By measuring the vibrations between atoms using femtosecond-long laser pulses the Rice lab of chemist Junrong Zheng is able to discern the positions of atoms within molecules without the restrictions imposed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging.
Traditional spectrometers read the wavelengths of light scattered by samples to identify materials and study their properties.
But the one-of-a-kind spectrometer developed by Zheng uses very short laser pulses to read the vibrational energies inherent to every atom.
and a measurement of the length and angles of those bonds can be extracted from the vibrations themselves he said The infrared
The spectrometer reads only intramolecular interactions among vibrations and ignores interactions between molecules he said.
and already know through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy how many vibrational frequencies are contained in a given molecule.
For example scientists have struggled to explain how different concentrations of melittin could yield such dramatically different effects said Huang Rice's Sam and Helen Worden Professor of Physics and Astronomy.
In the new study Huang and Rice graduate student Tzu-Lin Sun partnered with colleagues Ming-Tao Lee at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research center (NSRRC) in Hsinchu Taiwan
The molecular level data came from a series of X-ray diffraction experiments performed by Lee at NSRRC.
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Unlike humans birds can see ultraviolet (UV) light. While the crown of a blue tit looks just blue to us to another bird it has added the dimension of appearing UV-reflectant.
The researchers looked at the relative UV reflectance of the crown feathers of female blue tits
He published his work in the journal Physics of Fluids. Volcanic eruptions are an example of
He began with fluid dynamics equations and then used numerical calculations to arrive at approximate solutions for specifics combinations of source flow and spread rates and crosswind speed.
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and its Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) will continue the measurements from MODIS. The satellite provides two additional daily observations.
The MODIS sensors capture growing conditions by measuring the reflectance of near-infrared light from plants.
the Global Precipitation Measurement mission to launch in early 2014 and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite currently in orbit.
and slow sound waves (known as surface acoustic waves or SAWS) traveling across a surface Fang says.
If acoustic waves--such as the intense shock waves from an explosion--hit the two-dimensional material at a right angle much of their energy can be converted to surface waves that travel sideways out of the material.
or CFCS a class of chemicals that destroy ozone in the stratosphere allowing more ultraviolet radiation to reach earth's surface.
The ozone layer protects life on earth by absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation. As the layer thins the upper atmosphere grows colder causing winds in the stratosphere
#Temperature alters population dynamics of common plant peststemperature-driven changes alter outbreak patterns of tea tortrix--an insect pest
While the influence of temperature on individual-level life-history traits is understood well the impact on population-level dynamics such as population cycles
and also developed an independent mathematical population model that can predict population dynamics under both constant and seasonally driven temperature regimes.
Japan used long-term data on the population dynamics of the tea tortrix that span 51 years and more than 200 outbreaks.
and the effects of temperature on individual stages and used this to predict population dynamics.
We speculated that temperature might do something to population dynamics said Bjã¸rnstad. We documented that temperature itself is destabilizing to the dynamics of this pest.
This is the first clear demonstration that temperature has the ability to alter those dynamics causing large cycles in the insect.
The researchers believe that these mechanisms have implications for what might happen faced with global warming.
An infrared camera from Goleta-based FLIR captured time-sequence thermal photography of Chanel as her spadix the tall core spike that houses both female and male flowers heated up to nearly human body temperature.
They publish their study today in Earth System Dynamics a journal of the European Geosciences Union (EGU.
The new Earth System Dynamics study shows that one hectare of Jatropha curcas could capture up to 25 tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year over a 20 year period.
The newearth System Dynamics paper presents results of simulations looking into these aspects but there is still a lack of experimental data on the effects of greening arid regions.
research showsit might be easier than previously thought for a planet to overheat into the scorchingly uninhabitable runaway greenhouse stage according to new research by astronomers at the University of Washington and the University of Victoria published July 28 in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Revisiting this classic planetary science scenario with new computer modeling the astronomers found a lower thermal radiation threshold for the runaway greenhouse process meaning that stage may be easier to initiate than had been thought previously.
