The breakthrough is a step towards the development of next-generation magnetic devices that control light. In a significant advancement in optical technology, researchers from Tohoku University and Toyohashi University of Technology have developed a new method for creating transparent magnetic materials using laser heating. This breakthrough, recently published in the journal Optical Materials, presents a novel approach to integrating magneto-optical materials with optical devices, a long-standing challenge in the field. “The key to this achievement lies in creating ‘Cerium-substituted Yttrium…
With the holiday season in full swing, gifts of all shapes and sizes are being shipped around the world. But all that packaging generates lots of waste, including cardboard boxes and plastic-based foam cushioning, such as Styrofoam™. Rather than discard those boxes, researchers publishing in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering developed a cushioning foam from cardboard waste. Their upcycled material was stronger and more insulating than traditional, plastic foam-based cushioning. Among the many kinds of trash that accumulate within a…
Multi-scale approach improves the fatigue threshold of particle-reinforced rubber. Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have increased the fatigue threshold of particle-reinforced rubber, developing a new, multiscale approach that allows the material to bear high loads and resist crack growth over repeated use. This approach could not only increase the longevity of rubber products such as tires but also reduce the amount of pollution from rubber particles shed during use. The research…
Using generative AI, MIT chemists created a model that can predict the structures formed when a chemical reaction reaches its point of no return. During a chemical reaction, molecules gain energy until they reach what’s known as the transition state — a point of no return from which the reaction must proceed. This state is so fleeting that it’s nearly impossible to observe it experimentally. The structures of these transition states can be calculated using techniques based on quantum chemistry,…
New study explains development of the mammalian superior colliculus. The superior colliculus in the mammalian brain takes on many important tasks by making sense of our environment. Any mistakes during the development of this brain region can lead to severe neurological disorders. ISTA scientist Giselle Cheung and colleagues have now, for the first time, delineated the pedigree and origin of nerve cells that make up the superior colliculus. Their findings have been published in the journal Neuron. Cells in the…
Freight transportation is a backbone of the US economy — and a significant contributor to US greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, freight accounts for nearly 10% of annual U.S. emissions,ISE Dan Doulet Faculty Fellow and Professor Xueping Li points out. Li and an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional team have been awarded funding from the US Department of Energy to launch a first-of-its-kind, national-scale undertaking to address freight’s impact on climate change — and climate change’s impact on this vital sector. Funding from…
Researchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena Develop Sustainable Catalyst System for Hydrogen Production Using Light Energy. For hydrogen to be sustainably produced using sunlight, it’s not just an efficient catalyst system that’s needed – it must also be economical, readily available, and resource-efficient. A team led by chemist Prof. Dr Kalina Peneva from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry at the University of Jena has made a step in this direction. In their research, the group developed dyes…
Sensory cells and neurons in the ear communicate by secreting neurotransmitter in response to sound stimuli. Scientists of the University Medical Center Göttingen, the Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, and the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences describe new details of this process that regulates the release of neurotransmitters and thus control the transmission of sound stimuli. The results of this work were published in the renowned journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Our nervous system contains…
Researchers from the Bavarian Centre for Battery Technology and the “SolTech” research network at the University of Bayreuth have presented a new production method for electrocatalysts: a fast, low-temperature synthesis of special ceramic materials (high-entropy oxides). The results from the Chair of Physical Chemistry III and the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research in Düsseldorf could make the electrolysis of water and the associated hydrogen production more energy-efficient in the future. The results have now been published in the journal…
UC San Diego researchers are exploring how to add letters to the genetic alphabet to make never-before-seen proteins. The genetic alphabet contains just four letters, referring to the four nucleotides, the biochemical building blocks that comprise all DNA. Scientists have long wondered whether it’s possible to add more letters to this alphabet by creating brand-new nucleotides in the lab, but the utility of this innovation depends on whether or not cells can actually recognize and use artificial nucleotides to make…
Brown dwarfs are objects that straddle the dividing line between stars and planets. They form like stars, growing dense enough to collapse under their own gravity, but they never become dense and hot enough to begin fusing hydrogen and turn into a star. At the low end of the scale, some brown dwarfs are comparable with giant planets, weighing just a few times the mass of Jupiter. What are the smallest stars? Astronomers are trying to determine the smallest object…
A new algorithm developed by USC computer science researchers shows that robots can, in computer simulations, learn tasks after a single demonstration. Alone at home, your bones creaky due to old age, you crave a cool beverage. You turn to your robot and say, “Please get me a tall glass of water from the refrigerator.” Your AI-trained companion obliges. Soon, your thirst is quenched. While this scenario still is a decade or more away in terms of a seamless real-world…
Jefferson Lab leads a multidisciplinary team selected by DOE to advance a superconducting approach to advanced computer chip technology. Superconducting technologies are the lifeblood of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in its ongoing mission to probe the quarks and gluons inhabiting the quantum universe. Superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) technology, a core competency of Jefferson Lab, is used to accelerate the fundamental electron particles in the lab’s Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, enabling researchers from around the…
Researchers at the ITA, the University of Bonn and Heimbach GmbH have developed a new method for removing oil spills from water surfaces in an energy-saving, cost-effective way and without the use of toxic substances. The method is made possible by a technical textile that is integrated into a floating container. A single small device can remove up to 4 liters of diesel within an hour. This corresponds to about 100 m2 of oil film on a water surface. Despite…
Until now, reliably tracing logs to their origin has been difficult to achieve. Researchers at Fraunhofer IPM and their partners have now shown that logs and trunk sections can be identified based on the structure of the cut surfaces. The recent research project developed a marker-free and tamper-proof method. The optical method allows up to 100 percent recognition – even under the rough environment conditions of the timber industry. Hochaufgelöst aufgenommen wird die spezifische Mikrostruktur von Sägeflächen erkennbar. Die Kamera-Aufnahmen…
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology unravel the biosynthetic pathway of paclitaxel in Yew plants, a most successfully used chemotherapeutic for cancer treatment. This discovery might facilitate the production of this very complex molecule which is currently produced with great efforts and high costs. Paclitaxel helps fight cancer and is made from yew Cancer in all its forms is still one of the most common diseases and very hard to treat. Part of modern cancer therapy…
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