Researchers at the Xiamen University in China and the University of Jyväskylä in Finland have characterized a series of stable 1.5 nm metal nanoclusters containing 44 metal atoms, stabilized by 30 organic thiol molecules on the surface. Two types of clusters were synthesized, containing either 44 silver atoms or an intermetallic cluster of 12 gold and 32 silver atoms. The work in the University of Jyväskylä is funded by the Academy of Finland.
Earth
According to the theory, small clusters of molecules in the atmosphere have difficulty growing large enough to act as "cloud condensation nuclei" on which water droplets can gather to make our familiar low-altitude clouds. The SKY2 experiment shows that the growth of clusters is much more vigorous, provided ionizing rays -- gamma rays in the experiment or cosmic rays in the atmosphere -- are present to work their chemical magic. Details of the experiment appear in the latest issue of Physics Letters A.
No one knows for sure, but it is not unlikely that the universe is constructed in a completely different way than the usual theories and models of today predict. The most widely used model today cannot explain everything in the universe, and therefore there is a need to explore the parts of nature which the model cannot explain. This research field is called new physics, and it turns our understanding of the universe upside down. New research now makes the search for new physics easier.
SAN FRANCISCO -- In 1909, an Iranian telegraph operator living in the remote desert town of Kerman noticed an unusual movement of the magnetic needle of his telegraph instrument. While other telegraph operators during the late 1800s and early 1900s noticed the phenomenon, the Iranian telegraph operator proposed an earthquake early warning system, as detailed in an article published today by the journal Seismological Research Letters (SRL).
Scientists have pushed back the boundaries of atom-based transport, creating a current by characterizing the many-body effects in the transport of the atoms along a periodic lattice. This work by Anton Ivanov and colleagues from the Institute for Theoretical Physics, at the University of Heidel-berg, Germany, adopted a new analytical approach before comparing it to approximate numerical simulations, and is reported in a paper recently published in EPJ B.
UPTON, NY - Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified a series of clues that particular arrangements of electrical charges known as "stripes" may play a role in superconductivity-the ability of some materials to carry electric current with no energy loss. But uncovering the detailed relationship between these stripe patterns and the appearance or disappearance of superconductivity is extremely difficult, particularly because the stripes that may accompany superconductivity are very likely moving, or fluctuating.
Researchers from the universities in Mainz, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Ulm have proposed a new platform for quantum simulation. In a theoretical paper recently published in Physical Review Letters, they show that a combined system of ultracold trapped ions and fermionic atoms could be used to emulate solid state physics. This system may outperform possibilities of existing platforms as a number of phenomena found in solid state systems are naturally included, such as the fermionic statistics of the electrons and the electron-sound wave interactions.
On August 28th the LEGATO project team held a successful workshop on rice ecosystem services and ecological engineering at the 6th Annual International Conference of the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) in Bali, Indonesia.
Lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (trade name: Elvanse) has been approved in Germany since March 2013 as part of a comprehensive treatment programme for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children aged 6 years and over when response to previous treatment with the drug methylphenidate was inadequate. No added benefit of the drug versus the appropriate comparator therapy could be established in the assessment of the drug manufacturer's dossier according to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG). The manufacturer did not present any relevant studies.
Shocks caused by climate and seasonal change could be used to aid recovery of some of the world's badly-degraded coral reefs, an international team of scientists has proposed.
A new report by Australian and Swedish marine scientists in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment suggests that it may be possible to restore living coral cover to a badly-degraded reef system – though not easy.
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – Omecamtiv mecarbil, a cardiac myosin-activator, did not achieve its primary efficacy endpoint in reducing dyspnoea (shortness of breath) in patients with acute heart failure, according to the results of the phase II ATOMIC-AHF (Acute Treatment with Omecamtiv Mecarbil to Increase Contractility in Acute Heart Failure) study.
Plasticity is a groundbreaking concept in the context of forests and climate change, and Thomas Wohlgemuth, leader of the Ecological Disturbance group within WSL, is convinced of its validity. The geobotanist heads up the organisational team for the international conference ClimTree 2013: "Climate Change: Tree Responses in Central European forests" to be held from 1-5 September 2013 in Zürich. No wonder, then, that forests' adaptability features prominently in the event's many lectures.
Although greenhouse gases and aerosols have very distinct properties, their effects on spatial patterns of rainfall change are surprisingly similar, according to new research from the University of Hawaii at Manoa's International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The study is published in the September 1 online issue of Nature Geoscience.
STANFORD, Calif. — A new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine could help pinpoint ways to counter the effects of the antibiotics-driven depletion of friendly, gut-dwelling bacteria.
A number of intestinal pathogens can cause problems after antibiotic administration, said Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology and the senior author of the study, to be published online Sept. 1 in Nature. Graduate students Katharine Ng and Jessica Ferreyra shared lead authorship.
It's convenient to correlate extreme climate and weather events to extreme forcings, but science does not work that way.
From May to July 2012, the Great Plains region of the western United States faced a powerful and unpredicted drought. Following 7 months of normal rainfall, the drought was one of the largest deviations from seasonal precipitation rates seen in the region since observations began in 1895.