Matter & Energy

A typical cryoconite hole. Source: Institute of Nuclear Physics PAS

Radioactive plutonium will not hide. Scientists find it even on glaciers

Radioactive plutonium is released into the environment as a result of nuclear weapons tests, satellite failures and nuclear power plant accidents. Traces are relatively easy to find in sediments accumulating on glaciers. Research on plutonium traces was conducted in the northern and southern hemispheres by scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

  • The reaction involves naturally occurring hydrosulfide (HS-) and an organic compound containing aromatic rings, capable of absorbing UV radiation. Under the influence of UV radiation energy, an ultrafast electron transfer from hydrosulfide to the organic compound occurs, leading to further selective chemical transformations. Image from press release
    Life

    Polish scientists describe new type of chemical reaction in formation of DNA building blocks

    Quantum chemists from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology have described the principles of a completely new class of chemical reactions. It was discovered during research on the formation of DNA building blocks from compounds present in the environment. In these reactions, chemical processes activated by UV radiation and the so-called chemistry of weak chalcogen interactions meet for the first time.

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    Earth

    Sunny way to convert 'trivial' methane into more valuable ethane

    Methane, the main component of natural gas, is a major environmental concern due to its role as a potent greenhouse gas.

  • Physicist, associate professor Konrad Banaszek (amb) PAP/Marcin Obara
    Technology

    Poland’s Quantum Leap: A Golden Opportunity We Can’t Afford to Miss

    Poland is home to numerous world-class research teams specializing in quantum technologies, placing the country at a critical juncture in the global race to commercialize these groundbreaking innovations.

  • LHC, Adobe Stock

    Boson to boson: What if two divine particles collided?

    As far as we know, there are four forces in physics that set the world in motion: the strong nuclear interaction, the electromagnetic interaction, the weak nuclear interaction, and the gravitational interaction. The Standard Model perfectly describes the interactions between the first three.

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    When and how we see infrared: Researchers describe brightness of seeing 'invisible' photons

    There are situations in which the human eye captures normally invisible infrared radiation. Scientists from Warsaw's ICTER have developed a method for assessing the brightness obtained in this so-called two-photon vision. In their opinion, this opens up new perspectives for ophthalmological diagnostics and virtual reality.

  • Credit: Ludka Tomala, AI generated

    Monogamy is not fundamental feature of quantum physics, Polish researchers find

    Monogamy is not a fundamental feature of nature at all - at least not when it comes to quantum non-locality, shows Polish research published in the prestigious PNAS. Apart from being a huge surprise for physicists, these results have significant consequences for communication, security and testing of quantum networks.

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    Dance of matter and antimatter. New Polish idea for tomography biomarker

    Annihilation (mutual destruction of matter and antimatter) has long been used in PET scanners. Now an interdisciplinary team from Poland has developed a lightweight and cheap new-generation tomography scanner - J-PET, which measures the rate of this annihilation in various tissues. This new biomarker makes it possible to create brain maps with completely new information, e.g. about glioma.

  • Part of the collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory USA, credit: Z22, source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativistic_Heavy_Ion_Collider)

    Physicists produce heaviest exotic antimatter nucleus to date - antihyperhydrogen-4

    An antimatter hypernucleus consisting of four aniparticles has been detected at the American RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider). Antihyperhydrogen-4 is the heaviest exotic nuclear structure in the world of antimatter discovered so far. Polish scientists also participated in the STAR experiment.

  • Electro-optical time lens. A light pulse synchronised with an electronic control signal is transformed over time similarly to a light beam passing through a real lens. Credit: University of Warsaw

    High precision spectrometer from University of Warsaw uses information hidden in photons

    Researchers working at the University of Warsaw have developed a quantum-inspired super-resolving spectrometer for short pulses of light.

Most Popular

  • Credit: Wikipedia/ public domain

    What did Maria Skłodowska-Curie and Albert Einstein write to each other about? Book collection of their letters published

  • Expert: Metapneumoviruses do not have pandemic potential

  • Researchers create elaborate map of Pomeranian monsters inspired by Renaissance cartography

  • Scientists slow down development of melanoma by modifying immune system cells

  • Part of city residence and surprising mask - discoveries of Polish archaeologists in Libya

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How bacteria rearrange their cells

Polish scientists have discovered and described how the position of ribosomes, or the protein-producing machinery, changes during the formation of a spore in Bacillus subtilis. The researchers have also shown what necessary changes must occur in the structure of the cell in order for a mature spore to form.