The eagerly awaited launch of ESA’s Envisat environmental monitoring satellite took place in Kourou, French Guiana, today at 22:07:59 hrs Kourou time (02:07:59 hrs CET). Envisat’s spectacular night-time launch also marked the return to business for Europe’s Ariane 5 launcher.
Lift-off was witnessed by dozens of cheering engineers, scientists and project members at the launch site and at ESA centres across Europe. Rising into a clear sky, the Ariane 5 propelled the Envisat towards a lofty v
Alcoholics, especially those who relapse after frequent attempts to “dry out”, are damaging areas of their brain that recognise emotions, a University of Sussex study suggests.
Research on people’s responses to photographs of different emotional facial expressions shows that heavy drinkers who had previously tried to kick the bottle are more likely than either non-alcoholics, or alcoholics who had not previously experienced withdrawal symptoms, to read fear and sadness in all emotional expre
Scientists at the University of Sussex have provided the key to resolving a 30-year-old controversy in evolutionary biology: what proportion of the differences between similar species came about as a result of natural selection, and how many are just the result of ‘random genetic drift’. In a paper in this week’s issue of Nature (28 February), Sussex biologists put the ratio at 45:55.
The DNA sequences of humans and chimpanzees differ by less than 2% but this adds up to about 350,000 amino a
A space probe carrying British-designed and operated instruments has helped scientists to understand the magnetosphere surrounding Jupiter better than ever before.
Its magnetosphere was observed to contract in response to shock waves generated at the Sun, the first time scientists have been able to clearly observe how changes in the solar wind affect the magnetosphere of this giant planet.
In addition an unexplained pulsating X-ray hot spot near Jupiter’s North pole has been obser
Researchers have developed a sophisticated way of measuring the print quality of paper. The work, published today in the Institute of Physics journal, Measurement Science and Technology, describes how Jari Palviainen and colleagues at the Universities of Joensuu and Oulu in Finland, use what is known as a diffractive optical element-based sensor to investigate how laser-light interacts with paper before and after laser printing with colour ink.
The physical properties of paper such as colou
A study carried out by researchers at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelonashows that protecting natural spaces does not prevent invasion by foreign vegetation species. Montserrat Vilà and Jordi Pujadas, researchers at the CREAF, have published the study, the first to quantify the relationship between species invasions and human activity on a regional scale, in Biological Conservation.
The introduction of foreign species is a global phenomenon which has negative effects on the conservation o
Although Mars is currently a cold, dry planet, geological evidence suggests that liquid water existed there around 3 to 4 billion years ago. Where there is water, there is usually…
A new paper unravels the mysteries of a bizarre physical state known as the pseudogap, which has close ties to the sought-after state called high-temperature superconductivity, in which electrical resistance…
Researchers from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands have been able to initiate a controlled movement in the very heart of an atom. They caused the atomic nucleus to…
5-formylcytosine activates genes in the embryonic development of vertebrates. The team of Professor Christof Niehrs at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, Germany, has discovered that a DNA…
Research led by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) has studied the migratory movement of groups of cells using light control. In processes such as embryonic development, wound healing…
Brigham researchers develop strategy to improve immunotherapy by helping T cells penetrate and kill tumor cells. Fighting cancer is exhausting for T cells. Hostile tumor microenvironments can drain their mitochondrial…
… that can harvest energy at room temperature. Researchers have succeeded in developing a framework for organic thermoelectric power generation from ambient temperature and without a temperature gradient. Researchers have…
The global use of lithium-ion batteries has doubled in just the past four years, generating alarming amounts of battery waste containing many hazardous substances. The need for effective recycling methods…
A new study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is providing new insights into how next-generation electronics, including memory components in computers, breakdown or degrade over…
… shape-shift into versatile robots. Scientists at MPI-IS have developed electrically driven robotic components, called HEXEL modules, which can snap together into high-speed reconfigurable robots. Magnets embedded along the outside…
The AQT quantum computer, featuring 20 qubits based on trapped-ion technology, is now operational at LRZ’s Quantum Integration Centre (QIC), making it the first of its kind in a computing…
The CHAI joint project aims to optimize corrosion management in ports and waterways. The federal state of Schleswig-Holstein is funding the CHAI research project with a total of 900,000 euros….