An international team of researchers has found a surprisingly simple relationship between the rates of energy and information transmission across an interface connecting two quantum field theories. Their work was published in Physical Review Letters on August 30. The interface between different quantum field theories is an important concept that arises in a variety of problems in particle physics and condensed matter physics. However, it has been difficult to calculate the transmission rates of energy and information across interfaces. Hirosi…
A new study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is providing new insights into how next-generation electronics, including memory components in computers, breakdown or degrade over time. Understanding the reasons for degradation could help improve efficiency of data storage solutions. The research is published in ACS Nano, a peer-reviewed scientific journal and is featured on the cover of the journal. Advances in computing technology continue to increase the demand for efficient data storage solutions. Spintronic magnetic tunnel…
… puts chemicals in right position to make ethers. Taking inspiration from enzymes, chemists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed a catalyst to simplify the synthesis of ethers, key functional components of many drugs, foods, personal care items and other consumer goods. The catalyst puts the two chemical ingredients in just the right proximity and position to come together, bypassing the need for the steps and quantities required under standard synthesis protocols. Led by U. of I. chemistry professor M….
How synthesis methods have a profound impact on disordered materials. A new study reveals how different synthesis methods can profoundly impact the structure and function of high entropy oxides, a class of materials with applications in everyday electronic devices. A new study has revealed for the first time how different synthesis methods can profoundly impact the structural and functional properties of high entropy oxides, a class of materials with applications in everyday electronic devices. The study was published this week…
– hasten energy transition. Batteries lose capacity over time, which is why older cellphones run out of power more quickly. This common phenomenon, however, is not completely understood. Now, an international team of researchers, led by an engineer at the University of Colorado Boulder, has revealed the underlying mechanism behind such battery degradation. Their discovery could help scientists to develop better batteries, which would allow electric vehicles to run farther and last longer, while also advancing energy storage technologies that would…
SLF researchers are investigating how artificial stones move on rough ground in order to improve hazard indication maps. “Oh, oh, it’s broken,” says Joël Borner and looks after his boulder, down into the Hauptertälli. The SLF rockfall expert has launched a large, red-orange concrete block down the 30-degree slope from his launch site near the Weissfluhjoch near Davos, on command: “We launch in three, two, one, launch.” On its way down, the block then hit a rock – and split…
How “Big Algebra” could connect quantum physics and number theory. Several fields of mathematics have developed in total isolation, using their own ‘undecipherable’ coded languages. In a new study published in PNAS, Tamás Hausel, professor of mathematics at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), presents “big algebras,” a two-way mathematical ‘dictionary’ between symmetry, algebra, and geometry, that could strengthen the connection between the distant worlds of quantum physics and number theory. Big algebra surface and skeleton. The trident…
… uncovers how surprisingly transcription is regulated in plants. In multicellular organisms, transcriptional regulation allows for specialization, such that cells carrying the same genetic code can carry out different functions and roles. In plants, a new unbiased screen allowed researchers in the group of Magnus Nordborg at the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI) to uncover that regulatory sequences act differently depending on their position – contrary to animals, in which transcriptional regulation is position-independent. The results were…
Scientists in Mainz established a novel photocatalyst class that uses precious metals more efficiently. Inspired by nature’s photosynthesis, photocatalysts use light to trigger a chemical reaction that would otherwise only occur at high temperatures or under harsh conditions. For this concept to be widely applicable in an economical fashion, the quantum efficiency of the light-induced transformation has to be high. Tailored photocatalysts with outstanding efficiencies in photocatalytic applications are oftentimes composed of two photoactive units with a covalent bond in-between….
How can computer models help design microbial communities? Within the framework of the Collaborative Research Centre CRC1535 “MibiNet” coordinated by Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), a research team comprising members from Aachen, Düsseldorf and East Lansing/USA examined the development perspectives of so-called synthetic biology. In the scientific journal Synthetic Biology, they explain why computer-aided biology has an important role to play. Biology: Publication in Synthetic Biology Communities of microorganisms – bacteria, fungi and viruses – can be found everywhere, also…
Hundreds of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been recorded as part of an enormous global effort so extensive it “rivals the catalogue of deep-sky objects created by Messier 250 years ago”, astronomers say. GRBs are the most violent explosions in the Universe, releasing more energy than the Sun would in 10 billion years. They occur when either a massive star dies or two neutron stars merge. The explosions are so formidable that if one were to erupt within a distance of…
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg have succeeded in selectively manipulating the motion of the electron pair in the hydrogen molecule. The emission direction of a photoelectron released by light (a photon) relative to the remaining bound electron in the cleaved neutral hydrogen atom can be controlled by the time interval between two laser flashes on the scale of a few hundred attoseconds (10⁻¹⁸ s). The adjustable emission asymmetry is based on the quantum entanglement…
A research team from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa has developed the prosthesis of the future, the first in the world with magnetic control. It is a completely new way of controlling the movements of a robotic hand. “The trial on the first patient was successful. We are ready to extend these results to a broader range of amputations” says Prof. Christian Cipriani. It is the first magnetically controlled prosthetic hand, that allows amputees to reproduce all movements simply…
The novel technique could be used to treat damaged tissue in a range of medical applications, including reconstructive and plastic surgeries. A technology most often used for medical imaging is being repurposed as a new tool for restoring blood flow in tissue damaged from disease, injury, and reconstructive surgery. Biomedical engineers at the University of Rochester are leveraging ultrasound waves to organize endothelial cells—the building blocks of blood vessels—into patterns that can promote the growth of new vessel networks within days. “We…
A new volcano has been spotted on Jupiter’s moon Io, the most geologically active place in the Solar System. Analysis of the first close-up images of Io in over 25 years, captured by the JunoCam instrument on NASA’s Juno mission, reveal the emergence of a fresh volcano with multiple lava flows and volcanic deposits covering an area about 180 kilometres by 180 kilometres. The findings have been presented at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) in Berlin this week. The new…
Natural antimicrobials called microcins are produced by bacteria in the gut and show promise in fighting infection. More than a million people each year die from infections by pathogens that are resistant to antimicrobials, and the problem is growing. Meanwhile, the discovery of new antimicrobials that can help stem the tide has not kept pace. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin see promise in a class of natural antimicrobials called microcins, which are produced by bacteria in the…
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