Credit: Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

Researchers often assume that massive galaxies host supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in their nuclei. In recent years, observers have sought galaxies that might contain an SMBH that is displaced from its equilibrium position. Among the scenarios that could cause such a displacement are the merger of two SMBHs or the existence of a binary pair of SMBHs, and finding an example would give astronomers information about the evolution of galaxies and the frequency of the formation and mergers of this type of object.

One of the candidates for a displaced SMBH is the giant elliptical galaxy M87, which contains one of the nearest and most studied galactic nuclei (AGN). Previous studies on the displacement of the SMBH of M87 produced conflicting results...

U.S. county distributions.
a: Proportion of Medicare Sample with Diagnosed CKD by County, b: Average PM2.5 (μg/m3) by County, Non-shaded counties had missing information and were not used in the analysis.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200612.g002

There is good evidence that polluted air increases the risk of respiratory problems such as asthma – as well as organ inflammation, worsening of diabetes and other life-threatening conditions. But new research suggests air pollution can also fuel something else: chronic kidney disease, or CKD, which occurs when a person’s kidneys become damaged or cannot filter blood properly.

Recently published in PLOS ONE, a University of Michigan study highlights the lesser-known connection...

On Aug. 17, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft obtained the first images of its target asteroid Bennu from a distance of 1.4 million miles (2.2 million km), or almost six times the distance between the Earth and Moon. This cropped set of five images was obtained by the PolyCam camera over the course of an hour for calibration purposes and in order to assist the mission’s navigation team with optical navigation efforts. Bennu is visible as a moving object against the stars in the constellation Serpens.
Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

After an almost two-year journey, NASA’s asteroid sampling spacecraft, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx), caught its first glimpse of asteroid Bennu last week and began the final approach tow...

A new material developed by University of Colorado Boulder engineers can transform into complex, pre-programmed shapes via light and temperature stimuli, allowing a literal square peg to morph and fit into a round hole before fully reverting to its original form.
Credit: Bowman Lab / University of Colorado Boulder

A new material developed by University of Colorado Boulder engineers can transform into complex, pre-programmed shapes via light and temperature stimuli, allowing a literal square peg to morph and fit into a round hole before fully reverting to its original form. The controllable shape-shifting material, described today in the journal Science Advances, could have broad applications for manufacturing, robotics, biomedical devices and artificial muscles.

“The ability to form materia...