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  • Scientists just found a sugar switch that protects your brain from Alzheimer’s

    Scientists just found a sugar switch that protects your brain from Alzheimer’s

    A new study from scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging has revealed a surprising player in the battle against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia: brain sugar metabolism. Published in Nature Metabolism, the research uncovers how breaking down glycogen — a stored form of glucose — in neurons may protect the brain from toxic protein buildup and degeneration.

    Glycogen is typically thought of as a reserve energy source stored in the liver and muscles. While small amounts also exist in the brain, particularly in support cells called astrocytes, its role in neurons has long been dismissed as negligible. “This new study challenges that view, and it does so with striking implications,” says Professor Pankaj Kapahi, PhD, senior scientist on the study. “Stored glycogen doesn’t just sit there in the brain; it is involved in pathology.”

    The research team, led by postdoc Sudipta Bar, PhD, discovered that in both fly and human models of tauopathy (a group of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s), neurons accumulate excessive glycogen. More importantly, this buildup appears to contribute to disease progression. Bar says tau, the infamous protein that clumps into tangles in Alzheimer’s patients, appears to physically bind to glycogen, trapping it and preventing its breakdown.

    When glycogen can’t be broken down, the neurons lose an essential mechanism for managing oxidative stress, a key feature in aging and neurodegeneration. By restoring the activity of an enzyme called glycogen phosphorylase (GlyP) — which kicks off the process of glycogen breakdown — the researchers found they could reduce tau-related damage in fruit flies and human stem cell-derived neurons.

    Rather than using glycogen as a fuel for energy production, these enzyme-supported neurons rerouted the sugar molecules into the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) — a critical route for generating NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) and Glutathione, molecules that protect against oxidative stress. “By increasing GlyP activity, the brain cells could better detoxify harmful reactive oxygen species, thereby reducing damage and even extending the lifespan of tauopathy model flies,” said Bar.

    Even more promising, the team demonstrated that dietary restriction (DR) — a well-known intervention to extend lifespan — naturally enhanced GlyP activity and improved tau-related outcomes in flies. They further mimicked these effects pharmacologically using a molecule called 8-Br-cAMP, showing that the benefits of DR might be reproduced through drug-based activation of this sugar-clearing system. “This work could explain why GLP-1 drugs, now widely used for weight loss, show promise against dementia, potentially by mimicking dietary restriction,” said Kapahi.

    Researchers also confirmed similar glycogen accumulation and protective effects of GlyP in human neurons derived from patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), strengthening the potential for translational therapies. Kapahi says the study emphasizes the power of the fly as a model system in uncovering how metabolic dysregulation impacts neurodegeneration. “Work in this simple animal allowed us to move into human neurons in a much more targeted way,” he said.

    Kapahi also acknowledges the Buck’s highly collaborative atmosphere as a major factor in the work. His lab, with expertise in fly aging and neurodegeneration, took advantage of proteomics expertise in the Schilling lab and the Seyfried lab (at Emory University) as well as the Ellerby lab which has expertise in human iPSCs and neurodegeneration.

    Kapahi says this study not only highlights glycogen metabolism as an unexpected hero in the brain but also opens up a new direction in the search for treatments against Alzheimer’s and related diseases. “By discovering how neurons manage sugar, we may have unearthed a novel therapeutic strategy: one that targets the cell’s inner chemistry to fight age-related decline,” he says. “As we continue to age as a society, findings like these offer hope that better understanding — and perhaps rebalancing — our brain’s hidden sugar code could unlock powerful tools for combating dementia.”

