MIT News March 2, 2021 Computational flattening algorithms have been successfully applied to X-ray microtomography scans of damaged historical documents, but have so far been limited to scrolls, books, and documents with one or two folds. An international team of researchers (US -MIT, industry, UK, the Netherlands) used automated computational flattening algorithm to read an unopened letter from early modern Europe without breaking its seal or damaging it in any way. They reconstructed the intricate folds, tucks, and slits of unopened letters secured shut with “letterlocking,” a practice—systematized in this paper—which underpinned global communications security for centuries before modern envelopes. […]
Scientists have synthesized a new high-temperature superconductor
Phys.org March 10, 2021 An international team of researchers (Russia, USA – University of Chicago, Spain, Italy, China) performed theoretical and experimental research on yttrium hydride (YH6), one among the three highest-temperature superconductors known to date. All these hydrides reach their maximum superconductivity temperatures at very high pressures. The current challenge is to attain room-temperature superconductivity at lower pressures. In the case of YH6, the agreement between theory and experiment is rather poor. For example, the critical magnetic field observed in the experiment is 2 to 2.5 times greater as compared to theoretical predictions. This is the first-time scientists encounter such […]
Scientists propose novel self-modulation scheme in seeded free-electron lasers
Phys.org March 11, 2021 Seeded free-electron lasers (FELs), which use the frequency up-conversion of an external seed laser to improve temporal coherence, are ideal for providing fully coherent soft x-ray pulses. However, it is difficult to operate seeded FELs at a high repetition rate due to the limitations of present state-of-the-art laser systems. Researchers in China have developed self-modulation method for enhancing laser-induced energy modulation, thereby significantly reducing the requirement of an external laser system. They have experimentally realized high harmonic generation in a seeded FEL using an unprecedentedly small external laser-induced energy modulation. The results pave a way for […]
Twistoptics: A new way to control optical nonlinearity
Science Daily March 4, 2021 A hot topic in the field of 2D materials has been exploring how twisting can change the electronic properties of the layered system. van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures feature layers that can be stacked at arbitrary angles, giving complete control over the presence or lack of inversion symmetry at a crystal interface. An international team of researchers (USA – Columbia University, industry, Germany, Japan) demonstrated highly tunable second harmonic generation (SHG) using bulk hexagonal boron nitride crystals and introduced the term twistoptics to describe studies of optical properties in twistable vdW systems. By suppressing residual […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of March 5, 2021
01. Pushing computing to the edge by rethinking microchips’ design 02. A quantum internet is closer to reality, thanks to this switch 03. Researchers introduce a new generation of tiny, agile drones 04. Adapting solar energy technology to detect chemical warfare agents and pesticides 05. Heat-free optical switch would enable optical quantum computing chips 06. Intriguing particles emerge when two photons couple 07. Magnetic whirls in confined spaces 08. Automated next generation sequencing platform can accurately screen thousands for COVID-19 09. Chemists develop a new technology to prevent lithium-ion batteries from catching fire 10. Engineering the boundary between 2D and […]
Adapting solar energy technology to detect chemical warfare agents and pesticides
Nanowerk March 4, 2021 The wrong amounts or incorrect use of these fumigants like methyl iodide can be harmful to people and degrade the ozone layer. Researchers in Australia borrowed a new technology that is being used to improve solar power – synthetic nanocrystals based on a perovskite structure – and turned it into a detection method. The presence of methyl iodide causes the nanocrystal emission to shift from green to yellow, and then on to orange, red, and finally deep red, depending on the amount of fumigant present. They demonstrated that the change in colour is dependent on the […]
Automated next generation sequencing platform can accurately screen thousands for COVID-19
EurekAlert March 3, 2021 Researchers in Canada have developed a multiplexed, scalable, readily automated platform “Systematic Parallel Analysis of RNA coupled to Sequencing for Covid-19 screening” (C19-SPAR-Seq), for SARS-CoV-2 detection that can analyze tens of thousands of patient samples in a single run. To address strict requirements for control of assay parameters and output demanded by clinical diagnostics, they employed a control-based Precision-Recall and Receiver Operator Characteristics (coPR) analysis to assign run-specific quality control metrics. C19-SPAR-Seq coupled to coPR on a trial cohort of several hundred patients performed with a specificity of 100% and sensitivity of 91% on samples with […]
Chemists develop a new technology to prevent lithium-ion batteries from catching fire
EurekAlert March 3, 2021 Researchers in Russia have developed a new approach to overcharge protection of Li-ion cells, which is provided by use of electrically conductive polymer that change electrical conductivity from conductive to insulating stage. A layer of the polymer deposited between the LiFePO4 -based cathode material and current collector acts as a chemical circuit breaker increasing the electrode resistance more than 20 times when the cell voltage exceeds 4.2 V. At 5 V overcharge it allows reversible charge-discharge of the cell without developing adverse process, while at 6 V overcharge it terminates the cell operation before electrolyte decomposition […]
Dresden scientists help setting new standards for cutting-edge genetic research
Science Daily February 24, 2021 Over the course of the next five years, a team of researchers in Germany are working on a project funded by the German Research Foundation to shape international standards for the exchange of human omics data. The initial focus is on developing, harmonizing, and optimizing processes of data collection. To address the legal and ethical questions researchers are working closely with lawyers who specialize in national and international privacy regulations. They will use state-of-the-art HPC, Cloud and storage technologies to build a distributed infrastructure accessible for all interested researchers and clinicians. The platform will integrate […]
Engineering the boundary between 2D and 3D materials
MIT News February 26, 2021 The atomic structure at the interface between 2D and 3D materials influences properties such as contact resistance, photo-response, and high-frequency electrical performance. An international team of researchers (USA – MIT, Harvard University, Canada) used epitaxially aligned MoS2/Au as a model system to demonstrate the use of advanced scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with a geometric convolution technique in imaging the crystallographic moiré pattern at the 2D/3D interface. This moiré period is often hidden in conventional electron microscopy, where the Au structure is seen in projection. They showed that charge density is modulated according to the […]