Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

When mammoths roamed Vancouver Island      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mammoths, the massive pre-historic ice age cousins of the modern-day elephant, have always been understood to have inhabited parts of British Columbia, but the question of when has always been a bit woolly. Now, a new study has given scientists the clearest picture yet when the giant mammals roamed Vancouver Island.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

X-ray imagery of vibrating diamond opens avenues for quantum sensing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists at three research institutions capture the pulsing motion of atoms in diamond, uncovering the relationship between the diamond's strain and the behavior of the quantum information hosted within.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Giant prehistoric flying reptile took off using similar method to bats, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The pterosaur likely used all four limbs to propel itself in the air, as seen in bats today, researchers have found.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: General
Published

Soft gold enables connections between nerves and electronics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Gold does not readily lend itself to being turned into long, thin threads. But researchers have now managed to create gold nanowires and develop soft electrodes that can be connected to the nervous system. The electrodes are soft as nerves, stretchable and electrically conductive, and are projected to last for a long time in the body.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Concept for efficiency-enhanced noble-metal catalysts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The production of more than 90 percent of all chemical products we use in our everyday lives relies on catalysts. Catalysts speed up chemical reactions, can reduce the energy required for these processes, and in some cases, reactions would not be possible at all without catalysts. Researchers developed a concept that increases the stability of noble-metal catalysts and requires less noble metal for their production.

Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General
Published

Novel ultrafast electron microscopy technique advances understanding of processes applicable to brain-like computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team developed a new microscopy technique that uses electrical pulses to track the nanosecond dynamics within a material that is known to form charge density waves. Controlling these waves may lead to faster and more energy-efficient electronics.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil shows how penguins' wings evolved      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A tiny fossil penguin plays a huge role in the evolutionary history of the bird, an international study shows.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Stacked up against the rest      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have hypothesized that moir excitons -- electron-hole pairs confined in moir interference fringes which overlap with slightly offset patterns -- may function as qubits in next-generation nano-semiconductors. However, due to diffraction limits, it has not been possible to focus light enough in measurements, causing optical interference from many moir excitons. To solve this, researchers have developed a new method of reducing these moir excitons to measure the quantum coherence time and realize quantum functionality.

Chemistry: General Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Sustainable and reversible 3D printing method uses minimal ingredients and steps      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new 3D printing method developed by engineers is so simple that it uses a polymer ink and salt water solution to create solid structures. The work has the potential to make materials manufacturing more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Computer Science: General Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Pursuing the middle path to scientific discovery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have made significant strides in understanding the properties of a ferroelectric material under an electric field. This breakthrough holds potential for advances in computer memory, lasers and sensors for ultraprecise measurements.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

Researchers identify unique phenomenon in Kagome metal      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study focuses on how a particular Kagome metal interacts with light to generate what are known as plasmon polaritons -- nanoscale-level linked waves of electrons and electromagnetic fields in a material, typically caused by light or other electromagnetic waves.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Hair follicle models from the 3D printer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hair follicle infections are often difficult to treat because bacteria settle in the gap between hair and skin, where it is difficult for active substances to reach them. In order to investigate this scenario more closely in the laboratory, researchers have now developed a model with human hair follicles embedded in a matrix produced using 3D printing. In the future, this model can be used to test the effectiveness of new drug candidates against corresponding pathogens directly on human follicles.

Energy: Batteries Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Scientists work to build 'wind-up' sensors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists has shown that twisted carbon nanotubes can store three times more energy per unit mass than advanced lithium-ion batteries. The finding may advance carbon nanotubes as a promising solution for storing energy in devices that need to be lightweight, compact, and safe, such as medical implants and sensors.

Anthropology: General Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

The ancestor of all modern birds probably had iridescent feathers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Birds tend to be more colorful in the tropics, and scientists wanted to find out how they got there: if colorful feathers evolved in the tropics, or if tropical birds have brightly-colored ancestors that came to the region from somwhere else. Scientists built a database of 9,409 birds to explore the spread of color across the globe. They found that iridescent, colorful feathers originated 415 times across the bird tree of life, and in most cases, arose outside of the tropics -- and that the ancestor of all modern birds likely had iridescent feathers, too.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Researchers explore the interplay between high-affinity DNA and carbon nanotubes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) hold promise for biomedicine and nanoelectronics, yet the functionalization with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) remains a challenge. Researchers using high-affinity ssDNA sequences identified through high-throughput selection. They demonstrated the effectivity and stability of these constructs using molecular dynamics simulations. Machine-learning models were used to accurately predict patterns that govern ssDNA-SWCNT binding affinity. These findings provide valuable insights into the interactions between ssDNA and SWCNTs.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
Published

Nanoscale device simultaneously steers and shifts frequency of optical light, pointing the way to future wireless communication channels      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A tunable metasurface can control optical light in space and time, offering a path toward new ways of wirelessly and securely transmitting large amounts of data both on Earth and in space.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Researchers develop new method for achieving controllable tuning and assessing instability in 2D materials for engineering applications      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have atomic-level thickness and excellent mechanical and physical properties, with broad application prospects in fields such as semiconductors, flexible devices, and composite materials.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Shining light on amyloid architecture      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers use microscopy to chart amyloid beta's underlying structure and yield insight into neurodegenerative disease.