Photo by Elle Starkman/PPPL Office of Communications ) Physicist Will Fox with Magnetic Reconnection Experiment.

Reconnection occurs when the magnetic field lines in plasma – the collection of atoms and charged electrons and atomic nuclei, or ions, that make up 99% of the visible universe — converge and forcefully snap apart. Electrons that exert a varying degree of pressure form an important part of this process as reconnection takes place. Their findings could lead to more accurate predictions of damaging space weather and improved fusion experiments.

The team found that variation in the electron pressure develops along the magnetic field lines in the region undergoing reconnection...

Changes in LDL Cholesterol Levels. The change in LDL cholesterol level from baseline to day 180 is shown for each patient randomly assigned to the two-dose placebo group (61 patients) (Panel A) and the 2-dose 300-mg inclisiran group (59 patients) (Panel B); the changes from baseline to day 240 are also shown for the two-dose 300-mg inclisiran group (59 patients) (Panel C). Dashed lines represent LDL cholesterol reductions of 39 mg per deciliter and 78 mg per deciliter. To convert the values for cholesterol to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.02586.

siRNA treatment inactivates harmful protein...

1. The breakthrough electrode prototype (right) can be combined with a solar cell (left) for on-chip energy harvesting and storage.
2. A western swordfern leaf magnified 400 times, showing the self-repeating fractal pattern of its veins.

Graphene-based electrode prototype, inspired by fern leaves, could be the answer to solar energy storage challenge. Inspired by an American fern, researchers have developed a groundbreaking prototype that could be the answer to the storage challenge still holding solar back as a total energy solution. The new type of electrode created by researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, could boost the capacity of existing integrable storage technologies by 3000%.

But the graphene-based prototype also opens a new path to the development of flexible ...

In a typical Alfvén wave, the particles (yellow) move freely along the magnetic field lines (blue).
Credits: NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Tom Bridgman, data visualizer

NASA scientists are reshaping the basic understanding of the kinetic Alfvén wave in space. When NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale – or MMS – mission was launched, the scientists knew it would answer questions fundamental to the nature of our universe – and MMS hasn’t disappointed. A new finding provides observational proof of a 50-year-old theory and reshapes the basic understanding of the kinetic Alfvén wave...