They will be useful in space, laser surgery, security systems. Researches of the Science Lab of Fiber Technology and Photonics at the Ural Federal University (UrFU) have developed and produced infrared optical fibers with unique properties. The fibers are nontoxic and, as studies have shown, retain their outstanding properties when treated with ionizing beta radiation by doses up to 1 MGy. The team of scientists published an article describing the research, properties and areas of application of the obtained fibers in the journal Optical…
Electrical control of exchange-bias effect. A RMIT-led international collaboration published this week has observed, for the first time, electric gate-controlled exchange-bias effect in van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures, offering a promising platform for future energy-efficient, beyond-CMOS electronics. The exchange-bias (EB) effect, which originates from interlayer magnetic coupling, has played a significant role in fundamental magnetics and spintronics since its discovery. Although manipulating the EB effect by an electronic gate has been a significant goal in spintronics, until now, only very…
QUT robotics researchers working with Ford Motor Company have found a way to tell an autonomous vehicle which cameras to use when navigating. Professor Michael Milford, Joint Director of the QUT Centre for Robotics and Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and senior author, said the research comes from a project looking at how cameras and LIDAR sensors, commonly used in autonomous vehicles, can better understand the world around them. “The key idea here is to learn which cameras to use…
… could help our understanding of diseases. The ligand-receptor binding is important for biological processes such as immunity and infectious disease. For example, the leukocyte can enter injured tissue by binding to the P selectin on the endothelial cells. COVID-19 is caused by the binding between viral spikes and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on the host cells. Single-cell assays of different types have been developed to study the binding or adhesion kinetics. However, the difference in measured binds between P…
A team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University believe they have developed the first AI pilot that enables autonomous aircraft to navigate a crowded airspace. The artificial intelligence can safely avoid collisions, predict the intent of other aircraft, track aircraft and coordinate with their actions, and communicate over the radio with pilots and air traffic controllers. The researchers aim to develop the AI so the behaviors of their system will be indistinguishable from those of a human pilot. “We believe…
Scientists explore the evolution of neurons. A new study into the neurons found in the earliest-diverging animal lineages reveals key clues about the form of the most ancestral nervous system, and how it first evolved. Neurons, the specialized cells of the nervous system, are possibly the most complicated cell type ever to have evolved. In humans, these cells are capable of processing and transmitting vast sums of information. But how such complicated cells first came about remains a long-standing debate….
Scientists have developed a small robot to understand how ants teach one another. The team built the robot to mimic the behaviour of rock ants that use one-to-one tuition, in which an ant that has discovered a much better new nest can teach the route there to another individual. The findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology today, confirm that most of the important elements of teaching in these ants are now understood because the teaching ant can be…
Research team studies role morphogens play in tissue patterning in heart development. Morphogens are molecules that travel from biological cell to cell to pattern tissues in the embryo. These molecules are important not only for the embryo during development, but also for the adult during tissue repair. However, the way these morphogens are distributed to ensure patterning occurs is still not fully understood. Using a combination of experiments and mathematical modeling, a research team from the University of Tokyo and…
Breakthrough for the realization of ultrafast quantum computers: The team succeeded in executing the world’s fastest two-qubit gate (a fundamental arithmetic element essential for quantum computing) using a completely new method of manipulating, with an ultrafast laser, micrometer-spaced atoms cooled to absolute zero temperature. For the past two decades, all quantum computer hardware has been chasing faster gates to escape the effects of external noise that can degrade computational accuracy. Cold-atom based quantum computers are rapidly attracting attention from industry,…
Studying a deadly type of breast cancer called triple negative, Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say they have identified key molecular differences between cancer cells that cling to an initial tumor and those that venture off to form distant tumors. The research, using mouse models and human tissues, could pave the way for developing new treatments that target such molecular variations. A report on the findings is published Aug. 3 in Science Translational Medicine. “We have long needed new treatment targets…
Tiny crystals, known as quantum dots, have enabled an international team to achieve a quantum efficiency exceeding 100 percent in the photocurrent generated in a hybrid inorganic-organic semiconductor. Perovskites are exciting semiconductors for light-harvesting applications and have already shown some impressive performances in solar cells. But improvements in photo-conversion efficiency are necessary to take this technology to a broader market. Light comes in packets of energy known as photons. When a semiconductor absorbs a photon, the electromagnetic energy is transferred…
A new biosynthesis method has been developed. A research team with members from Goethe University Frankfurt and the University of Michigan in the USA is using bacterial biosynthesis to produce an antibiotic containing fluorine –The technology is being commercialized by a startup. Active drug agents have been chemically modified with fluorine for decades, owing to its numerous therapeutic effects: Fluorine can strengthen the bonding of the active agent to the target molecule, make it more accessible to the body, and…
Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading cause of death around the world. A primary contributor to these afflictions is high blood pressure, or hypertension. While treatments exist for the condition, which affects tens of millions of Americans, these remedies are not without side effects, and some variants of the disorder are treatment-resistant. The need for more effective therapies to address hypertension-related disease is therefore acute.The illustration shows a portion of the receptor pGC-A, known as the extracellular domain, which protrudes from…
Nearly half of all vaccines go to waste. This is due to the logistical obstacles involved in transporting them to diverse regions of the world. Most vaccines require strict temperature regulation from the manufacturing line to injection into a human arm. Maintaining a constant temperature along the cold (supply) chain is a challenging feat in the best of circumstances. In Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions, for example, limited transport infrastructure and unreliable electricity compounds the already immense challenges of…
Implantable devices that release insulin into the body hold promise as an alternative way to treat diabetes without insulin injections or cannula insertions. However, one obstacle that has prevented their use so far is that the immune system attacks them after implantation, forming a thick layer of scar tissue that blocks insulin release. This phenomenon, known as the foreign body response, can also interfere with many other types of implantable medical devices. However, a team of MIT engineers and collaborators…
Scientists at Newcastle University have uncovered a source of oxygen that may have influenced the evolution of life before the advent of photosynthesis. The pioneering research project, led by Newcastle University’s School of Natural and Environmental Sciences and published today in Nature Communications, uncovered a mechanism that can generate hydrogen peroxide from rocks during the movement of geological faults. While in high concentrations hydrogen peroxide can be harmful to life, it can also provide a useful source of oxygen to…
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