PARIS: A probe designed to delve into the "Big Bang" that created the cosmos has uncovered an enigmatic fog of microwave radiation in the centre of our galaxy, European astronomers reported on Monday.Planck, a billion-dollar European space telescope launched in May 2009, found "a mysterious haze of microwaves that presently defies explanation" during a scan of the centre of the Milky Way, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.
It could be a form of energy called synchrotron emission, which occurs when electrons zip through magnetic fields after being accelerated by the blast of an exploding star, or supernova.
But the newly discovered emission is something of a mystery, as its signature lingers far longer compared with other synchrotron sources spotted in the Milky Way.
Several explanations have been offered, ranging from higher rates of supernovae in the galactic centre to the annihilation of so-called dark matter particles, ESA said in a press release.
Planck, deployed in orbit 1.5 million kilometres (937,000 miles) from Earth, is designed to pick up tiny variations in temperature in microwave energy released after the Big Bang that created the universe some 14 billion years ago.
Scientists looking at the data have to filter out a haze of microwave emissions that obscure the precious telltale, known as Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation.
The new results are being presented this week at a conference in Bologna, Italy, which is looking at the intermediate results from the mission.
Planck has also located concentrations of carbon monoxide among the clouds of cold gas in the Milky Way and other galaxies that are a reservoir for making stars. (AFP)
A British man is believed to have given birth, causing an ethical controversy.The ‘male mother’ started life as a woman but underwent a sex change. He is thought to have had the baby last year, while living as a man.
Medical experts said that if the womb is not removed in sex change surgery, there is nothing to stop a woman who becomes a man from having a child.
But others said that the welfare of the baby is paramount and queried how the child will deal with even the simplest of issues, such as whether to call the man ‘Mummy’ or ‘Daddy’.
Only a handful of ‘male mothers’ have given birth worldwide and this is believed to be the first case in Britain.
Details were revealed by Joanna Darrell of the Beaumont Society, which provides support to those have changed sex or would like to do so, a process also known as gender reassignment.
She said the man, in his thirties, inquired about the practicalities of having a baby after the surgery. Read Full Story at Daily Mail uk
He is being accompanied by a documentary production team to tape the carcass. On Thursday, Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) officials, after weighing the carcass at Weigh Bridge, moved it to the site of a former zoological museum inside the harbour to preserve it for research.
KFHA officials said the exact weight of the whale shark was 14.5 tons. They said a four-member team of British experts from the 'Windfall Films' production company, along with a scientist who specialises in whale sharks, was arriving today (Friday) to conduct the dissection of the dead marine mammal and ascertain the cause of its death.
Producers from Windfall Films, which is known for producing documentaries and films on science fiction, contacted KFHA officials and had shown interest in documenting their investigation into the cause of death of the whale shark.
Fisheries authorities said some experts from Marine Fisheries Department and the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, University of Karachi, also visited the Fish Harbour, and collected samples of the whale shark.
Meanwhile, KFHA authorities approached the director general of the National Museum to request him to preserve the whale shark.(The News pk)