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Life Sciences - Physics - 24.07.2023

DNA origami to create virus capsids of all shapes and sizes
In an international collaboration involving the University of Twente and universities in Finland and Australia, researchers have succeeded in reprogramming the capsids of plant viruses into different shapes. They did this by folding nanoscale DNA structures into moulds around which the capsids form.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 24.07.2023

Webb Detects Water Vapor in Rocky Planet-forming Zone ?
Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope have for the first time revealed the presence of water in the inner disk around a young star where giant planets have already formed further away. The research took place within the MINDS collaboration, led by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg, Germany, and including astronomers from Radboud University, the University of Groningen, and Leiden University.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 24.07.2023

Water discovered in rocky planet-forming zone offers clues on habitability
James Webb Space Telescope observations find water for the first time in the inner disk around a young star with giant planets. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, the MPIA-led MINDS research collaboration discovered water in the inner region of a disk of gas and dust around the young star PDS 70.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 21.07.2023

Novel object in the constellation Shield
The star could be a magnetar with properties that have yet to be explained A new type of stellar object could challenge our understanding of neutron stars. An international team, including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, has discovered a celestial body in the constellation Shield (Scutum) that could be an ultralong-period magnetar, a rare type of star with extremely strong magnetic fields that can produce violent bursts of energy.

Life Sciences - Physics - 21.07.2023

Detection of bacteria and viruses with fluorescent nanotubes
The new sensor design resembles a molecular toolbox that can be used to quickly assemble sensors for a variety of purposes. An interdisciplinary research team from Bochum, Duisburg and Zurich has developed a new approach to construct modular optical sensors which are capable of detecting viruses and bacteria.

Physics - Materials Science - 20.07.2023

Scientists caught Hofstadter’s butterfly in one of the most ancient materials on Earth
Researchers in the National Graphene Institute (NGI) at The University of Manchester have revisited one of the most ancient materials on Earth - graphite, and discovered new physics that has eluded the field for decades. Despite being made entirely of layers of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern, natural graphite is not as simple as one may think.

Physics - Chemistry - 20.07.2023

New kind of superresolution explores cell division
Interactions between structures at the nanoscale sync up with the way the whole cell contracts and expands during this vital process Study: Opening long-time investigation window of living matter by nonbleaching phase intensity nanoscope A new way to see details smaller than half the wavelength of light has revealed how nanoscale scaffolding inside cells bridges to the macroscale during cell division.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 19.07.2023

Two-faced star exposed in first for astronomy
An unusual white dwarf star is made of hydrogen on one side and helium on the other. In a first for white dwarfs, the burnt-our cores of dead stars, astronomers from institutions including the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Warwick have discovered that at least one member of this cosmic family is two faced.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 19.07.2023

Webb sees carbon-rich dust grains in the first billion years of cosmic time
For the first time, the James Webb Space Telescope has observed the chemical signature of carbon-rich dust grains in the early universe. Similar observational signatures have been observed in the much more recent universe, and have been attributed to complex, carbon-based molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Health - Physics - 19.07.2023

Detecting breast cancer earlier with 3D X-rays
A research team from ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI together with the Baden Cantonal Hospital and the University Hospital Zurich wants to improve a method for diagnosing breast cancer. In 2020, breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer worldwide, with over two million cases.

Chemistry - Physics - 19.07.2023

New catalysts for solar hydrogen production
Researchers at TU Wien are developing a layered photocatalyst that can be used to produce hydrogen very efficiently from water. Finding sustainable and clean fuels is crucial in today's global energy and climate crisis. One promising candidate that is increasingly gaining relevance is hydrogen. However, today's industrial hydrogen production still has a considerable CO2 footprint, especially considering processes like steam reforming or non-sustainable electrolysis.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 19.07.2023

Star with two faces discovered thousands of light years from Earth
Science, Health & Technology Alex Walls It's not the nicest description for a human, but a two-faced star has been identified by astronomers in a first for its kind. With one side composed fully of hydrogen and the other of helium, the star has been dubbed Janus after the two-faced Roman god of transition, and described in a new study published in Nature today.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 19.07.2023

Two-Faced Star Exposed
In a first for white dwarfs, the burnt-out cores of dead stars, astronomers have discovered that at least one member of this cosmic family is two faced. One side of the white dwarf is composed of hydrogen, while the other is made up of helium. "The surface of the white dwarf completely changes from one side to the other," says Ilaria Caiazzo, a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech who leads a new study on the findings in the journal Nature .

Physics - Materials Science - 19.07.2023

Researchers put a new twist on graphite
For decades, scientists have been probing the potential of two-dimensional materials to transform our world. 2D materials are only a single layer of atoms thick. Within them, subatomic particles like electrons can only move in two dimensions. This simple restriction can trigger unusual electron behavior, imbuing the materials with -exotic- properties like bizarre forms of magnetism, superconductivity and other collective behaviors among electrons - all of which could be useful in computing, communication, energy and other fields.

Physics - Campus - 19.07.2023

’Strange metal’ sends quantum researchers in circles
A Yale-led team of physicists has discovered a circular pattern in the movement of electrons in a group of quantum materials known as -strange metals. Strange metal,- that rogue phenomenon of the electrical realm, just became a little less enigmatic. Identified more than 40 years ago, strange metal is a state of matter found in many quantum materials - including certain superconductors that scientists say may be vital for high-tech products of the future.

Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 18.07.2023

Hologram-based model allows for new sneak peek into pre-Big Bang events
A new physics model could help gain more insight into the events surrounding the birth of the universe. Combining principles of holography and string theory, researchers from Utrecht University, together with colleagues from other universities and Cern, developed the model that could potentially elucidate how the universe expanded, and gained enough heat in the final phase before the Big Bang.

Physics - 18.07.2023

Detecting nanoplastics - in fractions of a second
Tiny plastic particles are an environmental problem. They can even penetrate living cells. A method has now been developed at TU Wien to detect such particles quickly and with high sensitivity. It is well known that microplastics are a problem: They are tiny, barely visible plastic particles that can harm the environment, for example, if they are eaten by animals.

Life Sciences - Physics - 17.07.2023

A new perspective in protein research
The ordered areas of proteins are readily studied. Consequently, a great deal is known about the role of these areas in the biological function of the respective proteins. However, an international research team led by biochemist Ute Hellmich has shown that disordered areas are also pivotal. Their comprehensive examination of the disordered area of a receptor channel protein has been published in the renowned scientific journal "Nature Communications." The group demonstrated through eleven different methods how this area influences the function of the entire protein.

Chemistry - Physics - 17.07.2023

Why our body runs like clockwork
The friction in our joints is extremely low - how is that physically possible at all? Measurements at TU Wien provide explanations and ideas for new treatment methods . Friction and wear as an eternal nuisance - this is as familiar in technology as it is in medicine. Whether it's a manual transmission or a knee joint, you always want moving parts to slide over each other with as little friction as possible, so that energy expenditure and wear are kept to a minimum.

Physics - Life Sciences - 17.07.2023

How do you fit a bale of straw into the eye of a needle?
Publication of the Physics Laboratory in the journal PNAS, on July 18, 2022, and Nano Letters, on May 22, 2023. Communication of CNRS-INP on July 17, 2023. Researchers at the Physics laboratory of ENS de Lyon (CNRS/ENS de Lyon) have recreated artificial pores that mimic the functioning of two types of biological pore, paving the way for the manufacture of selective nano-pumps and nano-filters.