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1
Research releases latest black hole photos
The matter surrounding the black hole is thought to fall into the black hole in a process known as accretion, but no one has ever directly imaged it. An international research team led by Lu Rusen, a researcher at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, used new observations in the millimeter-wave band of the Global Millimeter-Wave Very Long Baseline Interferometry Array (GMVA) in combination with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Greenland Telescope (GLT) to image for the first time the black hole shadow of the famous radio galaxy Messier 87, as well as the ring-like structure and powerful relativistic jets of material around it that show falling into the central black hole. The images show for the first time a link between accretion currents near the central supermassive black hole and the origin of jets, and new observations reveal more details about the location and energy of these electrons.
Shen Zhiqiang, director of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, said that the 3.5 mm wavelength image displayed this time can be said to represent the latest achievement. But in order to unravel the mystery of the physical mechanisms of the formation, acceleration, and collimation propagation of the central supermassive black hole of M87 and its relativistic jets, we need to take high-quality images with more colors.
Content Source:
https://www.cas.cn/syky/202304/t20230427_4885489.shtml
2
Nearly frictionless ion conduction in the microporous frame ion membrane was studied
Studies have shown that asynchronous music activities are more likely to promote young children's point of view than synchronous music activities. This challenges the common perception of the prosocial role of synchronization and imitation behavior in previous research, suggesting that differential coordination promotes the core social cognitive ability of opinion selection more than consistent coordination.
Ion membrane is the key component of water electrolyzer, fuel cell, redox flow battery and ion capture electrodialysis and other related processes, building efficient ion channels in the membrane and reducing the ion transmembrane transfer energy barrier is the key to the development of high-performance ion membranes, and how to build fully rigid confined micropores in the membrane and regulate the interaction between ions and channels, so as to approach the limit of ion conduction rate, is the key to the development of a new generation of ion membranes.
The team of Professor Tongwen Xu and Zhengjin Yang of the University of Science and Technology of China and their collaborators proposed a new class of triazine framework polymer ion membranes in view of the "conductivity-selectivity" mutual constraint relationship of ion membranes. Based on the confinement effect of rigid channels and the "ion coordination" mechanism in the channel, such membrane materials exhibit near-frictionless ion transport, realize fast charging of aqueous organic flow batteries, and the current density of battery charging and discharging reaches more than 5 times the current commonly reported value. This cationic membrane has demonstrated extraordinary performance in flow batteries, and it has important reference significance for the research system of aqueous flow batteries based on molecular active substances.
Content Source:
http://news.ustc.edu.cn/info/1055/82719.htm
3
Reduce salt intake, or eat low sodium salt?
Hypertension is the most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease in Chinese residents. Numerous studies have shown that excessive sodium intake and low potassium intake both increase blood pressure and are important factors in the development of hypertension. Professor Wu Yangfeng of the Institute of Clinical Research of Peking University led the DECIDE-Salt study, which aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of two salt reduction strategies at the same time: replacing regular table salt with potassium-rich and low-sodium salts and gradually reducing kitchen salt supply. The findings showed that replacing ordinary salt in nursing home kitchens with potassium-rich low-sodium salts reduced systolic blood pressure by an average of 7.1 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure by an average of 1.9 mmHg, and major cardiovascular events by 40% during the 2-year intervention period. In contrast, the gradual reduction of kitchen salt did not achieve the same effect, and there was no increase in clinical hyperkalemia and other serious adverse events in the low-sodium group. These results suggest that it is safer to promote the use of low sodium in the elderly population, and indirectly indicate that it will be safer to promote low sodium to other groups with a lower risk of hyperkalemia (such as young people).
Content Source:
https://news.pku.edu.cn/jxky/b27252fa018240f7acc10d4090d629b1.htm
4
The study revealed novel receptor recognition patterns and cross-species transmission mechanisms of alphaviruses
A virus is a class of RNA viruses transmitted by arthropods such as mosquitoes, which can widely infect humans, birds, rats, horses and other animals and cause related diseases. To date, no drugs or vaccines have been approved to treat or prevent alphavirus infection, and the universal receptors that mediate the spread of viruses across very different species have rarely been reported, and the mode of binding of viruses to such receptors and the mechanism of cross-species transmission mediated by them are unknown.
Recently, the journal Cell published the research results completed by Xiang Ye's research group of Tsinghua University School of Medicine and Zhang Xinzheng's research group of the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This study identified a new receptor binding site of alphavirus through structural biology and a variety of biochemical methods, revealed a novel mechanism of multiple similar tandem domains of the receptor VLDLR that bind to SFV through synergistic action, and first elucidated the molecular mechanism of universal receptor molecules mediating cross-species transmission of viruses, providing a new target for antiviral drug design and new vaccine development.
Content Source:
https://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/info/1175/103230.htm
5
Researchers solve the mystery of sea cucumber "spitting silk"
"Spit" is a defense mechanism for many tropical sea cucumbers to erupt filamentous tubules from the anus and adhere to predators when threatened by predators. The small tube ejected by sea cucumbers is called the "Cuvivian apparatus", but its composition and the mechanism of its viscosity have always been unsolved.
Recently, a research team led by Hu Chaoqun, a researcher at the Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bioresources and Ecology of the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that the viscous protein in the outer layer of the Cuviet's apparatus has a long tandem repeat, similar to the silk protein of spiders and silkworms, through chromosome-level high-precision genome sequencing. The research team has also made breakthroughs in the research of sea cucumbers' predator defense mechanisms, solving the mystery of sea cucumbers' "spitting silk". Jade-footed sea cucumbers use transient receptor potential channels to sense mechanical pressure exerted by predators and stimulate Cuviva excretion by releasing acetylcholine signals. The study reveals the material basis, perception process and ejection mechanism of Vickers to defend against predators, which has potential application value in the development of technologies to improve the adaptability of artificially cultivated sea cucumbers, and provides new ideas for the research and development of new biomimetic underwater adhesive materials.
Content Source:
https://www.cas.cn/syky/202304/t20230424_4885117.shtml
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