High-pressure experiments at Beamline 12.2.2 on ferropericlase—the presumed weakest mineral found in the Earth’s lower mantle—help explain why subducted slabs of Earth’s crust stall at a depth of around 1000 km (~625 miles). Read more »
Science Briefs
A Milky Mystery: The Case of the Casein Micelles
We all know that milk contains important nutrients such as calcium and protein that help build bones and muscle. But how much do we really know about these ingredients at the molecular level? To learn more, scientists from New Zealand and Australia came to the ALS to x-ray some milk.
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Decoding Ancient Ocean Acidification Signals from Plankton Shells
Ancient plankton shells can record the physical and chemical state of the ocean in which they grew. Decoding these signals can reveal changes in global climate, atmospheric CO2, and the acidity of the oceans in deep geologic time.
Terra Sigillata: Evolution of Roman Ceramics Reflect Changes in Technology, Life
Ancient terra sigillata ceramics were the most famous and ubiquitous Roman tableware, yet when their manufacturing spread to other locations, some of the ceramics’ characteristics changed. Researchers from France and the ALS traced the changes.
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The Butterfly Effect on Magnetic Vortices
A recent x-ray microscopy study at ALS Beamline 6.1.2 provided evidence that the ultrafast dynamics preceding magnetic vortex formation exhibits the characteristic chaotic behavior known as the butterfly effect, where minute changes can significantly determine the final outcome of a process.
Antiferromagnetic Spins Do The Twist
At ALS Beamline 4.0.2, researchers have found that the spins in an antiferromagnetic nanolayer perform a version of “The Twist,” turning one way and then the other, challenging a model that has been a cornerstone of exchange-bias theory for 27 years.
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Rare Iron Oxide in Ancient Chinese Pottery
New analysis of ancient Jian ware reveals that the distinctive pottery contains an unexpected and highly unusual form of iron oxide. This rare compound was only recently discovered and characterized by scientists and so far has been extremely difficult to create with modern techniques.
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An Evolutionary Arms Race for Sulfur
Recent work at the ALS shows that the viruses infecting sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in the deep sea carry bacterial genes for the oxidation of elemental sulfur. Although the viruses themselves cannot use the sulfur, they likely supplement bacterial sulfur oxidation and then exploit the generated energy for viral replication. Read more »
The Electronic Structure of a Two-Dimensional Pure Copper Oxide Lattice
All superconducting cuprates share a common structure: charge reservoirs stacked between layers of CuO2. An undoped version, including only C and O, is not available in nature. By growing epitaxial films with a pulsed-laser deposition facility, researchers stabilized a 2D version of CuO, which can be thought as composed by two CuO2 planes staggered and superposed.
A New Link Between Human and Bacterial Signaling Machinery
Researchers showed that a bacterial signaling protein critical for pathogenesis in Vibrio cholerae is actually a homolog of the human enzyme, cGAS, which detects invading DNA. These results reveal a surprising evolutionary connection between bacterial signaling and human innate immunity. Read more »