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    Galactic Bar Paradox Resolved in Cosmic Dance

    August 27, 2020, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Snapshots from a Milky Way galaxy simulation. The bar in the centre and the spiral arms are thought to rotate at different speeds. If they are disconnected the bar shows its true and smaller structure (left). Every time they meet, the bar appears longer and its rotation slower (right).
    Credit T. Hilmi / University of Surrey
    Licence type Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

    New light has been shed on a mysterious and long-standing conundrum at the very heart of our galaxy. The new work offers a potential solution to the so-called ‘Galactic bar paradox’, whereby different observations produce contradictory estimates of the motion of the central regions of the Milky Way. The results are published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

    The majority of spiral galaxies, like our home the ...

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    Pigs grow new Liver in Lymph Nodes, study shows

    August 26, 2020, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Development of Ectopic Livers by Hepatocyte Transplantation into Swine Lymph Nodes. Liver Transplantation, 2020 DOI: 10.1002/lt.25872

    Hepatocytes — the chief functional cells of the liver — are natural regenerators, and the lymph nodes serve as a nurturing place where they can multiply. In a new study published online and appearing in a coming issue of the journal Liver Transplantation, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine showed that large animals with ailing livers can grow a new organ in their lymph nodes from their own hepatocytes. A human clinical trial is next.

    “It’s all about location, location, location,” said senior author Eric Lagasse, Pharm.D., Ph.D...

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    Wireless Device makes Clean Fuel from Sunlight, Carbon Dioxide and Water

    August 26, 2020, Categories  Physics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Wireless device makes clean fuel from sunlight, CO2 and water
    This device, developed by a team from the University of Cambridge, is a significant step toward achieving artificial photosynthesis – a process mimicking the ability of plants to convert sunlight into energy. It is based on an advanced ‘photosheet’ technology and converts sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and formic acid – a storable fuel that can be either be used directly or be converted into hydrogen. Credit: University of Cambridge

    Researchers have developed a standalone device that converts sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into a carbon-neutral fuel, without requiring any additional components or electricity.

    The device, developed by a team from the University of Cambridge, is a significant step toward achieving artificial photosynthesis—a process mimicking the a...

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    Ancient Star explosions revealed in Deep-sea Sediments

    August 26, 2020, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    A mystery surrounding the space around our solar system is unfolding thanks to evidence of supernovae found in deep-sea sediments.

    Professor Anton Wallner, a nuclear physicist at ANU, led the study which shows Earth has been travelling for the last 33,000 years through a cloud of faintly radioactive dust.

    “These clouds could be remnants of previous supernova explosions, a powerful and super bright explosion of a star,” Professor Wallner said.

    Professor Wallner conducted the research at the ANU Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF). He also holds joint positions at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and Technical University Dresden (TUD) in Germany.

    The researchers searched through several deep-sea sediments from two different locations that date back 33,000 years using the...

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