Hidden magma oceans could shield rocky exoplanets from harmful radiation

Illustration of a super-earth shown with cross-sections revealing the deep layer of molten rock known as the basal magma ocean that could produce magnetic fields for super-earths.
UNDER ARMOR? Deep layers of molten rock inside some super-earths could generate powerful magnetic fields—potentially stronger than Earth’s—and help shield these exoplanets from harmful radiation. (University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics illustration / Michael Franchot)

Deep beneath the surface of distant exoplanets known as super-Earths, oceans of molten rock may be doing something extraordinary: powering magnetic fields strong enough to shield entire planets from dangerous cosmic radiation and other harmful high-energy particles.

Earth’s magnetic field is generated by movement in its liquid iron outer core—a process known as a dynamo—but larger rocky worlds like super-Earths might have solid or fully liquid cores that cannot produce magnetic fields in the sam...

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Maternal microbiome compound may hold key to preventing liver disease

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Children born to mothers who consume a high-fat, high-sugar diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding face a higher risk of developing fatty liver disease later in life.

New research from the University of Oklahoma suggests that risk may be reduced. A recent study has found that supplementing pregnant and lactating mice with a naturally occurring compound produced by healthy gut bacteria significantly lowered rates of fatty liver disease in their offspring as they aged.

The research is published in the journal eBioMedicine.

How gut bacteria compound may help
The compound, called indole, is naturally made by healthy gut bacteria when they break down tryptophan, an amino acid found in foods such as turkey and nuts...

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New state of matter discovered in a quantum material

three people in a physics lab, in the center a technical device with metallic spiral
In the Microkelvin Lab
Silke Bühler-Paschen (left), Diego Zocco and Diana Kirschbaum

At TU Wien, researchers have discovered a state in a quantum material that had previously been considered impossible. The definition of topological states should be generalized.

The work is published in Nature Physics.

Quantum physics tells us that particles behave like waves and, therefore, their position in space is unknown. Yet in many situations, it still works remarkably well to think of particles in a classical way—as tiny objects that move from place to place with a certain velocity.

When physicists describe how electric current flows through metals, for example, they imagine electrons racing through the material and being accelerated or deflected by electromagnetic fields.

Even mo...

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Researchers solve mystery of universe’s ‘little red dots’

Red dots
The little red dots are young black holes, enshrouded in a cocoon of gas, which they are consuming in order to grow larger. This process generates enormous heat which gives little red dots their unique red colour. Photo: JWST/Darach Watson

Since the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) went into operation, red dots in its images have puzzled researchers around the world. Now, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have explained these enigmatic findings, revealing the most violent forces in the universe concealed in a cocoon of ionized gas. The discovery is published in Nature.

Since December 2021, when the James Webb super telescope saw first light, some 1...

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