Crystallization on surfaces of well-defined topography

Single crystals of calcite with regular patterned surfaces comprising close-packed arrays of hemispherical cavities or domes were produced by crystallization on colloidal monolayers or PDMS replicas of these monolayers, respectively. Perfect replication of the substrate topography was achieved for all colloidal particles, irrespective of their size and surface chemistry when the substrate geometry permitted unrestricted ion flow to the growing crystal. This work demonstrates that crystallization within a mould provides a very general route to producing single crystals with curved surfaces and unusual morphologies and that such patterning can be applied from the micro- to the nanoscale.     

Proton magnetic relaxation in solutions of E. coli ribosomal RNA containing Mn2+ ions

A study has been made over a range of temperatures and magnetic field strengths of the spin relaxation of water protons in aqueous solutions of E. coli ribosomal RNA containing Mn²⁺ ions. The effects of the paramagnetic ions are enhanced in the presence of the RNA. As the temperature falls T ₁ passes through a minimum value, the magnitude of which is field dependent, and this is attributed to a change in dipolar relaxation mechanism from rotation of the aquocomplex to electron spin relaxation. The relevance of this work is assessed in relation to other work on proton relaxation enhancement in Mn²⁺-containing solutions of biopolymers.     

Set the controls for the heart of the Sun

In this paper we describe experiments conducted with high-power lasers that are attempting to replicate, for a very short time and in miniature, conditions found in the Sun. Experiments to date have reached conditions in the outer part of the Sun. To reach the Sun's centre requires compression of material to very much greater than solid density and heating to over ten million degrees. To achieve this, a new class of experiments and a new generation of high-power lasers are required.