Study of Small Magellanic Cloud suggests Planets could have Formed during ‘Cosmic Noon’

Study of Small Magellanic Cloud suggests planets could have formed during 'cosmic noon'
NIRCam mosaics of NGC 346. Credit: Nature Astronomy (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-023-01945-7

An international team of space scientists has found evidence suggesting that planets could have formed during the so-called “cosmic noon.” In their study, reported in the journal Nature Astronomy, the group used data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study a part of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) to learn more about planet development around young stars.

For many years, astronomers have been studying planet creation and the likelihood of the existence of planets similar to Earth. But it is still not clear how planets could have could come to exist in the early universe when most, if not all of the stars, were small...

Read More

Researchers discover how Long-lasting Memories Form in the Brain

Researchers discover how long-lasting memories form in the brain
Graphical abstract. Credit: Neuron (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.04.005

Helping your mother make pancakes when you were three…riding your bike without training wheels…your first romantic kiss: How do we retain vivid memories of long-ago events? As described in a paper published in Neuron, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found the explanation.

“The ability to learn new information and store it for long periods is one of the brain’s most remarkable features,” said Robert H. Singer, Ph.D., a co-corresponding author of the paper. “We’ve made a startling discovery in mice regarding the molecular basis for making those long-term memories.” Dr. Singer is professor of cell biology and in the Dominick P...

Read More

Webb Reveals Early-Universe Prequel to Huge Galaxy Cluster

Various multi-color galaxies on a black background, with specific close-ups of 7 faint red galaxies in a column on right
The seven galaxies highlighted in this James Webb Space Telescope image have been confirmed to be at a distance that astronomers refer to as redshift 7.9, which correlates to 650 million years after the big bang. This makes them the earliest galaxies yet to be spectroscopically confirmed as part of a developing cluster.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, T. Morishita (IPAC). Image processing: A. Pagan (STScI)

Every giant was once a baby, though you may never have seen them at that stage of their development. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has begun to shed light on formative years in the history of the universe that have thus far been beyond reach: the formation and assembly of galaxies...

Read More

Too Much Insulin can be as Dangerous as Too Little

person taking an insulin shot
Millions of Americans use insulin injections to boost levels and treat diabetes, but too much insulin can be deadly too. Researchers have identified a key player in preventing “insulin shock” that might also prove an effective alternative to the hormone. Agamatrix

Researchers describe a key player in the defense mechanism that safeguards against excessive insulin in the body, which can be as harmful as too little. Just over a century has passed since the discovery of insulin, a time period during which the therapeutic powers of the hormone have broadened and refined. Insulin is an essential treatment for type 1 diabetes and often for type 2 diabetes, as well. Roughly 8.4 million Americans use insulin, according to the American Diabetes Association.

One hundred years of research ...

Read More