… studied at unprecedented resolution: Researchers from the University of Tsukuba and collaborating partners have observed fine-scale exciton dynamics in atomically thin layered materials. This basic study for future optical communications could help replace charge transfer as the standard communications tool. Future optical communication that’s vastly more reliable and faster than what’s commonly available today will require new technology. Modern communication is based on charge transfer, which can result in large transmission losses during certain data-intensive applications. Excitons are alternatives,…

A new study reveals that the protein MTCH2, which is essential in a variety of cellular processes, is responsible for shuttling various other proteins into the membrane of mitochondria. The finding could have implications for cancer treatments. Mitochondria — the organelles responsible for energy production in human cells — were once free-living organisms that found their way into early eukaryotic cells over a billion years ago. Since then, they have merged seamlessly with their hosts in a classic example of symbiotic…

Scientists have developed a theory that can explain how flying insects determine the gravity direction without using accelerometers. It also forms a substantial step in the creation of tiny, autonomous drones. Scientists have discovered a novel manner for flying drones and insects to estimate the gravity direction. Whereas drones typically use accelerometers to this end, the way in which flying insects do this has until now been shrouded in mystery, since they lack a specific sense for acceleration. In an…

Studying the interplay between massive star formation and the interstellar medium is important to understand the evolution of galaxies. An international research team led by Fatemeh Tabatabaei including several scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, performed high-resolution radio observations of the local group galaxy Messier 33 with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). Their results show a direct connection between molecular gas and star formation exists in M33. Massive star formation amplifies…

Forty years ago, physicists at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics found a new plasma state that could be particularly suitable for energy production: the H-mode. On 8 November 1982, the corresponding paper was published, giving fusion research a worldwide boost. To this day, the investigation of the H-mode is one of their most important fields of work. The breakthrough came on a Thursday when – as often before – plasmas with neutral beam heating were to be studied…

Scientists of the QUEST Institute at PTB have realized and evaluated a new type of optical atomic clock. They report on their results in the current issue of Nature. Optical atomic clocks are the most accurate measuring instruments ever built and are becoming key tools for basic and applied research, for example to test the constancy of natural constants or for height measurements in geodesy. Now, researchers at the QUEST Institute at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), in collaboration with the…

Robotics experts from all over the world meet at EnRicH 2023. Planning has already been underway since the summer: For the fourth time, the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE is organising the European Robotics Hackathon (EnRicH) together with the Austrian Armaments and Defence Technology Agency (ARWT). EnRicH will take place in June 2023. For about a week, teams from all over the world will come together near Vienna to check the current development status of their…

Technology could help industry save millions in fuel consumption, reduce exhaust emissions. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has developed a proof-of-concept system to autonomously detect compressed air leaks on trains and relay the location of the leaks to mechanical personnel for repair. The automated system could reduce the time, costs and labor needed to find and repair air leaks, and it could lower the locomotive industry’s overall fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. Trains use compressed air for a variety of functions,…

Genome mining uncovers a widespread class of natural products that could be excellent candidates for future drugs. Benzobactins are bacterial natural products that have special biological activity due to a compound consisting of two ring structures. The bacterial genes responsible for the formation of the compound were previously unclear. Now, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology have been able to decipher its biosynthesis through extensive genomic research. Their research facilitates the discovery of numerous previously unknown natural…

A multi-institution research team has developed an optical chip that can train machine learning hardware.  THE SITUATION Machine learning applications skyrocketed to $165B annually, according to a recent report from McKinsey. But, before a machine can perform intelligence tasks such as recognizing the details of an image, it must be trained. Training of modern-day artificial intelligence (AI) systems like Tesla’s autopilot costs several million dollars in electric power consumption and requires supercomputer-like infrastructure. This surging AI “appetite” leaves an ever-widening…

