Schematic of the internal structure of AGB stars at the interface between the H-burning region and the convective envelope.

Scientists have identified the origin of key stardust grains present in the dust cloud from which the planets in our Solar System formed, a study suggests. Researchers have solved a long-standing puzzle concerning the source of the grains, which formed long before our Solar System and can be recovered from meteorites that fall to Earth. The stars that produced the dust were identified by observing how key reactions shaped the make-up of the grains, scientists say.

During their lifetime, stars around six times larger than the Sun – called Asymptotic Giant Branch or AGB stars – blow off their outer layers, forming an interstellar cloud of gas and dust grains...

Distinct sets of genetic defects in a single neuronal protein can lead either to infantile epilepsy or to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), depending on whether the respective mutations boost the protein’s function or sabotage it, according to a new study by UC San Francisco researchers.

Distinct sets of genetic defects in a single neuronal protein can lead either to infantile epilepsy or to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), depending on whether the respective mutations boost the protein’s function or sabotage it, according to a new study by UC San Francisco researchers. Tracing how these particular genetic defects lead to more general changes in brain function could unlock fundamental mysteries about how events early in brain development lead to autism, the authors say.

The findings are...

From the top left corner, moving clockwise, the four images depict: University at Buffalo students performing an experiment, clean drinking water, water evaporating, and black carbon wrapped around plastic in water with evaporated vapor on top evaporated water. Credit: University at Buffalo.

You’ve seen Bear Grylls turn foul water into drinking water with little more than sunlight and plastic. Now, academics have added a third element—carbon-dipped paper—that may turn this survival tactic into a highly efficient and inexpensive way to turn saltwater and contaminated water into potable water. The idea could help address global drinking water shortages, especially in developing areas and regions affected by natural disasters.

“Using extremely low-cost materials, we have been able to crea...