Light-driven molecular motors have been around for over twenty years. These motors typically take microseconds to nanoseconds for one revolution. Thomas Jansen, associate professor of physics at the University of Groningen, and Master’s student Atreya Majumdar have now designed an even faster molecular motor. The new design is driven by light only and can make a full turn in picoseconds, using the power of a single photon. Jansen: ‘We have developed a new out-of-the-box design for a motor molecule that…
Jian Shi Research Group engineers material into promising optoelectronic. Optoelectronic materials that are capable of converting the energy of light into electricity, and electricity into light, have promising applications as light-emitting, energy-harvesting, and sensing technologies. However, devices made of these materials are often plagued by inefficiency, losing significant useful energy as heat. To break the current limits of efficiency, new principles of light-electricity conversion are needed. For instance, many materials that exhibit efficient optoelectronic properties are constrained by inversion symmetry,…
The brain presents different states depending on the communication between billions of neurons, and this network is the basis of all our perceptions, memories, and behaviours. It is often considered a “black box”, with difficult access for clinicians and researchers, as few limited tools are available to perform accurate and spaciotemporal studies on brain neuronal behaviour. Now, researchers from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) in collaboration with August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) and have added…
Understanding cellular metabolism – how a cell uses energy- could be key to treating a wide array of diseases, including vascular diseases and cancer. While many techniques can measure these processes among tens of thousands of cells, researchers have been unable to measure them at the single-cell level. Researchers at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Biological Sciences Division have developed a combined imaging and machine learning technique that can, for the first time, measure a…
Research team led by the University of Göttingen investigates surface magnetisation. The surface of a material often has properties that are very different from the properties within the material. For example, a non-conducting crystal, which actually exhibits no magnetism, can show magnetisation restricted to its surface because of the way the atoms are arranged there. These distinct properties at interfaces and surfaces of materials often play a key role in the development of new functional components such as optoelectronic chips…
Heidelberg University geographers combine historical images and maps with current data. The glaciers of Nanga Parbat – one of the highest mountains in the world – have been shrinking slightly but continually since the 1930s. This loss in surface area is evidenced by a long-term study conducted by researchers from the South Asia Institute of Heidelberg University. The geographers combined historical photographs, surveys, and topographical maps with current data, which allowed them to show glacial changes for this massif in…
‘Every droplet effectively removed from indoor air would eliminate a potential source of transmission’. Although plexiglass barriers are seemingly everywhere these days — between grocery store lanes, around restaurant tables and towering above office cubicles — they are an imperfect solution to blocking virus transmission. Instead of capturing virus-laden respiratory droplets and aerosols, plexiglass dividers merely deflect droplets, causing them to bounce away but remain in the air. To enhance the function of these protective barriers, Northwestern University researchers have…
Max Planck researchers reveal how immune cells coordinate their swarming behavior to eliminate pathogens effectively together. The body is well protected against invading pathogens by barriers such as the skin. But if you injure yourself and break your skin, pathogens can easily enter your body through the wound and cause severe infections. If this occurs, the innate immune system takes over the first rapid defense with an effective arsenal of cellular weapons infiltrating the wounded tissue in large numbers. As…
Researchers identify exotic metals in unexpected quantum systems. Electrons are ubiquitous among atoms, subatomic tokens of energy that can independently change how a system behaves–but they also can change each other. An international research collaboration found that collectively measuring electrons revealed unique and unanticipated findings. The researchers published their results on May 17 in Physical Review Letters. “It is not feasible to obtain the solution just by tracing the behavior of each individual electron,” said paper author Myung Joon Han,…
Pheromones mediate asymmetric mating behavior in isogamous yeast. Researchers from the Max-Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology have discovered a surprising asymmetry in the mating behavior of unicellular yeast that emerges solely from molecular differences in pheromone signaling. Their results, published in the current issue of “Science Advances“, might shed new light on the evolutionary origins of sexual dimorphism in higher eukaryotes. Resemblant of higher organisms, yeast gametes communicate during the mating process by secreting and sensing sexual pheromones. However, in…
Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a computational technique that greatly increases the resolution of atomic force microscopy, a specialized type of microscope that “feels” the atoms at a surface. The method reveals atomic-level details on proteins and other biological structures under normal physiological conditions, opening a new window on cell biology, virology and other microscopic processes. In a study, published June 16 in Nature, the investigators describe the new technique, which is based on a strategy used to…
Researchers show a graphene-based sensor can detect SARS-CoV-2. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have successfully used graphene — one of the strongest, thinnest known materials — to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in laboratory experiments. The researchers say the discovery could be a breakthrough in coronavirus detection, with potential applications in the fight against COVID-19 and its variants. In experiments, researchers combined sheets of graphene, which are more than 1,000 times thinner than a postage stamp, with an antibody…
Material could be used in future quantum computing applications. An international team of physicists led by the University of Minnesota has discovered that a unique superconducting metal is more resilient when used as a very thin layer. The research is the first step toward a larger goal of understanding unconventional superconducting states in materials, which could possibly be used in quantum computing in the future. The collaboration includes four faculty members in the University of Minnesota’s School of Physics and…
The long relationships between stars and the planets around them – including the Sun and the Earth – may be even more complex than previously thought. This is one conclusion of a new study involving thousands of stars using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. By conducting the largest survey ever of star-forming regions in X-rays, a team of researchers has helped outline the link between very powerful flares, or outbursts, from youthful stars, and the impact they could have on planets…
An innovative underwater robot known as Mesobot is providing researchers with deeper insight into the vast mid-ocean region known as the “twilight zone.” Capable of tracking and recording high-resolution images of slow-moving and fragile zooplankton, gelatinous animals, and particles, Mesobot greatly expands scientists’ ability to observe creatures in their mesopelagic habitat with minimal disturbance. This advance in engineering will enable greater understanding of the role these creatures play in transporting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the deep sea, as…
NIH study breaks down pigment epithelium-derived factor to understand how it protects and stimulates retinal neurons. Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have determined how certain short protein fragments, called peptides, can protect neuronal cells found in the light-sensing retina layer at the back of the eye. The peptides might someday be used to treat degenerative retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The study published today in the Journal of Neurochemistry. NEI is part of the National…
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