182 articles from TUESDAY 15.10.2019

Heron survey fishes out detail in ghostly galaxy outskirts

Astronomers have completed the largest survey to date of the faint outskirts of nearby galaxies, successfully testing a low-cost system for exploring these local stellar systems. R. Michael Rich of the University of California, Los Angeles led an international team carrying out a survey for the Haloes and Environments of Nearby Galaxies (HERON) collaboration, published in a paper in Monthly...

Dynamic pattern of skyrmions observed

Cu2OSeO3 is a material with unusual magnetic properties. Magnetic spin vortices known as skyrmions are formed within a certain temperature range when in the presence of a small external magnetic field. Currently, moderately low temperatures of around 60 Kelvin (-213 degrees Celsius) are required to stabilise their phase, but it appears possible to shift this temperature range to room temperature....

Are some urban settings riskier for traffic injury or death? We know less than you think

How dangerous is travel in the United States? It depends on how you frame the question. If it's risk per kilometer, the U.S. has 6.71 deaths per billion vehicle kilometers of travel compared to the United Kingdom, which has just 3.56 deaths per billion vehicle kilometers. This makes vehicular travel in the U.S. about 88.6 percent more dangerous than travel in the U.K. If it's risk per year of...

Did early mammals turn to night life to protect their sperm?

Humans are diurnal—we are active in the day and sleep at night. But diurnalism is by far the exception rather the rule in mammals. About 250-230 million years ago, the mammalian ancestors, called the therapsids, became exclusively nocturnal, and stayed so until the demise of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. All of our mammal ancestors lived in the dark for about 200 years, and the majority...

Going against the flow around a supermassive black hole

At the center of a galaxy called NGC 1068, a supermassive black hole hides within a thick doughnut-shaped cloud of dust and gas. When astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study this cloud in more detail, they made an unexpected discovery that could explain why supermassive black holes grew so rapidly in the early Universe.

Searching for water

In a place like Delaware, where it rains frequently, water is a renewable resource. Natural processes will replenish the water that is being used or consumed. In an area where rain is not as plentiful, such as the Arabian Peninsula, however, it is crucial to get a handle on how much good water is available under the arid desert in what are known as fossil aquifers—aquifers that store older...

Lost in combat? Artifacts from the Bronze Age

Recent archaeological investigations in the Tollense Valley led by the University of Göttingen, the State Agency for Cultural Heritage in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the University of Greifswald have unearthed a collection of 31 unusual objects. Researchers believe this is the personal equipment of a Bronze Age warrior who died on the battlefield 3,300 years ago. This unique find was discovered by...

Integration of refugees: Germans in east and west show similar willingness to help

In discussions in Germany on immigrants, particularly eastern Germany is often associated with attacks on foreigners and hate crimes against refugees. Research data and surveys also indicate that prejudices against immigrants are often stronger in the east of the country than in the western half. But are these differences also reflected in small acts of everyday help? This question was looked at...

Inside the fuel cell: Imaging method promises industrial insight

Hydrogen-containing substances are important for many industries, but scientists have struggled to obtain detailed images to understand the element's behavior. In Review of Scientific Instruments researchers demonstrate the quantification of hydrogen for different states of water—i.e., liquid, frozen and supercooled—for applications to eco-friendly fuel cells.

'Barbaric' tests on monkeys lead to calls for closure of German lab

Shocking footage shows conditions ‘clearly breach’ EU standards on animal welfare, say campaignersAn animal testing laboratory in Germany that subjected monkeys to “barbaric” treatment and kept unwell dogs in squalid conditions is under investigation amid calls for its closure.Undercover footage at the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology (LPT) near Hamburg published by Cruelty Free...

New TV show asks: Do you love meat enough to cook your pet?

Not only will a family of unrepentant carnivores have to let an animal they have adopted and grown to love go for slaughter if they refuse to stop eating meat -- they will be asked to cook and eat it. With experts saying that we have to eat less meat to stave off climate change, Channel 4 has made the dilemma stomach-churningly stark. Analyst Virginia Mouseler called the show "the most...