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What can Helium-3 (3He) being discharged from the Sun teach us about 3He creation and the Sun’s activity? This is what a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated 3He-rich solar energetic particles (SEPs) emitted by the Sun in late 2023. This study has the potential to help astronomers better understand how solar activity could contribute to the production of 3He, the latter of which remains one of the most desired substances due to its potential for nuclear fusion technology on Earth.

Two new studies have sparked fresh debate about a faraway planet with a weird atmosphere. One of the studies claims additional evidence for the presence of life on the planet K2-18 b, based on chemical clues. The other study argues that such clues can be produced on a lifeless world.

Sometimes an old telescope can still impress. That is certainly the case for Hubble, which is rapidly approaching the 35th anniversary of its launch. To celebrate, the telescope's operators are collaborating with ESA to release a series of stunning new photographs of some of the most iconic astronomical objects the telescope has observed. As of the time of writing, the latest one to be released is a spectacular new image of a favorite of millions of amateur astronomers - the Sombrero Galaxy.

Seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) which are fish, have an unusual reproductive system. The males get “pregnant”, meaning that they carry the eggs, which are deposited in the male’s pouch by the female and then fertilized there. (Note: this doesn’t mean that seahorse males are “females”, or that there are more than two sexes!)  We don’t really know why males gestate the eggs, but we do know that females produce eggs faster than males can gestate them. This means that, unlike most animals, females compete for the attention of males.  Here’s a birth; National Geographic says that 2,000 babies are being born. Wikipedia says that the babies can be as few as 5 or as many as 25.

That’s your biology of the day; and I am sorry that for the next few days I won’t be posting much.

 

An international team of physicists has made a significant observation of the BKT phase transition in a 2D dipolar gas of ultracold atoms. This groundbreaking work marks a major milestone in understanding how 2D superfluids behave with long-range and anisotropic dipolar interactions.

An international team has succeeded in producing new, efficient thermoelectric materials that could compete with state-of-the-art materials, offering greater stability and lower cost.

Conventional thinking holds that the metal site in single atom catalysts (SACs) has been a limiting factor to the continued improvement of the design and, therefore, the continued improvement of the capability of these SACs. More specifically, the lack of outside-the-box thinking when it comes to the crucial hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), a half-reaction resulting in the splitting of water, has contributed to a lack of advancement in this field. New research emphasizes the importance of pushing the limits of the metal site design in SACs to optimize the HER and addressing the poisoning effects of HO* and O* that might affect the reaction. All of these improvements could lead to an improved performance of the reaction, which can make sustainable energy storage or hydrogen production more available.

Clathrates are characterized by a complex cage structure that provides space for guest ions too. Now a team has investigated the suitability of clathrates as catalysts for electrolytic hydrogen production with impressive results: the clathrate sample was even more efficient and robust than currently used nickel-based catalysts. They also found a reason for this enhanced performance. Measurements at BESSY II showed that the clathrates undergo structural changes during the catalytic reaction: the three-dimensional cage structure decays into ultra-thin nanosheets that allow maximum contact with active catalytic centers.

A study has found a rare form of one-dimensional quantum magnetism in a metallic compound, offering evidence into a phase space that has remained, until now, largely theoretical. The study comes at a time of growing global interest in quantum materials that redefine the boundaries between magnetism, conductivity, and quantum coherence.

A study has found a rare form of one-dimensional quantum magnetism in a metallic compound, offering evidence into a phase space that has remained, until now, largely theoretical. The study comes at a time of growing global interest in quantum materials that redefine the boundaries between magnetism, conductivity, and quantum coherence.

Scientists have demonstrated a sort of holographic strip that splits a single laser beam into five bespoke beams that create an optical knot. The work shows that optical knots could be used as a reliable method to transmit encoded information or to measure turbulence in pockets of air.

Researchers have demonstrated a significant performance increase in cooling technology for high-power electronic devices. They designed novel capillary geometries that push the boundaries of thermal transfer efficiency. This study could play a crucial role in the development of next-generation technology.

Researchers have demonstrated a significant performance increase in cooling technology for high-power electronic devices. They designed novel capillary geometries that push the boundaries of thermal transfer efficiency. This study could play a crucial role in the development of next-generation technology.

Research from NASA's Curiosity rover has found evidence of a carbon cycle on ancient Mars.

Scientists have created the first neutron 'Airy beam,' which has unusual capabilities that ordinary neutron beams do not. The achievement could enhance neutron-based techniques for investigating the properties of materials that are difficult to explore by other means. For example, the beams can probe characteristics of molecules such as chirality, which is important in biotechnology, chemical manufacturing, quantum computing and other fields.

Scientists have created the first neutron 'Airy beam,' which has unusual capabilities that ordinary neutron beams do not. The achievement could enhance neutron-based techniques for investigating the properties of materials that are difficult to explore by other means. For example, the beams can probe characteristics of molecules such as chirality, which is important in biotechnology, chemical manufacturing, quantum computing and other fields.

Who knew that magnetic fields could be so useful?

Everything in the Universe spins. Galaxies, planets, stars, and black holes all rotate, even if just a bit. It comes from the fact that the clouds of scattered gas and dust of the cosmos are never perfectly symmetrical. But the Universe as a whole does not rotate. Some objects spin one way, some another, but add them all up, and the total rotation is zero. At least that's what we've thought. But a new study suggests that the Universe does rotate, and this rotation solves the big mystery of cosmology known as the Hubble tension.

The report of possible biosignatures on the exoplanet K2-18b is exciting, but we are a long way from establishing beyond doubt that there is life on such a distant world

When Roman Egypt came under attack from the Kushites in what is now Sudan, the Roman forces responded by destroying a Kushite city – or so we thought