    Coauthors: Additional Buck collaborators include Kenneth A. Wilson, Tyler A.U. Hilsabeck, Sydney Alderfer, Jordan B Burton, Samah Shah, Anja Holtz, Enrique M. Carrera, Jennifer N. Beck, Jackson H Chen, Grant Kauwe, Tara E. Tracy, Birgit Schilling, and Lisa M. Ellerby. Other collaborators include Eric B. Dammer, Fatemeh Seifar and Nicholas T. Seyfried, Emory Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA as well as Ananth Shantaraman, Department of Biochemistry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA

    Acknowledgments: The work was supported by NIH grants R01AG038688, R21AG054121, AG045835, R01AG071995, R01AG070193, T32AG000266-23, R01AG061879, P01AG066591 and 1S10 OD016281. Other support came from the Hevolution Foundation, American Federation of Aging Research, the Larry L. Hillblom Foundation and the CatalystX award from Alex and Bob Griswold

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  • ‘Someone compared it to Bohemian Rhapsody’: Wookie on making UK garage classic Battle | Dance music

    ‘Someone compared it to Bohemian Rhapsody’: Wookie on making UK garage classic Battle | Dance music

    Wookie, producer

    People say Battle reminds them of some really good years for Britain as a country. We were entering a new millennium, everyone was running their own business, making money and the underground record industry was thriving. I wanted to do a UK garage version of Southern Freeez, by the 80s UK funk band Freeez. Initially, Battle was going to be another instrumental, and then Lain, the singer, came in the room and goes: “Let me put something on this.” I was like: “I’m not sure it’s really a vocal song.” But Lain stacked the vocals, and someone compared it to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, with all the harmonies.

    At the time, some people believed that I had copied a dubplate by [UK garage figure] DJ EZ. It is similar – his bassline does something like that. But I know I didn’t copy him, because I didn’t go out that much! So I’d never really heard EZ at that stage.

    I didn’t know Battle was going to be as big as it was or have the impact it did – it was just another tune. Then it started to float around: a few DJs had it, the A&R people. Ears started to prick up. I think we added a level of sophistication to garage, even though people like MJ Cole and TJ Cases were already doing that. When we were trying to get Battle on the radio, one station said it was too intelligent for their listeners and they wouldn’t play it.

    Battle eventually reached No 10 in August 2000. Louise Redknapp got the No 9 spot by 2,000 copies. It allowed me to appear on a TV show that I had watched my whole life as I was growing up: Top of the Pops.

    A lot of people say: “Oh, garage is on the comeback.” But for me, it has been for the last 13 years. I started DJing in 2012 and every year I’m working. It’s been well received by a wider audience ever since, younger and younger.

    Lain, singer

    Jason Chue, AKA Wookie, was knocking about in jungle, drum’n’bass, trying to siphon off that whole energy and then putting songs to it. I remember him saying about Battle: “I’ve done something strange with the intro.” I was like: “No, just play it.” He was almost apologising for it – but it was like a godsend. That intro had such an urgency. It felt like it was piercing your soul. I said: “Give me a minute.” Then I walked out and I don’t even know if it was half an hour, but I came back and I had written all of the vocal. That’s divine. For the song title we wanted one word. There are a lot of three-word titles, but one word is strong. Whether it’s bringing up three kids on your own, or addiction, everyone’s battling through something, every day.

    People call Battle a gospel song. Back then I was doing a lot of regular R&B but I really wanted to do something that involved my faith. When Jazzie B [founder of Soul II Soul and mentor to Wookie] called me about working with Jason, I thought he was going to say: “No, we don’t want that.” But he said: “Just go for it.” We had all these record label bosses trying to sign Battle – one guy had a Maserati and he blew out his speakers playing it. Months later he said: “I didn’t realise I was blowing out my speakers to a gospel tune.”

    I first realised Battle was going to be big at [seminal UK garage night] Twice As Nice. Jason said: “You should come down to Twice As Nice because I think this tune’s going.” I was a bit worried because I don’t really go out. So they played the tune and everyone started going: “Booooo!” OK, that’s not a good sign. But Jason was like, “No, no, no – that means they really like it!”

