EverythingScience

New method eradicates deadly brain tumors by 'starving' them of energy source A groundbreaking study at Tel Aviv University effectively eradicated glioblastoma, a highly lethal type of brain cancer. The researchers achieved the outcome using a method they developed based on their discovery of two critical mechanisms in the brain that support tumor growth and survival: one protects cancer cells from the immune system, while the other supplies the energy required for rapid tumor growth. The work found that both mechanisms are controlled by brain cells called astrocytes, and in their absence, the tumor cells die and are eliminated. The researchers explain, "Glioblastoma is an extremely aggressive and invasive brain cancer, for which there exists no known effective treatment. The tumor cells are highly resistant to all known therapies, and, sadly, patient life expectancy has not increased significantly in the last 50 years. Our findings provide a promising basis for the development of effective medications for treating glioblastoma and other types of brain tumors." Article @EverythingScience

Scientists Just Found a New Kind of Synapse Hiding in The Brains of Mice A previously unknown type of synapse appears to have been hiding in strange, hair-like appendages that can be found on the surfaces of neurons, new research reveals. A study in mice suggests that structures called primary cilia play a role in neuronal signaling; specifically, they act as a shortcut for transmitting signals directly into the nucleus to trigger changes to chromatin, the complex that forms chromosomes. This discovery may help scientists unravel the role of these mysterious structures in other cells, as well as give us a deeper understanding of the complicated workings of the brain. Article @EverythingScience

SU(N) matter is about 3 billion times colder than deep space A Kyoto team led by study author Yoshiro Takahashi used lasers to cool its fermions, atoms of ytterbium, within about one-billionth of a degree of absolute zero, the unattainable temperature where all motion stops. That's about 3 billion times colder than interstellar space, which is still warmed by the afterglow from the Big Bang. "Unless an alien civilization is doing experiments like these right now, anytime this experiment is running at Kyoto University it is making the coldest fermions in the universe," said Rice University's Kaden Hazzard "The payoff of getting this cold is that the physics really changes," Hazzard said. "The physics starts to become more quantum mechanical, and it lets you see new phenomena." Article @EverythingScience

Years after shuttle, NASA rediscovers the perils of liquid hydrogen ‍A more in-depth overview of today's scrub, the road ahead for the SLS rocket, and the smallest element in the universe. Article @EverythingScience

SLS Update SLS will rollback to the VAB. Will deconflict with Crew-5 and aim for mid-late October, pending resolutions. NASA may attempt to fix the leaky umbilical connection at the pad before rolling back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Doing it at the pad could allow them to test the connection with cryogenics before returning to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Live Stream @EverythingScience

I'm told that Space Launch System program officials will recommend a rollback to the VAB to investigate the hydrogen leak. The Artemis I mission management team will consider this recommendation at their afternoon meeting, and publicly announce a decision at 20:00 UTC. Source: @SciGuySpace

Artemis I has scrubbed its second attempt. Post scrub coverage continues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3iGlIdRHBg Source: @NASASpaceflight

Fueling operations of the SLS rocket were going well this morning until a hydrogen leak was found in the engine cavity. Propellant loading of the liquid hydrogen tank has been stopped at 8 percent full while the launch team assesses. Why does the SLS rocket use liquid hydrogen fuel if it leaks all the time? Well, it is very efficient, energy density-wise. But most importantly, it's what space shuttle designers used 50 years ago, and Congress mandated that the SLS rocket use those same engines. Source: @SciGuySpace

Fueling operations of the SLS rocket were going well this morning until a hydrogen leak was found in the engine cavity. Propellant loading of the liquid hydrogen tank has been stopped at 8 percent full while the launch team assesses. Why does the SLS rocket use liquid hydrogen fuel if it leaks all the time? Well, it is very efficient, energy density-wise. But most importantly, it's what space shuttle designers used 50 years ago, and Congress mandated that the SLS rocket use those same engines. Source: @SciGuySpace

⁣Frank Drake, pioneer in the search for alien life, dies at 92 ⁣Drake’s contributions to science were numerous. A founder of the scientific field engaged in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), he developed the Drake Equation, a framework for estimating the number of possible civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy. He made the first observations of Jupiter’s radiation belts, and he was one of the first astronomers to measure Venus’s searing surface temperature and the greenhouse effect of its thick atmosphere. Drake served as the director of the Arecibo radio observatory in Puerto Rico. He was a mentor and inspiration to generations of astronomers and astrophysicists. Article @EverythingScience

Stem cell biologists create new human cell type for research Professor Vincent Pasque and his team at KU Leuven have managed to generate a new type of human cell in the lab using stem cells. The new cells closely resemble their natural counterparts in early human embryos. As a result, researchers can now better study what happens just after an embryo implants in the womb. Article @EverythingScience

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