Coenzyme Q distribution within the cell is regulated by mitochondria. Antioxidants are often advertised as a cure-all in nutrition and offered as dietary supplements. However, our body also produces such radical scavengers itself, one of which is coenzyme Q. Now researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany, have discovered how the substance, which is produced in our mitochondria, reaches the cell surface and protects our cells from dying. Coenzyme Q is an antioxidant that…
EPFL researchers have combined low-power chip design, machine learning algorithms, and soft implantable electrodes to produce a neural interface that can identify and suppress symptoms of various neurological disorders. Mahsa Shoaran of the Integrated Neurotechnologies Laboratory in the School of Engineering collaborated with Stéphanie Lacour in the Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces to develop NeuralTree: a closed-loop neuromodulation system-on-chip that can detect and alleviate disease symptoms. Thanks to a 256-channel high-resolution sensing array and an energy-efficient machine learning processor, the…
The ‘mirrors’ exist for only a fragment of time but could help to reduce the size of ultra-high power lasers, which currently occupy buildings the size of aircraft hangars, to university basement sizes. They have potential to be developed into a variety of plasma-based, high damage-threshold optical elements that could lead to small footprint, ultra-high-power, ultra-short pulse laser systems. The new way of producing mirrors, and other optical components, points the way to developing the next generation high power lasers,…
A new computational framework could help researchers design granular hydrogels to repair or replace diseased tissues. Gel-like materials that can be injected into the body hold great potential to heal injured tissues or manufacture entirely new tissues. Many researchers are working to develop these hydrogels for biomedical uses, but so far very few have made it into the clinic. To help guide in the development of such materials, which are made from microscale building blocks akin to squishy LEGOs, MIT…
Disabling hearing loss affects one in every ten people and up to 25% of people over 60, according to the World Health Organization, and can have both genetic and environmental causes such as infections and noise exposure. Sensorineural hearing loss, the most frequent form of hearing loss, is caused by damage to specialized cells in the cochlea called hair cells (HCs) and spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), respectively, both of which are essential for hearing. Hair cells receive sounds as mechanical signals…
Some of the most exciting topics in modern physics, such as high-temperature superconductors and some proposals for quantum computers, come down to the exotic things that happen when these systems hover between two quantum states. Unfortunately, understanding what’s happening at those points, known as quantum critical points, has proved challenging. The math is frequently too hard to solve, and today’s computers are not always up to the task of simulating what happens, especially in systems with any appreciable number of…
Commercial aviation uses radar technology in their air traffic control systems to guarantee safe and smooth flights everywhere. For the AKIRA project, Fraunhofer researchers have teamed up with industry partners to develop a novel ground-based radar platform to take the same monitoring capabilities to the world of unmanned aviation. Their vision is one of secure passenger and cargo flights with automated drones in the skies above Germany’s urban centers. Starting on 28 February, a special two-day workshop on »Drone Technology…
In non-cirrhotic liver diseases, organ transplantation in two steps, especially with a living donation, is a safe therapy option for donors and recipients. This is the conclusion of a case series evaluated by surgeons from the Jena University Hospital in “Annals of Surgery”. Due to the normal organ function e.g. in liver metastases and legal requirements, no donor organs are available for these patients according to the waiting list criteria. Far above 1,200 patients were listed waiting for a liver…
LMU physicists have shown how fluid flows influence the formation of complex patterns. The formation of patterns is a universal phenomenon that underlies fundamental processes in biology. An example are the concentration patterns of proteins, which direct vital cellular processes, including cell division, polarity, and movement. These protein patterns arise from the interplay of chemical reactions and the spatial transport of proteins. Transport can occur either passively (through diffusion) or actively (through flows). Unlike diffusion, transport by flows exhibits a…
Scientists couple terahertz radiation with spin waves. An international research team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has developed a new method for the efficient coupling of terahertz waves with much shorter wavelengths, so-called spin waves. As the experts report in the journal Nature Physics (DOI: 10.1038/s41567-022-01908-1), their experiments, in combination with theoretical models, clarify the fundamental mechanisms of this process previously thought impossible. The results are an important step for the development of novel, energy-saving spin-based technologies for data…
Drexel researchers create 6V textile supercapacitor to power wearable technology. Researchers at Drexel University are one step closer to making wearable textile technology a reality. Recently published in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Journal of Material’s Chemistry A, materials scientists from Drexel’s College of Engineering, in partnership with a team at Accenture Labs, have reported a new design of a flexible wearable supercapacitor patch. It uses MXene, a material discovered at Drexel University in 2011, to create a textile-based supercapacitor…
… changes how we utilize sunlight. The importance of solar power as a renewable energy resource is increasing. Sunlight contains high-energy UV light with a wavelength shorter than 400 nm, which can be broadly used, for example, for photopolymerization to form a resin and activation of photocatalysts to drive reactions that generate green hydrogen or useful hydrocarbons (fuels, sugars, olefins, etc.). The latter of these is often called “artificial photosynthesis.” Photocatalytic reaction by UV light to efficiently kill viruses and…
… paves the way for efficient quantum computers. The method, developed by University of Rochester scientists, overcomes the limitations of electron spin resonance. Quantum science has the potential to revolutionize modern technology with more efficient computers, communication, and sensing devices. Challenges remain in achieving these technological goals, however, including how to precisely manipulate information in quantum systems. In a paper published in Nature Physics, a group of researchers from the University of Rochester, including John Nichol, an associate professor of physics, outlines a new method…
New lithium metal batteries with solid electrolytes are lightweight, inflammable, pack a lot of energy, and can be recharged very quickly, but they have been slow to develop due to mysterious short circuiting and failure. Now, researchers at Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory say they have solved the mystery. It comes down to stress – mechanical stress to be more precise – especially during potent recharging. “Just modest indentation, bending or twisting of the batteries can cause nanoscopic…
A quick electric pulse completely flips the material’s electronic properties, opening a route to ultrafast, brain-inspired, superconducting electronics. With some careful twisting and stacking, MIT physicists have revealed a new and exotic property in “magic-angle” graphene: superconductivity that can be turned on and off with an electric pulse, much like a light switch. The discovery could lead to ultrafast, energy-efficient superconducting transistors for neuromorphic devices — electronics designed to operate in a way similar to the rapid on/off firing of…
– the first FDA-approved drug for Ebola virus infection. New findings emphasize the benefits of antibody cocktails over monotherapy approaches. Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have uncovered the structure and function of the first FDA-approved treatment for Zaire ebolavirus (Ebola virus). Inmazeb (REGN-EB3), developed by Regeneron, is a three-antibody cocktail designed to target the Ebola virus glycoprotein. The drug was first approved for clinical use in October 2020, but its exact mechanism of action has remained unclear….
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