Observations made with a new instrument developed for use at the 2.1-meter (84-inch) telescope at the National Science Foundation’s Kitt Peak National Observatory have led to the discovery of the fastest eclipsing white dwarf binary yet known. Clocking in with an orbital period of only 6.91 minutes, the rapidly orbiting stars are expected to be one of the strongest sources of gravitational waves detectable with LISA, the future space-based gravitational wave detector.

After expanding into a red giant at the end of its life, a star like the Sun will eventually evolve into a dense white dwarf, an object with a mass like that of the Sun squashed down to a size...

1. Somatic Niche Cells Regulate the CEP-1/p53-Mediated DNA Damage Response in Primordial Germ Cells. Developmental Cell, 2019; 50 (2): 167 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2019.06.012

Scientists have presented new findings that challenge established concepts of genetic inheritance. They have proven that somatic cells of the roundworm C. elegans influence heredity.

Scientists at the CECAD Cluster of Excellence in Aging Research of the University of Cologne have discovered that body cells which are in direct contact with the germ cells in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans are responsible for controlling the stability of the genome in primordial germ cells (PGCs). All germ cells, including sperm and eggs, originate from primordial germ cells that form during early embryo development...

The next big miniaturization step in microelectronics could soon become possible — with so-called 2D materials. With the help of a novel insulator made of calcium fluoride, scientists have created an ultra-thin transistor, which has excellent electrical properties and, in contrast to previous technologies, can be miniaturized to an extremely small size.

For decades, the transistors on our microchips have become smaller, faster and cheaper. Approximately every two years the number of transistors on commercial chips has doubled – this phenomenon became known as “Moore’s Law...

Study overturns conventional wisdom that water is needed to create cyclones. Nearly every atmospheric science textbook ever written will say that hurricanes are an inherently wet phenomenon – they use warm, moist air for fuel. But according to new simulations, the storms can also form in very cold, dry climates.

A climate as cold and dry as the one in the study is unlikely to ever become the norm on Earth, especially as climate change is making the world warmer and wetter. But the findings could have implications for storms on other planets and for the intrinsic properties of hurricanes that most scientists and educators currently believe to be true.

“We have theories for how hurr...