Two separate teams of astronomers at the University of Leicester will use the $10-billion space telescope to study?auroras?over the gas giant?Saturn?and the frigid ice giant?Uranus. The aim will be to explain in greater detail the processes that create these polar light shows over different planets.

"The?JWST?is already changing how we perceive the universe, from the solar system, our very own cosmic backyard, to the first galaxies formed at the beginning of time," Henrik Melin from the University of Leicester School of Physics and Astronomy who will lead the Uranus investigation, said in a statement. "I am thrilled to have been awarded time on this remarkable observatory, and this data will fundamentally shape our understanding of both Saturn and Uranus.”

Auroras are familiar to skywatchers over Earth as the stunning?Northern Lights?and?Southern Lights, which can be seen along the poles of our planet when they appear.

Related: Astronomers spot aurora on the sun for the 1st time

These light shows are generated over Earth when charged particles that stream from the sun's solar wind strike our planet's protective magnetic field, known as the?magnetosphere. These particles travel down magnetic field lines and stream out behind Earth — but, as they do this, they interact with particles in our atmosphere, creating glowing light.

When the sun blasts out high volumes of stellar plasma in so-called?coronal mass ejections, auroras are more prominent and can be seen at lower latitudes over Earth.

Though auroras have been seen over other solar system planets before, and they should be possible around any planet with an atmosphere and magnetic field, less is known about these alien light shows.

Currently, relatively little is known about the auroras of Uranus, an ice giant with an atmosphere of water, ammonia and methane.

It was actually only last year, after three decades of investigation, that a research team from the University of Leicester School of Physics and Astronomy — led by Ph.D. student Emma Thomas — confirmed an?infrared aurora around Uranus.

Because of a past?impact with a roughly Earth-sized body, Uranus is tilted at a 97.77-degree angle. This means that its poles are orientated almost directly toward and away from the sun, and its auroras are positioned around what would normally be the equator for a?solar system?planet.

As Melin and his colleagues use the JWST to observe the auroras of Uranus, which is the seventh planet from the sun, they will investigate something suggested by this previous discovery of Uranian auroras: Are the auroras of this distant planet responsible for keeping it warmer than expected?

"The temperature of all the gas giant planets, including Uranus, are hundreds of degrees Kelvin/Celsius above what models predict if only warmed by the sun, leaving us with the big question of how these planets are so much hotter than expected," Thomas said?last year. "One theory suggests the energetic aurora is the cause of this, which generates and pushes heat from the aurora down towards the magnetic equator."

The JWST study of Uranus will begin early in 2025; it will capture images of the ice giant over a single day for the planet, which lasts around 17 Earth hours. This should allow the team to map auroral emissions across a whole rotation of Uranus' magnetic field.

The scientists will also aim to discover if emissions are produced when the Uranian magnetic field interacts with the solar wind, as happens over the Earth, or if interacting charged particles come from sources within the system similar to how Jupiter creates its auroras. There is also the possibility that Uranus' auroras are created as a combination of these phenomena, just as?Saturn's auroras?seem to be generated.

The JWST Saturn aurora project, led by Boston University Center for Space Physics scientist Luke Moore, will observe the gas giant's northern auroral region for an entire 10.6-hour Saturnian day. This will allow the team to monitor how the temperature of this region changes as the gas giant rotates.

By revealing Saturn's atmospheric auroral energies for the first time, the team hopes to learn more about the sources of charged particles within the gas giant's atmosphere that drive its auroras.

Both JWST giant planet studies will be conducted using the powerful space telescope's highly sensitive Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument.

Once these findings are in hand, scientists can better understand the processes that create auroras in the solar system and the role these mechanisms have on Earth in particular. Perhaps the results can help astronomers glean information about auroras around planet beyond the system too: Extrasolar planets, or "exoplanets."

“A majority of exoplanets discovered so far fall in the?sub-Neptune?category and hence are physically similar to Neptune and Uranus in size. This may also mean similar magnetic and atmospheric characteristics too," Thomas said. "By analyzing Uranus's aurora, which directly connects to both the planet's magnetic field and atmosphere, we can make predictions about the atmospheres and magnetic fields of these worlds and hence their suitability for life."

Originally posted on Space.com.

