Nanoscale solutes with only small differences in size can be separated by membranes with identical pores – if they have enough opportunities to try. Credit: Argonne National Laboratory. Imagine a basketball game that comes down to the last shot. The chance of the ball going through the hoop may be quite small, but it would … Read more
Dikes in Norway cut into older layered sandstone rocks. Credit: Cato Andersen/Mapillary, CC BY-SA Our planet was born about 4.5 billion years ago. To understand this mind-bogglingly long history, we must study rocks and the minerals from which they are made. The oldest rocks in Australia, which are among the oldest on Earth, are found … Read more
Conceptual image of the formation of quantum bipolarons. The blue spheres represent the positively charged ions in the material’s lattice and the two red dots are the Cooper pairs. Credit: Pavel A. Volkov. A new study published in Physical Assessment Letters (PRL) investigates the potential of quadratic electron-phonon coupling to enhance superconductivity through the formation … Read more
Chemical structure for thiamine pyrophosphate and protein structure of transketolase. Thiamine pyrophosphate cofactor in yellow and xylulose 5-phosphate substrate in black. Credit: Thomas Shafee/Wikipedia Scientists have developed a prototype of a new method for ‘rationally manipulating’ enzymes to achieve better performance. They have devised an algorithm that takes into account the evolutionary history of an … Read more
To create nHz frequency signals, the vacuum junctions must be supercooled. These slow transitions are difficult to complete due to the cosmic expansion of the universe. Even when the transition is complete, the wave frequencies can shift away from nHz. Although nanohertz gravitational waves are cool, their origin is probably not supercooled. Credit: Andrew Fowlie … Read more
Saturn energy imbalance. Credit: NASA/JPL A discovery by researchers at the University of Houston has revealed a massive energy imbalance on Saturn, shedding new light on planetary science and evolution and challenging existing climate models for the solar system’s gas giants. The findings appear in the publication Nature communication. “This is the first time that … Read more
A swirling black hole hiding within the features of the black holes that merged to create it. Credit: Robert Lea Astronomers believe that at the heart of most, if not all, galaxies lies a gigantic black hole with a mass millions or even billions of times greater than that of our Sun. These supermassive black … Read more
An illustration of distant quasar, supermassive, black hole-powered objects that can be used to constrain the parameters of gravity theories. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser A recent study explored teleparallel gravity and its potential to resolve the tension surrounding the expansion of the universe in a way that general relativity cannot. In the early 20th century, our … Read more
Credit: University of Nottingham Using a specially designed 3D-printed vacuum system, scientists have developed a way to ‘capture’ dark matter with the aim of detecting domain walls. This will be an important step forward in unraveling some of the mysteries of the universe. Scientists from the University of Nottingham’s School of Physics have created a … Read more
Crab Nebula (MIRI and NIRCam image). Credit: ESA/Hubble Information Center A team of scientists used NASA/ESA/CSA’s James Webb Space Telescope to analyze the composition of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Using the telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), the team collected data that will … Read more