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    Turbulence in planetary cores excited by tides

    July 25, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    © Thomas Le Reun / Institut de Recherche sur les Phénomènes Hors Equilibre (IRPHE, CNRS/Aix Marseille Université/Centrale Marseille). Left: simulation of a cubic parcel located in the liquid core of a planet disturbed by tidal effects. By focusing their electronic analysis on this reduced domain, researchers have accessed regimes similar to planetary regimes. The flow takes the shape of superimposed waves that interact non-linearly until forming three-dimensional wave inertia turbulence (see vertical vorticity field in the center), by contrast with models where flow becomes larger-scale turbulence structures aligned with the axis of rotation (see vertical vorticity field on the right).

    © Thomas Le Reun / Institut de Recherche sur les Phénomènes Hors Equilibre (IRPHE, CNRS/Aix Marseille Université/Centrale Marseille). Left: simulation of a cubic parcel located in the liquid core of a planet disturbed by tidal effects. By focusing their electronic analysis on this reduced domain, researchers have accessed regimes similar to planetary regimes. The flow takes the shape of superimposed waves that interact non-linearly until forming three-dimensional wave inertia turbulence (see vertical vorticity field in the center), by contrast with models where flow becomes larger-scale turbulence structures aligned with the axis of rotation (see vertical vorticity field on the right).

     
    Veritable shields against high-energy particles, planets’ magnetic fields are produced by i...
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    High-Fat Diet in Pregnancy can cause Mental Health Problems in Offspring

    July 24, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Figure 8. (A) The location of area 10 of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was determined using figures from Paxinos Stereotaxic Atlas (39). DAPI staining was used to differentiate the layers of the cortex, numbered 1–6. (B) Representative images of the differences seen in 5-HT fiber innervation of medial area 10 of the PFC between the four diet groups. (C) Exposure to a postweaning high-fat diet (HFD) decreased mean intensity of 5-HT immunoreactive signal in layer 1 of medial area 10 in the PFC (F1,16 = 7.662, p = 0.014). (D) 5-HT immunoreactivity in the same region was further affected by an interaction between gender and postweaning diet (F1,16 = 7.497, p = 0.015), with mean intensity decreased in postweaning HFD males compared to control males (F1,16 = 13.895, p = 0.002). Data shown as mean ± SEM. # denotes a postweaning diet effect, p < 0.05. Scale bars are 400 µm. Sample sizes for the 5-HT immunohistochemisty are as follows: CTR/CTR n = 6 (n = 2 males; n = 4 females), CTR/HFD n = 6 (n = 3 males; n = 3 females), HFD/CTR n = 6 (n = 3 males; n = 3 females), and HFD/HFD n = 6 (n = 3 males; n = 3 females).

    (A) The location of area 10 of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was determined using figures from Paxinos Stereotaxic Atlas (39). DAPI staining was used to differentiate the layers of the cortex, numbered 1–6. (B) Representative images of the differences seen in 5-HT fiber innervation of medial area 10 of the PFC between the four diet groups. (C) Exposure to a postweaning high-fat diet (HFD) decreased mean intensity of 5-HT immunoreactive signal in layer 1 of medial area 10 in the PFC (F1,16 = 7.662, p = 0.014). (D) 5-HT immunoreactivity in the same region was further affected by an interaction between gender and postweaning diet (F1,16 = 7.497, p = 0.015), with mean intensity decreased in postweaning HFD males compared to control males (F1,16 = 13.895, p = 0.002). Data shown as mean ± SEM...

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    Engineers Invent the 1st Bio-Compatible, Ion Current Battery

    July 24, 2017, Categories  Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Inverted battery design as ion generator for interfacing with biosystems. Nature Communications, 2017; 8: 15609 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15609

    Inverted battery design as ion generator for interfacing with biosystems. Nature Communications, 2017; 8: 15609 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15609

    Engineers at the University of Maryland have invented an entirely new kind of battery. It is bio-compatible because it produces the same kind of ion-based electrical energy used by humans and other living things. In our bodies, flowing ions (sodium, potassium and other electrolytes) are the electrical signals that power the brain and control the rhythm of the heart, the movement of muscles, and much more.

    In traditional batteries the current of electrons out of the battery is generated within the battery by moving positive ions from one end (electrode) of a battery to the other. The new UMD battery does the opposite...

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    Elastic Leidenfrost effect enables Soft Engines

    July 24, 2017, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    Elastic Leidenfrost Effect enables soft engines

    Coupling the Leidenfrost Effect and Elastic Deformations to Power Sustained Bouncing, Nature Physics, DOI: 10.1038/nphys4194

    Water droplets float in a hot pan because of Leidenfrost effect. Now, physicists have discovered a variation: the elastic Leidenfrost effect. It explains why hydrogel balls jump around on a hot plate making high-pitched sounds. Physicist Scott Waitukaitis (Leiden University / AMOLF) stumbled across a YouTube video of bouncing hydrogel balls on a hot plate and was so inspired that he decided to write an NWO Veni grant proposal to explore the phenomenon.

    The dance of water droplets in a frying pan is a well-known phenomenon called the Leidenfrost effect. The warm undersides of the droplets vaporize so quickly that they float around on a cushion of vapor...

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