Whats new?
We have seen intricate patterns that milk makes in coffee and much smoother ones that honey makes when stirred with a spoon. Which of these cases best describes the behavior of the hot gas in galaxy clusters? By answering this question, a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has deepened our understanding of galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity.
It sounds like an old-school vinyl record, but the distinctive crackle in the music streamed into Chris Holloway's laboratory is atomic in origin. The group at the National Institute for Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado, spent a long six years finding a way to directly measure electric fields using atoms, so who can blame them for then having a little fun with their new technology?
Slow-growing ponderosa pines may have a better chance of surviving longer than fast-growing ones, especially as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of drought, according to new research from the University of Montana.
Transitions are a hallmark of life. When dormant plants flower in the spring or when a young adult strikes out on their own, there is a shift in control. Similarly, there is a transition during early development when an embryo undergoes biochemical changes, switching from being controlled by maternal molecules to being governed by its own genome. For the first time, a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found in an embryo that activation of its genome does not happen all at once, instead it follows a specific pattern controlled primarily by the various sizes of its cells. The researchers published their results this week as the cover story in Developmental Cell.
New research publishing June 18 in the open-access journal, PLOS Biology, led by Dr. Lucy Taylor from the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology now reveals that homing pigeons fit in one extra wingbeat per second when flying in pairs compared to flying solo.
A wearable non-invasive device based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can be used to investigate blood volume and oxygenation patterns in freely diving marine mammals, according to a study publishing June 18 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by J. Chris McKnight of the University of St. Andrews, and colleagues. The results provide new insights into how voluntarily diving seals distribute blood and manage the oxygen supply to their brains and blubber, yielding important information about the basic physiological patterns associated with diving.
Newly developed geological techniques help uncover the most accurate and high-resolution climate records to date, according to a new study. The research finds that the standard practice of using modern and fossil coral to measure sea-surface temperatures may not be as straightforward as originally thought. By combining high-resolution microscopic techniques and geochemical modeling, researchers are using the formational history of Porites coral skeletons to fine-tune the records used to make global climate predictions.
A new theory that incorporates nonlinear properties of rubber-like materials correctly describes the shape of the ridge that forms when the material is strongly deformed by an object.
[Physics] Published Tue Jun 18, 2019
Feature: Arts & Culture: Science in Comic Books
A recent conference in France brought together artists and researchers to discuss ways to draw science—in particular in comic strips.
[Physics 12, 69] Published Tue Jun 18, 2019
Viewpoint: The “Sound” of Weyl Fermions
Author(s): Binghai Yan
A prediction of a new heat-transport mechanism—called chiral zero sound—may explain recent observations of a “giant” thermal conductivity in Weyl semimetals.
[Physics 12, 67] Published Mon Jun 17, 2019
How to make the perfect crêpe according to fluid dynamics
It’s hard to make crêpe batter spread evenly before it cooks, but an analysis of the physics involved says a tilt and swirl of the pan gives the perfect pancake
Author(s): Michael Schirber
X-ray imaging of a manufacturing technique has captured the formation of molten metal projectiles that produce imperfections.
[Physics 12, 66] Published Fri Jun 14, 2019
Synopsis: Mirror, Mirror—Which Coating is the Quietest of Them All
Gravitational-wave detectors may benefit from an alternative coating material that is less noisy at low temperatures than currently used materials.
[Physics] Published Thu Jun 13, 2019
How Star Trek’s warp drives touch on one of physics' biggest mysteries
Star Trek’s light speed engines may not be possible in our universe, but we are learning more about the particles that fuel them, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Dark matter may have physicists stumped, but Science Gallery London has found clever ways to explore the elusive matter filling our universe
A light “corkscrew” is sensitive to the local magnetic field direction, so it can be used to probe magnetism in a material.
[Physics] Published Wed Jun 12, 2019
Synopsis: Making the Perfect Crêpe
Cooking a flat, hole-free crêpe—a thin pancake popular in France and other European countries—is all in how you roll your wrist, according to predictions from a new model.
[Physics] Published Tue Jun 11, 2019
Bizarre pentaquark turns out to be a new kind of subatomic 'molecule'
The pentaquark, an elusive particle first spotted by the Large Hadron Collider in 2015, is made of two smaller particles stuck together in a sort of miniature molecule
New experiments are revealing hints of a world and a reality that are complete reflections of ours. This mirrorverse may be able to solve the mystery of the universe's missing dark matter
Quantum leaps are generally assumed to be instantaneous, but researchers have figured out how to intercept them midway, which may be useful in quantum computing
Physicist Asimina Arvanitaki thinks big: enormous particles and a gigantic, dark-matter beacon – and knows how we might find them
New device could boost telecommunications and be adapted for photonics
Revamped accelerator will soon be smashing electrons and positrons together
New material is made by compressing treated wood
Technique could be used to create quantum-information systems
Breakthrough could lead to new type of energy source
Ising model could account for nut production of pistachio orchards
Agency will now require every grantee organization to report cases of sexual harassment