Jun 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Scientists have detected what they believe to be a neutron star spinning at an unprecedentedly slow rate – slower than any of the more than 3,000 radio emitting neutron stars measured to date. Neutron stars - the ultra-dense remains of a dead star - typically...
New technique reveals how gene transcription is coordinated in cells
Jun 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) The human genome contains about 23,000 genes, but only a fraction of those genes are turned on inside a cell at any given time. The complex network of regulatory elements that controls gene expression includes regions of the genome called enhancers, which are often located...
‘Weird’ new planet retained atmosphere despite nearby star’s relentless radiation
Jun 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) A rare exoplanet that should have been stripped down to bare rock by its nearby host star’s intense radiation somehow grew a puffy atmosphere instead—the latest in a string of discoveries forcing scientists to rethink theories about how planets age and die in extreme environments....
Antimicrobial door handle covers using metal-organic frameworks prevent infections
Jun 05, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Hospitals and healthcare facilities have long battled the persistent threat of nosocomial infections, which are illnesses contracted by patients during their stay for unrelated treatments. These infections, particularly concerning for immunocompromised individuals, contribute significantly to patient mortality and pose a major public health challenge. Despite...
A new way of designing auxetic materials
Jun 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Imagine pulling on the long ends of a rectangular piece of rubber. It should become narrower and thinner. But what if, instead, it got wider and fatter? Now, push in on those same ends. What if the rubber became narrower and thinner? Such common-sense-defying materials...
Scientists warn that greener drug design is urgently needed to address environmental pollution
Jun 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) The widespread contamination of ecosystems with pharmaceuticals poses a serious and growing threat to biodiversity, ecosystem services, and public health. Urgent action is needed to design greener drugs that maintain efficacy while minimising environmental impact, according to an international study published in Nature Sustainability ("The...
Physicists create five-lane superhighway for electrons
Jun 05, 2024 (Nanowerk News) MIT physicists and colleagues have created a five-lane superhighway for electrons that could allow ultra-efficient electronics and more. The work, reported in Science ("Large quantum anomalous Hall effect in spin-orbit proximitized rhombohedral graphene"), is one of several important discoveries by the same team over the...