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NASA’s Planetary Defense Test: DART About To Impact an Asteroid

Lead Image: This illustration depicts NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft prior to impact at the Didymos binary asteroid system. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben Trying to impact an asteroid is a bold and complex undertaking. JPL is there to assist with navigators, communications, and more. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission has the challenging goal of crashing its spacecraft into a small asteroid on Monday, September 26. Its target is Dimorphos, a small moonlet orbiting a larger asteroid by the name of Didymos. Although the asteroid poses no threat to Earth, this mission will test technology that…

Incredible New Webb Telescope Image of Neptune Captures Never Seen Ring Details

Lead Image: Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) image of Neptune, taken on July 12, 2022, brings the planet’s rings into full focus for the first time in more than three decades. The most prominent features of Neptune’s atmosphere in this image are a series of bright patches in the planet’s southern hemisphere that represent high-altitude methane-ice clouds. More subtly, a thin line of brightness circling the planet’s equator could be a visual signature of global atmospheric circulation that powers Neptune’s winds and storms. Additionally, for the first time, Webb has teased out a continuous band of high-latitude clouds surrounding a previously-known…

“Mind-Blowing” Hot Gas Bubble Detected Zipping Around the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole

Astronomers have spotted signs of a ‘hot spot’ orbiting Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of our galaxy. Astronomers have spotted signs of a ‘hot spot’ orbiting Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of our galaxy, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The finding helps us better understand the enigmatic and dynamic environment of our supermassive black hole. “We think we’re looking at a hot bubble of gas zipping around Sagittarius A* on an orbit similar in size to that of the planet Mercury, but making a full loop in just around 70 minutes. This…

Scientists Discover a Surprising Link Between Religious Beliefs and Sexual Satisfaction

Lead Image: The study also found that having many lifetime sexual partners was associated with lower sexual satisfaction. A new study links stronger religious beliefs to high levels of sexual satisfaction. According to recent research, higher levels of sexual satisfaction are associated with stronger religious beliefs. Researchers discovered that people who perceive religion as significant in their lives had less sex – driven by abstinence among those who do not live with a partner – but are happier with their sex life overall. According to the study, having many or no lifetime sexual partners is linked to lower levels of sexual…

This Blood Stem Cell Research Could Change Medicine of the Future

Lead Image: The microfluidic device that emulated an embryo’s heartbeat and blood circulation. The cell seeding channels are indicated by red food dye, while the heart ventricular contraction control channels and circulation valve control channels are indicated by blue and green food dye respectively. Credit: Jingjing Li, UNSW Sydney New discoveries about embryonic blood stem cell creation made independently by biomedical engineers and medical researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney could one day eliminate the need for blood stem cell donors. These achievements are part of a move in regenerative medicine towards the use of ‘induced…