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Four studies from MEGATRON, published in the Open Journal of Astrophysics, combine advanced cosmological simulations with detailed models of radiation, chemistry and galaxy formation. Together, they represent the collaboration's first major collection of published results, with additional studies expected in the future.

Connecting JWST With Ancient Stellar Clues

The findings show that researchers need to accurately model the complicated interactions among starlight, gas and newly created elements if they want to connect two different records of the early Universe.

One comes from observations of young galaxies made by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The other comes from chemical signatures preserved in some of the oldest stars in and around the Milky Way - the galaxy that contains our Solar System.

JWST allows astronomers to directly observe galaxies from the Universe's infancy. Ancient stars provide a different kind of evidence, acting as a fossil record of events that occurred billions of years ago. By examining the chemical fingerprints inside these old stars, scientists can infer what the first stars were like and how they began enriching the cosmos with its earliest chemical elements.

The MEGATRON simulations follow a young galaxy as it evolves toward becoming a system roughly comparable in mass to the Milky Way. The models simultaneously track how gas moves, how starlight travels through space and how the concentrations of different chemical elements change over time.

This allows researchers to investigate how generations of stars alter the gas inside and around galaxies across billions of years of evolution.

Simpler Models May Miss Important Physics

The results indicate that less detailed models may underestimate how strongly stellar radiation and complex chemical processes affect the gas surrounding galaxies.

By simulating these effects at exceptionally high resolution, the researchers were able to capture structures in the gas that simpler approaches can miss. That added detail could help astronomers make more accurate predictions for observations being collected now and for those planned in the future.

A Direct Glimpse of the Infant Cosmos

Dr. Martin Rey from the Department of Physics at the University of Bath and a lead contributor to the MEGATRON collaboration said: "The James Webb Space Telescope gives us a direct glimpse of the infant cosmos, while stellar archaeology allows us to study the relics of those earliest times in our own Galactic neighborhood. MEGATRON provides a physical bridge between the two."

The simulations begin with pristine gas containing no heavy elements, reproducing conditions that existed shortly after the Big Bang.

From there, the models follow the formation of the first stars, the radiation those stars release, the supernova explosions that occur at the end of their lives and the spread of newly created elements into later generations of stars and galaxies.

Reconstructing this process could help answer one of astronomy's most fundamental questions: where did the elements that make up the modern Universe come from?

Dr. Rey said: "The elements that make our world and life possible - carbon, oxygen, iron and many others - were forged by stars. To understand where those elements came from, we need to understand how the first stars formed and enriched their surroundings. MEGATRON allows us to test these ideas directly by comparing detailed simulations with observations from JWST and the chemical fingerprints preserved in ancient stars."

Tracing the Origins of Cosmic Elements

As the project moves forward, the researchers plan to use MEGATRON to make even stronger connections between theoretical models and rapidly improving astronomical observations.

JWST continues to reveal new information about some of the earliest known galaxies, while large stellar surveys are producing increasingly detailed measurements of ancient stars in and around the Milky Way. Combining those two sources of evidence could give scientists a much clearer picture of the first generations of stars.

Dr. Rey and his colleagues at Bath are already working on the next generation of MEGATRON simulations.

The project has received 40 million processor hours on the UK's national supercomputers. That amount of computing power is equivalent to running five million laptops at the same time for an entire year.

The additional resources will allow the team to build simulations with even greater resolution and more complete physical models. Researchers will then be able to make increasingly direct comparisons between their simulations, JWST observations and the chemical fossil record preserved in ancient stars.

"MEGATRON provides a common physical framework for interpreting two of astronomy's most exciting new datasets: JWST's view of the earliest galaxies and the stellar fossil record," said Dr. Rey. "Together, these complementary observations allow us to test competing models of the first stars in ways that weren't previously possible."

The MEGATRON project began in 2023 and is scheduled to continue through 2030. %!s()

All told, you start with four Pontiac-built V8s. Then, after a 30-year hiatus, the GTO returned in the form of an Australian-built coupe with an LS under the hood. So you've got the early ones, the missing ones, the late ones, and even one that got away — a Super Duty 455 that didn't quite make it to showrooms but did land in magazines. With such a roller-coaster history, it's no wonder that what started as faux racing branding became one of the most enduring combinations of three letters in car history.

