The “eternal” ice in Antarctica is melting faster than previously assumed, particularly in West Antarctica more than East Antarctica. The root for this could lie in its formation. Sediment samples from drill cores combined with modelling work show that glaciation of Antarctica began around 34 million years ago – but did not encompass the entire continent as previously assumed, but rather was confined to the eastern region of the continent (East Antarctica). It was not until at least 7 million…
Scientists create 1 nm-sized metal-based catalysts for efficient and environmentally friendly chemical reactions. A new catalyst may well catalyze a shift to greener chemistry. Chemists from Yokohama National University have successfully developed innovative catalysts containing two noble metals that demonstrate remarkable efficiency in ester-producing chemical reactions and utilize oxygen as the sole oxidant, making the process much more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Their results were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on June 6. Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling (CDC)…
… and paves way for rare metal-free applications. A research team led by Osaka University discovered that the new organic molecule thienyl diketone shows high-efficiency phosphorescence. It achieved phosphorescence that is more than ten times faster than traditional materials, allowing the team to elucidate this mechanism. Phosphorescence is a valuable optical function used in applications such as organic EL displays (OLEDs) and cancer diagnostics. Until now, achieving high-efficiency phosphorescence without using rare metals such as iridium and platinum has been…
EPFL engineers have created a device that can efficiently convert heat into electrical voltage at temperatures lower than that of outer space. The innovation could help overcome a significant obstacle to the advancement of quantum computing technologies. To perform quantum computations, quantum bits (qubits) must be cooled down to temperatures in the millikelvin range (close to -273 Celsius), to slow down atomic motion and minimize noise. However, the electronics used to manage these quantum circuits generate heat, which is difficult…
One of the challenges of cramming smarter and more powerful electronics into ever-shrinking devices is developing the tools and techniques to analyze the materials that make them up with increasingly intimate precision. Physicists at Michigan State University have taken a long-awaited step on that front with an approach that combines high-resolution microscopy with ultrafast lasers. The technique, described in the journal Nature Photonics, enables researchers to spot misfit atoms in semiconductors with unparalleled precision. Semiconductor physics labels these atoms as…
How does our body control blood sugar so precisely? An international team led by Prof. Nikolay Ninov at the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD), part of Dresden University of Technology, brought us a step closer to the answer. They found a special group of “first responder” cells in the pancreas that are crucial for triggering blood sugar response. Their findings were published in the journal Science Advances. Our bodies need to keep blood sugar levels just right. Too high…
Researchers examine how radionuclides interact with kidney cells. When radionuclides enter our organism, whether by inhalation, ingestion, or through wounds, they pose a potential health risk. Many previous studies on radionuclide exposure have focused mainly on animal experiments. However, we have little data on toxicity at the cellular and molecular level. Kidney cells are of particular interest because in mammals they play a central role in the detoxification of bivalent, trivalent, and hexavalent radionuclides as well as other heavy metals…
One of the greatest mysteries of science could be one step closer to being solved. Approximately 80% of the matter in the universe is dark, meaning that it cannot be seen. In fact, dark matter is passing through us constantly – possibly at a rate of trillions of particles per second. We know it exists because we can see the effects of its gravity, but experiments to date have so far failed to detect it. Taking advantage of the most…
Sweet flavours and healthy ingredients make strawberries one of the world’s most popular berries. The complex biochemical compounds that determine the flavour and nutritional value of a strawberry – known as biomarkers – can only be determined in detail by experts using modern analyses. A team from TU Bergakademie Freiberg, together with Serbian researchers, has now analysed different strawberry varieties for the first time using ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry and examined how the biomarkers are distributed in the fruit. The…
– new project SUPREMAS has started. The EU funded SUPREMAS project has officially started in May 2024. The project’s kick-off meeting took place at the headquarters of the consultancy company RINA-C, the project coordinator, in Genoa, Italy, on 16th May 2024. Steinbeis Europa Zentrum is one of the project partners and supports the market analysis and stakeholder mapping. Many EU countries are net importers of oil and gas (in 2022 the EU’s natural gas import dependency rate was 97 %),…
Researchers at the Paul-Drude-Institute for Solid State Electronics (PDI) have discovered a novel modulation regime in semiconductor-based lasers, characterized by “acceleration beats.” This regime allows coherent manipulation of quantum systems using modulation periods longer than the coherence time if the modulation amplitude is large enough. Unlike the adiabatic and non-adiabatic regimes, it shows the impact of extreme modulation amplitudes on coherence. The effect has potential applications in high-frequency spectral features and quantum control protocols, with implications for cosmic and high-energy…
Norway’s long, rugged coastline – more than 28,953 kilometers long, including the fjords – suffers from plastic pollution even though it is so remote. It’s a problem plaguing all nations of the world. Plastic items from around the world are continuously washing ashore on Norwegian coastlines. This reflects a much larger systemic issue facing the nations of the world. Scientists have long reported the consequences of plastic pollution and the urgent need for intervention, but global plastic production and consumption…
Ship expedition for the first time investigates “new” pollutants in the Indian Ocean. On July 16, 2024, the German research vessel SONNE starts a three-week expedition to previously little-studied regions of the Indian Ocean between Singapore and Mauritius under the lead of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW). The aim is to determine the extent of human-induced environmental stress and, for the first time, to enable a risk assessment for this region. Newly emerging pollutants such as…
Every living cell transcribes DNA into RNA. This process begins when an enzyme called RNA polymerase (RNAP) clamps onto DNA. Within a few hundred milliseconds, the DNA double helix unwinds to form a node known as the transcription bubble, so that one exposed DNA strand can be copied into a complementary RNA strand. How RNAP accomplishes this feat is largely unknown. A snapshot of RNAP in the act of opening that bubble would provide a wealth of information, but the…
A new study led by Rice University’s Peter Wolynes offers new insights into the evolution of foldable proteins. The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers at Rice and the University of Buenos Aires used energy landscape theory to distinguish between foldable and nonfoldable parts of protein sequences. Their study illuminates the ongoing debate about whether the pieces of DNA that code for only part of a protein during their origins can fold on…
Urban agriculture has the potential to improve food security through local, efficient, and sustainable food production. Examples of urban food systems include hydroponics, where plants grow in a nutrient solution without soil, and aquaponics, which combines hydroponics with raising fish in tanks. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines the use of aquaponics wastewater as a growth medium for lettuce in a hydroponic system. This practice can potentially create a circular ecosystem for organic waste recycling and…
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