In certain materials, when we apply an electric field (it could be that of light) that vibrates at a certain frequency, it can create a direct current, a steady flow of electrical charge. This current is special because its strength depends on the square of the electric field’s strength. This phenomenon is called “shift current.” […]
Odi et amo. I hate and I love. Maybe you’re wondering why I do that. I do not know. But I feel it happening, and I suffer. So Catullus, famous ancient Roman poet, described the painful and puzzling feeling of love’s contradiction. And if you have ever experienced heartbreak, it’s very likely that you understand […]
Numerous proteins in the cell withstand mechanical loads while performing their function. This is especially significant for cell-surface proteins located in the extracellular matrix, which are essential for the communication between cells in the extracellular milieu. Reacting to mechanical force through conformational changes is crucial for these cell-surface proteins, translating a physical signal into an […]
Authors: Albert HiuKa Fok, Postdoctoral Fellow in Neuroscience, McGill University and Sabrina Chierzi, Research Associate, Neuroscience, McGill University Astrocytes — named for their star-like shape — are a type of brain cell as abundant as neurons in the central nervous system, but little is known about their role in brain health and disease. Many neurological […]
Scientists believe individuals of the most recently discovered hominin group (the Denisovans) that interbred with modern day humans passed on some of their genes via multiple, distinct interbreeding events that helped shape early human history. In 2010, the first draft of the Neanderthal genome was published, and comparisons with modern human genomes revealed that Neanderthal […]
When you think about DNA, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the double helix model published by Watson and Crick. However, in the 90s scientists identified a particular conformation in DNA molecules in vitro (in a tube): single chain knot-like loops that they called i-motifs. These structures form because, instead of the […]
The term FGK star designates a star the spectrum of which makes it either an F-type star (yellow-white, a bit hotter than then Sun ), a G-type star (yellow, similar to the Sun), or a K-type star (orange, a bit cooler than the Sun). FGK stars come in a variety of sizes but segregating them […]
Authors: Sven Vanneste, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin and Elva Arulchelvan, Lecturer in Psychology and PhD Researcher in Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin Forgetting is part of our daily lives. You may walk into a room only to forget why you went in there – or perhaps someone says hi on the […]
Supermassive black holes exist at the centre of most galaxies, and modern telescopes continue to observe them at surprisingly early times in the universe’s evolution. It’s difficult to understand how these black holes were able to grow so big so rapidly. But with the discovery of a low-mass supermassive black hole feasting on material at […]
Author: Richard Massey, Professor of extragalactic astrophysics (dark matter and cosmology), Durham University In recent decades, we’ve learnt huge amounts about the universe and its history. The rapidly developing technology of telescopes – both on Earth and in space – has been a key part of this process, and those that are due to start […]