389 V8: The one that started it all

For 1964, Pontiac's Tempest LeMans was available with an option package that had never been offered before. It marked the very beginning of the GTO name and arguably the beginning of muscle cars themselves. This wasn't the first implementation of the 389 V8, but it was the first time Pontiac had dropped it into one of its smaller, lighter cars, delivering what might be described as a proof of concept for the muscle-car formula itself.

The existing 389 had a four-barrel carburetor that helped deliver the motor's factory-rated 325 horsepower. It was quite a starting point, especially by 1960s power standards. There was also a 348-horsepower Tri-Power version with a different carb setup: three Rochester two-barrels. Buyers were into it, and the formula was established. But Pontiac didn't stop there. For the second model year, both versions got more power, with the Tri-Power reaching 360 horsepower. In-period testing put its 0-to-60 time at 5.8 seconds with a quarter mile of 14.5.

Things were evolving quickly. For 1966, the GTO joined the ranks of cars that weren't meant to be full models by becoming exactly that. The GTO proper was born. That final year for the 389 also brought the first factory-installed "Ram Air" package.

400 V8: The mainstay

The segment-defining 389 ran until 1967, when the 400 replaced it. This time, buyers could choose from a few variations on the theme, with the full lineup including a 255-horsepower two-barrel, a 335-horsepower four-barrel, and two options at 360 horsepower apiece. The difference between the two revolved around whether you wanted Pontiac's "Ram Air" intake setup. This forced buyers to choose between two different ways to get to the same horsepower number, with the powerband and the driving experience varying depending on which was chosen.

Pontiac's Ram Air program became the centerpiece of the 400's continued evolution. The 400's more serious performance variants eventually received round-port heads. The first was 1968's Ram Air II, while the Ram Air IV carried a revised version of the design into 1969 and 1970. By 1970, the standard 400 made 350 horsepower, while the Ram Air III and Ram Air IV carried ratings of 366 and 370 horsepower, respectively. The Ram Air IV also produced 445 pound-feet of torque, making it the highest-rated production 400 offered in the GTO.

"Mainstay" fits because the 400 wasn't merely one step between the 389 and the 455. It remained the GTO's standard engine after the larger 455 arrived, and the Ram Air 400s actually carried higher advertised horsepower ratings than that original 455. The 400 lasted through 1973, when the base version was rated at 230 net horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque. Its seven-year tenure covered both the peak of Pontiac's horsepower war and much of the retreat that followed.

455 V8: More torque, not always more power

Trouble was brewing for car enthusiasts in America, even if they hadn't yet realized the impact. The regulatory shifts that would usher in the Malaise Era had started to coalesce, but not before Pontiac snuck in under the wire with the 1970 GTO, together with an available 455 that was taking the car in precisely the opposite direction from where it, and the industry, would eventually be pulled. With 360 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque, the new motor delivered 10 fewer horsepower than the Ram Air IV 400, but with an additional 55 lb-ft of torque.

That proved to be the 455's high-water mark, at least on paper. As emissions standards went up and lead in gasoline went down, output suffered. The "High Output" 455 in the GTO now sat at 335 gross horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque. Those were still serious numbers, but this new trajectory was certainly a bitter pill to swallow. Under a new power rating system in 1972, the final 455 H.O. delivered 300 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque. Those unfazed by malaise could lean into the vibe even harder with the less aggressive D-port 455, which produced 250 horsepower and 370 lb-ft of torque. Regulations had arrived, the worst era of car design was afoot, and you'll notice that the next entry on this list begins with a three.

350 V8: The end of an era

For 1974, displacement wasn't the only area where it felt like Pontiac was moving backward through time. The GTO name had once again become an option package, and now Pontiac moved it from the midsize LeMans to the smaller Ventura, a Pontiac model listed among the cars that most shocked Jalopnik readers with their horrible drive quality. There was one engine available this time: a 350-cubic-inch V8 that served up all of 200 horsepower. It felt like the writing was on the wall for the end of the GTO, and it was.

