This composite image of the Kleinmann-Low Nebula, part of the Orion Nebula complex, is composed of several pointings of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in optical and near-infrared light. Infrared light allows to peer through the dust of the nebula and to see the stars therein. The revealed stars are shown with a bright red colour in the image.
Credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble

In the search for rogue planets and failed stars astronomers using Hubble have created a new mosaic image of the Orion Nebula. During their survey of the famous star formation region, they found what may be the missing piece of a cosmic puzzle; the third, long-lost member of a star system that had broken apart.

The Orion Nebula is the closest star formation region to Earth, only 1400 light-years away...

Numerical simulation of the fragmentation of a cluster of stars up to the formation of stars (left) with a zoom on the most central part of the cluster (right). The inclination axes of the masses similar to those observed by the Kepler satellite (in cluster NGC 6791) align in this simulation when the kinetic energy of the original cloud is comparable to the ambient turbulent energy. © E.Corsaro & Y.-N Lee

Using asteroseismology, an international team including CEA, CNRS and Université Grenoble-Alpes discovered a surprising alignment of the rotation axes of stars in open clusters, shedding light on the conditions in which stars are formed in our galaxy...

Eosinophils stimulate β3 adrenoreceptors through the release of soluble factors.

Immune cells which are reduced in number by obesity could be a new target to treat diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension that affect overweight people, according to a collaborative study between The University of Manchester, Lund University and the University of Salford. In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, reseachers investigated eosinophils. Eosinophils are present in perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), which surrounds blood vessels and helps to maintain normal blood vessel function by reducing artery contraction.

The current research found that eosinophils were considerably reduced in the PVAT in obesity in mice, and that the PVAT function was severely impaired, contributing ...

This is a sample of transparent polycrystalline cubic silicon nitride with a diameter of approximately two millimeters, synthesized at DESY. Credit: Norimasa Nishiyama, DESY/Tokyo Tech

Scientists synthesize 1st sample of transparent silicon nitride, ie popular industrial ceramic DESY.The result is a super-hard window made of cubic silicon nitride that can potentially be used under extreme conditions like in engines. Cubic silicon nitride (c-Si3N4) forms under high pressure and is the 2nd hardest transparent nanoceramic after diamond but can withstand substantially higher temperatures.

“Silicon nitride is a very popular ceramic in industry,” explains lead author Dr. Norimasa Nishiyama from DESY, now is an associate professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology...