Researchers have developed an innovative catalyst for the synthesis of propylene, which has potential benefits for the chemical industry and carbon recycling. Propylene is a colourless, flammable hydrocarbon gas that is an important raw material for the production of a variety of petrochemicals. Due to increasing demand and limited global supply, there is a strong need to develop new, efficient technologies for its production. Researchers at Hokkaido University have developed an innovative catalyst for the production of propylene that is…
A multidisciplinary team at the UNIGE has succeeded in explaining the complex distribution of scales in the ocellated lizard by means of a simple equation. The shape-shifting clouds of starling birds, the organization of neural networks or the structure of an anthill: nature is full of complex systems whose behaviors can be modeled using mathematical tools. The same is true for the labyrinthine patterns formed by the green or black scales of the ocellated lizard. A multidisciplinary team from the…
The University of Surrey and Space Power are tackling the problem of powering satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) during their eclipse period when they cannot see the sun. By collaborating on a space infrastructure project, the joint team will develop new technology which uses lasers to beam solar power from satellites under solar illumination to small satellites orbiting closer to Earth during eclipse. The wireless, laser-based power beaming prototype will be the first developed outside of governmental organisations and…
Finding could help physicians catch rejection earlier and modify immunosuppression. Northwestern University scientist have discovered families of proteins in the body that could potentially predict which patients may reject a new organ transplant, helping inform decisions about care. The advancement marks the beginning of a new era for more precise study of proteins in specific cells. Scientists tend to look at shifting patterns of proteins as if through goggles underwater, taking in just a fraction of available information about their…
A team mapping radio waves in the Universe has discovered something unusual that releases a giant burst of energy three times an hour, and it’s unlike anything astronomers have seen before. The team who discovered it think it could be a neutron star or a white dwarf—collapsed cores of stars—with an ultra-powerful magnetic field. Spinning around in space, the strange object sends out a beam of radiation that crosses our line of sight, and for a minute in every twenty,…
Researchers have developed a new technique, called MonoCon, that improves the ability of artificial intelligence (AI) programs to identify three-dimensional (3D) objects, and how those objects relate to each other in space, using two-dimensional (2D) images. For example, the work would help the AI used in autonomous vehicles navigate in relation to other vehicles using the 2D images it receives from an onboard camera. “We live in a 3D world, but when you take a picture, it records that world…
Nature Paper Advances Design of Nanomaterials with Tailored Infrared and Thermal Properties. Scientists and engineers collaborating across seven universities and two national laboratories have made a fundamental discovery about the atomic structure and vibrations in multilayer nanostructures, advancing the design of materials with unique infrared and thermal properties. Their paper, Emergent Interface Vibrational Structure of Oxide Superlattices, was published January 26 in Nature. Their discovery emerged from a long-standing collaboration of microscopy, spectroscopy and theory experts spanning fields from physics…
University of Rochester researchers adapt excited state lifetime thermometry to extract temperatures of nanoscale materials from light emitted by nitrogen vacancy centers. For centuries people have placed the highest value on diamonds that are not only large but flawless. Scientists, however, have discovered exciting new applications for diamonds that are not only incredibly small but have a unique defect. In a recent paper in Applied Physics Letters, researchers at the University of Rochester describe a new way to measure temperature…
A robot has performed laparoscopic surgery on the soft tissue of a pig without the guiding hand of a human – a significant step in robotics toward fully automated surgery on humans. Designed by a team of Johns Hopkins University researchers, the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) is described today in Science Robotics. “Our findings show that we can automate one of the most intricate and delicate tasks in surgery: the reconnection of two ends of an intestine. The STAR…
NIAID-sponsored study assessed dose in adults fully vaccinated with any EUA or approved COVID-19 vaccine. In adults who had previously received a full regimen of any of three COVID-19 vaccines granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an additional booster dose of any of these vaccines was safe and prompted an immune response, according to preliminary clinical trial results reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. The findings served as the basis…
An international research team of biomechanics optimizes robotic movements inspired by insects. A whole generation of gripping robots has been developed using a design concept originally known from fish fins. An international research team from Biomechanics, with participation from Kiel University (CAU), led by the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), has now optimized this gripping function inspired by insects and challenged this standard in robotics. They also transferred it from hand to foot elements for the first time. This would…
Interfacial diffusion of nanoparticles strongly affected by their shape and surface coating. Named for a Roman god, Janus particles refer to nanoparticles that possess surfaces with two or more distinct physical chemical properties. The special nanoparticles were introduced to the scientific community by 1991 Nobel Prize winner Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, who pointed out that “objects with two sides of different wettability have the unique advantage of densely self-assembling at liquid-liquid interfaces,” and consequentially, generating new colloidal structures. The resulting chemical…
What size will a quantum computer need to be to break Bitcoin encryption or simulate molecules? Quantum computers are expected to be disruptive and potentially impact many industry sectors. So researchers in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands decided to explore two very different quantum problems: breaking the encryption of Bitcoin (a digital currency) and simulating the molecule responsible for biological nitrogen fixation. In AVS Quantum Science, from AIP Publishing, the researchers describe a tool they created to determine how…
Membranes are crucial to our cells. Every cell in your body is enclosed by one. And each of those cells contains specialized compartments, or organelles, which are also enclosed by membranes. Membranes help cells carry out tasks like breaking down food for energy, building and dismantling proteins, keeping track of environmental conditions, sending signals and deciding when to divide. Biologists have long struggled to understand precisely how membranes accomplish these different types of jobs. The primary components of membranes —…
Advancement in single-atom layer graphene coatings improves accelerator electron source lifespans. Protective coatings are common for many things in daily life that see a lot of use: we coat wood floors with finish; apply Teflon to the paint on cars; even use diamond coatings on medical devices. Protective coatings are also essential in many demanding research and industrial applications. Now, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed and tested an atomically thin graphene coating for next-generation, electron-beam accelerator equipment…
Engineering researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a new type of flexible, robotic grippers that are able to lift delicate egg yolks without breaking them, and that are precise enough to lift a human hair. The work has applications for both soft robotics and biomedical technologies. The work draws on the art of kirigami, which involves both cutting and folding two-dimensional (2D) sheets of material to form three-dimensional (3D) shapes. Specifically, the researchers have developed a new technique…
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