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This is a black hole visualization. Credit: Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

Scientists have devised a method of distinguishing black holes from compact massive objects that are externally indistinguishable from one another. The method involves studying the energy spectrum of particles moving in the vicinity – in one case it will be continuous and in the other it will be discrete.

Black holes, which were predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity, have an event horizon – a boundary beyond which nothing, even light, can return to the outside world. The radius of this boundary is called the Schwarzschild radius, ie radius of an object for which the escape velocity is greater than the speed of light, which means that nothing is able to overcome its gravity.

Black holes of ...

This image combines an image taken with Hubble Space Telescope in the optical (taken in spring 2014) and observat ions of its auroras in the ultraviolet, taken in 2016. Credit: NASA, ESA

This aurora observation programme is supported by measurements made by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, currently on its way to Jupiter.
Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, is best known for its colourful storms, the most famous being the Great Red Spot. Now astronomers have focused on another beautiful feature of the planet, using the ultraviolet capabilities of the Hubble. This programme will determine how various components of Jupiter’s auroras respond to different conditions in the solar wind.

This observation programme is perfectly timed as NASA’s Juno spacecraft is currently in the solar wind nea...

This is a schematic of how a “chimeric autoantibody receptor,” or CAAR, that displays fragments of the autoantigen Dsg3 helps fight an autoimmune disease called pemphigus vulgaris, a condition in which a patient’s own immune cells attack Dsg3, which normally adheres skin cells. Credit: Christoph T. Ellebrecht, MD, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Preclinical study shows that engineered T cells can selectively target the antibody-producing cells that cause autoimmune disease. The autoimmune disease the team studied is pemphigus vulgaris (PV), a condition in which a patient’s own immune cells attack a protein called desmoglein-3 (Dsg3) that normally adheres skin cells...

Highlights •PM20D1 is a secreted enzyme that regulates N-acyl amino acids in vivo •N-acyl amino acids are endogenous metabolites that uncouple mitochondria •Increased PM20D1 or N-acyl amino acid administration augments energy expenditure

Findings show potential for obesity treatment. Investigators have identified a natural molecular pathway that enables cells to burn off calories as heat rather than store them as fat. This raises the possibility of a new approach to treating and preventing obesity, diabetes, and other obesity-linked metabolic disorders including cancer.

Prof. Bruce Spiegelman, PhD discovered the mechanism in energy-burning brown and beige fat cells in mice...