New Atlas

Space Audio available

Colossal X-ray "chimneys" discovered at center of the Milky Way

Michael Irving March 20, 2019

It's hard to really understand the large-scale structure of the Milky Way. Now, astronomers have peered towards the center of the galaxy using the ESA's X-ray telescope XMM-Newton, and discovered two colossal "chimneys" pumping huge amounts of energy and gas out into intergalactic space.

An artist's impression of two huge "chimneys" spewing energetic particles out of the center of the ...

Space Audio available

NASA to test X-ray communication system on the ISS

Michael Irving February 20, 2019

Radio waves are still the main way to communicate with spacecraft, but that aging technology could soon get an upgrade that will allow faster data downloads from space. NASA is currently preparing to test out an x-ray communication system on the International Space Station.

NASA is planning to test an x-ray communication system on the International Space Station

Medical Audio available

Novel nanocrystals reduce X-ray radiation dose, while upping the resolution

Darren Quick October 25, 2018

An international team of researchers has developed novel nanocrystals that allow the radiation dose from a diagnostic X-ray to be much lower, while also enabling higher resolution images at a lower cost.

A team led by Prof Liu Xiaogang has developed nanocrystals that are highly sensitive to X-ray ...

Medical

Wearable yeast colonies act as "canaries" for radiation exposure

Michael Irving August 10, 2018

Researchers at Purdue University have developed a living device for radiologists, using yeast colonies in wearable patches to monitor how much radiation a person is being exposed to.

Purdue researchers have developed a yeast-based badge that can help radiologists monitor their levels of radiation ...

Science

Oldest evidence of bone found in 400 million-year-old fish fossils

Michael Irving August 1, 2018

Paleontologists have long wondered about the skeletons of a strange, ancient fish family called heterostracan. But now UK scientists say they’ve cracked it, declaring the 400 million-year-old fossils to be the oldest examples of bone ever found.

A fossil heterostracan, whose puzzling skeleton has finally been identified as the oldest example of bone ...

Space

Is a planetary smash-up dimming a distant star?

Michael Irving July 18, 2018

By their nature, stars burn bright – so when they start dimming and fading, scientists pay attention. Now, astronomers have observed a strangely-twinkling star and found that it might be the result of a collision between proto-planets orbiting it, and the star gobbling up the remains.

A strangely-dimming star might be being blocked by the debris from a planetary smash-up, according to ...

Medical

X-rays burst chemo-filled nanobubbles for targeted cancer drug delivery

Michael Irving July 15, 2018

Researchers at CNBP have developed a new targeted treatment for cancer. Chemotherapy drugs are wrapped in “nano-bubbles” called liposomes, which are then injected into the desired part of the body and made to release their payload on demand, by applying X-ray radiation.

A new potential cancer treatment uses nanobubbles called liposomes to deliver drugs right to a tumor, ...

Medical

CERN chip enables first 3D color X-ray images of the human body

Michael Irving July 10, 2018

Medical X-ray scans have long been stuck in the black-and-white era. Now Mars Bioimaging has developed a bioimaging scanner that can produce full color, three dimensional images of bones, lipids, and soft tissue, thanks to a sensor chip developed at CERN for use in the Large Hadron Collider.

Using CERN technology, Mars Bioimaging has created the first 3D, color X-ray images of the human ...

Physics

X-rays from deep space help track down the universe's missing matter

Michael Irving June 21, 2018

Ordinary (or baryonic) matter is relatively rare in the universe, and there seems to be a huge chunk of it missing. After 20 years of scouring the sky, astronomers using the ESA’s XMM-Newton observatory have now found clues to this missing matter hiding in intergalactic gas.

Astronomers have found evidence of the universe's "missing matter" lurking in intergalactic gas between filaments of ...

Space

Mysterious breed of black hole shows itself as it devours a star

Michael Irving June 18, 2018

Astronomers have long proposed that there must be intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in space. Now, scientists from the University of New Hampshire have captured the best evidence so far of the existence of these mysterious middleweights, as one emerges from the dark to snack on a star.

A team has found new evidence of a middleweight class of black holes, which have long ...