מדע

Finding solid ground – Experimental evidence for the existence of supersolids

. Supersolids and superfluids rank among the most exotic of quantum mechanical phenomena. Superfluids can flow without any viscosity, and experience no friction as they flow along the walls of a container, because their atoms ‘condense’ into a highly coherent state of matter. Supersolids are also characterized by coherent effects, but between vacancies in a …

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על הפנטסיה הרציונלית של רמדיוס וארו

. . הציירת רמדיוס וארו כיבדה את המדע והתעניינה בו, אבל סירבה להאמין שהוא המערכת היחידה המושלת ביקום. ציוריה הם מזיגה נדירה בין קודש לחול, בין מדע למיסטיקה דתית. . וארו הקדימה את מרשל מקלוהן, ואף הרחיקה לכת ממנו, בקביעה שהגלקסיה כולה אינה אלא כפר קטן אחד . יש תרכובות שאפשר לייצרן רק תחת לחץ …

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Antimatter atoms ready for their close-up

. Two international teams of physicists, including RIKEN researchers, have trapped and manipulated  atoms made out of antimatter, in milestone experiments that should help to reveal why the substance is so rare in our Universe. . Since its existence was first predicted by physicist Paul Dirac in 1931, antimatter has become an increasingly common sight. …

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Gearing-up for spring – Rapid activation of specific genes readies the mammalian body for seasonal change

. The genes that regulate the process called photoperiodism—the seasonal responses induced in organisms by changing day length—have been found by researchers from the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Kobe, and Kinki University, Osaka. Led by Koh-hei Masumoto and Hiroki R. Ueda from RIKEN, the researchers also discovered how these genes can be activated within …

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Blood Pressure Regulation? Just Drink Water

. For 60 years, scientists have puzzled over the possibility of a hepatic osmoreceptor that influences blood pressure regulation. Now, researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC) of the MDC and Charité and the Hannover Medical School (MHH) appear to have made a breakthrough …

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Twisted switches – new single-molecule switches

. The degree of twisting of natural helical structures, such as the DNA double-helix, plays an essential role in many important biological functions. Because of their twisted architecture, artificial helices can facilitate the separation and the synthesis of chiral compounds—asymmetric molecules that cannot be superimposed with their mirror image. New, small spring-like polymer chains, or …

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