Earth

Sodium, such that is found in ordinary table salt, is constantly transported back and forth our cells membrane in exchange for protons. This regulates sodium levels, cell volume and internal pH. Researchers have now been able to show the details in how the protein NapA carries out this process.

Researchers at the Goethe University have discovered an important mechanism for superconductivity in a metallic compound containing ytterbium, rhodium and silicon. As reported by Cornelius Krellner and his colleagues in the current edition of the Science journal, the underlying concept of the quantum-critical point has long been discussed as a possible mechanism for high-temperature superconductivity. Confirming this in YbRh2Si2 after 10 years of extensive research is thus a milestone in basic research.

When cold milk is poured into a hot cup of tea, a temperature equilibrium is reached very quickly. The milk droplets and the tea particles interact, and after a few moments they all have the same average energy. This process is called thermalization. It plays a crucial role in cooling down gases to ultra-low temperatures. But surprisingly, even gases for which this effect is suppressed can be cooled. Scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) took a closer look at this phenomenon and found a special quantum-mechanical kind of cooling at work.

Kicking Out Hot Particles

Scientometrics research is the science of evaluating scientific performance. Physics methods designed to predict growth based on a scale-free network have rarely been applied to this field. Now, scientists in Poland have developed an analytical method using a previously developed agent-based model to predict the h-index, probably the most popular citation-based scientific measurement, using bibliometric data. They are the very first to succeed in developing an exact formula to calculate the number of external citations and self-citations for each paper written by an author.

The quantity of data exchanged via communications networks around the globe is growing at a breathtaking rate. The volume of data for wired and mobile communications is currently increasing by 23% and 57% respectively every year. It is impossible to predict when this growth will end. This also means that all network components must constantly be made more efficient.

An emerging research method to gauge the benefits of stream restoration for salmon and other native fish is revealing improvements in fish numbers, survival and reproduction in key rivers across the Pacific Northwest, according to a new research paper describing the approach, known as intensively monitored watersheds, or IMWs.

Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Yale-NUS College have established the mechanisms for spin motion in molybdenum disulfide, an emerging two-dimensional (2D) material. Their discovery resolves a research question on the properties of electron spin in single layers of 2D materials, and paves the way for the next generation of spintronics and low-power devices. The work was published online in the journal Physical Review Letters on 29 January 2016.

The origin of matter in the universe has puzzled physicists for generations. Today, we know that matter only accounts for 5% of our universe; another 25% is constituted of dark matter. And the remaining 70% is made up of dark energy. Dark matter itself represents an unsolved riddle.

Today, NOAA Fisheries announced the publication of a peer-reviewed self-assessment that shows the standards of the United States fishery management system under the Magnuson-Stevens Act more than meet the criteria of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization's ecolabelling guidelines. These same guidelines serve as a basis for many consumer seafood certification and ranking schemes. The assessment demonstrates that the U.S.

MADISON, Wis. -- After six years of painstaking effort, a group of University of Wisconsin-Madison materials scientists believe the tiny sheets of the semiconductor zinc oxide they're growing could have huge implications for the future of a host of electronic and biomedical devices.

A professor in Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences is joining the growing debate over the fate of the world's largest ice sheet, whose sudden melting is sending shockwaves throughout the geophysics community.

University of Wyoming scientists have found evidence of continental collisions in Wyoming's Teton Range, similar to those in the Himalayas, dating to as early as 2.68 billion years ago.

The research, published Jan. 22 in the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, shows that plate tectonics were operating in what is now western Wyoming long before the collisions that created the Himalayas starting 40 million years ago.

University of Wyoming scientists have found evidence of continental collisions in Wyoming's Teton Range, similar to those in the Himalayas, dating to as early as 2.68 billion years ago.

The research, published Jan. 22 in the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, shows that plate tectonics were operating in what is now western Wyoming long before the collisions that created the Himalayas starting 40 million years ago.

A James Cook University researcher has found more than three quarters of Australians regard the Great Barrier Reef as part of their national identity and nearly 90 per cent believe it is under threat from climate change.

JCU's Jeremy Goldberg commissioned two professional surveys of around 1,000 people each as part of his PhD, conducted at JCU and CSIRO.

He said the survey's results were surprising. "We expected people to care about the Reef, but the strength of that connection was a revelation."

Publishing in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine Professor Che Connon and Dr Stephen Swioklo describe the low-cost seaweed solution.

Che Connon, Professor of Tissue Engineering at Newcastle University explains: "The stem cells are surrounded by an alginate gel which protects them from the environment -- a bit like frogspawn. We found them unchanged even after three days at room temperature.