Scientists at EPFL and IBM have developed a new type of laser that could have a significant impact on optical ranging technology. The laser is based on a material called lithium niobate, often used in the field of optical modulators, which controls the frequency or intensity of light that is transmitted through a device. Lithium niobate is particularly useful because it can handle a lot of optical power and has a high “Pockels coefficient”, which means that it can change…
Transferring data at 200 gigabits per second. Researchers at IHP – Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics have set a new world speed record. The circuit designed by the scientists in Frankfurt (Oder) can transmit data wirelessly at up to 200 gigabits per second. Researchers at IHP – Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics have set a new world speed record. The circuit designed by the scientists in Frankfurt (Oder) can transmit data wirelessly at up to 200 gigabits per…
Not melted meteorites, according to scientists. WHOI is part of a collaborative study, offering new insight into the extraterrestrial origins of our lakes, rivers and oceans. Water makes up 71% of Earth’s surface, but no one knows how or when such massive quantities of water arrived on Earth. A new study published today in the journal Nature brings scientists one step closer to answering that question. Sune Nielsen, associate scientist, Geology & Geophysics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) co-authored the study,…
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is driving exponential growth in data transmission, and cost-effective, ultrafast, and compact optical communication technologies are urgently needed to manage the exploding data transmission volume. Vortex beams, which exhibit a swirling shape around the axis of propagation, have the potential to increase the amount of informatioon that can be stored at the same frequency. As such they represent a promising avenue for the development of high-capacity optical communication technologies that surpass 5G and pave the way…
Predicting extinction vulnerability during a modern-day biodiversity crisis is a key objective for scientists. One approach is to use evidence from the past to make forecasts for the future. A team of researchers led by William Foster from Hamburg University used fossils from past mass extinctions to see if AI-generated models can accurately predict extinction vulnerability. Despite expectations, this research found that mass extinctions could not be used to generate predictive models for other biodiversity crises, indicating a lack of…
The behavior of microorganisms is crucial to understand the effects of carbon dioxide input in the oceans. Researchers at Constructor University in Bremen, Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from Australia, the United States and Switzerland, have now gained new insights into the metabolic exchanges between microorganisms. The research results were recently published in the renowned journal Nature Microbiology. Microorganisms are central components of marine ecosystems; among other things, they produce oxygen and bind carbon dioxide. “Until now, it was assumed…
What they can mean for climate science, geology, and driverless cars? Atomic clocks guarantee unrivalled precision when it comes to tracking time. They help us keep our digital and analogue clocks running on time by measuring the atomic resonance in cesium atoms exposed to microwave radiation. A new generation of optical atomic clocks is now set to increase their precision by a factor of up to 100,000 by measuring higher frequencies in the near IR and visible light range. Fraunhofer…
From steering a car to swinging a tennis racket, we learn to execute all kinds of skilled movements during our lives. You might think this learning is only implemented by neurons, but a new study by researchers at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT shows the essential role of another brain cell type: astrocytes. Just as teams of elite athletes train alongside staffs of coaches, ensembles of neurons in the brain’s motor cortex depend on nearby astrocytes…
SMART researchers develop the world’s first microneedle-based drug delivery technique for plants It is the first time that polymeric silk microneedles have been used to deliver agrochemicals to a wide variety of plants Silk microneedles are a powerful tool which is utilised in medical applications for humans, and now they can be used for efficient drug delivery to plants that will be useful for plant science research and precision agriculture The novel technique is minimally invasive and is a sustainable…
Highly dynamic bistable soft actuators allow for varied locomotion. Most animals can quickly transition from walking to jumping to crawling to swimming if needed without reconfiguring or making major adjustments. Most robots cannot. But researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have created soft robots that can seamlessly shift from walking to swimming, for example, or crawling to rolling. “We were inspired by nature to develop a robot that can perform different tasks and adapt to its environment without adding actuators or…
Scientists to retrofit large shipping vessels with ultramodern sails in efforts to cut carbon emissions University of Southampton initiative will investigate how modern vessels perform on the ocean when fitted with the wing-sails Funding from Innovate UK to investigate the potential of the technology and decarbonise the UK’s maritime sector SHIPS of the future could once again be powered by wind if a pioneering project which retrofits large vessels with ultramodern wing-sails proves successful in cutting carbon emissions. Scientists from…
Scientists have predicted that droughts and floods will become more frequent and severe as our planet warms and climate changes, but detecting this on regional and continental scales has proven difficult. Now a new NASA-led study confirms that major droughts and pluvials – periods of excessive precipitation and water storage on land – have indeed been occurring more often. In the study published March 13, 2023, in the journal Nature Water, two NASA scientists examined 20 years of data from the NASA/German GRACE and GRACE-FO…
Electrification is seen as having an important role to play in the fossil-free aviation of tomorrow. But electric aviation is battling a trade-off dilemma: the more energy-efficient an electric aircraft is, the noisier it gets. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a propeller design optimisation method that paves the way for quiet, efficient electric aviation. In recent years, electrification has been described as having an important role in reducing emissions from future aviation. Due to the…
Despite recent advancements, many highly sensitive diagnostic tests for viral diseases still require complicated techniques to prepare a sample or interpret a result, making them impractical for point-of-care settings or areas with few resources. But now, a team reporting in ACS Central Science has developed a sensitive method that analyzes viral nucleic acids in as little as 20 minutes and can be completed in one step with “glow-in-the-dark” proteins. The firefly’s flash, the anglerfish’s glowing lure and the ghostly blue…
Physicists at the Universities of Jena and Central Florida investigate light with negative temperatures. In the issue of the renowned journal Science published today (10.3.23), the team led by Prof. Dr Ulf Peschel reports on measurements on a sequence of pulses that travel thousands of kilometres through glass fibres that are only a few microns thin. The researchers were surprised by the results. “We have found that the light pulses organize themselves after about a hundred kilometres and then behave more…
“DIVE imaging systems” Spins off from Fraunhofer IWS in Dresden. Precise two-dimensional analysis of high-tech layers in microelectronics, battery factories or even in the automotive sector approaches within reach. A measuring system developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS facilitates this by integrating hyperspectral sensor technology, artificial intelligence and special illumination techniques into a high-performance, highly flexible inspection system. A team of researchers from Fraunhofer IWS establishes “DIVE imaging systems GmbH”, a BMWK-funded spin-off company, to…
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