Metrologists are measurement artists who are very precise – in the case of the Boltzmann constant up to the sixth decimal place. Whoever is able to determine it very exactly will cause a small revolution in the field of worldwide temperature measurement: The temperature unit will then no longer be based - as hitherto - on a chemico-physical material property, i.e. the triple point of water, but on an unchangeable fundamental constant.
UPTON, NY — Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have discovered how an enzyme "knows" where to insert a double bond when desaturating plant fatty acids. Understanding the mechanism — which relies on a single amino acid far from the enzyme's active site — solves a 40-year mystery of how these enzymes exert such location-specific control.
A shipboard expedition off Norway, to determine how methane escapes from beneath the Arctic seabed, has discovered widespread pockets of the gas and numerous channels that allow it to reach the seafloor.
Methane is a powerful "greenhouse" gas and the research, carried out over the past week aboard the Royal Research Ship James Clark Ross, will improve understanding of its origins in this area, its routes to the sea floor and how the amount of gas escaping might increase as the ocean warms. This could have important implications for global climate change and ocean acidification.
A new paper explains weaknesses in our understanding of climate change and how we can fix them. These issues mean predictions vary wildly about how quickly temperatures will rise. This has serious implications for long term political and economic planning.
In biologically active enzyme substrate compounds, as can be found in medicines, water plays a more decisive role than has been imagined up to now. The surrounding water acts like an "adhesive", in order to keep the substrate at the right place on an enzyme. For this, the dynamism of the water is retarded. Scientists at the RUB under Prof. Dr. Martina Havenith (Physical Chemistry) in close cooperation with the group of Prof. Irit Sagi from the Israeli Weizmann Institute have been able to observe and prove the retardation of the water's dynamism "live" for the first time in close.
Once the engulfing — endocytosis — begins, there is no turning back. Within minutes, the cell senses it can't fully engulf the nanostructure and essentially dials 911. "At this stage, it's too late," Gao said. "It's in trouble and calls for help, triggering an immune response that can cause repeated inflammation."
BOULDER -- The planet's deep oceans at times may absorb enough heat to flatten the rate of global warming for periods of as long as a decade even in the midst of longer-term warming, according to a new analysis led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
MADISON, WI, SEPTEMBER 16, 2011 -- Durum wheat is a valuable cereal crop widely used for human consumption in the United States, Canada, and several European countries. Scab or Fusarium head blight is one of the crop's most serious diseases, reducing its grain yield and quality. Current durum cultivars don't have resistance to this widespread disease.
MADISON, WI, SEPTMEBER 12, 2011 -- Modifying soybean seed to increase phosphorus content can improve animal nutrition and reduce feed costs and nutrient pollution. However, further research is needed to commercialize this valuable technology. Knowledge of soybean and other crops such as maize suggest that reducing phytate, the principle storage form of phosphorus in plant tissue, in seeds reduces seed germination and emergence of seedlings in the field. In soybean, however, researchers debate whether this problem exists, and suggest that other factors may be the cause.
Just as a camera flash illuminates unseen objects hidden in darkness, a sequence of laser pulses can be used to study the elusive quantum behavior of a large "macroscopic" object. This method provides a novel tool of unprecedented performance for current experiments that push the boundaries of the quantum world to larger and larger scales. A collaboration of scientists led by researchers from the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ) at the University of Vienna report this new scheme in the forthcoming issue of PNAS.
Yang Wang is known for conducting complex research using highly sophisticated equipment. Yet the Florida State University geochemist also has spent days hiking through the remote outback of Tibet and camping in the foothills of the Himalayas — all in the name of scientific discovery.
Because of that unique mix of skills, Wang was chosen to take part in a team of researchers that uncovered the oldest prehistoric woolly rhino ever found. A paper describing the team's discovery was just published in Science. access to the full article requires a paid subscription.)
Washington, D.C.—Scientists have speculated for some time that the Earth's carbon cycle extends deep into the planet's interior, but until now there has been no direct evidence. The mantle–Earth's thickest layer –is largely inaccessible. A team of researchers analyzed diamonds that originated from the lower mantle at depths of 435 miles (700 kilometers) or more, and erupted to the surface in volcanic rocks called kimberlites. The diamonds contain what are impurities to the gemologist, but are known as mineral inclusions to the geologist.
Secrets from the age of the dinosaurs are usually revealed by fossilized bones, but a University of Alberta research team has turned up a treasure trove of Cretaceous feathers trapped in tree resin. The resin turned to resilient amber, preserving some 80 million-year-old protofeathers, possibly from non-avian dinosaurs, as well as plumage that is very similar to modern birds, including those that can swim under water.
Fires have continuously occurred on Earth for at least the last 400 million years. But since the 1970s, the frequency of wildfires has increased at least four-fold, and the total size of burn areas has increased at least six-fold in the western United States alone. Steadily rising, the U.S.'s bill for fighting wildfires now totals $1.5 billion per year.