Alexander von Humboldt

Bloodsucker, leech, tick – few things have a reputation worse than parasites. But these biological hangers-on also have a comic cultural history. In biology, a parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food (or other benefits) from (or at the expense of)…

Black nitrogen is formed when nitrogen is placed in a diamond stamp cell between opposite diamonds and pressed together under extremely high pressures. Photo: Christian Wißler. In the periodic table of elements there is one golden rule for carbon, oxygen and other light elements: Under high pressures, they have similar…

In the periodic table of elements there is one golden rule for carbon, oxygen, and other light elements. Under high pressures they have similar structures to heavier elements in the same group of elements. Only nitrogen always seemed unwilling to toe the line. However, high-pressure researchers of the University of…

If you happened to find yourself in 17th-century Naples, you were in for a rough time. The Plague of 1656 was in full swing and would claim an estimated 300,000 lives in Naples alone. If you were one of the unlucky souls to come down with the buboes and high…

A physician wearing a 17th-century plague-preventive head covering.Illustration: Wellcome CollectionIf you happened to find yourself in 17th-century Naples, you were in for a rough time. The Plague of 1656 was in full swing and would claim an estimated 300,000 lives in Naples alone. If you were one of the unlucky…

The hoisting of a Christianised dome to top off Berlin's rebuilt imperial palace-turned-museum complex has run into controversy. Critics say Germany is missing a chance to portray post-colonial multicultural diversity. Berlin wind-conditions permitting, a crane was due Friday to host the 17-ton dome reminiscent of Prussian imperialism to top off…

Abstract Salt metathesis of 1‐methyl‐2,4,6‐triphenylphosphacyclohexadienyl lithium and chlorobis(pentafluorophenyl)borane affords a 1‐phospha‐7‐bora‐norbornadiene derivative 2 . The C≡N triple bonds of nitriles insert into the P−B bond of 2 with concomitant C−B bond cleavage, whereas the C≡C bonds of phenylacetylenes react with 2 to form λ4‐phosphabarrelenes. Even though 2 must formally be…

IMAGE: Dr. Dominique Laniel, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation research fellow, at the Bavarian Research Institute of Experimental Geochemistry & Geophysics (BGI). view more  Credit: Photo: Christian Wißler. In the periodic table of elements there is one golden rule for carbon, oxygen, and other light elements. Under high pressures they have similar…

This article is about the Swiss-American biologist and geologist. For the American ornithologist, illustrator and artist, see Louis Agassiz Fuertes. Louis Agassiz Born May 28, 1807Haut-Vully, Switzerland Died December 14, 1873 (aged 66)Cambridge, Massachusetts Citizenship United States Fields Paleontology Glaciology Geology Natural history Institutions University of NeuchâtelHarvard UniversityCornell University Alma mater…

Fluorescence microscopy, including single-molecule and super-resolution imaging, has evolved as a powerful tool to study the structure and dynamics of biological systems in vitro and in vivo down to the molecular level. A greatly improved performance of the contrast agents—fluorescent dyes and proteins—is achieved via suppression of undesired long-lived and…