They've got the stars: The Nobel Prize and pain neurons
American scientists have found a site in the brain that is responsible for prolonged pain that persists for a long time after injury. During the research, they also discovered a substance that suppresses the activity of these neurons, which indicates the existence of its own mechanism of pain relief in the organ. Astronomers using the James Webb and Hubble telescopes for the first time managed to obtain an image of the "red giant" moments before the explosion of the star. Previously, this was not possible due to dense clouds. The Nobel Prize winners were announced in Stockholm this week. Read about the most important events from the world of science in the weekly Izvestia collection.
The new plant will rid fish farms of antibiotics
Scientists at MGUTU named after K.G. Razumovsky have created two new installations for comprehensive improvement of water quality in aquaculture farms. They purify the water and fill it with the substances necessary for fish. This significantly reduces the likelihood of infections and, consequently, the need for antibiotics. Special treatment also makes it possible to increase the capacity of livestock, increase its survival rate and accelerate growth. Currently, fish producers use foreign equipment for these purposes or assemble their own devices using artisanal methods. The solution, patented by the university's specialists, is the first universal system of its kind in the Russian Federation.
— The developed devices solve one of the most acute problems of closed systems — comprehensive and effective maintenance of water quality. Their implementation will allow Russian enterprises to increase their competitiveness and increase the production of valuable protein products. The patent for the complex allows conducting applied tests on feeding and studying fish behavior under model controlled conditions," said Boris Fedorov, head of the MGUTU Research Department.
First of all, the development is planned to be used for breeding organisms that are particularly sensitive to water quality. For example, fry or juveniles.
The solar cell will charge smart gadgets from a light bulb
Researchers from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and the National Research University Higher School of Economics have developed a photocell that converts artificial light into electricity to power a wireless temperature and humidity sensor. It is made of perovskite, a light, thin, relatively cheap material that is used to create solar panels.
Prototype tests have shown that for uninterrupted operation of up to 87 hours, the solar cell needs a room illumination of about 1,000 lux (lux). Usually in office buildings, this indicator, if measured at the desktop surface, is just 800-1000 lux. To ensure that the device does not require recharging at all, you need to provide 3000 lux or higher. Such high illumination in rooms can occur near a working artificial light source, such as office lamps, so researchers recommend installing the sensor as close to it as possible.
Olga Parfenova is a project participant, a junior researcher at Skoltech
"In this work, we have demonstrated that perovskite—based solar cells, with proper environmental protection, can effectively serve as a charger for wireless sensors. This opens up new opportunities for their use, not only for solar energy conversion, but also for artificial lighting," said Alexandra Boldyreva, project manager and researcher at the Skoltech Energy Technology Center.
In the future, scientists plan to develop a solar cell integrated with a supercapacitor as a single device.
The Nobel Committee announced the winners of the prize for 2025
The winners of the Nobel Prize in Natural Sciences were named in Stockholm. The winners in the field of physiology and medicine were scientists Mary E. Brankow (Seattle, USA), Fred Ramsdell (San Francisco, USA) and Shimon Sakaguchi (Osaka, Japan). The award is intended for "discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance", which prevents harm to the body from the immune system.
The laureates have identified the defenders of the immune system — regulatory T-cells that prevent immune cells from attacking their own body, according to an official press release from the Karolinska Institute.
Physics awards were awarded to John Clark (Great Britain), Michael Devore (France), John Martinis (USA) for the discovery of the effects of "macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and quantization of energy in an electrical circuit."
— One of the main issues in physics is the maximum size of a system in which quantum mechanical effects can manifest themselves. This year's laureates conducted experiments with an electrical circuit, in which they demonstrated both quantum mechanical tunneling and quantization of energy levels in a system large enough to be held in one's hand, the committee explained in an official release.
The Nobel Laureates in Chemistry for 2025 were Japanese Susumu Kitagawa, Englishman Richard Robson and Jordanian Omaru M. Yagi for the creation of metal-organic frameworks (IOC), a new class of porous polymer materials. Their molecules contain voids into which gases and other substances can penetrate. This property allows you to solve many important application tasks.
"Metal-organic frameworks can be used to produce water from the air in deserts, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases, or catalyze chemical reactions. Their creation opens up new opportunities for chemists to overcome some of the challenges we face," the award organizers said in an official statement.
Richard Robson was the first to start research in this area in 1989. Later, in the period from 1992 to 2003, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yagi developed this method of molecular construction in the course of independent research.
Scientists have found a part of the brain responsible for chronic pain
Scientists have discovered a small group of brain cells that are activated during prolonged pain that persists for a long time after injury. This type of pain affects about one in five people in the world. The study was conducted in mice, but if its results are confirmed in humans, it may open up the possibility of creating new methods of pain relief.
— The pain is in the head. But it's completely real," said study co—author Nicholas Betley, a biologist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
The scientists' experiments also showed that the release of a certain signaling chemical in the brain can suppress the activity of neurons responsible for constant pain. This suggests that the brain has an innate mechanism of pain relief.
The last moment of the red giant's life
The James Webb Space Telescope discovered a massive red supergiant star just before its explosion. A group of Northwestern University astronomers has captured the clearest and most detailed image yet of a dying star before its destruction. Theorists predicted the possibility of such explosions. However, due to the clouds of dust, experts were unable to confirm their existence experimentally. Finally, scientists have achieved this with the help of infrared imaging.
James Webb Space Telescope
"For several decades, we've been trying to determine exactly what red supergiant explosions look like," said Charlie Kilpatrick of Northwestern University, who led the study. "Only now, thanks to JWST, have we finally obtained high—quality data and infrared observations that allow us to accurately determine the type of exploded red supergiant and its immediate surroundings."
The discovery was made possible by combining data from the James Webb and Hubble telescopes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
