Science Daily June 8, 2021 The signal mismatch between the environmental stimuli and driving amplitude in neuromorphic devices has limited the functional versatility and energy sustainability. Researchers at UMass Amherst have demonstrated multifunctional, self-sustained neuromorphic interfaces by achieving signal matching at the biological level. The advances rely on the unique properties of microbially produced protein nanowires, which enable both bio-amplitude (e.g., <100 mV) signal processing and energy harvesting from ambient humidity. Integrating protein nanowire-based sensors, energy devices and memristors of bio-amplitude functions yields flexible, self-powered neuromorphic interfaces that can intelligently interpret biologically relevant stimuli for smart responses. These features, coupled with […]
Researchers create quantum microscope that can see the impossible
Phys.org June 9, 2021 The performance of light microscopes is limited by the stochastic nature of light. Randomness in the times that photons are detected introduces shot noise, which fundamentally constrains sensitivity, resolution, and speed. Although the long-established solution to this problem is to increase the intensity of the illumination light, this is not always possible when investigating living systems, because bright lasers can severely disturb biological processes. An international team of researchers (Australia, Germany) has experimentally shown that quantum correlations allow a signal-to-noise ratio beyond the photodamage limit of conventional microscopy. They developed a coherent Raman microscope that offers […]
Researchers realize unconventional coherent control of solid-state spin qubits
Phys.org June 9,2021 Optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) technology offers a readout approach to detect the spin state. Conventional ODMR detection of solid-state spin states are almost all under Strokes excitation, which requires that the excitation laser has higher energy than emitted photons. An international team of researchers (China, Hungary) investigated the dependence of laser power and temperature on AS excited ODMR signals, the researchers proved that the AS photoluminescence (PL) was induced by phonon-assisted single photon absorption process and was applicable to all-optical high-temperature temperature sensing. Based on this, they found that AS and Strokes excited ODMR followed similar […]
Saving the climate with solar fuel
EurekAlert June 8, 2021 Synthetic methane is easy to substitute in the vehicle fleet as the existing infrastructure – grid, storage, filling stations and trade mechanisms allow a comparatively fast substitution of fossil natural gas by synthetic methane for light and heavy-duty vehicles. Researchers in Switzerland discussed the direct potential for substitution of parts of the newly registered vehicle fleet with gas vehicles, fueled with synthetic methane, and compared it to the potential of using fuel cell electric vehicles relying on hydrogen. They analyzed the production path of hydrogen and synthetic methane with respect to electricity demand and overall associated […]
Scientists develop the ‘evotype’ to unlock power of evolution for better engineering biology
Phys.org June 8, 2021 Researchers in the UK have developed the concept of the evotype to help biological engineers both harness, design, and capture the evolutionary potential of a biosystem. The evotype can be broken into three key parts: Variation, Function, and Selection, with each of these offering a tuning knob for bioengineers to control the possible paths available to evolution. Many of the tools already available to bioengineers fitted nicely into their framework when considered from an evolutionary perspective. Their concept of the evotype not only provides a means for developing biotechnologies that can harness evolution in new ways, […]
Scientists use public databases to leap over scourge of publication bias
Eurekalert June 9, 2021 Due to publication bias, there has been little focus on genes other than well-known signature hypoxia-inducible genes. Therefore, researchers in Japan performed a meta-analysis to identify novel hypoxia-inducible genes. They searched publicly available transcriptome databases to obtain hypoxia-related experimental data, retrieved the metadata, and manually curated it, selected the genes that are differentially expressed by hypoxic stimulation, and evaluated their relevance in hypoxia by performing enrichment analyses. They calculated and evaluated the number of reports and similarity coefficients of each gene to HIF1A, which is a representative gene in hypoxia studies. In this data-driven study, they […]
Ultra-high-density hard drives made with graphene ‘overcoats’ store ten times more data
Nanowerk June 7, 2021 Currently, carbon-based overcoats (COCs), layers used to protect platters from mechanical damages and corrosion, occupy a significant part of this spacing. An international team of researchers (India, Singapore, UK, USA – Argonne National Laboratory, University of Illinois, Switzerland) replaced commercial COCs with one to four layers of graphene which fulfills all the ideal properties of an HDD overcoat in terms of corrosion protection, low friction, wear resistance, hardness, lubricant compatibility, and surface smoothness. They transferred graphene onto hard disks made of iron-platinum as the magnetic recording layer, and tested Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) that enables an […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of June 4, 2021
01. Shadow figment technology foils cyberattacks 02. Quantum computing with holes 03. Scientists unravel noise-assisted signal amplification in systems with memory 04. World’s smallest, best acoustic amplifier emerges from 50-year-old hypothesis 05. Controlling magnetization by surface acoustic waves 06. Creating nanomaterials with new laser driven method 07. Detecting mid-infrared light, one photon at a time 08. DNA circuits 09. Making batteries live longer with ultrathin lithium 10. A new direction of topological research is ready for take off And others… Atmospheric metal layers appear with surprising regularity The biodegradable battery that’s 3D printed, disposable and made of paper Mapping zoonotic […]
Atmospheric metal layers appear with surprising regularity
Science Daily June 2, 2021 A team of researchers in the US (University of Colorado, UC Berkeley, Virginia Polytech, MIT) reported regular occurrence of mid-latitude thermosphere-ionosphere Na (TINa) layers over Boulder, Colorado. TINa layers occur regularly in various months and years, descending from ∼125 km after dusk and from ∼150 km before dawn. The downward-progression phase speeds are consistent with semidiurnal tidal phase speeds. One or more layers sometimes occur across local midnight. Elevated volume mixing ratios above the turning point of Na density slope suggest in situ production of the dawn/dusk layers via neutralization of converged Na+ layers. Vertical […]
The biodegradable battery that’s 3D printed, disposable and made of paper
Phys.org June 3, 2021 A team of researchers in Switzerland developed and implemented the concept of a biodegradable electricity storage device. They developed gelatinous inks which consists of cellulose nanofibers and cellulose nanocrystallites, carbon in the form of carbon black, graphite and activated carbon. They used glycerin, water and two different types of alcohol to mix the ingredients and a pinch of table salt for ionic conductivity. They built a functioning supercapacitor from four layers of these ingredients flowing from a 3D printer one after the other: a flexible substrate, a conductive layer, the electrode and finally the electrolyte. The […]