Heavens

Supermassive black holes do not give off any of their own light, hence the word "black" in their name. However, many black holes pull in, or accrete, surrounding material, and emit powerful bursts of X-rays. Collectively, these active black holes throughout the sky can be thought of a cosmic choir, singing in the language of X-rays. Their "song" is what astronomers call the cosmic X-ray background.

BOSTON, Mass. - July 27, 2016 - Penumbra, Inc. (NYSE: PEN), a global interventional therapies company, today announced that the Penumbra 3D Trial successfully met the primary trial endpoints, demonstrating non-inferiority in both safety and efficacy of the company's next-generation stent retriever, Penumbra 3D Revascularization Device, when used with Penumbra System aspiration devices compared to Penumbra System aspiration devices alone.

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, along with other telescopes on the ground and in space, have discovered a new type of exotic binary star: in the system AR Scorpii a rapidly spinning white dwarf star is powering electrons up to almost the speed of light. These high energy particles release blasts of radiation that lash the companion red dwarf star, and cause the entire system to pulse dramatically every 1.97 minutes with radiation ranging from the ultraviolet to radio.

Most of the Hawaiian Islands were spared serious damage from Tropical Storm Darby. NASA estimated the rainfall left behind from the storm and found more than a foot and half fell north of Oahu.

The location of Darby's track through the Hawaiian Islands resulted in the islands of Hawaii and Oahu being the most affected. Flash flooding was common on Oahu due to a reported 177.8 mm (7 inches) of rain drenching the island. Interstate H-1 was flooded in some locations. Lightning damage was reported in Kaneohe on the windward side of Oahu.

Tropical Storm Mirinae was moving through the Gulf of Tonkin early on July 27 when NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead. Forecasters expect Mirinae to make landfall in northeastern Vietnam later in the day.

Infrared data from NASA showed that cloud top temperatures in Hurricane Frank were warming, an indication that Hurricane Frank was getting weaker.

Infrared data taken July 26 at 2053 UTC (4:53 p.m. EDT) from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite revealed that Frank was a compact storm. The center was surrounded by a small area of strong thunderstorms where cloud top temperatures were warming as the uplift of air weakened, not pushing cloud tops as high into the troposphere.

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - Microgreens and baby greens are a relatively new specialty crop seen in many upscale markets and restaurants. Favored by chefs and consumers, microgreens are used to enhance the flavor, color, and texture of foods, and some species have the added benefit of high concentrations of health-promoting phytochemicals. As consumer demand for these specialty crops increases, commercial greenhouse growers are becoming more interested in producing microgreens for market, and scientists are working to find the best production practices for growers.

Video of astronauts tripping over moon rocks can make for entertaining Internet viewing, but falls in space can jeopardize astronauts' missions and even their lives. Getting to one's feet in a bulky, pressurized spacesuit can consume time and precious oxygen reserves, and falls increase the risk that the suit will be punctured.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Members of the successful Apollo space program are experiencing higher rates of cardiovascular problems that are thought to be caused by their exposure to deep space radiation, according to a Florida State University researcher.

As waves of hospitals move from older methods of record keeping to new digital electronic health record (EHR) systems, many medical professionals express fears that implementing an EHR system in their hospital will have dire results, including more errors and higher patient mortality.

But these fears are largely unfounded, researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have found after studying a diverse group of U.S. hospitals that implemented new EHR systems during 2011 and 2012.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A website with search and interaction history can be just as engaging as chatting with an online human agent, or robot helper, according to Penn State researchers.

Binary black holes recently discovered by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration could be primordial entities that formed just after the Big Bang, report Japanese astrophysicists.

If further data support this observation, it could mark the first confirmed finding of a primordial black hole, guiding theories about the beginnings of the universe.

In February, the LIGO-Virgo collaboration announced the first successful detection of gravitational waves.

The number of women living to age 90 in the United States has increased significantly in the past century. Currently estimated at 1.3 million, this demographic is expected to quadruple by 2050. A new study by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that women who start menstruation and experience menopause later in life may have increased chances of surviving nine decades.

Perovskite solar cells are the rising star in the photovoltaic landscape. Since their invention, less than ten years ago, their efficiency has doubled twice and it is now over 22% - an astonishing result in the renewable energy sector. Taking the name 'perovskite' from the light-harvesting layer that characterizes them, these solar cells are lighter, cheaper, and more flexible than the traditional crystalline silicon-based cells.

MISSOULA - University of Montana forest ecology Professor Andrew Larson recently published research estimating the abundance of morel mushrooms after a wildfire in California's Sierra Nevada.

"So many people love to harvest and eat morel mushrooms," Larson said, "but there is very little research that measures the abundance of morels after a forest has burned. We wanted to give forest managers concrete data on morel abundance."