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    Scientists Precisely Measure Total Amount of Matter in the Universe

    September 29, 2020, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The team determined that matter makes up about 31% of the total amount of matter and energy in the universe. Cosmologists believe about 20% of the total matter is made of regular — or “baryonic” matter — which includes stars, galaxies, atoms, and life, while about 80% is made of dark matter, whose mysterious nature is not yet known but may consist of some as-yet-undiscovered subatomic particle. (UCR/Mohamed Abdullah)

    A top goal in cosmology is to precisely measure the total amount of matter in the universe, a daunting exercise for even the most mathematically proficient. A team led by scientists at the University of California, Riverside, has now done just that

    Reporting in the Astrophysical Journal, the team determined that matter makes up 31% of the total amount of matter ...

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    First Evidence that Air Pollution Particles and Metals are Reaching the Placenta

    September 28, 2020, Categories  Health/Medical, Environment/Geology

    Black inclusions in placental cells resembling inhaled particulate matter

    Pollution particles, including metals, have been found in the placentas of fifteen women in London, according to research led by Queen Mary University of London.

    The study, funded by Barts Charity and published in the journal Science of The Total Environment, demonstrate that inhaled particulate matter from air pollution can move from the lungs to distant organs, and that it is taken up by certain cells in the human placenta, and potentially the fetus.

    The researchers say that further research is needed to fully define the direct effect that pollution particles may have on the developing fetus.

    Lead author Professor Jonathan Grigg from Queen Mary University of London said: “Our study for the first time shows that ...

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    Controlling Ultrastrong Light-Matter Coupling at Room Temperature

    September 28, 2020, Categories  Physics

    Illustration
    Researchers have shown that it is possible to create a controllable ultrastrong light-matter coupling at room temperature. The interaction is realised within a tiny system consisting of two gold mirrors separated by a small distance and plasmonic gold nanorods. The discovery is of importance for fundamental research and might pave the way for advances within, for example, light sources, nanomachinery, and quantum technology.​​​​​ ​Illustration: Denis Baranov

    Physicists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, together with colleagues in Russia and Poland, have managed to achieve ultrastrong coupling between light and matter at room temperature...

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    First Candidate for an Extragalactic Planet identified

    September 28, 2020, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    First candidate for a planet in an different galaxy identified
    Left: false RGB stacked Chandra/ACIS-S image of the Whirlpool Galaxy, M 51 (total exposure of ≈850 ks). Colored points are XRSs: Red is 0.3-1 keV; green is 1-2 keV; blue is 2-7 keV. M 51-ULS1 is the orange source at the center of the 60” × 60” dashed white box. Diffuse emission is from hot gas. Right: HST image of the area defined by the white box in the top image. Red is the F814W band; green is F555W; blue is F435W. The magenta circle marks the X-ray position of M 51-ULS, which lies at the edge of a young star cluster. The source is located at right ascension and declination 13:29:43.30, +47:11:34.7, respectively. Credit: arXiv:2009.08987 [astro-ph.HE]

    A team of researchers from the U.S. and China has found the first evidence for a candidate planet in another galaxy...

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