6,373 articles from NOVEMBER 2020

The solar system follows the galactic standard—but it is a rare breed

Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, have investigated more than 1000 planetary systems orbiting stars in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and have discovered a series of connections between planetary orbits, number of planets, occurrence and the distance to their stars. It turns out that our own solar system in some ways is very rare, and in others very ordinary.

New study shows how methan breaks through icy barriers on the sea floor

Methane, the main component of natural gas, is the cleanest-burning of all the fossil fuels, but when emitted into the atmosphere it is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. By some estimates, seafloor methane contained in frozen formations along the continental margins may equal or exceed the total amount of coal, oil, and gas in all other reservoirs worldwide. Yet, the way...

Magnetic vortices come full circle

Magnets often harbor hidden beauty. Take a simple fridge magnet: Somewhat counterintuitively, it is 'sticky' on one side but not the other. The secret lies in the way the magnetisation is arranged in a well-defined pattern within the material. More intricate magnetization textures are at the heart of many modern technologies, such as hard disk drives. Now, an international team of scientists at...

Simulations open a new way to reverse cell aging

Research findings by a KAIST team provide insight into the complex mechanism of cellular senescence and present a potential therapeutic strategy for reducing age-related diseases associated with the accumulation of senescent cells.

Astronomical instrument hunts for ancient metal

Researchers created a new astronomical instrument that has successfully aided in estimating the abundance of metals in the early universe. The WINERED instrument allows for better observations of astronomical bodies like quasars in the early universe, billions of years ago. Researchers hope this deeper level of exploration could help answer questions about the origins not only of metals in the...

Researching on-chip erbium-doped lithium niobate microcavity lasers

As a complement to silicon-based photonic chips, lithium niobate thin film (LNOI) has become a research hotspot in the field of optoelectronic integration due to its outstanding nonlinear, electro-optic, acousto-optic, piezoelectric and other physical properties. On-chip integrated frequency multipliers, modulators, and filters based on lithium niobate thin films have been developed, but the...

While mainland America struggles with covid apps, tiny Guam has made them work

As covid-19 cases spiral out of control in the US, states are scrambling to fight the virus with an increasingly stretched arsenal. Many of them have the same weapons at their disposal: restrictions on public gatherings and enforcement of mask wearing, plus testing, tracing, and exposure notifications. But while many states struggle to get their systems to work together, Guam—a tiny US...

The wily octopus: King of flexibility

Octopuses have the most flexible appendages known in nature, according to a new study in Scientific Reports. In addition to being soft and strong, each of the animal's eight arms can bend, twist, elongate and shorten in many combinations to produce diverse movements. But to what extent can they do so, and is each arm equally capable? Researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) filmed 10...

Australian telescope maps new atlas of the universe in record speed

Scientists use powerful new instrument in outback WA to map three million galaxies in 300 hours, unlocking deepest secrets of the universe A powerful new telescope developed by Australian scientists has mapped three million galaxies in record speed, unlocking the universe’s deepest secrets.The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (Askap) broke records as it conducted its first survey of...

Researchers explore population size, density in rise of centralized power in antiquity

A group of researchers developed Power Theory, a model emphasizing the role of demography in political centralization, and applied it to the shift in power dynamics in prehistoric northern coastal societies in Peru. To test the theory, the team created a summed probability distribution (SPD) from 755 radiocarbon dates from 10,000-1,000 B.P. Researchers found a correlation between the tenets of...

Solar Superstorms of the Past Help NASA Scientists Understand Risks for Satellites

Portal origin URL: Solar Superstorms of the Past Help NASA Scientists Understand Risks for SatellitesPortal origin nid: 466575Published: Monday, November 30, 2020 - 15:49Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: NASA scientists investigated how extreme solar superstorms could endanger low-Earth orbit satellites.Portal image: A image colored in red shows a...

Experimental vaccine for deadly tickborne virus effective in cynomolgus macaques

An experimental vaccine developed in Europe to prevent infection by Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) has protected cynomolgus macaques in a new collaborative study from National Institutes of Health scientists. The animals received the DNA-based candidate vaccine through intramuscular injection immediately followed by electroporation—a process in development for human vaccines that...