The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) announces the completion of a major three-publication survey of one of the richest accessible open star clusters. The final study features a method of deriving the rotation periods of stars from just one observation of the stellar activity rather than repeated observations over several weeks which are needed to directly measure the rotation period. The method has possible implications for the determination of the ages of stars. Open clusters are star clusters that…
Across a vast array of robotic hands and clamps, there is a common foe: the heirloom tomato. You may have seen a robotic gripper deftly pluck an egg or smoothly palm a basketball – but, unlike human hands, one gripper is unlikely to be able to do both and a key challenge remains hidden in the middle ground. “You’ll see robotic hands do a power grasp and a precision grasp and then kind of imply that they can do everything…
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the Dutch research center QuTech—a collaboration of TU Delft and TNO—are joining forces in the fields of quantum communication and quantum information networks. Together, they are positioning themselves as leading organizations for the development and transfer of quantum technologies to strengthen Europe’s innovative power and pave the way for the quantum internet. Today, the partners have signed a memorandum of understanding for close cooperation. In a long-term, strategic partnership, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and QuTech will work together structurally…
The development of a topological laser network by a team of the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat is among the top ten nominations for the “Breakthrough of the Year Award“. On 24 September 2021, a paper appeared in the scientific journal Science that caused a sensation among experts. Israeli and German researchers from the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat presented a new development: a highly effective network of surface-emitting lasers only the size of a grain of sand that act as…
Once expended, eco-friendly batteries break down in soil within weeks. Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed paper-thin biodegradable zinc batteries that could one day become an environmentally sustainable option for powering flexible and wearable electronic systems. The NTU Singapore-developed zinc batteries are made up of electrodes (through which the electrical current leaves or enters the battery) screen-printed on to both sides of a piece of cellulose paper that has been reinforced with hydrogel. Once the battery…
New strategy promises protection also against future SARS-CoV-2 variants. Fusion protein successfully blocks replication of SARS-CoV-2 and related viruses. Vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been made possible by an unprecedented worldwide partnership. But medications against Covid-19 have as yet seen only partial success. With the support of the Bavarian Research Foundation, a Munich research team has developed a protein which has reliably prevented infection by the virus and its variants in cell culture tests. The SARS-CoV-2 virus uses a…
A highly unusual movement of light emitting particles in atomically-thin semiconductors was experimentally confirmed by scientists from the Würzburg–Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat–Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter. Electronic quasiparticles, known as excitons, seemed to move in opposite directions at the same time. Professor Alexey Chernikov–newly appointed physicist at the Technische Universität Dresden–and his team were able to reveal the consequences of this quantum phenomenon by monitoring light emission from mobile excitons using ultrafast microscopy at extremely low temperatures. These…
Using the connected moments mathematical technique decreases the time and computational power needed for quantum computing simulations of chemical systems. The Science Advancing quantum computing requires models that can solve many-body problems quickly and accurately. These problems involve anywhere from three to an infinite number of particles so small they are subject to quantum mechanics. This research proposes a new algorithm for performing quantum calculations on chemical systems that reduces the effect of random “noise” on the results. The approach uses a…
Space-bound research ‘large step’ toward feeding Earth’s rapidly growing population. Clemson researcher Chris Saski admits sending the University’s iconic Tiger Paw to space aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is, quite literally, “an out-of-this-world experience.” But it’s the potential for the experiments in the flight hardware to which the Paw is attached that truly excites him. Saski’s cotton regeneration research, adorned with Clemson stickers, intends to take off Dec. 21 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida bound for the International…
Four CubeSats – CubIXSS, SunCET, DYNAGLO, and WindCube – have been selected by NASA’s Heliophysics Flight Opportunities in Research and Technology program in cooperation with NASA’s Space Weather Science Application. Together, they will comprise a first-generation testbed for space weather innovation through small satellites. CubeSats are small, cube-shaped satellites built to standardized dimensions that offer many advantages over traditional large space missions. Because they are relatively inexpensive compared to larger satellite missions, they’re usually seen as opportunities to develop new…
For the first time in history, a spacecraft has touched the Sun. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has now flown through the Sun’s upper atmosphere – the corona – and sampled particles and magnetic fields there. The new milestone marks one major step for Parker Solar Probe and one giant leap for solar science. Just as landing on the Moon allowed scientists to understand how it was formed, touching the very stuff the Sun is made of will help scientists uncover critical information…
Flaws in diamonds — atomic defects where carbon is replaced by nitrogen or another element — may offer a close-to-perfect interface for quantum computing, a proposed communications exchange that promises to be faster and more secure than current methods. There’s one major problem, though: these flaws, known as diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers, are controlled via magnetic field, which is incompatible with existing quantum devices. Imagine trying to connect an Altair, an early personal computer developed in 1974, to the internet via…
Detecting the activity of CRISPR gene editing tools in organisms with the naked eye and an ultraviolet flashlight is now possible using technology developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Scientists demonstrated these real-time detection tools in plants and anticipate their use in animals, bacteria and fungi with diverse applications for biotechnology, biosecurity, bioenergy and agriculture. The team described the successful development of the UV system in Horticulture Research and their proof-of-principle demonstration in ACS Synthetic Biology….
Researchers at the University of Tsukuba place a radio-frequency repeater inside an MRI machine that allows it to detect sodium ions, which may lead to enhanced clinical imaging and monitoring functionality at very low cost. Scientists at the University of Tsukuba demonstrated how conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines can be retrofitted to detect sodium ions using a cross band radio-frequency repeater. This work may allow for new medical diagnostics to be performed without expensive new equipment. Magnetic resonance imaging…
Biophysicists in Japan have found ways to make and manipulate capsule-like DNA structures that could be used in the development of artificial molecular systems. Such systems could function, for example, inside the human body. The study was a collaboration between Yusuke Sato of Tohoku University and Masahiro Takinoue of the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), and the findings were published in the JACS Au. To make the capsules, the researchers first created two different types of DNA nanostructures. Each…
Dartmouth research predicts the existence of a previously-unimaginable particle. Nearly a century after Italian physicist Ettore Majorana laid the groundwork for the discovery that electrons could be divided into halves, researchers predict that split photons may also exist, according to a study from Dartmouth and SUNY Polytechnic Institute researchers. The finding that the building blocks of light can exist in a previously-unimaginable split form advances the fundamental understanding of light and how it behaves. The theoretical discovery of the split…
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