|  Newly discovered three-star system could test Einstein's theory of General Relativity  | A newly discovered system of two white dwarf stars and a superdense pulsar -- all packed within a space smaller than the Earth's orbit around the sun -- is enabling astronomers to probe a range of cosmic mysteries, including the very nature of gravity itself. | Read More » Supervolcano triggers recreated in X-ray laboratory  | Scientists have reproduced the conditions inside the magma chamber of a supervolcano to understand what it takes to trigger its explosion. These rare events represent the biggest natural catastrophes on Earth except for the impact of giant meteorites. Using synchrotron X-rays, the scientists established that supervolcano eruptions may occur spontaneously, driven only by magma pressure without the need for an external trigger. | Read More » Mine landslide triggered earthquakes  | Last year's gigantic landslide at a Utah copper mine probably was the biggest nonvolcanic slide in North America's modern history, and included two rock avalanches that happened 90 minutes apart and surprisingly triggered 16 small earthquakes, scientists discovered. | Read More » Loving touch critical for premature infants  | The benefit that premature infants gain from skin-to-skin contact with their mothers is measurable even 10 years after birth, reports a new study. Physical contact with babies is essential for their physical and psychological development. This lesson has been learned the hard way, as infants neglected in hospitals and orphanages developed many problems, ranging from depression to a more global failure to thrive. | Read More » Yeast's lifestyle couples mating with meiosis  | Mating and meiosis -- the specialized cell division that reduces the number of chromosomes in a cell -- are related, but in most yeasts they are regulated separately. Not so in Candida lusitaniae, where the two programs work in unison, according to a new study. Comparison with other species suggests that this fusion may support C. lusitaniae's "haploid lifestyle" of maintaining only one set of chromosomes in each cell. | Read More » Supernova's super dust factory imaged with ALMA  | Striking new observations capture, for the first time, the remains of a recent supernova brimming with freshly formed dust. If enough of this dust makes the perilous transition into interstellar space, it could explain how many galaxies acquired their dusty, dusky appearance. | Read More » | |