    Battle has endured because of what it means to the person who hears it. Back then, we would do PAs and people would say: “That song – my mum was going through cancer and that helped me.” And, 25 years later, someone said: “While I was in prison, that song got me through.” That’s everyone. That’s anyone. I remember Jason sending me a picture of someone who tattooed the middle eight of Battle on her forearm: “I can always rely / On my faith to get by.”

    Wookie’s new single Back 2 Us (ft Kyno) is out now

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  • Vectorized Antibodies Market Research Report 2025-2034 |

    Vectorized Antibodies Market Research Report 2025-2034 |

    Dublin, June 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The “Vectorized Antibodies Market Size, Share, Trends, Analysis, and Forecast 2025-2034 | Global Industry Growth, Competitive Landscape, Opportunities, and Challenges” has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.

    The Global Vectorized Antibodies Market, valued at USD 9.49 billion in 2025, is poised for robust growth, anticipated to expand at a significant CAGR of 7.7% to reach USD 15.94 billion by 2034.

    This market is at the cutting edge of biotherapeutics, employing gene therapy techniques to deliver antibody coding sequences directly into the body via viral or non-viral vectors. This novel approach reduces the need for frequent dosing of protein-based drugs, fostering prolonged in vivo production of therapeutic antibodies with the potential for prolonged efficacy and streamlined manufacturing processes.

    This innovation holds substantial promise for chronic conditions such as HIV, cancer, autoimmune disorders, and rare genetic diseases, where continuous antibody presence is crucial. By merging genetic engineering precision with antibody targeting specificity, vectorized antibodies aim to enhance therapeutic outcomes and patient adherence.

    As clinical trials continue demonstrating safety and efficacy, the vectorized antibodies market may redefine the landscape of biologic therapies. Manufacturing scalability and batch consistency are critical hurdles, but advances in vector production infrastructure support continued progress. The regulatory landscape is evolving, particularly in classifying gene therapies and combination products.

    The report provides comprehensive insights into the vectorized antibodies market, covering market size and growth projections, trends, challenges, competitive landscape, and regional analyses across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America. It’s an invaluable resource for top management, investors, and stakeholders to strategize and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

    Customization options are available, with up to 10% free customization (up to 10 analyst hours) offered to modify segments, geographies, and analyzed companies. Post-sale support includes four analyst hours, available for up to four weeks, delivered in the latest PDF and Excel formats.

    Key Market Insights:

    • Vectorized antibodies reduce the need for repeated dosing, potentially lowering long-term treatment costs and healthcare burdens.
    • North America’s leadership is due to its advanced gene therapy infrastructure and supportive funding landscape, while Europe progresses with regulatory and collaborative support.
    • The focus is on enhancing vector payload capacity and specificity while minimizing immunogenic responses.
    • Applications range across oncology, infectious, autoimmune, and rare genetic diseases.
    • Key challenges include vector delivery efficacy, long-term safety considerations, and regulatory complexities.
    • North America: Leads the market, driven by investments in gene therapy research and a dynamic biotech ecosystem. Strategic collaborations between academia and industry further bolster growth.
    • Europe: Experiences steady growth, supported by regulatory frameworks that encourage advanced therapy medicinal products. Key players focus on optimizing vector delivery, reducing immunogenicity, and scaling production under GMP conditions.
    • While the market is in its early stages, it is advancing rapidly with numerous partnerships, licensing agreements, and venture capital inflows driving clinical pipeline development.

    Key Attributes:

    Report Attribute Details
    No. of Pages 150
    Forecast Period 2025 – 2034
    Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2025 $9.49 Billion
    Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2034 $18.5 Billion
    Compound Annual Growth Rate 7.7%
    Regions Covered Global

    Companies Featured

    • Adagio Therapeutics
    • ReiThera Srl
    • Voyager Therapeutics
    • Spark Therapeutics
    • Freeline Therapeutics
    • BioNTech SE
    • Moderna, Inc.
    • AskBio (subsidiary of Bayer AG)
    • Genethon
    • Vector BioPharma AG
    • Sangamo Therapeutics
    • Passage Bio
    • Gilead Sciences, Inc.
    • Vir Biotechnology, Inc.
    • Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

    For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/osx0kq

    About ResearchAndMarkets.com
    ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world’s leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

    • Vectorized Antibodies Market
    
                

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  • The Vivienne died from cardio-respiratory arrest due to ketamine use, inquest finds | Drugs

    The Vivienne died from cardio-respiratory arrest due to ketamine use, inquest finds | Drugs

    The drag artist known as The Vivienne died from misadventure after suffering cardio-respiratory arrest after taking ketamine, a coroner has ruled.

