Astronomers spot an extremely rare galaxy mega-merger

JWST Image of Stephan's Quintet of galaxies, the left of which (NGC 7320) is much closer to Earth than the other four galaxies in the image. Credit - NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
JWST Image of Stephan’s Quintet of galaxies, the left of which (NGC 7320) is much closer to Earth than the other four galaxies in the image. Credit – NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Scale in the universe is hard to understand from a purely human perspective. Many times, the math just doesn’t sit well with our brains, which evolved to capture and process data about the world around us rather than grok the complexities of stellar dynamics and galaxy mergers. But every once in a while, astronomers find something that, if we can wrap our heads around the numbers, gives a sense of just how big the universe is.

That is precisely what a new paper, available on the arXiv preprint server from a group of astronomers led by Z.L...

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Forcing cancer cells to die can alert the immune system to enhance anti-tumor attack

Unlike accidental cell death, some cells can actively decide to die through a controlled process. This is called programmed cell death and can occur in different forms, including apoptosis and necroptosis. Cells use this process when they are damaged, stressed, becoming cancerous, or infected by harmful microbes. This self-destruction mechanism helps to protect the body, but it is also involved in many diseases, such as infections, inflammatory conditions and cancer.

A major problem in cancer is that some tumors and cancer cells learn how to avoid apoptosis, allowing them to survive when they should die. This resistance can make cancer treatments less effective, especially in advanced or spreading (metastatic) cancers.

A research team led by Prof. Dr...

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Japan space probe skims asteroid in test for planetary defense

asteroid (Dimorphos)
This high-resolution view of Dimorphos was created by combining the final 10 full-frame images obtained by DART’s Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) and layering the higher-resolution images on top of the lower-resolution ones. Dimorphos is oriented so that its north pole is toward the top of the image. Credit: Public Domain

A Japanese space probe performed a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid on Sunday in a test mission for technology that could help protect the planet from space rocks.

The fridge-sized Hayabusa2 was due to fly within 800 meters (0...

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Some agentic AI browsers may come with major cybersecurity risks

Some agentic AI browsers come with major cybersecurity risks, study finds
Attack concept in which a malicious website leverages a prompt injection and a browser agent’s cross-origin access to circumvent the same-origin policy and steal cross-origin data. Credit: University of Washington

In the last year or so, artificial intelligence companies have rolled out a spate of web browsers equipped with AI agents. A user might ask one of these agents to plan a vacation, and it will open browser tabs to research routes and restaurants, then make reservations and add events to the user’s calendar. How well it does any of this varies.

New research from the University of Washington found that the most powerful of these browsers also open users up to significant cybersecurity risks...

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