This is a picture of the Northern Lights. Credit: University of Bath

University of Bath researchers have gained new understanding of the Northern Lights, providing an opportunity to develop better satellite technology that can negate outages caused by this natural phenomenon. Previous research has shown that the Northern Lights aka Aurora Borealis interfere with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals which are heavily relied upon in the transport and civil aviation industries. The plasma turbulence within the Northern Lights was traditionally deemed responsible for causing GNSS inaccuracies. However, this latest research found that turbulence does not exist, suggesting new, unknown mechanisms are actually responsible for outages on GNSS signals.

The team observed the Northern L...

The massive black hole shown at left in this drawing is able to rapidly grow as intense radiation from a galaxy nearby shuts down star-formation in its host galaxy.
Credit: John Wise, Georgia Tech

Modeling supports one view of massive black-hole creation in early universe. The appearance of supermassive black holes at the dawn of the universe has puzzled astronomers since their discovery more than a decade ago. A supermassive black hole is thought to form over billions of years, but more than 2 dozen of these behemoths have been sighted within 800 million years of the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago.

In a new study a team of researchers add evidence to one theory of how these ancient black holes, about a billion times heavier than our sun, may have formed and quickly put on weight...

University of Utah bioengineering assistant professor Robby Bowles and bioengineering doctoral student Niloofar Farhan are part of a team that has discovered a way to curb chronic pain by modulating genes that reduce tissue- and cell-damaging inflammation. The team is using the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat) system — new technology of modifying human genetics — to stop cell death and keep the cells from producing molecules that damage tissue and result in chronic pain. Credit: Dan Hixson/University of Utah College of Engineering

For millions of sufferers, there is nothing more debilitating than chronic back or joint pain. It can feel like a lifetime of misery...

Images that predate the formation of toxic clumps of beta-amyloid, the protein believed to be at the root of Alzheimer’s disease, have now been captured by researchers. Credit: Illustration: Per Uvdal

MAX IV synchrotron in Lund, Sweden – the strongest of its kind in the world – has been used to produce images that predate the formation of toxic clumps of beta-amyloid, the protein believed to be at the root of Alzheimer’s disease. The unique images appear to contradict a previously unchallenged consensus. Instead of attempting to eliminate beta-amyloid plaques, the researchers now suggest stabilizing the protein.

It is a long-held belief in the scientific community that the beta-amyloid plaques appear almost instantaneously. Hence the term “popcorn plaques...