The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s Melanized Microbes for Multiple Uses in Space Project, or MELSP, will use the International Space Station (ISS) to search for production of melanin variants and other useful biomaterials that can have applications both on Earth and in space. The mission is scheduled to launch in early November 2023. Melanin is described as a group of biopolymers responsible for various biological functions, including pigmentation of skin, hair, and iris of the eyes, which helps protect body…

The striking image represents one of the most comprehensive views of the universe ever taken and reveals a vivid landscape of galaxies along with more than a dozen newfound, time-varying objects. Astronomers once again have combined the observational powers of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope to create one of the most detailed and colorful portraits of the cosmos, just in time for the holiday season. The new image, dubbed the Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster by the research team that includes…

Brown dwarfs are objects that straddle the dividing line between stars and planets. They form like stars, growing dense enough to collapse under their own gravity, but they never become dense and hot enough to begin fusing hydrogen and turn into a star. At the low end of the scale, some brown dwarfs are comparable with giant planets, weighing just a few times the mass of Jupiter. What are the smallest stars? Astronomers are trying to determine the smallest object…

MPFI Scientists identify ALS-linked protein VAP as a key stabilizer of mitochondria near dendritic spines to support memory formation. When experiencing new things, the structure and function of our neurons and their connections are rapidly being remodeled. This process, known as synaptic plasticity, is critical for us to learn and adapt. However, these changes require a lot of energy. Fortunately, our neurons are well-adapted to support these changes. Biological batteries known as mitochondria are strategically stabilized near sites of synaptic…

It is easy to be optimistic about hydrogen as an ideal fuel. It is much more difficult to come up with a solution to an absolutely fundamental problem: how to store this fuel efficiently? A Swiss-Polish team of experimental and theoretical physicists has found the answer to the question of why previous attempts to use the promising magnesium hydride for this purpose have proved unsatisfactory – and why they may succeed in the future. Hydrogen has long been seen as…

Desert ants find their way during an early learning phase with the help of the Earth’s magnetic field. The associated learning process leaves clear traces in their nervous system. This is shown in a new study by a Würzburg research team. They are only a few centimeters tall and their brains have a comparatively simple structure with less than one million neurons. Nevertheless, desert ants of the Cataglyphis genus possess abilities that distinguish them from many other creatures: The animals…

Results suggest the clouds of Venus could be hospitable for some forms of life. If there is life in the solar system beyond Earth, it might be found in the clouds of Venus. In contrast to the planet’s blisteringly inhospitable surface, Venus’ cloud layer, which extends from 30 to 40 miles above the surface, hosts milder temperatures that could support some extreme forms of life. If it’s out there, scientists have assumed that any Venusian cloud inhabitant would look very…

Princeton University find that a crystal of arsenic hosts a new type of quantum behavior. Physicists have observed a novel quantum effect termed “hybrid topology” in a crystalline material. This finding opens up a new range of possibilities for the development of efficient materials and technologies for next-generation quantum science and engineering. The finding, published in the April 10th issue of Nature, came when Princeton scientists discovered that an elemental solid crystal made of arsenic (As) atoms hosts a never-before-observed form…

What was it we were going to tell you about? Oh!! About the research into the complexity of electrical brain signals in patients with multiple sclerosis, a disease mainly associated with the slowing-down of information processing and a lack of motor coordination. These signals are beginning to show traces of multifractality, according to a scientific project carried out with the participation of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow. Multiple sclerosis is an incurable…

The University of Stuttgart at Hannover Messe ’24. From sustainable mobility to quantum technologies and their potential: The University of Stuttgart will be showcasing exciting research projects, pioneering solutions, and its activities in research and transfer at the Hannover Messe (Hanover Trade Fair) from April 22 to 26, 2024. The university will participate as a co-exhibitor at the joint stand of the state of Baden-Württemberg (Hall 15, Stand A06) and other stands. Visitors from around the world attending the trade…