But why is bismuth so strongly repelled from magnets?

According to Eric Riesel, a magnetic materials chemist at MIT, the answer comes down to the type of magnetism exhibited by bismuth. Every material has magnetic properties, determined by a quantum property of the element's electrons known as spin. But, this spin can only point in two directions — up or down — and the combination of all the spins in a material define exactly what type of magnetism the element will exhibit.

"Most people are familiar with ferromagnets (permanent magnets) like iron, where the spins are all aligned with each other, but there are also anti-ferromagnets where the spins are pointed in opposite directions to each other," Riesel told Live Science.

However, there's also another pair of magnetic categories: paramagnetism and diamagnetism. "In paramagnets, when you apply a magnetic field, spins in that material will align with the field in proportion to its strength," he said. "Diamagnets apply a force in the opposite direction to the field, repelling it."

Related: Is it possible to reach absolute zero?

Bismuth is an example of a diamagnetic material, yet this is not the behavior we would expect from the element's electron configuration. The type of magnetism exhibited by a material depends on the arrangement of electrons and their corresponding spins. Electrons circle the nucleus in defined layers called shells, which are further subdivided into levels called the s, d, p and f orbitals.

Typically, diamagnetic materials have a closed shell structure. This means a particular group of orbitals are completely full and the electrons have been forced to pair, with one pointing up and the other down — essentially canceling out the spins. Conversely, paramagnetic materials usually have partially filled orbitals, meaning the electrons are unpaired and can align their spins in the same direction.

Bismuth is in Group 15 of the periodic table. The s, d and f orbitals are all full, but the p orbitals contain three out of a possible six electrons. So bismuth has partially filled orbitals and should behave as a paramagnet. However, its position in row six of the periodic table means bismuth also possesses some unusual heavy-atom properties.

"Chemical elements found after the f-block in the periodic table have their outermost electrons orbiting the nucleus at speeds that are significant fractions of the speed of light," said Ira Martyniak, also a magnetic materials chemist at MIT. "The direct relativistic effect makes the 6s and 6p orbitals contract and reside closer to the nucleus, which gives rise to anomalous physical and chemical characteristics."

These relativistic effects are responsible for many of bismuth's surprising properties, such as its unconventional superconductivity, its very low melting point (520.7 degrees Fahrenheit, or 271.5 degrees Celsius) and the unusual shape of its crystals. The unexpected diamagnetism is no exception.

"Even though bismuth has the unpaired electrons in its 6p orbital, because of relativistic contraction of the 6s and 6p levels, the paramagnetism stemming from the 6p electrons is suppressed and the behavior of bismuth is largely dominated by the closed shells and large size of the atom, leading to strong diamagnetism," Martyniak told Live Science.

Diamagnetic materials have lots of valuable applications, including electromagnetic induction in copper coils (used to generate electricity) and the aluminum tracks of high-speed maglev trains. Bismuth itself is too heavy to be a practical material for general use, but its potent diamagnetism means it is now a common component in superconductors and quantum computing.

AutoBrush says its U-shaped toothbrush can clean your kid's teeth in 30 seconds, cutting down on brushing time and allowing even the most easily distracted kids to get a thorough brush in a quarter of the recommended two minutes. It does this by brushing all your child's teeth simultaneously instead of quadrant by quadrant, as most other electric toothbrushes do.?

The AutoBrush Kids offers three LED light modes: An hygienic blue light to kill bacteria, a therapeutic red light to improve gum health, or a combination of the two together, although we were unable to test their effectiveness in our testing. It also offers three cleaning modes to suit different needs: Care mode for sensitive teeth, Deep Clean for tackling plaque buildup, and Massage mode for gum stimulation. Its patented BASS technology has received the ADA Seal of Acceptance and uses high-frequency vibrations of up to 30,000 per minute to remove plaque effectively.

Our 10-year-old son tried out the AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids at home to see if it could provide the same superior cleaning as his usual electric toothbrush. We also tested how well it performed using a disclosing tablet to show up plaque. We dive deeper into its features, functions, design, user reviews, and care and maintenance. Read on to learn more.

If you're unsure whether the AutoBrush for Kids is right for your child, check out our guide to the best electric toothbrushes for kids for alternative models.

AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids: Design

Funkily packaged, the AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids comes out of the box to music. When you open the box, a little automatic sensor plays jungle music from a tiny speaker. That nice touch aside, the brush is well-packaged in recyclable cardboard and plastic.

You have everything you need, including a USB charger, socket and a green charging base. It also comes with a little calendar and fun stickers to encourage younger children to gain rewards for brushing. Opening this box will delight any young child, although it might feel too young for older users.?

The handsets come in four designs: Lenni the Lion, Harley the Hippo, Daniel Tiger and Unity the Unicorn.

Each one is cute and colorful. We were sent Lenni the Lion to try out. The U-shaped brush head comes separately, and you can choose from a range of sizes to suit different age ranges — 3-5 years old, 6-8 years old and 9-12 years old.?

The AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids handset is encased in soft, waterproof rubber, featuring Lenni the Lion facial features and two cute ears popping out either side. On the top part of the device, you'll find a set of 12 LED lights that can illuminate in either red, blue or a combination of both, depending on your selected light mode. Positioned in the center of the 'U' shape is a small steel peg where you can securely attach the brush head to the device.

At the front of the handset are four buttons to power the toothbrush on or off, and toggle between settings on the cleaning mode, light mode and timer. We'd point out that the busy design tends to obscure the visibility of some of these buttons, particularly the power and light mode buttons. Parents of younger children may have to help young users to turn the toothbrush on and select the correct modes.

The U-shaped toothbrush head is specifically crafted to fit comfortably inside your child's mouth, encompassing all their teeth simultaneously. It boasts an impressive 58,000 ultra-soft bristles strategically angled at 45 degrees to clean the teeth's surfaces effectively. Simply press the brush head firmly onto the base to assemble the toothbrush.

The charging base is cute, too, featuring a green jungle print. The whole set-up is a lovely addition to any bathroom shelf or children's bedroom.?

AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids: Functionality

First, let's talk about the cleaning modes. There are three of them: Care, Cleaning and Massage. The manual doesn't explain what each mode is best for, so perhaps it's best to choose the mode your child likes best.. To select your mode, simply press the button that looks like a volume setting. Care mode is green, Clean mode is blue and Massage mode is red.

Now, onto the light modes. Press the lightbulb button to select your light mode. You can go with the blue LED light to help kill bacteria, red LED light for gum health, or a combination of both. Unfortunately we were unable to test how effective these features were.

Lastly, set your timer. While the AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids claims to clean all your teeth in 30 seconds, you can go to 60 seconds if you like. Your child can also choose whether to have songs play along while they brush.

Now, they're all set to brush! Along with the AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids, we received some foaming toothpaste flavors, but you can use your child's regular toothpaste too. Run toothpaste along both sides of the brush head before encouraging your child to pop it in their mouth, ensuring all their teeth are covered (you might have to help with this at first). Ask your child to bite down gently on the bristles, get them to grip and move the brush from left to right, and then tilt it from top to bottom. ?

Your child may take a few tries to get used to this brushing style. It's a new way to brush your teeth, so it's no surprise it takes some practice, especially if your child uses a standard electric toothbrush.

Cleaning the AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids is a breeze. All you have to do is rinse the brush head under warm water to remove any toothpaste residue, remove it from the handset and let it air dry in a clean, cool place before your child's next brushing session. Remember to replace your child's brush head every three months, just like their regular electric toothbrush head or manual toothbrush.

• Related: How to use an electric toothbrush

AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids: Performance

To understand whether the AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids was living up to its claims to remove plaque as efficiently as a regular electric toothbrush, we decided to test how well it performed by using a disclosing tablet on our son's teeth before and after brushing.?

A disclosing tablet is a small tablet used to help identify plaque buildup on teeth. It temporarily dyes areas of plaque buildup, making them visible so your child can see where they may have missed brushing thoroughly.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that the AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids removed almost all the plaque on the front and back of the teeth using a 30-second clean, which was further improved by another 30-second clean. However, we could see some plaque remained on the back molars, which our son struggled to reach with the AutoBrush.

Although our son is a little old for the songs accompanying the brushing sessions, he thought it was a great idea for younger kids to encourage them to brush for longer than the usual 30 seconds. He also loved getting all his brushing done in 30 seconds flat.

AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids: What's good about it?

We loved the design of the AutoBrush for Kids. It's such a fun and quirky toothbrush that it would encourage any reluctant brusher in the family to give it a go.?

We also liked the colorful charging base and that you can set the brushing session to be longer. For parents who prefer a calming bedtime routine, you can turn the music off, which is a massive bonus. That can take the decibel level from around 60 dB to 28 dB — the difference between normal conversation and a whisper.

AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids: What's not so good about it?

The AutoBrush for Kids wasn't reaching our son's very back teeth. This could partly be down to his own brushing technique, but once that brush is in your child's mouth, there's no way to check how far it goes back or whether all their teeth are covered. Parents who want to ensure that their children are thoroughly brushing their teeth may not be keen on the AutoBrush for this reason.?

Although the AutoBrush is designed for kids aged up to 12, the cute characters and music feel way too childish for kids aged 9 and up. That's what our 10-year-old thinks, anyway!

AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids: User reviews

The AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids has a solid 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon, with over half of the reviewers giving it the highest rating. Parents are thrilled with the AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids. One parent shares how their dentist recommended it, and their child now loves brushing, thanks to the lights, music and characters. For parents dealing with kids who used to hate brushing, the AutoBrush Sonic Pro is a game-changer, with one sharing, "My kids are OBSESSED with these things. They brush their teeth as many times a day as I'll let them!"

Some negative reviews from parents mention that they have seen no visible improvement in their children's teeth, while others say the handsets don't hold charge like they should. One parent expressed concern about the lights' intensity and noted that the base got very hot while charging, while another user faced issues with bristles falling out into their child's mouth.?

It's worth mentioning that these negative reviews tend to be individual device-specific rather than a problem across the board, though.

Should you buy the AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids?

If you have a child who hates brushing or who flat-out refuses to brush for the recommended two minutes, it might be worth giving the AutoBrush Sonic Pro for Kids a try. It's pretty good at turning reluctant brushes into happy brushers, especially among younger kids.?

If this product isn't for you

If you'd prefer to go for a more familiar household name brand, the Philips Sonicare for Kids has an interactive app that adds an element of fun to brushing. Sync it with the Bluetooth-enabled toothbrush for your child to receive customized brushing tips, coaching, and entertaining rewards through animated features, all of which motivate them to brush those tricky, hard-to-reach areas.

If you're looking for a fun and quirky gift but you're unsure about the AutoBrush for Kids, a BritBrush Kids toothbrush might be a good option. Suitable for children as young as 3, the BriteBrush comes in a choice of three distinctive designs: Baby Shark, Sesame Elmo and Game Brush. Each design comes loaded with fun, interactive games and music to encourage your child to brush more effectively.?

The Foreo ISSA Kids toothbrush is another innovative design for children's oral hygiene. It comes in four vibrant colors and has a cute expression that changes based on brushing time. This sonic toothbrush can provide up to an impressive 265 brushing sessions with just one charge.

The two structures — described in a new study published March 21 in The Astrophysical Journal — have been named Shiva and Shakti, after the divine Hindu couple whose union is said to have brought harmony to the universe. The newfound stellar streams appear to have merged with the early Milky Way between 12 billion and 13 billion years ago, fueling our galaxy's growth.

"What's truly amazing is that we can detect these ancient structures at all," lead study author Khyati Malhan, an astrophysicist at MPIA said in a statement. "The Milky Way has changed so significantly since these stars were born that we wouldn't expect to recognise them so clearly as a group."

Related: James Webb telescope confirms there is something seriously wrong with our understanding of the universe

The researchers spotted the cosmic structures using the European Space Agency's Gaia space telescope — a floating observatory that's been mapping the shape and structure of the Milky Way since 2014. By charting the speed, position and motion of more than 1.5 billion stars in our galaxy, Gaia's observations enable astronomers to draw connections between groups of stars that share similar origins, helping to piece together our galaxy's history.

It's thought that the Milky Way has collided with neighboring galaxies at least a dozen times over the last 12 billion years, with each merger funneling fresh stars into our evolving galaxy. The Gaia telescope has helped reveal several of these collisions — including a previously unknown merger with the so-called Gaia sausage dwarf galaxy, which our insatiable Milky Way swallowed 10 billion years ago, giving our galaxy its bulging center.

