01. Building a silicon quantum computer chip atom by atom (w/video) 02. Chemists use DNA to build the world’s tiniest antenna 03. Making an object invisible under fluid flow 04. Molecular paddlewheels propel sodium ions through next-generation batteries 05. Nanobridged rhombic antennas that support both dipolar and high-order plasmonic modes 06. A new look at quantum radar suggests it might boost accuracy more than thought 07. New nanocrystals put a tiny twist on useful materials 08. New tiny sensor makes the invisible visible 09. Scientific Integrity Task Force releases “Protecting the Integrity of Government Science” report 10. Scientists call for […]
Animal vaccines with self-spreading viruses
Max Planck Society January 6, 2022 An evidence-based norm of virologists is that laboratory modifications of self-spreading viruses are genetically too unstable to be used safely and predictably outside contained facilities. According to an international team of researchers (UK, South Africa, Germany, USA – University of Souhern California) that norm now seems to be challenged. A range of transformational self-spreading applications have been put forward in recent years. In agriculture, for example, self-spreading viruses have been proposed as insecticides, or as vectors to modify planted crops. In health care, self-spreading viruses have been promoted as vaccines. Yet, glossed over by […]
Building a silicon quantum computer chip atom by atom (w/video)
Nanowerk January 12, 2022 Until now, implanting atoms in silicon has been a haphazard process, where a silicon chip gets showered with phosphorus which implant in a random pattern. An international team of researchers (Australia, Germany) has developed a technique to place them in an orderly array, similar to the transistors in conventional semiconductors computer chips. They embedded phosphorus ions, precisely counting each one, in a silicon substrate creating a qubit using advanced technology developed for sensitive x-ray detectors and a special atomic force microscope. They drilled a tiny hole in the cantilever, so that when it was showered with phosphorus […]
Chemists use DNA to build the world’s tiniest antenna
Nanowerk January 10, 2022 Understanding the relationship between protein structural dynamics and function is crucial for both basic research and biotechnology. However, methods for studying the fast dynamics of structural changes are limited. Researchers in Canada have developed fluorescent nanoantennas as a spectroscopic technique to sense and report protein conformational changes through noncovalent dye-protein interactions. Using experiments and molecular simulations, they detected and characterized five distinct conformational states of intestinal alkaline phosphatase, including the transient enzyme–substrate complex. They explored the universality of the nanoantenna strategy with another model protein, Protein G and its interaction with antibodies, and demonstrated a rapid […]
Making an object invisible under fluid flow
Phys.org January 7, 2022 Without any obstacle, the fluid flows along a straight line. If an obstacle is present, the straight streamline will be defected, and an observer can sense the size, shape, and position of the obstacle. Guiding the fluid to flow faster closer to the obstacle and slower farther from it conceals the distortions and restore original straight streamlines. Instead of engineering the mass density of the fluid to control the speed of the fluid flow, researchers in Singapore simply engineered the thickness of the fluid channel. They showed that thicker fluid channel gives rise to smaller mass […]
Molecular paddlewheels propel sodium ions through next-generation batteries
Science Daily January 11, 2022 Identifying and controlling the pertinent phonon modes coupled most strongly with ionic conductivity, and assessing the role of anharmonicity, could pave the way for discovering and designing new solid electrolyted (SEs) via phonon engineering. A team of researchers in the US (Duke University, University of Louisville, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory) investigated phonons in sodium thiophosphate (Na3PS4) and their coupling to fast Na diffusion and identified that anharmonic soft modes at the Brillouin zone boundary of the anharmonically stabilized cubic phase constitute key phonon modes that control the Na diffusion process in Na3PS4. […]
Nanobridged rhombic antennas that support both dipolar and high-order plasmonic modes
Phys.org January 6, 2022 An international team of researchers (USA – UC Santa Barbara, China) designed and fabricated a multiscale nanobridged rhombic antenna that supported two dominant resonances in the charge-transfer plasmon (CTP) band and a bridged dipolar plasmon (BDP) band which looks like a quadruple resonance. Compared with other nanobridged structures, such as nanobridged-disks or rectangles, the nanobridged rhombic antenna (NBRA ) shows distinct multiband resonances in the mid-infrared region in the simulated extinction spectra. The hotspots of the NBRA are located at the extremities of the structure, while the hotspots of nanobridged-disks or rectangles at the CTP resonance […]
A new look at quantum radar suggests it might boost accuracy more than thought
Phys.org January 10, 2022 Despite the many proposals for quantum radar, none have delineated the ultimate quantum limit on ranging accuracy. A team of researchers in the US (University of Arizona, MIT) has derived that limit through continuous-time quantum analysis. They showed that quantum illumination ranging—a quantum pulse-compression radar that exploits the entanglement between a high time-bandwidth product transmitted signal pulse and a high time-bandwidth product retained idler pulse—achieves that limit. They also showed that quantum illumination ranging offers mean-squared range-delay accuracy that can be tens of dB better than that of a classical pulse-compression radar of the same pulse […]
New nanocrystals put a tiny twist on useful materials
Phys.org January 12, 2022 Conductive MOFs possess rich compositions with complex architectures, but remain unexplored as nanocrystals, hindering their incorporation into scalable devices. MOFs form via a series of chemical reactions that join metal ions with linker molecules. Researchers at the University of Oregon made iron triazolate nanoparticles by adding a third ingredient, molecules that mimic the linkers, but that can only bind to something on one end. They act like dead-ends for the growing MOF, ensuring it stays small. They behaved differently at different sizes and temperatures. They could tune the materials to behave a certain way, by adjusting […]
New tiny sensor makes the invisible visible
Phys.org January 12, 2022 Researchers in the Netherlands developed and demonstrated a different approach to spectral sensing which dramatically simplifies the requirements on the hardware and allows the monolithic integration of the sensors. They used an array of resonant-cavity-enhanced photodetectors, each featuring a distinct spectral response in the 850-1700 nm wavelength range. They showed that prediction models can be built directly using the responses of the photodetectors, despite the presence of multiple broad peaks, releasing the need for spectral reconstruction. They used the sensor to measure the nutritional properties of many materials including milk and to classify different types of plastic. […]