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35 articles from PhysOrg

Hubble views a turbulent stellar nursery

The lives of newborn stars are tempestuous, as this image of the Herbig-Haro objects HH 1 and HH 2 from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope depicts. Both objects are in the constellation Orion and lie around 1,250 light-years from Earth. HH 1 is the luminous cloud above the bright star in the upper right of this image, and HH 2 is the cloud in the bottom left. While both Herbig-Haro objects are...

Fully mature hair follicles grown in cultures

A team of researchers from Japan studying the processes of hair follicle growth and hair pigmentation has successfully generated hair follicles in cultures. Their in vitro hair follicle model adds to the understanding of hair follicle development which could contribute to development of useful applications in treating hair loss disorders, animal testing, and drug screenings.

A broader definition of learning could help stimulate interdisciplinary research

We often conceive of learning through the lens of cramming for an exam or teaching a dog to sit, but humans and other mammals aren't the only entities capable of adapting to their environment—schools of fish, robots, and even our genes can learn new behaviors, explain Jan De Houwer and Sean Hughes (Ghent University) in a new Perspectives on Psychological Science article.

Research links local news, civic health of communities

A new report from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication's Agora Journalism Center found that Oregonians are unequally served by local news media and that some communities have few places to turn for local news. The report also describes how journalists and civic leaders are deeply worried about the state's ability to confront its challenges at a time when the number of...

Modern archaeology reveals the secrets of an Iron Age power center

New excavations in Uppåkra are at the forefront of cutting edge archaeological techniques. By combining big data, data modeling and DNA sequencing, researchers are currently solving significant parts of a historical puzzle. Perhaps we will learn whether the Justinianic Plague, the forerunner of the Black Death, reached Uppåkra. Until now, this has been uncertain.

Prions induce toxic huntingtin oligomers

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or Huntington's disease are characterized by the deposition of protein clumps, so-called protein aggregates, in the brains of patients. Even though disease-relevant proteins—such as the huntingtin protein in Huntington's disease—are present in all cells of the human brain, aggregates of huntingtin form in a specific region of the brain...

Anomalous magnetic moment of the muon—a new conundrum comes to light

The anomalous magnetic moment of the muon is a crucial parameter in particle physics as it allows for precision tests of the established Standard Model. A new measurement of this quantity last year caused something of a furor as it reaffirmed a significant deviation from the theoretical prediction—in other words, the anomalous magnetic moment is greater than anticipated.

New covalent organic framework material accelerates solar fuel generation

Two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (2D COFs) are a new class of organic semiconductors, and have recently demonstrated great potential for solar fuel production. They are generally formed from the ordered π-π stacking of molecular layers, and usually possess periodic columnar π-arrays that can facilitate the interlayer charge transfer.