A low intergalactic grumbling is emanating from deep space, according to scientists. And no, it’s not the start of the end times. Astronomers say they detected the first-of-their-kind low frequency ripples, described as a “cosmic bass note” of gravitational waves, which is thought to be caused by supermassive black holes merging across the universe. The discovery could unveil new secrets about how the monster black holes, which lie at the centre of galaxies, work. The objects are millions – possibly billions – the times the mass of the sun, but little is known about them because no light can escape. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “This is huge news,” said Dr Stephen Taylor, chair of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (Nanograv) consortium, which led the team which made the discovery, and an astrophysicist at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University. Dr Michael Keith, of Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics and a member of the team which helped find the signal, added: “The results presented today mark the beginning of a new journey into the universe to unveil some of its unsolved mysteries. “We are incredibly excited that after decades of work by hundreds of astronomers and physicists around the world, we are finally seeing the signature of gravitational waves from the distant universe.” Before the discovery, scientists have only captured short “chirps” of gravitational waves which are linked to the massive objects merging. But the “bass note” comes after they tuned into a deeper range of frequencies. It is thought to be caused by a single complete gravitational wave travelling at the speed of light. Astronomers think it is produced by the entire population of supermassive black hole binaries from over roughly the last 8bn years of the universe. “We think each pair contributes a little wave, which is added to a little wave of another, and all together that is what we may see right now – a sort of murmur of the entire population,” said Prof Alberto Vecchio of the University of Birmingham and a member of the European Pulsar Timing Array. Prof Andrew Pontzen, a cosmologist at University College London, added: “It’s not often that we get a glimpse of the universe through a totally new lens, but after 15 years of patient work, Nanograv seems to be providing just that. It’s tremendously exciting to see initial evidence for these waves, which will eventually teach us an enormous amount about supermassive black holes, hundreds of millions of times the mass of the sun.” The findings were published on 29 June by Astrophysical Journal Letters. 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.

Fans of Diet Coke have reacted with despair at reports that the World Health Organisation (WHO) may catagorise aspartame – an artificial sweetener in the drink – a potential carcinogen. It was reported on Thursday (29 June) that the health organisation’s cancer research unit, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), is preparing to label aspartame as potentially cancerous from July. Aspartame is a low-calorie artificial sweetener that is approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar and is used in a huge number of soft drinks, including Diet Coke, Pepsi Max, Diet Irn Bru, and Sprite Zero, among others. It is also used in foods such as chewing gum, candy, breakfast cereal, frozen desserts and puddings, and gelatins. Although the IARC’s ruling on the sweetener remains confidential until July, Diet Coke fans are already wondering if they might have to give up their favourite fizzy drink. “If they interfere with Diet Coke it will be the final straw for me I’m afraid,” one person warned. Another joked they have already “drunk the Diet Coke equivalent of swimming at a superfund site” in their lifetime. “You can take away my Diet Coke when you pry it out of my cold dead hands,” a third mordantly added. “Listen, if you’re going to take away Diet Coke from us, you better be prepared for 72 per cent of women aged 25-45 to quit their jobs,” another person claimed. “That’s all I’m saying. *Cracks open third Diet Coke before noon*” Others appeared smug that they had never switched from regular full-fat Coke – which contains around 10.6g of sugar per 100ml, equating to 35g per 330ml can – to the low-sugar version. One person referred to a scene from hit series Friends that showed Chandler (Matthew Perry) shouting: “I knew it!” Another said: “I told you all that Diet Coke was just as bad as regular Coke.” The IARC is expected to make its decision over aspartame public on 14 July, the same day as the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), which is also reviewing aspartame use this year. JECFA has said it is safe to consume aspartame within accepted daily limits since 1981. An adult weighing 60kg (132 pounds) would have to drink between 12 and 36 cans of diet soda every day to be at risk, a view widely shared by national regulators. The additives committee “conducts risk assessment, which determines the probability of a specific type of harm (eg., cancer) to occur under certain conditions and levels of exposure”. The review of aspartame comes after a study conducted by experts from the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, and Sorbonne Paris Nord University, published on March 2022, claimed it could increase the risk of cancer in people who consume it. But previous large-scale studies on humans have not revealed similar associations. A separate study published last December found that aspartame was linked to anxiety in mice. The deputy chief scientific adviser of the UK’s Food Standards Agency, Rick Mumford, commented on reports and said: “Our view is that the safety of this sweetener has been evaluated by various Scientific Committees and it is considered safe at current permitted use levels. “The IARC report has not yet been published and, when it is, it will be examined by the JECFA, who will put together a risk assessment by the end of July. We will closely study JECFA’s report and decide whether any further actions are needed.” The Independent has contacted Coca-Cola for comment. Read More Walk this way... but not like that: How men’s walks became sexualised Colleen Ballinger: Everything we know about the ‘grooming’ allegations against YouTuber Miranda Sings Kevin Costner’s estranged wife says she’ll move out of their $145m home on one condition ‘My small rash turned out to be a parasite living in my leg after a beach trip’ Chrissy Teigen welcomes fourth child – how does surrogacy actually work? Heart disease digital check-ups for over 40s being rolled out

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For years people have been looking to the skies for signs of alien life - but maybe, they should have been looking at the bottom of the ocean this whole time. A Harvard physicist has claimed that parts of an alien 'spacecraft' could have been uncovered under the sea. Professor Avi Loeb set off on a search along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and found 50 iron pieces which originated from the IM1 meteor. IM1 crashed off the coast of Papua New Guinea and Leob believes it could contain key information in the search for life out there in the universe, saying he hasn’t discounted the idea of the pieces being evidence of a “spacecraft” from an “extraterrestrial technological civilization” which crashlanded on Earth. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Loeb is currently the head of Harvard’s Galileo Project, focusing on the search for aliens, and he said the fragments they found must have come from “a natural environment different from the solar system, or an extraterrestrial technological civilization.” Speaking to Fox News Digital, Loeb detailed his thoughts on the origins of the meteor fragments by saying: “Given IM1's high speed and anomalous material strength, its source must have been a natural environment different from the solar system, or an extraterrestrial technological civilization.” He added that IM1 “is actually tougher and has material strength that is higher than all the space rocks that were catalogued by NASA. That makes it quite unusual.” 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.

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