To be fair, though, the performance was less anemic than the specs suggested. A Cars magazine comparison pitted the '74 GTO against the debut '64 and produced surprisingly similar results. The older car reached 60 mph in 7.4 seconds, while the newer one got there in 7.7. It's not exactly the result you want after a decade of progress and innovation, of course, but not completely embarrassing, either. In any case, this was the end, at least for a while. Pontiac built just over 7,000 cars with "GTO" written on them in 1974 and then shelved the name for 30 years.

5.7-liter LS1 V8: The Australian revival

Three decades after the original GTO disappeared, Pontiac headed to the other side of the planet to find a way to bring it back. The Holden Monaro was an Australian-built, rear-wheel-drive coupe with four seats, an independent rear suspension, and enough room under the hood for GM's LS1 V8.

The resulting 2004 GTO didn't really resemble its predecessors and, just to be clear, by that we mean it didn't look great. But thanks to the 5.7-liter from Chevy, Pontiac was back in business as far as performance went, with the LS1 producing 350 horsepower and 365 lb-ft of torque, and an optional six-speed Tremec manual. Buyers got a Corvette motor for Pontiac money and performance that might not have been on par with the 'Vette, but worthy of the GTO badge nonetheless. The six-speed went from 0 to 60 in 5.3 seconds and did the quarter-mile in 14 seconds flat. It was a shockingly credible package dynamically, made all the stranger by being wrapped up as a very normal-looking coupe.

6.0-liter LS2 V8: The 400-horsepower send-off

Proving the upside of cross-brand parts-bin sharing up to and including whole-ass engines, GM's upgrade from the LS1 to the LS2 benefited the GTO almost immediately. In 2005, thanks to the new 6.0-liter V8 from Chevy, output climbed to 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. This amounted to an extra 50 horses and 35 lb-ft after one model year back in the game as the car was just beginning to shed its Australian accent.

As a result, the 2005 Pontiac GTO was the ultimate sleeper in the mid-2000s, with the six-speed manual capable of getting to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and achieving a quarter-mile time of 13.3 seconds. It was not only faster than the LS1 version but also traded blows with the then-all-new Mustang GT and came out ahead in most performance categories, at least by the assessment of Car and Driver at the time.

Pontiac kept the song going into 2006 with the same engine, but that became the GTO's final model year (again) as the Holden Monaro ended its own production run. Soon enough, the defunct nameplate would be followed by Pontiac itself, perhaps saving the GTO the indignity of being resurrected as some sort of hybrid crossover 20 years later.

Super Duty 455 V8: The one that got away

By Ch0fu/Getty Images

The promising-sounding Super Duty 455 was taken from this world before it had a chance to make it into a production GTO, which is how a Pontiac muscle car that didn't get made became Performance Car of the Year.

The Super Duty was announced ahead of the 1973 model year, with Pontiac promising a proper race motor dialed back just enough to make it suitable for road use. The Super Duty got a reinforced four-bolt main block, forged rods and pistons, improved oiling, reworked round-port heads, and a higher-capacity intake and exhaust. The preproduction GTO was rated at 310 horsepower, while the emissions-certified one that would eventually land in production Firebirds had 290 net horsepower and 395 lb-ft of torque. 

Car journalists who drove the GTO lost their minds over it. Which is good. Because they're the only ones who ever got their hands on it. As Hemmings remembers for us, Hi-Performance Cars magazine put the '73-GTO-that-wasn't through its paces and went so far as to declare it "Car of the Year." Between the time the article was written and the time it went to print, the tide turned at General Motors. The company pivoted to focus on safety and fuel economy and left some of its performance priorities, including the car of the year, in the dust. The Super Duty 455 GTO was done. It was clearly a great car, but the car-buying public never got to find out. %!s()

Scientists have long known that nutrition can influence this process. What has been less clear is exactly how individual nutrients send signals that change mitochondrial activity.

