EurekAlert May 27, 2020 This special report demonstrates how a concerted government push to make South Korea an innovation leader, backed by strong investment and systemic reform, has brought rapid and long-lasting results from South Korea’s spending on research and development as a percentage of its GDP is the second highest worldwide, being topped only by Israel. According to the Nature Index, South Korea has retained its position in the top 10 countries in terms of high-quality research output, as measured by the key metric “Share” over the past four years. Aside from the sustained investment in research and development, […]
Tiny, self-assembling traps capture dangerous pollutants, PFAS
Science Daily May 27, 2020 To find out whether molecular cages could help trap PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl) a team of researchers in the US (SUNY Buffalo) screened about a dozen different types of self-assembling cages that contain metals. This process led the team to the iron-based cages, which captured a subset of PFAS with chains of six or more fluorinated carbon atoms, including perfluorocarboxylic acids, sulfonic acids and fluorotelomers. Through analysis they found that the PFAS stick strongly to the outside of the cages instead of getting caught inside. The study gives scientists new knowledge that could help them […]
Untwisting plastics for charging Internet-of-things devices
Nanowerk May 27, 2020 To use body heat to charge some types of micro-devices and sensors requires lightweight, non-toxic, wearable, and flexible thermoelectric generators. Researchers in Japan studied the thermoelectric properties of a highly conductive thiophene-based polymer, called PBTTT. They found that doping the polymer with a thin ion electrolyte gel improves conductivity and infiltrates the polymer successfully when a specific electric voltage is applied. Doping it with a critical amount of electrolyte untwists the highly twisted chain and creates links between its crystalline parts, improving electron conductivity. They are now looking into ways to optimize the thermoelectric performance of […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of May 22, 2020
01. ‘Nanometrology lab on a chip’ within reach thanks to new compact, optical sensor 02. Modeling infectious disease dynamics 03. NIST team builds hybrid quantum system by entangling molecule with atom 04. Observation of intervalley transitions can boost valleytronic science and technology 05. A system for robust and efficient wireless power transfer 06. ‘Tantalizing’ clues about why a mysterious material switches from conductor to insulator 07. Using the ‘shadow effect’ to generate electricity 08. Sneakier and More Sophisticated Malware Is On the Loose 09. Quantum leap: Photon discovery is a major step toward at-scale quantum technologies 10. Seeing the invisible: […]
‘Hot and messy’ entanglement of 15 trillion atoms
Nanowerk May 15, 2020 Quantum technologies often employ strong cooling and isolation to protect entangled entities from decoherence by random interactions. Researchers in Spain heated a collection of atoms to 450 Kelvin. The individual atoms collided with each other every few microseconds, and each collision set their electrons spinning in random directions. They observed an enormous number of entangled atoms – about 100 times more than ever before observed. The entanglement is non-local and the entanglement remains for about 1 millisecond, which means that 1000 times per second a new batch of 15 trillion atoms is being entangled. This clearly […]
Landmark recommendations on development of artificial intelligence and the future of global health
Science Daily May 19, 2020 In this review article, a team of researchers in the US (Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University) suggests that AI-driven health interventions fit into four categories relevant to global health researchers: (1) diagnosis, (2) patient morbidity or mortality risk assessment, (3) disease outbreak prediction and surveillance, and (4) health policy and planning. However, much of the AI-driven intervention research in global health does not describe ethical, regulatory, or practical considerations required for widespread use or deployment at scale. Despite the field remaining nascent, AI-driven health interventions could lead to improved health outcomes in Low and Middle […]
‘Lean lab’ approach enables quick research ramp down
Science Daily May 14, 2020 According to researchers at MIT the benefits of ‘lean lab’ management principles, they call YelloBox, includes cost savings, increased productivity, and a strong safety record. The organizational strategy known as 5S which originated in Japan consists of five guiding principles to organize a workspace for efficiency and effectiveness: sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain. One major element of the system is the visual organization of everything in the lab, which includes making sure every item has an assigned location. Each item is color-coded and its location is outlined in colored tape so it […]
Modeling infectious disease dynamics
Science Magazine May 15, 2020 According to researchers at the University of Chicago, mathematical modeling and historical influenza pandemics provide a warning about comparing the effects of interventions in different populations. A rapid decline in COVID-19 cases or a small springtime epidemic might be taken as evidence that interventions have been especially effective or that herd immunity has been achieved. But simple models show that epidemic dynamics become deeply unintuitive when there is seasonal variation in susceptibility or transmission, and especially when there is movement between populations. For SARS-CoV-2, like influenza virus, the shape of seasonal variation is uncertain. Linear […]
The mystique of mathematics: 5 beautiful math phenomena
Phys.org May 20, 2020 According to a researcher in Australia mathematics is visible everywhere in nature, even where we are not expecting it. It can help explain the way galaxies spiral, a seashell curves, patterns replicate, and rivers bend. Some of his favorite connections between maths and beauty are Symmetry—but with a touch of surprise, Fractals: infinite and ghostly, Pi: an unknowable truth, A golden and ancient ratio, and A paradox closer to magic…read more. 2018 TEDx talk on The emotions of mathematics
‘Nanometrology lab on a chip’ within reach thanks to new compact, optical sensor
Nanowerk May 20, 2020 On-chip compact and integrated optical motion sensing micro- and nano-optomechanical platforms that typically exploit narrow spectral resonances require tunable lasers with narrow linewidth and low spectral noise, which makes the integration of the read-out extremely challenging. Researchers in the Netherlands report a step towards the practical application of nanomechanical sensors, by presenting a sensor with ultrawide (∼80 nm) optical bandwidth. It is based on a nanomechanical, three-dimensional directional coupler with integrated dual-channel waveguide photodiodes and displays small displacement imprecision as well as large dynamic range (>30 nm). The broad optical bandwidth releases the need for a tunable laser […]