The 11 nano tips used in the study.
Credit: University of Portsmouth

Research led by the University of Portsmouth has identified a new way to improve how we measure the age of planetary evolution in our solar system. The study, published in Nature Communications, uses a new atomic-scale imaging approach to locate and count individual atoms in planetary materials. Directly linking the structure and chemistry of minerals in this way opens up new opportunities to understand the spectacular complexity of planetary samples.

Meteorites provide samples that can be used to measure the timing of major planetary events, including lunar magma ocean crystalisation, Martian volcanism and asteroid bombardment of the inner solar system...

Medical resident Jarod Roland, MD, tries out a device that detects electrical activity in his brain and causes his hand to open and close in response to brain signals. A new study shows that this device can help chronic stroke patients recover some control over their paralyzed limbs. Credit: Leuthardt lab

Device reads brain signals, converts them into motion. Stroke patients who learned to use their minds to open and close a device fitted over their paralyzed hands gained some control over their hands, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis...

Researchers at MIT have explored the secrets behind the conch shell’s extraordinary impact resilience. The findings are reported in a new study by MIT graduate student Grace Gu (right), postdoc Mahdi Takaffoli (left), and McAfee Professor of Engineering Markus Buehler. Credit: Melanie Gonick/MIT

Three-tiered structure of these impact-resistant shells could inspire better helmets, body armor. As recent research has demonstrated, one type of shell stands out above all the others in its toughness: the conch. Now, researchers at MIT have explored the secrets behind these shells’ extraordinary impact resilience. And they’ve shown that this superior strength could be reproduced in engineered materials, potentially to provide the best-ever protective headgear and body armor.

Conch shells “have ...

Artist’s impression of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) in its enclosure on Cerro Armazones, a 3060-metre mountaintop in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The 39-metre E-ELT will be the largest optical/infrared telescope in the world — the world’s biggest eye on the sky. Operations are planned to start early in the next decade, and the E-ELT will tackle some of the biggest scientific challenges of our time. The design for the E-ELT shown here is preliminary. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada

With a main mirror 39 metres in diameter, the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), is going to be, as its name suggests, enormous. Unlike any other before it, ELT is also designed to be an adaptive telescope and has the ability to correct atmospheric turbulence, taking telescope engineering to another level...