Now, researchers led by Professor Dr. Thorsten Hoppe of the Institute for Genetics and the CECAD Cluster of Excellence on Aging Research at the University of Cologne have identified a new mechanism involving the amino acid leucine. Their findings show that leucine can help stabilize important proteins in mitochondria, allowing the organelles to produce energy more efficiently.

The study, published in Nature Cell Biology, is titled "Leucine inhibits degradation of outer mitochondrial membrane proteins to adapt mitochondrial respiration."

How Leucine Helps Mitochondria Produce Energy

Leucine is an essential amino acid, which means the human body cannot make enough of it on its own and must obtain it through food. Amino acids are the building blocks used to make proteins, and leucine is especially abundant in protein rich foods such as dairy products, meat, beans, and lentils.

The researchers found that leucine does more than contribute to protein production. It also helps prevent the breakdown of certain proteins located on the outer surface of mitochondria.

Those proteins play an important role in metabolism because they help move other molecules into mitochondria, where they can be used as part of the cell's energy producing machinery. When leucine helps preserve these proteins, mitochondria can operate more effectively and increase the amount of energy the cell produces.

"We were thrilled to discover that a cell's nutrient status, especially its leucine levels, directly impacts energy production," said Dr. Qiaochu Li, first author of the study. "This mechanism enables cells to swiftly adapt to increased energy demands during periods of nutrient abundance."

A Cellular Quality Control Protein Plays a Key Role

The team traced this effect to a protein called SEL1L, which is involved in cellular quality control.

Cells constantly inspect their proteins because damaged or incorrectly folded proteins can interfere with normal function. SEL1L helps identify proteins that should be removed and directs them toward degradation.

According to the researchers, leucine appears to reduce the activity of SEL1L. That means fewer mitochondrial proteins are broken down, allowing more of them to remain in place and support mitochondrial function.

"Modulating leucine and SEL1L levels could be a strategy to boost energy production," Li added. "However, it is important to proceed with caution. SEL1L also plays a crucial role in preventing the accumulation of damaged proteins, which is essential for long-term cellular health."

That warning is important because increasing energy production is not automatically beneficial in every situation. The same cellular systems that preserve useful proteins also help eliminate defective ones, so changing that balance could have unintended consequences.

Effects on Fertility and Cancer Cells

To explore the broader effects of leucine metabolism, the researchers also studied Caenorhabditis elegans, a tiny roundworm commonly used in biology because many of its cellular processes are similar to those found in more complex organisms.

In the worms, problems with leucine breakdown disrupted mitochondrial function and were linked to fertility problems.

The scientists also examined human lung cancer cells. They found that some mutations affecting leucine metabolism could help cancer cells survive. That observation could be important for future cancer research because treatments that alter leucine related pathways may affect both healthy cells and tumor cells in different ways.

Diet Does More Than Supply Fuel

The findings add to growing evidence that nutrients do more than simply provide raw material for the body. They can also act as signals that influence how cells function.

In this case, leucine appears to help cells adjust energy production according to nutrient availability by protecting key mitochondrial proteins from degradation.

By revealing this previously unknown link between leucine, protein quality control, and mitochondrial metabolism, the researchers have identified potential new targets for diseases in which cellular energy production is disrupted, including cancer and metabolic disorders.

The work was supported by Germany's Excellence Strategy in the framework of CECAD as well as by various Collaborative Research Centres funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Additional support was provided by the European Research Council through the ERC Advanced Grant "Cellular Strategies of Protein Quality Control-Degradation" (CellularPQCD), and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. %!s()

For a few months leading up to the trip, every time I thought about the logistics and emotions of leaving my kids, I felt a tight knot of anxiety. I was also nervous about traveling by myself to a large conference where the only person I knew was a work connection I'd only ever met via email.

When I visualized taking this trip, it was odd how much less anxious I felt when I inserted one or more of my kids, my husband, or a friend into the narrative. The idea of taking care of another person, or simply having company, seemed easier and less intimidating than spending that time alone, thinking only about myself.

I also thought about all the times I'd forgotten a phone charger or toothbrush and how often I'd relied on others when traveling.

I feared I was just too codependent to take a trip by myself and enjoy it.

