Extreme Supersonic Winds Measured on a Planet Outside our Solar System

Astronomers have discovered extremely powerful winds pummeling the equator of WASP-127b, a giant exoplanet. Reaching speeds up to 33 000 km/h, the winds make up the fastest jetstream of its kind ever measured on a planet. The discovery was made using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) in Chile and provides unique insights into the weather patterns of a distant world.

Astronomers have discovered extremely powerful winds pummeling the equator of WASP-127b, a giant exoplanet. Reaching speeds up to 33,000 km/h, the winds make up the fastest jet stream of its kind ever measured on a planet...

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Gardenia Plants may hold Chemical Key to Regenerating Diseased Human Nerves

Gardenia plants may hold chemical key to regenerating diseased human nerves
Gardenia flower from the gardens at Monticello. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Queerbubbles

Gardenias are known for their rich, earthy fragrance, waxy petals and brilliant white color that contrasts with the deep emerald green of their leaves. The plant has long been prized by herbalists, seekers of food and fabric dyes, and even pharmaceutical companies.

Now, a collaborative team of scientists at several research centers in the United States has found that a compound known as genipin, derived from the gardenia plant called Cape jasmine, can prompt nerve regeneration. Neurons damaged and stunted by disease find new life in the lab when exposed to the plant-derived compound.

The chemical comes from the fruit of this extraordinarily versatile plant...

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Next Generation Computers: New Wiring Material could Transform Chip Technology

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The rapid technological advancements of our world have been enabled by our capacity to design and fabricate ever smaller electronic chips. These underpin computers, mobile phones and every smart device deployed to date.

One of the many challenges is that electronic components generate increasingly more heat as they are miniaturized. A significant issue lies in making the wires which connect the transistors on the chip thinner while ensuring that the minimum amount of heat is released.

These interconnects are typically made from copper, and as we start to scale them down to nano-scale thicknesses, their electrical resistance increases rapidly because the electrons moving along the wires have a higher probability of colliding into the surface of th...

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Newly Discovered Group Hosts Two Optically Dark Star-Forming Galaxies

New galaxy group detected by astronomers
VISTA RGB color images of CGG-z4 at z ∼ 4.3 using the Ks (red), J (green), and i (blue) bands. Two spectroscopically confirmed galaxies have ALMA 3mm and 870µm continuum emission shown as green and yellow contours. Contours are shown at levels 5, 7, and 10σ. ALMA beam sizes and an image scale are shown in the lower right corner. The RGB frames are composed using linear scales with identical limits. Credit: Brinch et al., 2025.

An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new compact galaxy group using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The new group, designated CGG-z4, hosts two optically dark star-forming galaxies. The finding was detailed in a research paper published on the pre-print server arXiv.

Galaxy groups are the smallest aggrega...

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