PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Our galaxy is way smaller than previous estimates, study shows

2014-07-30
(Press-News.org) The Milky Way is smaller than astronomers previously thought, according to new research.

For the first time, scientists have been able to precisely measure the mass of the galaxy that contains our solar system.

Researchers have found that the Milky Way is approximately half the weight of a neighbouring galaxy – known as Andromeda – which has a similar structure to our own. The Milky Way and Andromeda are the two largest in a region of galaxies which astronomers call the Local Group.

Scientists say that Andromeda's extra weight must be present in the form of dark matter, a little-understood invisible substance which makes up most of the outer regions of galaxies. They estimate that Andromeda contains twice as much dark matter as the Milky Way, causing it to be twice as heavy.

Researchers say their work should help them learn more about how the outer regions of galaxies are structured. Their findings also provide further evidence in support of a theory which suggests that the universe is expanding.

Although both galaxies appear to be of similar dimensions, until now scientists had been unable to prove which is larger.

Previous studies were only able to measure the mass enclosed within both galaxies' inner regions. In this new study, researchers were also able to work out the mass of invisible matter found in the outer regions of both galaxies, and reveal their total weights. They say 90 per cent of both galaxies' matter is invisible.

A team of scientists led by the University of Edinburgh used recently published data on the known distances between galaxies – as well as their velocities – to calculate the total masses of Andromeda and the Milky Way.

Dr Jorge Peñarrubia, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Physics and Astronomy, who led the study, said: "We always suspected that Andromeda is more massive than the Milky Way, but weighting both galaxies simultaneously proved to be extremely challenging. Our study combined recent measurements of the relative motion between our galaxy and Andromeda with the largest catalogue of nearby galaxies ever compiled to make this possible."

INFORMATION: The study, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, was carried out in collaboration with the University of British Colombia, Carnegie Mellon University and NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics.

The work was supported by the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Findings from the study are supported by research carried out by the University of Cambridge, which used different data and methods and produced very similar results.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Improve peer review by making the reviewers better suited to the task

2014-07-30
A 'kitemark' that identifies randomized-controlled trials reviewed by specially trained peer reviewers would improve public trust in the robustness of clinical trials, according to an opinion piece in the open access journal BMC Medicine. Jigisha Patel, BioMed Central's Medical Editor argues that peer review should be recognized as a professional skill in the clinical medical field. The article was openly peer reviewed and the reports published alongside, as is the case for all BMC Medicine articles. Peer review and its effectiveness is the subject of much heated debate ...

Astronomers measure weight of galaxies, expansion of universe

2014-07-30
Astronomers at the University of British Columbia have collaborated with international researchers to calculate the precise mass of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, dispelling the notion that the two galaxies have similar masses. While it was previously thought that the two galaxies weighed the same because of their similar size and structure, researchers found that neighboring Andromeda is about twice as heavy as our own Milky Way. "Most of the weight of these galaxies is present in the form of invisible dark matter," says Yin-Zhe Ma, a postdoctoral fellow in ...

Weighing the Milky Way

2014-07-30
PITTSBURGH—Does the Milky Way look fat in this picture? Has Andromeda been taking skinny selfies? It turns out the way some astrophysicists have been studying our galaxy made it appear that the Milky Way might be more massive than it's neighbor down the street, Andromeda. Not true, says a study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society by an international group of researchers, including Matthew Walker of Carnegie Mellon University's McWilliams Center for Cosmology. In the paper, they demonstrate a new, more accurate method for measuring ...

Five daily portions of fruit and vegetables may be enough to lower risk of death

2014-07-30
These results conflict with a recent study published in BMJ's Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggesting that seven or more daily portions of fruits and vegetables were linked to lowest risk of death. There is growing evidence that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is related to a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, the results are not entirely consistent. So a team of researchers based in China and the United States decided to examine the association between fruit and vegetable intake and risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, ...

A blood test could help prevent neural tube birth defects

2014-07-30
Folate is a naturally occurring form of vitamin B found in food, while folic acid is synthetically produced and used in fortified foods and supplements. It is well known that taking folic acid before and during early pregnancy reduces the risk of neural tube defects like spina bifida. The current recommended dose is 400 ìg (micrograms) a day, but it is still not clear exactly how much daily folic acid is needed to prevent neural tube defects. A previous study carried out in Ireland showed the risk of a having a child with a neural tube defect increased as red blood ...

