Blog

The transport routes of nutrients and messenger cargos can be compared to the traffic system of a city: A worldwide unique quantitative study of cell biologists of the University of Zurich shows that cells regulate the main routes, side routes and intersections by an intricate traffic control system, which guides the spatial and temporal distribution of substances within the cell.

(Phys.org) —Astronomers studying two classes of black-hole-powered galaxies monitored by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have found evidence that they represent different sides of the same cosmic coin. By unraveling how these objects, called blazars, are distributed throughout the universe, the scientists suggest that apparently distinctive properties defining each class more likely reflect a change in the way the galaxies extract energy from their central black holes.

During the past few decades, the field of biology has dramatically expanded, incorporating many diverse sub-disciplines and specialty areas such as microbiology and evolutionary biology. However, teaching biology to undergraduate students has not kept pace with the changes, and core biology curriculum varies widely from university to university, and classroom to classroom.

A coronal mass ejection, or CME, surged off the side of the sun on May 9, 2014, and NASA’s newest solar observatory caught it in extraordinary detail. This was the first CME observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS, which launched in June 2013 to peer into the lowest levels of the sun’s atmosphere with better resolution than ever before

Block copolymers (BCPs) are the most attractive alternative to date for the fabrication of well-defined complex periodic structures with length scales below 100 nm. Such small structures might be used in a wide range of technological applications but current available methods are very expensive, especially when those structures present length scales under 20 nm. 

Nanoscale magnetic swirls known as skyrmions can form in certain materials such as thin magnetic films. These tiny vortices pack into dense lattices that are more stable than conventional magnetic domains and can be transported and manipulated with minimal electrical power—features that hold great promise for future information storage applications

(Phys.org) —Fuel cells for decentralized energy production require oxygen ion conductors: materials that can store oxygen as ions, and then transport and release it. German researchers have now found an unusual compound that is the first metallic oxygen ion conductor of its kind, as well as the first one that is active at room temperature.

Viewers around the world preparing to watch the World Cup next month in Brazil are also to witness a special event where a paralyzed person, with the help of a robotic exoskeleton, will rise from a wheelchair, walk to the center of the field and kick a soccer ball. The mind-controlled exoskeleton is the work of an inspiring global collaboration among scientists, as part of the Walk Again Project.

Michael Lewis’s bestselling book “Flash Boys” describes how some brokers, engaging in high frequency trading, exploit fast telecommunications to gain fraction-of-a-second advantage in the buying and selling of stocks. But you don’t need to have billions of dollars riding on this-second securities transactions to appreciate the importance of fast signal processing

A new genetic study has revealed that populations of humpback whales in the oceans of the North Pacific, North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere are much more distinct from each other than previously thought, and should be recognised as separate subspecies. Understanding how connected these populations are has important implications for the recovery of these charismatic animals that were once devastated by hunting.