The habitable zone becomes much narrower in the sense that you can no longer get as close to the star as we thought before going into a runaway greenhouse said Tyler Robinson a UW astronomy postdoctoral researcher and second author on the paper.
Subsequent research the astronomers say is needed in part because their computer modeling was done in a single-column clear-sky model
Still it inspired the astronomers to write As the solar constant increases with time Earth's future is analogous to Venus's past.
and Nelson Totah (A&s'12g) now a postdoctoral fellow at Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics.
molecular analyses to describe the genetic structure of the pests a study of the impact of temperatures on their ecology by means of drones with thermal cameras#The aim is to get a better understanding of the insects'population dynamics
Halas Rice's Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering professor of physics professor of chemistry and professor of biomedical engineering is one of the world's most-cited chemists.
if a three-day long flood occurred there would be some pretty significant impacts downstream said Karl Lang a University of Washington doctoral candidate in Earth and space sciences.
Co-authors are Katharine Huntington and David Montgomery both UW faculty members in Earth and space sciences. The Yarlung-Tsangpo is the highest major river in the world.
CERN the European Organization for Nuclear Research announced in Switzerland this morning that researchers on two separate LHC experiments have succeeded in measuring one of the rarest measurable processes in physics the decay of B
The evidence which scientists have been seeking for 25 years matches predictions made using the Standard model of Particle physics.
That match with only a 1-in-100000 chance of being caused by a statistical error virtually eliminates any possibility that B-sub-s meson decay is related to interaction with particles predicted by dark matter theories as some physicists have suspected.
and that isn't news said Rice physicist Paul Padley a co-investigator on the CMS experiment
Physicists look for results inconsistent with those predicted by the Standard model to expand knowledge of the physical world
But there has been the possibility it could decay through new particles predicted by dark matter theories such as supersymmetry.
So the theoretical particle physics community has been interested extremely to see what the two-muon decay rate is for this type of meson Padley said.
Padley gave particular credit to Rice physics instructor Laria Redjimi. I worked on building the muon trigger
Like many physicists Padley hopes the next round of experiments will provide something unexpected. There's no such thing as a wrong result he said.
Unfortunately the results keep telling us the Standard model of Particle physics works phenomenally well and what we're seeing now is another stunning success of that model.
Under those conditions Tour Rice theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and their teams found that the entire edge of a fast-growing sheet of graphene becomes a nucleation site
The specimens had been attracted to an ultraviolet light trap on the Binaloud Mountain near Mashhad city the capital of the Khorasan-e-Razavi province of Iran.
and Sandia National Laboratories have created a solid-state electronic device that is hardwired to detect polarized light across a broad swath of the visible and infrared spectrum.
and computer engineering and of physics and astronomy. Many animals and insects can see polarized light
Polarized light consists of individual electromagnetic waves oscillating parallel to one another. The effect is created when light reflects from a transparent material which is polarized why sunglasses reduce the glare from water glass and other surfaces.
Astronomers use polarized light in a number of ways and there are a number of applications for polarimetry in communications and the military.
Our work provides a new path for the realization of polarization-sensitive photodetectors that could be enabled on flexible
A key challenge concerns the mechanics of securing the participation of farmers in delivering land-use changes to benefit society A recommendation that the research team puts forward involves the reform of the European union's (EU's) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP.
In cosmology dark matter is said to account for the majority of mass in the universe however its presence is inferred by indirect effects rather than detected through telescopes.
Cosmologists have mapped only half of one percent of the observable universe and the path ahead in environmental genomics is similarly daunting.
and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne demonstrate. Nonetheless the fungus still allows itself a sexual reproduction cycle.
and Israel while the team headed by Paul Schulze-Lefert at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne studies the genetic material of barley mildew.
and appeared to be offset from the downwind direction possibly because of interactions from the galaxy's external magnetic field.
We chose the term'lobes'very carefully says Dr. Dave Mccomas IBEX principal investigator and assistant vice president of the Space science and Engineering Division at Southwest Research Institute.
That's the effect the external magnetic field appears to be having on the heliotail. The IBEX spacecraft uses two novel ENA cameras to image and map the heliosphere's global interaction providing the first global views and new knowledge about our solar system's interaction with interstellar space.
