Chemists tie a knot using only 54 atoms

A trio of chemists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, working with a colleague from the University of Western Ontario, has tied the smallest knot ever, using just 54 atoms. In their ...

Team discovers thousands of new transformable knots

Knots are used in all sorts of ways, every day. They ensure safety both indoors and for outdoor activities such as boating or sailing, are used as surgical sutures, as decorations, and they can even be found at nanoscales ...

Information carrying could be improved through hopfions

The knot theory originates in Lord Kevin's model proposed in 1867 that atoms are made of vortex rings or knots. Although the hypothesis was proved incorrect, the knot theory has since then proliferated in both mathematics ...

Scientists develop topological barcodes for folded molecules

The team of Alireza Mashaghi at the Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research has found a way to determine and classify the shape of proteins. Their new theory defines the topology of proteins as a simple and precise barcode ...

A new mathematical model predicts a knot's stability

In sailing, rock climbing, construction, and any activity requiring the securing of ropes, certain knots are known to be stronger than others. Any seasoned sailor knows, for instance, that one type of knot will secure a sheet ...

The periodic motion of flexible knots, and the connection to DNA

Can the topology of microobjects influence the way they move in a fluid? Experiments and simulations of Polish and Swiss researchers published in the Physical Review Letters show that the dynamics of elastic chains settling ...

Sorting complicated knots

From bow ties and shoelaces to sailing boats and climbing ropes, knots are not only very useful for our daily lives, but for mathematics too. IBS researchers from the Center for Geometry and Physics, within the Institute ...

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