Science

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Comet crystals found in a nearby planetary system

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Close-up of olivine crystals seen inside a meteorite found on Earth that originated from a partly melted Solar System asteroid. The yellow olivine crystals are on the order of a few millimetres to centimetres in size and are held together by an alloy of iron and nickel. In contrast, the olivine crystals found in pristine comets, such as in the material measured in the Beta Pictoris system by ESA’s Herschel space observatory, are iron-poor but magnesium-rich.

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The Helix Nebula: Bigger in Death than Life

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A dying star is throwing a cosmic tantrum in this combined image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), which NASA has lent to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. In death, the star's dusty outer layers are unraveling into space, glowing from the intense ultraviolet radiation being pumped out by the hot stellar core.

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Solar cell consisting of a single molecule

developed a method to measure photocurrents of a single functionalized photosynthetic protein system. The scientists could demonstrate that such a system can be integrated and selectively addressed in artificial photovoltaic device architectures while retaining their biomolecular functional properties. The proteins represent light-driven, highly efficient single-molecule electron pumps that can act as current generators in nanoscale electric circuits.

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Photosystem-I (green) is optically excited by an electrode (on top). An electron then is transferred step by step in only 16 nanoseconds.

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NASA Radar to Study Volcanoes in Alaska, Japan

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This UAVSAR interferogram shows active volcano Mount St. Helens (left) and dormant volcano Mount Adams, both in Washington state. The sensor collected data for this image during flights in July 2009 and August 2010 to compute the surface deformation that could indicate activity in the volcanoes' magma. No deformation was evident during this period.

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A curious cold layer in the atmosphere of Venus

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This image of the Venus southern hemisphere illustrates the terminator – the transitional region between the dayside (left) and nightside of the planet (right). The south pole is near the terminator, just above the centre of the image. The complex atmosphere that surrounds the planet is also clearly visible.

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Crescent Mars

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Nano-hillocks: Of mountains and craters

n the field of nanotechnology, electrically-charged particles are frequently used as tools for surface modification. Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the TU Vienna were at last able to reconcile important issues concerning the effects of highly charged ions on surfaces.

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Following bombardment with highly charged ions, nano-hillocks have formed in an area of localized melting. Atomic force microscope image.

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Mars Rover Opportunity Working at 'Matijevic Hill'

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Rock fins up to about 1 foot (30 centimeters) tall dominate this scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.

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New method monitors semiconductor etching as it happens – with light

University of Illinois researchers have a new low-cost method to carve delicate features onto semiconductor wafers using light - and watch as it happens.

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A three-dimensional image of an etched gallium-arsenide semiconductor, taken during etching with a new microscopy technique that monitors the etching process on the nanometer scale. The height difference between the orange and purple regions is approximately 250 nanometers.

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All systems go at the biofactory

In order to assemble novel biomolecular machines,LMU researchers have now found a way to do just that. Green light on protein assembly!

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The finely honed tip of the atomic force microscope (AFM) allows one to pick up single biomolecules and deposit them elsewhere with nanometer accuracy. The technique is referred to as Single-Molecule Cut & Paste (SMC&P), and was developed by the research group led by LMU physicist Professor Hermann Gaub.