Researchers in the College of Engineering and James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences experimentally demonstrate how quantum resources aren’t just dreams for the distant future – they can improve the technology of today. Quantum computing and quantum sensing have the potential to be vastly more powerful than their classical counterparts. Not only could a fully realized quantum computer take just seconds to solve equations that would take a classical computer thousands of years, but it could have incalculable impacts…
This striking image showcases the unusually contorted appearance of NGC 2276, an appearance caused by two different astrophysical interactions — one with the superheated gas pervading galaxy clusters, and one with a nearby galactic neighbour. The interaction of NGC 2276 with the intracluster medium — the superheated gas lying between the galaxies in galaxy clusters — has ignited a burst of star formation along one edge of the galaxy. This wave of star formation is visible as the bright, blue-tinged…
ICIQ scientists from the Lloret-Fillol group have, for the first time, isolated and fully characterised an elusive intermediate in the Water Oxidation Reaction. The Water Oxidation Reaction (WOR) is one of the most important reactions on the planet since it is the source of nearly all the atmosphere’s oxygen. Understanding its intricacies can hold the key to improve the efficiency of the reaction. Unfortunately, the reaction’s mechanisms are complex and the intermediates highly unstable, thus making their isolation and characterisation…
Paper in Nature Genetics: Genome-wide meta-analysis shows that research into different ancestries leads to better results and better care. Today The Lundquist Institute announced that its investigators contributed data from several studies, including data on Hispanics, African-Americans and East Asians, to the international MAGIC collaboration, composed of more than 400 global academics, who conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis led by the University of Exeter. Now published in Nature Genetics, their findings demonstrate that expanding research into different ancestries yields more…
Electrical engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a technology that improves the resolution of an ordinary light microscope so that it can be used to directly observe finer structures and details in living cells. The technology turns a conventional light microscope into what’s called a super-resolution microscope. It involves a specially engineered material that shortens the wavelength of light as it illuminates the sample–this shrunken light is what essentially enables the microscope to image in higher resolution….
Lean and mean … Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have developed a wirelessly powered relay network for 5G systems. The proposed battery-free communication addresses the challenges of flexible deployment of relay networks. This design is both economical and energy-efficient. Such advances in 5G communications will create tremendous opportunities for a wide range of sectors. The ever-increasing demand for wireless data bandwidth shows no sign of slowing down in the near future. Millimeter wave, a short wavelength spectrum,…
The quasi-quantized Hall effect is a three-dimensional relative of the Quantum Hall effect in two-dimensional systems. The quantum Hall effect traditionally only plays a role in two-dimensional electron systems. Recently, however, a three-dimensional version of the quantum Hall effect was described in the Dirac semimetal ZrTe5. It has been suggested that this version results from a magnetic field-induced Fermi surface instability that transforms the original three-dimensional electron system into a stack of two-dimensional electron systems. Now scientists at the Max…
Welding 3D-printed components with the laser: This is the goal of the scientists at the Institut für Integrierte Produktion Hannover (IPH) gGmbH and the Laser Zentrum Hanno-ver e.V. (LZH). In the new research project “QualLa”, they want to develop an expert system that supports small and medium-sized enterprises in optimizing additive manufac-turing processes – so that the printed components can subsequently be welded soundly with the laser. For injection-molded plastic components, laser transmission welding is already an established industrial joining…
Research team investigates molecular mechanisms of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disease. Motor nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain stem, which are connected to the muscles and control their movements, gradually die. The result is massive muscle atrophy, which in severe cases can lead to death in infancy if left untreated. Although the gene responsible for SMA is known, it is still unclear how exactly the loss of motor neurones occurs….
The ideal forming technology to suit any need: Decision-making tools for the industry. Fuel cells have huge potential, but there are not yet any clear structures and standards surrounding their manufacture. The huge number of options when it comes to production technologies makes it challenging for users or potential users to maintain an overview in their mind and to select the right production process to suit their needs. To help overcome this problem, researchers at the Fraunhofer IWU and the…
A sustainable circular economy … A significant part of carpet waste consists of petroleum-based polypropylene. As a non-recyclable product, disposing of it has previously meant incineration or landfill. However, a new solvent is now making it possible to recover virgin-standard polypropylene from carpet waste — with no perceptible reduction in quality. Developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP and its partners, the process also involves costs that are quite competitive. The development has taken place as part of…
As the cleanest renewable energy, hydrogen energy has attracted special attention in the research. Yet the commercialization of traditional proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), which consume hydrogen and produce electricity, is seriously restricted due to the chemical reaction of PEMFCs cathode largely relies on expensive platinum-based catalysts. A solution is to change the acidic electrolyte of PEMFCs to alkaline. Such fuel cells are called anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs), and they allow for the use of cheaper metal…
Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Collaboration directly observed a spectral softening of helium nuclei at about 34TeV for the first time. This work was based on measurements data of the helium spectrum with kinetic energies from 70 GeV to 80 TeV (17.5 GeV/n to 20 TeV/n for per nucleon) recorded by the DAMPE. The relevant results were published in Physical Review Letters. Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) offers important ways to deeply understand the astrophysical particle origin and accelerators and the…
In the journal Nature Communications, an interdisciplinary team from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces presents for the first time a laser-driven technology that enables them to create nanoparticles such as copper, cobalt and nickel oxides. At the usual printing speed, photoelectrodes are produced in this way, for example, for a wide range of applications such as the generation of green hydrogen. Previous methods produce such nanomaterials only with high energy input in classical reaction vessels and in…
Recently, the researchers from Institute of Solid State Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, by using valence engineering, developed three manganese oxides as electrodes with different Mn valences for high-performance capacitive desalination. Reverse osmosis and thermal distillation are widely used to treat salt water with high salt concentration, but they have disadvantages including high energy consumption and high cost. As an alternative method, capacitive deionization (CDI) technology can remove charged ions from desalt…
A study coordinated by Luís Graça, principal investigator at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM; Portugal) and Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (FMUL) used lymph nodes, tonsils and blood, to show how the cells that control production of antibodies are formed and act. The results published now in the scientific journal Science Immunology* unveiled key aspects about the regulation of antibody production, with significant importance for diseases where antibody production is…
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