May 31, 2024

Transplantation of an engineered kidney in a patient. Science site credit via DALEE. The image should not be seen as a scientific image.

A person received a pig kidney - with 69 genetic changes

The changes are intended to prevent the body from becoming infected with dormant viruses that may be present in the kidney, and in any case the kidney is designed to fit the specific patient
A collage of artist renderings highlighting the innovative approaches proposed by 2 NIAC Phase 2024 grantees for possible future missions. Credit: From left: Edward Balaban, Mary Knapp, Mahmooda Sultana, Brianna Clements, Ethan Schaler

Straight out of science fiction: NASA promotes six futuristic space technologies

Each completed the first phase of NASA's accelerator program, in which it showed that its future ideas — such as a lunar rail system and liquid-based telescopes — might provide perspectives
An artist's impression of the large-scale landscape of FU~Ori. The image shows the currents created by the interaction between strong stellar winds triggered by the outburst and the remnant mantle from which the star formed. The stellar wind drives the shock wave into the mantle and the CO gas carried away by the shock is the new discovery of the ALMA observatory. Credit: NSF/NRAO/SDagnello

Astronomers solve the mystery of the dramatic 1936 eruption of FU Orionis

An unusual group of stars in the Orion constellation has revealed their secrets. FU Orionis, a double star system, first attracted the attention of astronomers in 1936, when the central star suddenly became