A collaborative team of four professors and several graduate students from the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemical Science and Technology at National Taiwan University, together with the Department of Applied Chemistry at National Chi Nan University, has achieved a long-sought breakthrough. [...]
Sum-frequency generation (SFG) is a powerful vibrational spectroscopy that can selectively probe molecular structures at surfaces and interfaces, but its spatial resolution has been limited to the micrometer scale by the diffraction limit of light. [...]
Exciting electronic characteristics emerge when scientists stack 2D materials on top of each other and give the top layer a little twist. [...]
In a study appearing in Nature Catalysis, researchers from the Inorganic Chemistry Department of the Fritz Haber Institute reveal how structural changes on the surface and in the bulk region of the cobalt oxide catalyst Co3O4 influence its selectivity in the production of industrially relevant chemicals like acetone. [...]
Speeding up drug discovery in the age of AI may come down to a concept that's comfortingly old-fashioned: Consulting a chemistry recipe book. [...]
Researchers from the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine Center for Nanomedicine—which designs nanotechnology-based platforms for clinical translation across specialties—developed a strategy for delivering therapeutic messenger RNA (mRNA) to the inner lining of the uterus (endometrium) in mice via modified lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which are small capsules made of fatty molecules. [...]
As we prepare for missions beyond Earth orbit, one crucial challenge remains: keeping astronauts healthy in microgravity. Without daily exercise, their muscles, bones and cardiovascular systems weaken, which could impact mission success and astronaut safety, especially in destinations such as the moon or Mars, where crew will have to operate autonomously immediately after landing. [...]
Girls between the ages of 13 and 19 are widely exposed to beauty content online that promotes products unsuitable for young skin—even when they are not actively seeking beauty-related information. Moreover, they believe that other girls (rather than themselves) may become insecure as a result of these videos. This is shown by research conducted by communication scientist Serena Daalmans and her colleagues at Radboud University. [...]
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is an emerging communication technology that utilizes quantum mechanics principles to ensure highly secure communication between two parties. It enables the sender and receiver to generate a shared secret key over a channel that may be monitored by an attacker. Any attempt to eavesdrop introduces detectable errors in the quantum signals, allowing communicating parties to detect if communication is compromised via QKD protocols. [...]
A new study shows how one of the cell's most important energy-producing machines is built. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have mapped late steps in the formation of the human respirasome, a large protein assembly that drives mitochondrial respiration. Their research is published in the journal Nature Communications. [...]
Whether in a smartphone or laptop, semiconductors form the basis of modern electronics and accompany us constantly in everyday life. The processes taking place inside these materials are the subject of ongoing research. When the electrons in a semiconductor material are activated using light or an electrical voltage, the excited electrons also set the atomic lattice in motion. This results in collective vibrations of the atoms, known as phonons or lattice vibrations, which interact with each other and with the electrons themselves. [...]
Peer reflection on microteaching plays a crucial role in teachers' training programs as it equips novice teachers with opportunities to understand their peers' practices. It enhances their reflective thinking, teaching awareness, and bridges the gap between theoretical and practical teaching practices. [...]
The kidney's proximal tubule reabsorbs water, glucose, ions and other small molecules from the urine and thus maintains the body's supply of these essential constituents. The tubule can be easily damaged by ischemia, or poor circulation, but it normally can repair itself. [...]
Researchers from Skoltech have uncovered physical principles governing the remote "tuning" of nanocatalysts, where the ultra-thin platinum layer's properties can be controlled exclusively by modifying its metallic core's composition and structure. [...]
Climate change has a wide range of effects on wildlife. It affects seasonal migration, reproduction times, body size and mass, and disrupts ecological processes, thereby posing challenges for the populations of some species. An international team of scientists has now analyzed more than 200 scientific studies on 73 animal species in a meta-study to determine exactly how climate change is related to phenology, morphology and population trends. [...]
Physicists have uncovered a link between magnetism and a mysterious phase of matter called the pseudogap, which appears in certain quantum materials just above the temperature at which they become superconducting. The findings could help researchers design new materials with sought-after properties such as high-temperature superconductivity, in which electric current flows without resistance. [...]
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that organized civil society and social mobilization are key, yet often unrecognized, agents of global biodiversity conservation. By analyzing a global dataset of 2,801 socio-environmental mobilizations from the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas), the research identifies that local struggles against polluting industries are critical for protecting the planet's most sensitive, biodiverse regions. [...]
Over the years, passing spacecraft have observed mystifying weather patterns at the poles of Jupiter and Saturn. The two planets host very different types of polar vortices, which are huge atmospheric whirlpools that rotate over a planet's polar region. On Saturn, a single massive polar vortex appears to cap the north pole in a curiously hexagonal shape, while on Jupiter, a central polar vortex is surrounded by eight smaller vortices, like a pan of swirling cinnamon rolls. [...]
The climate warmed up almost as quickly 56 million years ago as it is doing now. When a huge amount of CO2 entered the atmosphere in a short period of time, it led to large-scale forest fires and erosion. Mei Nelissen, Ph.D. candidate at NIOZ and UU, and her colleagues were able to see this very clearly in the layers of sediment drilled off the Norwegian coast. The research was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on January 19. [...]
People in northern Germany flocked to the Elbe river Monday to marvel at giant Arctic-style ice floes that have clogged up a stretch of the waterway, creating a headache for shipping but delighting visitors. [...]
Bacteriophages have been used therapeutically to treat infectious bacterial diseases for over a century. As antibiotic-resistant infections increasingly threaten public health, interest in bacteriophages as therapeutics has seen a resurgence. However, the field remains largely limited to naturally occurring strains, as laborious strain engineering techniques have limited the pace of discovery and the creation of tailored therapeutic strains. [...]
Wildfires that have killed 19 people in southern Chile and wiped out entire towns, raged for a third day Monday, fanned by high temperatures and strong winds at the height of the southern hemisphere summer. [...]
The CP2K open-source package is among the top three most widely used research software suites worldwide for simulating the behavior of atoms and molecules. Among other applications, CP2K plays an important role in generating data used to train artificial intelligence (AI)-based models that determine molecular energies and forces. [...]
Marine turbidites are layers of mud and sand deposited on the deep ocean floor by massive underwater landslides and are often used as a historical record for reconstructing earthquake histories. [...]
Researchers at the University of Tsukuba conducted a three-year observational study (January 2019–December 2021) using a network of live cameras to monitor characteristic clouds around Mount Fuji. [...]
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry researchers at the University of South Carolina measured disinfection by-products in bottled water, with total disinfection by-products ranging from 0.01–22.4 µg/L and compared them with a single-sourced chloraminated tap water sample. [...]
An international team from Kanazawa University (Japan), Tohoku University (Japan), LPP (France), and partners has demonstrated that chorus emissions, natural electromagnetic waves long studied in Earth's magnetosphere, also occur in Mercury's magnetosphere exhibiting similar chirping frequency changes. [...]
In a landmark discovery that bridges nearly a century of theoretical physics, a Chinese research team has successfully captured the first direct evidence of the Migdal effect, a breakthrough with profound implications for probing dark matter—the invisible substance thought to make up roughly 85% of the universe. [...]
The sun's inner corona, the hottest part of our star's atmosphere, appears faint yellow in a time-lapse made from images taken by the ASPIICS coronagraph aboard Proba-3. [...]
The chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), or Bd for short, is considered one of the causes of the worldwide decline in amphibian populations. In recent years, researchers have identified different genetic strains of the fungus that causes chytridiomycosis in various parts of the world. This has already led to the decline of at least 500 species of anuran amphibians, including toads and frogs. [...]