Earth's atmosphere may be source of some lunar water

Hydrogen and oxygen ions escaping from Earth's upper atmosphere and combining on the moon could be one of the sources of the known lunar water and ice, according to new research by University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical ...

Helium ions reveal how viruses attack bacteria

An interdisciplinary research consortium from the Nanoscience Center at University of Jyvaskyla in Finland (group leaders Dr. Lotta-Riina Sundberg and Prof. Ilari Maasilta) has found that bacteria and viruses can be imaged ...

Nano-hillocks: Of mountains and craters

In the field of nanotechnology, electrically-charged particles are frequently used as tools for surface modification. Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the TU Vienna were at last able to reconcile ...

How ion bombardment reshapes metal surfaces

To modify a metal surface at the scale of atoms and molecules — for instance to refine the wiring in computer chips or the reflective silver in optical components — manufacturers shower it with ions. While the process ...