How could galactic cosmic rays affect astronauts travelling to Mars?

07 Dec 2022 Tami Freeman

Future travel plans Artist's concept depicting astronauts and human habitats on Mars. (Courtesy: NASA)

With the pending return to long-duration crewed spaceflights, astronauts will face significant risks from exposure to space radiation. Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) pose a particular challenge as they are not easily shielded and have dose rates as high as 0.5 mGy/day.

 

Anomalous plasma burning heats-up fusion research

24 Nov 2022

Suprathermal effect: researchers at NIF have discovered that ions involved in nuclear fusion are not moving as expected. (Courtesy: John Jett/Jake Long/LLNL)

Last year and after about a decade of trying, physicists working at the mammoth National Ignition Facility (NIF) in the US finally succeeded in generating a self-sustaining fusion reaction. But having since struggled to reproduce the feat, they have been busy trying to work out what makes the results of their experiments so variable. Now, a new finding at NIF may provide a clue – ions in what is known as a burning plasma have an unexpected kinetic energy distribution, which encourages fusion.

 

Chiral orbit currents create new quantum state

25 Nov 2022 Isabelle Dumé

Loop currents in a honeycomb. (Courtesy: Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

Physicists have discovered a new quantum state in a material with the chemical formula Mn3SiTe6. The new state forms due to long-theorized but never previously observed internal currents that flow in loops around the material’s honeycomb-like structure. According to its discoverers, this new state could have applications for quantum sensors and memory storage devices for quantum computers.

 

COVID-19 lockdowns boosted astronomy publications but worsened the gender gap, finds study

28 Nov 2022 Laura Hiscott

Mind the gap: A study found that women published 8.9 papers for every 10 published by men before the COVID-19 pandemic, but this has now dropped to 8.8 papers (courtesy: iStock_FOTOGRAFIA-INC)

Astronomers published more papers per year during the COVID-19 pandemic than they did beforehand – but men enjoyed a disproportionate share of the increase. The change, which has widened the gender gap in astronomy, has been revealed in a study carried out by two physicists (Nature Astronomy doi:10.1038/s41550-022-01830-9). They also found that lockdowns may have created barriers for new researchers entering the field.

 

Red supergiant stars get dimmer before they explode

26 Nov 2022 Isabelle Dumé

An artist's impression of the star Betelgeuse going supernova. (Courtesy: European Southern Observatory/L. Calçada)

Massive stars in their “red supergiant” phase become around 100 times fainter in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum in the last few months before they collapse and explode as a supernova. This is the finding of researchers from Liverpool John Moores University in the UK and the University of Montpelier in France, who simulated what a massive star would look like just before it blows up and when it is nestled in its pre-explosion “cocoon”. The work could help astrophysicists figure out what causes these stars to explode, as well as enabling astronomers to catch the explosion in action.

 

Nanoparticle-modified microrobots treat bacterial pneumonia in mice

23 Nov 2022 Rojin Jafari

Medication delivery Illustration showing nanoparticle-coated algae cells making their way through the lungs. (Courtesy: Wang Lab/UC San Diego)

Biohybrid microrobots, which combine the motility of natural micro-organisms with the multifunctionality of synthetic components, are being studied as an alternative to purely synthetic microrobots. Designs based on biocompatible and deformable materials serve as novel platforms for use in vivo, enhancing the potential of microrobots for biomedical applications. In a recent study reported in Nature Materials, researchers describe a bioinspired microrobot platform consisting of nanoparticle-modified algae for active delivery of antibiotics to treat lung disease.

Articular cartilage diseases: Newer therapeutic developments

 

Articular cartilage diseases: Newer therapeutic developments

 

 

The newest therapeutic developments for articular cartilage diseases are significant and relieve the patient from pain and suffering.

Articular cartilage is a thin, soft, and elastic membrane that covers the articular surfaces of bones and allows smooth and minimal friction movement of the articular surfaces. Its primary function is the distribution of loads and the reduction of pressures on the subchondral bone (the bone below the cartilage).

It consists of water, collagen, proteoglycans, proteins, and chondrocytes. This unique composition ensures special mechanical properties: it can be deformed during loading and, after removal, regain its original shape and return to its actual thickness.