Lead isotopic ages of chondrules and calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions

The lead-lead isochron age of chondrules in the CR chondrite Acfer 059 is 4564.7 +/- 0.6 million years ago (Ma), whereas the lead isotopic age of calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) in the CV chondrite Efremovka is 4567.2 +/- 0.6 Ma. This gives an interval of 2.5 +/- 1.2 million years (My) between formation of the CV CAIs and the CR chondrules and indicates that CAI- and chondrule-forming events lasted for at least 1.3 My. This time interval is consistent with a 2- to 3-My age difference between CR CAIs and chondrules inferred from the differences in their initial 26Al/27Al ratios and supports the chronological significance of the 26Al-26Mg systematics.     

Extracellular proteins limit the dispersal of biogenic nanoparticles

High-spatial-resolution secondary ion microprobe spectrometry, synchrotron radiation-based Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and polyacrylamide gel analysis demonstrated the intimate association of proteins with spheroidal aggregates of biogenic zinc sulfide nanocrystals, an example of extracellular biomineralization. Experiments involving synthetic zinc sulfide nanoparticles and representative amino acids indicated a driving role for cysteine in rapid nanoparticle aggregation. These findings suggest that microbially derived extracellular proteins can limit the dispersal of nanoparticulate metal-bearing phases, such as the mineral products of bioremediation, that may otherwise be transported away from their source by subsurface fluid flow.     

Directionally controlled fluorescence emission in butterflies

Recently developed, high-efficiency, light-emitting diodes use two-dimensional photonic crystals to enhance the extraction of otherwise internally trapped light and multilayer reflectors to control the direction of light emission. This work describes the characterization of a naturally evolved light-extraction system on the wing scales of a small group of Papilio butterflies. The efficient extraction of fluorescence from these scales is facilitated by a two-dimensional photonic crystal slab that uses a multilayer to help control emission direction. Its light-extraction function is analogous to that of the light-emitting diode.     

Ordering in a fluid inert gas confined by flat surfaces

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images of room-temperature fluid xenon in small faceted cavities in aluminum reveal the presence of three well-defined layers within the fluid at each facet. Such interfacial layering of simple liquids has been theoretically predicted, but observational evidence has been ambiguous. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the density variation induced by the layering will cause xenon, confined to an approximately cubic cavity of volume approximately 8 cubic nanometers, to condense into the body-centered cubic phase, differing from the face-centered cubic phase of both bulk solid xenon and solid xenon confined in somewhat larger (>/=20 cubic nanometer) tetradecahedral cavities in face-centered cubic metals. Layering at the liquid-solid interface plays an important role in determining physical properties as diverse as the rheological behavior of two-dimensionally confined liquids and the dynamics of crystal growth.     

Orangutan cultures and the evolution of material culture

Geographic variation in some aspects of chimpanzee behavior has been interpreted as evidence for culture. Here we document similar geographic variation in orangutan behaviors. Moreover, as expected under a cultural interpretation, we find a correlation between geographic distance and cultural difference, a correlation between the abundance of opportunities for social learning and the size of the local cultural repertoire, and no effect of habitat on the content of culture. Hence, great-ape cultures exist, and may have done so for at least 14 million years.