Simulation of the interior of a solar-type star. Credit: University of Montréal – DAp/CEA – AIM

Resolving an ongoing controversy about whether the star at the center of our Solar System exhibits the same cyclic behavior as other nearby, solar-type stars the new study results also advance scientists’ understanding of how stars generate their magnetic fields. The Sun’s activity – including changes in the number of sunspots, levels of radiation and ejection of material – varies on an eleven-year cycle, driven by changes in its magnetic field.

Understanding this cycle is one of the biggest outstanding problems in solar physics, in part because it does not appear to match magnetic cycles observed on other solar-type stars – leading some to suggest the Sun is fundamentally different.

Here, by c...

Branched-Chain Amino Acid Ingestion Stimulates Muscle Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis following Resistance Exercise in Humans. Frontiers in Physiology, 2017; 8 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00390

Popular muscle building supplements, known as branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) are ineffective when taken in isolation, according to new research from the University of Stirling. The study, involving the universities of Exeter and Birmingham and published in Frontiers in Physiology, show that while BCAA supplements do stimulate the muscle building response in individuals after they lift weights, other muscle-building supplements are far more effective.

Other supplements that contain all necessary amino acids stimulate a greater muscle growth response, which suggests that taking BCAA supplements alone is...

A sequential and mild approach toward the synthesis of poly(limonene)dicarbonate (PLDC) has been developed using readily available limonene oxide (LO) and CO2 as renewable reagents and an air-stable Al(III) complex as catalyst for the alkene-rich poly(limonene)carbonate (PLC).

From your phone case to airplane windows, polycarbonates are everywhere. Several million tons of polycarbonate are produced every year around the world. However, worries about the dangers of this material are increasing because of the toxicity of its precursors, especially bisphenol-A, a potential potential endocrine-disruptor, neurotoxic, and carcinogen...

A metal nanosponge is shown under the microscope.
Credit: Jordi Sort/UAB

To store information in conventional magnetic memories of electronic devices, the small magnetic domains work by pointing up or down according to the magnetic fields. To generate these fields it is necessary to produce electric currents, but these currents heat up materials and much energy is spent cooling them. Practically 40% of the electrical energy going into computers (or “Big Data” servers) dissipates as heat. In 2007, French scientists observed that when the magnetic materials are put into ultra-thin layers and voltage is applied, the amount of current and energy needed to point the magnetic domains was reduced by 4%. However, this slight reduction was not significant enough to be applied to devices.

A research ...