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Linear gullies on a dune in Matara Crater, Mars, Red and white arrows point to pits. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Winter temperatures on the Red Planet sublimate CO2 from a gas to a solid. These solid carbon dioxide blocks are then thought responsible for making gullies and furrows on Mars’ landscape, based on innovative lab experiments. Researchers millions of kilometres from Mars lab-based experiments on sublimation suggest the same process is responsible for altering the appearance of sand dunes on Mars. Lauren Mc Keown said: “We’ve all heard the exciting news snippets about the evidence for water on Mars...

1. The DEUCE payload undergoing testing and integration at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credits: Nicholas Erickson
2.The rocket is prepared at Wallops for delivery to White Sands Missile Range in Las Cruces, New Mexico for launch on Oct 30, 2017
Credits: Nicholas Erickson
3. The DEUCE grating, sensitive to ultraviolet, is carefully positioned for bonding into its flight mount. Credits: Nicholas Erickson

Though stars and galaxies fill our night sky, most of the matter in the universe resides in the dark voids in between. Spread out over unfathomable distances, this cold, diffuse gas between galaxies—called the intergalactic medium, or IGM for short—hardly emits any light, making it difficult to study.

Scientists plan to launch a sounding rocket for a 15 minute flight Oct...

Two new medications have recently been approved for atopic dermatitis (AD).

Although many adults with atopic dermatitis (eczema) develop the disease in childhood and carry it through life, a large number are first diagnosed in adulthood. “Atopic dermatitis (AD) is underdiagnosed in the United States,” says allergist Luz Fonacier, MD, ACAAI board member and presenter at the meeting. “Many adults don’t seek out medical care, preferring to self-treat instead, either with home remedies or over-the-counter drugs. Often, they aren’t aware they have eczema, and they also don’t know treatments have changed a lot in the last few years. There are new drugs and topical medications that can make a huge difference in their quality of life.”

In addition to the itching and discomfort, people with eczema ...

When gold-coated silver nanoplates are irradiated with a pulsed laser, they change shape into a sphere and release silver ions which produces a strong antibacterial effect. Credit: Dr. Takuro Niidome

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are known to have excellent antibacterial properties and are considered by many to be a strong contender in the critical search for an answer to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They block enzymes and can cause bacteria to have irregularly shaped membranes, producing results ranging from inhibited growth to cell death. However, a collaboration of researchers from Kumamoto University, Keio University, and Dai Nippon Toryo Co., Ltd. in Japan found that AgNPs have a propensity to conglomerate, which results in a reduction of antibacterial attributes...