Super-dense Star is First Ever Found Suddenly Slowing Its Spin
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A neutron star is the densest object astronomers can observe directly, crushing half a million times Earth's mass into a sphere about 12 miles across -- roughly the size of Pittsburgh, or the distance between the Penn State University Park Campus and Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, as shown in this illustration. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Penn State University
Getting to the bottom of the zombie ant phenomenon
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The cadaver of a zombie ant clings to a leaf in the tropical understory. Emerging from its head are spores of the parasitic fungus that killed it. Credit: David Hughes
Record-Breaking High-Energy Particles from Space Detected by Telescope Buried in the Antarctic Ice
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Sensor descends down a hole in the ice as part of the installation of the IceCube telescope. IceCube is among the most ambitious scientific construction projects ever attempted. Credit:NSF/B. Gudbjartsson
Probing Question: Do Women Dominate the Field of Forensic Science?
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Penn State Forensics students entering a simulation experience.
Gene Offers Clues to New Treatments for a Harmful Blood Clotting Disorder
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Shown in blue is chromatin -- the condensed form of DNA that the cell remodels to form chromosomes. The PAD4 enzyme decondenses chromatin by loosening up the interaction between DNA and special proteins called histones. The histones modified by PAD4 are shown in fuchsia. This process helps to form both a bacteria-killing NET -- which is comprised of infection-combatting white blood cells called neutrophils -- and the fluffy, scattered ball that comprises a blood clot. Wang lab, Penn State University.
AMON: An Eye on the Universe
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Credit: Courtesy AMON
Probing Question: Are We Running Out of Helium?
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Moses Chan, Evan Pugh Professor of Physics at Penn State. Credit: Greg Grieco, Penn State
White-Dwarf Star, Blown Apart in 1604, Now Reveals New Secrets
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This composite of images from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the remnant of Kepler's supernova in low-energy (red), intermediate-energy (green) and high-energy (blue) X-rays. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/NCSU/M.Burkey et al.; optical: DSS
On Twitter, Anti-Vaccination Sentiments Spread More Easily than Pro-Vaccination Sentiments
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Network diagram showing connected Twitter users expressing negative (red) and positive (green) sentiments about vaccination. Credit: Salathé lab, Penn State University
Autism Linked to Increased Genetic Change in Regions of Genome Instability
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These microscopic images were taken as part of research to explore rearrangements of DNA in one of the hotspots of the human genome, where deletions and duplications occur at higher rates. Photo courtesy of Betsy Hirsch/University of Minnesota and Scott Selleck/Penn State University.
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