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Two liquids of water
Computer simulations have previously shown that deeply super cooled water can exist in two different liquid states: it can transition between a high- and low-density forms. Now researchers have been able to demonstrate this transformation. Using X-ray lasers, amorphous ice formed at -73 degrees Celsius was rapidly heated. The heating process at high pressure created the high-density liquid water and as it expanded and decompressed, the low-density liquid appeared.
Decoding corals
By sequencing the genomes of 150 individual colonies of the same species of corals, researchers from Australia have tracked which genes evolved to help endure the changing climatic conditions. The corals used two survival strategies: evolving a certain set of genes during the past 10,000 years and assimilating only special strains of coral symbiotic algae.
New biomaterial for bones
A molecule called JNK3 helps children’s stem cells regenerate better than adults’, partially explaining why children’s bones heal more quickly. Now using this knowledge, researchers have created a biomaterial that mimics the structure of our bone tissue and also contains nanoparticles that can activate this JNK3. Pre-clinical trials showed that the biomaterial was able to quickly repair large bone defects.
Who disturbed our Milky Way?
Nearly 2,00,000 light-years away from Earth, lies the Large Magellanic Cloud(LMC) a dwarf galaxy, and one of our closest galaxies. About 700 million years ago, this LMC crossed the Milky Way’s boundary and upset our galaxy’s motion. A new study has now shown that LMC’s dark matter halo is pulling and twisting our Milky Way disc at 32 km/s. LMC is also moving away from the Milky Way at a speed of 370 km/s.
Detecting bacteria with fluorescent nanosensors
Published in Nature Communications
How do you find which bacteria is causing your infection? Traditionally a small sample is taken from your body and studied. Researchers from Germany hope to eliminate this need to take samples by using their newly developed optical sensors — less than a nanometre in diameter — which can visualise the pathogens directly at the site of infection. These carbon nanotubes are programmed to emit light when they collide with certain molecules, indicating the presence of pathogens.