The findings, reported in Nature Communications, provide insights that may improve the design of 2D materials for fast-charging energy storage and electronic devices. “Under our experimental conditions, titanium and carbon atoms can spontaneously form an atomically thin layer of 2D transition-metal carbide, which was never observed before,” said Xiahan Sang of ORNL. He and ORNL’s Raymond Unocic led a team that performed in situ experiments using state-of-the-art scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), combined with theory-based simulations, to reveal the mechanism’s atomistic details....

Cassini will pass through Saturn’s upper atmosphere during the final five orbits of the mission, before making a fateful plunge into Saturn on September 15, 2017. The region through which the spacecraft will fly on those last orbits is well above the haze seen here, which is in Saturn’s stratosphere. In fact, even when Cassini plunges toward Saturn to meet its fate, contact with the spacecraft is expected to be lost before it reaches the depth of this haze....

The international Cassini mission has spotted what appears to be a miniature extraterrestrial version of the Nile River: a river valley on Saturn’s moon Titan that stretches more than 400 km from its ‘headwaters’ to a large sea. It is the first time images have revealed a river system this vast and in such high resolution anywhere beyond Earth. Scientists deduce that the river is filled with liquid because it appears dark along its entire extent in the high-resolution radar image, indicating a smooth surface....

About 1.6 million people worldwide are diagnosed with lung cancer each year, and less than 20% are alive five years later. Lung cancer causes a lot more deaths than other kinds of cancer. Three new studies published this week are laying the groundwork for more effective and personalized treatment of lung cancer. The studies were published in the journals Nature and Cell. The treatments will suit the genetic characteristics of the patients....

UNC School of Medicine researchers led by Ben Philpot, Ph.D., and Bin Gu, Ph.D., found that cannabidiol had anti-seizure effects and behavior benefits in animal models of Angelman syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder. A marijuana plant extract, also known as cannabidiol (CBD), is commonly used to improve anxiety, sleep problems, pain, and many other neurological conditions. Now UNC School of Medicine researchers show it may alleviate seizures and normalize brain rhythms in Angelman syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental condition....

“Although HPV vaccination will be a major contributor to reducing cervical cancer over time, we found that in the immediate term, screening continues to play a critical role in reducing the burden of cervical cancer in U.S.,” said Emily Burger, a research scientist in the Center for Health Decision Science at Harvard Chan School who co-led the study. The study will be published online in The Lancet Public Health on February 10, 2020....

Scientists have used Chandra to make a detailed study of an enormous cloud of hot gas enveloping two large, colliding galaxies. This unusually large reservoir of gas contains as much mass as 10 billion Suns, spans about 300,000 light years, and radiates at a temperature of more than 7 million degrees. This giant gas cloud, which scientists call a “halo,” is located in the system called NGC 6240. Astronomers have long known that NGC 6240 is the site of the merger of two large spiral galaxies similar in size to our own Milky Way....

The supermassive black hole at a galaxy’s center is expected gradually to accumulate many small, stellar-mass black holes around it. In the case of our own galaxy, as many as 20,000 black holes may have settled around the central few light-years. So far, however, no such density cusp has been reported. One of the best ways to look for such black holes is via binary stars in which one member is a stellar-mass black hole, because accretion around the black hole would generate detectable X-rays....

This is the season of celebrating, and the Chandra X-ray Center has prepared a platter of cosmic treats from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to enjoy. This selection represents different types of objects — ranging from relatively nearby exploded stars to extremely distant and massive clusters of galaxies — that emit X-rays detected by Chandra. Each image in this collection blends Chandra data with other telescopes, creating a colorful medley of light from our Universe....

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) scientists are joining many of their colleagues worldwide in working to combat the new coronavirus. They’re developing diagnostic testing, understanding the virus’s basic biology, modeling the epidemiology, and developing potential therapies or vaccines. Over the next several weeks, we will be sharing stories of some of this work. Hundreds of clinicians worldwide are banding together in an effort to study some types of severe cases of the new coronavirus disease....

One suspected reason behind this trend is increased global consumption of a Westernized diet that consists heavily of red and processed meats, added sugar and refined grains. Sixty percent of the Standard American Diet, also known as “SAD,” is made up of ultra-processed food such as industrial baked sweets, soft drinks and processed meat. SAD is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. One aspect of ultra-processed foods I’m concerned about is how colorful they are....

