In a recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences a group of researchers led by Maria Hjorth and Simon Albrecht from the Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Aarhus University, have published the discovery of a special exoplanetary system in which two exoplanets are orbiting backward around their star. This surprising orbital architecture was caused by the protoplanetary disk in…
Tag: National Academy of Sciences
Personal Experiences Bridge Moral and Political Divides Better Than Facts, Research Finds
AmiMoJo shares a report from Live Science: In his inaugural address last week, President Joe Biden called for unity. But how can Americans come together, given what seems to be growing political contention and deep divides? New research suggests the answer can be found in stories, not statistics. People respect those they disagree with more when their position comes from a…
Scientists Observe Live Cells Responding To Magnetic Fields For First Time
An anonymous reader quotes a report from New Atlas: One of the most remarkable “sixth” senses in the animal kingdom is magnetoreception — the ability to detect magnetic fields — but exactly how it works remains a mystery. Now, researchers in Japan may have found a crucial piece of the puzzle, making the first observations of live, unaltered cells responding to…
Liquid Glass Discovered As New State of Matter
An anonymous reader quotes a report from New Atlas: Mundane as it may seem, glass is a surprisingly mysterious material. Now scientists at the University of Konstanz have identified a new state of matter called liquid glass, which has some unusual properties. […] In the new study, the researchers discovered a form of glass where the atoms exhibit a complex behavior…
Scientists and Philosopher Team Up, Propose a New Way To Categorize Minerals
An anonymous reader shares a report: Some diamonds were formed billions of years ago in space as the carbon-rich atmospheres of dying stars expanded and cooled. In our own planet’s lifetime, high-temperatures and pressures in the mantle produced the diamonds that are familiar to us as gems. 5,000 years ago, a large meteorite that struck a carbon-rich sediment on Earth produced…
‘Time Cells’ Discovered In Human Brains
Researchers have identified cells in the human brain that are responsible for episodic memories. The study has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. NPR reports: The cells are called time cells, and they place a sort of time stamp on memories as they are being formed. That allows us to recall sequences of events or…
Theoreticians show which quantum systems are suitable for quantum simulations
A joint research group led by Prof. Jens Eisert of Freie Universität Berlin and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has shown a way to simulate the quantum physical properties of complex solid state systems. This is done with the help of complex solid state systems that can be studied experimentally. The study was published in the renowned journal Proceedings of the National Academy…
Worsening rifts, fractures spotted at 2 important Antarctic glaciers
Satellite imagery has revealed that 2 of the fastest-changing glaciers in Antarctica are fracturing and weakening faster than ever, a step towards the glaciers disintegrating and causing sea levels to rise dramatically. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/worsening-rifts-fractures-2-important-antarctic-glaciers…
Earth’s glaciers and ice sheets are melting
Several new studies released in recent weeks paint a dire picture of the ongoing melting of Earth’s freshwater ice sheets and glaciers, 99% of which are found in Greenland and Antarctica. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/ice-sheets-glaciers-tearing-loose-worst-case-vulnerable…
Meteorites show transport of material in early solar system
New studies of a rare type of meteorite show that material from close to the Sun reached the outer solar system even as the planet Jupiter cleared a gap in the disk of dust and gas from which the planets formed. The results, published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, add to an emerging understanding of how…