These simulated views of the ultrahot Jupiter WASP-121b show what the planet might look like to the human eye from five different vantage points, each illuminated to different degrees by its parent star. The images were made with a computer simulation being used to help scientists understand the atmospheres of these planets. Ultrahot Jupiters reflect almost no light, much like charcoal. However, their daysides have temperatures of between 3,600 F and 5,400 F, so they produce their own glow like a hot ember. The orange color in this simulated image thus comes from the planet’s own heat.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Vivien Parmentier/Aix-Marseille University (AMU)

An unusual kind of star-planet hybrid atmosphere is emerging from studies of ultrahot planets orbiting close to other stars...

Researchers at Binghamton University, State University at New York have created a biodegradable, paper-based battery that is more efficient than previously possible.
Credit: Seokheun ‘Sean’ Choi

Proposed design is easy to produce, low-cost, flexible and more efficient than previously proposed paper-based batteries. The batteries of the future may be made out of paper. Researchers at Binghamton University, State University at New York have created a biodegradable, paper-based battery that is more efficient than previously possible.

For years, there has been excitement in the scientific community about the possibility of paper-based batteries as an eco-friendly alternative...

The 44 confirmed planets and their approximate size class, orbits and surface temperatures. Credit: John Livingston Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-08-largest-haul-extrasolar-planets-japan.html#jCp

Confirmation of exoplanets and planetary systems may shed light on our place in the cosmos. Forty-four planets in solar systems beyond our own have been unveiled in one go, dwarfing the usual number of confirmations from extrasolar surveys, which is typically a dozen or less. The findings will improve our models of solar systems and may help researchers investigate exoplanet atmospheres. Novel techniques developed to validate the find could hugely accelerate the confirmation of more extrasolar planet candidates.

An international team of astronomers pooled data from U.S...

The LeuT-fold neurotransmitter:sodium symporter MhsT has two substrate sites. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018; 201717444 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1717444115

Researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) have found new evidence of how certain transport proteins are working at the molecular level, paving the way for new, improved drugs to treat psychiatric disorders. The study’s findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Neurotransmitter:sodium symporters (NSS) regulate signals between nerve cells, and are the molecular target of antidepressants (SSRIs like Prozac) and of various psychostimulants...