Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Nature at the femto-scale - a new booklet from FINUPHY

Nature at the femto-scale - a new booklet from FINUPHY

May 27, 2004

A non-expert's guide to European research into the nucleus and its applications

To explain the exciting programme of European nuclear research, FINUPHY (Frontiers in Nuclear Physics) has produced a booklet which presents the science and applications at a non-expert level.

Scientists already explore and manipulate our everyday world at the nano-scale of atoms and molecules. Now, we are poised to make a leap in our understanding of the complexities of matter to an even smaller scale - that of the atomic nucleus - at the femto-level of one million-billionth of a metre.

We still know very little about the thousands of kinds of nuclei that might exist. From the many, yet small fraction of nuclear varieties studied, it is clear that they often behave in unusual and surprising ways that reveal the most fundamental properties of the Universe at the deepest level.

Discoveries in nuclear science are already leading to significant applications such as new medical treatments and analytical techniques; uncovering novel nuclear behaviour may even result in new kinds of safe energy. Nuclear studies are also shedding light on how elements formed in stars, and became the building blocks of our world and ourselves.

Research into nuclei relies on complex equipment at specialised laboratories, and Europe is at the forefront of developing a new generation of advanced facilities.

Copies of the booklet can be obtained through Dieter Müller at GSI, Darmstadt in Germany.

Dieter Müller
Gesellschaft für Scherionenforschung
Planckstrasse 1
64201 Darmstadt
Germany
Email: d.mueller@gsi.de

The booklet can also be downloaded from the FINUPHY website http://www.finuphy.org

CERN




Related Nuclear Current Events and Nuclear News Articles Nuclear Current Events and Nuclear News RSS Nuclear Current Events and Nuclear News RSS
Genetic mutation causes familial susceptibility for degenerative brain disease
Mutation of a gene that helps proteins migrate in and out of the cell's genetic command center - the nucleus - puts some families at higher risk for the degenerative brain disease acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE).

Plant polymerases IV and V are special forms of Polymerase II
It's a little like finding out that Superman is actually Clark Kent. A team of biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has discovered that two vital cellular components, nuclear RNA Polymerases IV and V (Pol IV and V), found only in plants, are actually specialized forms of RNA Polymerase II, an essential enzyme of all eukaryotic organisms, including humans.

New appropriate use criteria guide treatment of patients with heart blockage
If you're committed to fitness, the decision to climb a couple of flights of stairs rather than take the elevator is clear. But if you develop chest pain on the way up, deciding how to treat the symptoms of clogged arteries in your heart is much more complicated.

Molecular imaging enables earlier, individualized treatment of thyroid cancer
In a study to determine the diagnostic value of molecular imaging in nodal staging of patients with thyroid cancer, researchers were able for the first time to accurately distinguish between cancerous cells in regional lymph nodes and normal residual thyroid tissue directly after surgery.

Lamin A/C deficiency is 'unnerving'
Mutations in the nuclear intermediate filament lamin A/C (LMNA) gene are associated with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, but cause the disease by unknown mechanisms. Méjat et al. show that one mechanism involves the disruption of neuromuscular junctions.

UC Davis researchers find molecule that targets brain tumors
UC Davis Cancer Center researchers report today the discovery of a molecule that targets glioblastoma, a highly deadly form of cancer. The finding, which is published in the January 2009 issue of the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, provides hope for effectively treating an incurable cancer.

Activating the lung's antioxidant defense by targeting Nrf2 inhibits the development of emphysema
Using a molecule similar to one found in an experimental cancer drug, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health demonstrated that activation of a key component of the lung's antioxidant defense system, Nrf2, can prevent emphysema in mice.

Researchers find chink in the armor of viral 'tummy bug'
Researchers at Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Melbourne have moved a step closer to identifying a broad spectrum treatment for the dreaded 'viral tummy bug' or rotavirus.

What is the mechanism of the chronic radiation enteritis?
The use of radiation therapy to treat cancer inevitably involves exposure of normal tissues.

