M.I.T. researchers have devised a virtual-reality technique that lets them read old letters that were mailed not in envelopes but in the writing paper itself after being folded into elaborate enclosures. From a report: In 1587, hours before her beheading, Mary, Queen of Scots, sent a letter to her brother-in-law Henry III, King of France. But she didn’t just sign it…
Tag: Nature Communications
A unique prototype of microbial life designed on actual Martian material
Experimental microbially assisted chemolithotrophy provides an opportunity to trace the putative bioalteration processes of the Martian crust. A study on the Noachian Martian breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034, composed of ancient (ca. 4.5 Gyr old) crustal materials from Mars has delivered a unique prototype of microbial life experimentally designed on actual Martian material. As the researchers show in the current issue…
A new planet next door?
Astronomers have spotted “something” near Alpha Centauri A, in the star system nearest our Earth and sun. If it turns out to be a planet, it’ll be the first time a planet has been directly imaged within the habitable zone of a star. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/alpha-centauri-a-planet-candidate-direct-image-discovery…
There’s a Tantalizing Sign of a Habitable-Zone Planet in Alpha Centauri
An international team of astronomers has found signs that a habitable planet may be lurking in Alpha Centauri, a binary star system a mere 4.37 light-years away. It could be one of the closest habitable planet prospects to date, although it’s probably not much like Earth if it exists. From a report: The new findings: The Alpha Centauri system’s potential to…
First-ever observation of multi-photon Fano effect could lead to boost in quantum computing
In the first study of its kind, published by Nature Communications, an international team of researchers led by the University of Surrey has proven the existence of the fabled multi-photon Fano effect in an experiment. …
A new way to look for life-sustaining planets
It is now possible to capture images of planets that could potentially sustain life around nearby stars, thanks to advances reported by an international team of astronomers in the journal Nature Communications. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-life-sustaining-planets.html…
Can super-Earth interior dynamics set the table for habitability?
New research led by Carnegie’s Yingwei Fei provides a framework for understanding the interiors of super-Earths—rocky exoplanets between 1.5 and 2 times the size of our home planet—which is a prerequisite to assess their potential for habitability. Planets of this size are among the most abundant in exoplanetary systems. The paper is published in Nature Communications. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-super-earth-interior-dynamics-table-habitability.html…
Quantum tunneling in graphene advances the age of terahertz wireless communications
Scientists from MIPT, Moscow Pedagogical State University and the University of Manchester have created a highly sensitive terahertz detector based on the effect of quantum-mechanical tunneling in graphene. The sensitivity of the device is already superior to commercially available analogs based on semiconductors and superconductors, which opens up prospects for applications of the graphene detector in wireless communications, security systems, radio…
Substance Found In Antarctic Ice May Solve a Martian Mystery
sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: Researchers have discovered a common martian mineral deep within an ice core from Antarctica. The find suggests the mineral — a brittle, yellow-brown substance known as jarosite — was forged the same way on both Earth and Mars: from dust trapped within ancient ice deposits. It also reveals how important these glaciers were on…
A benchmark for single-electron circuits
Manipulating individual electrons with the goal of employing quantum effects offers new possibilities and greater precision in electronics. However, these single-electron circuits are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, meaning that deviations from error-free operation still occur—albeit (in the best possible scenario) only very rarely. Thus, insights into both the physical origin and the metrological aspects of this fundamental uncertainty…