The researchers will now adapt the platform to make it portable and connectable to mobile devices for use in diagnosing COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Rapid, cheap and accurate tests continue to be essential for epidemiological surveillance and for health services to monitor and contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Brazilian scientists have contributed to endeavors in this field by developing an electrochemical immunosensor that detects antibodies against the virus. The innovation is described in an article published recently in the journal ACS Biomaterials…

Thanks to laboratory produced human mini-retinas, researchers were able to observe complex changes in the retina as they occur in macular degeneration. This enabled them to discover the so-called cell extrusion as a potential mechanism for neurodegenerative diseases. Visual cells in the human retina may not simply die in some diseases, but are mechanically transported out of the retina beforehand. Scientists from DZNE and the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD) at TU Dresden have now discovered this. For their…

New research helps explain the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and predicts its severit. Alzheimer’s disease has always had its puzzles and contradictions. For Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researcher Vladislav Petyuk, whose research on the progressive, age-related disease spans over a decade, some of the struggles have come from studies where “we can only connect the dots a pair at a time.” Petyuk’s research touches multiple areas in biological and computational science at PNNL. He has produced dozens of publications…

Large telescope receiver optics confirmed in lab prior to installation at Simons Observatory. Some of the largest and most sophisticated telescopes ever made are under construction at the Simons Observatory in Northern Chile. They are designed to measure cosmic microwave background – electromagnetic radiation left over from the formation of the universe – with unprecedented sensitivity. In a new study, researchers detail an analysis method that could improve these telescopes by evaluating their performance before installation. “We developed a way…

How quantum optics illuminates the nature of the quark. Scientists from the University of Rostock, Germany were able to recreate fundamental physical properties from the realm of elementary particle physics in a photonic system. The results are published in the renowned scientific journal “Nature Physics”. In their fundamental research, experimental physicists routinely bring giant yet intricate machinery to bear: Particle accelerators of enormous size smash together microscopic particles at velocities close to the speed of light, releasing unimaginable amounts of…

International expert committee led by Professor Arndt Vogel updates ESMO treatment guidelines for biliary tract cancer. Biliary tract cancers (BTC) are cancers of the bile ducts and gallbladder. BCTs are rare and account for less than one percent of malignant neoplasms in humans. Overall, BCT have a poor prognosis. Five years after diagnosis, only 10 to 20 percent of those affected are still alive. However, advances in medicine and research offer hope, which have led to the updating of the…

Oxygen is the key substance for life and one of the most abundant elements in the Earth. However, it’s still unknown whether oxygen is present and in which form in the inner core with extreme high pressure and temperature conditions, and almost composed of pure iron. Scientists co-led by Dr. Jin Liu from HPSTAR (the Center for High Pressure Science &Technology Advanced Research) and Dr. Yang Sun from Columbia University reveal that Fe-rich Fe-O alloys are stable at extreme pressures…

Osaka Metropolitan University scientists use cryogenic electron microscopy to investigate how the marine green macroalga Codium fragile photosynthesizes. Plants that live on land, such as spinach, grow by using sunlight to perform photosynthesis. How, then, do algae photosynthesize in the deep sea, an environment where only a little light reaches them? Land plants mainly absorb red and blue light from the sun and use it for photosynthesis. However, only weak blue-green light reaches the ocean floor. Therefore, macroalgae growing in…

In the annals of shoulder surgery, NFL quarterback Drew Brees is an anomaly. In 2005, Brees was tackled and the rotator cuff tendon in his throwing shoulder was severely torn, a potentially career-ending injury. But after surgery and rehab, Brees returned the next season, led his team to the playoffs, and went on to win the 2010 Super Bowl. Unfortunately, rotator cuff repairs don’t always go so well, especially among seniors, the age group most susceptible to these injuries. The…

How can you trace a single diseased cell in an intact brain or a human heart? The search resembles looking for a needle in a haystack. The teams of Ali Ertürk at Helmholtz Munich and LMU Munich and Matthias Mann at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich have now developed a new technology named DISCO-MS that solves the problem. DISCO-MS uses robotics technology to obtain proteomics data from ‘sick’ cells precisely identified early in the disease….