    James Lee Williams, 32, was found in the bath by a neighbour at their home in Chorlton-by-Backford, Cheshire, on Sunday 5 January. The last time anyone had contact with them was two days earlier, a court was told, when a friend said it was evident the entertainer had taken ketamine.

    Five drug snap bags were found in The Vivienne’s property, including in a bedroom drawer and a bin in the bathroom, an inquest at Warrington coroner’s court heard on Monday.

    Although the performer had struggled with drugs in the past, Williams’s family told the hearing they should not be remembered for their use of ketamine and that drugs did not define the person they were.

    Friends and family had no worries about Williams’s mental health, the hearing was told, and the performer was looking forward to future roles on TV and in the theatre, although did “occasionally” take ketamine.

    Jacqueline Devonish, the senior coroner for Cheshire, concluding the inquest, said: “The medical cause of death is cardio-respiratory arrest due to ketamine use. The conclusion, on the balance of probabilities, is that I’m satisfied that James Williams’s death was a misadventure, he took ketamine but he did not intend to take his own life.”

    A report from a toxicologist, Dr Kerry Taylor, said tests showed a relatively high level of ketamine, but not at a level normally causing death. However, the drug can cause drowsiness, seizures and heart stimulation, and the concentration may have dissipated over time.

    Williams was the winner of the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and years later spoke about having been a drug addict. In April, their sister, Chanel Williams, questioned whether the “stigma” surrounding drug use had prevented them from seeking help.

    She told the BBC Two current affairs programme Newsnight that The Vivienne did not discuss their relapse, including a hospital stay, to “protect” their family, after a “really long period of sobriety”.

    “It’s hard for me because I think, if that stigma wasn’t there, would my brother have sought the help he needed?” she said. “To think that, if we’d known, or if he’d have felt able to talk and really reach out for the help that was needed, the outcome could’ve been different. That’s why we’ve shared James’s story.”

    Williams’s family have said they would work with the drug charity Adferiad on future campaigns. Their sister has called for ketamine to become a class A drug rather than class B, because people “think it’s less harmful than other drugs”.

    The government is seeking expert advice as the illegal use of ketamine has surged to record levels.

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  • 4.8-magnitude earthquake jolts parts of Balochistan – Samaa TV

    1. 4.8-magnitude earthquake jolts parts of Balochistan  Samaa TV
    2. No casualties reported as 5.3-magnitude quake hits Balochistan  Dawn
    3. 5.2 magnitude earthquake hits Pakistan  Times of India
    4. Earthquake Today: 5.5 magnitude quake hits Pakistan, 3 people injured in third quake within 24 hours  Mint
    5. Earthquake of magnitude 5.3 jolts central Pakistan  Hindustan Times

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  • Elraglusib Shows Promising OS in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Subgroups

    Elraglusib Shows Promising OS in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Subgroups

    Pancreatic cancer anatomy concept: © Лилия Захарчук – stock.adobe.com

    New data from a prespecified subgroup analysis of the phase 2 Actuate-1801 part 3B trial (NCT03678883) highlight the potential of elraglusib (9-ING-41), an investigational glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3β) inhibitor, in combination with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (GnP) for first-line metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) treatment.1

    The findings indicate a notable improvement in overall survival (OS) among patients receiving at least 1 complete cycle of elraglusib in conjunction with standard chemotherapy, particularly within the challenging subgroup of patients with liver metastases.

