Natural Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Front Cover: Nuclear astrophysicists at war","authors":"Michael Wiescher, Karlheinz Langanke","doi":"10.1002/ntls.202410001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ntls.202410001","url":null,"abstract":"The question of energy production in stars stimulated an entire generation of young physicists in the 1930s who came to work in this field exploring the fundamentals of quantum and nuclear physics. Their experience and methodologies were essential to the Manhattan Project, facilitating the rapid development of the atomic bomb. The experience and knowledge gained from the Manhattan Project then flowed back to nuclear astrophysics after the war and led to its further development. This paper is motivated by the question that was raised in the film Oppenheimer, which asks whether “a bomb can set the atmosphere on fire?”. Seeking an answer requires a close intellectual exchange between the physics of the atomic bomb and the physics of stellar burning; this exchange is the topic of this paper.","PeriodicalId":501225,"journal":{"name":"Natural Sciences","volume":"12 2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139656213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Grounding the history of modern warfare: An extended book review of Peter Thompson's The Gas Mask in Interwar Germany","authors":"Ulf Schmidt","doi":"10.1002/ntls.20230021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ntls.20230021","url":null,"abstract":"Ever since Germany's use of chlorine gas on the battlefields of Flanders during the First World War, modern warfare has become synonymous with gas warfare, its images an iconographic shorthand for a detached, humiliating, and dishonourable death, and the gas mask a modern symbol of memento mori, a reminder of our own mortality. The paper argues that a critical history of chemical weapons and protective technologies, which is firmly grounded in the historiography and pays particular attention to the wider political and scientific context and related complexities, can help to facilitate greater public understanding and a willingness among key stakeholders to prioritise a shared interest: the creation of a world free from chemical weapons once and for all. Through an extended book review of Peter Thompson's recent book <i>The Gas Mask in Interwar Germany</i>, the paper seeks to demonstrate that writing such a history of modern warfare poses distinct challenges. Across eight chapters, the book covers, among others, the history of the first attack with chlorine gas in 1915, the development of gas masks, the perceived fear of gas among soldiers, the role of doctors in treating gas casualties, the role and writings of “gas specialists”, and, last but not least, the alleged realisation of a specific “Nazi chemical modernity”, through which the author attempts to connect the subject matter with the Holocaust. Such a wide-ranging, longue durée perspective can be fruitful if it is done with an attention to critical source analyses and balanced argumentation. Whether the book will inspire scholars to “rewrite the history of the twentieth century”, as the author implies, remains to be seen, but its broad discussion about the perceived and real implications of chemical agents and other “invisible toxins” undoubtedly offers food for thought in an increasingly volatile and seemingly threatening world.","PeriodicalId":501225,"journal":{"name":"Natural Sciences","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139477011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nuclear astrophysicists at war","authors":"Michael Wiescher, Karlheinz Langanke","doi":"10.1002/ntls.20230023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ntls.20230023","url":null,"abstract":"The question of energy production in stars stimulated an entire generation of young physicists in the 1930s who came to work in this field exploring the fundamentals of quantum and nuclear physics. Their experience and methodologies were essential to the Manhattan Project, facilitating the rapid development of the atomic bomb. The experience and knowledge gained from the Manhattan Project then flowed back to nuclear astrophysics after the war and led to its further development. This paper is motivated by the question that was raised in the film <i>Oppenheimer</i>, which asks whether “a bomb can set the atmosphere on fire?”