From the burning of wood to the action of medicines, the properties and behavior of matter are governed by the way chemical elements bond with one another. For many of the 118 known elements, the intricate electronic structures of the atoms that are responsible for chemical bonding are well understood. But for the superheavy elements […]
Authors: Roger S. Seymour, Professor Emeritus of Physiology, University of Adelaide and Edward Snelling, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria If you’ve ever wondered why the giraffe has such a long neck, the answer seems clear: it lets them reach succulent leaves atop tall acacia trees in Africa. Only giraffes have direct access to […]
DIPC Advanced materials • DIPC Electronic Properties • Materials
Picture this: Your home’s walls don’t just keep out the rain—they soak up warmth from the sun during the day, slowly release it to keep you cosy at night, and even convert some of that heat into a trickle of electricity to power your lights or charge your phone. This isn’t science fiction; it’s the […]
Author: Rohini Subrahmanyam is a PhD biologist turned science journalist. Insects that tuck away wings; a protist with an accordion-like neck — studying these clever creases may inspire foldable structures for drones As the microscopic, tear-shaped Lacrymaria olor swims around hunting for food, it does something remarkable: In a blink, the tiny protist extends its […]
Non-destructive testing allows engineers to evaluate the integrity of structures such as pipelines, tanks, bridges, and machinery without dismantling them. Conventional approaches rely on loudspeakers, lasers, or electric sparks. While effective, these systems can be difficult or dangerous to use in flammable or confined areas and require considerable power to function effectively. Now, a new […]
Author: Paul C. Sereno, Professor of Paleontology, University of Chicago Dinosaur “mummies” couldn’t have been further from my mind as I trudged up a grassy knoll on the Zerbst Ranch in east-central Wyoming, followed by University of Chicago undergraduates on a field trip linked to my “Dinosaur Science” course. As a university professor, I realized […]
If you’ve ever fallen down a Wikipedia rabbit hole—clicking link after link until you’re far from where you started—you’ve explored a network, much like physicists map connections in systems like the internet or ecosystems. Each Wikipedia article is a dot, each hyperlink a line connecting ideas. This vast web, built by millions of contributors, mirrors […]
Author: Florian Neukart, Assistant professor of Physics, Leiden University For more than a century, physics has been built on two great theories. Einstein’s general relativity explains gravity as the bending of space and time. Quantum mechanics governs the world of particles and fields. Both work brilliantly in their own domains. But put them together and […]
A rare North American bumble bee may have been on a path toward extinction long before modern human impacts, suggesting that its long-term genetic vulnerability made it especially fragile and less able to cope with both past and current environmental stresses. The study focused on the Franklin bumble bee, once found only in parts of […]
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(6;9)/DEK::NUP214 is recognized as a separate entity in the World Health Organization classification of myeloid neoplasms, accounting for 1% of all AML cases and characterized by a high relapse rate and young age at diagnosis . The t(6;9) chromosomal rearrangement results in the fusion of almost the entire peptide sequence […]