News at a glance: ‘Lobster eye’ space telescope, psychiatrists’ conflicts, and elusive common sense

ASTRONOMY ‘Lobster eye’ in space promises new look at x-rays China last week launched an x-ray observatory with an unusual telescope inspired by the structure of lobster eyes to gather new data on gamma ray bursts, supernovae, and stars being swallowed by black holes. The Einstein Probe (illustration above)—a joint project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the European Space Agency, and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics—will also capture x-rays from violent events that generate gravitational waves, such as two neutron stars colliding. The telescope features a survey instrument, modeled on a lobster’s eye, with microscopic square tubes that can funnel x-rays from many directions to a single detector—the first time the approach has been incorporated into a major telescope. The instrument can survey the entire night sky in less than 5 hours, allowing it to discover transient x-ray–emitting sources and alert astronomers for follow-up observations. BIOMEDICINE Is psychiatric guide tainted? A majority of U.S.-based physicians who helped shape the latest version of a key manual of psychiatric disorders had recently received drug industry payments, a study has concluded. The findings, reported last week in The BMJ , raise questions about industry influence over the diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Based on financial data in the U.S. government database Open Payments, the a...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news