Interstellar formation of lactaldehyde, a key intermediate in the methylglyoxal pathway.

Aldehydes are ubiquitous in star-forming regions and carbonaceous chondrites, serving as essential intermediates in metabolic pathways and molecular mass growth processes to vital biomolecules necessary for the origins of life. However, their interstellar formation mechanisms have remained largely elusive. Here, we unveil the formation of lactaldehyde (CHCH(OH)CHO) by barrierless recombination of formyl (HĊO) and 1-hydroxyethyl (CHĊHOH) radicals in interstellar ice analogs composed of carbon monoxide (CO) and ethanol (CHCHOH).

Quantized current steps due to the synchronization of microwaves with Bloch oscillations in small Josephson junctions.

Synchronization of Bloch oscillations in small Josephson junctions (JJs) under microwave radiation, which leads to current quantization, has been proposed as an effect that is dual to the appearance of Shapiro steps. This current quantization was recently demonstrated in superconducting nanowires in a compact high-impedance environment. Direct observation of current quantization in JJs would confirm the synchronization of Bloch oscillations with microwaves and help with the realisation of the metrological current standard.

Formation of methylglyoxal (CHC(O)CHO) in interstellar analog ices - a key intermediate in cellular metabolism.

Ketoaldehydes are key intermediates in biochemical processes including carbohydrate, lipid, and amino acid metabolism. Despite their crucial role in the interstellar synthesis of essential biomolecules necessary for the Origins of Life, their formation mechanisms have largely remained elusive. Here, we report the first bottom-up formation of methylglyoxal (CHC(O)CHO)-the simplest ketoaldehyde-through the barrierless recombination of the formyl (HĊO) radical with the acetyl (CHĊO) radical in low-temperature interstellar ice analogs upon exposure to energetic irradiation as proxies of galactic cosmic rays.

Hypergolic ionic liquids: to be or not to be?

Hypergolic ionic liquids (HIL) - ionic liquids which ignite spontaneously upon contact with an oxidizer - emerged as green space propellants. Exploiting the previously marked hypergolic [EMIM][CBH] - WFNA (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cyanoborohydride - white fuming nitric acid) system as a benchmark, through the utilization of a novel chirped-pulse droplet-merging technique in an ultrasonic levitation environment and electronic structure calculations, this work deeply questions the hypergolicity of the [EMIM][CBH]-WFNA system. Molecular oxygen is critically required for the [EMIM][CBH]-WFNA system to ignite spontaneously.

rare codon UUA: from features associated with 2 related locations to candidate phage regulatory translational bypassing.

In species, the cell cycle involves a switch from an early and vegetative state to a later phase where secondary products including antibiotics are synthesized, aerial hyphae form and sporulation occurs. AdpA, which has two domains, activates the expression of numerous genes involved in the switch from the vegetative growth phase. The mRNA of many species has a UUA codon in a linker region between 5' sequence encoding one domain and 3' sequence encoding its other and C-terminal domain.