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Categories: Biology: Developmental, Offbeat: Space
Published Researchers engineer new approach for controlling thermal emission
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source If a material absorbs light, it will heat up. That heat must go somewhere, and the ability to control where and how much heat is emitted can protect or even hide such devices as satellites. An international team of researchers has published a novel method for controlling this thermal emission in Science.
Published Hubble finds surprises around a star that erupted 40 years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have used new data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the retired SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) as well as archival data from other missions to revisit one of the strangest binary star systems in our galaxy -- 40 years after it burst onto the scene as a bright and long-lived nova. A nova is a star that suddenly increases its brightness tremendously and then fades away to its former obscurity, usually in a few months or years.
Published Webb telescope reveals asteroid collision in neighboring star system
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have captured what appears to be a snapshot of a massive collision of giant asteroids in Beta Pictoris, a neighboring star system known for its early age and tumultuous planet-forming activity.
Published The solar system may have passed through dense interstellar clouds 2 million years ago, altering Earth's climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astrophysicists calculate the likelihood that Earth was exposed to cold, harsh interstellar clouds, a phenomenon not previously considered in geologic climate models.
Published Novel Genetic Clock discovers oldest known marine plant
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team has discovered the oldest known marine plant using a novel genetic clock. This 1400-year-old seagrass clone from the Baltic Sea dates back to the Migration Period. The research project is a significant step towards better understanding and protecting marine ecosystems.
Published In a significant first, researchers detect water frost on solar system's tallest volcanoes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of planetary scientists has detected patches of water frost sitting atop the Tharsis volcanoes on Mars, which are not only the tallest volcanic mountains on the Red Planet but in the entire solar system.
Published Galactic bloodlines: Many nearby star clusters originate from only three 'families'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have deciphered the formation history of young star clusters, some of which we can see with the naked eye at night. The team reports that most nearby young star clusters belong to only three families, which originate from very massive star-forming regions. This research also provides new insights into the effects of supernovae (violent explosions at the end of the life of very massive stars) on the formation of giant gas structures in galaxies like our Milky Way.
Published A protein that enables smell--and stops cell death
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source While smell plays a considerable role in the social interactions of humans -- for instance, signaling fear or generating closeness -- for ants, it is vitally important. Researchers have found that a key protein named Orco, essential for the function of olfactory cells, is also critical for the cells' survival in ants.
Published Lake under Mars ice cap unlikely
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have provided a simple and comprehensive -- if less dramatic -- explanation for bright radar reflections initially interpreted as liquid water beneath the ice cap on Mars' south pole.
Published Changes Upstream: RIPE team uses CRISPR/Cas9 to alter photosynthesis for the first time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists used CRISPR/Cas9 to increase gene expression in rice by changing its upstream regulatory DNA. While other studies have used the technology to knock out or decrease the expression of genes, this study, is an unbiased gene-editing approach to increase gene expression and downstream photosynthetic activity. The approach is more difficult than transgenic breeding, but could potentially preempt regulatory issues by changing DNA already within the plant, allowing the plants to get in the hands of farmers sooner.
Published Silkworms help grow better organ-like tissues in labs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biomedical engineers have developed a silk-based, ultrathin membrane that can be used in organ-on-a-chip models to better mimic the natural environment of cells and tissues within the body. When used in a kidney organ-on-a-chip platform, the membrane helped tissues grow to recreate the functionality of both healthy and diseased kidneys.
Published Fish out of water: How killifish embryos adapted their development
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The annual killifish lives in regions with extreme drought. A research group now reports that the early embryogenesis of killifish diverges from that of other species. Unlike other fish, their body structure is not predetermined from the outset. This could enable the species to survive dry periods unscathed.
Published Exotic black holes could be a byproduct of dark matter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the first quintillionth of a second, the universe may have sprouted microscopic black holes with enormous amounts of nuclear charge, MIT physicists propose. The gravitational pull from these tiny, invisible objects could potentially explain all the dark matter that we can't see today.
Published Planet-forming disks around very low-mass stars are different
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using the James Webb Space Telescope, a team of astronomers studied the properties of a planet-forming disk around a young and very low-mass star. The results reveal the richest hydrocarbon composition seen to date in a protoplanetary disk, including the first extrasolar detection of ethane and a relatively low abundance of oxygen-bearing species. By including previous similar detections, this finding confirms a trend of disks around very low-mass stars to be chemically distinct from those around more massive stars like the Sun, influencing the atmospheres of planets forming there.
Published Myelination in the brain may be key to 'learning' opioid addiction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have found that the process of adaptive myelination, which helps the brain learn new skills, can also promote addiction to opioids.
Published New technique reveals how gene transcription is coordinated in cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers invented a technique that allows them to observe which genes and enhancers are active in a cell at the same time. This could help them determine which enhancers control which genes and may reveal potential new drug targets for genetic disorders.
Published Father's diet before conception influences children's health
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A recent study provides new insights into how fathers' diets and overweight can affect their children's health even before conception. The findings of the study can help develop preventive health measures for men wishing to become fathers: The healthier the father's diet, the lower the risk for their children to develop obesity or diseases such as diabetes later in life.
Published 'Weird' new planet retained atmosphere despite nearby star's relentless radiation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A rare exoplanet that should have been stripped down to bare rock by its nearby host star's intense radiation somehow grew a puffy atmosphere instead -- the latest in a string of discoveries forcing scientists to rethink theories about how planets age and die in extreme environments. Nicknamed 'Phoenix' for its ability to survive its red giant star's radiant energy discovered planet illustrates the vast diversity of solar systems and the complexity of planetary evolution -- especially at the end of stars' lives.
Published The embryo assembles itself
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biological processes depend on puzzle pieces coming together and interacting. Under specific conditions, these interactions can create something new without external input. This is called self-organization, as seen in a school of fish or a flock of birds. Interestingly, the mammalian embryo develops similarly. Scientists now introduce a mathematical framework that analyzes self-organization from a single cell to a multicellular organism.
Published Glimpses of a volcanic world: New telescope images of Jupiter's moon Io rival those from spacecraft
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Combining a new imaging instrument with the powerful adaptive optics capabilities of the Large Binocular Telescope, astronomers have captured a volcanic event on Jupiter's moon Io at a resolution never before achieved with Earth-based observations.