Research at the south pole studied the mysterious quantum structure of space and time. Einstein’s theory of general relativity explains that gravity is caused by a curvature of the directions of space and time. The most familiar manifestation of this is the Earth’s gravity, which keeps us on the ground and explains why balls fall to the floor and individuals have weight when stepping on a scale. In the field of high-energy physics, on the other hand, scientists study tiny…

Using the example of the freshwater polyp Hydra, a CRC 1182 research team shows how even creatures with very simple nervous systems can regulate the complex coordination of satiety and related behaviours. Over the course of evolution, living organisms have gradually developed more complex nervous systems in order to coordinate increasingly complex sensory, motor and cognitive functions and to control the associated behaviour. Recently, different research projects have shown that even simple creatures with diffuse nervous systems can exhibit complex…

… pave way to new physics and optoelectronic applications. Researchers have for the first time observed a time crystal on a microscale semiconductor chip oscillating at a rate of several billion times per second, unveiling exceptionally high non-linear dynamics in the GHz range. The results of the experiment, published today in Science, establish a firm connection between formerly uncorrelated areas of non-linear exciton-polariton dynamics and coherent optomechanics at GHz frequencies, say researchers from the Paul-Drude-Institute for Solid State Electronics (PDI)…

Experiment captures atoms in free fall to look for gravitational anomalies caused by universe’s missing energy. Dark energy — a mysterious force pushing the universe apart at an ever-increasing rate — was discovered 26 years ago, and ever since, scientists have been searching for a new and exotic particle causing the expansion. Pushing the boundaries of this search, University of California, Berkeley physicists have now built the most precise experiment yet to look for minor deviations from the accepted theory…

MHH research team identifies microscopic clusters of damaged lung vesicles as cause of massive loss of lung function. Artificial ventilation can save lives, but it also puts pressure on lung tissue. If the lungs are pre-damaged, pressurized ventilation can even have undesirable effects. This is especially true of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This is because when trying to keep the lungs open and allow further gas exchange, the pressure due to an overstretch of still intact lung…

… a missing link in massive black hole formation. Omega Centauri is a spectacular collection of about ten million stars, visible as a smudge in the night sky from Southern latitudes. Through a small telescope, it looks no different from other so-called globular clusters: a spherical collection of stars, so dense towards the centre that it becomes impossible to distinguish individual stars. But now a new study, led by Maximilian Häberle (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy), confirms what astronomers had…

Finding and fixing errors in programme code still takes up a lot of developers’ time. A team at Graz University of Technology has now developed a solution that tackles the biggest time wasters. Modern software applications usually consist of numerous files and several million lines of code. Due to the sheer quantity, finding and correcting faults, known as debugging, is difficult. In many software companies, developers still search for faults manually – something which takes up a large proportion of…

With neutron experiments and theoretical modelling, an international team uncovered 3D QSL behavior in Nickel Langbeinite. A 3D quantum spin liquid has been discovered in the vicinity of a member of the langbeinite family. The material’s specific crystalline structure and the resulting magnetic interactions induce an unusual behaviour that can be traced back to an island of liquidity. An international team has made this discovery with experiments at the ISIS neutron source and theoretical modelling on a nickel-langbeinite sample. The…

Achieving Individual Functional Integration. Wire or Fiber Encapsulating Additive Manufacturing (WEAM/FEAM) could significantly simplify the industrial production of components that require the integration of complex yet compact wiring, sensors, actuators, or lighting systems – by directly printing these components into the parts. A new development at Fraunhofer IWU: the Automated Cable Assembly (AuCA). Conventional robotics fails to produce and automatically lay flexible cable bundles in vehicles; AuCA, however, manufactures the wiring using a robot-guided way on a component and fixes…

Immune cells are capable of detecting infections just like a sniffer dog, using special sensors known as Toll-like receptors, or TLRs for short. But what signals activate TLRs, and what is the relationship between the scale and nature of this activation and the substance being detected? In a recent study, researchers from the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) used an innovative method to answer these questions. The approach that they took might help to speed up…