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Astrophysicists use Echoes of Light to Illuminate Black Holes

Astrophysicists Use Echoes of Light to Illuminate Black Holes
Due to gravitational lensing, the photons from a single flash of light near a black hole follow winding paths. Some follow the trajectory of the blue line, where they take a direct path to the observer. Others orbit around the black hole once, following the path of the red dashed line. Others still orbit the black hole twice following the green dashed line. Because the different paths all have different time delays, the photons arrive one after another in sequence, and the original flash of light will appear to echo. Credit: George N. Wong

A team of astrophysicists, led by scholars from the Institute for Advanced Study, has developed an innovative technique to search for black hole light echoes...

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Scientists identify immune molecule that keeps Metabolism in tune and on time

Scientists identify immune molecule that keeps metabolism in tune and on time
Innate IL-17+ T cells are enriched for molecular-clock genes. Credit: Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08131-3

Recent research reveals that the immune system interacts with the body’s internal clock, influencing both fat storage and temperature regulation.

The discovery hints at why shift workers and others with irregular work, eating, or sleep patterns driven by the demands of modern life fall out of metabolic sync, and may hold potential for developing therapies to address obesity and prevent wasting.

The key finding—that an immune molecule within adipose (fat) tissue, known as interleukin-17A (IL-17A), plays a regulatory role in fat storage—holds significant therapeutic potential for addressing obesity, preventing wasting, and mitigating other metabolic disorders...

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Repurposed RFID Tags allow for Battery-free Sensing and Tracking

UC San Diego researchers develop low-cost, scalable passive sensors
Credit: Hana Tobias, Qualcomm Institute at UC San Diego

Data is power. According to Dinesh Bharadia, an associate professor at UC San Diego in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering with an affiliate appointment in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the Qualcomm Institute (QI), “data will be the next decade’s ‘silicon.'”

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things means that data is more readily available and easily accessible than ever. Sensors, “smart” devices and software connect our world to the cloud, gathering information and enabling new types of data sharing and analysis. However, most of these tools are battery-powered and have difficulty sensing changes in real time.

Now, the tide is turning.

New research presented and published in t...

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Interstellar Methane as Progenitor of Amino Acids?

The “Mars Mole,” Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP³). Credit: DLR

Gamma radiation converts methane into glycine and other complex molecules. Gamma radiation can convert methane into a wide variety of products at room temperature, including hydrocarbons, oxygen-containing molecules, and amino acids, reports a research team in the journal Angewandte Chemie. This type of reaction probably plays an important role in the formation of complex organic molecules in the universe — and possibly in the origin of life. They also open up new strategies for the industrial conversion of methane into high value-added products under mild conditions.

With these research results, the team led by Weixin Huang at the University of Science and Technology of China (Hefei) has contributed...

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