South America is covered in a layer of ice that is about 2.2 kilometers (1.4 miles) thick. A continental landmass with rocky mountains, volcanoes, and sizable canyons that humans have carved out over millions of years is beneath this ice. This is different from the Arctic in the Northern Hemisphere.

There are decades’ worth of satellite data and radar surveys that have made it possible to see the “lumps and bumps” of the long-lost bedrock.

It is one of the most complete maps of Antarctica, which is the world’s southernmost continental landmass.

The project was a huge undertaking that involved 19 research organizations from around the world, such as NASA, the National Science Foundation, the University of California Irvine, the British Antarctic Survey, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Australian government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program, and many more. It was published in 2019.

The map is interesting to look at, like using X-ray glasses to see inside a continent covered in ice. But it could also be used in science. Researchers can use the map’s data to learn a lot about Antarctica’s geographical mysteries, such as the continent’s shape and the future of its unstable ice sheets.

The canyon below the Denman Glacier was much bigger than I thought it would be from the map. Denman Trough, which is full of ice, is the deepest place on continental Earth. It is 3,500 meters (11,500 feet) below sea level.

“Older maps showed a canyon that was shallower, but that wasn’t possible; something was missing.” We know how much ice flows through the canyon because of the principle of conservation of mass. Based on our calculations, the canyon is 3,500 meters below sea level, making it the deepest place on land. In 2019, Mathieu Morlighem, an associate professor of Earth system science at the University of California, Irvine, said, “Because it’s not very wide, it has to be deep for that much ice mass to reach the coast.”

Ice has been covering most of Antarctica for millions and millions of years, covering more than 97% of the continent. There are almost 4.9 kilometers (3 miles) of ice at its thickest point, which is the height of six Burj Khalifas stacked on top of each other.

The land is very harsh, though, and ice is only one part of it. One less well-known fact about Antarctica is that it often erupts in volcanoes. In 2017, one study found 138 volcanoes in West Antarctica alone. Eight or nine of the volcanoes in Antarctica are thought to be active, even though most of them are not active. Mount Erebus is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in Antarctica. It is the southernmost active volcano on Earth and the tallest active volcano in Antarctica, with a peak that is 3,794 meters (12,448 feet) high.

It’s simple to picture Antarctica as a cold and, dare we say it, dull ice cube at the Earth’s core. But if you look more closely, you’ll see that it’s a world that is always changing and is full of secrets and strange stories.

You probably learned your blood type at some point in your life, then forgot it and guessed the most common blood group (O). But sometimes your blood type can change, even if you know what it is.

Changes can only last for a short time sometimes. People with rare blood types can get blood transfusions from donors with O-negative blood. This type of blood is sometimes called “universal donor” blood.

“An AB patient may receive enough O blood units during a transfusion that nearly all of their red cells type as group O,” Our Blood Center says. “Within a few months, the patient’s bone marrow should naturally replace the transfused blood with his or her original blood type.”

Now we can talk about bone marrow transplants. Your bone marrow is where red blood cells are made. If you get a bone marrow transplant from a donor of a different type, your blood type will change. Of course, this has real-world effects on your medical care.

Michigan Medicine says, “If you got stem cells from a donor, that donor may not have the same blood type as you do.” “A blood bank worker will give you a blood ID card that lists your blood type and the blood type of the donor.” During your stay, we will do blood-type tests often to see how your blood type is changing. This will help you get ready for more blood transfusions. We estimate that it will take one year for your blood type to change.

Rarely, you might also temporarily look like you have a different blood type because of a bacterial infection. There is a condition called the “acquired B phenomenon” that only happens to people with blood type A. It usually happens to people who have sepsis, colon cancer, or a bowel obstruction.

“The acquired B antigen is a special situation that occurs when a group A patient, during an episode of infection, secretes enzymes that can modify the A antigen on the RBC surface, which is N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, to D-galactosamine that resembles D-galactose (the B antigen) and will cross-react with anti-B reagents,” a review of typing differences shows. “This phenomenon will resolve once the patient recovers.”

That means that most of you will have the same blood type your whole life, but sometimes your blood type can change. Luckily, a simple blood test can quickly tell you what type of blood you have.

At the time they are published, fact-checkers make sure that all “explainer” articles are correct. Text, pictures, and links can be changed, taken away, or added to in the future to keep data up-to-date.

This article is not meant to be a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a trained professional. If you have questions about a medical condition, you should always talk to a qualified health professional.

Building a permanent base on the Moon out of things found there is one of the main goals for future exploration. Scientists have attempted to make bricks using a variety of materials, including blood and potatoes. Researchers from the European Space Agency (ESA) have just tried out a new method. They 3D-printed LEGO bricks from stuff that was formed in space billions of years ago. They work just like regular LEGO bricks, which means that stepping on one would still hurt.

Regolith, which is soil made of sharp rocks, covers the moon’s surface. It was formed by meteor impacts and charged particles from the sun and other places over billions of years. We don’t have that on Earth, but we can make something that looks like it by mixing it with polylactide, a bio-based polymer that breaks down naturally.

The mix was more realistic because it had a third ingredient. They ground up a meteorite that fell in North Africa in 2000 and added it to the mix. Meteorite dust is the closest thing to regolith that we have on Earth. The end result is a strong brick that looks great in space gray.

Even though the 3D printing process adds flaws that regular bricks don’t have, the space LEGO bricks work the same way as regular ones and click together. But the experiment does show that it is possible to make structures from Moon materials that can fit together. This gives us a lot of options when we think about building bases for a possible future mission.

“No one has ever built something on the Moon, so it was fun to be able to try out different designs and building methods with our space bricks.” ESA Science Officer Aidan Cowley said in a statement, “It was fun and helpful for learning about the limits of these techniques from a scientific point of view.”

“I love creative building, and so did my team. We thought it would be fun to see if space dust could be shaped into a brick like a LEGO brick so we could try out different ways to build.” “It’s amazing, and the bricks may look a little rougher than usual, but the clutch power still works, so we can play with and test our designs,” Cowley said in a second statement.

The test will now be used to get younger people interested in science and engineering. The bricks will be on display at many LEGO stores in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia until September 20.

“Everyone knows that scientists and engineers in the real world sometimes use LEGO bricks to test their ideas. An ESA official, Emmet Fletcher, said, “ESA’s space bricks are a great way to get young people interested in space science and show them that play and imagination are also important in space science.”