A satellite is ejected from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Small Satellite Orbital Deployer on the ISS

A satellite was ejected from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Small Satellite Orbital Deployer on the International Space Station on Dec. 19, 2016. The satellite is actually 2 small satellites that, once at a safe distance from the station, separated from each other, but were still connected by a 100m-long Kevlar tether. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson helped the JAXA ground team to deploy the satellite, Space Tethered Autonomous Robotic Satellite (STARS-C). Once deployed, STARS-C will point toward Earth and use a spring system and gravitational forces to separate, pushing one satellite closer to the planet...

The top panel shows the low-frequency FT of PG 0112+104. We identify two significant peaks, marked with red dots, which describe photometric modulation at the rotation period and its first harmonic. The bottom panel shows the K2 light curve binned into 200 points, folded at the rotation period of 10.17404 hr, and repeated for clarity. A simple spot model is underplotted in red and described in the text. Credit: Hermes et al., 2016.

Astronomers have recently discovered non-radial oscillations in a hot, helium-atmosphere white dwarf designated PG 0112+104. The newly detected 11 independent pulsation modes in this white dwarf could be essential for researchers testing the radial differential rotation and internal compositional stratification of highly evolved stellar remnants.

PG 0112+104 was...

Image1: Serotonin transporter expression (marked in brown) in human colon. Image2: TLR2 mRNA and protein expression in 5-HT treated cells.

Scientists at the University of Exeter Medical School and University of Zaragoza in Spain studied a protein TLR2, a critical detector of the microbiota found in the intestine. They found that it regulates levels of serotonin – a neurotransmitter of the brain and also found in the gut, where it regulates our bowel routines. The research in cell cultures and verified in mice, provides strong evidence that microbiota can interfere with human physiology by modulating the serotonin transporter activity...

360 degree imaging of human brain organoids using lightsheet microscope, showing smooth appearance of normal organoid (left) and surface folding in PTEN mutant organoid (right) — as well as the mutant organoid’s large size. Credit: Yun Li and Julien Muffat

Implications also for understanding Zika virus-caused microencephaly. Whitehead Institute provide insight into a specific gene pathway that appears to regulate the growth, structure, and organization of the human cortex. They also demonstrate that 3D human cerebral organoids – miniature, lab-grown versions of specific brain structures – can be effective in modeling the molecular, cellular, and anatomical processes of human brain development. And they suggest a new path for identifying the cells affected by Zika virus.

“We found that incr...