Science | WPN World People News

A composite material created at Rice University is nearly impervious to gas and may lead to efficient storage of compressed natural gas for vehicles. A 65-micrometer-wide polymer film, photographed edge-on with an electron microscope, contains a tiny amount of enhanced graphene nanoribbons that present gas molecules a “tortuous path” to escape.

An initiated chemical vapor deposition (ICVD) system is used to convert a mixture of gases into foam polymer.

The beautiful, petal-like shells of galaxy PGC 6240 are captured here in intricate detail by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, set against a sky full of distant background galaxies. This cosmic bloom is of great interest to astronomers due to both its uneven structure, and the unusual clusters of stars that orbit around it — two strong indications of a galactic merger in the recent past.

A super-resolution technique developed at Rice University allows fluorescent-labeled probe DNA to pinpoint target DNA sequences in an immobilized strand in ways neither regular nor electron microscopes are able. The technique relies on multiple images of probes binding temporarily to targets as they flow over the strand and are captured by a camera.

ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has captured a remarkably detailed image of the Toby Jug Nebula, a cloud of gas and dust surrounding a red giant star. This view shows the characteristic arcing structure of the nebula, which, true to its name, does indeed look a little like a jug with a handle.

A prototype of a new modular robot, with its innards exposed and its flywheel — which gives it the ability to move independently — pulled out.

Rice University researchers have discovered that sheets of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as little as one atom thick can protect metals in harsh environments at up to 1,100 degrees Celsius. The top image shows uncoated nickel oxidized after exposure to high temperature in an oxygen-rich environment. The second shows nickel exposed to the same conditions with a 5-nanometer coat of h-BN. The third shows electron microscope images of two, three, four and many-layer h-BN films. The bottom image of an h-BN sheet shows the hexagonal arrangement of nitrogen (bright) and boron atoms.

For the past decade, ESA's Mars Express orbiter has been observing atmospheric structure on the Red Planet. Among its discoveries is the presence of three separate ozone layers, each with its own characteristics. A new comparison of spacecraft data with computer models explains how global atmospheric circulation creates a layer of ozone above the planet's southern winter pole.