ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

Nanochannels light the way towards new medicine

Posted: 16 Jun 2022 07:19 AM PDT

To develop new drugs and vaccines, detailed knowledge about nature's smallest biological building blocks -- the biomolecules -- is required. Researchers are now presenting a groundbreaking microscopy technique that allows proteins, DNA and other tiny biological particles to be studied in their natural state in a completely new way.

Dead star's cannibalism of its planetary system is most far-reaching ever witnessed

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

The violent death throes of a nearby star so thoroughly disrupted its planetary system that the dead star left behind -- known as a white dwarf -- is sucking in debris from both the system's inner and outer reaches, astronomers report.

Astronomers find evidence for most powerful pulsar in distant galaxy

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

Astronomers using data from the VLA Sky Survey have discovered one of the youngest known neutron stars -- possibly as young as only 14 years. The dense remnant of a supernova explosion was revealed when bright radio emission powered by the pulsar's powerful magnetic field emerged from behind a thick shell of debris from the explosion.

Gaia Data Release 3: 'Complete step change' in understanding of our Universe

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

Space scientists have discovered a 'super Jupiter' orbiting a white dwarf, detected using direct observations with the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Gaia mission.

Biotechnology platforms enable fast, customizable vaccine production

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

An examination of the COVID-related transition to biotechnology platform-based techniques for vaccine development concludes that such smart manufacturing techniques could in the future be applied to other viruses, potentially allowing vaccine development to keep pace with constantly evolving pathogens.

Tracing the remnants of Andromeda's violent history

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

A detailed analysis of the composition and motion of more than 500 stars revealed conclusive evidence of ancient a collision between Andromeda and a neighboring galaxy. The findings improve our understanding of the events that shape galaxy evolution.

NASA telescope to help untangle galaxy growth, dark matter makeup

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will study wispy streams of stars that extend far beyond the apparent edges of many galaxies. Missions like the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes would have to patch together hundreds of small images to see these structures around nearby galaxies in full. Roman will do so in a single snapshot. Astronomers will use these observations to explore how galaxies grow and the nature of dark matter.

Scientists on the hunt for planetary formation fossils reveal unexpected eccentricities in nearby debris disk

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

Astronomers have imaged the debris disk of the nearby star HD 53143 at millimeter wavelengths for the first time, and it looks nothing like they expected. Based on early coronagraphic data, scientists expected ALMA to confirm the debris disk as a face-on ring peppered with clumps of dust. Instead, the observations took a surprise turn, revealing the most complicated and eccentric debris disk observed to date.

Young galaxy’s coming of age: Early galaxies may be surprisingly big and complex

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

Scientists have observed a significant amount of cold, neutral gas in the outer regions of the young galaxy A1689-zD1, as well as outflows of hot gas coming from the galaxy's center. These results may shed light on a critical stage of galactic evolution for early galaxies, where young galaxies begin the transformation to be increasingly like their later, more structured cousins.

A weird star produced the fastest nova on record

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

A research team has observed the fastest nova ever. They hope to find answers to not only the nova's many baffling traits, but to larger questions about our solar system and the universe.

Introducing a transceiver that can tap into the higher frequency bands of 5G networks

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:13 PM PDT

A novel phased-array beamformer for the 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) band has been recently developed. The innovative design applies two well-known techniques -- the Doherty amplifier and digital predistortion -- to a mmWave phased-array transceiver and overcomes the issues in conventional designs, producing exceptional energy and area efficiency and outperforming other state-of-the-art 5G transceivers.

Inspired by palm trees, scientists develop hurricane-resilient wind turbines

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:12 PM PDT

New results from real-world tests of a downwind turbine could inform and improve the wind energy industry in a world with intensifying hurricanes and a greater demand for renewable energy.

Astronomers discover a multiplanet system nearby

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 06:12 PM PDT

Astronomers discovered a multiplanet system just 33 light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest known multiplanet systems. The system likely hosts at least two terrestrial, Earth-sized planets.

