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In the hit Netflix sci-fi series 3 Body Problem‚ several of the main characters are sent a mysterious virtual reality (VR) videogame‚ in which the protagonist is asked to help an alien species solve a problem: how to predict the movement of their planet's three suns.The three-body problem is an interesting and real one‚ presenting the simulated aliens with a seemingly impossible task of how to survive on a world thrown into chaos by the three suns influencing it. There are other hypothetical planets where life may (or may not‚ if they turn out not to exist) emerge despite similarly strange challenges. One such type of world – proposed by cosmologist Dan Hooper and astronomer Jason Steffen in 2012 – relies on dark matter to make life possible.     As far as astronomers studying the observable universe can tell‚ only around 5 percent of it is made up of matter. The rest‚ or the overwhelming majority of it‚ is made up of dark matter (around 27 percent) and dark energy (around 68 percent). Dark matter is invisible matter that doesn't emit its own light and only interacts with normal matter through gravity‚ which we can see evidence for in galaxies and galaxy clusters. As explained in the 2012 paper‚ when weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPS) come together they annihilate each other‚ releasing energy."The mass of the dark matter contained in our universe represents an enormous energy reservoir – a factor of approximately 103 times greater than the total energy that would be released through the fusion of all of the universe’s hydrogen into helium‚" the paper explains. However‚ dark matter generally does not collide enough to release enough energy to have an impact on an ecological scale. "An exception to this conclusion‚ however‚ could possibly be found for dark matter particles that have become gravitationally captured in a planet’s interior. Dark matter‚ in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs)‚ is generally predicted to interact with nuclei‚ enabling them to lose momentum and become gravitationally bound and captured by stars or planets. After accumulating in a planet’s interior‚ these dark matter particles can‚ in many models‚ subsequently annihilate to produce energetic particles that are then absorbed by the surrounding material."Interactions within Earth would only account for a few megawatts of energy. More massive planets in areas of high-density slow-moving dark matter‚ however‚ could capture enough dark matter to heat the planet enough to keep water in a liquid state on its surface. This could plausibly happen‚ according to the team‚ even on rogue‚ sunless planets."On these rare planets‚ it may be dark matter rather than light from a host star that makes it possible for life to emerge‚ evolve‚ and survive."These planets‚ if they exist‚ would most likely be found in areas with a lot of dark matter‚ such as in dwarf spheroidal galaxies‚ or at the center of galaxies like the Milky Way. Life on these planets would be very different from Earth‚ likely existing on a thin surface layer above a molten interior. But in terms of evolving complex life‚ such a planet might have a few advantages‚ the main one being time. According to the team‚ if enough dark matter is captured by such a planet‚ it could potentially keep the surface warm enough for liquid water to be present for trillions of years."Given their extremely long lifetimes‚" the paper concludes‚ "such planets may prove to be the ultimate bastion of life in our universe."Though it's unclear how we would detect such planets‚ it's possible that there are planets out there‚ maybe free from their host stars and floating through interstellar space‚ sustaining life in a fairly stable environment for its inhabitants. In those sorts of time frames‚ who knows what kind of life these planets could evolve.The paper is published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.

