ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News |
| Tracking real-time atomic movement between crystal grains in metals Posted: 22 Mar 2022 03:26 PM PDT Using advanced microscopy coupled with novel computer simulations to track atomic movement, researchers conducted real-time atomic-level observations of grain boundary deformation in poly-grained metallic materials called polycrystalline materials. They observed previously unrecognized processes that affect material properties, such as atoms that hop from one plane to another across a grain boundary. Their work pushes the limits of atomic-level probing, and enables a deeper understanding of how polycrystalline materials deform, and smarter design of new materials for extreme engineering applications. |
| Biodegradable implant could help doctors monitor brain chemistry Posted: 22 Mar 2022 02:05 PM PDT A wireless, biodegradable sensor could offer doctors a way to monitor changes in brain chemistry without requiring a second operation to remove the implant, according to an international team of researchers. |
| Design tweak helps prevent malfunction in yarns designed to store energy Posted: 22 Mar 2022 12:42 PM PDT Findings in a recent study could advance the development of 'smart textiles' that would capture energy from the wearer's movements. |
| Tackling large data sets and many parameter problems in particle physics Posted: 22 Mar 2022 10:30 AM PDT A new tool to break down and segment large data set problems and problems with many parameters in particle physics could have a wide range of applications. |
| The opto-ionic effect: Light may increase performance of fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries Posted: 22 Mar 2022 10:00 AM PDT Lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells and many other devices depend on the high mobility of ions in order to work properly. But there a large number of obstacles to such mobility. Researchers have now shown that light can be used to increase the mobility of ions and improve the performance of such devices. |
| Quantum dots shine bright to help scientists see inflammatory cells in fat Posted: 22 Mar 2022 10:00 AM PDT To accurately diagnose and treat diseases, doctors and researchers need to see inside bodies. Medical imaging tools have come a long way since the humble x-ray, but most existing tools remain too coarse to quantify numbers or specific types of cells inside deep tissues of the body. Quantum dots can do that, according to new research in mice. |
| Using quantum methods to predict next-gen lithium-metal battery reactivity Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:28 AM PDT Lithium-metal (Li-metal) batteries show great potential for packing more significant amounts of energy than the current lithium-ion batteries. For example, a Li-metal electric battery in a car could travel more miles, and a Li-metal phone battery could have longer battery life. However, the metal surface of Li-metal batteries is highly reactive, and there is limited understanding of the chemistry of these reactions. |
| New tool to accelerate drug discovery Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:28 AM PDT New technology will accelerate drug development by allowing researchers a better look inside the cell membrane to observe how cells react to drugs. |
| 'Off label' use of imaging databases could lead to bias in AI algorithms Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT Significant advances in artificial intelligence (AI) over the past decade have relied upon extensive training of algorithms using massive, open-source databases. But when such datasets are used 'off label' and applied in unintended ways, the results are subject to machine learning bias that compromises the integrity of the AI algorithm, according to a new study. |
| Study points to strategies for closing the participation gender gap in engineering courses Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT Students' identities can play a key role in how comfortable they feel and how often they speak up in the classroom, especially in STEM fields. For instance, women generally speak far less than men in undergraduate engineering classes, but this is not always the case, according to Princeton researchers. When classes are taught by women instructors, the gender gap practically disappears. |
| Bionic wing flaps improve wind energy efficiency Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT Scientists show a bionic approach combining features of a seagull's wing with an engineered flow control accessory, known as a Gurney flap, can greatly improve wind turbine performance. To achieve the best aerodynamic performance, the scientists simulated the use of the combined flow control accessory in a variety of situations, including high and low angle of attack and pre- and post-stall scenarios. They compared their computational simulations to experimental results for an aircraft wing undergoing a dynamic stall. |
| Blowing bubbles in dough to bake perfect yeast-free pizza Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT Researchers have developed a method to leaven pizza dough without yeast. The team, which included its very own professional pizza-maker/graduate student, prepared the dough by mixing water, flour, and salt and placing it in a hot autoclave, an industrial device designed to raise temperature and pressure. From there, the process is like the one used to produce carbonation in soda. Gas is dissolved into the dough at high pressure, and bubbles form in the dough as pressure is released during baking. |
| Much more than average, single-cell analysis reveals heterogeneity in metal adsorption Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT A research team has reported an in-depth analysis of precious metal adsorption onto Galdieria sulphuraria algae. The combination of X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and single-cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry allowed the cell population behavior to be related to chemical interactions that occurred between the metals and the cell surface. The insight is expected to contribute to the development of environmentally friendly cell-derived approaches for metal recycling and wastewater treatment. |