MSU researcher nabs 'doubly magic' tin isotope
With help from newly developed equipment designed and built at Michigan State University, MSU researchers have been able to make first-of-its-kind measurements of several rare nuclei, one of which has been termed a "holy grail" of experimental nuclear physics.
More Nuclear Current Events and Nuclear News Articles


The Nuclear Express: A Political History of the Bomb and Its Proliferation
by Thomas C. Reed, Danny B. Stillman

This is a political history of nuclear weapons from the discovery of fission in 1938 to the nuclear train wreck that seems to loom in our future.  It is an account of where those weapons came from, how the technology surprisingly and covertly spread, who is likely to acquire those weapons next and most importantly why.   The authors’ examination of post-Cold War national and geopolitical...



One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War
by Michael Dobbs

In October 1962, at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union appeared to be sliding inexorably toward a nuclear conflict over the placement of missiles in Cuba. Veteran Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs has pored over previously untapped American, Soviet, and Cuban sources to produce the most authoritative book yet on the Cuban missile crisis. In his hour-by-hour...



Power to Save the World: The Truth About Nuclear Energy (Vintage)
by Gwyneth Cravens

An informed look at the myths and fears surrounding nuclear energy, and a practical, politically realistic solution to global warming and our energy needs. Faced by the world's oil shortages and curious about alternative energy sources, Gwyneth Cravens skeptically sets out to find the truth about nuclear energy. Her conclusion: it is a totally viable and practical solution to global warming. In...



Essentials of Nuclear Medicine Imaging (Essentials of Nuclear Medicine Imaging (Mettler))
by Fred A. Mettler, Milton J. Guiberteau

Through four editions, this resource has established itself as the best introduction to nuclear imaging techniques. It is practical, yet comprehensive, covering physics, instrumentation, quality control, and legal requirements. The 5th Edition features a new color format, with many user-friendly features such as "Pearls and Pitfalls." More than 600 pictures in digital-quality resolution depict...



Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe
by Graham Allison

"Allison's comprehensive but accessible treatment of this vital subject is a major contribution to public understanding." -The New York Times Book Review Americans in the twenty-first century are keenly aware of the many forms of terrorism: hijackings, biological attacks, chemical weapons. But the deadliest form is almost too scary to think about-a terrorist group exploding a nuclear device in...



A Nuclear Family Vacation: Travels in the World of Atomic Weaponry
by Sharon Weinberger, Nathan Hodge

Two Washington, D.C., defense reporters do for nukes what Sarah Vowell did for presidential assassinations in this fascinating, kaleidoscopic portrait of nuclear weaponry.In A Nuclear Family Vacation, husband-and-wife journalists Sharon Weinberger and Nathan Hodge hit the open road to explore the secretive world of nuclear weaponry. Along the way, they answer the questions most nuclear tourists...



Nuclear Jellyfish: A Novel (Serge a. Storms)
by Tim Dorsey

Just when you thought it was safe to go online . . . Serge has returned! That loveable collector of trivia, souvenirs, and murder methods is back with a new A‑Tour of Florida. And this time he's out to set the record straight! Serge is upset that his beloved state isn't getting its proper recognition, so he signs on with the big Internet travel services. But his new employers aren't...



Terrestrial Energy: How Nuclear Energy Will Lead the Green Revolution and End America's Energy Odyssey
by William Tucker

This is quite possibly the most important book about energy in a generation. For over thirty years Americans have been fed a steady diet of half-truths, misinformation, urban legends and outright fabrications about energy. The small amount of accurate information that does reach us is often obscured by scientific terminology or one-sided political posturing.When faced with a dramatic increase in...



The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed, Second Edition
by Scott D. Sagan, Kenneth N. Waltz

If the nuclear balance of terror helped maintain the 'long peace' between the united States and the Soviet Union during the Cold Ware, will the spread of nuclear weapons to new states also help stabilize international relations in the future? In this increasingly complex world, how do issues such as global terrorism, missile defense, and the Indian-Pakistani conflict factor into the decisions...

Nuclear War Survival Skills: Updated and Expanded 1987 Edition
by Cresson H. Kearny

© 2009 BrightSurf.com