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A narrow-band image of the Sun at a wavelength of λ=588.9nm, that of a well known solar sodium line also known as the “NaD line.” The image was acquired during recent first light efforts with the VTF at the Inouye, and shows how precisely the structures within a sunspot are resolved. Each pixel in the original version of the image corresponds to 10 km (or 6.2 miles) on the Sun. (Credit: VTF/KIS/NSF/NSO/AURA) *********************************************************************** In a nutshell * The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope’s new Visible Tunable Filter (VTF) instrument has achieved “first light,” capturing detailed images of sunspots at an...

In a remarkable development, researchers have successfully turned light into a supersolid for the first time, paving the way for new insights into the unusual quantum states of matter. This achievement marks a significant milestone in the field of condensed matter physics. Dimitrios Trypogeorgos from Italy’s National Research Council (CNR) reportedly said, “We actually made light into a solid. That’s pretty awesome.” This feat builds on earlier work by fellow CNR scientist Danielle Sanvitto, who demonstrated over a decade ago that light could behave like a fluid. However, Trypogeorgos, Sanvitto, and their team have taken it further by creating what...

A supersolid is a paradox of physics — a material that is both solid and liquid at the same time. This contradictory form of matter was first proposed more than 60 years ago, and, for a long time, people thought it was too nuts to actually exist. But we’re talking about the realm of quantum mechanics, and normal expectations should be thrown out the window. In 2007, researchers at ETH Zurich and MIT unveiled the world’s first supersolids, starting with superflooding sodium and rubidium, respectively. Now, an international team of researchers has unveiled an entirely new route to supersolidity, harnessing...

While it may seem like we're comparing apples to oranges here, it's surprising to see how something as seemingly harmless as bottled salad dressing can share a pitfall with a classic salty snack like potato chips—an excess of sodium. This might not be a concern for everyone, but for those managing heart disease or high blood pressure, it's worth paying attention. Research suggests a high sodium diet is associated with both hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Potato chips top the list of high sodium foods. A single serving bag (1-¼ ounces) has 210 milligrams of sodium, 10% of the recommended daily...

Salt could help to boost the immune defense against cancer. This is suggested by research findings. Recently, adoptive T-cell therapy in particular has developed into an effective treatment tool. In adoptive T-cell therapy, the patient's own immune cells (T cells) are isolated from the blood and modified and multiplied in the laboratory in a therapy-specific manner. They are then reinfused into the patient and destroy tumor cells. The team has now discovered one of these factors: Sodium ions—a component of sodium chloride—increase the efficiency of antitumoral T cells. The researchers were able to show that breast cancer tumors have a...

A new type of hybrid sodium-ion battery that offers both high capacity and rapid-charging capabilities could power mobile devices, electric vehicles and space tech. Researchers have developed a new coin-type sodium-based battery that can charge rapidly “in seconds” and could potentially power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles (EVs) in the future. By combining anode materials used in conventional batteries with cathodes from supercapacitors — batteries that can store and deliver energy at very high rates –– the scientists created a new type of sodium-ion battery that offers both high capacity and rapid-charging capabilities. They were looking for a way...

Two years ago, sodium-ion battery pioneer Natron Energy was busy preparing its specially formulated sodium batteries for mass production. The company slipped a little past its 2023 kickoff plans, but it didn't fall too far behind as far as mass battery production goes. It officially commenced production of its rapid-charging, long-life lithium-free sodium batteries this week, bringing to market an intriguing new alternative in the energy storage game. Not only is sodium somewhere between 500 to 1,000 times more abundant than lithium on the planet we call Earth, sourcing it doesn't necessitate the same type of earth-scarring extraction. Even moving...

Plant-based diets are often seen as healthier alternatives to eating meat and dairy - with around one in five adopting the diet for health reasons. The way of eating, which has risen in popularity by at least a third since 2017, can involve anything from ditching meat, to going fully vegan, without eggs, milk or cheese. However, these foods could be loaded with sodium, which could raise blood pressure, packed with obesity-causing saturated fat, and stripped of bone-building calcium, a major analysis suggests. Researchers evaluated more than 700 plant-based foods sold in supermarkets, including burgers, sausages, milk, cheese, and yogurt,...

One in three Australian adults has high blood pressure (hypertension). Excess salt (sodium) increases the risk of high blood pressure so everyone with hypertension is advised to reduce salt in their diet. But despite decades of strong recommendations we have failed to get Australians to cut their intake. It's hard for people to change the way they cook, season their food differently, pick low-salt foods off the supermarket shelves and accept a less salty taste. Now there is a simple and effective solution: potassium-enriched salt. It can be used just like regular salt and most people don't notice any important...

This is the new BYD Seagull and with a price tag starting at just 78,000 yuan ($11,300), it is one of the most compelling new electric vehicles from China launched in quite some time. Presented at the ongoing Shanghai Auto Show, the BYD Seagull takes the form of a compact hatchback that will be positioned below the Dolphin in the brand’s range. It is just 3,780 mm (148.8 inches) long, 1,715 mm (67.5 inches) wide, and stands 1,540 mm (60.6 inches) tall and sports quite an edgy and aggressive design that should appeal to young consumers throughout China. The car’s...

