Material has been discovered moving at nearly 10% the speed of light away from the centre of the nearby quasar PDS456 – the most powerful object in the local universe. Like all quasars, PDS456 is thought to be powered by matter converting into energy when material is swallowed by a supermassive black hole. New observations show that its energy output is so large that it is “choking on its food” and radiation is literally blowing the top off the inner region of the disc of in-falling material that su

Spinning black holes could be responsible for at least some of the immensely powerful gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) astronomers observe coming from distant galaxies. On Tuesday 8 April, Sheila McBreen of University College, Dublin, will tell the UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting in Dublin that her analysis of the way gamma-rays were emitted over the course of outbursts from a large sample of GRBs has revealed particular signatures, most likely to be those of a rotating black hole either being “spun up”

An international team of astronomers has discovered that “dark matter”, the mysterious material that seems to make up most of the mass of galaxies, is not as all-pervasive as previously believed. Surprising new results from studies of several elliptical galaxies show they are not surrounded by halos of dark matter as was expected. The findings will be presented at the UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting in Dublin on Wednesday April 9th by Dr Aaron Romanowsky of the University of Nottingham.

An international collaboration between medical researchers may have identified how meningitis causing bacteria cross from the blood into the brain, paving the way for new strategies to prevent this fatal disease, the Society for General Microbiology’s Spring Meeting in Edinburgh heard today, Tuesday 8 April 2003.
“Almost every known bacteria which attacks people could potentially cause meningitis,” says Professor Kwang Sik Kim of John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA who worked on this issue fo

British children’s lives might be saved by being routinely vaccinated for chickenpox, according to Dr Anne Gershon, speaking at the Society for General Microbiology’s Spring Meeting in Edinburgh today, Wednesday 9 April 2003.

“At the moment British children are not given routine vaccinations. In the USA and Canada one dose against chickenpox is given to children under 13 years old, and two doses are given to older children and adults, which appears to significantly cut down outbreaks of the

A pioneering transport system which uses sophisticated computer technology to provide buses on demand may help to solve rural travel problems.

Passengers using the new service benefit from flexible timetables, can influence the journey routes and may be picked up and dropped off on their doorsteps.

The University of Newcastle upon Tyne’s Transport Operations Research Group (TORG) and Northumberland County Council are jointly managing the three-year £750,000 pilot project, w