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JWST Finds Distant Origins for Rare Exoplanet Pair

Dr. Chelsea X. Huang: “This was a one-of-a-kind system. Hot Jupiters are ‘lonely,’ meaning they don’t have companion planets inside their orbits.” [ https://www.labroots.com/trending/space/30520/jwst-distant-o…net-pair-2](https://www.labroots.com/trending/space/30520/jwst-distant-o…net-pair-2)

How can planets share the same space with each other, especially planets of different sizes? This is what a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the processes that allowed two distinct exoplanets to form evolve and orbit so close to each other. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the formation and evolution of planets throughout the universe and help narrow the scope for where and how to find life beyond Earth.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data obtained from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope regarding exoplanet TOI-1130 b, which is designated as a mini-Neptune orbiting a K-type star. TOI-1130 b is approximately 190 light-years from Earth, its mass is approximately 20 times larger than Earth, its radius is approximately one-third of Jupiter, and its orbital period is approximately 4.1 days. What makes this system unique isn’t this mini-Neptune, but its partnership with a hot Jupiter that orbits just outside of it, with both planets being locked in what’s known as an orbital resonance, meaning their orbits are synced. In this case, they exhibit a 2:1 resonance, meaning for every two orbits of TOI-1130 b, the hot Jupiter orbits once.

TOI-1130 b has an atmosphere rich in water vapor and other volatiles that astronomers have determined would not have formed so close to tis host star. Therefore, the researchers concluded that both planets likely formed much farther out, with TOI-1130 b accumulating its water vapor atmosphere, then both planets migrated inward. With this conclusion, the team notes TOI-1130 b is the first mini-Neptune to form so far out and beyond the “frost line”, which is where ice and other volatiles are much more abundant. Volatiles are compounds that melt or evaporate at very low temperatures, meaning the atmosphere of TOI-1130 b likely didn’t form so close to its star.

Regulatory derived TGF-β signaling governs the differentiation and maintenance of tumor-infiltrating bystander CD8+ T cells

Lin et al. reveal that tumor-infiltrating bystander CD8+ T cells are heterogeneous and undergo a TCM-to-TEM-to-TRM differentiation trajectory driven by Treg-derived TGF-β signaling through suppression of KLF2. This mechanism sustains bystander CD8+ T cell heterogeneity and accumulation in tumors and provides a targetable mechanism for cancer immunotherapy.

Scientists Changed a Lifeform’s Fundamental Code. It Shouldn’t Have Survived—but It Did

Life—at least, as we know it—needs 20 amino acids, which it combines into the proteins that build living tissues. How life actually arrived at a minimum of 20 canonical amino acids (CAAs) in its journey from primordial ooze, however, is still a mystery. Some microbial species use up to 22 amino acids, but no species on Earth uses fewer than 20.

However, that may not have always been the case. Curious about how the precursors of life may have made it on a hostile young Earth before LUCA (the Last Universal Common Ancestor of all organisms) finally came into being, a team of researchers from Columbia University set out to see whether microbes emerging back then could have possibly run on fewer than 20 amino acids.

The universe evolves like a life form

What if the laws of physics are not fixed, but constantly evolving?

Biochemist Timothy Jackson argues that contrary to our assumptions that reality is governed by fixed laws, fundamental reality is a lawless flux, a chaos of unpredictable change. What needs explaining is not chaos but the stability and order that emerge from it.

Darwin’s central insight, Jackson suggests, was to show how such order might emerge, via natural selection: a principle which can explain, but never predict, the patterns that make up the world.

Tap to read his full article.

We tend to think of reality as made up of things, governed by fixed laws that determine how they change over time. But biochemist Timothy Jackson argues that this is back to front: fundamental reality is a lawless flux, a chaos of unpredictable change, and what needs explaining is not chaos but the stability and order that emerge from it. The “laws” of physics are not eternal truths but descriptions of patterns that have persisted long enough to look permanent. Darwin’s central insight, Jackson suggests, was to show how such order might emerge, via natural selection—a principle which can explain, but never predict, the patterns that make up the world.

From physicalism to “biologism”

Continue reading “The universe evolves like a life form” | >

Telemedicine use grew without boosting medical visits or spending, analysis shows

New UCLA-led research finds that the use of telemedicine has not significantly increased visits and medical spending across all payer types. The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, could ease concerns among lawmakers that the telemedicine expansion that occurred during the COVID pandemic would result in large utilization and spending increases.

With the declaration of the COVID pandemic in 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) changed key policies regarding telemedicine flexibility, such as introducing payment parity with in-person visits, waiving geographic restrictions, and eliminating out-of-pocket cost sharing.

Once the pandemic was declared over, however, lawmakers extended these changes to analyze how telemedicine impacted health care use and spending. Those CMS flexibilities are due to expire in 2027, and lawmakers continue to debate whether to permanently extend or modify them.

New ‘trick’ fixes major flaw in neutral-atom quantum computers — inching us closer to a superpowerful system

A new “geometry‑based” quantum swap gate makes neutral‑atom computers far less sensitive to laser noise — bringing large‑scale, stable quantum processors a step closer to reality.

A new scientific discovery is challenging long-held assumptions in modern physics, suggesting that the universe may not behave strictly according to established rules

Researchers believe the findings could reshape our understanding of fundamental forces, space, and time.

#universe #cosmos #wion.

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Continue reading “A new scientific discovery is challenging long-held assumptions in modern physics, suggesting that the universe may not behave strictly according to established rules” | >
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