From figuring out why the universe exists to how ants know how much food their colony needs, here are this week’s top findings and discoveries from the field of science.
Measuring helium in distant galaxies may give physicists insight into why the universe exists
A recent study found that the Subaru telescope’s new measurement of the amount and type of helium in faraway galaxies may offer a solution to the long-standing mystery of matter-antimatter asymmetry problem. Last year, the Subaru Collaboration – a group of Japanese scientists working on the Subaru telescope – released data on 10 galaxies far outside of our own that are almost exclusively made up of hydrogen and helium. Using a technique that allows researchers to distinguish different elements from one another based on the wavelengths of light observed in the telescope, the Subaru scientists determined exactly how much helium exists in each of these 10 galaxies. Importantly, they found less helium than the previously accepted theory predicted.