In Biophysics Reviews, from AIP Publishing, researchers from the Technical University of Munich review recent scientific literature about the effects of particle contaminants on the mucosal system, an internal membrane that serves as the body’s lubricant and the first line of defense from infections and toxins. These data establish a clear link between exposure to airborne or waterborne particulate matter and several health conditions. “Mucosal barriers are really important to protect various body systems, but that mucosal function is only there if we don’t damage it,” said co-author Oliver Lieleg....

These satellite galaxies exhibit a bizarre alignment – they seem to lie on an enormous thin rotating plane – called the “plane of satellites” This seemingly unlikely arrangement had puzzled astronomers for over 50 years, leading many to question the validity of the standard cosmological model that seeks to explain how the Universe came to look as it does today. Now, new research jointly led by the Universities of Durham, UK, and Helsinki, Finland, has found that the plane of satellites is a cosmological quirk that will dissolve over time in the same way that star constellations also change....

At just 500 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Cancer, UGC4211 is an ideal candidate for studying the end stages of galaxy mergers, which occur more frequently in the distant Universe, and as a result, can be difficult to observe. When scientists used the highly sensitive 1.3mm receivers at ALMA to look deep into the merger’s active galactic nuclei— compact, highly luminous areas in galaxies caused by the accretion of matter around central black holes— they found not one, but two black holes gluttonously devouring the byproducts of the merger....

An analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genome diversity in more than 1,000 people in the United Kingdom suggests that if viral mutations do arise, they can be transmitted in some cases but they rarely persist in subsequent transmissions. “Our observations indicate the within-host emergence of vaccine- and therapeutic-escape mutations is likely to be relatively rare,” say the authors, “at least during early infection when viral loads are high.” However, because mutations that can escape therapies like antibodies were identified, including in higher viral load samples, the authors encourage continued monitoring and vigilance, particularly as vaccines and therapeutics that put “pressure” on viruses to adapt are rolled out more widely....

In their study published recently in Scientific Reports, they observe that those who received the Pfizer BioNTech or AstraZeneca vaccine had antibody levels that were significantly higher than infected individuals. These antibodies were also effective against the Delta variant, which wasn’t present in Quebec when the samples were collected in 2020. Masson, a biomedical instruments specialist, and Pelletier, a protein chemistry expert, were interested in an understudied group: people who have been infected by SARS-CoV-2 but were not hospitalized as a result of the infection....

A research study released on April 22, 2022, in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine shows that a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine provides strong protection, roughly 80% to 90%, in the first few months against hospital admissions and emergency department visits caused by the delta and omicron variants of COVID-19. However, this protection against omicron deteriorates over time – even after a third vaccine dose. “Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 booster doses significantly improve protection against omicron, although that protection seems to wane after 3 months against emergency room visits, and even for hospitalization,” said the study’s lead author, Sara Y....

The Compact Infrared Radiometer in Space instrument on a CubeSat, also known as CIRiS, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to the International Space Station on December 5, 2019. The backpack-sized satellite is aiming to collect, process, and calibrate infrared images to reveal Earth’s temperature for the first time from a small satellite. “If we can do this, we have greatly increased the value of the data for Earth Science applications, as well as land and water management,” David Osterman, the CIRiS Principal Investigator at Ball Aerospace, said....

Mission controllers received confirmation today that NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has escaped from the gentle gravitational grip of the giant asteroid Vesta. Dawn is now officially on its way to its second destination, the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn departed from Vesta at about 11:26 p.m. PDT on September 4 (2:26 a.m. EDT on September 5). Communications from the spacecraft via NASA’s Deep Space Network confirmed the departure and that the spacecraft is now traveling toward Ceres....

Two groups of astronomers have used data from ESO telescopes to make the best three-dimensional map yet of the central parts of the Milky Way. They have found that the inner regions take on a peanut-like, or X-shaped, appearance from some angles. This odd shape was mapped by using public data from ESO’s VISTA survey telescope along with measurements of the motions of hundreds of very faint stars in the central bulge....