The direction of movement of a microbe directly depends on the curvature of its environment – this is the key finding of a recent publication in the journal PNAS with participation of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) in Göttingen. The researchers investigated the navigation of a model microbe, a small self-propelling microalga, in confined compartments with different shapes. They also developed theoretical models to predict the probability flux of that microswimmer which was confirmed by experiments….
From October 4 – 7, 2021, the Photonics Days Berlin Brandenburg will be held in hybrid format. The Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik (FBH) will participate with talks and in the two-day exhibition on October 6-7 in Berlin-Adlershof. The four-day conference brings together experts from photonics, optics, microsystems technology, and quantum technology. Scientists from the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut will present the latest results on high-power diode lasers, UV LEDs including the corresponding irradiation systems for medical applications, and quantum technologies. At the booth,…
Empa researcher Peter Nirmalraj wants to image proteins with unprecedented precision – and thus gain insights into the molecular pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s. This should pave the way for an earlier diagnosis of the dementia disorder via a simple blood test. Together with neurologists from the Kantonsspital St.Gallen, a successful pilot study has now been completed. If the suspicion of Alzheimer’s disease creeps up, those affected must prepare themselves for lengthy and complex procedures until the case is clear. A team…
Rochester researchers next will aim for a combination of spatial, temporal imaging. When we look at an object with our eyes, or with a camera, we can automatically gather enough pixels of light at visible wavelengths to have a clear image of what we see. However, to visualize a quantum object or phenomenon where the illumination is weak, or emanating from nonvisible infrared or far infrared wavelengths, scientists need far more sensitive tools. For example, they have developed single-pixel imaging…
Exotic phase transitions unlock pathways to future, superfluid-based technologies. We can learn a lot by studying microscopic and macroscopic changes in a material as it crosses from one phase to another, for example from ice to water to steam. A new Australian study examines systems transitioning from ‘normal’ fluid to a quantum state known as a superfluid, which can flow with zero friction, with a view to future, superfluid-based, quantum technologies, such as ultra-low energy electronics.We can learn a lot…
Scientists are working hard to engineer the properties of nanostructures, such as atoms and molecules, to realize efficient logic devices that can operate at the fundamental scale of matter – the scale of atoms. To make “engineering” possible at that scale, researchers have to be able to look at the internal structure of an atom, the so-called orbital structure, where electrons are confined in a series of shells. In a study published this week in ACS Nano, the research led…
Machine learning algorithms are shedding light on neoantigen T cell-receptor pairs. Researchers and data scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed an artificial intelligence technique that can identify which cell surface peptides produced by cancer cells called neoantigens are recognized by the immune system. The pMTnet technique, detailed online in Nature Machine Intelligence, could lead to new ways to predict cancer prognosis and potential responsiveness to immunotherapies. “Determining which neoantigens bind to T cell receptors and which…
The exotic nucleus tin-100 is challenging to access experimentally, but ab initio calculations provide reliable results. This is shown by new precision mass measurements of indium isotopes in the vicinity of tin in the nuclear chart, using sophisticated techniques at CERN. Physicists from Klaus Blaum’s department at the MPI for Nuclear Physics played a major role in this. Achim Schwenk’s Max Planck Fellow group at the TU Darmstadt contributed to the theoretical calculations. The tin isotope with the mass number…
Poxviruses have found a unique way of translating their genes into proteins in the infected organism. For the first time, scientists of the University of Würzburg’s Biocenter have been able to gain atomic-level insights into the functioning of the molecular machinery involved in the process. The pictures taken enable them to represent the early phase of transcription in a movie-like manner. The last case of smallpox worldwide occurred in Somalia in October 1977. In 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO)…
EURAMET to start a new European Metrology Network… Central pool of expertise under the coordination of PTB More than 23 million people in the world are exposed to ionizing radiation sometime during the course of their work. Natural radiation is everywhere and affects everyone. The topic of radiation protection is also becoming ever more varied. Due to the latest developments, such as pulsed radiation in medical, industrial or technical applications, we are now increasingly dealing with radiation fields of ever…
Fertilisation is one of the most fundamental biological processes, yet its underlying molecular mechanisms are unresolved. An international team of scientists at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) and at Osaka University unveiled the role of the protein SPACA4, which allows mammalian sperm to traverse the protective layers of the egg to reach its membrane. Their results are now published in PNAS. In most animals and plants, the life cycle of an individual begins with fertilisation, when egg and…
A team of researchers from Germany, China and the United States has discovered that two twisted layers of MoS₂ can be used to control kinetic energy scales in solids. In addition to using the twist angle to control the material’s electronic properties, the researchers have also now demonstrated that the electrons in MoS₂ can interfere destructively, stopping their motion for certain paths. This property makes it possible to engineer exotic magnetic states. The work by scientists from the Max Planck…
Researchers found that salinity changes as a result of water cycle changes lead to less surface warming. A new study led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, in collaboration with scientists at Princeton University, shows that the intensification of global hydrological cycle drives more ocean heat uptake into the deep ocean and moderates the pace of global warming. As a result of a warming climate, the global water cycle becomes more…
When optical gain or loss are precisely controlled using nanophotonics, a new physical event called the non-Hermitian phenomenon can be observed, potentially the next-generation technology of optical signal control and sensing. However, it is difficult to control the optical gain and loss in optical experiments precisely. Recently, a research team led by Professor Heedeuk Shin of the Department of Physics at POSTECH, in collaboration with a research team led by Professor Jae Woong Yoon of the Department of Physics at…
Researchers at the Beckman Institute Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory applied deep learning to polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography to better detect cancer. Yi “Edwin” Sun, a Ph.D. candidate in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and member of the Beckman Institute’s Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory headed by Stephen Boppart, explored how deep learning methods can make polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography, or PS-OCT, more cost-effective and better equipped to diagnose cancer in biological tissues. The paper, titled “Synthetic polarization-sensitive optical…
Scientists at Cornell University have created cell-size robots that can be powered and steered by ultrasound waves. Despite their tiny size, these micro-robotic swimmers – whose movements were inspired by bacteria and sperm – could one day be a formidable new tool for targeted drug delivery. For more than a decade, Mingming Wu’s lab has been investigating the ways microorganisms, from bacteria to cancer cells, migrate and communicate with their environment. The goal was to create a remotely controlled micro-robot that…
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