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BYF73 and insight into how massive stars form

Using a CSIRO radio telescope, an international team of researchers has caught an enormous cloud of cosmic gas and dust in the process of collapsing in on itself – a discovery which could help solve one of astronomy's enduring conundrums: 'How do massive stars form?'

Dr Peter Barnes from the University of Florida says astronomers have a good grasp of how stars such as our Sun form from clouds of gas and dust, but for heavier stars – ten times the mass of the Sun or more – they are still largely in the dark, despite years of work.

Largest atlas of nuclear galactic rings unveiled

Largest atlas of nuclear galactic rings unveiled

An international team of astrophysicists has just unveiled the most complete atlas of nuclear rings, enormous star-forming ring-shaped regions that circle certain galactic nuclei. The catalogue, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, includes 113 such rings in 107 galaxies.

'Survivor' black holes in galaxy M82 may be mid-sized

'Survivor' black holes in galaxy M82 may be mid-sized

Ice of 24 Themis may be 'living fossil' with clues to oceans' origins

The first-ever discovery of ice and organic molecules on an asteroid may hold clues to the origins of Earth's oceans and life 4 billion years ago.

University of Central Florida researchers detected a thin layer of water ice and organic molecules on the surface of 24 Themis, the largest in a family of asteroids orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.

Their unexpected findings will be published Thursday, April 29 in Nature, which will featuretwo complementary articles by the UCF-led team and by another team of planetary scientists.

Scientists finds evidence of water ice on 24 Themis asteroid's surface

KNOXVILLE -- Asteroids may not be the dark, dry, lifeless chunks of rock scientists have long thought.

Josh Emery, research assistant professor with the earth and planetary sciences department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has found evidence of water ice and organic material on the asteroid 24 Themis. This evidence supports the idea that asteroids could be responsible for bringing water and organic material to Earth.

The findings are detailed in the April 29 issue of the journal "Nature."

Earth microbes may contaminate the search for life on Mars

Bacteria common to spacecraft may be able to survive the harsh environs of Mars long enough to inadvertently contaminate Mars with terrestrial life according to research published in the April 2010 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

The search for life on Mars remains a stated goal of NASA's Mars Exploration Program and Astrobiology Institutes. To preserve the pristine environments, the bioloads on spacecraft headed to Mars are subject to sterilization designed to prevent the contamination of the Martian surface.

Merely seeing disease symptoms may promote aggressive immune response

Just seeing someone who looks sick is enough to make your immune system work harder, according to a new study in which volunteers looked at pictures of sick people. This may help fight off pathogens, says Mark Schaller from the University of British Columbia who conducted the research. "It seems like it's probably good for the immune system to be responding especially aggressively at times when it looks like you are likely to be coming into contact with something that might make you sick."

Nonmedical treatment may rapidly relieve severe IBS symptoms

A significant proportion of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients treated with cognitive behavior therapy have a positive response within four weeks of treatment, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

Non-medical treatment may rapidly relieve severe IBS symptoms

A significant proportion of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients treated with cognitive behavior therapy have a positive response within four weeks of treatment, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

Inaugural issue of OSA's Energy Express focuses on gaining energy with solar concentrators

WASHINGTON, April 26—New devices that concentrate the sun's rays, increase the efficiency of solar cells, and help to lower the cost of solar energy, are featured in the inaugural issue of Energy Express, a new special bi-monthly supplement to Optics Express, the open-access journal of the Optical Society (OSA). Edited by Bernard Kippelen of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Energy Express launches today and will focus on research that encompasses the science and engineering of light and its impact on sustainable energy development, the environment, and green technologies.

Planck highlights the complexity of star formation

New images from ESA's Planck space observatory reveal the forces driving star formation and give astronomers a way to understand the complex physics that shape the dust and gas in our Galaxy.

Star formation takes place hidden behind veils of dust but that doesn't mean we can't see through them. Where optical telescopes see only black space, Planck's microwave eyes reveal myriad glowing structures of dust and gas. Now, Planck has used this ability to probe two relatively nearby star-forming regions in our Galaxy.

Where comets emit dust

Research in Antarctica reveals non-organic mechanism for production of important greenhouse gas

Athens, Ga. – In so many ways, Don Juan Pond in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica is one of the most unearthly places on the planet. An ankle-deep mirror between mountain peaks and rubbled moraine, the pond is an astonishing 18 times saltier than the Earth's oceans and virtually never freezes, even in temperatures of more than 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.

Cyclone 24S now all grown up and renamed Tropical Storm Sean

Weather systems that become tropical cyclones go through a couple of names before they mature, just like people with nicknames. Such is the case with Cyclone 24S in the Southern Indian Ocean that was just renamed Tropical Storm Sean.

Weather systems that become tropical cyclones go through a couple of names before they mature, just like people with nicknames. Such is the case with Cyclone 24S in the Southern Indian Ocean that was just renamed Tropical Storm Sean.

Hubble Telescope's 20th anniversary

Hubble's unprecedented capabilities have made it one of the most powerful science instruments ever conceived by humans, and certainly the one most embraced by the public. Hubble's discoveries have revolutionised nearly all areas of current astronomical research, from planetary science to cosmology. And, its pictures are unmistakably out of this world.