On Earth‚ flames are shaped by gravity. Hot gases from the flames rise while gravity pulls cooler and denser air downwards to the bottom of the flame‚ giving it its familiar teardrop shape. In microgravity environments – such as on the International Space Station (ISS) – this cycle does not take place‚ and the result is that the flame becomes spherical. Astronauts aboard China's Tiangong space station lit a candle onboard to demonstrate how flames act in zero gravity. You can watch Chinese astronauts Gui Haichao and Zhu Yangzhu light the candle while live-streaming a lecture to viewers down below.                 While cool in a demonstration‚ fire and space are not a great mix. "Fire behaves differently in space‚" NASA explains. "Changes in gravity and air flow can alter the way it spreads and make it harder to extinguish."“We need to know how fire behaves differently in space than on Earth. Otherwise‚ we cannot safely live there‚” mechanical engineer James Quintiere‚ retired from the National Institute of Standards and Technology where he led fire protection research for over two decades‚ told Upward‚ the official magazine of the ISS National Laboratory.There was a real fire on Mir back in 1997‚ which lasted several minutes and cut off access to one of the Soyuz escape vehicles docked to the space station. The crew managed to put out the fire – but the situation was pretty hairy for a time.“The fire was so enormous and the smoke and vapor coming off this fire site was such that we couldn’t see at arm’s length‚" European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Reinhold Ewald said of the incident‚ "and I could not at that time have imagined that we go on with the mission."Given the dangers involved‚ and the interesting physics‚ fire in space has been studied extensively and carefully. As part of the Flame Design experiment‚ NASA imaged and studied fire in microgravity conditions. "The yellow spots are soot clusters that glow yellow when hot‚" NASA explained‚ referring to the main image above. "These clusters grow larger in microgravity than on Earth because the soot remains within the flame longer."Another problem with flames on space stations is that the lack of gravity makes them more difficult to detect.“As the gravity field is reduced on Mars (0.38 g) or on the Moon (0.16 g)‚ buoyancy decreases and the typical time required to detect a fire with regular equipment is consequently greater‚” Guillaume Legros of France’s Institut de Combustion‚ Aérothermique‚ Réactivité et Environnement told ESA.“Worse still‚ in a spacecraft‚ there is no buoyant flow and the smoke will consequently follow the complex air motion imposed by the ventilation system‚ leading to a longer fire detection time by smoke detectors typically placed along the vent lines.”If a fire breaks out‚ cosmonauts on the Russian section of the ISS have water-based fire extinguishers‚ while the US section has a carbon dioxide extinguisher."Of course‚ we have to be careful when using the fire extinguisher to either secure ourselves against a wall or have a second astronaut stand behind us and hold us in place‚" ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer explained in a German Space Agency video. "The recoil from spraying one of the extinguishers can be quite strong and would send me flying backwards."All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text‚ images‚ and links may be edited‚ removed‚ or added to at a later date to keep information current.  

After more than a decade of development‚ the first human trial for a treatment that attempts to tackle end-stage liver disease (ESLD) by turning lymph nodes into livers has begun.“In a medical first‚ we have now dosed our first patient in a clinical trial using their own lymph nodes as living bioreactors to regenerate an ectopic organ‚" said Dr Michael Hufford‚ co-founder and CEO of LyGenesis – the company behind the treatment – in a statement.The treatment works by taking the main functioning cells from a donated liver – known as hepatocytes – and injecting them into the lymph nodes‚ the little bean-shaped organs that help the immune system by filtering foreign particles (like viruses that cause infections).Once in the lymph nodes‚ the liver cells should grow and divide‚ hooking up with the circulatory system too by developing blood vessels. “Over time‚ that lymph node will disappear and what you’re left with is a miniature organ‚” Hufford told New Scientist.It’s a procedure that’s already seen success in some animals. Researchers tested it out on pigs by surgically altering their livers to mimic human liver disease and injecting hepatocytes from healthy liver samples into the lymph nodes. All six pigs operated on developed mini livers and consequently‚ showed signs of recovery from liver failure.The human trial will see the safety‚ tolerability‚ and efficacy of this regenerative cell therapy tested in up to 12 people with ESLD‚ a condition in which the liver is damaged beyond repair.In this circumstance‚ a transplant is often required – but there are a number of factors that can get in the way. Some patients are simply too ill to be in a position for surgery‚ for example.However‚ one of the major problems is the length of the transplant waiting list. At present‚ nearly 10‚000 people in the US are waiting for a donor liver‚ but they could be waiting for one for up to five years. Around 12 percent of those people will die each year whilst on the list.It’s hoped that this new treatment will help to tackle the problem. “If our study is successful and we obtain FDA approval‚ our allogeneic cell therapy could enable one donated liver to treat many dozens of ESLD patients‚ which could help to tilt the current organ supply-demand imbalance in favor of patients‚” said Hufford.It’ll be a while before the first results from the trial emerge‚ but researchers will be keeping a close eye on the patients involved over the course of a year‚ checking for the optimal dose and safety of the treatment‚ and whether or not it’s effective in treating the signs and symptoms of ESLD.