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An experiment conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan, Duke University School of Medicine, and the University of Virginia has revealed that fluctuations in alertness and reaction time could indicate a heightened risk of viral illness. “We all know that if we’re stressed, or haven’t slept enough, that predisposes us to have a less resilient immune system,” said Alfred Hero, the John H. Holland Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at U-M and corresponding author of the study in Scientific Reports....

When they are not in their division phases, chromosomes are fluid, though not quite liquid. This discovery was made possible by the first-ever direct mechanical manipulation of chromosomes in the nucleus of live cells. Previously, chromosomes, which are extraordinarily long DNA molecules, were represented as entangled like loose balls of yarn and creating a sort of gel. This new publication’s findings present a completely different picture. Chromosomes are fluid and free to move, unrestricted by the other parts that make up the nucleus and can reorganize themselves....

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have discovered a quasar with the most energetic outflow ever seen, at least five times more powerful than any that have been observed to date. Quasars are extremely bright galactic centers powered by supermassive black holes. Many blast huge amounts of material out into their host galaxies, and these outflows play a key role in the evolution of galaxies. But, until now, observed quasar outflows weren’t as powerful as predicted by theorists....

In the two decades which passed since the discovery of the first planet outside the Solar system, astronomers have made great progress in the study of these objects. While 20 years ago a big event was even the discovery of a new planet, nowadays astronomers are able to consider their moons, atmosphere and climate and other characteristics similar to the ones of the planets in the Solar system. One of the important properties of both solid and gaseous planets is their possible magnetic field and its magnitude....

Ben-Gurion University professor Alon Friedman will discuss groundbreaking research at Breaking the Barriers of Brain Science Symposium on October 27, 2019, in New York City. A new interdisciplinary study on the “Havana Syndrome” led by Dr. Alon Friedman M.D. of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel and Dalhousie University Brain Repair Center in Nova Scotia, Canada, points to overexposure to pesticides as a likely cause for neurological symptoms among Canadian diplomats residing in Havana, Cuba in 2016....

“The appearance of the newly discovered scorpionflies could hardly be more bizarre,” says Willmann. The males have a spindly, extremely elongated abdomen, at the end of which is a large organ – with long, grasping pincers – for mating. The insects have a body length of more than three centimeters, meaning they are particularly large. The insects were captured by the Mainz zoologist Professor Jochen Martens and his colleague from Stuttgart Dr....

Neuroscientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore), the University of Pennsylvania, and California State University have discovered a biological distinction between psychopaths and non-psychopaths. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, scientists discovered that the striatum, an area of the forebrain, was 10% bigger in psychopathic people compared to a control group of individuals with low or no psychopathic traits. Psychopaths, or those with psychopathic qualities, are people who have an egotistical and antisocial disposition....

The gene, abnormal spindle-like microcephaly-associated (ASPM), helps keep neural progenitor cells proliferating for a longer period in the developing embryo, which in turn leads to the production of more neurons and supporting glial cells, the researchers report on April 11 in the journal Nature. Mutations in ASPM reduce brain volume by half in human microcephaly cases. Previous efforts to study the function of genes involved in brain growth have been hampered by differences in species....

Considered rising stars in the field of solar energy, perovskite solar cells convert light into electricity. They’re potentially cheaper and simpler to produce than traditional silicon-based solar cells and, on a small scale in laboratory settings at least, have demonstrated comparable efficiency levels. But key challenges remain before they can become a competitive commercial technology. One major challenge is the use of lead. Most top-performing hybrid perovskite solar cells contain water-dissolvable lead, raising concerns over potential leakage from damaged cells....

Scientists are closely monitoring positive signs of recovery of the Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer, which is depleted by the use of chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) for a range of industrial and commercial purposes. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/ Jefferson Beck In a Perspective piece appearing in the December 8 issue of Science, NASA researchers discuss the nuances that distinguish three categories of compounds and their impacts on upper atmospheric ozone: long-lasting and human-made compounds, short-lived and human-made compounds, and compounds that are short-lived and naturally emitted from the ocean....

