XRays

By U.S. Department of Energy January 11, 2024Scientists have uncovered the intricate workings of a three-protein complex in the cell replication signaling pathway, a breakthrough that could lead to novel and more effective cancer treatments. This research, using advanced imaging techniques, enhances our understanding of protein interactions and offers new avenues for drug development. Credit: SciTechDaily.comUnlocking Cancer Drug Targets Through Protein Complex AnalysisThree proteins work together to transmit signals for…

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is set to begin the New Year with the launch of XPoSAT, or X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite, on Monday.The satellite will seek to understand the sources of x-rays and study blackholes. The satellite is set for launch on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota, and is only the second mission of its kind in the world after NASA's 2021 mission named Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer.Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill CoursesOffering…

Omron Corp., a Japanese provider of health-care equipment and factory automation, is setting its sights on the lucrative chipmaking gear market to fuel future growth.The Kyoto-based electronics firm is launching an X-ray scanner in the spring that will better detect flaws in advanced semiconductor manufacturing and improve production yields for the world's biggest chipmakers. The VT-X950 machine will produce 3D images of chips with sufficient resolution to identify defects at a 1-nanometer scale, at least a generation…

A sample of Beelitz sandy soil containing fragments of thin polyethylene film (PET) was analyzed here. Such films are used in asparagus cultivation. The neutron tomography (in shades of gray) shows where the PET fragments are located. X-ray tomography of the sample (ochre) reveals the soil structure: superimposed on the neutron tomography, the PET particles (in blue) contained therein become visible. Credit: C. Tötzke / HZB / Uni Potsdam…

Astrophysicist Dong Lai theorizes that a quantum electrodynamics (QED) effect called “photon metamorphosis” accounts for unexpected observations of X-ray polarization from a magnetar, a neutron star with an intense magnetic field. Lai’s theory suggests X-ray photons passing through the magnetar’s magnetized atmosphere can temporarily transform into pairs of “virtual” electrons and positrons, leading to differing polarizations for low and high-energy X-rays.A “beautiful effect” predicted by quantum electrodynamics (QED)…

A team of researchers recently studied paintings in the Theban Necropolis near the Nile River using X-ray fluorescence imaging and discovered never-before-seen details of the painting process.Egypt Wants Its Rosetta Stone Back From the British MuseumUnder X-ray light, the 3,100-year-old paintings glowed with their artists’ first drafts, hidden to the naked eye for millennia. The team’s research was published this week in PLoS ONE.“Documentation remains a problem in 2023 and thus what we are trying to do is basic…

New capability for analyzing single atoms combines X-ray beams from Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source and atomic-scale imaging possible with a scanning tunneling microscopy probe. Credit: Argonne National LaboratoryNew X-ray capability could find wide application in environmental and medical research, as well as the development of batteries and microelectronic devices.Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory and various universities have successfully used X-ray beams to analyze a single <span…

Researchers have elucidated the process by which an activated catalyst can break down the strong carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds of alkanes such as methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The study reveals the catalyst becomes active by a short flash of light, proceeding to break down the C-H bonds almost without any energy. Utilizing powerful X-ray light sources, SwissFEL and Swiss Light Source, the researchers followed the process from start to finish, witnessing the intricate exchange of electrons between the catalyst and the…

A new study has examined the possible impact X-rays could have on planets within a certain distance of supernova explosions. Data from Chandra and other telescopes suggest that planets within about 160 light-years could be subjected to an intense wave of X-rays, which may significantly damage their atmospheres. This artist’s illustration shows such an affected planet in the foreground in the months to years after the explosion (seen in the background) after it has been bombarded by X-rays, as well as a second panel that…

At first the brown, mangled ball of fur and claws is unidentifiable.But X-ray scans have revealed this grapefruit-sized lump is actually a 30,000-year-old mummified ground squirrel from the ice age.A gold miner found the mysterious fur ball in 2018 in the Klondike gold fields near Dawson City, Yukon, according to the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre."It's not quite recognizable until you see these little hands and these claws, and you see a little tail, and then you see ears," Grant Zazula, a Yukon government…