. Seeking an answer requires a close intellectual exchange between the physics of the atomic bomb and the physics of stellar burning; this exchange is the topic of this paper.","PeriodicalId":501225,"journal":{"name":"Natural Sciences","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139462234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Commentary on the role of polyoxometalates in nature cybernetic loop","authors":"Kirill Yu. Monakhov","doi":"10.1002/ntls.20230020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ntls.20230020","url":null,"abstract":"The interplay between extraterrestrial, atmospheric, aqueous, interfacial, and hydrothermal processes is crucial for Earth's prebiotic chemistry. Volcanic terrains contain polyoxometalates (POMs). Some polyoxocuprates were identified as building blocks of fumarole minerals produced from high-temperature gases. The existence of polyoxovanadate anions in acidified reducing volcanic aquifers cannot be excluded. At present, it can only be speculated whether life arose around natural POM deposits and/or around their aqueous phase chemistry through acid-base and/or redox reactions. This Commentary spans different fields of sciences in nature cybernetic loop to provide impetus to explore gas-phase chemical reactions of multiply charged POM ions, catalysis by POM-containing mineral phases, the behavior of POMs under plasma-initiated ultraviolet photolysis, interactions of POMs with microorganisms, bioorthogonal chemistry of POMs, and engineering POM-based bionic functions inspired by living organisms.","PeriodicalId":501225,"journal":{"name":"Natural Sciences","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139375557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Front Cover: Automated segmentation of insect anatomy from micro-CT images using deep learning","authors":"Evropi Toulkeridou, Carlos Enrique Gutierrez, Daniel Baum, Kenji Doya, Evan P. Economo","doi":"10.1002/ntls.202340001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ntls.202340001","url":null,"abstract":"Micro-CT imaging has become readily accessible for morphological biology studies, generating data at overwhelming rates. To facilitate ecological discovery, micro-CT-produced 3D images of animals need efficient processing and analysis. However, segmentation of inner parts of scanned specimens can be very time-consuming. In this cover article ntls.20230010, Evropi Toulkeridou and colleagues develop a deep learning-based pipeline for accurate, fully automated segmentation of micro-CT images of insects, designed for ant brains but extendable to other insects. Further, their annotated dataset is among the first for micro-CT images of insects.","PeriodicalId":501225,"journal":{"name":"Natural Sciences","volume":"43 49","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138511131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Front Cover: Design strategies of the mantis shrimp spike: How the crustacean cuticle became a remarkable biological harpoon","authors":"Yann Delaunois, Alexandra Tits, Quentin Grossman, Sarah Smeets, Cédric Malherbe, Gauthier Eppe, G. Harry van Lenthe, Davide Ruffoni, Philippe Compère","doi":"10.1002/ntls.202330001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ntls.202330001","url":null,"abstract":"The arthropod cuticle is not only one of the most remarkable and versatile biological material but also a wonderful source of inspiration for developing new man-made composites. In this cover article ntls.20220060, Yann Delaunois and colleagues, investigate the spikes of the mantis shrimp with a multimodal approach and uncover several features allowing the spike to be a high-performance biological harpoon combing lightweight with high stiff and toughness.","PeriodicalId":501225,"journal":{"name":"Natural Sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138532716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Front Cover: Control of lipid metabolism by the dynamic and nutrient-dependent post-translational modification O-GlcNAcylation","authors":"Céline Schulz, Quentin Lemaire, Alexandre Berthier, Amandine Descat, Mostafa Kouach, Anne-Sophie Vercoutter-Edouart, Ikram El Yazidi-Belkoura, Stéphan Hardivillé, Jean-François Goossens, Philippe Lefebvre, Tony Lefebvre","doi":"10.1002/ntls.202320001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ntls.202320001","url":null,"abstract":"Post-translational modifications act as rheostats of protein activity. Many of them reflect environmental variations and allow the cell to give an adapted response to these changes. In this cover article #Ref, Céline Schulz and collaborators provide an in-depth overview of the still underrated role of the nutrient-dependent post-translational modification O-GlcNAcylation in the regulation of the metabolism of lipids, a very heterogenous family with very diverse functions.","PeriodicalId":501225,"journal":{"name":"Natural Sciences","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138532717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Front Cover: The road toward imaging a black hole: A personal perspective","authors":"Heino Falcke","doi":"10.1002/ntls.20221002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ntls.20221002","url":null,"abstract":"In article ntls.20220031, Heino Falcke describes the personal and collective journey leading to the imaging of black holes and to the image of Sgr A*, located at the center of our galaxy.","PeriodicalId":501225,"journal":{"name":"Natural Sciences","volume":"23 10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138532705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"COP27 Climate Change Conference: Urgent action needed for Africa and the world","authors":"Lukoye Atwoli, Gregory E. Erhabor, Aiah A. Gbakima, Abraham Haileamlak, Jean-Marie Kayembe Ntumba, James Kigera, Laurie Laybourn-Langton, Bob Mash, Joy Muhia, Fhumulani Mavis Mulaudzi, David Ofori-Adjei, Friday Okonofua, Arash Rashidian, Maha El-Adawy, Siaka Sidibé, Abdelmadjid Snouber, James Tumwine, Mohammad Sahar Yassien, Paul Yonga, Lilia Zakhama, Chris Zielinski","doi":"10.1002/ntls.20221000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ntls.20221000","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>Wealthy nations must step up support for Africa and vulnerable countries in addressing past, present and future impacts of climate change</i>.