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FRANKFURT/MARBURG/BASEL. In 2013, a team of microbiologists led by Professor Volker Müller of Goethe University Frankfurt discovered an unusual enzyme in heat-loving (thermophilic) bacteria: hydrogen-dependent CO. 2 HDCR reductase. It produces formic acid (formic) from hydrogen gas (H 2 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), and in the process, hydrogen transfers electrons to carbon dioxide. This makes HDCR the first known enzyme to directly utilize hydrogen. On the other hand, all the enzymes known to date that produce formic acid took a detour: they obtained electrons from soluble cellular electron transfer agents, which for their part accepted electrons from hydrogen with the help of other enzymes. The bacterium Thermoanaerobacter kivui thrives away from oxygen, for example in the deep ocean, and uses CO 2 and hydrogen to produce cellular energy. HDCR from Thermoanaerobacter kivui consists of four protein modules: one that cleaves hydrogen, one that produces formic acid and two small

Deep in the Milky Way, roughly 22,000 light-years from Earth, a star unlike any other roars with a magnetic force that beats anything physicists have ever seen. With 1.6 billion Tesla, a pulsar called Swift J0243.6+6124 broke the previous record of around 1 billion Tesla, found in the vicinity of pulsars GRO J1008-57 and 1A 0535+262. For a little context, your average new fridge magnet comes in at around 0.001 Tesla. More powerful MRI machines manage to reach around 3 Tesla. A few years ago, engineers were credited with hitting the semi-respectable 1,200 Tesla, keeping it in a flash of just 100 microseconds. So it makes sense that 1.6 billion Tesla would demand some truly amazing physics. The kind that can only be achieved by massive objects crammed into impossible volumes and spinning at incredible speeds, fast enough to accelerate electrons to ridiculous speeds. Swift J0243.6+6124 is already considered a noteworthy star. A type of super-compact cosmic heavyweight known as a pulsar

For the first time, physicists have witnessed something very interesting: electrons form eddies like liquids. This behavior is one that scientists have long predicted, but never observed before. And that could be the key to developing next-generation electronics that are more efficient and faster. “Electron vortex is expected in theory, but there is no direct evidence yet, and seeing is believing,” said one of the researchers behind the new study, physicist Leonid Levitov of MIT. “Now we’ve seen it, and it’s a clear sign of being in this new regime, where electrons behave as liquids, not as individual particles.” While electrons flowing in a vortex might not sound like a breakthrough, it’s a big deal because flowing like a liquid results in more energy being sent to the end point, instead of being lost on the way while the electrons are pushed around by things like impurities in matter or vibrations in atoms. “We know that when an electron enters a liquid state, [energy] dissipation d

Physicists at MIT and the Weizmann Institute of Science have visualized whirlpools in electron fluid. This is the first time they have observed electrons flowing in eddies, or whirlpools, the hallmark of hydrodynamic flow. Theorists have long predicted electron vortexes or vortexes but had not seen one until now. Now, physicists have seen it, and it is a clear sign that electrons are in this new regime, where electrons behave as liquids, not as individual particles. Leonid Levitov, professor of physics at MIT, said, “We know that when an electron enters a liquid state, [energy] dissipation drops, and that’s what’s interesting in designing low-power electronics. This new observation is another step in that direction.” In 2017, Levitov and colleagues at the University of Manchester detected signs of fluid-like electron behavior in graphene. They carved thin channels on the graphene sheet with multiple pinch points. Sending current through a conduit can also flow through a constricti

Even though they are separate particles, water molecules flow collectively as a liquid, producing streams, waves, whirlpools, and other classic fluid phenomena. Not so with electricity. While electric current is also a different construction of particles – in this case, electrons – the particles are so small that any collective behavior between them is drowned out by a greater influence when electrons pass through ordinary metals. However, in certain materials and under certain conditions, these effects fade, and electrons can directly affect each other. In this case, the electrons can flow collectively like a liquid. Now, physicists at MIT and the Weizmann Institute of Science have observed electrons flowing in eddies, or whirlpools — a fluid flow feature that theorists predicted electrons would exhibit, but that had not been seen until now. “Electronic vortexes are expected in theory, but there is no direct evidence yet, and seeing is believing,” said Leonid Levitov, professor of

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Even though they are separate particles, water molecules flow collectively as a liquid, producing streams, waves, whirlpools, and other classic fluid phenomena. Not so with electricity. While electric current is also a different construction of particles—in this case, electrons—the particles are so small that any collective behavior between them is drowned out by a greater influence when electrons pass through ordinary metals. However, in certain materials and under certain conditions, these effects fade, and electrons can directly affect each other. In this case, the electrons can flow collectively like a liquid. Now, physicists at MIT and the Weizmann Institute of Science have observed electrons flowing in eddies, or whirlpools—a fluid flow characteristic that theorists predicted electrons would exhibit, but that had not been seen until now. “Electronic vortexes are expected in theory, but there is