When light interacts with matter it can substantially change the behavior of the material. Depending on the form of interaction between light and matter, some chemical reactions appear differently, substances turn magnetic or ferroelectric or begin to conduct electricity without any losses. In particularly thrilling cases, an actual light source may not even be necessary because the mere possibility for light to exist, i.e., its quantum equivalent, the photons, can change the behavior of matter. Theoretical scientists try to describe…
Polyreactive antibodies as markers for autoimmune hepatitis. Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic liver inflammation that is triggered by an immunological malfunction. In this case, the immune system falsely recognises the patient’s own liver cells as “foreign to the body”. The symptoms of this rare liver disease are unspecific, and the exact cause is not yet known. If left untreated, AIH can lead to abnormal scarring (fibrosis) of the liver, which can end in cirrhosis and require an organ transplant….
An international team of researchers has made the world’s most precise measurement of the neutron’s lifetime, which may help answer questions about the early universe. An international team of physicists led by researchers at Indiana University Bloomington has announced the world’s most precise measurement of the neutron’s lifetime. The results from the team, which encompasses scientists from over 10 national labs and universities in the United States and abroad, represent a more than two-fold improvement over previous measurements — with…
”Prometheus” and “Chephren”: Fraunhofer IWS works on machines that barely lose energy in the form of waste heat. Nearly frictionless motors and gearboxes shall ensure electric bicycles with greater range on a single battery charge as well as industrial machines with significantly lower power consumption in form of friction and waste heat. The Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS Dresden is collaborating with industry and research partners in the joint projects “Prometheus” and “Chephren”. The researchers want to…
Fifty-five percent of the final energy consumption in Germany are expended for heating and air conditioning. Vacuum technologies developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP are used to deposit layers and layer systems serving the exploitation of solar energy and the storage of heat on an industrial scale, contributing to the increased use of this important energy source. The radiant energy that the earth receives from the sun within 90 minutes is roughly…
The fundamental forces of physics govern the matter comprising the Universe, yet exactly how these forces work together is still not fully understood. The existence of Hawking radiation — the particle emission from near black holes — indicates that general relativity and quantum mechanics must cooperate. But directly observing Hawking radiation from a black hole is nearly impossible due to the background noise of the Universe, so how can researchers study it to better understand how the forces interact and…
Method could support semiconductor industry and facilitate development of next-gen devices. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and collaborators have devised and tested a new, highly sensitive method of detecting and counting defects in transistors — a matter of urgent concern to the semiconductor industry as it develops new materials for next-generation devices. These defects limit transistor and circuit performance and can affect product reliability. A typical transistor is, for most uses, basically a switch. When…
The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) – a joint undertaking of the European Union and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) – today announced the launch of OPTIMA (Optimal Treatment for Patients with Solid Tumours in Europe Through Artificial intelligence), a € 21.3 million public-private research programme that will seek to use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve care for patients with prostate, breast and lung cancer. OPTIMA’s goal is to design, develop and deliver the first interoperable, GDPR-compliant…
New crystal forms of common — and concerning — insecticide imidacloprid control mosquitoes and fruit flies up to nine times faster, allowing less to be used. Scientists have developed seven crystal forms of imidacloprid—one of the world’s most widely used insecticides—in an effort to sharply reduce its environmental impact, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The new forms work up to nine times faster than the original version, meaning a smaller amount can…
A thorough review of the history of sage grouse hunting and populations across the Intermountain West shows that declines in the bird’s numbers have prompted significant reductions in hunting opportunities in recent decades — with mixed results for grouse populations. Research led by University of Wyoming Professor Jeff Beck and Oregon State University Assistant Professor Jonathan Dinkins, a former UW postdoctoral researcher, examined the history of grouse hunting regulations in 11 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces — and the…
Urbanisation appears to be another key factor for insect decline. This is shown by a study in which the impact of climate and land use on insects was disentangled for the first time. Worldwide, the quantity and diversity of insects are declining: scientists have reported more and more evidence for this in recent years. In politics and society, these findings have raised great concern. Researchers attribute the decline in insect numbers on the one hand to changes in land use,…
For the first time, researchers have been able capture images providing unprecedented details of how particles behave in a liquid suspension when the phenomenon known as shear thickening takes place. The work allows us to directly understand the processes behind shear thickening, which had previously only been understood based on inference and computational modeling. Shear thickening is a phenomenon that can occur when particles are suspended in a low-viscosity solution. If the concentration of particles is high enough, then when…
Blue and green color vision were lost by human ancestors, but now we understand how the genes are regulated. After decades of studying color vision in mice, new research in zebrafish has allowed experts at the University of Tokyo to uncover how some animals regulate their ability to see blue light. The results, published in Science Advances, allow researchers to better understand the evolutionary history and current control mechanisms of color vision. “In 1989 when I began studying the evolution…
Discovery could advance production of high-performance next generation adhesives and plastics. Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) spend their days being buffeted by crashing waves. They manage to stay tethered to the rocks or their fellow mussels thanks to a highly effective underwater glue they produce. Because achieving adhesion in the presence of water is so challenging, scientists who are interested in producing effective adhesives for use in wet environments (e.g., for surgical or dental treatments) have turned to mussels for inspiration….
Curtin University researchers have helped to determine the age of the youngest rocks ever found on the Moon, as part of a global space mission that is working to refine the chronology of the entire Solar System. The new research, published in Science, determined the basaltic volcanic rocks, collected as part of China’s Chang’e-5 Moon landing in December 2020, were about two billion years old – or one billion years younger than those previously found on the Moon. The rock…
… developed by international collaboration. Marine heatwaves, driven by climate change, are becoming more frequent and intense worldwide. Although we know that heatwaves kill marine organisms and have devastating effects on ecosystems, there is currently no way to predict these effects or help ecosystems adapt. An international team of marine scientists from Hong Kong, Japan, and Canada, led by Dr Bayden D RUSSELL (Associate Director of the Swire Institute of Marine Science and Associate Professor from the School of Biological…
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