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The causes of a hitherto mysterious process that could enhance the power of solar cells have been explained in a new study. If we want to implement this in a solar cell, we need to understand more about why and how singlet exciton fission occurs in the first place. Andrew Musser The underlying mechanism behind an enigmatic process called "singlet exciton fission", which could enable the development of significantly more powerful solar cells, has been identified by scientists in a new study.

Hard-wiring beetles for radio-controlled flight turns out to be a fitting way to learn more about their biology. Cyborg insect research led by engineers at UC Berkeley and Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is enabling new revelations about a muscle used by beetles for finely graded turns.

The process of wrinkle formation is familiar to anyone who has ever sat in a bathtub a little too long. But exactly why layered materials sometimes form one kind of wrinkly pattern or another - or even other variations, such as creases, folds, or delaminated buckles - has now been explained at a fundamental level by researchers at MIT.

Researchers find 3-D printed parts to provide low-cost, custom alternatives for lab equipment Posted February 26, 2015; 02:00 p.m. by Raphael Rosen, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory The 3-D printing scene, a growing favorite of do-it-yourselfers, has spread to the study of plasma physics.

The use of electronic alerts by hospitals treating patients with acute kidney injury may increase interventions without improving care, a study by Yale researchers found. The study was published Feb. 25 in The Lancet. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious condition that can lead to dialysis and even death in hospitalized patients.

New research shows that a burst of evolutionary innovation in the genes responsible for electrical communication among nerve cells in our brains occurred over 600 million years ago in a common ancestor of humans and the sea anemone. The research, led by Timothy Jegla, an assistant professor of biology at Penn State University, shows that many of these genes, which when mutated in humans can lead to neurological disease, first evolved in the common ancestor of people and a group of animals called cnidarians, which includes jellyfish, coral, and sea anemones.

Metamaterials - artificial nanostructures engineered with electromagnetic properties not found in nature - offer tantalizing future prospects such as high resolution optical microscopes and superfast optical computers. To realize the vast potential of metamaterials, however, scientists will need to hone their understanding of the fundamental physics behind them.

Courtesy of CEMMA and Regan Group Artist's conception of plasmon energy expansion thermometry showing a focused electron beam penetrating a 100 nanometer wide aluminum wire atop a thin glass window. The wire's temperature is mapped by scanning the electron beam. Overheating is a major problem for the microprocessors that run our smartphones and computers.

Exotic new materials called "ferromagnetic topological insulators" were supposed to be the next big thing, offering potential breakthroughs in electronics and new insights into the physics of solids - but it hasn't happened. Researchers at Cornell and Brookhaven National Laboratory have found out that tinkering with the materials to make the insulators work has actually introduced a disorder that spoils the desired effects.

A new way to process fibre optic signals has been demonstrated by UCL researchers, which could double the distance at which data travels error-free through transoceanic sub-marine cables. The new method has the potential to reduce the costs of long-distance optical fibre as signals wouldn't need to be electronically boosted on their journey, which is important when the cables are buried underground or at the bottom of the ocean.

Semi-transparent, flexible electronics are no longer just science-fiction thanks to graphene's unique properties, University of Sheffield researchers have found. Published in the scientific , University of Sheffield and University of Manchester researchers show that new 2D 'designer materials' can be produced to create flexible, see-through and more efficient electronic devices.

Semi-transparent, flexible electronics are no longer just science-fiction thanks to graphene's unique properties, University of Manchester researchers have found. Published in the scientific , University of Manchester and University of Sheffield researchers show that new 2D 'designer materials' can be produced to create flexible, see-through and more efficient electronic devices.

Nicoletta Barolini Artist's depiction of light traveling through a photonic crystal superlattice, where holes have been randomly patterned. The result is a more narrow beam of light. A breakthrough by a team of researchers from UCLA, Columbia University and other institutions could lead to the more precise transfer of information in computer chips, as well as new types of optical materials for light emission and lasers.

A new Instagram series will show off the surprising beauty of the silicon chips being developed by researchers at Imperial to improve health. A silicon chip that can form a bridge to connect severed nerves together in people with spinal injuries and a chip that could help patients with locked in syndrome to communicate with the outside world are some of the prototypes that will be showcased in the Instagram campaign, which starts tomorrow (30 January).

Multitasking circuits capable of reconfiguring themselves in real time and switching functions as the need arises - this is the promising application stemming from a discovery made at EPFL and published. Other potential uses: miniaturising our electronic devices and developing resilient circuits. Will it be possible one day to reconfigure electronic microchips however we want, even when they are in use? A recent discovery by a team at EPFL suggests as much.

A potential avenue to quantum computing currently generating quite the buzz in the high-tech industry is "valleytronics," in which information is coded based on the wavelike motion of electrons moving through certain two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors. Now, a promising new pathway to valleytronic technology has been uncovered by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

New and improved solar panels could result from the discovery of a new liquid crystal material, making printable organic solar cells better performing. Published today in  Nature ,  University of Melbourne researchers say their discovery of the highly sought-after 'nematic liquid crystals' can now lead to vastly improved organic solar cell performance.

MIT researchers have discovered a new mathematical relationship - between material thickness, temperature, and electrical resistance - that appears to hold in all superconductors. They describe their findings in the latest issue of Physical Review B . The result could shed light on the nature of superconductivity and could also lead to better-engineered superconducting circuits for applications like quantum computing and ultralow-power computing.

Scientists have taken an important step towards the possibility of creating synthetic life with the development of a form of artificial evolution in a simple chemistry set without DNA. A team from the University of Glasgow's School of Chemistry report in a new paper today (Monday 8 December) on how they have managed to create an evolving chemical system for the first time.

Press release issued: 1 December 2014 There is an ever growing demand for high speed internet communication systems. New research has shown optical switching technology built on nanoantenna reflectarrays and tunable materials could transform high speed optical networks. The study by Dr Maciej Klemm and Professor Martin Cryan from the University of Bristol's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering is published in the journal, Optics Express .