Study adds more certainty to theory involving information paradox. Black holes really are giant fuzzballs, a new study says.

The study attempts to put to rest the debate over Stephen Hawking’s famous information paradox, the problem created by Hawking’s conclusion that any data that enters a black hole can never leave. This conclusion accorded with the laws of thermodynamics, but opposed the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics.

“What we found from string theory is that all the mass of a black hole is not getting sucked in to the center,” said Samir Mathur, lead author of the study and professor of physics at The Ohio State University...

PSI scientists have shed light on an important component of the eye: a protein in the rod cells of the retina which helps us see in dim light. Acting as an ion channel in the cell membrane, the protein is responsible for relaying the optical signal from the eye to the brain. If a genetic disorder disrupts the molecular function in a person, they will go blind. Scientists have deciphered the protein’s three-dimensional structure, preparing the way for innovative medical treatments. The study is published in the scientific journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

“It’s thanks to the rod cells in our eye that we can observe the stars in the night sky,” explains Jacopo Marino, a biologist with PSI’s Laboratory of Biomolecular Research...

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, TESS, was launched in 2018 with the goal of discovering small planets around the sun’s nearest neighbor stars. TESS has so far discovered 172 confirmed exoplanets and compiled a list of 4703 candidate exoplanets...

Researchers have discovered that gene variants associated with risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease disturb the brain’s natural protective mechanism against the condition.

The brain has a natural protective mechanism against Alzheimer’s disease, and researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and collaborating institutions have discovered that gene variants associated with risk of developing the disease disturb the protective mechanism in ways that can lead to neurodegeneration. The researchers also showed in a fruit fly model of the condition that a chemical known as ABCA1 agonist can restore certain alterations of the brain protective mechanism.

The team reveals evidence supporting reactive oxygen species (ROS), natural byproducts of cellular metabol...