183 articles from THURSDAY 2.12.2021

Using Raman spectroscopy and computational techniques to study interfacial water on Pd single-crystal surfaces

A team of researchers affiliated with a number of institutions in China and one in the U.K. has used Raman spectroscopy and computational techniques to study the interfacial water on Pd single-crystal surfaces. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their study of the dynamics and structure of water at the solid-liquid interface and what they learned from it. Matthias...

Some polycrystal grain boundaries feel the heat more than others

Polycrystals are solid materials that are made up of lots of small crystals. The points where the crystals meet are known as grain boundaries (GBs). GBs are important because they can affect the way the solid behaves. However, conventional analysis techniques are unable to measure the nanoscale detail at GBs. Now, researchers from The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science have used...

How digital and molecular data can be integrated and used to improve health

Analysing molecular characteristics and their variation during lifestyle changes, by combining digital tools, classical laboratory tests and new biomolecular measurements, could enable individualised prevention of disease. The researchers show what a proactive healthcare model could comprise and how it could help in maintaining good health.

Some polycrystal grain boundaries feel the heat more than others

Researchers have used electron energy loss spectroscopy to directly measure the coefficient of thermal expansion at grain boundaries in the polycrystalline material SrTiO3. The researchers identified differences in the coefficient of expansion depending on the grain boundary. In addition to revealing the thermal properties of SrTiO3, the findings demonstrate the potential of EELS for probing...

Perceiving sound-letter associations in English can help people learn to read it better

Learning to read in English is not just about using context (e.g., pictures) to guess the meaning of the words on the page but also about being aware of the sounds in words and their use. This ability, called "phonological awareness" (PA), is the foundation of learning how to read in an alphabetic language like English. Traditionally, L2 (second and foreign language) reading has not focused on...

Septic system waste pervasive throughout Florida's Indian River lagoon

For more than a decade, fertilizer leaching and associated stormwater runoff were thought to be the major drivers of harmful algal blooms in Florida's Indian River Lagoon. Despite the numerous residential fertilizer ordinances passed since 2011, water quality, harmful algal blooms, and seagrass loss, which has resulted in mass deaths of the threatened Florida manatee, have continued to worsen.

Novel quantum device design promises a regular flow of entangled electrons on demand

Quantum computer and many other quantum technologies rely on the generation of quantum-entangled pairs of electrons. However, the systems developed so far typically produce a noisy and random flow of entangled electrons, which hinders synchronized operations on the entangled particles. Now, researchers from Aalto University in Finland propose a way to produce a regular flow of spin-entangled...

The shortest-period gas-giant exoplanet discovered with TESS

Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international group of astronomers has detected a new, ultra-hot gas giant exoplanet with an extremely short orbital period. The newfound alien world, designated TOI-2109b is about five times more massive than Jupiter and turns out to be the shortest-period gas giant known to date. The finding is reported in a paper published November...

Two versions of a Curiosity selfie: narrow and wide

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this 360-degree selfie using the Mars Hand Lens Imager, or MAHLI, at the end of its robotic arm. The selfie comprises 81 individual images taken on Nov. 20, 2021—the 3,303rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

A one-way phone call from Mars

This November, ESA's Mars Express spacecraft carried out a series of experimental communication tests with the Chinese (CNSA) Zhurong Mars rover. Mars Express successfully caught data sent up 'in the blind' by the rover and relayed them to Earth where they were forwarded to the Zhurong team in China.

Tracking contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear accident

In a paper published in the National Science Review, a team from Tsinghua University analyzed the diffusion process of the treated Fukushima accident contaminated water to be discharged into the Pacific Ocean from 2023. Results show that the tritium, the main pollutant in the radioactive water, will spread to the whole North Pacific in 1200 days, which is important to formulate global coping...

A dinosaur trove in Italy rewrites the history, geography and evolution of the ancient Mediterranean area

Italy is not exactly renowned for dinosaurs. In comparison to its excellent artistic and archaeological heritage, dinosaur fossils are very rare. Not surprisingly, the discovery of the first isolated dinosaurs in the early 1990s generated excitement, but are now considered nothing more than an exception to a general rule. During the reign of dinosaurs, between 230 and 66 million years ago, the...

New evidence hints at volcanic activity within Venuses' Idunn Mons

An international team of researchers has found evidence that suggests possible volcanic activity involving Venuses' Idunn Mons. In their paper published in The Planetary Science Journal, the group describes the evidence they found, but also note that their theories cannot be confirmed until new spacecraft are sent to Venus.