1st 'gapless' human genome finally sequenced]( [1st 'gapless' human genome finally sequenced]( (Shutterstock) Scientists have finally mapped an entire human genome, nearly two decades after researchers first announced that they had sequenced the majority of the roughly 3 billion letters contained in human DNA. Though the Human Genome Project was hailed worldwide when it was completed in 2003, at the time, many sections of the genome still couldn't be placed. The new work — achieved by a consortium of scientists led by the National Human Genome Research Institute, the University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of Washington in Seattle — finally fills in the last 8% of DNA letters, or base pairs, that had no home in the sequence before. Full Story: [Live Science]( (3/31) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [Never Stop Learning]( From big space discoveries to ancient mysteries and future tech, our Knowledge magazines are packed with engaging, authoritative content for all ages. With expert editorial teams across history, science and technology, we have everything you need to feed your curiosity. [Subscribe today!]( ADVERTISEMENT [] Russia-Ukraine War [] [Ukraine invasion's impacts on the world of science: Live updates]( [Ukraine invasion's impacts on the world of science: Live updates]( (Karen Kasmauski via Getty Images) LATEST UPDATE: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, has been informed that the Russian forces occupying the Chernobyl nuclear power plant have "in writing, transferred control" of the defunct facility to Ukrainian personnel, The Associated Press reported. Three convoys of Russian forces have left the site and the rest seem to be preparing to leave, the IAEA reported Thursday (March 31). These reports came from Energoatom, Ukraine's nuclear power operator. In a Telegram post, Energoatom said that the Russian troops were leaving the Chernobyl power plant and surrounding exclusion zone and heading towards Belarus, according to a translation by Axios. Russian forces were also preparing to leave the nearby city of Slavutych, where many of the Ukrainian workers that monitor and maintain the plant live, the post said. Full Story: [Live Science]( (3/8) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Amazing Earth [] [Rare primordial gas may be leaking out of Earth's core]( [Rare primordial gas may be leaking out of Earth's core]( (Shutterstock) An extremely rare type of helium that was created soon after the Big Bang is leaking out of Earth's metallic core, a new modeling study suggests. The vast majority of this gas in the universe, called helium-3, is primordial and was created just after the Big Bang occurred about 13.8 billion years ago. Some of this helium-3 would have joined other gas and dust particles in the solar nebula — the vast, spinning and collapsed cloud that is thought to have led to the creation of the solar system. Full Story: [Live Science]( (3/31) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Space Exploration [] [NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei back on Earth after record-breaking mission]( [NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei back on Earth after record-breaking mission]( (NASA/Bill Ingalls) NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei can't wait to see his wife after landing back on Earth after a record-breaking 355-day space mission. Early this morning (March 30), Vande Hei landed safely aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule in the grasslands of Kazakhstan together with his Russian colleagues Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov. The trio appeared to have arrived in good health and, after a record-breaking 355 days in space, Vande Hei will finally get to see his wife and family in person again, something he shared his excitement for just before leaving the station. Full Story: [Live Science]( (3/31) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Your Health [] [Staying hydrated may reduce the risk of heart failure]( [Staying hydrated may reduce the risk of heart failure]( (d3sign via Getty Images) Staying "well hydrated" in middle age may lower the risk of developing heart failure later in life, a new study suggests. The study researchers analyzed information from more than 11,000 adults ages 45 to 66 and followed them for 25 years. To examine their hydration levels, the researchers looked at the levels of sodium in the participants' blood, also known as serum sodium, which increases as a person's fluid levels decrease. The normal range for serum sodium is 135 to 146 millimoles per liter (mmol/L), although values at the higher end of this range would trigger a person's body to start to conserve water, study lead author Natalia Dmitrieva, a researcher in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), told Live Science in an email. Full Story: [Live Science]( (3/31) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Astronomy & Astrophysics [] [Strange 'reverse shock wave' supernova is exploding in the wrong direction]( [Strange 'reverse shock wave' supernova is exploding in the wrong direction]( (NASA/JPL-Caltech) A powerful shock wave traveling through a cloud of gas left behind by the explosive death of a star has a bizarre quirk: Part of it is traveling in the wrong direction, a new study reveals. In the study, researchers found that the shock wave is accelerating at different rates, with one section collapsing back toward the origin of the stellar explosion, or supernova, in what the study authors call a "reverse shock." Full Story: [Live Science]( (4/1) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Daily Quiz [] POLL QUESTION: When the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, what percentage of the DNA letters couldn't yet be placed within the genome sequence? (Learn the answer [here]() [Vote]( [Less than 1%]( [Vote]( [About 5%]( [Vote]( [About 8%]( [Vote]( [Nearly 50%](   [Sign Up]( | [Update Profile]( | [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Cookies Policy]( | [Terms and Conditions]( CONTACT US: [FEEDBACK](mailto:livescience@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE]( Future US LLC © 1100 13th St. NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005