The supernova that wasn't: A tale of 3 cosmic eruptions

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In the mid-1800s, astronomers surveying the night sky in the Southern Hemisphere noticed something strange: Over the course of a few years, a previously inconspicuous star named Eta Carinae grew brighter and brighter, eventually outshining all other stars except Sirius, before fading again over the next decade, becoming too dim to be seen with the naked eye.

What had happened to cause this outburst? Did 19th-century astronomers witness some strange type of supernova, a star ending its life in a cataclysmic explosion?

Images from Sun's edge reveal origins of solar wind

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Ever since the 1950s discovery of the solar wind - the constant flow of charged particles from the sun - there's been a stark disconnect between this outpouring and the sun itself. As it approaches Earth, the solar wind is gusty and turbulent. But near the sun where it originates, this wind is structured in distinct rays, much like a child's simple drawing of the sun. The details of the transition from defined rays in the corona, the sun's upper atmosphere, to the solar wind have been, until now, a mystery.

Ceres: The tiny world where volcanoes erupt ice

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Ahuna Mons is a volcano that rises 13,000 feet high and spreads 11 miles wide at its base. This would be impressive for a volcano on Earth. But Ahuna Mons stands on Ceres, a dwarf planet less than 600 miles wide that orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. Even stranger, Ahuna Mons isn't built from lava the way terrestrial volcanoes are -- it's built from ice.

Personnel selection, training could mitigate effects of cognitive lock-up in automation operators

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Automation failures have been the cause of such widely reported disasters as the crash of Air France Flight 447 in 2009, with most of the focus placed on deficiencies in the automated system. Although automation does help in avoiding human error in completing tasks, people are still needed to monitor how well the automated system is operating.

Global study shows link between fertilizer and plant diversity

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It's well-established that the more species that thrive in a habitat, the better it is at weathering a variety of events from floods to drought to fire. Now, an international study with strong ties to the University of Minnesota is shedding new light on the effect of an increasingly common human-caused disturbance -- the addition of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium -- on a wide range of grassland ecosystems around the world.

Researchers find gene mutations lead to more aggressive colon cancer in African-Americans

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CLEVELAND - Case Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers, a research collaboration which includes University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University, who last year identified new gene mutations unique to colon cancers in African Americans, have found that tumors with these mutations are highly aggressive and more likely to recur and metastasize. These findings partly may explain why African Americans have the highest incidence and death rates of any group for this disease.

Implanted device successfully treats central sleep apnea, study finds

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COLUMBUS, Ohio - Results from an international, randomized study show that an implanted nerve stimulator significantly improves symptoms in those with central sleep apnea, without causing serious side effects.

Dr. William Abraham, co-lead author and director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, presented findings from the study at the recent European Society of

New study uses cutting-edge miniature photography to unravel how vitamin A enters cells

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Using a new, lightning-fast camera paired with an electron microscope, University of Maryland School of Medicine scientists have captured images of one of the smallest human proteins to be "seen" with a microscope.

The protein - called STRA6 - sits in the membrane of our cells and is responsible for transporting vitamin A into the cell interior. Vitamin A is essential to all mammals and is particularly important in making the light receptors in our eyes, and in the placenta and fetus where it's critical for normal development.

Study links autism severity to genetics, ultrasound

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For children with autism and a class of genetic disorders, exposure to diagnostic ultrasound in the first trimester of pregnancy is linked to increased autism severity, according to a study by researchers at UW Medicine, UW Bothell and Seattle Children's Research Institute.

Blood cancer treatment may age immune cells as much as 30 years

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CHAPEL HILL -- Certain cancer treatments are known to take a toll on patients, causing side effects like fatigue, nausea and hair loss. Now, scientists are investigating whether some treatments can cause another long-term side effect: premature aging of important disease-fighting cells.