The millions of stars that make up Shiva and Shakti also seem to have contributed to our galaxy's overall structure but are located a bit further from the galactic center than previously identified fragments like the Gaia sausage.

"Until now, we had only recognised these very early fragments that came together to form the Milky Way's ancient heart," study co-author Hans-Walter Rix, director of the department of galaxies and cosmology at MPIA, said in the statement. "With Shakti and Shiva, we now see the first pieces that seem comparably old but located further out. These signify the first steps of our galaxy's growth towards its present size."

The team's analysis showed that Shakti's stars orbit further from the galactic center and in a more circular orbit than Shiva's — but both structures contain stars that are extremely metal poor, meaning they lack the heavier elements forged through stellar fusion later in the universe's history. This means Shiva and Shakti likely contain some of the oldest stars in the Milky Way, making the newfound streams some of the first building blocks upon which the galaxy evolved.

To better understand how Shiva and Shakti's union with the Milky Way contributed to the current state of our galaxy, the team will continue studying them through several ongoing sky surveys. Sadly, there is a strict deadline for this research: In about 4.5 billion years, the Milky Way's next big collision will unfold as the nearby Andromeda galaxy merges with ours. Whatever life exists on our planet then will have a completely different view of the night sky than we do today.

Scientists witnessed the clever defense strategy unfold Tuesday (March 19) during a tourist excursion in Bremer Canyon, a whale-watching hotspot off the coast between Albany and Hopetoun. They described seeing a "cloud of diarrhea" permeate the water, and this rarely seen defense mechanism seemed to help the sperm whale pod escape what could have been a fatal attack by at least 30 killer whales, ABC News Australia reported.?

"It's called defense defecation," Jennah Tucker, a marine biologist with Oceans Blueprint, a marine and environmental sciences research organization, who was on the charter boat, told ABC. When the animals defecate, she said, they pass their huge tails through their poop to drive away or confuse attackers.

As the event unfolded, onlookers noticed a large, "dark bubble" pop up to the water's surface. At first, they thought it was blood from one of the sperm whales, potentially a small calf. But when the team later reviewed footage of the plume, they realized it was actually whale poop.

"Because [a] sperm whale's diet consists mostly of squid, they actually have this really reddish colored poo," she said.

Related: Why some whales go through menopause

In this demonstration of defense defecation, the pod formed a circle with their heads together, and the whales fanned their tails in unison — forcing their excrement toward the unsuspecting orcas.

"This is called a rosette, another defensive mechanism they use when they're under attack," Tucker said.

Tucker told ABC she noticed that the sperm whales looked distressed and exhausted. However, their fecal warfare worked, and the orcas swam off in search of fresher waters. It was in the midst of this mayhem that researchers saw the big, blobby poop bubble rise to the water's surface.

There have been only a few documented instances of orca attacks on sperm whales, largely due to the sheer size differential between the two species.

"Sperm whales are considered an apex predator, and historically, it was thought that they were pretty much immune to killer whale attacks," Tucker said. "It's actually pretty adventurous for orcas to try to take on sperm whales. They're punching above their weight."

The treatment isn't enough to cure HIV on its own. But the new results, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases on Feb. 13, hint that it could be possible to use this strategy as a step toward curing a person of HIV.

"This is not a home run," said study leader Dr. David Margolis, a professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology, and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

"Clearly we need better tools, better drugs, better approaches," he said, "but it does suggest that this strategy itself is deserving of more work."

Related: We could end the AIDS epidemic in less than a decade. Here's how.

HIV in hiding

With modern antiretroviral drugs, doctors can prevent HIV from spreading from cell-to-cell inside the body, allowing people with the infection to live normal lives. Many achieve undetectable viral loads, meaning they cannot transmit HIV to others via sex.

But HIV is a retrovirus, meaning it incorporates its genetic code into cells' DNA and hides out indefinitely, creating a viral reservoir that can retrigger a full-blown infection at any time. To stop an HIV infection from progressing to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), people with HIV must stay on antiretroviral drugs for life.

