Using the most powerful telescopes on Earth and in space, a team of astronomers has found for the first time blasts of hot, warm and cold winds from a neutron star whilst it consumes matter from a nearby star. The discovery provides new insight into the behaviours of some of the most extreme objects in the universe.

Low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) are systems containing a neutron star or black hole. They are fuelled by material ripped from a neighbouring star, a process known as accretion. Most accretion occurs during violent eruptions where the systems brighten dramatically. At the same time, some of the material that spirals in is propelled back into space in the form of disc winds and jets.

The most common signs of outflowing material from as...

Immunotherapy treatment could begin human clinical trials this year. Rice University bioengineers have shown they can eradicate advanced-stage ovarian and colorectal cancer in mice in as little as six days with a treatment that could be ready for human clinical trials later this year.

The researchers used implantable “drug factories” the size of a pinhead to deliver continuous, high doses of interleukin2, a natural compound that activates white blood cells to fight cancer...

Self-powered sensors are key to more accurate, continuous health monitoring. Monitoring vitals and diagnosing ailments can be clunky, painful and inconvenient. But researchers like Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, Dorothy Quiggle Career Development Assistant Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State, are working to improve health monitoring by creating wearable sensors that collect data for clinicians while limiting discomfort for patients.

Since joining t...

New study challenges long-held assumptions about the structure of the sun’s atmosphere. Many coronal loops — ropey strands of plasma that scientists have long thought existed in the Sun’s atmosphere — may actually be optical illusions, according to a new paper that challenges prevailing assumptions of what we know, and don’t know, about the Sun.

The research, led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and published in The Astrophysical Journal, relied on a cutting-edge, realistic 3D simulation of the solar corona...