Newswise: Physics Sponsored By AIP

Charming Experiment Finds Gluon Mass in the Proton

Nuclear physicists may have finally pinpointed where in the proton a large fraction of its mass resides. A recent experiment carried out at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has revealed the radius of the proton's mass that is generated by the strong force as it glues together the proton's building block quarks. The result was recently published in Nature.

ACS Spring 2023 Media Briefing Schedule

Recordings of media briefings will be posted by 10 a.m. Eastern Time on each day. Watch recorded media briefings at: www.acs.org/ACSSpring2023briefings.

New Study Reveals Potential Link Between Two of Astronomy's Most Mysterious Phenomena

In the March 27 issue of the journal Nature Astronomy, an international team of scientists shows for the first time a possible relationship between neutron star mergers and fast radio bursts (FRBs) - two of the most mysterious cosmological phenomena studied over the past two decades.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Recipients of the Enrico Fermi Award

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced Darleane C. Hoffman and Gabor A. Somorjai as recipients of the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and technology honors bestowed by the U.S. government.

Research fellow Jeff Foster investigates ways to create designer molecules

Chemist Jeff Foster, an Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is looking for ways to control sequencing in polymers that could result in designer molecules to benefit a variety of industries, including medicine and energy.

Prepare for Landing: Making Airports More Efficient

In Chaos, a team of scientists from Spain and Argentina present an original oscillating short-term memory model to study the dynamics of landing events at 10 major European airports. The model can estimate how landing volumes will influence those in consecutive hours - a critical ability given airport capacity constraints and external events that cause landing delays. Altogether, the model demonstrates that statistical analyses of hourly plane landing volumes can yield valuable insights into airport operations.

The Powerhouse of the Future: Artificial Cells

In Biophysics Reviews, researchers identify the most promising advancements and greatest challenges of artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts. The team describes the components required to construct synthetic mitochondria and chloroplasts and identifies proteins as the most important aspects for molecular rotary machinery, proton transport, and ATP production. The authors believe it is important to create artificial cells with biologically realistic energy-generation methods that mimic natural processes; replicating the entire cell could lead to future biomaterials.

Fibroblast Inhibitors Assist Anti-Cancer Drugs to Suppress Cancer Growth

In APL Bioengineering, researchers develop a 3D cell culture system to test how inhibiting fibroblast activities can help treat lung cancer. To simulate the tumor microenvironment and mimic real tissues, the team co-cultured lung cancer cells and fibroblasts in a 3D matrix. The researchers then tested the anti-cancer drug cisplatin with and without two anti-fibrotic drugs, nintedanib and pirfenidone. They found that combining the anti-fibrotic drug nintedanib with the anti-cancer drug cisplatin increased the efficacy of the latter.

Probe where the protons go to develop better fuel cells

Solid oxide fuel cells, or SOFC, are a type of electrochemical device that generates electricity using hydrogen as fuel, with the only 'waste' product being water.

Pulsing ultrasound waves could someday remove microplastics from waterways

Colorful microplastics -- less than 5 mm wide -- drift along under the surface of most waterways. Now, a team reports a two-stage device made with steel tubes and pulsing sound waves to remove these potentially harmful particles from water samples. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2023.

Researchers find new water reservoir on Moon

Lunar surface water has attracted much attention due to its potential for in-situ resource utilization by future lunar exploration missions and other space missions. Now, a research group led by Prof. HU Sen from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics (IGG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has found that impact glass beads in Chang'e-5 (CE5) lunar soils contain some water.

NASA's Webb Measures the Temperature of a Rocky Exoplanet

Acting as a giant touch-free thermometer, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has successfully measured heat radiating from the innermost of the seven rocky planets orbiting TRAPPIST-1, a cool red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth. With a dayside temperature of 450 degrees Fahrenheit, the planet is just about perfect for baking pizza. But with no atmosphere to speak of, it may not be the best spot to dine out. The result is the first from a comprehensive set of Webb studies of the TRAPPIST-1 system, and marks an important step in determining whether planets orbiting tiny but violent red dwarfs, the most common type of star in the Galaxy, can sustain atmospheres needed to support life.

Dangerous Hitchhikers: Visualizing How We Spread Coronavirus within Our Homes

While COVID-19 can be transmitted via contact with contaminated objects, most studies have focused on airborne droplet transmission.

How football-shaped molecules occur in the universe

For a long time it has been suspected that fullerene and its derivatives could form naturally in the universe.

UC San Diego Launches a Stellar Ph.D. Program in Astronomy

UC San Diego has announced a new graduate program in astronomy and welcomed its first cohort of students. The program provides students the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge astronomical and astrophysical research with access to national and international observatories and facilities.

What do the elements sound like? (video)

In chemistry, we have He, Fe and Ca -- but what about do, re and mi? By converting the visible light given off by each element into soundwaves, a researcher has produced unique, complex sounds. It's the first step toward a musical periodic table. He will present his results at ACS Spring 2023.

Two meteorites are providing a detailed look into outer space

Meteorites can be used to peek back in time or at the earliest forms of life. Today, scientists report results of the most detailed analyses yet on the organic material of two meteorites. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2023.

New study about the 'tsunami' in Venus's clouds

A group of scientists from the University of Seville, in collaboration with experts from the University of the Basque Country, has led the first detailed study of the evolution of the discontinuity of Venus's clouds, a gigantic atmosphere wave with the appearance of a "tsunami" that is propagated in the planet's deepest clouds and which, it is believed, may be playing a very significant role in the acceleration of Venus's fast-moving atmosphere.

Signs of Gluon Saturation Emerge from Particle Collisions

By colliding protons with heavier ions and tracking particles from these collisions, scientists can study the quarks and gluons that make up protons and neutrons. Recent results revealed a suppression of certain back-to-back pairs of particles that emerge from interactions of single quarks from the proton with single gluons in the heavier ion. The results suggest that gluons in heavy nuclei recombine, a step toward proving that gluons reach a postulated steady state called saturation, where gluon splitting and recombination balance.

New Type of Entanglement Lets Scientists 'See' Inside Nuclei

Nuclear physicists have found a new way to see inside nuclei by tracking interactions between particles of light and gluons. The method relies on harnessing a new type of quantum interference between two dissimilar particles. Tracking how these entangled particles emerge from the interactions lets scientists map out the arrangement of gluons. This approach is unusual for making use of entanglement between dissimilar particles--something rare in quantum studies.

Lockheed Martin Vice President Valerie Browning Appointed to AIP Board of Directors

AIP is pleased to announce physicist Valerie Browning as the newest member of the Institute's Board of Directors. Her appointment is effective March 24. Browning is the Vice President for Research and Technology in the Corporate Technology Office at Lockheed Martin, where she leads transformational research and design projects that bring together industry, academia, and government organizations.