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Chemistry - Physics - 21.01.2022

Researchers design an artificial light-fuelled molecular machine
A molecular machine is a series of molecules that can conduct different mechanical movements as a response to a stimulus. This is a key structure for the development of different cellular functions. Professor Lluïsa Pérez-García, from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the UB, took part in an international research led by the University of Nottingham, which has created a light-controlled artificial molecular machine.

Materials Science - Physics - 21.01.2022

Nanobubbles a pathway to better medical devices
Tiny gas bubbles could help reduce drag in small medical devices, university scientists have found. Drag can lead to clogging and damage biological samples, so this discovery could pave the way to more robust devices. Researchers from the University of Sydney Nano Institute and School of Chemistry have revealed that tiny gas bubbles - nanobubbles just 100 billionths of a metre high - form on surfaces in unexpected situations, providing a new way to reduce drag in small-scale devices.

Physics - 21.01.2022

Neutrons detect clogs in pipelines
Industry and private consumers alike depend on oil and gas pipelines that stretch thousands of kilometers underwater. It is not uncommon for these pipelines to become clogged with deposits. Until now, there have been few means of identifying the formation of plugs in-situ and non-destructively. Measurements at the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) now show that neutrons may provide the solution of choice.

Physics - Materials Science - 21.01.2022

Quantum dots boost perovskite solar cell efficiency and scalability
Scientists at EPFL have boosted the efficiency and scalability of perovskite solar cells by replacing their electron-transport layers with a thin layer of quantum dots. Perovskites are hybrid compounds made from metal halides and organic constituents. They show great potential in a range of applications, e.g. LED lights, lasers, and photodetectors, but their major contribution is in solar cells, where they are poised to overtake the market from their silicon counterparts.

Physics - Computer Science - 20.01.2022

Towards compact quantum computers, thanks to topology
Researchers at PSI have compared the electron distribution below the oxide layer of two semiconductors. The investigation is part of an effort to develop particularly stable quantum bits -and thus, in turn, particularly efficient quantum computers. They have now published their latest research, which is supported in part by Microsoft, in the scientific journal Advanced Quantum Technologies .

Physics - Materials Science - 20.01.2022

Impossible material made possible inside a graphene sandwich
Atoms bind together by sharing electrons. The way this happens depends on the atom types but also on conditions such as temperature and pressure. In two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene, atoms join along a plane to form structures just one atom thick, which leads to fascinating properties determined by quantum mechanics.

Physics - Electroengineering - 20.01.2022

Quantum tech: Semiconductor ’flipped’ to insulator above room temp
A semiconducting material that performed a quantum "flip” from a conductor to an insulator above room temperature has been developed at the University of Michigan. It potentially brings the world closer to a new generation of quantum devices and ultra-efficient electronics. Observed in two-dimensional layers of tantalum sulfide only a single atom thick, the exotic electronic structure that supported this quantum flip was previously only stable at ultra-cold temperatures of -100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Physics - Chemistry - 19.01.2022

Crystallography for the Misfit Crystals
Advanced algorithms plus an exceptional X-ray laser can reveal the structures of not-so-neat-and-tidy materials unattainable by other techniques Francis Crick, who famously co-discovered the shape of DNA , once said: "If you want to understand function, study structure." Many decades later, this remains a tenet of biology, chemistry, and materials science.

Physics - Chemistry - 19.01.2022

Nanotechnology: Theory predicts new type of bond that assembles nanoparticle crystals
Turns out entropy binds nanoparticles a lot like electrons bind chemical crystals Entropy, a physical property often explained as "disorder,” is revealed as a creator of order with a new bonding theory developed at the University of Michigan and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Chemistry - Physics - 14.01.2022

Scientists overcome a hurdle on the path to renewable-energy storage
Scientists have observed how catalysts behave at the particle level during water electrolysis. Catalysts play a crucial role in this reaction, in which water splits into hydrogen and oxygen. By shedding light on the underlying mechanism of the functional role of catalysts during the reaction, the scientists have made an important discovery for the design of renewable-energy storage systems.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 13.01.2022

’Slushy’ magma ocean led to formation of the Moon’s crust
Scientists have shown how the freezing of a 'slushy' ocean of magma may be responsible for the composition of the Moon's crust. Cooling of the early magma ocean drove such vigorous convection that crystals remained suspended as a slurry, like the crystals in a slushy machine. Jerome Neufeld The scientists, from the University of Cambridge and the Ecole normale supérieure de Lyon, have proposed a new model of crystallisation, where crystals remained suspended in liquid magma over hundreds of millions of years as the lunar 'slush' froze and solidified.

Health - Physics - 13.01.2022

The unexpected benefits of fat in type 2 diabetes
Scientists from the University of Geneva have discovered that fat may help the pancreas adapt to excess sugar, thereby slowing down the onset of diabetes. With nearly 10% of the world's population affected, type 2 diabetes is a major public health issue. An excessively sedentary lifestyle and a too-caloric diet encourage the development of this metabolic disease by altering the functioning of pancreatic cells and making blood sugar regulation less effective.

Physics - Pharmacology - 13.01.2022

Keeping up with the first law of robotics: A new photonic effect for accelerated drug discovery
Physicists at the University of Bath and University of Michigan demonstrate a new photonic effect in semiconducting nanohelices. A new photonic effect in semiconducting helical particles with nanoscale dimensions has been discovered by an international team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Bath.

Physics - Pharmacology - 13.01.2022

New photonic effect could speed drug development
Twisted semiconductor nanostructures convert red light into the twisted blue light in tiny volumes, which may help develop chiral drugs Twisted nanoscale semiconductors manipulate light in a new way, researchers at the University of Bath and the University of Michigan have shown. The effect could be harnessed to accelerate the discovery and development of life-saving medicines as well as photonic technologies.

Chemistry - Physics - 11.01.2022

Increasing efficiency in artificial photosynthesis
Chemical engineers at EPFL have developed a new approach to artificial photosynthesis, a method for harvesting solar energy that produces hydrogen as a clean fuel from water. -Artificial photosynthesis is the holy grail of all chemists,- says Astrid Olaya, a chemical engineer at EPFL's Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC).

Life Sciences - Physics - 10.01.2022

Chemists use DNA to build the world’s tiniest antenna
Developed at Université de Montréal, the easy-to-use device promises to help scientists better understand natural and human-designed nanotechnologies - and identify new drugs. Researchers at Université de Montréal have created a nanoantenna to monitor the motions of proteins. Reported this week , the device is a new method to monitor the structural change of proteins over time - and may go a long way to helping scientists better understand natural and human-designed nanotechnologies.

Computer Science - Physics - 10.01.2022

The next big computing revolution
Preparing for an online start to the winter term: for more information. Researcher Christine Muschik thinks outside the box with quantum computing innovations  Computing revolutions of the past few decades have already taken us from floppy discs to an era of almost instantaneous communication in an internet-connected world.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 10.01.2022

Most Luminous ’Cow’ to Shine in X-Rays
Another member of the new "Cow" class of supernova explosions has been discovered-the brightest one seen in X-rays to date. The new event, dubbed AT2020mrf, is only the fifth found so far belonging to the Cow class of supernovae. The group is named after the first supernova found in this class, AT2018cow, whose randomly generated name just happened to spell the word "cow." What lies behind these unusual stellar explosions? New evidence points to either active black holes or neutron stars.

Physics - 07.01.2022

An optical chip improved by light
At EPFL, a team of scientists created and observed a new physical phenomenon on an optical chip using modified lights. Technology is increasingly moving towards miniaturization and energy efficiency. This also applies to electronic chips. Light, and optics more broadly, are functional in making compact and portable chips.

Computer Science - Physics - 06.01.2022

Making quantum computers even more powerful
Engineers at EPFL have developed a method for reading several qubits - the smallest unit of quantum data - at the same time. Their discovery paves the way to a new generation of even more powerful quantum computers. -IBM and Google currently have the world's most powerful quantum computers,- says Prof. Edoardo Charbon, head of the Advanced Quantum Architecture Laboratory (AQUA Lab) in EPFL's School of Engineering.