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This Hubble image shows the remnant of SN 1987A within the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The image was taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) in January 2017. SN 1987A is located in the center of the image amidst a backdrop of stars. The bright ring around the central region of the exploded star is composed of material ejected by the star about 20,000 years before the actual explosion took place. The supernova is surrounded by gaseous clouds. The clouds’ red color represents the glow of hydrogen gas. The colors of the foreground and background stars were added from observations taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). Image credit: NASA / ESA / R. Kirshner, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation / P. Challis, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Hubble Snaps 30th Anniversary Image of SN 1987A Remnant

Feb 25, 2017 by News Staff

This new image of the remnant of core-collapse Supernova 1987A (SN 1987A) was taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in January 2017. This Hubble...

Artist’s impression of a group of Waimanu penguins on a beach in Paleocene Canterbury. Image credit: Chris Gaskin, Geology Museum, University of Otago.

Ancient Giant Penguin Unearthed in New Zealand

Feb 24, 2017 by Natali Anderson

The fossilized leg bones of a giant penguin that lived 61 million years ago have been discovered in New Zealand. Artist’s impression of a group of Waimanu...

NGC 5907 X-1 is in the spiral galaxy NGC 5907, which is also known as the Knife Edge Galaxy or Splinter Galaxy. This image comprises X-ray emission data (blue/white) from ESA’s XMM-Newton space telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory, and optical data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The inset shows the X-ray pulsation of the spinning neutron star, which has a period of 1.13 sec, as determined by XMM-Newton’s European Photon Imaging Camera. Image credit: ESA / XMM-Newton / NASA / Chandra / SDSS.

XMM-Newton Spots Record-Breaking Pulsar: NGC 5907 X-1

Feb 24, 2017 by News Staff

ESA’s XMM-Newton mission has spotted a pulsar — a rapidly rotating, magnetized neutron star that sweeps regular pulses of radiation in two symmetrical...

Fructose, a simple sugar, is generated in the human brain, according to Hwang et al. Image credit: Pete Linforth / Sci-News.com.

Study: Brain Produces Fructose from Glucose

Feb 24, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers, fructose is converted in the human brain from glucose. The finding, published in the journal...

The last glacial period occurred from 110,000 to 11,700 years ago. Image credit: Mauricio Anton.

Simple Rule Accurately Predicts when Ice Age Ends

Feb 23, 2017 by News Staff

According to an international research team led by University College London Professor Chronis Tzedakis, a simple rule can accurately predict when Earth’s...

This is an artistic reconstruction showing Websteroprion armstrongi attacking a fish in the Devonian sea. Image credit: James Ormiston.

Meet Websteroprion armstrongi, Ancient Monster Worm with Terrifying Snapping Jaws

Feb 23, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

A prehistoric monster worm that terrorized the Devonian seas some 400 million years ago has been identified by an international team of paleontologists...

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). Image credit: Jason Buchner.

Researchers Find Antimicrobial Substances in Komodo Dragon Blood

Feb 23, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the College of Science at George Mason University has detected 48 antimicrobial peptides in the blood plasma of Komodo dragons...

Isostylomys laurdillardi. Image credit: Andres Rinderknecht et al.

Fossil Study Rewrites Dinomyidae Family Tree

Feb 22, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

Adult and juvenile fossil specimens of Isostylomys laurdillardi, a giant rodent that lived in South America between 9 and 6.8 million years ago (Miocene...

NASA’s Fermi telescope has detected a gamma-ray excess (shown in yellow-white) at the center of the Andromeda galaxy that’s similar to a signature Fermi previously detected at the center of our own Milky Way Galaxy. Scientists think the signal could be produced by a variety of processes, including a population of pulsars or even dark matter. Image credit: NASA / DOE / Fermi LAT Collaboration / Bill Schoening / Vanessa Harvey / REU Program / NOAO / AURA / NSF.

Fermi Finds Dark Matter Clues in Andromeda Galaxy

Feb 22, 2017 by News Staff

NASA’s Fermi telescope has detected a strong gamma-ray signal coming from the core of the Andromeda galaxy (also known as Messier 31) that could indicate...

This artist’s impression shows the view from the surface of one of the exoplanets in the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system. Image credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser / Spaceengine.org.

TRAPPIST-1: Nearby Dwarf Star Hosts Seven Earth-Size Exoplanets

Feb 22, 2017 by News Staff

A system of seven exoplanets — three in their star’s habitable zone — has been found by an international team of astronomers. This artist’s...

The study by Mitchell et al shows baby’s sex is associated with pregnant women’s immune responses.

Fetal Sex Plays Role in Immunity of Pregnant Women, New Study Finds

Feb 22, 2017 by News Staff

Women tend to react with stronger responses to immune challenges while pregnant with girls than with boys, a new study published in the journal Brain,...

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...