Using latest advances in computer modelling, an international team of researchers has shed new light on the properties and behavior of magma found several hundreds of kilometers deep within the Earth. Unlike the classic Jules Verne science fiction novel Journey to the Center of the Earth or movie The Core, humans cannot venture into the Earth’s interior beyond a few kilometres of its surface. But thanks to latest advances in computer modelling, an international team of researchers led by the…
Real-time aberration-free dynamic speckle microscopy was realized using compressed time-reversal matrix. Microscopes are an important tool in biomedical research as it allows for detailed observation and imaging of tissues. Since biological materials are opaque by their nature, severe light scattering occurs as light travels through tissues, which induces a high level of background noise and complex optical aberration. Therefore, typical light microscopes mostly allow us to see the surface of the tissues, and details that are multiple cell layers deep…
The improvement of spectroscopy measurements. Several years ago, physicists from the Centre for Quantum Optical Technologies and the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw designed and built the first quantum memory in Poland, which was further developed into a quantum processor. “Our processor is based on a cloud of cold atoms. They can efficiently store and process information from light,” describes Dr Michal Parniak, leader of the Quantum-Optical Devices Laboratory. In an article recently published in “Nature Communications”,…
… are the latest innovation from SFU Empowering small, humanoid-sensing robots to take a patient’s blood pressure—using only a simple touch—is Simon Fraser University researcher Woo Soo Kim’s latest health care technology development. Based on the intricacies of origami—and inspired by the movements of nature’s leeches—his research is advancing how robots could carry out basic health care tasks in certain conditions, including in remote regions, or where minimal personal contact is needed, such as during pandemics. The research is published…
Study by the University of Bonn: Self-learning software could help detect atherosclerosis at an early stage. Researchers at the University and the University Hospital of Bonn have developed a method that could be used to diagnose atherosclerosis. Using self-learning software, they were able to identify vascular changes in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), often at an early stage. Although these early stages do not yet cause symptoms, they are nevertheless already associated with increased mortality. The algorithm used photos…
Wildfires are devastating, but they can also bring new life by clearing existing vegetation and allowing new plants to spring up. Many plants in fire-prone areas actually require exposure to fire for seeds to germinate. In the past decade, scientists have discovered an ancient receptor protein that can detect molecules called karrikins in smoke from burnt plant material. The “smoke detector” protein, called KAI2, initiates molecular signals that speed up germination of seeds. Curiously, KAI2 proteins also show up in…
Researchers at Osaka University use a tiny thermometer to directly monitor changes in temperature when ions pass through a nanopore, which may lead to more efficient DNA sequencing technology. Scientists from SANKEN (the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research) at Osaka University measured the thermal effects of ionic flow through a nanopore using a thermocouple. They found that, under most conditions, both the current and heating power varied with applied voltage as predicted by Ohm’s law. This work may lead…
How hermaphroditic worms distribute their resources. Hermaphroditic species face a fundamental question: how much energy should they expend on their male and female sides? Flatworms have found various answers to this question over the course of evolution – and the solutions are directly correlated with their mating behavior. Many plants and animals have both male and female reproductive organs. To ensure that reproduction is successful and that they can pass their genes on to as many offspring as possible, these…
Better Function thanks to optimized construction. Loudspeakers without enclosures are used anywhere that visible speakers are not favorable due to design purposes or to reduce environmental or visual vandalism. However, in these types of speakers, the exciter usually gets very hot and therefore requires a cooling air way to maintain its performance and serviceable life-time. Researchers at the University of Stuttgart have improved the design of an in-wall speaker and developed a new type of exciting mechanism that allows the…
Research team from the University of Tübingen encounters new type of star with unusual properties – possibly two white dwarfs which have merged. Astronomers from the Universities of Tübingen and Potsdam have discovered a new type of star. While hunting for “hot stars” with the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona, the team came across stars with unusual properties. While normal stellar surfaces are composed of hydrogen and helium, these stars, found under the direction of Professor Klaus Werner of the…
Atoms form a kagome pattern A kagome pattern is composed of three shifted regular triangular lattices. As a result, the kagome lattice is a regular pattern composed of stars of David. It is a common Japanese basket pattern which is where its name derives from. In condensed matter physics, materials crystallizing in a kagome lattice have first gained significant attention in the early 90’s. Until 2018, when FeSn as the first kagome metal was found, correlated electronic states in kagome…
New world record: KATRIN experiment limits neutrino mass with unprecedented precision. Neutrinos are arguably the most fascinating elementary particle in our universe. In cosmology they play an important role in the formation of large-scale structures, while in particle physics their tiny but non-zero mass sets them apart, pointing to new physics phenomena beyond our current theories. Without a measurement of the mass scale of neutrinos our understanding of the universe will remain incomplete. This is the challenge the international KATRIN…
Research team from Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy finds clue to possible extraterrestrial origin of peptides. Chains of amino acids All life as we know it consists of the same chemical building blocks. These include peptides, which perform various completely different functions in the body – transporting substances, accelerating reactions or forming stabilising scaffolds in cells. Peptides consist of individual amino acids arranged in a specific order. The exact order determines a peptide’s eventual…
Compared to metal and polymer-based materials, ceramics can better withstand high temperatures and corrosive environments, but their brittle nature often makes them susceptible to breakage. This behavior potentially causes problems for innovators trying to create lightweight porous versions of these materials, explaining why ceramic foams are not typically used as structural components. Video, Starfish skeletons and ceramics: https://video.vt.edu/media/Ling%20Li%3A%20Starfish%20skeletons%20and%20ceramics/1_5d5abu01 Facing the challenging task of developing lightweight, high-strength ceramic materials, Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Ling Li has turned to an unexpected collaborator for design inspiration:…
A recent study explains an essential component for proper mitochondrial function: The protein complexes MICOS and ATP synthase can communicate with each other. Dr. Heike Rampelt and Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Pfanner at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Freiburg have uncovered an important mechanism that ensures efficient metabolic adaptation of mitochondria. The research is a collaboration with the groups of Prof. Dr. Martin van der Laan of Saarland University, Prof. Dr. Claudine Kraft of the…
The material could pave the way for sustainable plastics. The strongest part of a tree lies not in its trunk or its sprawling roots, but in the walls of its microscopic cells. A single wood cell wall is constructed from fibers of cellulose — nature’s most abundant polymer, and the main structural component of all plants and algae. Within each fiber are reinforcing cellulose nanocrystals, or CNCs, which are chains of organic polymers arranged in nearly perfect crystal patterns. At…
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