To truly cure the infection, the latent HIV reservoir must be driven out and destroyed. That's challenging, though, said Edward Browne, a professor of medicine at UNC's School of Medicine who has previously collaborated with Margolis but was not involved in the recent trial.

HIV hides lots of different types of cells in hard-to-treat places, such as the gut and nervous system. And driving the virus out isn't enough to destroy it.

"We have to hit two home runs at the same time," Browne told Live Science. "We have to reactivate enough viral proteins that the immune system can see it, and we have to get immune effector mechanisms in the right place at the right time to kill them off."

Margolis and his team attempted this with vorinostat, a drug shown to "wake up" HIV from latency in many previous studies. To attack the activated virus, they took patients' own immune cells, identified those programmed to attack HIV, and then grew these cells and reinfused them into the patients.

Six patients in the first phase of the trial got a standard dose of specialized immune cells. Vorinostat did, in fact, reactivate their latent HIV, but the HIV reservoir shrunk in only one patient of the six, by one measurement.

Related: How are people cured of HIV? Here's everything you need to know

In a separate group of three patients, the researchers upped the dose of anti-HIV cells by five times and saw a small decline in the HIV reservoir of all three people. The decline wasn't dramatic enough to take the patients off their HIV-suppressing medications, but it was promising that the results seemed to be dependent on the dose of the immune cells, Margolis said.

"It's a little more convincing that it happened three out of three times with the higher dose and maybe one out of six times at the lower dose," he said.

Reversing latency

Margolis and his team are now working on a strategy using vorinostat and an lab-made antibody against HIV that might do a better job of marking the reactivated virus for destruction. They're also studying another method of reversing HIV latency that seems to work better than vorinostat, which they first described in a 2020 Nature paper.

Several other groups are trying to drive out and kill latent HIV. Some are using medications, others are using immune proteins, while still others are attempting to slice HIV from cells with the gene-editing system CRISPR. Meanwhile, researchers are still unraveling the basic science of HIV latency. Some are exploring the notion of pushing the virus deeper into latency, ensuring that it will never reactivate.

When HIV first emerged, doctors could do little to prevent patients from developing AIDS and dying of related complications, Margolis said. The advent of the first antiretroviral drug changed that. If researchers uncover a working strategy, the landscape of HIV could similarly shift overnight.

"We don't know if we're 20 years away from something that really works or maybe we're just a couple years away from something that works," Margolis said. "There's no way to know."

This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.

Ever wonder why some people build muscle more easily than others or why freckles come out in the sun? Send us your questions about how the human body works to community@livescience.com with the subject line "Health Desk Q," and you may see your question answered on the website!

"In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London, and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous," Kate, age 42, said in the video. While the initial surgery was successful, "tests after the operation found cancer had been present."?

The princess' medical team then advised that she undergo preventive chemotherapy, which is often used to stop cancer from returning after a surgery to remove the main tumor, for instance, or to reduce the likelihood of developing cancer in the first place. She said she's now in the early stages of that treatment but did not specify the type of cancer detected.

"This of course came as a huge shock," she said. "It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment," and it's also taken the princess and Prince William time to explain the situation to and reassure their children, George, Charlotte and Louis, she added.

Related: Does it matter what time of day you get cancer treatment?

Kate's announcement closely follows that of King Charles III, who disclosed his own cancer diagnosis to the public in February, The New York Times reported. Like the princess, he did not disclose the type of cancer; however, it is known his cancer came to light following a procedure to treat an enlarged prostate. Palace officials have said it's not prostate cancer, though.?

Kate has not attended any official events since Christmas and she's faced a firestorm of speculation about her health after the news of her abdominal surgery in January. In her video message, Kate emphasized that her family will now need "time, space and privacy" while she completes treatment.?

She added that she's been thinking of all those whose lives have been impacted by cancer. "For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone."

Kensington Palace said the princess' video message was filmed by BBC Studios in Windsor on Wednesday (March 20), according to CBS News. BBC News noted that the outlet was briefed on the afternoon of March 22 by Kensington Palace, along with other media.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.

Paleontologists at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History rediscovered the ancient amphibian ancestor's fossilized skull while looking through the museum's archives, according to a statement.

