news 2024

New observations with the James Webb Space Telescope no longer rule out the presence of an atmosphere around the Earth-sized rocky planet. However, a geologically active planet also explains the data. Recent measurements with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) cast doubt on the current understanding of the exoplanet Trappist-1 b-s nature.

Bonn researchers decipher structure of coagulation factor XIII using cryo-electron microscopy A deficiency in blood plasma coagulation factor XIII leads to a disruption in the cross-linking of fibrin, the "glue" in blood coagulation. The enzyme therefore plays an essential role in blood clotting. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, together with Thermo Fisher Scientific in the Netherlands, deciphered the previously unknown structure of the Factor XIII complex using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), even at the atomic level.

Space mission "BepiColombo" delivers data from the innermost planet in our solar system for the first time On December 1, 2024, the BepiColombo mission flew past Mercury for the fifth time and has now become the first spacecraft to observe the surface in the mid-infrared using the MERTIS ("Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer") infrared spectrometer.

Many animals orient themselves using their sense of magnetism. However, this can be based on different physical mechanisms. A research team from Oldenburg and Würzburg has now investigated the navigation of the desert ant. Desert ants of the Cataglyphis nodus species use the Earth's magnetic field for spatial orientation, but these tiny insects rely on a different component of the field than other insects, a research team led by Dr Pauline Fleischmann from the University of Oldenburg reports in the journal Current Biology.

Scientists at the University of Würzburg and the German national metrology institute (PTB) have carried out an experiment that realizes a new kind of quantum standard of resistance. It's based on the Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect. The precise measurement of electrical resistance is essential in industrial production or electronics - for example, in the manufacture of high-tech sensors, microchips and flight controls.

A pulsar within a few thousand light-years of Earth could have accelerated electrons and positrons to the extreme energies now measured by the H.E.S.S.-Observatory Five telescopes of the H.E.S.S.-collaboration in Namibia are used to study cosmic radiation, especially gamma radiation. In data from ten years of observations, the researchers have now been able to detect cosmic electrons and positrons with an unprecedented energy of more than ten tera-electronvolts (1 TeV corresponds to 10^12 electronvolts).

The ATLAS collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) reported the first observation of top quarks in collisions between lead ions in a talk held at CERN last week. Members of the research group of Matthias Schott from the Physikalisches Institut at the University of Bonn have been contributing to this new study.

Scientist from the Cluster of Excellence Mathematics Münster proves conjecture from physics String theory aims to explain all fundamental forces and particles in the universe - essentially, how the world operates on the smallest scales. Though it has not yet been experimentally verified, work in string theory has already led to significant advancements in mathematics and theoretical physics.

Google Quantum AI and quantum physicists at Freie Universität Berlin publish groundbreaking results on Hamiltonian operators A research team from Freie Universität Berlin and Google Quantum AI has developed an innovative method for the precise determination of Hamiltonian operators. These are essential for understanding and simulating physical systems and play a key role in quantum technology.

Small bats fly home using environmental features with distinctive acoustic cues as landmarks Echolocating bats have been found to possess an acoustic cognitive map of their home range, enabling them to navigate over kilometer-scale distances using echolocation alone. This finding was demonstrated by researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, the Cluster of Excellence Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour at the University of Konstanz Germany, Tel Aviv University, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

Recently, there have been major breakthroughs in X-ray fluorescence imaging for biomedical applications. In cooperation with Audi Hungaria, Hungary, a University of Hamburg team will expand the innovative method to include questions in nondestructive materials testing-another example of research-driven technology exchange.

The energy carrier hydrogen can be obtained from water by electrolysis. This works particularly well with Cobalt spinel electrocatalysts containing manganese. However, it was unclear why. Conventional catalysts for hydrogen production via water electrolysis usually contain precious metals and are expensive.

Researchers analyse binding of nucleons in atomic nuclei at the quark-gluon level for the first time / Bridge from nuclear to particle physics In particle physics, quarks are known as the building blocks of nucleons - protons and neutrons - as well as their binding through the strong nuclear force mediated by gluons.

Using ammonia is regarded as a promising method of transporting hydrogen. However, an efficient process is also needed to convert it back into hydrogen and nitrogen. An international research team has gained new insights into the mode of operation of an iron catalyst that can be used to split ammonia into nitrogen and hydrogen.

A study by the Universities of Bonn and Montreal opens up new ways to produce important chemical compounds Researchers at the University of Bonn and University of Montreal have developed a new type of catalyst and used it in their study to produce methane out of carbon dioxide and water in a highly efficient way using electricity.

Nested morphology of gas streams confirms a mechanism that helps infant stars to grow by ingesting disk material. Planet-forming disks, maelstroms of gas and dust swirling around young stars, are nurseries that give rise to planetary systems, including our solar system. Astronomers have discovered new details of gas flows that sculpt and shape those disks over time.

The study of metabolism in living plants poses challenges for science. A research team from Leipzig and Würzburg has now developed a technique that changes this in some areas. The "omics" technologies - genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics - are at the forefront of discovery in modern plant science and systems biology.

Researchers from the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat have developed a method to model a central theory of quantum gravity in the laboratory. Their goal: to decipher previously unexplained phenomena in the quantum world. Gravity is no longer a mystery to physicists - at least when it comes to large distances: thanks to science, we can calculate the orbits of planets, predict tides, and send rockets into space with precision.

Physicists from Würzburg present a nanometre-sized light antenna with electrically modulated surface properties - a breakthrough that could pave the way for faster computer chips. Today's computers reach their physical limits when it comes to speed. Semiconductor components usually operate at a maximum usable frequency of a few gigahertz - which corresponds to several billion computing operations per second.

Researchers create a one-dimensional gas out of light Researchers create a one-dimensional gas out of light Joint experiment by the University of Bonn and the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau Physicists at the University of Bonn and the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) have created a one-dimensional gas out of light.