News Archive for February 2017

The 12.2-mm-long Nyctibatrachus robinmoorei sitting on the Indian 5-rupee coin (24 mm diameter) is one of the new species discovered from the Western Ghats of India. Image credit: SD Biju.

Seven New Species of Night Frogs Discovered in India

Feb 21, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

Seven new species of the genus Nyctibatrachus (Night frogs) have been discovered in the Western Ghats global biodiversity hotspot in India. Seven new species...

This Cassini view shows four dusty strands of Saturn’s F ring: the central strand is the core of the ring; the other strands are not independent at all, but are actually sections of long spirals of material that wrap around the gas giant; the material in the spirals was likely knocked out from the F ring’s core during interactions with a small moon. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI.

Cassini Captures Close-Up View of Saturn’s Intriguing F Ring

Feb 21, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

When seen up close, Saturn’s F ring — the outermost discrete ring of the gas giant — resolves into multiple dusty strands. This Cassini view...

Image showing a family tree of stars in the solar neighborhood. Image credit: University of Cambridge.

Astronomers Reconstruct History of Solar Neighborhood with Evolutionary Tree

Feb 21, 2017 by News Staff

A University of Cambridge-led team of astronomers, using chemical elements as a proxy for stellar DNA, has assembled an evolutionary family tree of stars...

According to Soderquest et al, T-bet plays an important role in coordinating the body’s immune responses. Image credit: Werbe Fabrik.

‘Molecular Switch’ that Causes Mucosal Autoimmune Diseases Discovered

Feb 21, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to an international team of researchers led by University College London and King’s College London, the discovery of a ‘molecular switch’...

Perspective view of Mars’ north polar ice cap and its distinctive dark troughs forming a spiral-like pattern. The view is based on images taken by ESA’s Mars Express and generated using elevation data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on board NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / NASA / MGS / MOLA Science Team.

ESA Releases Stunning Mosaic of Mars’ North Pole

Feb 20, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers, using a camera aboard ESA’s Mars Express, have created a stunning mosaic of Mars’ north polar region. Perspective view of Mars’ north...

Dopaminergic system and reward processing: dopaminergic neurons are located in the midbrain structures substantia nigra (SNc) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA); their axons project to the striatum (caudate nucleus, putamen and ventral striatum including nucleus accumbens), the dorsal and ventral prefrontal cortex; the mesolimbic dopamine pathway mediates the psychopharmacology of reward, whether that is a natural high or a drug-induced high, and is sometimes referred to as the pleasure center of the brain, with dopamine as the pleasure neurotransmitter. Image credit: Oscar Arias-Carrion et al, doi: 10.1186/1755-7682-7-29.

Study: Neurotransmitter Dopamine Plays Role in Human Bonding

Feb 20, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers have found for the first time that dopamine, a vital neurotransmitter in the brain, is involved in human bonding. The results appear in the...

Williams et al show that dietary supplementation with a single molecule (vitamin B3 or NAM) or Nmnat1 gene therapy significantly reduces vulnerability to glaucoma by supporting mitochondrial health and metabolism. Image credit: Mizianitka.

Vitamin B3 Protects Mice from Glaucoma, Study Finds

Feb 20, 2017 by News Staff

Vitamin B3, also known as niacin and nicotinic acid, prevents eye degeneration in glaucoma-prone mice, according to a study published in the Feb. 17 issue...

Astronomers combined data from ALMA’s 7- and 12-m antennas to produce the sharpest possible image of RX J1347.5–1145, the center of which shows up here in the dark ‘hole’ in the ALMA observations. The energy distribution of the CMB photons shifts and appears as a temperature decrease at the wavelength observed by ALMA, hence a dark patch is observed in this image at the location of the cluster. The optical image of RX J1347.5–1145 was taken with Hubble. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / T. Kitayama, Toho University / ALMA.

Astronomers Use ALMA to Hunt for Universe’s Oldest Light

Feb 20, 2017 by News Staff

This image shows the first measurements of the so-called Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect (SZE) from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. Astronomers...

A large pit valley in Lucaya crater, Mars: (a) exposure of putative crossbeds on windward slope of dunes, and (b) interdune strata exposed in planform showing contrasting albedo and crosscutting relationships similar to that exposed in the dune. Image credit: M.C. Bourke & H.A. Viles.

Researchers Uncover New Evidence for Water on Ancient Mars

Feb 19, 2017 by News Staff

Dr. Mary Bourke from Trinity College Dublin and University of Oxford Professor Heather Viles have discovered a patch of land in an equatorial crater on...

Hatzegopteryx, depicted here as a short-necked, powerful predator, consumes the dwarf dinosaur Zalmoxes in Late Cretaceous Romania. Image credit: Mark Witton, University of Portsmouth.

