The single-stranded genetic material RNA is best known for guiding the assembly of proteins in our cells and carrying the genetic code for viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and HIV. But 40 years ago, scientists discovered another hidden ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Aug 12, 2021
0
143
Virtually all chemical and fuel production relies on catalysts, which accelerate chemical reactions without being consumed in the process. Most of these reactions take place in huge reactor vessels and may require high temperatures ...
Materials Science
Aug 5, 2021
0
2974
Machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence, vastly speeds up computational tasks and enables new technology in areas as broad as speech and image recognition, self-driving cars, stock market trading and medical diagnosis.
General Physics
Jul 29, 2021
0
727
More than 99% of the visible universe exists in a superheated state known as plasma—an ionized gas of electrons and ions. The motion of these charged particles produces magnetic fields that form an interstellar magnetic ...
General Physics
Jul 26, 2021
8
5772
Electronic circuits that compute and store information contain millions of tiny switches that control the flow of electric current. A deeper understanding of how these tiny switches work could help researchers push the frontiers ...
Optics & Photonics
Jul 15, 2021
0
1377
Ever since the 1986 discovery that copper oxide materials, or cuprates, could carry electrical current with no loss at unexpectedly high temperatures, scientists have been looking for other unconventional superconductors ...
Superconductivity
Jul 8, 2021
1
22
Wander around a desert most anywhere in the world, and eventually you'll notice dark-stained rocks, especially where the sun shines most brightly and water trickles down or dew gathers. In some spots, if you're lucky, you ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 2, 2021
1
409
Transitioning from fossil fuels to a clean hydrogen economy will require cheaper and more efficient ways to use renewable sources of electricity to break water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Nanophysics
May 6, 2021
2
1475
When light hits certain molecules, it dislodges electrons that then move from one location to another, creating areas of positive and negative charge. This "charge transfer" is highly important in many areas of chemistry, ...
General Physics
May 5, 2021
0
41
Although many organisms capture and respond to sunlight, enzymes—proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions—are rarely driven by light. Scientists have identified only three types of natural photoenzymes so far. The ...
Biochemistry
Apr 22, 2021
0
9