    For patients who completed at least one 4-week cycle of therapy, the elraglusib/GnP combination arm achieved a median OS of 12.5 months compared with 8.5 months in the control arm. This represented a 43% reduction in the risk of death relative to the control group, underscoring the potential for early disease control with elraglusib.

    Beyond OS, the combination therapy also demonstrated improved outcomes across several other key efficacy metrics. The disease control rate (DCR) was 53.4% in the elraglusib arm vs 44.8% in the control arm, while the overall response rate (ORR) improved to 37.9% compared with 29.3%. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.9 months with elraglusib, an improvement over 5.6 months in the control group.

    A particularly impactful finding emerged from the analysis of patients with liver metastases; a subpopulation historically associated with an exceptionally poor prognosis in mPDAC. In this group, treatment with elraglusib led to a 2.5-fold increase in 1-year OS and a 38% reduction in the risk of death compared to the control arm. While the GnP control arm showed 0% OS probability at 18 months, patients receiving elraglusib maintained a survival probability of 13.6% OS at 18 months. Additional efficacy metrics within this liver metastases subgroup further supported these observations: DCR was 36.8% vs 27.9%, ORR was 29.8% vs 19.7%, and PFS was 4.9 months vs 3.9 months in the elraglusib and control arms, respectively. The pronounced benefit observed in this high-risk population highlights elraglusib’s potential to address a critical unmet need.

    “We are highly encouraged by the significant clinical benefit provided by elraglusib demonstrated in this study,” said Daniel Schmitt, president and chief executive officer of Actuate Therapeutics, in a press release. “These results underscore the potential of elraglusib to generate rapid and durable benefit in high-risk patients, which could be highly impactful in future development and commercial pathways.”

    mPDAC represents an advanced and aggressive disease and accounts for approximately 90% of all pancreatic cancers. It is widely recognized as one of the deadliest malignancies, with a 5-year survival rate for metastatic cases under 10%.2 This prognosis underscores the urgent need for novel and more effective therapeutic strategies.

    Elraglusib’s mechanism of action involves the inhibition of GSK-3β, a serine/threonine protein kinase implicated in numerous cellular processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival.1 GSK-3β plays a complex role, often promoting tumor growth and contributing to resistance against conventional cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy. By inhibiting GSK-3β, elraglusib aims to disrupt key molecular pathways in cancer that are involved in promoting tumor growth and resistance. Specifically, its activity targets pathways such as NF-kB of activated B cells and the DNA damage response.

    Furthermore, preliminary research suggests elraglusib may also mediate antitumor immunity through the regulation of multiple immune checkpoints and immune cell function, potentially enhancing the body’s natural defenses against cancer. These multifaceted effects contribute to the drug’s observed clinical benefits.

    REFERENCES:
    1. Actuate Therapeutics highlights significant and sustained survival benefit in key metastatic pancreatic cancer patient populations in phase 2 elraglusib trial. News release. Actuate Therapeutics. June 24, 2025. Accessed June 26, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/muyufn2j
    2. Sarantis P, Koustas E, Papadimitropoulou A, et al. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: treatment hurdles, tumor microenvironment and immunotherapy. World J Gastrointest Oncol. 2020;12(2):173-181. doi:10.4251/wjgo.v12.i2.173

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  • Tsitsipas retires due to back injury, French qualifier Royer advances – ATP Tour

    1. Tsitsipas retires due to back injury, French qualifier Royer advances  ATP Tour
    2. Former Grand Slam finalist and one half of tennis power couple looks devastated at he retires at Wimbledon  The Sun
    3. Tsitsipas falls in the first round due to physical problems  Punto de Break
    4. Stefanos Tsitsipas calls physio and retires from Wimbledon to hand world No.113 first win  Daily Express

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  • Media accreditation open for New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships

    The media accreditation system for the New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships is now open.