| Tomographic measurement of dielectric tensors? Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT A research team reported the direct measurement of dielectric tensors of anisotropic structures including the spatial variations of principal refractive indices and directors. The group also demonstrated quantitative tomographic measurements of various nematic liquid-crystal structures and their fast 3D nonequilibrium dynamics using a 3D label-free tomographic method. |
| Novel quantum sensing possibilities with nonlinear optics Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT Researchers used the nonlinear optical response of atom-like defects in a diamond to build a tiny thermometer. This research may lead to temperature sensors that can work inside living cells and other nanoscale applications. |
| Things are heating up for superconductors Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT Researchers have, by way of a number of theoretical calculations, shown that magnesium diboride becomes superconductive at a higher temperature when it is stretched. The discovery is a big step toward finding superconductive materials that are useful in real-world situations. |
| Qubits: Developing long-distance quantum telecommunications networks Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:12 AM PDT Computers, smartphones, GPS: quantum physics has enabled many technological advances. It is now opening up new fields of research in cryptography (the art of coding messages) with the aim of developing ultra-secure telecommunications networks. There is one obstacle, however: after a few hundred kilometers within an optical fiber, the photons that carry the qubits or 'quantum bits' (the information) disappear. They therefore need 'repeaters', a kind of 'relay', which are partly based on a quantum memory. By managing to store a qubit in a crystal (a 'memory') for 20 milliseconds, a team has now taken a major step towards the development of long-distance quantum telecommunications networks. |
| Engineers develop a ‘magnetic tentacle robot’ to pass into the narrow tubes of the lung Posted: 21 Mar 2022 05:54 PM PDT Engineers and scientists have developed proof of concept for a robot that can reach some of the smallest bronchial tubes in the lungs - to take tissue samples or deliver cancer therapy. Known as a magnetic tentacle robot, it measures just 2 millimeters in diameter, about twice the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. Magnets on the outside of the patient will guide the tentacle robot into place. |
| New enzyme discovery is another leap towards beating plastic waste Posted: 21 Mar 2022 12:04 PM PDT Scientists who helped to pioneer the use of enzymes to eat plastic have taken an important next step in developing nature-based solutions to the global plastics crisis. They have characterized an enzyme that has the remarkable capacity to help break down terephthalate (TPA), one of the chemical building blocks of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, which is used to make single-use drinks bottles, clothing and carpets. |
| Upcyling polyester could reduce plastic waste Posted: 21 Mar 2022 12:04 PM PDT Less than 10% of the 380 million metrics tons of annually produced plastics are currently recycled in the U.S., creating a global environmental threat caused by plastic production and the absorption of millions of tons of waste into bodies of water each year. When you look at plastics like polyester, that percentage goes down. |
| Twisted vibrations enable quality control for chiral drugs and supplements Posted: 21 Mar 2022 10:21 AM PDT It's not easy to be sure that drugs and supplements with twisted -- or chiral -- structures are turning in the correct direction. Now, twirling infrared light can probe both the structures of molecular crystals and their twists. |
| Wind, solar could replace coal power in Texas Posted: 21 Mar 2022 08:59 AM PDT A fraction of the wind and solar projects already proposed in Texas could eliminate the state's remaining coal power plants and their emissions, according to engineers. |
| Tiny magnets could hold the secret to new quantum computers Posted: 21 Mar 2022 08:58 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a type of magnetic behavior that could help enable magnetically based quantum devices. |
| Bacteria-shredding insect wings inspire new antibacterial packaging Posted: 21 Mar 2022 07:38 AM PDT Inspired by the bacteria-killing wings of insects like cicadas, scientists have developed a natural antibacterial texture for use on food packaging to improve shelf life and reduce waste. |
| Characterizing super-semi sandwiches for quantum computing Posted: 21 Mar 2022 07:38 AM PDT Semiconductors are the foundation of modern technology while superconductors with their zero electrical resistance could become the basis for future technologies, including quantum computers. So-called 'hybrid structures' -- carefully crafted sandwiches made from superconductors and semiconductors -- may lead to new quantum effects. However, convincing observations have remained elusive. Now, researchers have found a way to probe such 'super-semi sandwiches' and to reveal what is going on. |
| Stretchable extracellular matrix membrane for in vitro barrier models Posted: 21 Mar 2022 07:37 AM PDT A joint research team develops robust and stretchable extracellular matrix (ECM) membrane reinforced by nanofiber scaffolds. |
| Identifying toxic materials in water with machine learning Posted: 21 Mar 2022 06:19 AM PDT Waste materials from oil sands extraction, stored in tailings ponds, can pose a risk to the natural habitat and neighboring communities when they leach into groundwater and surface ecosystems. Until now, the challenge for the oil sands industry is that the proper analysis of toxic waste materials has been difficult to achieve without complex and lengthy testing. And there's a backlog. For example, in Alberta alone, there are an estimated 1.4 billion cubic meters of fluid tailings. |
| New technology to make charging electric cars as fast as pumping gas Posted: 21 Mar 2022 06:19 AM PDT New technology to make charging electric cars as fast as pumping gas. Quantum charging will cut the charging time of electric vehicles from ten hours to three minutes. |
| MRI innovation makes cancerous tissue light up and easier to see Posted: 21 Mar 2022 06:19 AM PDT A new form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that makes cancerous tissue glow in medical images could help doctors more accurately detect and track the progression of cancer over time. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Matter & Energy News -- ScienceDaily. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |