Science

Astronomers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have obtained possible evidence that the universe has a younger age than the standard cosmological model predicts. The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The scientists analyzed data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) by studying the motion of pairs of satellites located on opposite sides around massive groups of galaxies. A marked excess of pairs exhibiting correlated velocity shifts over the number of pairs exhibiting anti-correlated shifts was observed. The excess indicates the presence of recently accreted satellite galaxies.

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Researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia and the University of Auckland in New Zealand have revealed that the most effective way to combat a pandemic is to restrict the movement of people. The results of the study are published in the journal The Royal Society Interface.

Experts analyzed data on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine how such infections spread from person to person. For this purpose, they used a demographic model based on data on the movement of people from 340 cities in China.

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Astronomers have made photometric and spectroscopic observations of the Type Ia supernova known as SN 2020nlb. The results of the study are published on the arXiv preprint server.

Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) occur in double systems in which one of the stars is a white dwarf that attracts companion matter. SN 2020nlb was detected on June 25, 2020 by the ATLAS system. It erupted in the lenticular galaxy Messier 85 (M85), located about 60 million light-years from Earth.

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A large team of medical researchers from the United States and China has discovered an unexpected factor in reducing the risk of developing type II diabetes that is linked to a particular gene variant. The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Metabolism.

Specialists conducted a full-genome association search to determine the link between different gene variants, milk consumption and reduced risk of type II diabetes. Previous studies of the link between cow’s milk consumption and reduced risk of diabetes have yielded mixed results: some papers have demonstrated a link, while others have not.

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Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center have revealed that thinning of the cortical gray matter may be an early sign of dementia. This is reported in an article published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

Specialists analyzed data from magnetic resonance imaging, which was performed on 1,500 participants aged 70 to 74 years, who had already undergone MRI several years ago during previous medical examinations. People with and without dementia were compared to detect abnormal changes in the brain.

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