Photograph of lunar meteorite NWA 2727. Credit: Photo by Masahiro Kayama, Tohoku University

A team of Japanese scientists led by Masahiro Kayama of Tohoku University’s Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, has discovered a mineral known as moganite in a lunar meteorite found in a hot desert in northwest Africa. This is significant because moganite is a mineral that requires water to form, reinforcing the belief that water exists on the Moon.

“Moganite is a crystal of silicon dioxide and is similar to quartz. It forms on Earth as a precipitate when alkaline water including SiO2 is evaporated under high pressure conditions,” says Kayama. “The existence of moganite strongly implies that there is water activity on the Moon...

The newly developed e-wristband is self-powered, highly sensitive and washable. Credit: Image courtesy of American Chemical Society

Electronic textiles could allow a person to control household appliances or computers from a distance simply by touching a wristband or other item of clothing – something that could be particularly helpful for those with limited mobility. Now researchers, reporting in ACS Nano, have developed a new type of e-textile that is self-powered, highly sensitive and washable.

E-textiles are not new, but most existing versions have poor air permeability, can’t be laundered or are too costly or complex to mass-produce...

Last year, the Dawn spacecraft spied organic material near Ernutet crater on the dwarf planet Ceres, largest denizen of the asteroid belt. A new analysis suggests those organics could be more plentiful than originally thought. Credit: NASA / Hannah Kaplan

New technique could find some of the youngest planets in our galaxy. Two independent teams of astronomers have uncovered convincing evidence that three young planets are in orbit around an infant star known as HD 163296. Using a new planet-finding strategy, the astronomers identified 3 discrete disturbances in a young star’s gas-filled disk: the strongest evidence yet that newly formed planets are in orbit there.

Over the past several years, ALMA has transformed our understanding of protoplanetary disks – the gas- and dust-filled planet f...

Chemical structure of small molecule PM-43I. Credit: Courtesy of D. Corry

Small molecule PM-43I prevented and reversed preexisting allergic airway disease in mice and cleared through the kidneys with no long-term toxicity. Asthma is one of the most common and difficult to endure chronic conditions. About 30 million Americans experience asthma attacks and 3 million have a severe, therapy-resistant form of the disease. In some cases, the condition can be fatal.

“Despite the prevalence of asthma around the world, therapy for this condition has not significantly changed, with a few exceptions, in the last 70 to 80 years,” said Dr. David Corry, professor of medicine-immunology, allergy and rheumatology at Baylor College of Medicine...