Giant Pterosaurs Ruled Late Cretaceous Romania, Says New Study

Feb 17, 2017 by News Staff

Hatzegopteryx, a flying reptile with a 10-m wingspan and a mass of 220 kg, was the dominant predator in what is now Romania between 72-66 million years...

Artist’s impression of Planet Nine. Image credit: Tom Ruen / ESO.

Backyard Worlds: Join Search for Planet Nine, Nearby Brown Dwarfs

Feb 17, 2017 by News Staff

A NASA-funded website called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 lets everyone participate in the search for the hypothetical Planet Nine and ‘failed’ stars...

This enhanced color composite image, made with data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, shows the area around Ernutet crater, which is about 32 miles (52 km) in diameter and is located in the northern hemisphere. The bright red portions appear redder with respect to the rest of Ceres. In the new study, planetary researchers found that these red areas around Ernutet are associated with evidence of organic material. Images taken using blue (440 nm), green (750 nm) and infrared (960 nm) spectral filters were combined to create the view. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Aliphatic Organic Compounds Detected on Ceres

Feb 17, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of planetary researchers has discovered the presence of aliphatic organic compounds — carbon-based building blocks that may...

This composite image showing Jupiter (center) and three of its moons -- Callisto (left), Io, and Ganymede -- was taken by OSIRIS-REx’s PolyCam instrument. Image credit: NASA / Goddard / University of Arizona.

OSIRIS-REx Takes Its First Images of Jupiter and Galilean Moons

Feb 17, 2017 by News Staff

During asteroid search operations, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft snapped several images of Jupiter and its Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede. This...

Reconstruction of Euchambersia mirabilis; oblique ventro-lateral view showing the ridged dentition. Image credit: Alex Bernardini.

Proto-Mammals were First Terrestrial Vertebrates to Produce Venom, Paleontologists Say

Feb 16, 2017 by News Staff

When you’re a small pre-mammalian creature, sometimes the only way to protect yourself against fearsome predators like saber-toothed carnivores is to...

Five Ways Nanoscience is Making Science Fiction into Fact

Feb 16, 2017 by Josh Davies, Cardiff University

Russian author Boris Zhitkov wrote the 1931 short story Microhands, in which the narrator creates miniature hands to carry out intricate surgeries. And...

The study by Martineau et al provides the most robust evidence yet that vitamin D has benefits beyond bone and muscle health, and could have major implications for public health policy.

Vitamin D Protects Against Colds and Flu, New Study Finds

Feb 16, 2017 by News Staff

Vitamin D supplementation can help protect against acute respiratory infections including colds and flu, particularly among very deficient individuals,...

Composite image showing how powerful radio jets from the supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy in the Phoenix Cluster inflated huge ‘bubbles’ in the hot, ionized gas surrounding the galaxy (the cavities inside the blue region imaged by NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory). Hugging the outside of these bubbles, ALMA discovered an unexpected trove of cold gas, the fuel for star formation (red). The background image is from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / NASA / ESA / Hubble / CXC / MIT / H. Russell et al / M. McDonald et al / B. Saxton.

Powerful Black Hole at Heart of Phoenix Cluster’s Central Galaxy Surprises Astronomers

Feb 15, 2017 by News Staff

A University of Cambridge-led team of astronomers has discovered a surprising connection between a supermassive black hole and the giant galaxy where it...

According to Antusch et al, oscillons produced a characteristic peak in the otherwise broad spectrum of gravitational waves. Image credit: University of Basel.

Oscillons, Gravitational Wave Factories in Very Early Universe

Feb 15, 2017 by News Staff

A team of theoretical physicists at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has found that in the very early Universe, so-called oscillons — strong...

Artist’s reconstruction of Dinocephalosaurus. Image credit: Dinghua Yang.

Triassic Fossil Reveals First Evidence of Live Birth in Archosauromorphs

Feb 15, 2017 by News Staff

The first ever evidence of live birth in a group of animals previously thought only to lay eggs has been discovered by an international team of paleontologists...

Morrissey et al found that there are specific groups of neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex of a rat’s brain - the region most associated with long-term memory; these neurons develop codes to help store relevant, general information from multiple experiences while, over time, losing the more irrelevant, minor details unique to each experience. This image shows a rat hippocampal neuron. Image credit: ZEISS Microscopy / CC BY 2.0.

Neuroscientists Uncover How Brain Maintains Useful Memories

Feb 15, 2017 by News Staff

A team of neuroscientists at the University of Toronto in Canada has discovered a reason why we often struggle to remember small details of past experiences....

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