X-ray Spectrometry / Ezine
Nobel chemistry: pharma directions
Date: Oct 10, 2012
Author: David Bradley
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly to Robert Lefkowitz of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University Medical Center and Brian Kobilka Stanford of the University School of Medicine, Stanford "for studies of G-protein–coupled receptors".
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Journal Highlight: In situ removal of carbon contamination from optics in a vacuum ultraviolet and soft X-ray undulator beamline using oxygen activated by zeroth-order synchrotron radiation
Date: Oct 8, 2012
Author: spectroscopyNOW
An in situ method involving the use of oxygen activated by zeroth-order synchrotron radiation was used to clean the optics in a vacuum ultraviolet and soft X-ray undulator beamline.
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Stroke protection: Nanoparticles X-rayed
Date: Oct 1, 2012
Author: David Bradley
Ceria nanoparticles have been tested as putative agents to protect against the deleterious effects on the brain of ischaemic stroke. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy provides the detailed clues.
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On the hop: iron oxide nanoparticles
Date: Sep 15, 2012
Author: David Bradley
High-intensity X-rays have allowed an international team to investigate how electrons hop around within nanoparticles of iron oxide for the first time. The work could offer new insights not only into the motion of electrons in rust, but also how one of the most abundant minerals affects the condition of soil and water around it. The same insights might also inform developments in electron-transfer processes in biology and solar energy conversion.
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Journal Highlight: A total reflection X-ray fluorescence method for the determination of chlorine at trace levels in nuclear materials without sample dissolution
Date: Sep 10, 2012
Author: spectroscopyNOW
A total reflection X-ray fluorescence method is described for the determination of chlorine at trace levels in nuclear fuel samples such as U3O8, (U,Pu)C, PuO2 and Pu alloys.
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TB or not TB: Efflux X-rayed
Date: Sep 1, 2012
Author: David Bradley
Edward Yu's team at Iowa State University have taken another step forward in our understanding of this pressing issue by using crystallography to reveal the structure of a protein regulator that controls the expression of the multidrug efflux pump in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
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CheMin: Martian Mineralogy
Date: Aug 15, 2012
Author: David Bradley
Rocks are important. The ground beneath our feet, and all that…but on another horizon it is the chemistry of Martian rocks that are the focus of the CheMin system aboard NASA's recently landed Curiosity vehicle. The principal investigator NASA Ames Research Center heading the studies is David Blake.
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Journal Highlight: Parametric X-ray radiation as a novel source for X-ray imaging
Date: Aug 13, 2012
Author: spectroscopyNOW
A novel X-ray source based on parametric X-ray radiation and constructed from an irradiated single crystal has been demonstrated in phase-contrast imaging experiments.
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X-ray batteries: Extra charges
Date: Aug 1, 2012
Author: David Bradley
US researchers have used X-ray diffraction and transmission X-ray microscopy to take a closer look at how lithium-sulfur batteries operate. Their observations might facilitate improvements in these short-lived devices and give a much-needed boost to electric vehicles.
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Keep going: Fuel cells
Date: Jul 15, 2012
Author: David Bradley
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to verify the science underpinning a fuel cell that keeps going even after the hydrogen runs out.
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