Ultrafast electrons shed light on the web of hydrogen bonds that gives water its strange properties, vital for many chemical and biological processes. The Science Water is the most abundant liquid in nature, but it’s also one of the least understood. Water has unusual properties. For example, most materials get denser when they get colder, but water is densest a few degrees above freezing. That’s why ice floats. Scientists suggest that water’s so-called “proton quantum effect” may be at the…
Researchers have solved a medical mystery in a poorly understood disease by uncovering which cells cause tumours in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). As described in Cell Reports, they did this by creating genetically engineered kidney organoids, or “mini-kidneys” grown from human tissue. “The cells at the origin of tuberous sclerosis tumours have been a mystery for decades,” said senior author Dr. Bill Stanford, senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa. “Our results…
A potential step forward in understanding complex quantum turbulence. A research group of Professor Makoto Tsubota and Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Satoshi Yui, both from the Graduate School of Science and the Nambu Yoichiro Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Osaka Metropolitan University, in cooperation with their colleagues from Florida State University and Keio University, conducted a systematic numerical study of vortex diffusion in quantum turbulence in superfluid helium-4 (He II) at extremely low temperatures, near absolute zero (−273°C), and…
Caught in the act: Researchers from the University of Tsukuba and collaborating partners experimentally measured hydrogenation of metal-adsorbed formate. This development will facilitate practical conversion of carbon dioxide pollutant into methanol fuel. Carbon dioxide pollution continues to change the global climate. Researchers know how to pinpoint such pollution, even on a regional and near-real-time basis, as highlighted this year in Science Advances (April 22). As part of a solution to carbon dioxide pollution, many studies focus on how to convert this pollutant…
Analysis offers new means to predict ‘cosmological signatures’ for models of dark matter. A team of physicists has developed a method for predicting the composition of dark matter—invisible matter detected only by its gravitational pull on ordinary matter and whose discovery has been long sought by scientists. Its work, which appears in the journal Physical Review Letters, centers on predicting “cosmological signatures” for models of dark matter with a mass between that of the electron and the proton. Previous methods…
Switching something on and off again usually takes it back into its original state. A new magnetic material, however, has to be switched four times, while the spin of atoms moves once in a circle. If you switch a bit in the memory of a computer and then switch it back again, you have restored the original state. There are only two states that can be called “0 and 1”. However, an amazing effect has now been discovered at TU…
University of Rochester biologists used population genomics to study a selfish ‘supergene’ that skews genetic inheritance. The human genome is littered with “selfish genetic elements,” which do not seem to benefit their hosts, but instead seek only to propagate themselves. Selfish genetic elements can wreak havoc by, for instance, distorting sex ratios, impairing fertility, causing harmful mutations, and even potentially causing population extinction. Biologists at the University of Rochester, including Amanda Larracuente, an associate professor of biology, and Daven Presgraves, a University Dean’s…
Automatic object recognition and tracking using lidar. Innovative take on laser radar systems for smart cars outperforms camera-based object recognition. The automobile industry in China has been developing extremely rapidly over the past few decades, and more people have access to cars now than ever before. Because of this, many cities are facing traffic issues, such as traffic congestion and frequent accidents. One way to alleviate these problems, aside from improving public transportation, is to develop and implement intelligent transportation…
Novel method suppresses background noise in STED microscopy selectively and effectively, with potential for integration into other dual-beam point-scanning techniques. Nanoscopy describes the ability to see beyond the generally accepted optical limit of 200–300 nm. Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, developed by Stefan W. Hell and Jan Wichmann in 1994, and experimentally demonstrated by Hell and Thomas Klar in 1999, is a superresolution technique for nanoscopy. STED microscopy has made considerable progress and is widely used in practical research. But…
Breakthrough could point the way towards new quantum technology. University of Chicago physicists have invented a “quantum flute” that, like the Pied Piper, can coerce particles of light to move together in a way that’s never been seen before. Described in two studies published in Physical Review Letters and Nature Physics, the breakthrough could point the way towards realizing quantum memories or new forms of error correction in quantum computers, and observing quantum phenomena that cannot be seen in nature. Assoc. Prof. David Schuster’s…
Measuring the shape of intense bursts of terahertz light paves the way for future accelerator technologies. The Science Researchers have developed a new technique to better measure special “terahertz” light. This light travels in waves longer than the infrared light that is beyond what the human eye perceives. The new sampling technique preserves the correlations between position and time in a pulse of terahertz light. The technique allows researchers to measure the shape of terahertz “light bullets,” focused flashes of…
A nanotechnology platform developed by KAUST scientists could lead to new treatments for degenerative bone diseases. The system takes advantage of tiny iron wires that bend in response to magnetic fields. Bone-forming stem cells grown on a mesh of these nanowires get a kind of physical workout on the moving substrate. They then transform into mature bone much faster than is typical of other culturing conditions, with a differentiation protocol that lasts just a few days instead of a few…
A protein from a heat-loving bacterium allows specific detection of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses in a one-pot assay based on RT-LAMP technology. This test could simplify point-of-care diagnoses of COVID-19 and other infections. RT-LAMP tests are similar to PCR tests: they detect tiny amounts of viral genetic material in a sample by amplifying it to detectable amounts. One advantage of an RT-test over PCR tests is that it is performed at a single temperature (55-65 degrees Celsius) instead of repeated…
Printing a new chapter in solar energy. A simple and versatile nanoparticle ink could help next-generation perovskite solar cells to be printed at scale and become the dominant force in commercial photovoltaics. Made from tin oxide, the ink is created with just one key step at relatively low temperature using microwave technology, and without any need for further purification. It’s then used in solar cells to help selectively transport electrons, a crucial step in generating electricity. Prototype devices built with…
Researchers at Osaka University measured the photovoltaic properties of antimony sulfiodide:sulfide devices and discover a voltage that depends on the wavelength of incident light, which may help develop new light-sensing and imaging devices. Scientists from the Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives at Osaka University discovered a new feature of solar cells made from antimony sulfiodide:sulfide composite they termed the wavelength-dependent photovoltaic effect (WDPE). The team determined that changing the color of incident light from visible to ultraviolet induced…
Graphene meets robots as automation is combined with advanced materials. Automated systems combined with new materials will combine as a “dream team” to start a revolution in advanced manufacturing, says a graphene pioneer. Automation and robotic systems are on the brink of transforming the way we all work and live says Dr Vivek Koncherry, who is based at The University of Manchester‘s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC). A UK government report has found that the total economic impact of automation across…
Feedback
