Scripps Research scientists make fundamental advance in understanding salivary gland biology. Scientists at Scripps Research and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research have discovered a special type of cell that resides in salivary glands and is likely crucial for oral health. As the researchers described in Cell Reports on April 12, 2022, the new type of salivary gland cell called “ionocyte” that works to maintain healthy concentrations of charged molecules—ions—of potassium, calcium, chlorine, and other electrolytes in saliva….
Working with the tiniest magnets, Hebrew University discovers new magnetic phenomenon with industrial potential. Probing the world of the very, very small is a wonderland for physicists. At this nano-scale, where materials as thin as 100 atoms are studied, totally new and unexpected phenomena are discovered. Here, nature ceases to behave in a way that is predictable by the macroscopic law of physics, unlike what goes on in the world around us or out in the cosmos. Dr. Yonathan Anahory…
Design also poised to save space, retain memory in event of power loss. A new spin on one of the 20th century’s smallest but grandest inventions, the transistor, could help feed the world’s ever-growing appetite for digital memory while slicing up to 5% of the energy from its power-hungry diet. Following years of innovations from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Christian Binek and University at Buffalo’s Jonathan Bird and Keke He, the physicists recently teamed up to craft the first magneto-electric…
Milling rice to separate the grain from the husks produces about 100 million tons of rice husk waste globally each year. Scientists searching for a scalable method to fabricate quantum dots have developed a way to recycle rice husks to create the first silicon quantum dot (QD) LED light. Their new method transforms agricultural waste into state-of-the-art light-emitting diodes in a low-cost, environmentally friendly way. The research team from the Natural Science Center for Basic Research and Development, Hiroshima University,…
Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology show the realization of coupled light vortices by means of optical metasurfaces. The results will have impact on fields as diverse as microscopy, optical communications and photonics simulations. Water whirlpools, smoke rings, violent tornados and spiral galaxies are all examples of twists in fluids, although very different each other. Analogous twists, but in the realm of light, have been created by the research group coordinated by Antonio Ambrosio at the IIT-Istituto Italiano di…
Many problems in modern science require researchers to think beyond the borders of their discipline. Together, neuroscience and computer science investigate how the human brain works and information theory paired with physics might help to shed light on how cells make decisions. However, science is still usually organized into departments and research fields. The NOMIS Fellowship at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria wants to support scientists in bringing disparate fields together. To draw new connections and gain insights,…
… help to better predict extreme rainfall in Mediterranean countries. From large-scale weather variability to localized extremes: Researchers at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and TU Freiberg develop a framework to better predict extreme rainfall events in Mediterranean countries. The researchers make use of the general (synoptic scale) picture of weather variability over the Mediterranean to better predict extreme precipitation in the region some days and weeks in advance. As the team reports in the current issue of…
Fraunhofer IAF develops quantum magnetometers based on diamond. They are able to detect magnetic fields with a spatial resolution of a few nanometers down to single electron and nuclear spins. Due to the physical material properties, diamond quantum magnetometers operate at room temperature, which is ideal for industrial applications. At this year’s LASER World of PHOTONICS, the research institute is going to present two promising projects. At present, magnetometers are only suitable for industrial use to a limited extent, as…
A new method for atomic-resolution electron microscopes. Electron microscopy enables researchers to visualize tiny objects such as viruses, the fine structures of semiconductor devices, and even atoms arranged on a material surface. Focusing down the electron beam to the size of an atom is vital for achieving such high spatial resolution. However, when the electron beam passes through an electrostatic or magnetic lens, the rays of electrons exhibit different focal positions depending on the focusing angle and the beam spreads…
The researchers behind an energy system that makes it possible to capture solar energy, store it for up to eighteen years and release it when and where it is needed have now taken the system a step further. After previously demonstrating how the energy can be extracted as heat, they have now succeeded in getting the system to produce electricity, by connecting it to a thermoelectric generator. Eventually, the research – developed at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden – could…
Researchers at Osaka University and National Research Council Canada develop new quantum dot circuits that have the potential to efficiently convert photon quantum information into electron spin, which may help advance the field of quantum networks. Scientists from The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (SANKEN) at Osaka University, in collaboration with the Canadian National Research Council (NRC), developed a gallium arsenide (GaAs) quantum dot that can trap individual electrons. By controlling the crystallographic orientation of the substrate, the research…
A powerful radio-wave laser, called a ‘megamaser’, has been observed by the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa. The record-breaking find is the most distant megamaser of its kind ever detected, at about five billion light years from Earth. The light from the megamaser has travelled 58 thousand billion billion (58 followed by 21 zeros) kilometres to Earth. The discovery was made by an international team of astronomers led by Dr Marcin Glowacki, who previously worked at the Inter-University Institute for…
First-of-its-kind survival predictor detects patterns in heart MRIs invisible to the naked eye. A new artificial intelligence-based approach can predict, significantly more accurately than a doctor, if and when a patient could die of cardiac arrest. The technology, built on raw images of patient’s diseased hearts and patient backgrounds, stands to revolutionize clinical decision making and increase survival from sudden and lethal cardiac arrhythmias, one of medicine’s deadliest and most puzzling conditions. The work, led by Johns Hopkins University researchers,…
With any highly infectious disease, time can be a killer. It is crucial to get a test result for a pathogen quickly, lest someone continue in their daily lives infecting others. And delays in testing have undoubtedly exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the most accurate COVID-19 test often takes 24 hours or longer to return results from a lab. At-home test kits offer results in minutes but are far less accurate or sensitive. Researchers at the University of Florida, however,…
… for making miniature IR optics. New technique can create complex 3D optics for infrared spectroscopy, sensing and more. Researchers have developed a new fabrication process that allows infrared (IR) glass to be combined with another glass and formed into complex miniature shapes. The technique can be used to create complex infrared optics that could make IR imaging and sensing more broadly accessible. “Glass that transmits IR wavelengths is essential for many applications, including spectroscopy techniques used to identify various…
‘We analysed the genomic profile of over one million cells from 1,000 people to identify a fingerprint linking genetic markers to diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, type 1 diabetes, spondylitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and Crohn’s disease,’ says Professor Joseph Powell, joint lead author at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. ‘We were able to do this using single cell sequencing, a new technology that allows us to detect subtle changes in individual cells,’ he says. The discovery…
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