    International Media is invited to apply for accreditation clicking here. The accreditation period for Indian-based media and photographers will be open at a later stage.

    The deadline to apply for international media accreditation is 25 July 2025.

    Available categories for media accreditation are as per below: 

    •    Press 
    •    Photographer 
    •    Rights-holding Broadcasters 
    •    Non-rights-holding TV and Radio Broadcaster 
     
    Professionals will be contacted about their accreditation status after this date. Completion of the registration process does not automatically guarantee accreditation. 

    Please note that nationals from certain countries may require a short-term stay visa to enter India. For more information and to confirm if you come from a country or region that requires a visa to enter India visit https://india-evisa.it.com.

    If you have any questions, please contact media@WorldParaAthletics.org.


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  • Google expands access to AI tools in the classroom for educators with Gemini

    Google expands access to AI tools in the classroom for educators with Gemini

    Google LLC today announced a vastly expanded suite of artificial intelligence tools for educators with Gemini in the Classroom, which includes more than 30 features to help teachers spend more time with students.

    The new features build on personalized learning experiences for educators and students Google unveiled earlier this year and are now free for educators.

    Google Classroom is a free, web-based platform designed to assist educators in managing, creating and organizing assignments, communicating with students, and providing feedback. It’s designed to aid teachers with opportunities in the digital environment by providing them access to Google’s ecosystem such as Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet.

    For students, it allows them to easily access class materials, submit work online, communicate with their teachers about assignments and collaborate with classmates on projects.

    Introducing Gemini for Education

    Google has launched a new educational version of the Gemini app called Gemini for Education.

    The app is based on LearnLM, a powerful tool built on Gemini 2.5 Pro model, the company’s flagship AI model. It’s grounded in learning science, which Google says makes it elemental for learning and providing guidance instead of simply giving away answers.

    The app is also designed with safeguards, administrator control and visibility alongside enterprise-grade data protection and regulatory compliance with educational standards.

    Additionally, since Google launched Gems in the Gemini app, educators have been able to generate their own AI experts. Gems are a type of customized version of the Gemini chatbot, optimized for specific tasks. Educators can task a Gem to become an “interactive simulation” grounded in course materials and readings to engage students or base it on curricula to make it respond accordingly.

    NotebookLM, Google’s AI-powered note-taking and research assistant tool, designed to help users make sense of vast bodies of documents and powered by Gemini for students over 18, now has Video Overviews. This allows educators to easily take copious amounts of coursework and other sources and turn them into educational videos.

    Also in the vein of videos, Google Vids is now available to all Google Workspace for Education users.

    The company said it intends to launch a new version of NotebookLM in the coming weeks designed for students under age 18. In the upcoming version, Gemini will be able to provide visuals, such as interactive diagrams in its responses to help students understand complex concepts more easily.

    Google said in the coming months educators will be able to assign Gems and notebooks grounded in class materials directly to students through Google Classroom through new teacher-led experiences. With the safe, responsible use of AI tools, students will have the agency to choose how to learn in the ways that work best for them.

    Image: Google

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  • NASA Webb ‘Pierces’ Bullet Cluster, Refines Its Mass

    NASA Webb ‘Pierces’ Bullet Cluster, Refines Its Mass

    NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently zeroed in on the Bullet Cluster — delivering highly detailed images that show a greater abundance of extremely faint and distant galaxies than ever before. Using Webb’s crisp near-infrared observations of this region, researchers have more completely mapped the colliding galaxy clusters’ contents.

    “With Webb’s observations, we carefully measured the mass of the Bullet Cluster with the largest lensing dataset to date, from the galaxy clusters’ cores all the way out to their outskirts,” said Sangjun Cha, the lead author of the paper published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and a PhD student at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. (Previous studies of the Bullet Cluster with other telescopes relied on significantly less lensing data, which netted out with less precise estimates of the system’s mass.)

