The XRISM science team, including members of Nagoya University, has explained how galaxy clusters maintain their heat despite emitting X-rays, which typically have a cooling effect on the hot gas. By observation of the Centaurus cluster of galaxies, the XRISM team discovered the existence of a fast-moving, high-temperature gas flow in the center of the cluster. Their findings, published by Nature, may solve the ‘cooling flow problem’, explaining why clusters of galaxies look like they do. Galaxy clusters are made…

First Light! The spectro-polarimeter of the world’s largest solar telescope in Hawaii looks at the Sun for the first time. The instrument was developed in Germany With a primary mirror diameter of four meters, the Inouye Solar Telescope is the largest in the world. Thanks to the optimal observational conditions on the Hawaiian volcano Haleakala and the use of sophisticated methods of image stabilization and reconstruction, the Inouye Solar Telescope has been providing breathtakingly detailed views of our star since…

Researchers train AI to predict if and why proteins form sticky clumps, a mechanism linked to 50 human diseases affecting half a billion people An AI tool has made a step forward in translating the language proteins use to dictate whether they form sticky clumps similar to those linked to Alzheimer’s Disease and around fifty other types of human disease. In a departure from typical “black-box” AI models, the new tool, CANYA, was designed to be able to explain its…

SwRI-led NASA spacecraft’s scans offer surprising view of galactic surroundings The NASA New Horizons spacecraft’s extensive observations of Lyman-alpha emissions have resulted in the first-ever map from the galaxy at this important ultraviolet wavelength, providing a new look at the galactic region surrounding our solar system. The findings are described in a new study authored by the SwRI-led New Horizons team. “Understanding the Lyman-alpha background helps shed light on nearby galactic structures and processes,” said SwRI’s Dr. Randy Gladstone, the…

Jairo Sinova of Mainz University to coordinate a new Priority Program for fundamental and applied research into information technology based on altermagnetism Professor Jairo Sinova of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) will be coordinating a new Priority Program in the field of condensed matter physics that will be dealing with unconventional magnetism. The Priority Program will involve fundamental and applied research in the field of unconventional magnetic systems to develop IT components or devices that will reach the technical limits…

Clocks on Earth are ticking a bit more regularly thanks to NIST-F4, a new atomic clock at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Boulder, Colorado. This month, NIST researchers published a journal article establishing NIST-F4 as one of the world’s most accurate timekeepers. NIST has also submitted the clock for acceptance as a primary frequency standard by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the body that oversees the world’s time. NIST-F4 measures an unchanging…

New research shows that the specialized sensors can detect particles more precisely To learn more about the nature of matter, energy, space, and time, physicists smash high-energy particles together in large accelerator machines, creating sprays of millions of particles per second of a variety of masses and speeds. The collisions may also produce entirely new particles not predicted by the standard model, the prevailing theory of fundamental particles and forces in our universe. Plans are underway to create more powerful…

Researchers developed a novel annealing processing system that scales both the number of spins and interaction bit width simultaneously Combinatorial optimization problems (COPs) arise in various fields such as shift scheduling, traffic routing, and drug development. However, they are challenging to solve using traditional computers in a practical timeframe. Alternatively, annealing processors (APs), which are specialized hardware for solving COPs, have gained significant attention. They are based on the Ising model, in which COP variables are presented as magnetic spins…

Atomic imaging and AI offer new insights into motion of parasite behind sleeping sickness Millions of people worldwide are affected by African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and other life-threatening infections caused by microscopic parasites borne by insects such as the tsetse fly. Each of the underlying single-celled parasites — Trypanosoma brucei and its relatives — has one flagellum, a whiplike appendage that is essential for moving, infecting hosts and surviving in different environments. Now, a research team at the California NanoSystems…

A newly published study shows varying levels of methanol, a molecule that is an important component of pre-biotic chemistry, in a spectral analysis of small celestial objects beyond Neptune University of Central Florida (UCF) scientists and their collaborators discovered new insights into the formation of distant icy objects in space beyond Neptune, offering a deeper understanding of our solar system’s formation and growth. Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists analyzed far-away bodies — known as Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs)…

World’s first private nuclear reactor, ‘the atomic furnace’ pioneered advancements in agriculture, chemistry, and medicine while employing an innovative safety design The Armour Research Foundation Reactor at Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech) has been officially recognized as a Nuclear Historic Landmark by the American Nuclear Society (ANS), joining an elite group of fewer than 100 sites across the United States to receive this designation. Nicknamed “the atomic furnace,” the world’s first privately owned and operated nuclear reactor marked a significant transition in the…

Bringing SETI science to community colleges SETI Institute Launches ARISE Lab, Bringing SETI and Radio Astronomy to Community Colleges The SETI Institute announced it will expand its pilot program funded through a grant from the Amateur Radio and Digital Communication (ARDC) Foundation now called ARISE Lab (arise.seti.org). This initiative brings SETI science to community colleges and provides hands-on training for community college instructors and students in astronomy, digital signal processing, and radio science. “Hands-on experiences are proven to improve student…

Another race to space is on, but the competitors aren’t reaching for the moon. Instead, multiple national agencies and private companies across the world are aiming for the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. Launching satellites into this very low Earth orbit (VLEO) environment — the altitude between 60 and 280 miles above Earth — could solve spacecraft crowding in traditional orbits, according to Sven Bilén, Penn State professor of engineering design, of electrical engineering and of aerospace engineering. Bilén said satellites in traditional…

Scientists and space explorers have been on the hunt to determine where and how much ice is present on the Moon. Water ice would be an important resource at a future lunar base, as it could be used to support humans or be broken down to hydrogen and oxygen, key components of rocket fuel. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa researchers are using two innovative approaches to advance the search for ice on the Moon. ShadowCam scouts for surface ice Water…

Team from University of Stuttgart publishes results in Nature Physics “Our results add another chapter to the emerging field of skyrmion research,” proclaims Prof. Harald Giessen, head of the Fourth Physics Institute at the University of Stuttgart, whose group achieved this breakthrough. The team demonstrated the existence of “skyrmion bags” of light on the surface of a metal layer. A better understanding of physical phenomena Skyrmions are a mathematical description of vortex-like structures that help researchers better understand fundamental physical…

In two commentaries, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine say combining modeling methods—and ethically sharing health data—could transform treatment With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), predictive medicine is becoming an important part of healthcare, especially in cancer treatment. Predictive medicine uses algorithms and data to help doctors understand how a cancer might continue to grow or react to specific drugs—making it easier to target precision treatment for individual patients. While AI is important in this work,…