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This press release is copyright Nature.
VOL.445 NO.7124 DATED 11 JANUARY 2007
This press release contains:
* Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Nuclear power: Ceramics solution to nuclear waste?
Oceanography: Nitrogen fix
* Mention of papers to be published at the same time with the same embargo
* Geographical listing of authors
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[1] Nuclear power: Ceramics solution to nuclear waste? (pp 190-193; N&V)
Scientists wishing to store spent nuclear fuels inside specially designed ceramics may need to think again, a paper in this week's Nature suggests. The synthetic materials may not be as durable as was previously thought.
Ian Farnan and colleagues studied the ability of synthetic zircons to contain plutonium-rich materials. As the plutonium decays, alpha-particles are emitted, knocking atoms in the ceramic out of position and making the material more susceptible to break down. The researchers see up to five times the number of atomic displacements per alpha-decay event than was previously estimated, meaning the ceramic could start leaking radioactivity after only 1,400 years. This falls far short of the ideal immobilization time scale of 241,000 years.
The synthetic ceramics were inspired by naturally occurring counterparts, geological zircons, that can contain radioactive materials for millions of years. And the study highlights how understanding the role of atoms in radioactive decay is critical to the development of practical, long-term, immobilization materials.
CONTACT
Ian Farnan (University of Cambridge, UK) Author
Tel: +44 1223 333 431; E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Rodney C. Ewing (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA) N&V author
Tel: +1 734 647 8529 or +1 734 763 9295; E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
[2] Oceanography: Nitrogen fix (pp 163-167; N&V)
Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted into compounds that can be used by plants and other organisms, is crucial for maintaining productivity in the oceans. In this week's Nature, researchers use a new approach to determine nitrogen fixation rates in the world's oceans - with surprising results.
It was thought that the supply of iron from atmospheric dust might limit the rate at which nitrogen-fixing bacteria do their job. But Curtis Deutsch and colleagues find that the rate of nitrogen fixation is highest in the Pacific Ocean, where the supply of iron from the atmosphere is low and denitrification rates are high, and lowest in the Atlantic Ocean, where the reverse applies.
The new method involves interpreting nutrient distributions in the context of a global ocean circulation model, and so avoids the problems inherent in trying to measure nitrogen fixation directly. These results counter the widely held view that the rate of nitrogen fixation is determined by the supply of iron, and indicate that nitrogen fixation is tightly coupled to denitrification - the process whereby nitrites and nitrates are converted to nitrogen gas. The results suggest that feedbacks between these processes may stabilize the amount of biologically available nitrogen in the oceans over time.
CONTACT
Curtis Deutsch (University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA) Author
Tel: +1 206 221 6745; E-mail: [email protected]
Douglas G. Capone (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA) N&V author
Tel: +33 4 93 76 38 01 (author on sabbatical in France); E-mail: [email protected]
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE…
[3] Spin correlations in the electron-doped high-transition-temperature superconductor Nd2-xCexCuO4±delta (pp 186-189)
[4] Redox evolution of a degassing magma rising to the surface (pp 194-197)
[5] Habitat modification alters the structure of tropical host-parasitoid food webs (pp 202-205)
[6] Light stimulates growth of proteorhodopsin-containing marine Flavobacteria (pp 210-213)
[7] Histone arginine methylation regulates pluripotency in the early mouse embryo (pp 214-218)
GEOGRAPHICAL LISTING OF AUTHORS…
The following list of places refers to the whereabouts of authors on the papers numbered in this release. For example, London: 4 - this means that on paper number four, there will be at least one author affiliated to an institute or company in London. The listing may be for an author's main affiliation, or for a place where they are working temporarily. Please see the PDF of the paper for full details.
FRANCE
Orleans: 4
GERMANY
Goettingen: 5
NEW ZEALAND
Christchurch: 5
SPAIN
Tenerife: 6
SWEDEN
Goteborg: 6
Kalmar: 6
Lund: 6
SWITZERLAND
Zurich: 2
UNITED KINGDOM
Cambridge: 1, 7
Oxford: 5
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
Los Angeles: 2
Stanford: 3
Maryland
Gaithersburg: 3
New Jersey
Princeton: 2
Washington
Richland: 1
Seattle: 2
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Tel: +81 3 3267 8751; E-mail: [email protected]
For the UK/Europe/other countries not listed above
Helen Jamison, Nature London
Tel: +44 20 7843 4658; E-mail [email protected]
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