CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Around 4.6 billion years ago, the universe was a chaos of collapsing gas and spinning debris. Small particles of gas and dust clumped together into larger and more massive meteoroids that in turn smashed together to form planets. Scientists believe that shortly after their formation, these planets -- and particularly Mercury -- were fiery spheres of molten material, which cooled over millions of years.

Now, geologists at MIT have traced part of Mercury's cooling history and found that between 4.2 and 3.7 billion years ago, soon after the planet formed, its interior temperatures plummeted by 240 degrees Celsius, or 464 degrees Fahrenheit.

hint

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., June 27, 2016--The discovery of manganese oxides in Martian rocks might tell us that the Red Planet was once more Earth-like than previously believed. A new paper in Geophysical Research Letters reveals that NASA's Curiosity rover observed high levels of manganese oxides in Martian rocks, which could indicate that higher levels of atmospheric oxygen once existed on our neighboring planet. This hint of more oxygen in Mars' early atmosphere adds to other Curiosity findings--such as evidence of ancient lakes--revealing how Earth-like our neighboring planet once was.

Rats given midazolam, an anti-anxiety medication, were less likely to free trapped companions because the drug lessened their empathy, according to a new study by University of Chicago neuroscientists.

Tropical Cyclone 02A developed in the Northern Indian Ocean's Arabian Sea as NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead and analyzed the storm in infrared light and NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible look at the storm.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Laundry pod detergents are far more likely to cause poisoning injuries in young children than are nonpod laundry detergents, and are four times more likely to lead to hospitalization, according to findings published today from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The study, published in Injury Prevention, estimates there were almost 36,000 cases of injury due to all types of laundry detergent in U.S. emergency departments between 2012 and 2014.

Using so-called next-generation genome sequencing, researchers at Johns Hopkins have identified 84 potential inherited gene mutations that may contribute to the most severe forms of bipolar disorder. About 5.6 million Americans are estimated to have bipolar disorder.

The investigators say their study is one of the first of rare genetic variations in people with bipolar disorder, which, in contrast to most previous studies of common variation, can provide a more direct insight into the biology underlying the susceptibility to bipolar disorder.

Authors from Lake Erie Research Institute in Pennsylvania report an adjustable foot wrap caused to treat restless legs syndrome (RLS) is 1.4 times more effective than the standard pharmaceutical treatment. The pilot study published today in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

The eight-week clinical trial involved 30 otherwise healthy adults with moderate to severe restless leg syndrome. Researchers studied Clinical Global Impression responses as well as the mean change in the International Restless Leg Syndrome Study Group Study Scale (IRLSSGS). A meta-analysis was then used to compare the RLS device with three historic studies of the medication ropinirole and a placebo.

Beijing and surrounding areas of China often suffer from choking smog. The Chinese government has made commitments to improving air quality and has achieved notable results in reducing emissions from the power and transportation sectors. However, new research indicates that the government could achieve dramatic air quality improvements with more attention on an overlooked source of outdoor pollution -- residential cooking and heating.

TORONTO, June 27, 2016 - Handheld, mobile phone-based microscopes can be used in developing countries after minimal training of community laboratory technicians to diagnose intestinal parasites quickly and accurately.

Perovskite is a material with an almost ideal structure. The majority of high-temperature superconductors are perovskite-based due to their non-ideal structure. The material can also be used to produce flexible solar batteries without rare-earth metals, which would help to reduce costs and enable large-scale manufacture.