Can light itself cast a shadow? It may sound like a philosophical riddle, but researchers have found that under certain conditions, a laser beam can act like an opaque object and cast a shadow. The discovery challenges the traditional understanding of shadows and opens new possibilities for technologies that could use a laser beam to control another laser beam.
Scientists have identified BHB-Phe, a natural compound produced by the body, that regulates appetite and body weight.
The South Pole-Aitken Basin on the Moon’s far side is one of the most remarkable regions in our Solar System. Spanning approximately 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) in diameter, it’s among the largest known craters, with research interest from multiple space agencies. Among recent discoveries, planetary scientists uncovered an enormous mass anomaly beneath this basin, which could be key to understanding the Moon’s geological history. This mass anomaly, first revealed in 2019, has implications for future lunar missions and provides a window into the Moon’s formation.
Discovery of a Giant Mass Anomaly
Scientists detected the buried mass using data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, which monitors changes in the Moon’s gravitational field. This unique technique enabled researchers to identify the anomaly and measure its incredible weight, estimated at around 2.18 billion billion kilograms. The mass was so dense that it caused the basin floor to dip by nearly a kilometer (more than half a mile), an indication of its massive gravitational pull. To visualize this, Peter B. James, the lead scientist from Baylor University, compared it to burying a metal structure five times the size of Hawaii underground.
A collection of perforated pebbles from an archaeological site in Israel may be spindle whorls, representing a key milestone in the development of rotational tools including wheels, according to a study published November 13, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Talia Yashuv and Leore Grosman from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
The Higgs boson is often referred to as the “God particle” due to its crucial role in our understanding of the mass of elementary particles. Discovered in 2012, it remains at the forefront of many research endeavors in physics. Recently, researchers at the Max Planck Institute have made significant advances in measuring its interactions with other particles, opening up thrilling new possibilities for the future of science.
In the Standard Model of particle physics, the Higgs boson plays a key role in giving mass to particles. To fully grasp how this occurs, it’s important to revisit the concepts of the Higgs field and mechanism.
Think of the Higgs field as a sort of invisible network or mud that fills the entire universe. This field, teeming with Higgs bosons, is present everywhere, even in a vacuum. When a particle moves through this field, it interacts with it. The Higgs mechanism essentially explains how this interaction with the field endows particles with mass.
The researchers used simulations to see how these cells might adapt over time.
Cervera, J., Levin, M. & Mafe, S. Multicellular adaptation to electrophysiological perturbations analyzed by deterministic and stochastic bioelectrical models. Sci Rep 14, 27,608 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79087-7
Glaciers that are within three miles of a volcano move nearly 50% quicker than average, a new study has found, which could help create early warning of future eruptions.
“For an existing barrel roof stadium, renovating the opening will be a good solution. Reworking the roof will be much costlier,” Jayanarasimhan explained.
Jayanarasimhan hopes these findings will help the sports community realize that there are better solutions for mitigating wind drift beyond just turning off the ventilation.
“We expect that with this pace of research down the road, wind drift complaints will be negligible from badminton tournaments,” said Jayanarasimhan. “We are preparing to study other roof configurations [and] the deviation of the shuttlecock trajectory in different wind directions and conduct a case study of the existing indoor badminton stadiums.”
