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Published

Investigating the origins of the crab nebula      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of scientists used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to parse the composition of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Reduction of esters by a novel photocatalyst      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A ubiquitous compound, called ester can be broken down to produce desirable alcohols and other chemicals for use across industries including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, but the process can be costly, both financially and in terms of the environment. Researchers developed a novel photocatalyst 'N-BAP.' When irradiated with blue light, the photocatalyst reduces esters in the presence of oxalate, a negatively charged molecule found widely in nature, resulting in the desired alcohols.

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Published

High-precision measurements challenge our understanding of Cepheids      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have clocked the speed of Cepheid stars -- 'standard candles' that help us measure the size of the universe -- with unprecedented precision, offering exciting new insights about them.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

A liquid crystal source of photon pairs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC), as a source of entangled photons, is of great interest for quantum physics and quantum technology, but so far it could be only implemented in solids. Researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, SPDC in a liquid crystal. The results open a path to a new generation of quantum sources: efficient and electric-field tunable.

Energy: Nuclear Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Pair plasmas found in deep space can now be generated in the lab      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have experimentally generated high-density relativistic electron-positron pair-plasma beams by producing two to three orders of magnitude more pairs than previously reported.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Scientists preserve DNA in an amber-like polymer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With their 'T-REX' method, researchers developed a glassy, amber-like polymer that can be used for long-term storage of DNA, such as entire human genomes or digital files such as photos.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Watery planets orbiting dead stars may be good candidates for studying life -- if they can survive long enough      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The small footprint and dim light of white dwarfs, remnants of stars that have burned through their fuel, may make excellent backdrops for studying planets with enough water to harbor life. The trick is spotting the shadow of a planet against a former star that has withered to a fraction of its size and finding that it's a planet that has kept its water oceans for billions of years even after riding out the star's explosive and violent final throes. A new study of the dynamics of white dwarf systems suggests that, in theory, some watery planets may indeed thread the celestial needles necessary to await discovery and closer scrutiny.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Mysterious mini-Neptunes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

This study discovered mini-Neptunes around four red dwarfs using observations from a global network of ground-based telescopes and the TESS space telescope. These four mini-Neptunes are close to their parent stars, and the three of them are likely to be in eccentric orbits.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Batteries Energy: Fossil Fuels Energy: Technology
Published

A 'liquid battery' advance      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team aims to improve options for renewable energy storage through work on an emerging technology -- liquids for hydrogen storage.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Uncovering the nature of emergent magnetic monopoles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To understand the unique physical phenomena associated with the properties of magnetic hedgehogs and antihedgehogs, which behave as virtual magnetic monopoles and antimonopoles respectively, it is essential to study their intrinsic excitations. In a new study, researchers revealed the dynamical nature of collective excitation modes in hedgehog lattices in itinerant chiral magnets. Their findings serve as the foundation for studying the dynamics of emergent magnetic monopoles in magnets.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Wind from black holes may influence development of surrounding galaxies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Clouds of gas in a distant galaxy are being pushed faster and faster -- at more than 10,000 miles per second -- out among neighboring stars by blasts of radiation from the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center. It's a discovery that helps illuminate the way active black holes can continuously shape their galaxies by spurring on or snuffing out the development of new stars.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

How do supermassive black holes get super massive?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By combining forefront X-ray observations with state-of-the-art supercomputer simulations of the buildup of galaxies over cosmic history, researchers have provided the best modeling to date of the growth of the supermassive black holes found in the centers of galaxies.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

3D-printed mini-actuators can move small soft robots, lock them into new shapes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have demonstrated miniature soft hydraulic actuators that can be used to control the deformation and motion of soft robots that are less than a millimeter thick. The researchers have also demonstrated that this technique works with shape memory materials, allowing users to repeatedly lock the soft robots into a desired shape and return to the original shape as needed.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Scientists spot more Milky Way-like galaxies in early universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists are peering into the past and uncovering new clues about the early universe. Since light takes a long time to travel through space, they are now able to see how galaxies looked billions of years ago. The astronomers have discovered that spiral galaxies were more common in the early universe than previously thought. The scientists found that nearly 30% of galaxies have a spiral structure about 2 billion years after the universe formed. The discovery provides a significant update to the universe's origin story as previously told using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Physics: General
Published

Semiconductor doping and electronic devices: Heating gallium nitride and magnesium forms superlattice      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study revealed that a simple thermal reaction of gallium nitride with metallic magnesium results in the formation of a distinctive superlattice structure. This represents the first time researchers have identified the insertion of 2D metal layers into a bulk semiconductor. By carefully observing materials through various cutting-edge characterization techniques, the researchers uncovered new insights into the process of semiconductor doping and elastic strain engineering.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

How did a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way come to be?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Crater 2, located approximately 380,000 light years from Earth, is one of the largest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. Extremely cold and with slow-moving stars, Crater 2 has low surface brightness. How this galaxy originated remains unclear. A team of physicists now offers an explanation.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Batteries
Published

Looking for a new battery platform? Focus on the essentials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In facing life's many challenges, we often opt for complex approaches to finding solutions. Yet, upon closer examination, the answers are often simpler than we expect, rooted in the core "essence" of the issue. This approach was demonstrated by a research team in their publication on addressing the inherent issues of solid-state batteries.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Lone Star State: Tracking a low-mass star as it speeds across the Milky Way      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have discovered a rare hypervelocity L subdwarf star racing through the Milky Way. More remarkably, this star may be on a trajectory that causes it to leave the Milky Way altogether.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: Optics Space: General
Published

Researchers engineer new approach for controlling thermal emission      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If a material absorbs light, it will heat up. That heat must go somewhere, and the ability to control where and how much heat is emitted can protect or even hide such devices as satellites. An international team of researchers has published a novel method for controlling this thermal emission in Science.