Sun-like stars rotate differentially, with the equator rotating faster than the higher latitudes. The blue arrows in the figure represent rotation speed. Differential rotation is thought to be an essential ingredient for generating magnetic activity and starspots. Credit: MPI for Solar System Research/MarkGarlick.com

Equators of Sun-like stars rotate up to two and a half times as fast as higher latitudes. Scientists have measured the differential rotation on Sun-like stars for the first time, and their findings challenge current science on how stars rotate. Until now, little was known about the precise rotational patterns of Sun-like stars, only that the equator spins faster than at higher latitudes, similar to the Sun.

Scientists at the NYU Abu Dhabi Center for Space Science used observat...

A laser pulse hits a tungsten surface on which iodine atoms have been depositied. Both the tungsten atoms and the iodine atoms lose electrons, which can then be measured.
Credit: TU Wien

Quantum jumps are usually regarded to be instantaneous. However, new measurement methods are so precise that it has now become possible to observe such a process and to measure its duration precisely – for example the famous ‘photoelectric effect’, first described by Albert Einstein.

It was one of the crucial experiments in quantum physics: when light falls on certain materials, electrons are released from the surface. Albert Einstein was the first to explain this phenomenon in 1905, when he spoke of “light quanta” – the smallest units of light that we call photons today.

In tiny fractions of a second, an e...

Hypothetical updated Jack model of AD biomarkers to include the role of brain vasculature.

Breakdown of blood vessel lining is seen in multiple neurodegenerative diseases. USC scientists say Alzheimer’s could be diagnosed earlier if scientists focus on an early warning within the brain’s circulation system. That’s important because researchers believe that the earlier Alzheimer’s is spotted, the better chance there is to stop or slow the disease.

“Cognitive impairment, and accumulation in the brain of the abnormal proteins amyloid and tau, are what we currently rely upon to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, but blood-brain barrier breakdown and cerebral blood flow changes can be seen much earlier,” said Berislav Zlokovic, the Mary Hayley and Selim Zilkha Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease Research...

Rectal insulin instillation inhibits inflammation and tumor development in chemically-induced colitis. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis, 2018; DOI: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjy112

Diabetes is not the only disease on which insulin has an effect, it appears. Chronic bowel inflammation can be treated effectively by injecting insulin into the rectum, it appears from a new study, where researchers have tested the treatment on mice. The study is a collaboration between departments at the University of Copenhagen and Roskilde University.

‘Our new treatment with insulin on mice shows great potential against chronic bowel inflammation in humans like Colitis Ulcerosa, which causes a lot of people great discomfort...