The solar wind-magnetosphere coupling and its dynamic process are the basic driving factors for space weather. To understand its physical connotation, it is necessary to understand the processes of global scale responses, mass and energy transportation, and the coupling between different regions. However, relying on single-point or multi-point in-situ measurements is not enough for grasping the global effects caused by the solar wind disturbance, which is the key to understand how the Sun affects and controls the plasma and space…
Anchoring individual iridium atoms on the surface of a catalytic particle boosted its performance in carrying out a reaction that’s been a bottleneck for sustainable energy production. A new way of anchoring individual iridium atoms to the surface of a catalyst increased its efficiency in splitting water molecules to record levels, scientists from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University reported today. It was the first time this approach had been applied to the oxygen evolution…
Ultrafast laser spectroscopy allows to observe the motion of atoms at their natural time scales in the range of femtoseconds, the millionth of a billionth of a second. Electron microscopy, on the other hand, provides atomic spatial resolution. By combining electrons and photons in one instrument, the group of Professor Peter Baum at the University of Konstanz has developed some of the fastest electron microscopes for obtaining detailed insight into materials and their dynamics at ultimate resolutions in both space…
Topological feature could prove useful for encoding information in electron spins. Rice physicists have confirmed the topological origins of magnons, magnetic features they discovered three years ago in a 2D material that could prove useful for encoding information in the spins of electrons. The discovery, described in a study published online this week in the American Physical Society journal PRX, provides a new understanding of topology-driven spin excitations in materials known as in 2D van der Waals magnets. The materials…
A hair-like protein hidden inside bacteria serves as a sort of on-off switch for nature’s “electric grid,” a global web of bacteria-generated nanowires that permeates all oxygen-less soil and deep ocean beds, Yale researchers report in the journal Nature. “The ground beneath our feet, the entire globe, is electrically wired,” said Nikhil Malvankar, assistant professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at the Microbial Sciences Institute at Yale’s West Campus and senior author of the paper. “These previously hidden bacterial hairs are the…
Genomic sequencing, rare in low-income countries, identifies and tracks variants of the virus that cause COVID-19. Variant tracking enables local governments and hospitals to make better-informed decisions to lower infections and deaths. Philippine Genome Center Mindanao (PGC Mindanao) has partnered with Accessible Genomics, a group of volunteering scientists from all around the world to implement a low start-up cost genomic sequencing platform for laboratories in developing countries. Ineke Knot from the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) in Amsterdam…
The troughs on Vesta have long been a topic of scientific speculation. The asteroid Vesta is the second largest asteroid in our solar system. With a diameter of about 330 miles, it orbits the sun between the planets Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids have long played a part in building popular fascination with space. “Marooned off Vesta” was the first story published by American writer Isaac Asimov, the third story he wrote, appearing in the March 1939 issue of the science fiction…
The importance of insects in the decomposition of wood. Living trees absorb a considerable amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and therefore play an important role in the protection of our climate. Little is known about the role of dead trees in the global carbon cycle, though. The decomposition of wood and the recycling of the nutrients it contains are among the most important processes to take place in forests. How much carbon is released from decaying wood worldwide?…
Astronomers have discovered a strangely shaped spot on the surface of a baby star 450 million light-years away, revealing new insights into how our solar system formed. The familiar star at the center of our solar system has had billions of years to mature and ultimately provide life-giving energy to us here on Earth. But a very long time ago, our sun was just a growing baby star. What did the sun look like when it was so young? That’s long been…
Physicists and engineers have found a way to identify and address imperfections in materials for one of the most promising technologies in commercial quantum computing. The University of Queensland team was able to develop treatments and optimise fabrication protocols in common techniques for building superconducting circuits on silicon chips. Dr Peter Jacobson, who co-led the research, said the team had identified that imperfections introduced during fabrication reduced the effectiveness of the circuits. “Superconducting quantum circuits are attracting interest from industry…
… pushes restoration towards large-scale implementation. Coral reefs’ dire status has become more and more apparent to the wider public via reports of re-occurring global bleaching and disease events and subsequent mass die-offs of corals during the last decade. In their recently published policy paper, the International Coral Reef Society urges politicians and decision makers to take immediate action. “The next ten years offer the last chance to change the trajectory of coral reefs from heading towards world-wide collapse to…
Large difference in role of iron between oceans near Greenland and Antarctica. Though a lack of iron is a factor limiting algal growth in the oceans, more dissolved iron in the ocean East of Greenland due to the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet does not lead to more algae there. Off the coast of Antarctica, on the other hand, algae do profit from more dissolved iron in the water as a consequence of melting ice. The cause of this…
To develop quantum networks, the unique needs of industry must be considered and may provide a solution. Large-scale quantum networks have been proposed, but so far, they do not exist. Some components of what would make up such networks are being studied, but the control mechanism for such a large-scale network has not been developed. In AVS Quantum Science, by AIP Publishing, investigators outline how a time-sensitive network control plane could be a key component of a workable quantum network….
Physicists at Forschungszentrum Jülich have developed a unique scanning tunnelling microscope with magnetic cooling to study quantum effects. Scanning tunnelling microscopes capture images of materials with atomic precision and can be used to manipulate individual molecules or atoms. Researchers have been using the instruments for many years to explore the world of nanoscopic phenomena. A new approach by physicists at Forschungszentrum Jülich is now creating new possibilities for using the devices to study quantum effects. Thanks to magnetic cooling, their…
We are collectively failing to conserve the world’s biodiversity and to mobilize natural solutions to help curb global warming. A new study carried out by the Nature Map Consortium, shows that managing a strategically placed 30% of land for conservation could safeguard 70% of all considered terrestrial plant and vertebrate animal species, while simultaneously conserving more than 62% of the world’s above and below ground vulnerable carbon, and 68% of all clean water. In November, governments will convene in Glasgow…
New insights for sepsis therapeutics. Lab studies reveal protein HSP27’s role in blood vessel leakage, opening the possibility that therapeutically dialing its activity up or down might stabilize patients with sepsis. Sepsis occurs when the body works so hard to fight an infection that the over-activated immune system harms a patient’s own tissues as collateral damage. As a result, blood vessels can become leaky and major organs can’t get the oxygen and nutrients they require to sustain life. Sepsis is…
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