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This week’s featured image from the Hubble Space Telescope showcases the spiral galaxy NGC 337, located approximately 60 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus, also known as The Whale.

The stunning image merges observations captured in two different wavelengths, revealing the galaxy’s striking features. Its golden-hued center glows with the light of older stars, while its vibrant blue edges shimmer with the energy of young, newly formed stars. Had Hubble captured NGC 337 about a decade ago, it would have witnessed an extraordinary sight among the galaxy’s hot blue stars — a dazzling supernova illuminating its outskirts.

Named SN 2014cx, the supernova is remarkable for having been discovered nearly simultaneously in two vastly different ways: by a prolific supernova hunter, Koichi Itagaki, and by the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN). ASAS-SN is a worldwide network of robotic telescopes that scans the sky for sudden events like supernovae.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A body camera captured every word and bark uttered as police Sgt. Matt Gilmore and his K-9 dog, Gunner, searched for a group of suspects for nearly an hour.

Normally, the Oklahoma City police sergeant would grab his laptop and spend another 30 to 45 minutes writing up a report about the search. But this time he had artificial intelligence write the first draft.

Pulling from all the sounds and radio chatter picked up by the microphone attached to Gilmore’s body camera, the AI tool churned out a report in eight seconds.

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As energy-hungry computer data centers and artificial intelligence programs place ever greater demands on the U.S. power grid, tech companies are looking to a technology that just a few years ago appeared ready to be phased out: nuclear energy.

After several decades in which investment in new nuclear facilities in the U.S. had slowed to a crawl, tech giants Microsoft and Google have recently announced investments in the technology, aimed at securing a reliable source of emissions-free power for years into the future.

Earlier this year, online retailer Amazon, which has an expansive cloud computing business, announced it had reached an agreement to purchase a nuclear energy-fueled data center in Pennsylvania and that it had plans to buy more in the future.

Amazon’s plan, by contrast, does not require either new technology or the resurrection of an older nuclear facility.

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Sometimes pain is a necessary warning signal; for example, if we touch something very hot and it burns, we know to move our hand away. But chronic pain can destroy a person’s quality of life, and it can be extremely challenging to get relief. Some researchers have been searching for ways to deactivate pain receptors, so the body no longer feels the neural signals of chronic pain. Using mouse models of acute inflammatory pain, scientists have shown that it is possible to deactivate pain receptors with genetic engineering tools. The work has been reported in Cell.

“What we have developed is potentially a gene therapy approach for chronic pain,” said senior study author Bryan L. Roth, MD, PhD, a distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine, among other appointments. “The idea is that we could deliver this chemogenetic tool through a virus to the neurons that sense the pain. Then, you could just take an inert pill and turn those neurons off, and the pain will literally disappear.”

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What causes autism? It isn’t vaccines, studies show. Here are some possibilities that researchers are exploring.

There is no one factor that causes autism — or explains its growing prevalence. Researchers are seeking explanations for the surge. Here are some possibilities.

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Researchers with the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have unveiled a critical mechanism that links cellular stress in the brain to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

The study, published in the journal Neuron, highlights microglia, the brain’s primary immune cells, as central players in both the protective and harmful responses associated with the disease.

Microglia, often dubbed the brain’s first responders, are now recognized as a significant causal cell type in Alzheimer’s pathology. However, these cells play a double-edged role: some protect brain health, while others worsen neurodegeneration.

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Whenever a sink overflows, the flooding is usually caused by a blockage that has built up in the drains. Similarly, as we age, our bodies are flooded by aging, or senescent cells, which have stopped dividing but, instead of dying, remain active and build up in body tissues. Recent studies have shown that getting rid of these cells might delay age-related diseases, reduce inflammation and extend lives. Despite the great potential, however, there is currently no drug that can target these cells directly and efficiently.

Now, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers suggest an alternative approach. In a new study published in Nature Cell Biology, they reveal that build up in the body by clogging up the immune system, thereby preventing their own removal.

The scientists demonstrated in mice how to unclog this blockage using immunotherapy, the new generation of treatments that is revolutionizing . These findings could pave the way for innovative treatment of age-related diseases and other chronic disorders.

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The direct fusion drive could cut travel to Saturn’s moon Titan to just 2 years. Here is some key information for you to watch before deciding to read the whole article. Thanks for visiting us!

Fusion Power for Fast Space Travel

Scientists at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are developing a groundbreaking propulsion system called the Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) that could drastically cut down travel time to distant planets. Using this innovative technology, spacecraft could reach Saturn’s moon Titan in just two years, compared to the many years it currently takes. Titan, with its hydrocarbon-rich surface, holds significant scientific interest and may even serve as a future refueling stop for interplanetary missions.

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