In a paper that appears online today in The Astronomical Journal, the scientists report the discovery of nearly 80 new planetary candidates, including a particular standout: a likely planet that orbits the star HD 73344, which would be the brightest planet host ever discovered by the K2 mission. The planet appears to orbit HD 73344 every 15 days, and based on the amount of light that it blocks each time it passes in front of its star, scientists estimate that the planet is about 2....

As a consequence, the scientists were able to support their prior hypothesis that diamonds really do rain within the ice giants at the edge of our solar system. Another was that this technique would provide a brand-new approach to making nanodiamonds, which are needed, for example, in very sensitive quantum sensors. The team’s findings were recently published in Science Advances. Extreme conditions occur in the interior of large icy planets like Neptune and Uranus, with pressure millions of times higher than on Earth and temperatures that can reach several thousand degrees Celsius....

There is a growing consensus that multiple factors were at play, including climate change, the impact of people on the environment, and access to freshwater sources. Now, research led by Professor Corey Bradshaw of Flinders University and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence of Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH) has used sophisticated mathematical modeling to assess how susceptible different species were to extinction — and what it means for the survival of creatures today....

Moving to a new environment, a common experience for college freshmen can lead to heightened feelings of loneliness. The National College Health Assessment reports that feelings of loneliness among college students have skyrocketed in the past decade. Furthermore, a 2021 survey indicated that 44% of U.S. college students considered themselves to be overweight or obese. While loneliness has been associated with unhealthy weight and a lack of physical activity, there is a lack of research on the dietary habits of college students and their impact on obesity among this population....

University of Maryland researchers created the first high-resolution image of an expanding bubble of hot plasma and ionized gas where stars are born. Previous low-resolution images did not clearly show the bubble or reveal how it expanded into the surrounding gas. The researchers used data collected by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) telescope to analyze one of the brightest, most massive star-forming regions in the Milky Way galaxy....

Traditional models claim that the force of gravity may be solely responsible for the formation of stars and star clusters. More recent observations suggest that magnetic fields, turbulence, or both are also involved and may even dominate the creation process. But just what triggers the events that lead to the formation of star clusters? Astronomers using SOFIA’s instrument, the German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies, known as GREAT, have found new evidence that star clusters form through collisions between giant molecular clouds....

Solar Orbiter, ESA’s new Sun-exploring spacecraft, launched on Monday, February 10, 2020. It carries ten scientific instruments, four of which measure properties of the environment around the spacecraft, especially electromagnetic characteristics of the solar wind, the stream of charged particles flowing from the Sun. Three of these ‘in situ’ instruments have sensors located on the 4.4 m-long (14.4 ft-long) boom. “We measure magnetic fields thousands of times smaller than those we are familiar with on Earth,” says Tim Horbury of Imperial College London, Principal Investigator for the Magnetometer instrument (MAG)....

One of the great mysteries of modern space science is neatly summed up by the view from NASA’s Perseverance, which just landed on Mars: Today it’s a desert planet, and yet the rover is sitting right next to an ancient river delta. The apparent contradiction has puzzled scientists for decades, especially because at the same time that Mars had flowing rivers, it was getting less than a third as much sunshine as we enjoy today on Earth....

Last year, scientists were perplexed after analyzing photographs of the Martian landscape obtained at dawn by NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter. They could see ghostly, blue-white morning frost illuminated by the rising Sun when they peered at the surface with visible light — the sort that the human eye senses. However, when the orbiter’s heat-sensitive camera was used, the ice appeared more extensively, including in locations where none was previously observed....

Scientists at Loughborough University have revealed a new computer model that could help solve the mystery of Saturn’s moonlets. Research by Loughborough University physicists casts new light on Saturn’s moonlets – and could help solve some of the mysteries surrounding planet formation. Saturn’s F ring has long been of interest to scientists as its features rapid change on timescales from hours to years, and it is probably the only location in the solar system where large-scale collisions happen on a daily basis....