Bye bye, lens. Hello metasurface! So-called metasurfaces can help to make optical systems thinner in the future, while at the same time increasing their functionality. The problem: Until now, conventional manufacturing processes have often only been able to realize small metasurfaces, often smaller than one square millimeter. Researchers at Fraunhofer IOF have now succeeded for the first time in producing a metasurface with a diameter of almost 30 centimeters using electron beam lithography – a world record. The scientists have…
Using a new technique, researchers at the University of Basel have succeeded in cooling a small membrane down to temperatures close to absolute zero using only laser light. Such extremely cooled membranes could, for instance, find applications in highly sensitive sensors. As long as 400 years ago, the German astronomer Johannes Kepler came up with the idea of solar sails which could be used by ships to sail through the universe. He suspected that light exerts a force when reflected…
Isotope ratios found in meteorites suggest that a supernova exploded nearby while the Sun and Solar System were still forming. But the blast wave from a supernova that close could have potentially destroyed the nascent Solar System. New calculations shows that a filament of molecular gas, which is the birth cocoon of the Solar System, aided the capture of the isotopes found in the meteorites, while acting as a buffer protecting the young Solar System from the nearby supernova blast….
The air taxi market is almost ready for take off, with companies such as Boeing, Hyundai, Airbus and Toyota building fleets to have commuters flitting through the sky. Europe and the US have both drafted new rules to pave the way for air taxis to begin operations within the decade, with Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to follow suit. Increasingly sophisticated studies over recent years, including a recent paper by RMIT University’s Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) Research Team, have…
… creating uniform DNA-encapsulating microgels that mimic a living cell. Researchers devise a new method for producing cell-sized microgel structures using water/water phase separation. The living cell harbors physiologically relevant components such as the genetic material (DNA) and proteins in a ‘self-organized’ setting. Understanding this process of self-assembly can reveal the underlying mechanism of self-organization of living matter. Water/oil (w/o) or water/water (w/w) droplets may be used as prototypes or “models” that mimic cells and can be used to study…
MIT engineers’ new technology can probe the neural circuits that influence hunger, mood, and a variety of diseases. The brain and the digestive tract are in constant communication, relaying signals that help to control feeding and other behaviors. This extensive communication network also influences our mental state and has been implicated in many neurological disorders. MIT engineers have now designed a new technology that can be used to probe those connections. Using fibers embedded with a variety of sensors, as…
New approach could provide insights into cancer progression and treatment response, leading to more precise therapie. Using 3-D models of ovarian cancer tumors, scientists found differences in gene activity based on where a cell is in a tumor, demonstrating how a cell’s location and environment in a cancerous tumor can strongly influence which genes are active and the cell’s role in the cancer’s biology. More specifically, the team co-led by researchers at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS),…
Salk scientists discover that pairing disease-causing bacteria with dietary interventions creates long-term immunity in mice. Worldwide, more than a million deaths occur each year due to diarrheal diseases that lead to dehydration and malnutrition. Yet, no vaccine exists to fight or prevent these diseases, which are caused by bacteria like certain strains of E. coli. Instead, people with bacterial infections must rely on the body taking one of two defense strategies: kill the intruders or impair the intruders but keep…
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the Otto-von-Guericke University in Magdeburg has gained new insights into how inflammatory mediators of pathogen defense can remotely drive cancer cells into death – an important contribution to improving cancer immunotherapies. Modern immunotherapies boost the body’s own defenses against cancer. They activate killer T cells of the immune system that can specifically recognize and destroy cancer cells. In many patients, however, cancer cells adapt and become invisible to killer T cells so that the…
… enters clinical trial led by CI Med and U of Iowa researchers. Clinical testing is underway for a potentially groundbreaking new treatment for cystic fibrosis. Pioneered by scientists at Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa in partnership with the spin-out biotechnology company, cystetic Medicines, this promising inhalable molecular prosthetic is intended to improve lung function in people with CF who cannot benefit from…
Comparisons between optical clocks at PTB enhance the search for a possible interaction of ultralight dark matter with photons. Can dark matter interact with photons and influence atomic structure? A case for optical atomic clocks: Two different types of such clocks were compared at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) within the scope of the Collaborative Research Center DQ-mat and the Cluster of Excellence QuantumFrontiers. It is the most accurate search for an interaction of ultralight dark matter with photons to date….
Platform combines structural details with molecular information about a tumor. At a glance: Researchers have developed a new tool that merges structural details with molecular information about tumors. The detailed information could enable pathologists to identify biological markers that better predict how patients will fare. The ultimate goal is to provide physicians with details that would improve cancer diagnosis and treatment. When it comes to diagnosing, staging, and assessing cancer, for more than a century pathologists have relied on…
The herpes simplex virus-1 can sometimes cause a dangerous brain infection. Combining an anti-inflammatory and an antiviral could help in these cases, report scientists with the Rajewsky and Landthaler labs and the Organoid Platform at the Max Delbrück Center in Nature Microbiology. About 3.7 billion people — 67% of us — carry the herpes simplex virus-1 in our nerves cells where it lies quiescent until triggered by stress or injury. When activated, its symptoms are usually mild, limited to cold…
The new exascale machine is one step closer to enabling transformative science. The installation of Aurora’s 10,624th and final “blade” marked a major milestone for the highly anticipated exascale supercomputer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. After years of diligent work and planning, the system now contains all the hardware that will make it one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world when it is opened up for scientific research. Built by Intel and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Aurora…
Michael Bartlett’s team at Virginia Tech has adapted kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of cutting paper, into a method for increasing the adhesive bond of ordinary tape by 60 times. Adhesive tape fulfills many purposes, from quickly fixing household appliances to ensuring a reliable seal on a mailed package. When using tape with a strong bond, removing it may only be possible by scraping and prying at the tape’s corners, hoping desperately that surface pieces don’t tear away with the…
… about fatigue resistance of materials. Recently, flexible and foldable devices have developed at a dramatic rate. More and more foldable devices appear in people’s lives. Long-term service requires the folded parts to endure repeated deformation which might cause fatigue damage to the devices. Consequently, the damage will affect the normal function of the devices. Inspired by the hinge of bivalve Cristaria plicata, which experiences hundreds of thousands of repeating opening-and-closing valve motions throughout the bivalve’s lifetime, a research team…
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