Conceptual illustration. A key outcome from the current studies was that planets orbiting red dwarfs may have remarkably similar characteristics to planets orbiting solar-type stars. Credit: Tokyo Institute of Technology

A new planet near the habitable zone around a bright cool star. Scientists report the existence of 15 new planets – including one ‘super-Earth’ that could harbor liquid water – orbiting small, cool stars near our solar system. These stars, known as red dwarfs, are of enormous interest for studies of planetary formation and evolution. One of the brightest red dwarfs, K2-155 that is around 200 light years away from Earth, has 3 transiting super-Earths, which are slightly bigger than our own planet. Of those 3 super-Earths, the outermost planet, K2-155d, with a radius 1...

This is gut bacteria in culture. Credit: Tao Liu and Xiaoyan Pang/Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Dietary fibers promote gut bacteria that benefit blood glucose control. The fight against type 2 diabetes may soon improve thanks to a pioneering high-fiber diet study led by a Rutgers University-New Brunswick professor. Promotion of a select group of gut bacteria by a diet high in diverse fibers led to better blood glucose control, greater weight loss and better lipid levels in people with type 2 diabetes, according to research published today in Science.

The study, underway for six years, provides evidence that eating more of the right dietary fibers may rebalance the gut microbiota, or the ecosystem of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract that help digest food and are important for overall ...

This is the RMIT-developed proton battery connected to a voltmeter. The working prototype has an energy per unit mass already comparable with commercially-available lithium ion batteries. Credit: RMIT University

Working prototype could eventually replace lithum ion batteries. Researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia have demonstrated for the first time a working rechargeable “proton battery” that could re-wire how we power our homes, vehicles and devices. The rechargeable battery is environmentally friendly, and has the potential, with further development, to store more energy than currently-available lithium ion batteries.

Potential applications for the proton battery include household storage of electricity from solar photovoltaic panels, as done currently by the Tesla ‘P...

This simulated spectrum from the Webb telescope illustrates the kinds of molecules that may be detected in star-forming regions like the Eagle Nebula (background). Credits: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team, and M. McClure (Universiteit van Amsterdam) and A. Boogert (University of Hawaii)

Water is crucial for life, but how do you make water? Cooking up some H2O takes more than mixing hydrogen and oxygen. It requires the special conditions found deep within frigid molecular clouds, where dust shields against destructive ultraviolet light and aids chemical reactions. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will peer into these cosmic reservoirs to gain new insights into the origin and evolution of water and other key building blocks for habitable planets...