ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

Engineers have achieved a practical mechanism for 'full-duplex nonreciprocity,' a property in metamaterials that allows for manipulation of both incoming and reflective beams of light.

Scientists studying superconducting qubits identified structural and chemical defects that may be causing quantum information loss -- an obstacle to practical quantum computation.

Cancer immunotherapy seeks to turn 'cold' tumors into 'hot' tumors -- those that respond to immunotherapy -- by awakening and enlisting the body's own immune system.

Scientists have invented a new way to funnel heat around at the microscopic level: a thermal insulator made using an innovative technique. They stack ultra-thin layers of crystalline sheets on top of each other, but rotate each layer slightly, creating a material with atoms that are aligned in one direction but not in the other. The result is a material that is extremely good at both containing heat and moving it, albeit in different directions -- an unusual ability at the microscale, and one that could have very useful applications in electronics and other technology.

A team of bioengineers has invented a novel soft and flexible self-powered bioelectronic device. The technology converts human body motions -- from bending an elbow to subtle movements such as a pulse on one's wrist -- into electricity that could be used to power wearable and implantable diagnostic sensors.

Scientist have utilized so-called SNAP-tag technology to radioactively label cells in living organisms. In a proof-of-principle study they developed a SNAP-tag substrate equipped with the radioactive signal emitter fluorine-18 and used it to make tumor cells in the bodies of mice visible in PET images. The labeling method, already established in microscopy, opens up the prospect of studying cells with different imaging techniques and at different temporal stages -- for example, when inflammation begins, continues and resolves again. This may help reveal more about how the functions of individual cells and entire organs are interconnected.

How do social conventions change? Robotic engineers and marketing scientists joined forces to study this phenomenon, combining online experiments and statistical analysis into a mathematical model that shows how a committed minority can influence the majority to overturn long-standing practices.

Researchers describe a highly accurate way to assemble multiple micron-scale optical devices extremely close together on a single chip. The approach could allow high-volume manufacturing of chip-based optical systems that would enable more compact optical communications devices and advanced imagers.

Existing methods to detect microscopic scratches and imperfections on transparent materials are costly and time-consuming. To tackle this problem, researchers developed a novel non-contact, non-destructive approach leveraging laser-induced plasma shockwaves and mechanical vibrations detectable by a high-speed polarization camera. Their strategy could pave the way to convenient and inexpensive quality control schemes for mass-production of high-quality transparent surfaces, with applications in smartphones, tablets, and solar panels.

A study on how structural economic risk at the occupational level is linked to long-term health outcomes of employees found that individuals in occupations characterized by high routine intensity are likely to become unemployed in the long term and have higher rates of disability and mortality. Until now, there has been a lack of large-scale population level analyses focusing on how one's job is affected by technology-induced displacement and its health and social effects.

A revolutionary implant allows neuroscientists to activate or inhibit specific spinal-cord neurons by applying light at a specific wavelength. The implant is controlled through a wireless electronic circuit that activates miniaturized light-emitting diodes (LEDs). This technology will give researchers insight into how the nervous system works and the chance to develop new ways of treating neurological disorders.

Immersive virtual reality disrupts the child's default coordination strategy, scientists show, something that should be taken into account when developing virtual reality rehabilitation protocols for children.