news 2018

"Magic-angle" graphene named 2018 Breakthrough of the Year; first ionic plane and earliest evidence of hydrogen gas named to top 10 breakthroughs. Three scientific and engineering advances led by researchers in the MIT community have been named to Physics World's  10 Breakthroughs of 2018. One MIT-led discovery received the magazine's top honor: 2018 Breakthrough of the Year.

Why is water densest at around 4 degrees Celsius' Why does ice float? Why does heavy water have a different melting point compared to normal water? Why do snowflakes have a six-fold symmetry? A collaborative study of researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the University of Göttingen and the University of Vienna and just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, provides physical insights into these questions by marrying data-driven machine learning techniques and quantum mechanics.

Paris, 9 January 2017 To paint quickly while creating exceptional texture and volume effects, J. M. W. Turner and other English artists of his generation relied on the development of innovative gels. All the rage in the 19th century—and still in use today—these compounds alter the properties of the oil paints they are combined with.

Chemists synthesise molecule as possible component for quantum computers Light PhD candidate Benjamin Kintzel (l.) and Winfried Plass discuss a molecule they have developed, that may possibly be used in a quantum computer. Image: Jan-Peter Kasper/FSU Quantum computers could vastly increase the capabilities of IT systems, bringing major changes worldwide.

Companies are keen to use miniature chemical reactors to make pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, but are discouraged by their tendency to clog up. Researchers at KU Leuven have now devised an elegant way of using sound waves to keep the chemicals flowing. The chemical industry conventionally produces in large batches, but this approach has drawbacks.

Researchers discover copper has potential as a catalyst for turning carbon dioxide into sustainable chemicals and fuels without any wasteful byproducts, creating a green alternative to present-day chemical manufacturing For decades, scientists have searched for effective ways to remove excess carbon dioxide emissions from the air, and recycle them into products such as renewable fuels.

Technique for preserving tissue allows researchers to create maps of neural circuits with single-cell resolution. MIT chemical engineers and neuroscientists have devised a new way to preserve biological tissue, allowing them to visualize proteins, DNA, and other molecules within cells, and to map the connections between neurons.

Big Brains Podcast Climate change's human cost with Michael Greenstone Nano-sized particles already make bicycles and tennis rackets lighter and stronger, protect eyeglasses from scratches, and help direct chemotherapy drugs to cancer cells. But their usefulness depends on being able to precisely sculpt them into the right configurations-no easy task when they're so tiny that thousands of them could fit into the thickness of a sheet of paper.

Conventional lithium ion batteries, such as those widely used in smartphones and notebooks, have reached performance limits. Materials chemist Freddy Kleitz from the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna and international scientists have developed a new nanostructured anode material for lithium ion batteries, which extends the capacity and cycle life of the batteries.

Under the leadership of TU Graz, an international research team has developed a contrast medium concept for MRI, promising unprecedented features in medical imaging. Molecular imaging techniques are playing an increasingly important role in medical diagnostics and developing new treatment methods. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the fields of chemistry, material sciences, biomedicine, quantum physics and toxicology has managed to develop the foundations for a novel contrast medium for in the framework of the FET Open EU excellence programme.

Brain scientists have plenty of ways to track the activity of individual neurons in the brain, but they're all invasive. Now, Stanford researchers have found a way to literally watch neurons fire - no electrodes or chemical modifications required. Facebook Twitter Email Scientists have plenty of ways to watch as individual neurons in a brain fire, sending electrical signals from one to the next, but they all share a basic problem.

By Birgit Baustädter TU Graz operates two beamlines at the 'Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste' research facility in which structures and properties of materials can be investigated at the tiniest scale. The circular route around the storage ring at the centre of the Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste research facility high in the mountains above the Italian harbour city of Trieste is 280 metres long.

[ Florian Aigner "Frequency combs" are optimally suited for chemical sensors. A revolutionary technology developed at TU Wien (Vienna) now produces these laser frequencies in a much easier and more robust way. Most lasers have only one color. All the photons it emits have exactly the same wavelength.

Chemists at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena discover previously unknown metabolic pathway in plankton Life Chlorophyll (= algae) in the sea: single-cell algea produce a new chemical compound discovered by chemists at the University Jena. Image: NASA Sulphur is found in many different compounds throughout the world - not only in the atmosphere, but also in the oceans and on land.

High-power, tunable design could be used for chemical detection in outer space, medical imaging, more. A terahertz laser designed by MIT researchers is the first to reach three key performance goals at once - high constant power, tight beam pattern, and broad electric frequency tuning - and could thus be valuable for a wide range of applications in chemical sensing and imaging.

Process that modifies semiconductor material atom by atom could enable higher-performance electronics. Researchers from MIT and the University of Colorado have fabricated a 3-D transistor that's less than half the size of today's smallest commercial models. To do so, they developed a novel microfabrication technique that modifies semiconductor material atom by atom.

Researchers have discovered a 'blind spot' in atomic force microscopy - a powerful tool capable of measuring the force between two atoms, imaging the structure of individual cells and the motion of biomolecules. Atoms are around a tenth of a nanometre in size, or a million times smaller than the width of a human hair.

A new collaborative study led by a research team at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Washington could provide engineers new design rules for creating microelectronics, membranes and tissues, and open up better production methods for new materials.

From kryptonite for Superman to plant toxins for poison ivy, chemical reactions within the body's cells can be transformative. And, when it comes to transmuting cells, UC San Diego researchers are becoming superhero-like copycats. Recently named Blavatnik National Laureate in Chemistry , Neal Devaraj, along with research colleagues Henrike Niederholtmeyer and Cynthia Chaggan, used materials like clay and plastic to make synthetic cells—or "cell-mimics"—capable of gene expression and communication rivaling that of living cells.