New machine to probe the ultrafast motion of matter

Researchers have established a novel high-frequency laser facility at the University of Tokyo. The coherent extreme ultraviolet light source can reveal details of biological or physical samples with unprecedented clarity. ...

Caught in the act: Images capture molecular motions in real time

Researchers have used ultra-high-speed X-ray pulses to make a high-resolution "movie" of a molecule undergoing structural motions. The research, published in Nature Chemistry, reveals the dynamics of the processes in unprecedented ...

How ice particles promote the formation of radicals

The production of chlorofluorocarbons, which damage the ozone layer, has been banned as far as possible. However, other substances can also tear holes in the ozone layer in combination with ice particles, such as those found ...

Nanodiamonds as photocatalysts

Climate change is in full swing and will continue unabated as long as CO2 emissions continue. One possible solution is to return CO2 to the energy cycle: CO2 could be processed with water into methanol, a fuel that can be ...

Research zooms in on enzyme that repairs DNA damage from UV rays

A research team at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is using the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) to study an enzyme found in plants, bacteria and some animals that repairs DNA damage caused ...

Base-pairing protects DNA from UV damage

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich researchers have discovered a further function of the base-pairing that holds the two strands of the DNA double helix together: it plays a crucial role in protecting the DNA from the ...

Could alien life cope with a hotter, brighter star?

The stars in the night sky shine in myriad hues and brightnesses—piercing blues, clean whites, smoldering crimsons. Every star has a different mass, the basic characteristic that determines its size, lifespan, light output ...

Oil is more toxic than previously thought, study finds

Bad news for the Gulf of Mexico: a study released in late December sheds new light on the toxicity of oil in aquatic environments, and shows that environmental impact studies currently in use may be inadequate. The report ...

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