They have their very own flow dynamics. Their ice is exposed to permanent tensions and the calving of icebergs is still largely unresearched explains ice modeller Angelika Humbert.
and radiation and show promise for stacking in three-dimensional arrays. Rudimentary silicon memories made in the Tour lab are now aboard the International Space station where they are being tested for their ability to hold a pattern
when exposed to radiation. The diodes eliminate crosstalk inherent in crossbar structures by keeping the electronic state on a cell from leaking into adjacent cells Tour said.
Douglas Natelson a professor of physics and astronomy and of electrical and computer engineering and Krishna Palem the Ken and Audrey Kennedy Professor of Computer science and Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of statistics.
Crucial for us was to observe the natural dynamics of the chicken embryo Tammer emphasizes.
In contrast to X-ray methods FLASH 2--like all other MRI techniques--is harmless to the organism under examination.
The above story is provided based on materials by Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length g
Junichiro Kono a professor of electrical and computer engineering and of physics and astronomy; and Matteo Pasquali a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of chemistry.
The climate physicists emphasise the fact that it is important for political decision-makers to link different climate targets to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in a quantitative manner.
#Nuke test radiation can fight poachers who kill elephants, rhinos, hipposuniversity of Utah researchers developed a new weapon to fight poachers who kill elephants hippos rhinos and other wildlife.
By measuring radioactive carbon-14 deposited in tusks and teeth by open-air nuclear bomb tests the method reveals the year an animal died
Professor Svenning explains In the climate debate even researchers have had a tendency to overlook the fact that ecological dynamics can be slow.
Like greenhouse gases volcanic aerosols perturb the Earth's radiation balance. This supports the idea that the unusually high ENSO activity in the late 20th century is a footprint of global warming explains lead author Jinbao Li.
Experiments conducted on the fruit fly Drosophila by scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have shown that hunger not only modifies behaviour but also changes pathways in the brain.
The above story is provided based on materials by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Only a single male was caught at ultraviolet light on 24 may 2012 near Zhongdian in northwest China's Yunnan province in the remote Baima Xue mountain range.
Rather than finding all of the glowing dust in a doughnut-shaped torus around the black hole as expected the astronomers find that much of it is located above and below the torus.
Over the last twenty years astronomers have found that almost all galaxies have a huge black hole at their centre.
It was thought that most of the strong infrared radiation coming from AGN originated in these doughnuts.
But new observations of a nearby active galaxy called NGC 3783 harnessing the power of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile 2 have given a team of astronomers a surprise.
explains This is the first time we've been able to combine detailed mid-infrared observations of the cool room-temperature dust around an AGN with similarly detailed observations of the very hot dust.
This also represents the largest set of infrared interferometry for an AGN published yet. The newly-discovered dust forms a cool wind streaming outwards from the black hole.
but the intense radiation this produces also seems to be blowing the material away. It is still unclear how these two processes work together
In order to investigate the central regions of NGC 3783 the astronomers needed to use the combined power of the Unit Telescopes of ESO's Very Large Telescope.
Another team member Gerd Weigelt (Max-Planck-Institut fã r Radioastronomie Bonn Germany) explains By combining the world-class sensitivity of the large mirrors of the VLT with interferometry we are able
No other optical or infrared system in the world is currently capable of this. These new observations may lead to a paradigm shift in the understanding of AGN.
They are direct evidence that dust is being pushed out by the intense radiation. Models of how the dust is distributed
and observe simultaneously in the near-and mid-infrared--giving us much more detailed data.
what a space telescope with a diameter of over 100 metres would measure. 3 The hotter dust was mapped using the AMBER VLTI instrument at near-infrared wavelengths
and the newer observations reported here used the MIDI instrument at wavelengths between 8 and 13 microns in the mid-infrared.
Conceivable aggravation of forest decline by climate changea new type of electron microscope enabled the observation of particle deliquescence and dynamics under changing air humidity.
-and-prey dynamics that drive the carbon cycle and so protecting lands and storing carbon could be linked at the same time.
