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Two coats are better than one to bring nanomagnetism out of its shell.
Diamond Light Source has been used to determine that at least two chromium atomic layers are required to stabilise important magnetic effects at the interface of iron-chromium nanoparticles. Understanding these new nanoscale effects should help efforts to develop advanced computer memory devices.
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Scientists on a mission to inspire the public
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Results could help scientists trace climate change
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How a father and son changed the world
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New beam imaging instrument built
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Forget goji berries, wheat grains are the new superfood
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Copper ions form an important part of everyday life, as they are incorporated into a number of proteins and enzymes, amongst which are some that help the body to respire, fight infections and maintain health bones and tissues. Understanding how these ions are accommodated in a solution of water is key to understanding many of these processes.
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Much as some materials exhibit ferromagnetic properties, meaning they form permanent magnets, some are known to exhibit ferroelectric properties, where the material possesses a spontaneous electric polarization. Rarely, materials possess both these properties, and are known as multiferroics. Scientists working at the Diamond Light Source have now been able to probe the magnetic properties of a multiferroic using the beam line I16
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We think science is inspirational, and we ran Our Light Reading Short Story Competition to encourage creativity inspired by our science.
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How the Braggs changed the world
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Potential new drug treatments for depression, diabetes and osteoporosis
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Scientists unlock structure of elusive ‘stress’ protein
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T-cells are a key component of our immune systems, patrolling the body, interacting with proteins on the surface of cells which display small fragments from the cell interior. Usually, these fragments are ‘self’ – small parts of our own proteins. Where infection occurs, the cell displays fragments of the infectious agent, alerting T-cells to the presence of a pathogen. This activates the immune system, and allows the body to act against the invader and destroy the infected cell without ...
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A novel process for selecting and examining protein microcrystals
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The mis-folding of proteins within our bodies has been linked to a number of wide ranging effects, from common allergies to neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, the protein α-synuclein has been linked to Parkinson's disease. Curcumin (the chemical that gives the Indian spice tumeric its bright yellow colour) has been shown to be a potentially useful treatment, as it is anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and has an ability to prevent the build-up of these mis-folded proteins. ...
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Light Reading for schools competition
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Building bodies is a complicated business. Thousands of growing cell types, which all need to end up in the right place, doing the right job. Even when we are fully grown, our cells and tissues still need to communicate, and new cells grow and migrate to repair and renew our tissues. To assist with this huge task, the body uses signalling molecules and receptors to direct and guide cells, and to allow communication between different cells in the body. These signals act like traffic lights, ...
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600 public visitors to Diamond in the summer open days
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Water bug could provide key to greener energy
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All cells have a cell membrane, made up of a lipid bilayer. Through this membrane sit the membrane proteins; a vital family of proteins which control how the cell interacts with its environment, and control passage of materials in and out of the cell. The family are challenging to study, as the process of crystallisation – the first step to determining a protein’s atomic structure – is incredibly difficult to perform with lipid soluble proteins. Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have ...
