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This image shows a quantum dot "molecule" consisting of three 6-atom indium chains. In the top panel, the molecule has perfect three-fold symmetry and therefore a doubly degenerate state. In the lower three panels, the symmetry is progressively broken to explore how the degeneracy disappears.

The aim of the research was to investigate the production method of a type of hydroxyapatite that is compatible with human body and has desirable mechanical properties such as higher strength and higher resistance against abrasion and scratch. During the investigation of the desired properties, nano-identation and nano-scratch tests were successfully carried out on hydroxyapatite samples.

Saudi Arabia’s government should clarify whether it is infecting and monitoring mobile phones with surveillance malware, Human Rights Watch said. Saudi officials should also say whether and how they intend to protect the rights of those targeted to privacy and free expression.

Yet, in a current paper in Nature Communications, Sandia National Laboratories researcher Hongyou Fan and colleagues appear to have achieved a start toward that end.

A schematic of the experimental setup. Ham and Yoon measured the change in phase of a microwave signal sent through the graphene.

In space, ice forms by building up a ‘frost-like’ layer on dust grains at a temperature of -263 degrees Celsius. The layer that results is a bit like the frost that forms on a car windscreen on a (somewhat less) cold morning on Earth. In this image the dust layer is represented by the blue coloured molecules at the bottom of the image. Water molecules have two hydrogen atoms (shown here in white) and one oxygen atom (shown here in red). Here the ice forms without structure (so-called amorphous ice), quite unlike the more familiar cubes of ice that you might find in a drink. This results in pores forming in the ice - the big 'hole' in the middle of this simulation. The 'hole' here is nano-sized - about a million times smaller in diameter than the diameter of a human hair. Gases get trapped in these pores, which can have a profound effect on temperatures and densities in regions of star formation.

NASA satellite data incorporated into OpenNEX include global views of drought conditions. Green regions in this map of July 2012 are areas with more vegetation than an average July (2000-2013); red regions have less vegetation than average. Regions in black have no data due to clouds and snow.

New research on the nitrogen in Titan's atmosphere indicates that the moon's raw materials might have been locked up in ices that condensed before Saturn began its formation.