How did the Butterfly Nebula get its Wings? It’s complicated

A color rendition of NGC 6302, the Butterfly Nebula, created from black-and-white exposures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2019 and 2020. In the violet-colored regions, strong stellar winds are actively reshaping the nebular wings over the past 900 years. The other features range in age from 1200 to 2300 years.Bruce Balick/University of Washington/Joel Kastner/Paula Baez Moraga/Rochester Institute of Technology/Space Telescope Science Institute

Something is amiss in the Butterfly Nebula. When astronomers compared two exposures of this planetary nebula that had been taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009 and 2020, they saw dramatic changes in the material within its ‘wings...

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The ‘Guardian of the Genome’ Protects against Cardiovascular Disease

The 'guardian of the genome' protects against cardiovascular disease
The analysis of human samples and animal experiments demonstrate that the presence of p53 gene mutations in the blood increases the risk of developing atherosclerosis, the principle cause of cardiovascular disease. Credit: CNIC

A team at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), working in collaboration with institutes in the U.S., has demonstrated that acquired mutations in the gene encoding the protein p53 contribute to the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Known as the “guardian of the genome,” p53 helps to maintain the integrity of the hereditary material inside cells by regulating multiple cell functions in response to cellular stresses.

Every day, an adult person generates hundreds of thousands of blood cells...

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Scientists use Laser to Guide Lightning Bolt for First Time

Deflecting lightning with a laser lightning rod

Scientists said Monday they have used a laser beam to guide lightning for the first time, hoping the technique will help protect against deadly bolts—and one day maybe even trigger them.

Lightning strikes between 40-120 times a second worldwide, killing more than 4,000 people and causing billions of dollars worth of damage every year.

Yet the main protection against these bolts from above is still the humble lightning rod, which was first conceived by American polymath Benjamin Franklin in 1749.

A team of scientists from six research institutions have been working for years to use the same idea but replace the simple metal pole with a far more sophisticated and precise laser.

Now, in a study published in the journal Nature Photonics, they describe using a laser beam—shot...

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Hubble finds Hungry Black Hole Twisting captured Star into Donut Shape

This sequence of artist’s illustrations shows how a black hole can devour a bypassing star. 1. A normal star passes near a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy. 2. The star’s outer gasses are pulled into the black hole’s gravitational field. 3. The star is shredded as tidal forces pull it apart. 4. The stellar remnants are pulled into a donut-shaped ring around the black hole, and will eventually fall into the black hole, unleashing a tremendous amount of light and high-energy radiation.
Credits: NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI)

Black holes are gatherers, not hunters. They lie in wait until a hapless star wanders by...

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