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It turns out space helmets serve a dual purpose - to keep air in and stink out. Just like Earth, the universe emits various smells from every corner of the never-ending universe, often of which are generally unpleasant, Space.com reported, citing numerous space expeditions over the decades. Although it is impossible to take a whiff of the cosmos without facing certain death, astronauts have long described strong odors clinging to their space suits after they return to their air-locked chambers. Metallic, burnt meat Those aboard the Apollo moon landings described the scent as gunpowder-like, while others who traversed the International...

Scientists have solved a decades-long mystery of a red glow that permeates our Milky Way Galaxy and other galaxies. The red glow is most prominent in a strange, dying star called the Red Rectangle, named for the bizarre structure that surrounds it. The red light, astronomers now say, radiates from invisibly small clusters of dust that are now believed to glow because of newly described molecular forces that oppose each other on very small scales. The glow, called the Extended Red Emission (conveniently ERE for short) has been known but inexplicable for more than 30 years. Researchers suspected carbon-rich molecules...

Explanation: What's happening in the NGC 3582 nebula? Bright stars and interesting molecules are forming. The complex nebula resides in the star forming region called RCW 57. Visible in this image are dense knots of dark interstellar dust, bright stars that have formed in the past few million years, fields of glowing hydrogen gas ionized by these stars, and great loops of gas expelled by dying stars. A detailed study of NGC 3582, also known as NGC 3584 and NGC 3576, uncovered at least 33 massive stars in the end stages of formation, and the clear presence of the complex...

The chief medical ambition of those who study stem cells has always been that the cells would be used to repair and regenerate damaged tissue. That's still a long way off, despite rapid progress exemplified by the presentation of the Nobel Prize next week to Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University for a key stem-cell breakthrough. But there's another, less well known application of stem cells that is already delivering results: disease modeling. Dr. Yamanaka used a retrovirus to insert four genes into a mouse cell to return it to a "pluripotent" state—capable of turning into almost any kind of cell....

The macrocycle can trap polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons US chemists have designed a novel macrocyclic molecule that may be able to scavenge an important class of toxic hydrocarbons from the environment. The rectangular cyclophane can trap a wide range of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – PAHs – several of which are carcinogenic. The molecule, dubbed ExBox, was shown to remove PAHs from a sample of crude oil. Additionally, the crystallised complex of ExBox and particular PAHs contain stacked aromatic rings which could have novel or unusual electronic properties.The team, at Northwestern University in Illinois, constructed the cyclophane by taking an extended...