An Inconstant Hubble Constant? Research suggests fix to cosmological cornerstone

Pictured is the supernova of the type Ia star 1994D, in galaxy NGC 4526. The supernova is the bright spot in the lower left corner of the image. Image credit: ESA/Hubble

More than 90 years ago, astronomer Edwin Hubble observed the first hint of the rate at which the universe expands, called the Hubble constant. Almost immediately, astronomers began arguing about the actual value of this constant, and over time, realized that there was a discrepancy in this number between early universe observations and late universe observations.

Early in the universe’s existence, light moved through plasma – there were no stars yet – and from oscillations similar to sound waves created by this, scientists deduced that the Hubble constant was about 67...

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An Illuminating Possibility for Stroke Treatment: Nano-Photosynthesis

Brain slices of mice that received nano-photosynthetic therapy (right) have fewer damaged neurons, shown in green, than control mice (left).
Credit: Adapted from Nano Letters 2021, DOI: 10.10.21/acs.nanolett.1c00719

Blocked blood vessels in the brains of stroke patients prevent oxygen-rich blood from getting to cells, causing severe damage. Plants and some microbes produce oxygen through photosynthesis. What if there was a way to make photosynthesis happen in the brains of patients? Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Nano Letters have done just that in cells and in mice, using blue-green algae and special nanoparticles, in a proof-of-concept demonstration.

Strokes result in the deaths of 5 million people worldwide every year, according to the World Health Organization...

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A Safer, Greener way to make Solar Cells: Toxic Solvent Replaced

Researcher Carys Worsley at work in the SPECIFIC labs, identifying a safer, greener way to make solar cells
Researcher Carys Worsley at work in the SPECIFIC labs, identifying a safer, greener way to make solar cells 

Scientists at SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre, Swansea University, have found a way to replace the toxic, unsustainable solvents currently needed to make the next generation of solar technology.

Printed carbon perovskite solar cells have been described as a likely front runner to the market because they are extremely efficient at converting light to electricity, cheap and easy to make.

A major barrier to the large-scale manufacture and commercialisation of these cells is the solvents used to control crystallisation of the perovskite during fabrication: this is because they are made from unsustainable materials and are banned in many countries due to their toxicity...

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Rare 4,000-year Comets can cause Meteor Showers on Earth

The meteoroid stream of long-period comet Thatcher from CAMS data. Outer blue ellipse is the orbit of Neptune. Photo: P. Jenniskens / SETI Institute

Researchers report that they can detect showers from the debris in the path of comets that pass close to Earth orbit and return as infrequently as once every 4,000 years.

Comets that circle the Sun in very elongated orbits spread their debris so thin along their orbit or eject it out of the solar system altogether that their meteor showers are hard to detect. From a new meteor shower survey published in the journal Icarus, researchers now report that they can detect showers from the debris in the path of comets that pass close to Earth orbit and are known to return as infrequent as once every 4,000 years.

“This creates a situational ...

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