Researchers model accelerator magnets' history using machine learning approach

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 04:21 PM PDT

After a long day of work, you might feel tired or exhilarated. Either way, you are affected by what happened to you in the past. Accelerator magnets are no different. What they went through -- or what went through them, like an electric current -- affects how they will perform in the future. Without understanding a magnet's past, researchers might need to fully reset them before starting a new experiment, a process that can take 10 or 15 minutes. Some accelerators have hundreds of magnets, and the process can quickly become time-consuming and costly.

Giving metal to microbes could reduce greenhouse gas

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 04:21 PM PDT

Collaborative research finds a lack of available metals may be responsible for more nitrous oxide than previously thought.

New maps of asteroid Psyche reveal an ancient world of metal and rock

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 12:47 PM PDT

Astronomers have mapped the surface properties of the asteroid Psyche, revealing a landscape of metal and rock.

Ultra-fast photonic computing processor uses polarization

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 11:22 AM PDT

New research uses multiple polarization channels to carry out parallel processing -- enhancing computing density by several orders over conventional electronic chips.

The tarantula's cosmic web: Astronomers map violent star formation in nebula outside our galaxy

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 10:46 AM PDT

Astronomers have unveiled intricate details of the star-forming region 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula, using new observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Now we can see the nebula in a new light, with wispy gas clouds that provide insight into how massive stars shape this region.

To find a planet, look for the signatures of planet formation

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 10:46 AM PDT

Finding forming planets is a tough but important job for astronomers: Only three planets have ever been discovered caught in the process of forming, and the most recent of these was found just weeks ago.

The benefits of exercise in a pill? Science is closer to that goal

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 08:32 AM PDT

Researchers have identified a molecule in the blood that is produced during exercise and can effectively reduce food intake and obesity in mice.

Previously hidden protoclusters could reveal new details of galaxy evolution

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 08:32 AM PDT

The ancestors of some of the largest galaxy clusters have been hiding in plain sight. New work demonstrates a new technique for identifying the precursors of the most extreme galactic environments.

What quantum information and snowflakes have in common, and what we can do about it

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 08:32 AM PDT

Qubits, the basic building blocks of quantum computers, are as fragile as snowflakes. Now, researchers have come up with a new way of reading out the information from certain kinds of qubits without destroying them in the process, potentially paving the way for a quantum internet.

New material paves the way for remote-controlled medication and electronic pills

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 07:29 AM PDT

Biomedicines are produced by living cells and are used to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases among other things. One challenge is that the medicines are very expensive to produce, something that limits global access. Now researchers have invented a material that uses electrical signals to capture and release biomolecules. The new and efficient method may have a major impact in the development of biomedicines and pave the way for the development of electronic pills and drug implants.

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) can control prostate cancer with fewer side effects

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 07:29 AM PDT

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) can help some men with prostate cancer avoid surgery or radiation.

Moth wing-inspired sound absorbing wallpaper in sight after breakthrough

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 07:29 AM PDT

Experts at the University of Bristol have discovered that the scales on moth wings act as excellent sound absorbers even when placed on an artificial surface.

Near-sun comet roasted to death

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 07:29 AM PDT

Astronomers using a fleet of world leading telescopes on the ground and in space have captured images of a periodic rocky near-Sun comet breaking apart. This is the first time such a comet has been caught in the act of disintegrating and could help explain the scarcity of such periodic near-Sun comets.

All-optical switching on a nanometer scale

Posted: 15 Jun 2022 07:29 AM PDT

Ultrafast light-driven control of magnetization on the nanometer length scale is key to achieve competitive bit sizes in next generation data storage technology. Researchers have successfully demonstrated the ultrafast emergence of all-optical switching by generating a nanometer scale grating by interference of two pulses in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range.

The potential of probabilistic computers

Posted: 13 Jun 2022 04:34 PM PDT

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has created a crisis in computing and a significant need for more hardware that is both energy-efficient and scalable. A key step in both AI and ML is making decisions based on incomplete data, the best approach for which is to output a probability for each possible answer. Current classical computers are not able to do that in an energy-efficient way, a limitation that has led to a search for novel approaches to computing. Quantum computers, which operate on qubits, may help meet these challenges, but they are extremely sensitive to their surroundings, must be kept at extremely low temperatures and are still in the early stages of development.