What Is Salt? Salt is a seasoning that can flavor food and act as a preservative. It’s about 60% chloride and about 40% sodium. Nearly all unprocessed foods -- think veggies, fruits, nuts, meats, whole grains, and dairy foods -- are low in sodium. The salt that we do eat helps relax and contract muscles, lends a hand with nerve impulses, and balances the minerals and water we take in. How Much Salt Do You Need? Our body needs only a small amount of sodium. We should get about 1,500 milligrams of it every day. But the average American takes...

Physicists at RIKEN have created an exceptionally neutron-rich sodium isotope, 39Na, which was previously believed to be impossible. This breakthrough has major implications for understanding atomic nuclei structure and the creation of Earth’s heavier elements. In extremely neutron-rich form of the element sodium—which many models of atomic nuclei predict shouldn’t exist—has been created by nuclear physicists at RIKEN for the first time[1]. If you made table salt from this super-heavy version of sodium—and the most neutron-rich isotope of chlorine, salt’s other constituent—it would taste and behave like normal salt, except it would be roughly 1.6 times heavier, says nuclear physicist...

Urinary sodium excretion and salt intake are not independently associated with 24-hour blood pressure variability (BPV), according to a study. Tan Lai Zhou and colleagues used data from 2,652 participants in the Maastricht Study to evaluate whether urinary sodium excretion and salt intake are associated with 24-hour BPV. Participants adhered to a seven-day low- and high-salt diet (50 and 250 mmol NaCl/24 hour, respectively) with a washout period of 14 days. The researchers found that 24-hour urinary sodium excretion was not associated with 24-hour systolic or diastolic BPV (β, per 1 g/24-hour urinary sodium excretion: 0.05 mm Hg [95 percent...

Researchers found that patients who were assigned to the highest dose of the new medication saw the top blood pressure number drop by a full 20 points. Some patients with high blood pressure can't get it under control with standard medications, but a new study shows an experimental drug is up to the task of treating these tough-to-treat cases. Why do some folks struggle more with managing their high blood pressure than others? When the hypertension is caused by the hormone aldosterone, which is responsible for how much salt the body retains, it is much harder to control, researchers explained....

Increased consumption of dietary sodium may increase the risk for atopic dermatitis, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology, held May 18 to 21 in Portland, Oregon. Morgan Ye, M.P.H., from the University of California San Francisco, and colleagues examined the association between sodium intake and atopic dermatitis in a U.S. population-based cohort of 13,183 children and adults identified from the 1999-2000, 2001-2002, and 2003-2004 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The researchers found that the average dietary sodium intake was 3.30 g and 6 percent of participants reported...

Explanation: That's no comet. Below the Pleiades star cluster is actually a planet: Mercury. Long exposures of our Solar System's innermost planet may reveal something unexpected: a tail. Mercury's thin atmosphere contains small amounts of sodium that glow when excited by light from the Sun. Sunlight also liberates these atoms from Mercury's surface and pushes them away. The yellow glow from sodium, in particular, is relatively bright. Pictured, Mercury and its sodium tail are visible in a deep image taken last week from La Palma, Spain through a filter that primarily transmits yellow light emitted by sodium. First predicted in...

In order to power all of these EVs, we will need batteries — lots of them. This vital mineral in rechargeable batteries has earned the name “white gold” and the rush is on. But until the 1990s, the U.S. was the leader in lithium production. But there is only one operating lithium mine in the U.S., Albemarle’s Silver Peak in Nevada.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday that Taco Bell will be giving away free tacos to residents who are vaccinated. In addition, he announced, Chipotle restaurants will be offering “FREE QUESO,” while various California sports teams will be offering discounts as an incentive to encourage more locals to take the coronavirus vaccine.

The residue of ancient urine can reveal the presence of early stationary herder-farmer communities. A 10,000-year-old archaeological site in central Turkey is helping scientists unlock the region's pee-historic past. That's right: the salty residue of ancient urine can reveal how and when humans went from hunter-gatherers to herder-farmers who kept and raised animals in their settlements... In the dry climate of central Turkey, the sodium, chloride and nitrates from all that animal excretion would be trapped in the layers of earth onto which they were originally peed. Excavating those salts, layer by layer, should provide a timeline of animal populations...

For the first time, researchers have performed a version of the famous double-slit experiment with antimatter particles.The double-slit experiment demonstrates one of the fundamental tenets of quantum physics: that pointlike particles are also waves. In the standard version of the experiment, particles travel through a pair of slits in a solid barrier. On a screen on the other side, an interference pattern typical of waves appears. Crests and troughs emerging from each slit reinforce each other or cancel each other out as they overlap, creating alternating bands of high and low particle density on the screen.This kind of experiment has...