These are examples of the silk used in experiments to detect damage in composites, shown under black light. (Left) Ordinary fibroin of the Bombyx mori silk worm. The observed fluorescence is the result of molecules already present in the protein structure of the fiber. (Middle) Mechanophore-labeled silk fiber fluoresces in response to damage or stress. (Right) Control sample without the mechanophore. Credit: Chelsea Davis and Jeremiah Woodcock/NIST

Researchers have found a way to use molecules of dye to see inside some of the new composite materials being tested for bridges, cars and sporting goods. What’s needed are new lightweight, energy-saving composites that won’t crack or break even after prolonged exposure to environmental or structural stress...

In connection with violent solar eruptions, large variations occur in electron density in the ionosphere over Greenland, which interferes with GPH navigation signals as well as flight and satellite communication. The figure (right) shows large electron density in red and small density in blue. This phenomenon gives rise to high electron speeds in the ionosphere, exceeding 1,000 metres per second (left) and resulting in violent energy bursts. For the first time ever, researchers from DTU have demonstrated the phenomenon which cannot yet be explained. (Illustration: DTU Space).

New research from DTU, JPL and University of New Brunswick shows that eruptions on the Sun’s surface not only send bursts of energetic particles into Earth’s atmosphere causing disturbances in our planet’s magnetic fi...

This is a molecular gas around star LL Pegasi. Credit: ALMA, Hyosun Kim

Using a powerful telescope, scientists view spiral pattern of gaseous emissions around LL Pegasi and its companion star. An international team of astronomers has observed a striking spiral pattern in the gas surrounding a red giant star named LL Pegasi and its companion star 3,400 light-years from Earth using ALMA. “What we are seeing in splendid detail with these observations is the final act of a dying red giant star, as it sheds most of its gaseous bulk in a strong, outflowing wind,” said Mark Morris, UCLA professor of physics and astronomy.

After comparing their telescopic observations with computer simulations, the astronomers concluded that a highly elliptical orbit is responsible for the shape of the gaseous emi...

NUS researchers found that regular consumption of tea brewed from tea leaves reduces elderly persons’ risk of cognitive decline

Tea drinking reduces the risk of cognitive impairment in older persons by 50% and as much as 86% for those who are genetically at risk of Alzheimer’s. A cup of tea a day can keep dementia away, and this is especially so for those who are genetically predisposed to the debilitating disease, according to a recent study led by Assistant Professor Feng Lei from the Department of Psychological Medicine at National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

The longitudinal study involving 957 Chinese seniors aged 55 years or older has found that regular consumption of tea lowers the risk of cognitive decline in the elderly by 50 per cent, while ...