Ever wondered how water first arrived on our planet? Well, it turns out the mystery could finally have been solved. Researchers have undertaken detailed analysis of asteroids and the findings could change the way the scientific community think about origins of water on our planet. Experts at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) have discovered salt crystals on samples recovered from space. As their findings state, these crystals could only have formed with the presence of water. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The research was undertaken on samples of the asteroid Itokawa in 2005 by the Japanese Hayabusa mission. It suggests that S-type asteroids could be home to more water than previously thought. The new findings led some scientists to claim that water is likely to have arrived on asteroids when our planet was first being formed. The senior’s author Tom Zega said: "The grains look exactly like what you would see if you took table salt at home and placed it under an electron microscope. "They're these nice, square crystals. It was funny, too, because we had many spirited group meeting conversations about them, because it was just so unreal. Zega added: "It has long been thought that ordinary chondrites are an unlikely source of water on Earth. Our discovery of sodium chloride tells us this asteroid population could harbour much more water than we thought." Itokawa is a S-type asteroid, and it’s thought that temperatures on their surfaces were too high for water to form. Shaofan Che, who is the lead study author, said: "In other words, the water here on Earth had to be delivered from the outer reaches of the solar nebula, where temperatures were much colder and allowed water to exist, most likely in the form of ice. "The most likely scenario is that comets or another type of asteroid known as C-type asteroids, which resided farther out in the solar nebula, migrated inward and delivered their watery cargo by impacting the young Earth." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is the “most profound” technology shift of our lifetime with the potential to “turbocharge” the UK’s economy, according to a new report by Google. Artificial intelligence, according to the report, can help turn around the UK’s recent growth stagnation and boost its economy by £400bn by 2030 by enabling an annual growth of 2.6 per cent. The tech giant’s UK and Ireland boss Debbie Weinstein called the transformation ushered in by AI in the tech industry “the most profound platform shift that any of us have lived through”. While some jobs are likely to be lost to AI, there will also be a “whole new set of jobs that will be created”, according to the tech chief. “We are very conscious of the impact that this technology will have on people,” Ms Weinstein told PA. “We want to make sure everyone has the skills they need. We’re aware that this is a fundamental technology shift that will impact all of our lives,” she added. Google’s new report comes amid widespread fear of the impact disruptive AI technology could have on several spheres of life, including privacy, the education sector, industry and jobs. Recently, professor Geoffrey Hinton, widely called the “godfather of AI” for his research contributions to the field and its impact, resigned from his job at Google, expressing fear that the AI tools he helped build could spell humanity’s doom. He cautioned that “bad actors” could use new AI technologies to harm others. “It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things... I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn’t done it, somebody else would have,” he said. A growing number of experts across the world have called for AI development to be slowed down or halted as the potential for the technology to be misused has come to light following the launch of tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney. Google agrees in the new report that regulation is vital as AI technology develops, and adds that is “actively collaborating” with regulators around the world. The company is reportedly in favour of launching a “national skills agenda” involving governments, firms, and educational institutions to ensure that workers are not left behind as AI technology develops. “This nuanced approach is important if the UK is to pursue a competitive advantage in attracting inward investment associated with agile regulation,” Google noted in the report. “We’re aware of the fundamental change and the importance of getting it right while managing the downside risks,” Ms Weinstein told PA. Read More Judge blocks Biden agencies from communicating with social media platforms ‘Rage-baiting’ leftist Twitter account is probably fake, expert says How to delete your Twitter account Meta’s Twitter alternative Threads to be launched this week World ‘a long way’ from alliance on AI, Sunak says AI takes just five hours to design functional computer

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