Co-authors of the paper are Rice graduate students Zhiwei Peng Changsheng Xiang Gedeng Ruan and Zheng Yan and Douglas Natelson a Rice professor of physics and astronomy and of electrical and computer engineering.
They include a very sensitive spectrometer that analyzes sunlight reflected from Earth's surface to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide methane and carbon monoxide.
Yakobson a theoretical physicist and his team specialize in analyzing the interplay of energy at the atomic scale.
At ALS beamlines 5. 3. 2. 1 and 5. 3. 2. 2 x-ray spectroscopy showed that the specific way the aluminum substitutes for silicon in the C-a-S-H
High-pressure x-ray diffraction experiments at ALS beamline 12.2.2 measured its mechanical properties and for the first time clarified the role of aluminum in its crystal lattice.
After sample extraction ancient organic compounds were identified by a combination of state-of-the-art chemical techniques including infrared spectrometry gas chromatography-mass spectrometry solid phase microextraction ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography
The powder was placed in a mass spectrometer to learn ratios of carbon isotopes incorporated into tooth enamel via diet.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology Jena Germany discovered that the ability of Manduca sexta moths to recognize changes in the profile of volatile compounds released by plants being attacked by Manduca caterpillars allows them to lay their eggs on plants that are less likely
Ideal conditions for Manduca offspringnow the scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology show another interesting effect of the chemical odor conversion:
The above story is provided based on materials by Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
The expansion will mark Jove's eighth journal section after the recent additions of Jove Chemistry and Applied Physics.
The greenhouse gases were measured as carbon dioxide equivalents and included methane refrigerants and other gases that trap radiation.
and that includes engineers at Iowa State university who are using high-frequency sound waves to break down plant materials
The team will present its findings at the 21st International Congress on Acoustics (ICA 2013) held June 2-7 in Montreal.
and Jessica Schnell recently graduated now at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Germany. More accurate habitat maps show the extent of fragmentation
but protecting it from ultraviolet degradation over time is hard. You have to expose it to sunlight.
#Discovery by physicists furthers understanding of superconductivity: Experiments show Zhang-Rice singlet state in different class of materialsphysicists at the University of Arkansas have collaborated with scientists in the United states
since its discovery in 1986 said Jak Chakhalian professor of physics at the University of Arkansas. Unfortunately as of today we have zero theoretical understanding of the mechanism behind this enigmatic phenomenon.
In my mind the high-temperature superconductivity is the most important unsolved mystery of condensed matter physics.
In both cases electrical resistance drops to zero and complete expulsion of magnetic fields occurs. Superconductors have the ability to transport large electrical currents and produce high magnetic fields
which means they hold great potential for electronic devices and power transmission. The recent finding by the University of Arkansas-led team is important to further understand superconductivity Chakhalian said.
An article detailing the finding Zhang-Rice physics and anomalous copper states in A-site ordered perovskites was published Monday May 13 in Scientific Reports an online journal published by the journal Nature.
Derek Meyers a doctoral student in physics at the U of A found that the way electrons form in superconductive material--known as the Zhang-Rice singlet state--was present in a chemical compound that is very different
and analyzed the experimental data obtained at the X-ray synchrotron at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago.
In the mid-1980s physicists determined that all high-temperature superconductive material must contain copper and oxygen and those elements arrange two-dimensionally.
#Despite safety and other concerns, nuclear power saves lives, greenhouse gas emissions, experts sayglobal use of nuclear power has prevented about 1. 84 million air pollution-related deaths
Pushker A. Kharecha and James E. Hansen state that nuclear power has the potential to help control both global climate change
That potential exists they say despite serious questions about safety disposal of radioactive waste and diversion of nuclear material for weapons.
Concerned that the Fukushima accident in Japan could overshadow the benefits of nuclear energy they performed an analysis of nuclear power's benefits in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution deaths.
