Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have used simulations to show that a newly developed, compact X-ray telescope could be used to map the chemical composition of the entire Moon surface, a vital breakthrough for understanding its geological evolution. Detailed modeling of the detector and a realistic satellite mission show that two years would be enough to map five key elements, while an array of five-by-five detectors could improve resolution and get results faster.

A new pharmaceutical production method could allow astronauts on long space missions to "grow" fresh medicines on demand using plants. The work could also bring low-cost pharmaceutical production to resource-limited areas on Earth.

The IAA SETI Committee announced today updated rules for evaluating and revealing the detection of extraterrestrial intelligence.

The revised Declaration of Principles marks the first major update to the protocols in more than 15 years and reflects a media landscape transformed by social media, artificial intelligence and the 24-hour news cycle.

“The release of these updated rules and protocols marks an important step in acknowledging both the radically different media landscape that science functions within today, and the vastly expanded efforts in terms of technology and resources being deployed in the search for intelligent life beyond Earth” said Bill Diamond, President and CEO of the SETI Institute and IAA SETI Committee member. 

A University of Manchester astronomer has led a major international overhaul of the rules that would govern how scientists announce evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence to the world.

An international team lead by the Max Born Institute has developed a new type of momentum microscopy to image magnons — the quanta of collectively excited spins — directly in two-dimensional reciprocal space using soft X-rays. Owing to its remarkable sensitivity, simplicity, and access to nanometer-scale wavelengths, this novel technique establishes a powerful and versatile platform for exploring nonlinear magnon interactions, which are promising for future computing schemes.

New simulations show that interactions with a magnetic field can work to decrease the distance between still forming binary protostars. These results can help explain the characteristics of the binary star systems observed in the Milky Way. These results can also be extrapolated to binary black holes, giving insights into how super massive black holes evolve.

The most distant, nearly invisible dormant black hole has been detected and ‘weighed’ by an international team of astronomers that includes researchers from UCL.