ScienceDaily
Webb Telescope spots “impossible” atmosphere on ancient super Earth
Webb's latest findings challenge long-held assumptions about planetary science, detecting signs of a substantial atmosphere on TOI-561 b — a rocky super-Earth so hot and fast-moving it was never expected to retain one. The planet's unexpectedly low temperatures suggest an atmosphere is redistributing heat across its surface, possibly hovering above a global magma ocean. The discovery forces a rethink of how rocky planets form and survive in extreme conditions, with implications for the search for atmospheres on worlds beyond our solar system.
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Hidden antibiotics in river fish spark new food safety fears
Antibiotic contamination in a major Brazilian river has reached alarming levels, with scientists detecting a banned drug inside fish sold for human consumption — a finding that signals a direct pathway from polluted waterways to the dinner plate. Concentrations spike during the dry season as reduced water volume amplifies pollution levels. While a native aquatic plant showed potential for filtering these chemicals, it also changed how fish absorb antibiotics, complicating what looked like a straightforward solution.
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Friction without contact discovered as magnetic forces break a 300-year-old law
Physicists have discovered that friction can exist between surfaces with no physical contact, driven purely by magnetic interactions between sliding layers. As the layers move, competing internal magnetic forces trigger constant rearrangements that generate resistance — peaking sharply at certain distances rather than rising steadily. The finding overturns a 300-year-old friction law and opens new questions about how fundamental forces behave at the nanoscale.
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