    “Webb’s images dramatically improve what we can measure in this scene — including pinpointing the position of invisible particles known as dark matter,” said Kyle Finner, a co-author and an assistant scientist at IPAC at Caltech in Pasadena, California.

    Mapping the Dark Matter

    All galaxies are made up of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter, which are bound together by gravity. The Bullet Cluster is made up of two very massive collections of galaxies, known as galaxy clusters, that are themselves bound by gravity.

    These galaxy clusters act as gravitational lenses, magnifying the light of background galaxies. “Gravitational lensing allows us to infer the distribution of dark matter,” said James Jee, a co-author, professor at Yonsei University, and research associate at UC Davis in California.

    To visualize gravitational lensing and dark matter, think of a pond filled with clear water and pebbles. “You cannot see the water unless there is wind, which causes ripples,” Jee explained. “Those ripples distort the shapes of the pebbles below, causing the water to act like a lens.” The same thing happens in space, but the water is dark matter and the pebbles are background galaxies.

    In all, the team measured thousands of galaxies in Webb’s images to accurately “weigh” both the visible and invisible mass in these galaxy clusters. They also carefully mapped and measured the collective light emitted by stars that are no longer bound to individual galaxies — known as intracluster stars.

    The revised map of the Bullet Cluster is shown in a new image: Layered on top of an image from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) is data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory that shows hot gas in pink, including the bullet shape at right. Refined measurements of the dark matter, calculated by the team using Webb’s observations, are represented in blue. (See the defined galaxy clusters within the dashed circles.)

    Their findings are persuasive: “We confirmed that the intracluster light can be a reliable tracer of dark matter, even in a highly dynamic environment like the Bullet Cluster,” Cha said. If these stars are not bound to galaxies, but to the cluster’s dark matter, it might become easier to pin down more specifics about the invisible matter.

    Viewed as a whole, the researchers’ new measurements significantly refine what we know about how mass is spread throughout the Bullet Cluster. The galaxy cluster on the left has an asymmetric, elongated area of mass along the left edge of the blue region, which is a clue pointing to previous mergers in that cluster.

    Dark matter does not emit, reflect, or absorb light, and the team’s findings indicate that dark matter shows no signs of significant self-interaction. If dark matter did self-interact in Webb’s observations, the team would see an offset between the galaxies and their respective dark matter.

    “As the galaxy clusters collided, their gas was dragged out and left behind, which the X-rays confirm,” Finner said. Webb’s observations show that dark matter still lines up with the galaxies — and was not dragged away.

    Although earlier measurements with other telescopes also identified invisible mass in addition to the mass in the galaxies, it was still possible that the dark matter could interact with itself to some degree. These new observations place stronger limits on the behavior of dark matter particles.

    ‘Replaying’ the Collision

    The strange new clumps and elongated line of mass the team identified may mean that the Bullet Cluster was produced by more than one collision of galaxy clusters billions of years ago.

    The larger cluster, which now sits on the left, might have suffered a minor collision before it rammed through the galaxy cluster now at right. The same larger cluster may also have experienced a violent interaction afterward, causing an additional shake up of its contents. “A more complicated scenario would lead to a huge asymmetric elongation like we see on the left,” Jee said.

    The Head of a ‘Giant’

    The Bullet Cluster is huge, even in the vast expanse of space. Webb’s NIRCam covered a significant portion of the hulking debris with its images, but not all of it. “It’s like looking at the head of a giant,” said Jee. “Webb’s initial images allow us to extrapolate how heavy the whole ‘giant’ is, but we’ll need future observations of the giant’s whole ‘body’ for precise measurements.”

    In the near future, researchers will also have expansive near-infrared images from NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is set to launch by May 2027. “With Roman, we will have complete mass estimates of the entire Bullet Cluster, which would allow us to recreate the actual collision on computers,” Finner said.

    The Bullet Cluster is found in the Carina constellation 3.8 billion light-years from Earth.

    The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

    To learn more about Webb, visit:

    https://science.nasa.gov/webb

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