Molybdenum telluride (MoTe2) polymorphism. Metallic (right) and semiconducting (left) MoTe2 crystals are obtained side by side on the same plane. Rectangular crystals represent metal MoTe2, while hexagonal crystals are the characteristic feature of semiconducting MoTe2.

Researchers produced the first 2D field-effect transistor (FET) made of a single material. Modern life will be almost unthinkable without transistors. They are the ubiquitous building blocks of all electronic devices: each computer chip contains billions of them. However, as the chips become smaller and smaller, the current 3D field-electronic transistors (FETs) are reaching their efficiency limit...

Artist’s concept of the spacecraft. Credit: FMI

A fleet of tiny spacecraft could visit over 300 asteroids in just over 3 years, according to a mission study led by the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The Asteroid Touring Nanosat Fleet concept comprises 50 spacecraft propelled by innovative electric solar wind sails (E-sails) and equipped with instruments to take images and collect spectroscopic data on the composition of the asteroids. Each nanosat would visit 6 or 7 asteroids before returning to Earth to deliver the data. The concept will be presented by Dr Pekka Janhunen at the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) 2017 in Riga on Tuesday 19th September.

“Asteroids are very diverse and, to date, we’ve only seen a small number at close range...

NGC 7674, seen just above the center, is a luminous spiral galaxy with a powerful active nucleus. Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team

A study using multiple radio telescopes confirms that supermassive black holes found in the centers of galaxies can form gravitationally bound pairs when galaxies merge. “The dual black hole we found has the smallest separation of any so far detected through direct imaging,” said David Merritt, professor of physics at Rochester Institute of Technology The supermassive black holes are located in the spiral galaxy NGC 7674, ~400 million light years from earth, and are separated by a distance less than one light year...

Schlemm’s canal (green) plays a fundamental role in draining the aqueous humor (white arrows) from the anterior chamber of the eye to blood circulation. If the aqueous humor is not able to flow out freely, elevated intraocular pressure damages the optical nerve causing glaucoma and eventually blindness. Credit: IBS

Biologists have found an explanation for the increase in intraocular pressure in glaucoma and a promising therapeutic option to rejuvenate the eye. Researchers at the Center for Vascular Research, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), have identified a new mechanism involved in the development and progression of glaucoma, and found a potential therapeutic option to treat it. Glaucoma is the second cause of irreversible blindness, after cataracts. It affects about 3...