Why we should vaccinate boys against HPV as well as girls

2014-07-30
Gillian Prue, from the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen's University of Belfast, says that the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is common in men and can lead to genital warts and the development of some head and neck, anal or penile cancers. She says incidence of this has increased in the past two decades with HPV causing 5% of all human cancers. Since September 2008 a free vaccination has been available for 12-13 year old girls in the UK with a catch up programme for girls up to age 18. Australia, the US, Austria and parts of Canada have introduced a vaccination ...

Problem drinking in midlife doubles chance of memory problems in later life

2014-07-30
A study published today [Weds July 30] in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry indicates that middle-aged adults with a history of problem drinking are more than twice as likely to suffer from severe memory impairment in later life. The study highlights the hitherto largely unknown link between harmful patterns of alcohol consumption and problems with memory later in life – problems which may place people at a high risk of developing dementia. The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School with support from the NIHR Collaboration ...

Maternal obesity modulates offspring microflora composition and gastrointestinal functions

2014-07-30
7/29/2014, Seattle, WA. Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that maternal obesity leads to marked changes in the offspring's gastrointestinal microflora composition and gastrointestinal function. The gastrointestinal microflora consists of multiple species of microorganisms that live in the digestive tracts of animals and assists the host in digestion. An imbalance in an individual's microflora is suspected to ...

Is hunger suppression the key to reducing risk of overeating and obesity?

2014-07-30
The failure of some obese individuals to generate or detect adequate signals to stop eating has been frequently been reported in medical science. Researchers at the University of Leeds, UK have devised a simple metric to quantify satiety responsiveness - Satiety Quotient (SQ) – and are applying it to their research to find out why some people struggle to manage their weight and whether certain foods may help to amplify sensations of fullness. In an experiment at the University of Leeds, researchers used the SQ in conjunction with different amounts of whole raw almonds ...

Blood sugar levels closely linked to how our brains respond to the sight of food, twin study finds

2014-07-30
7/29/2014, Seattle, WA. Our brain's response to the sight of food appears to be driven more by how low our blood sugar level is at the moment than our upbringing or genetics, researchers said at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior. "The finding suggest our brains have a way to override our genetic inheritance, upbringing and habits to respond to our immediate nutritional needs," said Dr. Ellen Schur, associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington. In the study, Schur and UW Medicine colleagues at Harborview Medical Center, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

For younger women, mental health now may predict heart health later

Missed opportunity: AEDs near cardiac arrests rarely used by bystanders

Eggs may not be bad for your heart after all

Alcohol raises heart disease risk, particularly among women

TTUHSC announces new center for nursing research

Adding just enough fuel to the fire

Impact of synbiotic supplements on the gut microbiome and overall health of penguins

Promising advances in organosilica membranes for separating organic liquid mixtures

Cell phone video technology unveils new method for analyzing walking and gait

Ancient isolation’s impact on modern ecology

Synaptic protein change during development offers clues on evolution and disease

How commercial rooftop solar power could bring affordable clean energy to low-income homes

Taking a closer look at pulmonary fibrosis genetics

Cats with MDR1 mutation at risk of severe reactions to popular medication

IOP Publishing and IPEM mandate reporting of sex and gender in research 

Dogs trained to detect trauma stress by smelling humans’ breath

Electronic device thermal management made simpler and slightly better!

Study: Dangerous surgical site infections can be reduced with simple prevention protocol

Genetic testing of patients with atrial fibrillation can alert clinicians to potential development of life-threatening conditions

Artificial Intelligence tool successfully predicts fatal heart rhythm

What progress has China made in agriculture green development over the past five years?

ALMA finds new molecular signposts in starburst galaxy

Open waste burning linked to air pollution in Northwestern Greenland

Google Street View reveals how built environment correlates with risk of cardiovascular disease

Connecting the dots to shape growth forces

Parental avoidance of toxic exposures could help prevent autism, ADHD in children, new study shows

Trends in the incidence of renal replacement therapy due to rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis in Japan, 2006–2021

Olympics not likely to swallow up skateboarding’s subversive nature into its corporate spectacle, study says

Looking after the NHS workforce must be a top priority, say experts

Prolonged use of certain hormone drugs linked to increased brain tumor risk

[Press-News.org] Our galaxy is way smaller than previous estimates, study shows