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Titan helps researchers explore explosive star scenarios

Exploding stars may seem like an unlikely yardstick for measuring the vast distances of space, but astronomers have been mapping the universe for decades using these stellar eruptions, called supernovas, with surprising accuracy.

Type Ia supernovas--exploding white dwarf stars--are considered the most reliable distance markers for objects beyond our local group of galaxies. Because all Type Ia supernovas give off about the same amount of light, their distance can be inferred by the light intensity observed from Earth.

Study finds high rate of depression among resident physicians

An analysis that included more than 17,000 physicians in training finds that nearly one-third screened positive for depression or depressive symptoms during residency, according to a study in the December 8 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education.

Scientists explain origin of heavy elements in the Universe

In a letter published in the prestigious journal Nature Physics, a team of scientists from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem suggests a solution to the Galactic radioactive plutonium puzzle.

All the Plutonium used on Earth is artificially produced in nuclear reactors. Still, it turns out that it is also produced in nature.

'Quasiparticles' reveal incredibly minute distortions in light waves

WASHINGTON - Optics researchers have discovered a new way to measure incredibly small distortions in light waves by indirectly studying the behavior of curious 'quasiparticles' - ripples in the electric field that emerge when light and solid surfaces interact. This new technique holds significant promise for applications in metrology and chemical sensing, as well as potential improvements in adaptive optics for microscopy and biomedicine.

First light from Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) instrument onboard ASTROSAT

ASTROSAT is India's first dedicated science space mission which was launched on 28 September 2015. The Large Area X-ray Propositional Counter (LAXPC), designed and developed at TIFR, Mumbai, is one of the major payloads on ASTROSAT. The LAXPC instrument became fully operational on 19 October 2015 for the first time in space. A cluster of three co-aligned identical detectors provides a large area of collection of about 8000 cm2.

Greenland glaciers retreating at record pace

Greenland's glaciers are retreating quickly, and a new study shows in historical terms just how quickly: over the past century, at least twice as fast as any other time in the past 9,500 years. The study also provides new evidence for just how sensitive glaciers are to temperature, showing that they responded to past abrupt cooling and warming periods, some of which might have lasted only decades.

Drexel University survey finds broad misperceptions about impact of cleaner indoor air

Do you know how easy it is to improve the quality of the air you breathe every day? Or how much indoor air quality affects your health and productivity? If you're not sure, you're not alone. According to a recent survey by a group of Drexel University environmental and architectural engineering researchers, there is quite a bit of confusion about the costs and benefits of indoor air quality improvement -- even among building owners, designers, managers and tenants.

New research sheds light on mercury pollution in estuaries, food chain

HANOVER, N.H. - Two studies by Dartmouth researchers and their colleagues shed new light on mercury pollution in the waters of the northeastern United States.

The studies -- here and here -- appear in the journal Marine Chemistry. PDFs are available on request.

Closing a malware security loophole

An add-on for antivirus software that can scan across a computer network and trap malicious activity missed by the system firewall is being developed by an international team. Details are reported in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics. The research raises the issue that the developers of both operating systems and antivirus software must work more closely together to reduce the burden of malware on computer systems the world over.

New model to track animal paths from solar geolocators

The ability to track animal movements across long distances has revolutionized our understanding of animal ecology and has been helpful to conservation. Until recently, our ability to record this information was limited to larger animals that could carry satellite transmitters. However, recent technological advances have developed miniaturized devices that extend our ability to track much smaller animals, especially migratory songbirds.

Columbia engineers build biologically powered chip

New York, NY -- Dec. 7, 2015--Columbia Engineering researchers have, for the first time, harnessed the molecular machinery of living systems to power an integrated circuit from adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy currency of life. They achieved this by integrating a conventional solid-state complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit with an artificial lipid bilayer membrane containing ATP-powered ion pumps, opening the door to creating entirely new artificial systems that contain both biological and solid-state components.

Radio shadow reveals tenuous cosmic gas cloud

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered the most tenuous molecular gas ever observed. They detected the absorption of radio waves by gas clouds in front of bright radio sources. This radio shadow revealed the composition and conditions of diffuse gas in the Milky Way galaxy.

Study undercuts idea that 'Medieval Warm Period' was global

A new study questions the popular notion that 10th-century Norse people were able to colonize Greenland because of a period of unusually warm weather. Based upon signs left by old glaciers, researchers say the climate was already cold when the Norse arrived--and that climate thus probably played little role in their mysterious demise some 400 years later. On a larger scale, the study adds to building evidence that the so-called Medieval Warm Period, when Europe enjoyed exceptionally clement weather, did not necessarily extend to other parts of the world.

Study undercuts idea that 'medieval warm period' was global

A new study questions the popular notion that 10th-century Norse people were able to colonize Greenland because of a period of unusually warm weather. Based upon signs left by old glaciers, researchers say the climate was already cold when the Norse arrived--and that climate thus probably played little role in their mysterious demise some 400 years later. On a larger scale, the study adds to building evidence that the so-called Medieval Warm Period, when Europe enjoyed exceptionally clement weather, did not necessarily extend to other parts of the world.

ALMA spots monstrous baby galaxies cradled in dark matter

Astronomers discovered a nest of monstrous baby galaxies 11.5 billion light-years away using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The young galaxies seem to reside at the junction of gigantic filaments in a web of dark matter. These findings are important for understanding how monstrous galaxies like these are formed and how they evolve in to huge elliptical galaxies.