As a manned spacecraft operating in orbit for a long time, a space station embodies a country’s scientific and technological strength comprehensively. China’s manned space project was approved in 1992 with a 3-step strategic plan, and building a space station is the final goal of this plan. In September 2010, China’s manned space station project was officially established. After 11 years of unremitting efforts, on 2021 April 29, the Tianhe core module was successfully launched into orbit by the carrier…
MHH researcher Prof. Galardini from the RESIST Cluster of Excellence finds causes for bloodstream infections in the genes of bacteria. Escherichia coli bacteria live in the intestines of humans and play an important role there for normal intestinal function as well as for a functioning immune system. These intestinal inhabitants do not form a uniform population, but consist of a large number of strains that differ greatly in their genome and also in their metabolism. Most strains of E. coli…
New method for pollutants such as crude oil, glyphosate, microplastics and hormones. Pouring flecks of rust into water usually makes it dirtier. But researchers of FAU have developed special iron oxide nanoparticles they call “smart rust” that actually makes it cleaner. Smart rust can attract many substances, including oil, nano- and microplastics, as well as the herbicide glyphosate, depending on the particles’ coating. And because the nanoparticles are magnetic, they can easily be removed from water with a magnet along…
New research in mice demonstrates how the signaling molecule somatostatin acts to dampen neural circuits in the prefrontal cortex and stimulate exploratory behavior. Somatostatin, a signaling molecule produced by many inhibitory neurons in the brain, broadly dampens communication among a variety of cell types in the prefrontal cortex and promotes exploratory and risk-taking-like behavior in mice, according a Penn State-led research team. Their new paper, published online today (August 17) in the journal Cell Reports, describes the signaling mechanism of…
In a recent Science paper, researchers led by JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye, along with collaborators JILA and NIST Fellow David Nesbitt, scientists from the University of Nevada, Reno, and Harvard University, observed novel ergodicity-breaking in C60, a highly symmetric molecule composed of 60 carbon atoms arranged on the vertices of a “soccer ball” pattern (with 20 hexagon faces and 12 pentagon faces). Their results revealed ergodicity breaking in the rotations of C60. Remarkably, they found that this ergodicity breaking occurs…
Timothy Gray of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory led a study that may have revealed an unexpected change in the shape of an atomic nucleus. The surprise finding could affect our understanding of what holds nuclei together, how protons and neutrons interact and how elements form. “We used radioactive beams of excited sodium-32 nuclei to test our understanding of nuclear shapes far from stability and found an unexpected result that raises questions about how nuclear shapes evolve,”…
A new study led by the Flatiron Institute’s Aavishkar Patel has identified a mechanism that explains the unusual behavior of strange metals, considered one of the greatest open challenges in condensed matter physics. For nearly 40 years, materials called ‘strange metals’ have flummoxed quantum physicists, defying explanation by operating outside the normal rules of electricity. Now research led by Aavishkar Patel of the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Quantum Physics (CCQ) in New York City has identified, at long last,…
Research team including NOIRLab astronomer identify highly unusual star that may evolve into a magnetar — the most magnetic object in the known Universe. Neutron stars, the compact remains of a massive star following a supernova explosion, are the densest matter in the Universe. Some neutron stars, known as magnetars, also claim the record for the strongest magnetic fields of any object. How magnetars, which are a mere 15 kilometers across, form and produce such colossal magnetic fields remains a mystery. New observations…
Physicists confirm 67-year-old prediction of massless, neutral composite particle. In 1956, theoretical physicist David Pines predicted that electrons in a solid can do something strange. While they normally have a mass and an electric charge, Pines asserted that they can combine to form a composite particle that is massless, neutral, and does not interact with light. He called this particle a “demon.” Since then, it has been speculated to play an important role in the behaviors of a wide variety…
Researchers from the Department of Physics at Universität Hamburg, observed a quantum state that was theoretically predicted more than 50 years ago by Japanese theoreticians but so far eluded detection. By tailoring an artificial atom on the surface of a superconductor, the researchers succeeded in pairing the electrons of the so-called quantum dot, thereby inducing the smallest possible version of a superconductor. The work appears in the latest issue of the journal “Nature”. Usually electrons repel each other due to…
SLF researchers have been mapping snow depths in detail over a large area. The new technique yields important basic data. You don’t always need a laser – sometimes a camera will do. Researchers at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) have now disproved the paradigm that the height of snowpack can only be accurately determined from the air using laser scanners, says Yves Bühler, Head of the SLF’s Alpine Remote Sensing research group. “We were surprised ourselves…
Woody plants are unusually common on oceanic islands. Scientists at the University of Bayreuth, together with research partners in Italy, Great Britain, Norway and Spain, have now discovered a new explanation for this phenomenon: With the lignification of biomass, many plant species native to oceanic islands have protected themselves from the impact of frequent volcanic eruptions, during which large areas are covered with huge amounts of ash. Woody plants can survive even in ash layers of up to half a…
Surgeons at NYU Langone Health have transplanted a genetically engineered pig kidney that continues to function well after 32 days in a man declared dead by neurologic criteria and maintained with a beating heart on ventilator support. This represents the longest period that a gene-edited pig kidney has functioned in a human, and the latest step toward the advent of an alternate, sustainable supply of organs for transplant. Multimedia Materials Available Multimedia materials, including photos and a B-roll package, are…
Forschung an Bakteriophagen enthüllt ein bislang unbekanntes biologisches Prinzip. Until now, RNA and proteins were thought to interact only briefly during cellular processes. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany, have discovered that this is not the case. During their developmental cycle, bacterial viruses `glue` specific RNAs to host proteins. As the authors descibe in their publication in the journal “Nature”,`RNAylation` could open up new avenues for phage therapy or drug development. “Life is a…
The behavior of drops on surfaces is of interest for a variety of applications. However, properties such as velocity, friction or shape on inclined surfaces depend on a large number of parameters – their behavior is still not completely predictable by theories. Researchers led by Hans-Jürgen Butt of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have now tackled this problem and developed a simple phenomenological model that allows them to accurately predict the path of a drop. Whether it’s an…
Among the many hazards encountered by space probes, exposure to radiation and huge temperature swings pose particular challenges for their electronic circuits. Now KAUST researchers have invented the first ever flash memory device made from gallium oxide, a material that can withstand these harsh conditions far better than conventional electronics[1]. Gallium oxide is a semiconductor — although it is usually a poor conductor of electricity, incorporating certain impurities can enable it to carry an electrical current. It offers many advantages…
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