</p>\u0000<p>The 2022 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) paints a dark picture of the future of life on earth, characterised by ecosystem collapse, species extinction, and climate hazards such as heatwaves and floods.<span>¹</span> These are all linked to physical and mental health problems, with direct and indirect consequences of increased morbidity and mortality. To avoid these catastrophic health effects across all regions of the globe, there is broad agreement—as 231 health journals argued together in 2021—that the rise in global temperature must be limited to less than 1.5°C compared with pre-industrial levels.</p>\u0000<p>While the Paris Agreement of 2015 outlines a global action framework that incorporates providing climate finance to developing countries, this support has yet to materialise.<span>²</span> COP27 is the fifth Conference of the Parties (COP) to be organised in Africa since its inception in 1995. Ahead of this meeting, we—as health journal editors from across the continent—call for urgent action to ensure it is the COP that finally delivers climate justice for Africa and vulnerable countries. This is essential not just for the health of those countries, but for the health of the whole world.</p>\u0000<p><b>Africa has suffered disproportionately although it has done little to cause the crisis</b></p>\u0000<p>The climate crisis has had an impact on the environmental and social determinants of health across Africa, leading to devastating health effects.<span>³</span> Impacts on health can result directly from environmental shocks and indirectly through socially mediated effects.<span>⁴</span> Climate change-related risks in Africa include flooding, drought, heatwaves, reduced food production, and reduced labour productivity.<span>⁵</span></p>\u0000<p>Droughts in sub-Saharan Africa have tripled between 1970–1979 and 2010–2019.<span>⁶</span> In 2018, devastating cyclones impacted 2.2 million people in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.<span>⁶</span> In west and central Africa, severe flooding resulted in mortality and forced migration from loss of shelter, cultivated land, and livestock.<span>⁷</span> Changes in vector ecology brought about by floods and damage to environmental hygiene have led to increases in diseases across sub-Saharan Africa, with rises in malaria, dengue fever, Lassa fever, Rift Valley fever, Lyme disease, Ebola virus, West Nile virus, and other infections.<span>^{8, 9}</span> Rising sea levels reduce water quality, leading to water-borne diseases, including diarrhoeal diseases, a leading cause of mortality in Africa.<span>⁸</span> Extreme weather damages water and food supply, increasing food insecurity and malnutrition, which causes 1.7 million deaths ann","PeriodicalId":501225,"journal":{"name":"Natural Sciences","volume":"137 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138532746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Coherent atomic orbital polarization probes the geometric phase in photodissociation of polyatomic molecules","authors":"Chaya Weeraratna, Arthur G. Suits, Oleg S. Vasyutinskii","doi":"10.1002/ntls.20220013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ntls.20220013","url":null,"abstract":"Quantum interference between multiple pathways in molecular photodissociation often results in angular momentum polarization of atomic products and this can give deep insight into fundamental physical processes. For dissociation of diatomic molecules, the resulting orbital polarization is fully understood and consistent with quantum mechanical theory. For polyatomic molecules, however, coherent photofragment orbital polarization is frequently observed but so far has eluded theoretical explanation, and physical insight is lacking. Here, we present a model of these effects for ozone photodissociation that reveals the importance of a novel manifestation of the geometric phase. We show this geometric phase effect permits the existence of coherent polarization in cases where it would otherwise vanish, and cancels it in some cases where it might otherwise exist. The model accounts for measurements in ozone that have hitherto defied explanation, and represents a step toward a deeper understanding of coherent electronic excitation in polyatomic molecules and a new role of the geometric phase.","PeriodicalId":501225,"journal":{"name":"Natural Sciences","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138532706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}