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Categories: Offbeat: Plants and Animals, Physics: General
Published Researchers use Hawk supercomputer and lean into imperfection to improve solar cell efficiency
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Solar energy is one of the most promising, widely adopted renewable energy sources, but the solar cells that convert light into electricity remains a challenge. Scientists have turned to the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart to understand how strategically designing imperfections in the system could lead to more efficient energy conversion.
Published Microbial comics: RNA as a common language, presented in extracellular speech-bubbles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Decoding the conversations between microbes of hypersaline environments reveals deep insights into the origins of complex life.
Published Movies of ultrafast electronic circuitry in space and time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have successfully filmed the operations of extremely fast electronic circuitry in an electron microscope at a bandwidth of tens of terahertz.
Published Resurrecting niobium for quantum science
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Niobium has long been considered an underperformer in superconducting qubits. Scientists have now engineered a high-quality niobium-based qubit, taking advantage of niobium's superior qualities.
Published Laser-focused look at spinning electrons shatters world record for precision
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nuclear physicists have shattered a nearly 30-year-old record for precision in electron beam polarimetry. The groundbreaking result sets the stage for high-profile experiments that could open the door to new physics discoveries.
Published A new theoretical development clarifies water's electronic structure
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have decoded the electronic structure of water, opening up new perspectives for technological and environmental applications.
Published Reimagining electron microscopy: Bringing high-end resolution to lower-cost microscopes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have shown that expensive aberration-corrected microscopes are no longer required to achieve record-breaking microscopic resolution.
Published The mutual neutralization of hydronium and hydroxide
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have been able to directly visualize the neutral products of the mutual neutralization of hydronium and hydroxide, and report three different product channels: two channels were attributed to a predominant electron-transfer mechanism, and a smaller channel was associated with proton transfer. The two-beam collision experiment is an important step toward understanding the quantum dynamics of this fundamental reaction.
Published Predatory fish use rapid color changes to coordinate attacks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Striped marlin are some of the fastest animals on the planet and one of the ocean's top predators. When hunting in groups, individual marlin will take turns attacking schools of prey fish one at a time. Now a new study helps to explain how they might coordinate this turn-taking style of attack on their prey to avoid injuring each other. The key, according to the new work, is rapid color changes.
Published Scientists closer to solving mysteries of universe after measuring gravity in quantum world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists are closer to unravelling the mysterious forces of the universe after working out how to measure gravity on a microscopic level. Experts have never fully understood how the force works in the tiny quantum world -- but now physicists have successfully detected a weak gravitational pull on a tiny particle using a new technique.
Published Measuring the properties of light: Scientists realize new method for determining quantum states
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have used a new method to determine the characteristics of optical, i.e. light-based, quantum states. For the first time, they are using certain photon detectors -- devices that can detect individual light particles -- for so-called homodyne detection. The ability to characterize optical quantum states makes the method an essential tool for quantum information processing.
Published Lab-spun sponges form perfect scaffolds for growing skin cells to heal wounds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new technique for electro-spinning sponges has allowed scientists to directly produce 3D scaffolds -- on which skin grafts could be grown from the patient's own skin.
Published Photon upconversion: Steering light with supercritical coupling
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have unveiled a novel concept termed 'supercritical coupling' that enables several folds increase in photon upconversion efficiency. This discovery not only challenges existing paradigms, but also opens a new direction in the control of light emission.
Published Scientists can tell where a mouse is looking and located based on its neural activity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have paired a deep learning model with experimental data to 'decode' mouse neural activity. Using the method, they can accurately determine where a mouse is located within an open environment and which direction it is facing, just by looking at its neural firing patterns. Being able to decode neural activity could provide insight into the function and behavior of individual neurons or even entire brain regions.
Published Graphene research: Numerous products, no acute dangers found by study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Graphene is an enormously promising material. It consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern and has extraordinary properties: exceptional mechanical strength, flexibility, transparency and outstanding thermal and electrical conductivity. If the already two-dimensional material is spatially restricted even more, for example into a narrow ribbon, controllable quantum effects can be created. This could enable a wide range of applications, from vehicle construction and energy storage to quantum computing.
Published Physicists discover a quantum state with a new type of emergent particles: Six-flux composite fermions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Physicists have reported a new fractional quantum Hall state that is very different from all other known fractional states and will invoke the existence of a new type of emergent particle, which they are calling six-flux composite fermions.
Published High resolution techniques reveal clues in 3.5 billion-year-old biomass
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To learn about the first organisms on our planet, researchers have to analyze the rocks of the early Earth. These can only be found in a few places on the surface of the Earth. The Pilbara Craton in Western Australia is one of these rare sites: there are rocks there that are around 3.5 billion years old containing traces of the microorganisms that lived at that time. A research team has now found new clues about the formation and composition of this ancient biomass, providing insights into the earliest ecosystems on Earth.
Published Butterfly and moth genomes mostly unchanged despite 250 million years of evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Comparison of over 200 high-quality butterfly and moth genomes reveals key insights into their biology, evolution and diversification over the last 250 million years, as well as clues for conservation.
Published An awkward family reunion: Sea monsters are our cousins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The sea lamprey, a 500-million-year-old animal with a sharp-toothed suction cup for a mouth, is the thing of nightmares. A new study discovered that the hindbrain -- the part of the brain controlling vital functions like blood pressure and heart rate -- of both sea lampreys and humans is built using an extraordinarily similar molecular and genetic toolkit.
Published Revolutionary breakthrough in solar energy: Most efficient QD solar cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has unveiled a novel ligand exchange technique that enables the synthesis of organic cation-based perovskite quantum dots (PQDs), ensuring exceptional stability while suppressing internal defects in the photoactive layer of solar cells.