The "creature’s cartoonishly wide-eyed face" immediately reminded the researchers of the "Muppets" character Kermit the Frog, so the scientists named the species Kermitops gratus. They described the animal in a study published Wednesday (March 21) in the Zoological Journal.

"Using the name Kermit has significant implications for how we can bridge the science that is done by paleontologists in museums to the general public," lead study author Calvin So, a doctoral student of biological sciences at The George Washington University, said in the statement. "Because this animal is a distant relative of today's amphibians, and Kermit is a modern-day amphibian icon, it was the perfect name for it."

Related: World's tiniest fanged frog with males that 'hug' their babies discovered

The skull, which measures roughly an inch (2.5 centimeters) long and has "oval-shaped eye sockets" was first unearthed by Nicholas Hotton III, a paleontologist and curator at the Smithsonian. Hotton discovered the skull while exploring the Red Beds, a fossil-rich rock outcrop in Texas. During that field season, Hotton and his team discovered so many fossils that "they were not able to study them all in detail," according to the statement.

Then, in 2021, Arjan Mann, a postdoctoral paleontologist at the museum, and the study's co-author, found the skull in the archives.

"One fossil immediately jumped out at me — this really well preserved, mostly prepared skull," Mann said in the statement.

The paleontologists noticed that the skull contained unique physical traits that set it apart from other tetrapods, the ancient ancestors of amphibians. For example, the part of the skull with the animal's eye sockets "was much shorter than its elongated snout." Scientists think that the animal likely "resembled a stout salamander" and used its longer snout to "snap up tiny grub-like insects," according to the statement.?

The researchers determined that the animal is not a frog but rather from the order temnospondyls, which are thought to be the common ancestors of Lissamphibia, the group that includes all modern amphibians, such as frogs, salamanders and caecilians.

The new find could help researchers better understand how these groups evolved and fit together on the evolutionary tree.

"Kermitops offers us clues to bridge this huge fossil gap and start to see how frogs and salamanders developed these really specialized traits," So said in the statement.

If alien life resides on Saturn's moon Enceladus or Jupiter's Europa, enormous geysers blasting out of the moons and into space are currently the most accessible way to find evidence of it. As recent studies of Enceladus have shown, these powerful plumes originate from each moon's vast subsurface ocean and spew out into space via cracks in their icy shells, ferrying ice grains that scientists think could be infused with bacterial cells and other organic molecules. Spacecraft flying through these plumes can then identify signs of life that may be encrusted in the ice, the new research shows.

"It's just astonishing how well we can identify a bacterial cell in these grains," Fabian Klenner, a researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle and lead author of the new study, told Live Science. "Even if there is only a tiny fraction in a handful of grains, we can find it with these instruments."

By sampling and analyzing plumes of Enceladus and perhaps Europa, scientists can learn whether life-friendly molecules exist in their subsurface oceans. But of the hundreds of thousands of ice grains blasted into space by these icy moons, bacterial cells may be concentrated only in a tiny number of them.

Related: NASA unveils cryptic message from Earth to be sent to Jupiter's icy ocean moon Europa

Cells on ice

To simulate such a scenario in a lab, Klenner and his team mixed cells of freeze-dried bacteria named Sphingopyxis alaskensis in liquid water such that there was one bacteria cell in every droplet, on average. Commonly seen in Alaskan sea waters, S. alaskensis lives in cold environments and can survive on low nutrients, "which makes it a better analog than many other organisms that we know from Earth," Klenner told Live Science.?

"They are extremely small, so they are in theory capable of fitting into ice grains that are emitted from an ocean world like Enceladus or Europa," he said in a statement.

In the experiment, described in a study published Friday (March 22) in the journal Science Advances, the researchers used a very thin tube to inject this water into a small vacuum chamber. The water droplets were 15 micrometers in diameter, "which is a bit bigger than the ice grains in space but it is still extremely tiny," Klenner told Live Science.

A laser beam then charged up the water droplets and the bacteria within. Using mass spectroscopy — a technique that spacecraft are capable of performing — researchers gathered the particles' spectra, a measure of different wavelengths of light emitted by the particles, which can reveal their compositions. They found plenty of amino acids and fatty acids, among other signs that clearly pointed to a bacterial cell, which they knew was already in the water sample.

