A billion comets may have played role in Pluto’s formation A vast number of comets may have been involved in the formation of Pluto, according to researchers studying the dwarf planet’s Sputnik Planitia glacier plus data from New Horizons and the spacecraft that studied Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. “We found an intriguing consistency between the estimated amount […]
The scattering of conduction electrons in metals owing to impurities with magnetic moments is known as the Kondo effect, after Jun Kondo, who analysed the phenomenon in 1964. This scattering increases the electrical resistance and has the consequence that, in contrast to ordinary metals, the resistance reaches a minimum as the temperature is lowered and […]
Let me leave aside for a moment our talk about scientists and papers, and bring up a topic that, at first sight, might seem totally unconnected: Ronald Coase’s economic theory about the firm and the allocation of property rights. As in the case of the problem we mentioned in our last entry (why scientists share […]
The haploid human genome contains approximately 3,000,000,000 base pairs of DNA packaged into 23 chromosomes. Most cells in the body, except for eggs and sperm, are diploid, with 23 pairs of chromosomes. That makes a total of 6,000,000,000 base pairs of DNA per cell that, if they were to be put in a straight line […]
Crops could get nutrient boost from nanoparticles Nanoparticles typically used to treat cancer in humans could be used to deliver nutrients to malnourished plants. Crops are better able to absorb fertilizing nutrients delivered by liposomes than from traditional nutrient spray. Science News Tiny robot uses laser power to fly A tiny flying robot called RoboFly […]
Biomedicine • Chemistry • Condensed matter • DIPC Photochemistry
Metal complexes are typically regarded as catalysts that convert organic substrates into more valuable compounds; however, to date, catalytic transformations of metal complexes are practically unknown and represent a complete new way of thinking in catalysis. Their development can expand the scope of bioorthogonal chemical reactions to inorganic substances and metal-based prodrugs, fostering the creation […]
Conspicuous consumption can be broadly defined as the type of consumption that does not satisfy a direct need or want, but rather, a desire to be regarded as someone that occupies a higher position in a hierarchy. For example, I buy a Picasso not because I particularly like the painting, but because, hanging on a […]
The allocation of merit to individual scientists is one of the crucial aspects of how scientific systems work. Publication of ‘papers’ in important journals, and, still most significantly, citation of those papers in the works of colleagues, is perhaps (with all its shortcomings ) the most determinant mechanism for recognising the value and capacity of […]
Astronomers chart 3D map of gas cloud, revealing its flat shape The shape of a gas cloud in the Musca constellation has been mapped in 3D, giving astronomers an idea about why it has failed to produce stars. The 3D map shows the cloud is a thin, flat square, with the gas spread out more […]
Progress in nanotechnology has allowed controlling the morphology of metallic nanoparticles at the nanometer and even subnanometer scale, triggering the development of various applications in plasmonics and nanooptics, such as in enhanced vibrational spectroscopy, improvement of energy absorption of solar cells, optoelectronic circuits, quantum optics, nanosensing of biomolecules, or noninvasive thermotherapy in medicine. Most of […]