New mapping of neurons involved in locomotion. For those fortunate enough to walk normally, wandering is such an expected behavior that we hardly consider that it involves complex, partly involuntary processes. “Animals move to explore their environment in search of food, interaction with others, or simply out of curiosity. But the perception of danger or a painful stimulus can also activate an automatic flight reflex”, Martin Carbo-Tano, a post-doctoral fellow at Paris Brain Institute, explains. In both cases, movement initiation…
Important progress for RNA research: A team led by Würzburg chemistry professor Claudia Höbartner has discovered a new ribozyme that can label RNA molecules in living cells. RNA molecules are real all-rounders. They transfer the genetic information from the DNA in the cell. They regulate the activity of genes. And some of them have a catalytic effect: just like enzymes, they enable biochemical reactions that would be difficult or impossible to occur on their own. These special RNA molecules that…
Materials researchers significantly improve the performance of hydrogel actuators. Robots made of metal and other solid materials are already widely used in industry. But they are too rigid and cumbersome for fine-motor activities and interaction with people, such as in nursing or medicine. Intensive research is therefore already being carried out into robots made of soft materials: inspiration from nature, such as jellyfish, earthworms, fish or the human body should enable “soft robots” that can move flexibly and adapt to…
Green spaces in Germany could contribute far more to biodiversity conservation. Around 40 per cent of Germany’s declining and endangered native plant species could be planted in private and public green spaces, making them suitable for conservation gardening. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University, who have collected the latest data on endangered Red List species in all 16 of Germany’s federal states. Their findings have now been…
How can we halt biodiversity declines? A new study led by the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) shows possible solutions for agricultural landscapes. The study shows that intercropping promotes the diversity of insects and other arthropods in agriculture without affecting yields. The study has now been published in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence. Arthropods play a particularly important role in ecosystems. Until now, there has been a lack of strategic experiments on how arthropods develop…
National University of Singapore (NUS) scientists demonstrated a conceptual breakthrough by fabricating atomically precise quantum antidots (QAD) using self-assembled single vacancies (SVs) in a two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD). Quantum dot confines electrons on a nanoscale level. In contrast, an antidot refers to a region characterised by a potential hill that repels electrons. By strategically introducing antidot patterns (“voids”) into carefully designed antidot lattices, intriguing artificial structures emerge. These structures exhibit periodic potential modulation to change 2D electron behaviour,…
Scientists in Mainz and Kaiserslautern use molybdenum for photocatalysis and photon upconversion. Given the urgent need for transforming how we use and produce energy, researchers are working hard to find sustainable and cost-effective materials for light-driven chemical applications. To date, this research field heavily relies on expensive precious metal or rare-earth metal complexes with limited abundance in Earth’s crust. While significant progress has been made in recent years establishing alternatives using earth-abundant elements, these materials are usually very difficult to…
Collaboration between Duke and Purdue explores the fabrication and optoelectronic characterization of multilayered perovskites. By controlling the arrangement of multiple inorganic and organic layers within crystals using a novel technique, researchers at Duke University and Purdue University have shown they can control the energy levels of electrons and holes (positive charge carriers) within a class of materials called perovskites. This tuning influences the materials’ optoelectronic properties and their ability to emit light of specific energies, demonstrated by their ability to…
… to collectively move through narrow spaces. Tubificine worms are segmented worms that are capable of forming entangled blobs that behave as a single organism to adapt to extreme environmental conditions or migrate more efficiently. Individual worms are capable of elongating, entwining an uneven area of terrain and dragging the collective worm ball through a narrow passageway in laboratory experiments. A group of scientists from Tohoku University and Hiroshima University recently created an uneven and confined terrain to study the…
New research by an international team of scientists explains what’s behind a stalled trend in Arctic Ocean sea ice loss since 2007. The findings indicate that stronger declines in sea ice will occur when an atmospheric feature known as the Arctic dipole reverses itself in its recurring cycle. The many environmental responses to the Arctic dipole are described in a paper published online today in the journal Science. This analysis helps explain how North Atlantic water influences Arctic Ocean climate. Scientists call…
Stampede2 simulations help capture helium gas clouds escaping distant planet. A planet about 950 light years from Earth could be the Looney Tunes’ Yosemite Sam equivalent of planets, blowing its atmospheric ‘top’ in spectacular fashion. The planet called HAT-P-32b is losing so much of its atmospheric helium that the trailing gas tails are among the largest structures yet known of an exoplanet, a planet outside our solar system, according to observations by astronomers. Three-dimensional (3D) simulations on the Stampede2 supercomputer of the Texas Advanced Computing Center…
Auburn scientists receive a Department of Energy award to accelerate fusion energy research by developing a Findable, Interoperable, Accessible, and Reusable (FAIR) data platform and training a diverse workforce. Fusion is the process of combining two light atomic nuclei to form a single heavier one while releasing massive amounts of energy. The Sun and all stars are powered through fusion, which makes it the universe’s preferred method of producing energy. Recent breakthroughs in fusion research have led to the US…
… moves to public phase of researching, testing. A wireless tower at Iowa State University’s Ag Engineering/Agronomy Farm west of Ames is loaded with hardware sending radio waves across the countryside, creating wireless internet connections for rural users. There are more poles, antennas and cabinets full of electronics on the roof of the Economic Development Core Facility at the Iowa State University Research Park. And bolted to the top of Wilson Hall, a 10-story residence hall. And hanging from the…
For more than 30 years, the models that researchers and government agencies use to forecast earthquake aftershocks have remained largely unchanged. While these older models work well with limited data, they struggle with the huge seismology datasets that are now available. To address this limitation, a team of researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz and the Technical University of Munich created a new model that uses deep learning to forecast aftershocks: the Recurrent Earthquake foreCAST (RECAST). In a paper published today in…
Quantum random number generation based on a perovskite light emitting diode. Digital information exchange can be safer, cheaper and more environmentally friendly with the help of a new type of random number generator for encryption developed at Linköping University, Sweden. The researchers behind the study believe that the new technology paves the way for a new type of quantum communication. In an increasingly connected world, cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important to protect not just the individual, but also, for example,…
… being developed at University of Houston. With an increasing number of severe accidents in the global oil and gas industry caused by damaged pipelines, University of Houston researchers are developing an autonomous robot to identify potential pipeline leaks and structural failures during subsea inspections. The transformative technology will make the inspection process far safer and more cost effective, while also protecting subsea environments from disaster. Thousands of oil spills occur in U.S. waters each year for a variety of…
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