The life-giving secret of protoplanetary disks? Dust.

The complex molecules required for life on Earth might never have formed if it wasn’t for cosmic dust.

The Universe Was Warm Before It Was Bright

There is a period in the Universe known as the cosmic dark ages. It lies between the recombination of the first atoms and the ignition of the first stars, when the Universe was thought to be cold and dark. Now astronomers have looked at the faint glow of atomic hydrogen to find that while the Universe was dark, it wasn't quite as cold as we thought.