Ejecta from the DART-produced active asteroid Dimorphos

Some active asteroids have been proposed to be formed as a result of impact events1. Because active asteroids are generally discovered by chance only after their tails have fully formed, the process of how impact ejecta evolve into a tail has, to our knowledge, not been directly observed. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission of NASA2, in addition to having successfully changed the orbital period of Dimorphos3, demonstrated the activation process of an asteroid resulting from an impact under precisely known conditions. Here we report the observations of the DART impact ejecta with the Hubble Space Telescope from impact time T + 15 min to T + 18.5 days at spatial resolutions of around 2.1 km per pixel. Our observations reveal the complex evolution of the ejecta, which are first dominated by the gravitational interaction between the Didymos binary system and the ejected dust and subsequently by solar radiation pressure. The lowest-speed ejecta dispersed through a sustained tail that had a consistent morphology with previously observed asteroid tails thought to be produced by an impact4,5. The evolution of the ejecta after the controlled impact experiment of DART thus provides a framework for understanding the fundamental mechanisms that act on asteroids disrupted by a natural impact1,6.

Neurotoxic reactions of CNS cells following gene transfer with defective herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) vector

Defective herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) vector containing either the lac-z gene or the tyrosine-hydroxylase (TH) gene was added to primary rat neocortex cultures and gene transfer was assessed using immunohistochemical procedures. While we were able to confirm lac- and TH-expression in vitro, exposure to the vector was accompanied by marked neurotoxic reactions as indicated by severe cell loss in vitro. Furthermore, when genetically altered cells were implanted into the adult rat striatum, a few lac-z positive cells without neurites were present but not a single TH-expressing cell could be found. The value of the HSV-1 vector system to transfer genes in the adult rat brain should therefore be viewed with caution.

Binary adaptive optics: atmospheric wave-front correction with a half-wave phase shifter

We describe a binary approach to adaptive wave-front correction, especially suitable for narrow band applications, which would be simpler than conventional adaptive technology. Appropriate parts of the aberrant wave front are phase retarded by half a wavelength to ensure that none of the image-forming rays add together destructively. Simulations for monochromatic light show that the residual wave-front errors, in the absence of other errors, would result in Strehl ratios of ~40% with diffraction-limited widths at visible wavelengths. We simulate the imaging performance of such a system and describe a possible implementation that uses a ferroelectric liquid-crystal spatial light modulator.

Recovery of penetration ability in protease-treated zona-free mouse eggs occurs coincident with recovery of a cell surface 94 kD protein

Previous studies have demonstrated that protease treatment of zona-free mouse eggs impairs sperm-egg interaction (Boldt et al.: Biol Reprod 39:19-27, 1988) and causes modification of a 94 kD egg plasma membrane protein (Boldt et al., Gamete Res 23:91-101, 1989). In this report, the ability of eggs to recover penetration ability following protease treatment was examined. Zona-free mouse eggs were isolated and treated with either trypsin or chymotrypsin (1 mg/ml, 20 min), then cultured for 0, 3, or 6 hr before insemination. Eggs cultured for 3 or 6 hr displayed significantly higher penetration levels than eggs inseminated immediately after protease treatment, indicating a recovery of penetration ability during the 3 or 6 hr incubation period. The recovery of penetration ability was not blocked by inclusion of cyclohexamide (50 micrograms/ml) during the 3 or 6 hr culture period, indicating that protein synthesis was not required for recovery of fusion ability. Cell surface radiolabeling studies with 125I revealed that a 94 kD cell surface protein was lost immediately following trypsin or chymotrypsin treatment but was found on the egg surface after the 3 or 6 hr recovery period. Recovery of the 94 kD egg surface protein occurred in the presence of cyclohexamide, and metabolic radiolabeling studies with 35S-methionine confirmed that synthesis of a 94 kD protein was blocked by cyclohexamide. These results suggest that the recovery of penetration ability after protease treatment of zona-free eggs is due to recovery of the 94 kD cell surface protein, providing further evidence for the involvement of the 94 kD protein in sperm-egg interaction.