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Yearly Archives: 2019
Imaging the chemical structure of individual molecules, atom by atom
For physicist Percy Zahl, optimizing and preparing a noncontact atomic force microscope (nc-AFM) to directly visualize the chemical structure of a single molecule is...
Molecular sensor scouts DNA damage and supervises repair
In the time it takes you to read this sentence, every cell in your body suffers some form of DNA damage. Without vigilant repair,...
Astronomers decode Milky Way’s violent birth
The Milky Way gobbled up a galaxy one quarter of its mass 10 billion years ago in a "violent collision" that didn't fully settle...
Scientists discover new chemistry that may help explain the origins of cellular life
Before life began on Earth, the environment likely contained a massive number of chemicals that reacted with each other more or less randomly, and...
Physicists create record-setting quantum motion
Showcasing precise control at the quantum level, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a method for making an...
Astronomers make first calculations of magnetic activity in ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanets
Gas-giant planets orbiting close to other stars have powerful magnetic fields, many times stronger than our own Jupiter, according to a new study by...
Parasitic plants use stolen genes to make them better parasites
Some parasitic plants steal genetic material from their host plants and use the stolen genes to more effectively siphon off the host's nutrients. A...
Animals’ body sizes shrinking from climate change, study finds
University of Cape Town (UCT) researchers have collected clear evidence—over a 23 year period between 1976 and 1999—that climate change is shrinking animals' body...
White police officers are not more likely to shoot minorities
Reports of racially motivated, fatal shootings by police officers have garnered extensive public attention and sparked activism across the nation. New research from Michigan...
Astronomers map vast void in our cosmic neighborhood
An astronomer from the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy (IfA) and an international team published a new study that reveals more of the...
Gaia starts mapping the galactic bar in the Milky Way
The second release of data from the Gaia star-mapping satellite, published in 2018, has been revolutionising many fields of astronomy. The unprecedented catalogue contains...
