Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Chemists produce new-to-nature enzyme containing boron      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists created an enzyme with boronic acid at its reactive center. This approach can produce more selective reactions with boron, and allows the use of directed evolution to improve its catalytic power.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General
Published

Why is breaking down plant material for biofuels so slow?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tracking individual enzymes during the breakdown of cellulose for biofuel production has revealed how several roadblocks slow this process when using plant material that might otherwise go to waste. The research may lead to new ways to improve the breakdown process and make the non-edible parts of plants and other plant waste, such as forestry residue, a more competitive source of biofuels.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

'Better than graphene' material development may improve implantable technology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Move over, graphene. There's a new, improved two-dimensional material in the lab. Borophene, the atomically thin version of boron first synthesized in 2015, is more conductive, thinner, lighter, stronger and more flexible than graphene, the 2D version of carbon. Now, researchers have made the material potentially more useful by imparting chirality -- or handedness -- on it, which could make for advanced sensors and implantable medical devices.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

New super-pure silicon chip opens path to powerful quantum computers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have invented a breakthrough technique for manufacturing highly purified silicon that brings powerful quantum computers a big step closer.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Caterbot? Robatapillar? It crawls with ease through loops and bends      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers created a catapillar-shaped robot that splits into segments and reassembles, hauls cargo, and crawls through twisting courses.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Experiment opens door for millions of qubits on one chip      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have achieved the first controllable interaction between two hole spin qubits in a conventional silicon transistor. The breakthrough opens up the possibility of integrating millions of these qubits on a single chip using mature manufacturing processes.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

High-pressure spectroscopy: Why 3,000 bars are needed to take a comprehensive look at a protein      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Why 3,000 bars are needed to take a comprehensive look at a protein: Researchers present a new high-pressure spectroscopy method to unravel the properties of proteins' native structures.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

New quantum sensing scheme could lead to enhanced high-precision nanoscopic techniques      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have unveiled a quantum sensing scheme that achieves the pinnacle of quantum sensitivity in measuring the transverse displacement between two interfering photons.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Physicists arrange atoms in extremely close proximity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Physicists developed a technique to arrange atoms in much closer proximity than previously possible, down to 50 nanometers. The group plans to use the method to manipulate atoms into configurations that could generate the first purely magnetic quantum gate -- a key building block for a new type of quantum computer.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Scientists test for quantum nature of gravity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reports on a deep new probe into the interface between the theories of gravity and quantum mechanics, using ultra-high energy neutrino particles detected by a particle detector set deep into the Antarctic glacier at the south pole.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

New approach in the synthesis of complex natural substances      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Many natural substances possess interesting characteristics, and can form the basis of new active compounds in medicine. Terpenes, for example, are a group of substances, some of which are already used in therapies against cancer, malaria or epilepsy. They are found as fragrances in cosmetics or as flavorings in food, and form the basis of new medications: Terpenes are natural substances that occur in plants, insects and sea sponges. They are difficult to produce synthetically. However, chemists are now introducing a new method of synthesis.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Researchers create new chemical compound to solve 120-year-old problem      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists have created a highly reactive chemical compound that has eluded scientists for more than 120 years. The discovery could lead to new drug treatments, safer agricultural products, and better electronics.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

Physicists build new device that is foundation for quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have adapted a device called a microwave circulator for use in quantum computers, allowing them for the first time to precisely tune the exact degree of nonreciprocity between a qubit, the fundamental unit of quantum computing, and a microwave-resonant cavity. The ability to precisely tune the degree of nonreciprocity is an important tool to have in quantum information processing. In doing so, the team derived a general and widely applicable theory that simplifies and expands upon older understandings of nonreciprocity so that future work on similar topics can take advantage of the team's model, even when using different components and platforms.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Researchers unlock potential of 2D magnetic devices for future computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has created an innovative method to control tiny magnetic states within ultrathin, two-dimensional van der Waals magnets -- a process akin to how flipping a light switch controls a bulb.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

Scientists show that there is indeed an 'entropy' of quantum entanglement      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have shown, through probabilistic calculations, that there is indeed, as had been hypothesized, a rule of 'entropy' for the phenomenon of quantum entanglement. This finding could help drive a better understanding of quantum entanglement, which is a key resource that underlies much of the power of future quantum computers.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Scientists solve chemical mystery at the interface of biology and technology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) allow current to flow in devices like implantable biosensors. But scientists long knew about a quirk of OECTs that no one could explain: When an OECT is switched on, there is a lag before current reaches the desired operational level. When switched off, there is no lag. Current drops immediately. Researchers report that they have discovered the reason for this activation lag, and in the process are paving the way to custom-tailored OECTs for a growing list of applications in biosensing, brain-inspired computation and beyond.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

When does a conductor not conduct?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study uncovers a switchable, atomically-thin metal-organic material that could be used in future low-energy electronic technologies. The study shows that electron interactions in this material create an unusual electrically-insulating phase in which electrons are 'frozen'. By reducing the population of electrons, the authors are able to unfreeze the remaining electrons, allowing for controlled transitions between insulating and electrically-conductive phases: the key to the on-off binary operations of classical computing.

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

The end of the quantum tunnel      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Quantum mechanical effects such as radioactive decay, or more generally: 'tunneling', display intriguing mathematical patterns. Researchers now show that a 40-year-old mathematical discovery can be used to fully encode and understand this structure.