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Molecular-scale phase boundaries: A 'primitive' liquid-gas transition
One of the first things taught in school science classes is that there are three states of matter - solids, liquids and gases. Bizarrely, however, at high pressures and temperatures there is a critical point above which the distinction between a liquid and a gas is lost and a single 'supercritical fluid' is formed. Here, thermodynamics says, there...
Swinging on 'monkey bars': Motor proteins caught in the act (w/video)
The first images of motor proteins in action are published in the journal today ("Large-scale flexibility in cytoplasmic dynein stepping along the microtubule"). These proteins are vital to complex life, forming the transport infrastructure that allows different parts of cells to specialise in particular functions. Until now, the way they move has...
An atomic laser capable of operating at a wavelength of 0.15 nanometers
The creation of lasers that can generate a coherent stream of X-ray radiation at short wavelengths has long been a goal for scientists. The primary aim of such ‘X-ray lasers’ is to produce high quality, high resolution images of tiny targets, such as molecules. However, the wavelengths of lasers developed to date are still too large to result in clear,...
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