Lumbar spine MRI showing vertebra at baseline and three months after treatment. Credit: Radiological Society of North America

The majority of patients were pain free after receiving a new image-guided pulsed radiofrequency treatment for low back pain and sciatica, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Low back pain is an extremely common problem that affects at least 80% of the population at some point in their lifetime. It is the most common cause of job-related disability. Low back pain affects men and women equally.

Most back pain is short-term, but about 20% of people affected by acute low back pain go on to develop chronic low back pain lasting a year or more...

Infant stars, like those recently identified near the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, are surrounded by a swirling disk of dust and gas. In this artist’s conception of infant solar system, the young star pulls material from its surroundings into rotating disk (right) and generates outflowing jets of material (left). Credit: Bill Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

Earliest phase of star formation ever observed in highly hostile environment. ALMA has revealed the telltale signs of 11 low-mass stars forming perilously close – within 3 light-years – to the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). At this distance, tidal forces driven by the supermassive black hole should be energetic enough to rip apart clouds of dust and gas before they can form stars.

The presenc...

Magnetic fields control the collapse of the molecular clouds in the nuclear ring of the galaxy NGC 1097. As a result, formation of massive stars is suppressed in zones of strong magnetic fields (contours). Credit: Gabriel Pérez, SMM (IAC)

Study points to the role of the magnetic field as responsible for decelerating the formation of massive stars in the center of galaxies. Without this process the Big Bang would be questioned. Research has revealed that this process occurs around the center of the galaxy NGC 1097.

The current cosmological model to explain our universe, the “Big Bang” model, aims to describe all the phenomena we observe, which includes the galaxies and their evolution from earliest times to the present day...

Clusters of B (red) and T (green) lymphocytes in pericardial adipose tissue. Fat-laden cells and connective tissue are stained blue. (Mariaelvy Bianchini; Michael Horckmans/LMU)

The damage caused by a heart attack triggers an inflammatory reaction which degrades the affected tissue. This response is orchestrated by immune cells that reside in the nearby pericardial adipose tissue, as a study by a team of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich shows. Following a heart attack, the innate immune system must kick in fast in order to limit the damage and stimulate tissue repair...