Elusive, Dusty Inner Region of Distant Galaxy

The long-sought after innermost dusty ring was detected with the highest spatial resolution in the infrared wavelengths ever used. An international team of scientists has achieved the milestone of directly observing the long-sought, innermost dusty ring around a supermassive black hole, at a right angle to its emerging jet. Such a structure was thought to exist in the nucleus of galaxies but had been difficult to observe directly because intervening material obscured our line of sight.

Now the inner disk is detected using the highest spatial resolution in the infrared wavelengths ever done for an extragalactic object. The new discovery was just published in The Astrophysical Journal.

“This is a very exciting step forward to view the inner region of a distant galaxy with such fin...

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Powerhouses of the Cells: Mitochondria have a Waste Disposal Mechanism to get rid of Mutated mtDNA

Electron micrograph of nucleoid extraction in a cell and schematic representation of the new mechanism. Copyright: David Pla-Martin

A research team has identified a molecular target that could open up new therapeutic options to treat aging-associated diseases like Parkinson’s. Scientists at the University of Cologne have discovered how cells can eliminate mutated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells. Due to their evolutionary descent from bacteria, they still have genetic material packaged in chromosome-like structures (nucleoids). They convert the chemical energy in our food into a biologically usable form...

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Researchers Unlock Light-Matter Interactions on Subnanometer Scales, Leading to ‘Picophotonics’

picophotonics in the 3D lattice of silicon atoms
The figure above demonstrates picophotonics in the 3D lattice of silicon atoms. The red wave represents the conventional electromagnetic wave propagating in the solid. The blue inner wave represents the new predicted picophotonic wave.  Graphic provided by Dr. Zubin Jacob.

Researchers at Purdue University have discovered new waves with picometer-scale spatial variations of electromagnetic fields that can propagate in semiconductors like silicon. The research team, led by Dr. Zubin Jacob, Elmore Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Physics and Astronomy, published their findings in Physical Review Applied in a paper titled “Picophotonics: Anomalous Atomistic Waves in Silicon.”

“The word microscopic has its origins in the length scale of a micro...

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NASA’s Webb catches Fiery Hourglass as New Star Forms

The protostar within the dark cloud L1527, shown in this image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), is embedded within a cloud of material feeding its growth. Ejections from the star have cleared out cavities above and below it, whose boundaries glow orange and blue in this infrared view. The upper central region displays bubble-like shapes due to stellar “burps,” or sporadic ejections.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI. Image processing: J. DePasquale, A. Pagan, and A. Koekemoer (STScI)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the once-hidden features of the protostar within the dark cloud L1527, providing insight into the beginnings of a new star...

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