Researchers glean a more complete picture of a structure called the nuclear pore complex by studying it directly inside cells. Context matters. It’s true for many facets of life, including the tiny molecular machines that perform vital functions inside our cells. Scientists often purify cellular components, such as proteins or organelles, in order to examine them individually. However, a new study published on Oct. 13 in the journal Nature suggests that this practice can drastically alter the components in question….
Basic science discovery could lead to improved biomaterial production. Bacteria can store extra resources for the lean times. It’s a bit like keeping a piggy bank or carrying a backup battery pack. One important reserve is known as cyanophycin granules, which were first noticed by an Italian scientist about 150 years ago. He saw big, dark splotches in the cells of the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) he was studying without understanding either what they were or their purpose. Since then, scientists…
Creating and studying radioactive molecules advances nuclear structure and fundamental symmetry studies. The Science An international team performed the world’s first measurement of how the size of the radium nucleus modifies the structure of molecules containing different radium isotopes. The research used a combination of lasers and ion traps at the Isotope mass Separator On-Line (ISOLDE) Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at CERN. The team studied the quantum structure of radium monofluoride (RaF) molecules. Quantum structure dictates the energy levels and how…
This study on Gadolinium is completing a series of experiments on Nickel, Iron-Nickel Alloys. The results are useful for developing ultrafast data storage devices. New materials should make information processing more efficient, for example, through ultrafast spintronic devices that store data with less energy input. But to date, the microscopic mechanisms of ultrafast demagnetization are not fully understood. Typically, the process of demagnetization is studied by sending an ultrashort laser pulse to the sample, thereby heating it up, and then…
Services from all hyper-scale cloud providers like Microsoft are powered by massive datacenters that employ hundreds of thousands of servers, whose performance depends heavily on the quality of the network between them. Current datacenter networks include multiple layers of electrical packet switches interconnected through optical fibers. These systems require electrical-to-optical conversion, which increases cost and power overhead. To make things worse, growing data rates due to applications like AI and data analytics could concur with the slowdown of Moore’s law…
Jellyfish have voracious appetites, and they aren’t considered the most selective eaters. Almost anything that gets stuck to their tentacles winds up in the gelatinous sack that they use to digest their food. This “take what comes” feeding strategy has clouded our understanding of which foods jellyfish survive on and how they fit in food webs. However, new research from the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF) used two biochemical tools, stable isotopes and fatty acids, to begin unlocking…
Bayreuth researchers investigate consequences of urbanisation and tourism. Tourism and urban settlement are directly linked to a massive decline in insect species on oceanic islands. Scientists from the University of Bayreuth recently discovered this through research on the Maldives. On urban islands, they documented on average 48 percent fewer insect species than on uninhabited islands, on tourist islands even 66 percent fewer insect species. The research team led by Prof. Dr. Christian Laforsch at the University of Bayreuth reports on…
Muscle is known to regenerate through a complex process that involves several steps and depends on stem cells. Now, a new study led by researchers at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM; Portugal) and the University Pompeu Fabra (UPF Barcelona; Spain) and published today in the scientific journal Science describes a new mechanism for muscle regeneration after physiological damage relying on the rearrangement of nuclei. This protective mechanism opens the road to a broader understanding of muscle…
New measurements show that fast flows in a tokamak plasma help remove and prevent impurities. The Science Impurities in the plasmas in fusion tokamaks can reduce performance. These impurities are created by interactions between the hot plasma and the metal tokamak walls. These walls are often armored with tungsten. This material resists heat, but degrades over time, releasing impurities into the plasma. Simulations predict how these impurities behave, but they are difficult to measure directly because many impurities only emit weak levels of radiation. The…
Cell culture studies show increased lung cell entry of the SARS-CoV-2 variants Delta and Delta Plus and reduced inhibition by antibodies. The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants that can spread rapidly and undermine vaccine-induced immunity threatens the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The delta variant (B.1.617.2) emerged in India and subsequently spread globally within a short time period. Also in Germany, almost all recent infections are due to this variant. In addition to Delta, so-called Delta Plus sub-variants have been…
Probing the structures and properties of superionic ice. A layer of “hot,” electrically conductive ice could be responsible for generating the magnetic fields of ice giant planets like Uranus and Neptune. New work from Carnegie and the University of Chicago’s Center for Advanced Radiation Sources reveals the conditions under which two such superionic ices form. Their findings are published in Nature Physics. As all school children learn, water molecules are made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom—H20….
A new study led by Spanish researchers describes a new mechanism for muscle repair after physiological damage relying on the rearrangement of muscle fibre nuclei, and independently of muscle stem cells. Muscle is known to regenerate through a complex process that involves several steps and relies on stem cells. Now, a new study led by researchers at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF, Spain)/Centro Nacional de Investigationes Cardiovasculares (CNIC, Spain)/CIBERNED (Spain) and Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM, Portugal), published…
A plenoptic high-speed camera designed by Fraunhofer researchers. Researchers at Fraunhofer IZM have joined forces with TecVenture, Optrontec Inc., and KAIST to create a high-speed camera fitted with a unique multi-lens array that can capture images with a far greater depth of field than its conventional counterparts. The miniaturized electronics make the system a good choice for efficient damage analytics in industrial use or for many research activities. To prepare the camera for reliable work in the tough reality of…
With each passing day, the dark side of our addiction to fossil fuels becomes more apparent. In addition to slashing emissions of carbon dioxide, society must find sustainable alternatives to power the modern world. In a new study, Gary Moore and his research group explore different approaches to catalysis, a chemical process that plays an essential role in biological reactions, as well as many industrial applications. Catalysts are substances that speed up the rates of chemical reactions, without being consumed during the…
New research demonstrates great promise of all-inorganic perovskite solar cells for improving the efficiencies of solar cells. Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites have already demonstrated very high photovoltaic efficiencies of greater than 25%. The prevailing wisdom in the field is that the organic (carbon- and hydrogen-containing) molecules in the material are crucial to achieving this impressive performance because they are believed to suppress defect-assisted carrier recombination. New research in the UC Santa Barbara materials department has shown not only that this assumption…
PHENIX data validate approach for future studies of proton spin and structure. Scientists seeking to explore the teeming microcosm of quarks and gluons inside protons and neutrons report new data delivered by particles of light. The light particles, or photons, come directly from interactions of a quark in one proton colliding with a gluon in another at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). By tracking these “direct photons,” members of RHIC’s PHENIX Collaboration say they are getting a glimpse—albeit a blurry one—of gluons’ transverse…
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