Thin Gap on Stellar Family Portrait

Satellite: Gaia Copyright: ESA/Gaia/DPAC

Satellite: Gaia Copyright: ESA/Gaia/DPAC

A thin gap has been discovered on the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HRD), the most fundamental of all maps in stellar astronomy, a finding that provides new information about the interior structures of low mass stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, according to a study led by astronomers at Georgia State University.

Just as a graph can be made of people with different heights and weights, astronomers compare stars using their luminosities and temperatures. The HRD is a “family portrait” of the stars in the Galaxy, where stars such as the Sun, Altair, Alpha Centauri, Betelgeuse, the north star Polaris and Sirius can be compared...

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3D Printing the Next Generation of Batteries

Lattice architecture can provide channels for effective transportation of electrolyte inside the volume of material, while for the cube electrode, most of the material will not be exposed to the electrolyte. The cross-section view shows the silver mesh enabling the charge (Li+ ions) transportation to the current collector and how most of the printed material has been utilized. Credit: Rahul Panat, Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering

Lattice architecture can provide channels for effective transportation of electrolyte inside the volume of material, while for the cube electrode, most of the material will not be exposed to the electrolyte. The cross-section view shows the silver mesh enabling the charge (Li+ ions) transportation to the current collector and how most of the printed material has been utilized.
Credit: Rahul Panat, Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering

Additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D printing, can be used to manufacture porous electrodes for lithium-ion batteries – but because of the nature of the manufacturing process, the design of these 3D printed electrodes is limited to just a few possible architectures...

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Can scientists leverage mysterious Mossy cells for Brain disease Treatments?

This confocal image shows the mossy cell commissural projections (red) and neural stem cells (in green) in the adult mouse dentate gyrus region of the brain. Credit: Song Lab, UNC School of Medicine

This confocal image shows the mossy cell commissural projections (red) and neural stem cells (in green) in the adult mouse dentate gyrus region of the brain.
Credit: Song Lab, UNC School of Medicine

Scientists showed that ‘mossy cells’ in the hippocampus regulate local stem cells to control their production of new neurons, which is important for normal learning and memory, stress response, and mood regulation. Such neurogenesis in the adult brain is disrupted in many common conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, and some forms of epilepsy.

Targeting mossy cells to reverse such disruption may therefore offer a new strategy for treating these conditions”The hope is we could manipulate even a small number of mossy cells to restore ...

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Nano-Carrier releases Drugs into Damaged Cells

The figure shows two views, frontal and lateral, of the image obtained by CT of the lungs of a mouse with fibrosis (grey areas) before and after receiving nano-therapy directed at senescent cells. Credit: Guillem Garaulet and Francisca Mulero, CNIO.

The figure shows two views, frontal and lateral, of the image obtained by CT of the lungs of a mouse with fibrosis (grey areas) before and after receiving nano-therapy directed at senescent cells. Credit: Guillem Garaulet and Francisca Mulero, CNIO.

Scientists have designed a drug encapsulation system that selectively targets senescent cells. The study paves the way for therapeutic approaches to eliminate senescent cells in many diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis and cancer.

Senescent cells are damaged cells that do not perform their normal roles anymore but that are not dead -hence they are commonly known as zombi cells. These cells interfere with the functioning of the tissue in which they accumulate...

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