The results show even if just 1% of a cell is encrusted onto a tiny ice grain, its chemical signature will be apparent.

"Our results give us more confidence that using upcoming instruments, we will be able to detect lifeforms similar to those on Earth, which we increasingly believe could be present on ocean-bearing moons," Klenner said in the statement.

On a mission lasting three to four years, for instance, spacecraft can sample hundreds of thousands of grains, if not billions, across multiple flybys of a target. Even if a few of those grains revealed a spectra similar to what the researchers found, then the "chances would be not too bad that this is a bacterial cell or fragment of a cell," Klenner told Live Science. "The cool thing is you only need to find a cell in, let's say, a handful of these grains, and these instruments can tell you if there is a bacterial cell."

The dust analyzer on board NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which in 2005 discovered the plumes venting from Saturn's moon Enceladus, could record only 30 to 300 particles in each flyby. So the probe "was definitely not capable of finding bacterial cells if they were there," Klenner told Live Science.

Another NASA mission named Europa Clipper, which is scheduled to lift off this October on a journey to study Jupiter's icy moon Europa, can sample 10,000 to 100,000 individual ice grains during each flyby, raising the chances of detecting bacterial cells, if they exist on the moon.

Using such instruments, "it might be easier than we thought to find life, or traces of it, on icy moons," study co-author Frank Postberg, a professor of planetary sciences at the Free University of Berlin, said in the statement. "If life is present there, of course, and cares to be enclosed in ice grains originating from an environment such as a subsurface water reservoir."

The tombs and artifacts were found at the Baizhuang Cemetery in the village of Dengcheng, which is part of the city of Xiangyang in China's central Hubei province.

According to a translated statement from provincial and city archaeologists, excavations in November 2023 unearthed more than 500 cultural objects, including the swords, copper tripods, ritual vessels, pottery, jade rings, lacquerware, boats and a chariot buried beside the skeletons of two horses.

The artifacts were found in 174 tombs in the cemetery that date to roughly between 478 and 221 B.C. The archaeologists also found two tombs from the time of China's Han dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 220).

Xiangyang was part of the powerful Chu state at the time. The archaeologists hope the finds will cast light on both the period and the state itself.

"This excavation provides a number of new materials for the study of funeral customs in Xiangyang area in the middle and late Warring States period, and also provides important physical materials for the study of Chu culture," the statement said.

Related: Lavish, 800-year-old tombs in China may hold remains of Great Jin dynasty elites

Warring States

Experts consider the Warring States period a formative time in Chinese history, when seven ancient states — Qin, Han, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Chu and Yan — vied for supremacy.

It followed what's known as the Spring and Autumn period, when regional lords eroded the authority of central China's ruling Zhou dynasty; and it concluded with the Qin wars of conquest, which led to the first unified Chinese Empire under the Qin dynasty.

The Warring States period was a time of great change in the Xiangyang region, said Glenda Chao, an archaeologist and historian at Pennsylvania's Ursinus College who wasn't involved in the excavations.

"The middle to late Warring States period saw the political transition of this region from a previously autonomous polity by the name of Deng to a conquered territory under the expanding polity of Chu," she told Live Science in an email.

The cemetery finds will aid future studies of the time and place, as "a crucial inventory of information about how people who lived through this transition processed it culturally and socially at the local, community-based level," she said.

The relative sizes of the tombs, their architecture and the grave goods they contain clearly show different levels of social rank and wealth, which could help researchers determine the extent that mortuary practices reflected social organizations, she said. One large tomb contains a chariot and the skeletons of two horses. The archaeologists think these belonged to a nobleman of the highest social class.

According to the statement, the wooden chariot had two wheels, while the horse skeletons were found beside the wheels with their backs to each other and their heads to the north.

Historian E. Bruce Brooks, a research professor of Chinese at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the director of the Warring States Project who also wasn't involved in the discoveries, told Live Science that the Chu state originally had a distinctive culture that it imposed on its conquered territory; but that by the fourth and third centuries B.C. the state was attempting to acquire northern culture, "so successfully that only a few words of Chu language now survive."

But he noted that nothing in the statement mentioned any distinctive Chu artifacts: "We wait with interest to see what the cultural orientation of those sites might be," he said in an email.