Navigating without anyone else was better than I expected

I flew a red-eye from Phoenix to Philadelphia, then summoned an Uber for the 1.5-hour drive to Dover.

Before I left, I messaged two girlfriends and asked whether they always chose female Uber drivers to feel safer when traveling alone. They told me no, but they used some of Uber's other safety precautions, like sharing their location with someone. Before I left, I turned these features on. Thankfully, I felt comfortable in all of my rideshare scenarios and navigated to each place with relative ease.

I will admit I'm often forgetful, prone to losing my room key, and I struggle with running late. I was especially concerned about keeping my electronics charged, as my husband or teen son often handles that. But I found I was surprisingly more responsible when it was all on me.

Over the course of six days, I was never late to meetings, never lost anything important, and never let my phone die.

I wasn't lonely like I expected to be

Since I was going to a conference, I knew I'd be surrounded by people every day, but I might still feel alone since they were strangers to me.

While there were definitely awkward moments when I stood on the outskirts of conversations, I'm relatively chatty and friendly and was able to connect with others. My prior work connection turned out to be lovely in person as well, which definitely helped.

I also basked in the alone time in my hotel each evening. As a busy working mom, I hardly ever watch movies or have time to myself to do whatever I want, so I selected a long movie I'd wanted to see for a long time, caught up on work, and listened to an audiobook.

I got to enjoy doing things I love without having to check in with anyone else

Perhaps the best part of solo traveling came at the end, when I spent two additional days after the conference exploring nearby Wilmington and the surrounding area, nicknamed America's "Chateau Country."

I felt like I'd woken up in Europe.

In total, I toured three elaborate du Pont family mansions and sprawling gardens, visited an art museum, breakfasted at the iconic Hotel Du Pont, and returned to Longwood Gardens, which I remembered vividly from my childhood.

No one whined at me that they were tired, bored, or hungry. I didn't have to chase a toddler through the gardens or change plans because someone decided they were fed up with all this American history.

Getting to indulge in the things that interest me most made me realize I was pretty good company. I took my time ogling over presidential fine china and Tiffany glass and lingering over historians' stories of hand-painted murals and family trees.

I discovered that I liked hanging out with myself and that it's much easier than family travel. Besides, I made friends as I went, so I was never really lonely.

Would I solo travel again?

Absolutely.

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But while honoring the legacy of her family in the exhibition business since the 1980s, Sayegh is just as committed to transforming the Cranford Theater with new programming and experiences to keep bringing customers through the door for the foreseeable future.

“I want us to honor this incredible history while continuing to evolve and ask, what can the next 100 years look like?” Sayegh tells The Hollywood Reporter.

As a child, she learned the cinema business alongside her father, Jesse Y. Sayegh. He ran an independent chain of movie theaters in New Jersey during the 1990s — when cinemas had far less competition for customers — and purchased the twin-screen Cranford Theater in 1997 from Cineplex Odeon and a year later reopened the indie cinema as a five-screen venue.

“I sold my first popcorn at 8 years old, I could barely see over the concession counter,” she recalled, and sold her first movie tickets at age 11, before moving up the ranks as an usher, a box office cashier and eventually as a theater manager. Sayegh’s father, while retaining ownership of the building, sold the indie theater business in 2010, and she remained with the new owner, Bud Mayo’s Digiplex Destinations.

But in 2019, after two other operators after Digiplex ran the theater, Sayegh, while showing a potential new tenant around the building, realized she wanted to make a go as its latest theater operator. “I was standing on the roof, looking out at the [Cranford] downtown and, I thought, ‘You know what? I want to do this. This is the right place for me,’” she recalled.

So, with her father’s support, Sayegh completed new renovations to reopen the cinema complex in Nov. 2019, in time for the Christmas holidays. It wasn’t long, however, before the COVID-19 pandemic undid her best-laid plans.

“By the time we got to March, the night before we closed down, we had maybe seven people in the building, and four of them were employees,” Sayegh recalls of that dark time. But, determined, she insists the pandemic was never to write the end of the story for the Cranford Theater.

