news 2022

A team from the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC, UV/CSIC) predicts that supernovae can be a source for determining the mass of neutrinos. This is explained by a theoretical study published in the journal Physical Review Letters. The experimental confirmation of the proposal is carried out within the framework of the international collaboration DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment), whose future detector will observe, for this work, neutrinos from supernova explosions.

The MICROSCOPE mission has confirmed the 'equivalence principle' with unprecedented accuracy, bolstering Einstein's general relativity. The result, announced this month by a team led by the French space agency CNES and including an Imperial College London researcher, is a triumph for Einstein's general relativity.

PhD candidate uses tools from quantum mechanics to help computers interpret ambiguous language. Words or sentences can often have multiple meanings. This is a concept that is hard to grasp for regular computers. PhD candidate Adriana Duarte Correia used quantum algorithms to make computers understand that a sentence like 'Look at the dog with one eye' can mean two different things at the same time.

A new design principle can now predict the properties of quantum materials that have hardly been explored so far. For the first time, a strongly correlated topological semimetal has been discovered using a computer. How do you find novel materials with very specific properties - for example, special electronic properties which are needed for quantum computers?

Scientists at EPFL have gotten bacteria to spontaneously take up fluorescent carbon nanotubes for the first time. The breakthrough unlocks new biotechnology applications for prokaryotes, such as near-infrared bacteria tracking and "living photovoltaics" - devices that generate energy using light-harvesting bacteria.

Superheavy element flerovium is a volatile metal An international research team has succeeded in gaining new insights into the chemical properties of the superheavy element flerovium - element 114 - at the accelerator facilities of the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt. The measurements show that flerovium is the most volatile metal in the periodic table.

Chemotherapy drugs can be lifesaving - but they don't work for all patients or for all cancers. That's why a team of researchers at the University of Toronto Mississauga is looking at new ways to use special types of light to target cancer cells resistant to current drug therapy - an approach that might be easier on some patients than traditional chemotherapy.

Refining current opacity models will be key to unearthing details of exoplanet properties - and signs of life - in data from the powerful new telescope. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is revealing the universe with spectacular, unprecedented clarity. The observatory's ultrasharp infrared vision has cut through the cosmic dust to illuminate some of the earliest structures in the universe, along with previously obscured stellar nurseries and spinning galaxies lying hundreds of millions of light years away.

Previously unknown oxidation state of rhodium(VII) could play a role in chemical reactions Mayara da Silva Santos , doctoral candidate at the University of Freiburg's Institute of Physics, has discovered a new oxidation state of rhodium. This chemical element is one of the most catalytically important platinum-group metals and is used, for example, in catalytic converters for automobiles.

For building quantum computers, making use of both electronics and photonics - technology that works with light - on one and the same chip, is promising. Thanks to silicon technology that we know well from today's electronic devices, quantum devices could be better protected from influences from the outside world.

Small details can yield big results. That is why sophomore Aramchan "Chamy" Lee and other researchers in Carnegie Mellon University's Zhao Biophotonics Lab are developing a set of protocols to enable the nanoscale visualization of the Candida albicans, a common human fungal pathogen, in fixed clinical tissues.

Research team investigates reactivity of single molecules under controlled conditions Researchers around the world are working to develop efficient materials to convert CO2 into usable chemical substances. This is especially important in light of global warming. A team from the University of Göttingen and the Ulsan National Institute for Science, South Korea, has found a promising approach: Catalytically active molecules are anchored to a surface that serves as a conductive electron supplier.

The James Webb telescope has delivered extraordinary new images of the Orion Nebula. Many stars are born in this nebula, hence these observations could yield information on the origins of our Solar system. The new images were obtained by a team headed by French and Canadian researchers. An international research team has released the first images of the Orion Nebula, the closest richly productive stellar nursery to our own solar system.

With the aid of physics and a minuscule magnet, researchers have discovered a new structure of telomeric DNA. Telomeres are sometimes seen as the key to living longer. They protect genes from damage but get a bit shorter each time a cell divides. If they become too short, the cell dies. The new discovery will help us understand ageing and disease.

The James Webb Telescope offers exceptional new images of the Orion Nebula. Many stars are born in this nebula, it could reveal information about the beginnings of our Solar System. These images were obtained by a team led by French and Canadian scientists. An international research team has just revealed the first images of the Orion Nebula, the richest and closest nursery of stars to the Solar System, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Research team investigates reactivity of single molecules under controlled microscopic conditions Researchers around the world are working to develop efficient materials to convert CO2 into usable chemical substances - work that is particularly pressing in view of global warming.

Fuel cells convert chemical reaction energy into electric power and heat. They are used, for example for the development of electric vehicles, in aviation and aeronautics or for sustainable energy supplies. During the conversion of energy, the catalytic reduction of oxygen plays an important role. Therefore, the development of efficient, inexpensive catalysts is extremely important.

Working on microscopic pipes only a millionth as wide as a single strand of human hair, Johns Hopkins researchers have engineered a way to ensure that these tiniest of pipes are safe from the tiniest of leaks. Leak-free piping, made with nanotubes that self-assemble, self-repair, and can connect themselves to different biostructures, is a significant step toward creating a nanotube network that one day might deliver specialized drugs, proteins, and molecules to targeted cells in the human body.

The new approach moves energy efficiently and could reduce energy losses converting light into electricity A relatively new kind of semiconductor, layered atop a mirror-like structure, can mimic the way that leaves move energy from the sun over relatively long distances before using it to fuel chemical reactions.

Researchers at Universität Hamburg and DESY have identified 3 substances that are promising for the development of anti-corona medication. All of the substances have already been used in medications, writes the team in its article in. The research team headed by Christian Betzel from Universität Hamburg and Dr. Alke Meents from DESY has conducted extensive screening of a large library of naturally occurring substances.