Lab notes: there's a hole (near) my heart that can only be filled by ... this week's science!

The most exciting story this week is kind of about nothing ... but a very big nothing. Astronomers have found evidence of enormous black hole one hundred thousand times more massive than the sun hiding in a gas cloud near the galaxy's centre. It's not just a big hole though: it could help us understand how supermassive black holes form. And while we're still gazing heavenward, everyone's favourite dwarf planet, Pluto, has had its surface features officially named. Pluto's mountains, craters and regions now celebrate global mythology, explorers, map-makers and a British schoolgirl, among others. Feeling sleepy after all that stargazing? If so, you're lucky: researchers have revealed that insomnia could contribute to mental health problems. On the up side, the study showed that therapy designed to treat insomnia also reduced paranoia and hallucinations, and improved depression and anxiety in patients. More positive news on the health-improvement front: it seems that a pacemaker-liked device that "hacks" the body's neural circuits could alleviate symptoms of diseases from rheumatoid arthritis to Crohn's. The scientists responsible say it could be the end of pills for certain illnesses - an extraordinary boon for anyone living with chronic disease. Excellent news indeed, because scientists are hoping to develop a medication that mimics a diet stripped of carbohydrate, after two studies showed that mice on a zero-carb diet lived longer and and performed better on a range of physical and mental tasks than those on a regular diet. More time for contemplating the heavens, then.