Instead, Sayegh got creative by, for example, handing through car doors fresh popcorn and candy to families pulling up at her front door to be consumed at home. And she transformed a parking lot she rented into a drive-in theater. “I was worried. You don’t know what’s going to happen,” she recounted of the new venture, which included an alert on her cellphone that sounded every time a ticket was sold.

“I remember the day I was in the parking lot, in the heat and my phone started dinging as soon as the tickets went on sale. And then it just stopped,” Sayegh added. Suddenly, she feared only a couple of tickets had been sold, and her drive-in was a bust.

So Sayegh rang her web hosting company to ask what had happened, only to be told surging ticket demand had crashed their servers. “You’re sold out. You sold out in 90 seconds, for three nights,” the report came back.

The drive-in theater soon went to six nights a week of featuring classic movies on its outdoor screen. “That was so special to me because it really was such a terrifying time. And because the tickets were selling themselves, I didn’t have to worry about selling them. I focused my energy and our efforts on donations, fundraising and the community. Because at the beginning of the pandemic, I found myself in this position of ‘How do I help?’ I just couldn’t sit back and do nothing,” Sayegh recalled.

Her creative efforts for the drive in included a 2020 showing of Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory where golden tickets were hidden at local Cranford businesses and those that nabbed them earned free admission to the screening.

Of course, amid the rise of streaming movies in the home coming out of the pandemic, followed by the 2023 Los Angeles writers and actors strikes, getting film lovers back into the Cranford Theater remained a challenge. “That was definitely a tough time, because our goal is to get people off their couches and into our seats to enjoy movies together on the big screen,” she remembered.

To accomplish that, Sayegh knew the years of just opening the doors of a cinema and selling drinks and popcorn as people bought tickets were long past her industry. So she continued to think outside the box for new business opportunities.

“That’s what we do here, try to create events around a lot of our films or classic films, and create ways for people to get excited and off their couches and into our theater to watch movies together and experience that together,” she explains of diversified programming like comedy shows, piano recitals, film festivals and indie film screenings.

And just when that effort was paying dividends, Sayegh faced another major setback in April 2025 when part of the ceiling in her theater collapsed. Luckily, the building had few people in it at the time, and everyone was safely evacuated.

“No one was hurt,” Sayegh recounted about that fateful night. “That was most important to me, because that would have changed the whole story. And the fact that no one was hurt meant I knew I was going to rebuild.”

After a seven-month closure, the now 99-year-old movie house reopened on Nov. 26, 2025 with marquee lights lit up and neon signage glowing. And among recent film offerings are movie shot locally as the Garden State enjoys a Hollywood production boom underpinned by film tax credits and other state incentives and local hires.

Sayegh has shown New Jersey-shot pics like an advance screening for Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, Steven Soderbergh’s supernatural thriller Presence, which was shot in Cranford, another thriller, Mother’s Instinct, starring Anne Hathway and Jessica Chastain, and Maybe I Do, featuring the late Diane Keaton and William H. Macy.

“I love it when you have new visitors to our town, cast and crew coming in and they go out into our community and they grab a cup of coffee and a bite to eat,” she explains.

Sayegh is also excited about upcoming Thanksgiving dates in her theater for another New Jersey-shot picture, Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky.

That drama recounts the making of the 1976 Sylvester Stallone-starrer Rocky, a triumph-of-the-underdog saga that for Sayegh echoes the story of the Cranford Theater and recent efforts to keep the lights on the marquee lit up during the pandemic and a ceiling collapse.

“The story of Rocky is so rooted in perseverance, resilience and continuing to fight when the odds are against you, and in many ways those themes resonate with the Cranford Theater’s own story and everything it has survived over the course of 100 years,” she said.

Sayegh also puts her staying power down to her father’s influence, which instilled core values like honoring deals, treating people with respect and booking movies based on audience demand and not personal taste.

And she looks forward to carrying on the legacy of a family-owned indie cinema business.

“My father represents where it all started. I’m carrying that forward today, and now my five-year-old daughter, Natalia, is growing up in the theater much the same way I did. She is already watching and learning what it means to welcome people, take care of a theater and, most importantly, serve a community. I would love to see her running the show one day, although ultimately that will be her story to write,” Sayegh added. %!s()