CERN is launching the Science Gateway, a new scientific education and outreach center targeting the general public of all ages. The building will be designed by world-renowned architects Renzo Piano Building Workshop. The project will be funded through external donations, with the leading contribution coming from FCA Foundation, a charitable foundation created by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Month: April 2019
Saint-Gobain Seals Releases Special Technical White Paper Exploring Critical Factors of Seal Selection in Cryogenic Space Applications
Saint-Gobain Seals has released a special technical white paper for engineers and manufacturers in the space industry titled “Sealing Solutions in Critical Cryogenic Applications: Going Beyond Leakage Rate,” describing key as well as overlooked factors related to seal selection for core systems in extreme environments such as cryogenic fuel tanks and feedlines.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell-powered Drone Sets New Flight Time Record
A new Guinness World Record for the longest multi-rotor flight time was achieved by South Korean company MetaVista (CSA CSM) using Intelligent Energy’s 800W fuel cell power. The quadcopter drone flew for 12 hours, 7 minutes and 5 seconds using liquid hydrogen to fuel the module.
Yale Experiment Features Quantum Physics in a Liquid
For the first time, Yale physicists using liquid helium directly observed quantum behavior within the vibrations of a liquid body. A great deal of ongoing research is currently devoted to discovering and exploiting quantum effects in the motion of macroscopic objects made of solids and gases, so this new experiment opens a potentially rich area of further study into the way quantum principles work on liquid bodies.
DOE Announces Graduate Student STEM Awards
The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program announced 70 awards to be distributed to students at 52 universities in the US that focus on doctoral degrees in physical sciences. The aim of the awards program is to prepare graduate students for science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) careers by providing graduate research opportunities at twelve DOE laboratories.
Russian Physicists Obtain Data on Particle Self-organization in Ultracold Dusty Plasma
Physicists in Russia recently investigated the behavior of particles in dusty plasma at a temperature below 2 K, an experiment that revealed nanoclusters forming in the plasma and the synthesis of polymer fibers taking place at extremely low temperatures. According to the team, such results can be used to create new materials with desired and controlled properties.
Electron Camera at SLAC Films High-speed Molecular Movie
Researchers using an extremely fast electron camera at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have made the first high-definition “movie” of ring-shaped molecules breaking open in response to light.
Cryo-EM Reveals Crucial Electrical Switch in Brain
Scientists using cryo-EM have revealed the structure of a critical receptor (AMPA) in the brain associated with learning, memory, behavior and mood. The research was also the first to reveal the structure of AMPA receptors in a natural state, a discovery that could lead to new insight about the mechanism behind a wide range of nervous system disorders and diseases.
Researchers Discover Water that Never Freezes
Can water reach -263°C without turning into ice? The answer is yes, according to a group of physicists and chemists from ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich who identified an unusual way to not only prevent water from forming ice crystals while at extreme sub-zero temperatures but to also retain the amorphous characteristics of a liquid.
Working Together as a “virtual telescope,” Observatories Around the World Produce First Direct Images of a Black Hole
MIT News reported on April 10 that an international team of over 200 astronomers had captured the first direct images of a black hole. They accomplished this remarkable feat by coordinating the power of nine major radio observatories on four continents, to work together as a virtual, Earth-sized telescope. In a series of papers published in a special issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters, the team revealed four images of the supermassive black hole at the heart of Messier 87, or M87, a galaxy within the Virgo galaxy cluster, 55 million light years from Earth.
Turning Patient Cells into Cancer Fighters
Cancer therapy could soon include a personalized cancer treatment based on engineered immune cells derived from a patient's individual cells. The approach involves attaching proteins to these cells, receptors that target antigens present in cancer cells to then enable a patient’s immune system to seek out and destroy tumors.
Cold Atoms Act as Distant Messengers
Particles can interact directly by repelling or attracting each other, but how do particles interact when far apart? Scientists at the University of Chicago have discovered that atoms can actually exchange information using intermediary particles. Such research represents the first time this particular phenomenon has been observed in a cold atom system, where atoms are maintained at temperatures close to absolute zero to reveal associated quantum mechanical properties.
Cryo-EM Helps Decipher 3D Structure for Cancer Treatment
A research team from Columbia University and Nimbus Therapeutics has successfully determined the 3D structure of human ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY), a metabolic enzyme that plays a key role in cancer cell proliferation and other cellular processes.
Cryogenic Technique Reveals Fraudulent Food and Drugs
Engineers from the University of California, Riverside have developed "chronoprinting," a new technique that can detect fake drugs and food using videos recorded while samples undergo alterations. The technology requires only a few relatively inexpensive pieces of equipment, free software to accurately distinguish pure from inferior food or medicine and liquid nitrogen or related materials to create the disturbance.