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Categories: Ecology: Trees, Physics: Optics
Published Immune system in the spotlight
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Our immune system is always on alert, detecting and eliminating pathogens and cancer cells. Cellular control mechanisms cause diseased cells to present antigens on their surface like signs for the immune system. For analysis of the necessary complex antigen processing and transport processes in real time, researchers have developed a 'cage' that is opened with light to release trapped antigens at a specific place and time.
Published Wildfire smoke has a silver lining: It can help protect vulnerable tree seedlings
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Forest scientists studying tree regeneration have found that wildfire smoke comes with an unexpected benefit: It has a cooling capacity that can make life easier for vulnerable seedlings.
Published Study examines urban forests across the United States
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tree-planting campaigns have been underway in the United States, especially in cities, as part of climate mitigation efforts given the many environmental benefits of urban forests. But a new study finds that some areas within urban forests in the U.S., may be more capable than trees growing around city home lawns in adapting to a warmer climate.
Published Microbeads with adaptable fluorescent colors from visible light to near-infrared
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have successfully developed an environmentally friendly, microspherical fluorescent material primarily made from citric acid. These microbeads emit various colors of light depending on the illuminating light and the size of the beads, which suggests a wide range of applications. Furthermore, the use of plant-derived materials allows for low-cost and energy-efficient synthesis.
Published Insight into one of life's earliest ancestors revealed in new study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have shed light on Earth's earliest ecosystem, showing that within a few hundred million years of planetary formation, life on Earth was already flourishing.
Published Neural networks made of light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists propose a new way of implementing a neural network with an optical system which could make machine learning more sustainable in the future. In a new paper, the researchers have demonstrated a method much simpler than previous approaches.
Published Light-induced Meissner effect
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a new experiment capable of monitoring the magnetic properties of superconductors at very fast speeds.
Published High-speed electron camera uncovers a new 'light-twisting' behavior in an ultrathin material
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using an instrument for ultrafast electron diffraction (MeV-UED), researchers discovered how an ultrathin material can circularly polarize light. This discovery sets up a promising approach to manipulate light for applications in optoelectronic devices.
Published Study examines tree adaptability to climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Many trees could expand their ranges by more than 25 percent based on their potential temperature tolerances.
Published Moving from the visible to the infrared: Developing high quality nanocrystals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, quantum dots have a wide variety of applications ranging from displays and LED lights to chemical reaction catalysis and bioimaging. These semiconductor nanocrystals are so small -- on the order of nanometers -- that their properties, such as color, are size dependent, and they start to exhibit quantum properties. This technology has been really well developed, but only in the visible spectrum, leaving untapped opportunities for technologies in both the ultraviolet and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Published Implantable LED device uses light to treat deep-seated cancers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Certain types of light have proven to be an effective, minimally invasive treatment for cancers located on or near the skin when combined with a light-activated drug. But deep-seated cancers have been beyond the reach of light's therapeutic effects. To change this, engineers and scientists have devised a wireless LED device that can be implanted. This device, when combined with a light-sensitive dye, not only destroys cancer cells, but also mobilizes the immune system's cancer-targeting response.
Published First local extinction in the US due to sea level rise, study suggests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The United States has lost its only stand of the massive Key Largo tree cactus in what researchers believe is the first local extinction of a species caused by sea level rise in the country.
Published Genomic data integration improves prediction accuracy of apple fruit traits
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Genotyping techniques can be used to select fruit trees with desired traits at the seedling stage, increasing the efficiency of fruit tree breeding. However, so far, there are multiple different genotyping systems, each generating distinct datasets. In a recent study, Japanese scientists revealed that integrating genomic data obtained with different genotyping systems can effectively combine with historical data, leveraging the accuracy of genomic predictions.
Published Visualizing short-lived intermediate compounds produced during chemical reactions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Immobilizing small synthetic molecules inside protein crystals proves to be a promising avenue for studying intermediate compounds formed during chemical reactions, scientists report. By integrating this method with time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography, they successfully visualized reaction dynamics and rapid structural changes occurring within reaction centers immobilized inside protein crystals. This innovative strategy holds significant potential for the intelligent design of drugs, catalysts, and functional materials.
Published Single atoms show their true color
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new technique reveals single atom misfits and could help design better semiconductors used in modern and future electronics.
Published Climate change drives tree species towards colder, wetter regions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Climate change is likely to drive tree species towards colder and wetter regions.
Published Using visible light to make pharmaceutical building blocks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Chemists have discovered a way to use visible light to synthesize a class of compounds particularly well suited for use in pharmaceuticals. The class of compounds, called azetidines, had been previously identified as a good candidate to build therapeutic drugs, but the compounds are difficult to produce in chemical reactions. Now, a team has developed a method to produce a specific class of azetidines called monocyclic azetidines using visible light and a photocatalyst.
Published Precise and less expensive 3D printing of complex, high-resolution structures
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a new two-photon polymerization technique that uses two lasers to 3D print complex high-resolution structures. The advance could make this 3D printing process less expensive, helping it find wider use in a variety of applications, from consumer electronics to the biomedical field.
Published Giant clams may hold the answers to making solar energy more efficient
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Solar panel and biorefinery designers could learn a thing or two from iridescent giant clams living near tropical coral reefs, according to a new study. This is because giant clams have precise geometries -- dynamic, vertical columns of photosynthetic receptors covered by a thin, light-scattering layer -- that may just make them the most efficient solar energy systems on Earth.
Published Nuclear spectroscopy breakthrough could rewrite the fundamental constants of nature
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Raising the energy state of an atom's nucleus using a laser, or exciting it, would enable development of the most accurate atomic clocks ever to exist. This has been hard to do because electrons, which surround the nucleus, react easily with light, increasing the amount of light needed to reach the nucleus. By causing the electrons to bond with fluorine in a transparent crystal, UCLA physicists have finally succeeded in exciting the neutrons in a thorium atom's nucleus using a moderate amount of laser light. This accomplishment means that measurements of time, gravity and other fields that are currently performed using atomic electrons can be made with orders of magnitude higher accuracy.