• Dear olivier hartmanshenn,

    Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 22:

    Scientists' report world's first X-ray of a single atom

    A team of scientists from Ohio University, Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Illinois-Chicago, and others, led by Ohio University Professor of Physics, and Argonne National Laboratory scientist, Saw Wai Hla, have taken the world's first X-ray SIGNAL (or SIGNATURE) of just one atom. This groundbreaking achievement could revolutionize the way scientists detect the materials.

    Intelligent brains take longer to solve difficult problems, shows simulation study

    Do intelligent people think faster? Researchers at the BIH and Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, together with a colleague from Barcelona, made the surprising finding that participants with higher intelligence scores were only quicker when tackling simple tasks, while they took longer to solve difficult problems than subjects with lower IQ scores.

    X-ray emissions from black hole jets vary unexpectedly, challenging leading model of particle acceleration

    Researchers discovered only relatively recently that black hole jets emit X-rays, and how the jets accelerate particles to this high-energy state is still a mystery. Surprising new findings in Nature Astronomy appear to rule out one leading theory, opening the door to reimagining how particle acceleration works in the jets—and possibly also elsewhere in the universe.

    Chemical found in common sweetener damages DNA

    A new study finds a chemical formed when we digest a widely used sweetener is "genotoxic," meaning it breaks up DNA. The chemical is also found in trace amounts in the sweetener itself, and the finding raises questions about how the sweetener may contribute to health problems.

    Secret industry documents reveal that makers of PFAS 'forever chemicals' covered up their health dangers

    The chemical industry took a page out of the tobacco playbook when they discovered and suppressed their knowledge of health harms caused by exposure to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), according to an analysis of previously secret industry documents by UC San Francisco (UCSF) researchers.

    Study finds Neanderthals manufactured synthetic material with underground distillation

    Researchers at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen and colleagues in Germany have taken a closer look at the birch tar used to affix Neanderthal tools and found a much more complex technique for creating the adhesive than previously considered.

    'How do we know what we don't know?': Scientists completely define the process of methylation

    UNSW Sydney researchers, for the first time, have completely defined the essential cellular process known as methylation. In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the landmark study emphasizes the essential role methylation plays in the creation of proteins.

    New links found between personality and cognitive abilities

    In a new landmark study, University of Minnesota research shows surprising links between human cognition and personality—pillars of human individuality that shape who we are and how we interact with the world. Personality influences our actions, emotions and thoughts, defining whether we are extroverted, polite, persistent, curious or anxious.

    Generation X women experience age in seven ways, study finds

    Generation X women experience age in seven different ways according to a new study by Nottingham Business School (NBS), part of Nottingham Trent University.

    Astronomers discover the last three planets the Kepler telescope observed before going dark

    More than 5,000 planets are confirmed to exist beyond our solar system. Over half were discovered by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, a resilient observatory that far outlasted its original planned mission. Over nine and a half years, the spacecraft trailed the Earth, scanning the skies for periodic dips in starlight that could signal the presence of a planet crossing in front of its star.

    One-third of galaxy's most common planets could be in habitable zone

    Our familiar, warm, yellow sun is a relative rarity in the Milky Way. By far the most common stars are considerably smaller and cooler, sporting just half the mass of our sun at most. Billions of planets orbit these common dwarf stars in our galaxy.

    Black hole evaporation: Theoretical study proves Stephen Hawking partially correct

    New theoretical research by Michael Wondrak, Walter van Suijlekom and Heino Falcke of Radboud University has shown that Stephen Hawking was right about black holes, although not completely. Due to Hawking radiation, black holes will eventually evaporate, but the event horizon is not as crucial as had been believed. Gravity and the curvature of spacetime cause this radiation too. This means that all large objects in the universe, like the remnants of stars, will eventually evaporate.

    The Primate Genome Project unlocks hidden secrets of primate evolution

    Researchers from Zhejiang University, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Northwest University, and Yunnan University, Aarhus University, and BGI-Research have jointly led a series of significant new studies are published in a special issue of the journal Science, and in papers in Nature Ecology & Evolution and Science Advances.

    Astrophysicists confirm the faintest galaxy ever seen in the early universe

    An international research team led by UCLA astrophysicists has confirmed the existence of the faintest galaxy ever seen in the early universe. The galaxy, called JD1, is one of the most distant identified to date, and it is typical of the kinds of galaxies that burned through the fog of hydrogen atoms left over from the Big Bang, letting light shine through the universe and shaping it into what exists today.

    Webb telescope finds towering plume of water escaping from one of Saturn's moons

    Two Southwest Research Institute scientists were part of a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) team that observed a towering plume of water vapor more than 6,000 miles long—roughly the distance from the U.S. to Japan—spewing from the surface of Saturn's moon, Enceladus. In light of this NASA JWST Cycle 1 discovery, SwRI's Dr. Christopher Glein also received a Cycle 2 allocation to study the plume as well as key chemical compounds on the surface, to better understand the potential habitability of this ocean world.

    Buckle up: A new class of materials is here

    Usually, the two characterizations of a material are mutually exclusive: something is either stiff, or it can absorb vibrations well—but rarely both. However, if we could make materials that are both stiff and good at absorbing vibrations, there would be a whole host of potential applications, from design at the nanoscale to aerospace engineering.

    Low-flavanol diet drives age-related memory loss, large study finds

    A large-scale study led by researchers at Columbia and Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard is the first to establish that a diet low in flavanols—nutrients found in certain fruits and vegetables—drives age-related memory loss.

    Researchers achieve record 19.31% efficiency with organic solar cells

    Researchers from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have achieved a breakthrough power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.31% with organic solar cells (OSCs), also known as polymer solar cells. This remarkable binary OSC efficiency will help enhance applications of these advanced solar energy devices.

    Vehicle stop study illuminates importance of officer's first words

    Eugenia Rho believes in the importance of first impressions, especially during vehicle stops.

    Study examines how DNA damage is repaired by antioxidant enzymes

    A typical human cell is metabolically active, roaring with chemical reactions that convert nutrients into energy and useful products that sustain life. These reactions also create reactive oxygen species, dangerous by-products like hydrogen peroxide which damage the building blocks of DNA in the same way oxygen and water corrode metal and form rust. Similar to how buildings collapse from the cumulative effect of rust, reactive oxygen species threaten a genome's integrity.


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