Page 14 - Soft Matter News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Mar 11 2021 Read 205 Times Author: Robert P. Rambo on behalf of Diamond Light Source Ltd Free to read Unlock In 2020, the most significant application of Soft-condensed matter (SCM) science was, undoubtedly, the development of the COVID vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna which are composed of a synthetic messenger RNA encapsulated within a lipid nanoparticle [1].  SCM science drives continued improvements to quality of life as SCM science is integral to a broad range of industrial sectors.  These sectors include food safety and waste, agriculture, polymers, coatings...

Origin The squat, four-legged wombat may be one of Australia’s most charismatic animals, but it is also the only known species in the world that is capable of producing cube-shaped poops. Now, scientists believe they may have finally explained why. In January 2021, an international team of scientists reported that a uniquely evolved gastrointestinal system was likely the result of the Rubik’s cube-shaped scat, and not the result of a square-shaped anus at the point of exit as was previously described. As opposed to the cylindrical feces that most animals excrete, wombats produce “unifor...

Guillaume Duclos, assistant professor of physics at Brandeis University, calls it the “swirl.” It’s made up of two types of cellular proteins—kinesin and microtubules—interacting to create a vortex under the microscope. In the last year, researchers have taken significant steps toward understanding the swirl and controlling its flow. When the swirl is placed in another liquid, it pushes it forward, creating what’s called a “self-propelling” or “self-mixing” liquid. In other words, you don’t need human or mechanical effort to get the liquid to move; it goes on its own. Tw...

The Way the World Works The Staten Island Zoo is weathering a storm of controversy over the prediction made by its resident groundhog, Staten Island Chuck, on Feb. 2—an annual event at the zoo. Chuck popped up on a Facebook "livestream" at the designated hour, on the designated day, but something seemed ... off. After hours of accumulating snow in the New York area, the New York Post reported, Chuck was seen to emerge into bright sunlight with no snow on the ground, his handlers wearing sweatshirts. "So there ya have it, folks, we're gonna have an early spring," announced zoo executive dir...

Videos showing for the first time how small circles of DNA adopt dance-like movements inside a cell have been developed by researchers in...