The study concluded that nuclear power already has had a major beneficial impact based upon calculations of prevented mortality
Nuclear power could prevent from 420000 to 7 million additional deaths by mid-century and prevent emission of 80-240 billion tons of the greenhouse gases linked to global warming the study found.
and would cause far more deaths than the expansion of nuclear power it notes. If the role of nuclear power declines significantly in the next 20-30 years Kharecha added the International Energy Agency predicts that achieving the major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that are required to mitigate climate change would require heroic achievements in the use
of emerging low-carbon technologies which have yet to be proven. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by American Chemical Society.
#Despite safety and other concerns, nuclear power saves lives, greenhouse gas emissions, experts sayglobal use of nuclear power has prevented about 1. 84 million air pollution-related deaths
Pushker A. Kharecha and James E. Hansen state that nuclear power has the potential to help control both global climate change
That potential exists they say despite serious questions about safety disposal of radioactive waste and diversion of nuclear material for weapons.
Concerned that the Fukushima accident in Japan could overshadow the benefits of nuclear energy they performed an analysis of nuclear power's benefits in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution deaths.
The study concluded that nuclear power already has had a major beneficial impact based upon calculations of prevented mortality
Nuclear power could prevent from 420000 to 7 million additional deaths by mid-century and prevent emission of 80-240 billion tons of the greenhouse gases linked to global warming the study found.
and would cause far more deaths than the expansion of nuclear power it notes. If the role of nuclear power declines significantly in the next 20-30 years Kharecha added the International Energy Agency predicts that achieving the major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that are required to mitigate climate change would require heroic achievements in the use
of emerging low-carbon technologies which have yet to be proven. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by American Chemical Society.
Masahiro Ishigami an assistant professor of physics at the University of Central Florida; and Tony Heinz the D. M. Rickey Professor of Physics at Columbia University.
Ajayan is the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Mechanical engineering and Materials Science and of chemistry at Rice.
the optical measurements were carried out in the Tony Heinz lab in physics. The structural modeling and electronic structure calculations were performed by the David Reichman lab in chemistry.
The electron microscopy was performed by atomic imaging experts in the David Muller lab at Cornell University's School of Applied and Engineering Physics and the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science.
and represent a rare example of an insect mimicking a gymnosperm 165 million years ago before an explosive radiation of flowering plants.
Smoke particles can generate radiative forcing mainly through scattering and absorbing solar radiation (direct radiative forcing)
The change in radiation can cause further changes in global temperatures and precipitation. Wildfire emissions can have remarkable impacts on radiative forcing says Liu.
or burning seasons smoke particles reduce overall solar radiation absorbed by the atmosphere at local and regional levels.
n Burbano from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology. For research to be published in elife a team of molecular biologists from Europe
What is for certain is that these findings will greatly help us to understand the dynamics of emerging pathogens.
The above story is provided based on materials by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Considering the exposure to high levels of ultraviolet radiation positive selective genes related to DNA repair may be vital to protect the Tibetan antelope from it.
In broad terms Rokas and Salichos found that genetic data is less reliable during periods of rapid radiation
A lot of the debate on the differences in the trees has been between studies concerning the'bushy'branches that took place in these'radiations'Rokas said.
Radioactive dating methods are only accurate over a certain time span said Rokas. We think that the value of DNA data might have a similar limit posing considerable challenges to existing algorithms to resolve radiations that took place in deep time.
The research was supported by National Science Foundation CAREER award DEB-0844968. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Vanderbilt University.
In broad terms Rokas and Salichos found that genetic data is less reliable during periods of rapid radiation
A lot of the debate on the differences in the trees has been between studies concerning the'bushy'branches that took place in these'radiations'Rokas said.
Radioactive dating methods are only accurate over a certain time span said Rokas. We think that the value of DNA data might have a similar limit posing considerable challenges to existing algorithms to resolve radiations that took place in deep time.
The research was supported by National Science Foundation CAREER award DEB-0844968. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Vanderbilt University.
To understand how enzymes catalyze the biosynthesis of these new metabolic products the research team took advantage of X-ray structural analysis. This allowed them to view the 3d structure of the molecules.
Max Planck Institute for Molecular genetics; Indiana University; Rutgers University; and the Donald Danforth Plant science Center.
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