196 articles from THURSDAY 25.8.2022

Scientists take control of magnetism at the microscopic level

Atoms in magnetic materials are organized into regions called magnetic domains. Within each domain, the electrons have the same magnetic orientation. This means their spins point in the same direction. "Walls" separate the magnetic domains. One type of wall has spin rotations that are left- or right-handed, known as having chirality. When subjected to a magnetic field, chiral domain walls approach...

Novel coronaviruses are riskiest for spillover

In the past decade, scientists have described hundreds of novel viruses with the potential to pass between wildlife and humans. But how can they know which are riskiest for spillover and therefore which to prioritize for further surveillance in people?

Plants reprogram their cells to fight invaders: Here's how

When a plant senses a microbial invasion, it makes radical changes in the chemical soup of proteins -- the workhorse molecules of life -- inside its cells. A new study reveals the key components in plant cells that reprogram their protein-making machinery to fight disease.

First underground radar images from Mars Perseverance Rover reveal some surprises

NASA's Perseverance landed on Mars in February 2021 and has been gathering data on the planet's geology and climate and searching for signs of ancient life. The rover's subsurface radar experiment has returned images showing unexpected variations in rock layers beneath the Jezero crater. The variations could indicate past lava flows or possibly a river delta even older than the one currently being...

A 'light trap' was developed in which a beam of light prevents itself from escaping

A surprising trick that allows a beam of light to be completely absorbed even in the thinnest of layers: Using mirrors and lenses, a 'light trap' can be constructed, in which the light beam is steered in a circle and then superimposed on itself -- exactly in such a way that the beam of light blocks itself and can no longer leave the system. Thus, the light has no choice but to be absorbed by the...

Perseverance rover retrieves key rocky clues to Mars' geologic and water history

One main goal of NASA's Mars 2020 mission is to determine when conditions on the planet were conducive to the formation of liquid water. Hence the target Jezero crater, seemingly a lakebed with a delta potentially formed by an inflowing river. The Perseverance rover collected samples from sites on the crater floor and identified igneous rocks that, once dated on Earth, will provide a timeline for...

What makes the human brain different? Study reveals clues

What makes the human brain distinct from that of all other animals -- including even our closest primate relatives? In an analysis of cell types in the prefrontal cortex of four primate species, researchers identified species-specific -- particularly human-specific -- features, they report.