Argonne scientists and collaborators used the Gammasphere, this powerful gamma ray spectrometer, to help create the right conditions to cause and spot a long-theorized effect called nuclear excitation by electron capture. Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

For the first time, physicists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and their collaborators, led by a team from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, demonstrated a long-theorized nuclear effect. This advance tests theoretical models that describe how nuclear and atomic realms interact and may also provide new insights into how star elements are created. Physicists first predicted the effect, called nuclear excitation by electron capture (NEEC), over 40 years ago. But scientists had not seen it until now...

The transportable strontium optical lattice clock in the Modane Underground Laboratory. Credit: Lisdat/PTB

For the first time, researchers measure gravitation with a portable optical clock, paving the way for standardised measurement of the Earth’s surface. A European collaboration has used one of the world’s portable optical atomic clocks to measure gravitation for the first time. Until now, such delicate clocks have been restricted to laboratories at a few major research institutions, however, researchers at PTB have developed a transportable strontium optical lattice clock, opening up the possibility of performing measurements in the field. The transportable clock was driven in a vibration-damped and temperature-stabilised trailer to the French Modane Underground Laboratory (LSM)...

A dark cloud of cosmic dust snakes across this spectacular wide field image, illuminated by the brilliant light of new stars. This dense cloud is a star-forming region called Lupus 3, where dazzlingly hot stars are born from collapsing masses of gas and dust. This image was created from images taken using the VLT Survey Telescope and the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope and is the most detailed image taken so far of this region. Credit: ESO/R. Colombari

The Lupus 3 star forming region lies within the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion), only 600 light-years away from Earth. It is part of a larger complex called the Lupus Clouds, which takes its name from the adjacent constellation of Lupus (The Wolf constellation)...

Kidney glomeruli — constituent microscopic parts of the organ- were generated from human embryonic stem cells grown in plastic laboratory culture dishes. Credit: Image courtesy of University of Manchester

Scientists have successfully produced human kidney tissue within a living organism which is able to produce urine, a first for medical science. It signifies a significant milestone in the development of treatment for kidney disease. Kidney glomeruli – constituent microscopic parts of the organ- were generated from human embryonic stem cells grown in plastic laboratory culture dishes containing a nutrient broth known as culture medium, containing molecules to promote kidney development...