Heavens
The first reports of seismic activity and ground vibrations on Mars are in. The red planet has a moderate level of seismic activity, intermediate between Earth and the Moon.
Astronomers from the University of Warwick have observed an exoplanet orbiting a star in just over 18 hours, the shortest orbital period ever observed for a planet of its type.
It means that a single year for this hot Jupiter - a gas giant similar in size and composition to Jupiter in our own solar system - passes in less than a day of Earth time.
The precursor of our planet, the proto-Earth, formed within a time span of approximately five million years, shows a new study from the Centre for Star and Planet Formation (StarPlan) at the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen.
On an astronomical scale, this is extremely fast, the researchers explain.
If you compare the solar system's estimated 4.6 billion years of existence with a 24-hour period, the new results indicate that the proto-Earth formed in what corresponds to about a minute and a half.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Reciprocity isn't always a good thing.
In physics, for example, it concerns electromagnetic and acoustic waves. The idea is that waves travel the same way backward as they do forward. Which is fine, except that waves encounter obstacles (skyscrapers, wind, people) that cause them to lose energy.
But what if you could break that rule and guide waves around those obstacles? Or have an object completely absorb the wave in a specific direction? Such functionalities could alter how electronic, photonic and acoustic devices are designed and used.
A new study led by the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Mānoa has helped refine understanding of the amount of hydrogen, helium and other elements present in violent outbursts from the Sun, and other types of solar "wind," a stream of ionized atoms ejected from the Sun.
A new technique may help scientists study the body's immune response to intestinal parasite infections one gut cell at a time, according to a study published today in eLife.
Intestinal parasites are a serious threat to both humans and livestock in large parts of Africa, South America and Asia. The findings, originally posted as a preprint on bioRxiv*, may help scientists understand how adult parasites evade the immune system and to test ways to boost the immune response to fight these infections.
Polymers are long molecules made from periodically connected molecular building blocks called monomers. Some polymers occur naturally in the shape of closed rings - for example as plasmids, cyclic DNA strands in bacteria, or for sufficiently long protein chains. Imagine immersing such objects into a solvent constrained between two parallel plates. We talk about shearing the system when we pull these plates in anti-parallel directions.
Boulder, Colo., USA: Recent seafloor drilling has revealed that the “hidden continent
” of Zealandia—a region of continental crust twice the size of India
submerged beneath the southwest Pacific Ocean—experienced dramatic
elevation changes between about 50 million and 35 million years ago. New
findings from this expedition, published today in Geology, propose
this topographic upheaval may have been due to a widespread reactivation of
Lithium batteries are found everywhere: They power smart phones, laptops, and electric bicycles and cars by storing energy in a very small space. This compact design is usually achieved by winding the thin sandwich of battery electrodes into a cylindrical form. This is because the electrodes must nevertheless have large surfaces to facilitate high capacity and rapid charging
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- When entrances to caves and mines -- essential roosting places for bats -- are blocked to prevent people from going inside, the gates often include a pipe to allow bats to access their roosts. However, many of the pipes have been constructed with corrugated rings for added strength.
Specialized stringy fluids flow through the human joints and help constitute substances such as mucus. These fluids contain long, flexible molecules like polymers or proteins, giving them the ability to stretch and absorb shock.
Typical examples include paralysis due to a spinal cord injury and visual field atrophy or even complete blindness due to optic nerve atrophy in glaucoma patients. Therefore, in-depth study of the basic biological processes that affect axon regeneration is particularly important for human health. Traditional research on axon regeneration has focused on the cytoskeleton, with a few studies exploring cell membranes.
Access to firearms and other lethal methods of suicide during periods of risk can make it more likely that a suicide attempt will end in death. Yet many patients with suicidal thoughts or behaviors receive no counseling about this from healthcare providers, and many have questions about options for firearm or medication storage.
Cigarette butts pile up in parks, beaches, streets and bus stops, places where all types of littering are frowned upon. Best estimates are that over five trillion butts are generated by smokers each year worldwide, and concern about their environmental impact has prompted studies of how they affect water and wildlife habitats. But despite their prevalence, almost no one has studied the airborne emissions coming off these tiny bits of trash.