Using a newly developed technique, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPIK) in Heidelberg have measured the very small difference in the magnetic properties of two isotopes of highly charged neon in an ion trap with previously inaccessible accuracy. Comparison with equally extremely precise theoretical calculations of this difference allows a record-level test of quantum electrodynamics (QED). The agreement of the results is an impressive confirmation of the standard model of physics, allowing conclusions regarding the properties…
Scientists in the UK are starting to understand the precise workings of a type of gene that, unlike other genes, does not code for proteins – the building blocks of life. Scientists are starting to understand the precise workings of a type of gene that, unlike other genes, does not code for proteins – the building blocks of life. New research led by the University of Bath shows the mechanism by which genes coding for a subset of long non-coding…
Sterile neutrino, physics fundamentals among interpretations of anomalous results. New scientific results confirm an anomaly seen in previous experiments, which may point to an as-yet-unconfirmed new elementary particle, the sterile neutrino, or indicate the need for a new interpretation of an aspect of standard model physics, such as the neutrino cross section, first measured 60 years ago. Los Alamos National Laboratory is the lead American institution collaborating on the Baksan Experiment on Sterile Transitions (BEST) experiment, results of which were…
UBCO researchers change the game when it comes to activity tracking. The creation of high-resolution extrusion printing—think 3D printing but with ink that conducts electricity—has enabled UBC researchers to explore the potential of wearable human motion devices. Wearable technology—smartwatches, heart monitors, sleep aid devices, even step counters—have become part of everyday life. And researchers with UBC Okanagan’s Nanomaterials and Polymer Nanocomposites Laboratory, have created even smaller, lighter and highly-accurate sensors that can be integrated into clothing and equipment. In collaboration with…
University of Arizona astronomers have identified five examples of a new class of stellar system. They’re not quite galaxies and only exist in isolation. The new stellar systems contain only young, blue stars, which are distributed in an irregular pattern and seem to exist in surprising isolation from any potential parent galaxy. The stellar systems – which astronomers say appear through a telescope as “blue blobs” and are about the size of tiny dwarf galaxies – are located within the…
Boosting light power revolutionizes communications and autopilots. Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) are devices that can provide gain to the optical signal power in optical fibers, often used in long-distance communication fiber optic cables and fiber-based lasers. Invented in the 1980s, EDFAs are arguably one of the most important inventions, and have profoundly impacted our information society enabling signals to be routed across the Atlantic and replacing electrical repeaters. What is interesting about erbium ions in optical communications is that they…
RNA regulates proteins and thereby can control cell growth, study shows. European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s research on the enzyme Enolase 1 (ENO1) points to a possible new way RNA exerts a leading role in how cells develop. The new heroics of RNA in cell differentiation. Scientists are increasingly learning of new reasons to appreciate RNA, and the glycolytic enzyme ENO1 seems to have provided yet another in new research from European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) this week, as published in…
In Nature Communications: The Politecnico di Milano study that synthesised a nanocluster of superfluorinated gold for the first time. The SupraBioNano Lab (SBNLab) at the Politecnico di Milano’s Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, in partnership with the University of Bologna and the Aalto University of Helsinki (Finland) has, for the first time, synthesised a superfluorinated gold nanocluster, made up of a core of only 25 gold atoms, to which 18 branch-structured fluorinated molecules are linked. The…
Potential Achilles heel in the protective layers surrounding Gram-negative bacteria identified that could aid in the development of next-generation antibiotics. A new study published in Nature today has identified a potential Achilles heel in the protective layers surrounding Gram-negative bacteria that could aid in the development of next-generation antibiotics. The study, carried out jointly by Professor Waldemar Vollmer and Dr Federico Corona at Newcastle University, alongside Professor Colin Kleanthous and Dr Gideon Mamou in the Department of Biochemistry at the…
‘Barcoding’ studies find two independent sources for blood cells in mice; if confirmed in humans, the understanding of blood cancers, bone marrow transplant, and the aging immune system will change. The origins of our blood may not be quite what we thought. Using cellular “barcoding” in mice, a groundbreaking study finds that blood cells originate not from one type of mother cell, but two, with potential implications for blood cancers, bone marrow transplant, and immunology. Fernando Camargo, PhD, of the…
EuroHPC JU, the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, has selected Forschungszentrum Jülich – a partner in Germany’s Gauss Centre for Supercomputing – to operate the first next-generation European supercomputer. The computer, which will bear the name JUPITER (short for “Joint Undertaking Pioneer for Innovative and Transformative Exascale Research”), will be installed as of 2023 in a specially designed building on the campus of Forschungszentrum Jülich. It is intended that the system will be operated by the Jülich Supercomputing Centre…
Ultrafast light-driven control of magnetization on the nanometer length scale is key to achieve competitive bit sizes in next generation data storage technology. Researchers at Max Born Institute in Berlin and of the large scale facility Elettra in Trieste, Italy, have successfully demonstrated the ultrafast emergence of all-optical switching by generating a nanometer scale grating by interference of two pulses in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range. The physics of optically driven magnetization dynamics on the femtosecond time scale has become…
… to bring health care closer to precisely targeted drug delivery. If you’ve ever swallowed the same round tablet in hopes of curing everything from stomach cramps to headaches, you already know that medicines aren’t always designed to treat precise pain points. While over-the-counter pills have cured many ailments for decades, biomedical researchers have only recently begun exploring ways to improve targeted drug delivery when treating more complicated medical conditions, like cardiovascular disease or cancer. A promising innovation within this…
Samples from the Moon’s Oceanus Procellarum, an ancient mare basalt whose name translates to “Ocean of Storms,” may be able to calm at least one scientific squall: the source of lunar water. China’s lunar lander Chang’E-5 delivered the first real-time, on-site definitive confirmation of water signal in the basalt’s rocks and soil via on-board spectral analysis in 2020. The finding was validated through laboratory analysis of samples the lander returned in 2021. Now, the Chang’E-5 team has determined where the…
Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares ( (CNIC) have discovered a complex network of connections between tissues that allows the liver to regulate body temperature. The research team found that the secretion of a molecule called interleukin 12 (IL-12) by immune cells present in the liver reduces heat generation by brown fat. The study is published in Hepatology. When a person begins to gain weight, fat accumulates in adipose tissue. But eventually fat also accumulates in the liver, a…
An international group of nuclear scientists has restricted the neutrino mass with a new level of sensitivity. The Science Neutrinos are the most abundant particles that have mass in the universe, but that mass is so small that scientists have not been able to measure it. To obtain that measurement, an international scientific collaboration designed and constructed the KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment in Germany. KATRIN uses tritium, an isotope of hydrogen, for neutrino mass experiments. Tritium decays to a helium nucleus, an electron, and…
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