Webb Telescope spots “impossible” atmosphere on ancient super-Earth

This artist’s concept shows what a thick atmosphere above a vast magma ocean on exoplanet TOI-561 b could look like. Measurements of light captured from the planet’s dayside by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope suggest that in spite of the intense radiation it receives from its star, TOI-561 b is not a bare rock. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

A scorching “lava world” once thought barren may actually be wrapped in a thick, mysterious atmosphere. Astronomers have uncovered surprising evidence of a thick atmosphere surrounding TOI-561 b, a scorching, fast-orbiting rocky planet once thought too extreme to hold onto any gas...

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Key protein found to protect cartilage, offering new hope for osteoarthritis treatment

SHP protein found to protect cartilage, offering new hope for osteoarthritis treatment
Schematic illustration of SHP (NR0B2)-mediated protection against osteoarthritis. Credit: Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB)

Osteoarthritis, a condition that causes pain and reduced mobility in joints such as the knees and fingers, is one of the most common joint disorders worldwide, particularly among aging populations. The disease is characterized by the gradual breakdown of cartilage, which normally cushions the bones within joints.

Despite its prevalence, current treatments for osteoarthritis mainly focus on alleviating pain rather than addressing the underlying cause of cartilage degeneration. Effective therapies that can halt or reverse cartilage damage remain limited.

A joint research team led by Dr. Chul-Ho Lee and Dr...

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Wearable thermoelectric technology uses thin films to generate electricity from body heat

Seoul National University College of Engineering has announced that a research team led by Prof. Jeonghun Kwak of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, with co-first authors Dr. Juhyung Park and Dr. Sun Hong Kim, has developed a flexible and thin “pseudo-transverse thermoelectric generator” capable of producing electricity from body heat. The research findings appear in Science Advances.

Thermoelectric generators, which convert temperature differences into electricity, are attracting attention as a next-generation energy technology for wearable electronics because they can supply power without batteries. In particular, thin-film thermoelectric generators are lightweight and flexible, allowing them to be comfortably attached to skin or clothing.

However, this thi...

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How young galaxies grew magnetic fields faster than expected

How young galaxies grew magnetic fields faster than expected
Lower panel shows a collapsing plasma cloud with uniform magnetic field (red). Top Right: Compression alone amplifies the field. Bottom Right: Collapse-driven turbulence accelerates dynamo amplification (also generating a horizontal component (blue)), producing magnetic fields stronger than compression alone. Credit: Pallavi Bhat, Anvar Shukurov, Muhammed Irshad and Kandaswamy Subramanian. NASA; SOFIA; HAWC+; A. S. Borlaff/NASA; JPL-Caltech; ESA; Hubble.

How fast can a galaxy build ordered magnetic fields spanning thousands of light-years? Existing theories say several billion years, but observations of galaxies in our universe imply shorter timescales...

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