Physicists observationally confirm Hawking’s Black Hole Theorem for the first time

black hole simulation
Physicists at MIT and elsewhere have used gravitational waves to observationally confirm Hawking’s black hole area theorem for the first time. This computer simulation shows the collision of two black holes that produced the gravitational wave signal, GW150914.
Credits:Credit: Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) project. Courtesy of LIGO

Physicists have used gravitational waves to observationally confirm Hawking’s black hole theorem. There are certain rules that even the most extreme objects in the universe must obey. A central law for black holes predicts that the area of their event horizons — the boundary beyond which nothing can ever escape — should never shrink. This law is Hawking’s area theorem, named after physicist Stephen Hawking, who derived the theorem in 1971.

Fifty ye...

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Newly Discovered Proteins Protect against Progression of Diabetic Kidney Disease

The cumulative incidence of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) according to index of protection of three proteins, Index=0/3 indicates no protection whereas Index=3/3 indicates full protection
The cumulative incidence of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) according to index of protection of three proteins, Index=0/3 indicates no protection whereas Index=3/3 indicates full protection

Elevated levels of three specific circulating proteins are associated with protection against kidney failure in diabetes, according to research from the Joslin Diabetes Center that will be published 30th June in Science Translational Medicine.

“As well as acting as biomarkers for advancing kidney disease risk in diabetes, the proteins may also serve as the basis for future therapies against progression to the most serious types of kidney disease,” said Andrzej S. Krolewski MD, Ph.D...

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Sweat-proof ‘Smart Skin’ takes reliable Vitals, even during Workouts and Spicy Meals

Sweat-proof 'smart skin' takes reliable vitals, even during workouts and spicy meals
Engineers have developed a sweat-proof “electronic skin” — a conformable, sensor-embedded sticky patch that reliably monitors a person’s health, even when a wearer is perspiring. Credit: Jeehwan Kim, Hanwool Yeon, et al

MIT engineers and researchers in South Korea have developed a sweat-proof “electronic skin”—a conformable, sensor-embedded sticky patch that monitors a person’s health without malfunctioning or peeling away, even when a wearer is perspiring.

The patch is patterned with artificial sweat ducts, similar to pores in human skin, that the researchers etched through the material’s ultrathin layers. The pores perforate the patch in a kirigami-like pattern, similar to that of the Japanese paper-cutting art...

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Astronomers have identified a White Dwarf so Massive that it might Collapse

This illustration highlights a newfound small white dwarf that is somewhat larger than earth’s moon. the two bodies are shown next to each other for size comparison. the hotyoung white dwarf is the most massive white dwarf knownweighing 1.35 times as much as our sun. Credit: Giuseppe Parisi

Astronomers have identified an extremely magnetized and rapidly rotating ultra-massive white dwarf. Several telescopes characterized the dead star. Maunakea and Haleakala, Hawai’i — Astronomers have discovered the smallest and most massive white dwarf ever seen...

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