EurekAlert December 16, 2019 To make long-haul data transmission cheaper an international team of researchers (Russia, USA industry) developed transmission line with three sections, each consisting of fiber optic cables of two types connected in series. Remote optically pumped erbium amplifiers (ROPA) were installed at the points of junction between the sections. The systems amplify the signal along the link without the need for electrical power sources. They successfully transmitted a signal over 520 km (323 mi) at 200 Gbps. To avoid the attenuation of the signal, it was amplified initially upon transmission and then two more times remotely, along […]
Scientists harvest energy from light using bio-inspired artificial cells
Nanowerk December 12, 2019 Researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory created cell-like hollow capsule structures through the spontaneous self-assembly of hybrid gold-silver nanorods held together by weak interactions. By wrapping these capsules’ walls with a light-sensitive membrane protein called bacteriorhodopsin, the researchers were able to unidirectionally channel protons from the interior of the artificial cells to the external environment. The key to the research came from coupling the group of artificial cells that were generating protons to a second, distinct group of artificial cells. These cells contain molecular motor machinery that uses the proton gradient to generate ATP which is […]
A self-cleaning surface that repels even the deadliest superbugs
EurekAlert December 13, 2019 Researchers in Canada have developed a plastic surface that can be shrink-wrapped onto door handles, railings, IV stands and other surfaces that can be magnets for bacteria such as MRSA and C. difficile. The surface is also treated chemically to further enhance its repellent properties, resulting in a barrier that is flexible, durable and inexpensive to reproduce. It works through a combination of nano-scale surface engineering and chemistry. The surface is textured with microscopic wrinkles that exclude all external molecules. A drop of water or blood or bacteria bounces away when it lands on the surface. […]
A soft robotic insect that survives being flattened by a fly swatter
Science Daily December 18, 2019 An international team of researchers (Switzerland, France) developed a soft robot called DEAnsect and equipped with dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs). They developed two versions: the first, tethered using ultra-thin wires, is exceptionally robust. It can be folded, hit with a fly swatter or squashed by a shoe without impacting its ability to move. The second is an untethered model that is fully wireless and autonomous, weighing less than 1 gram and carrys its battery and all electronic components on its back. This intelligent insect is equipped with a microcontroller for a brain and photodiodes as […]
Updated World Magnetic Model shows magnetic north pole continuing to push toward Siberia
Phys.org December 17, 2019 The team of researchers that maintain the World Magnetic Model (WMM) has updated it and released it a year ahead of schedule due to the speed with which the pole is moving. The model is normally updated every five years. The model is maintained jointly by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the British Geological Survey. Data for the model comes from satellites and 160 land-based observatories. It is currently not known why the poles drift nor is the mechanism driving them understood. Since 1831 the north magnetic pole has traveled 1,400 miles since […]
Your DNA is not your destiny — or a good predictor of your health
Science Daily December 19, 2019 Researchers in Canada examined two decades of data from studies that examine the relationships between common gene mutations and different diseases and conditions. According to their analysis the vast majority of diseases, including many cancers, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease, have a genetic contribution of 5 to 10 per cent at best, some notable exceptions, include Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, and macular degeneration, which have a genetic contribution of approximately 40 to 50 per cent. Despite these rare exceptions, it is becoming increasingly clear that the risks for getting most diseases arise from an individual’s metabolism, […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of December 13, 2019
01. Communications device offers huge bandwidth potential 02. In surprise breakthrough, scientists create quantum states in everyday electronics 03. This object-recognition dataset stumped the world’s best computer vision models 04. Reorganizing a computer chip: Transistors can now both process and store information 05. Researchers close in on new nonvolatile memory 06. Thunderquakes make underground fiber optic elecommunications cables hum 07. Closing critical gap in weather forecasting 08. Storing data in everyday objects 09. New method to remove dust on solar panels 10. Open international research collaboration essential, must have safeguards, independent report finds And others… Controlling attention with brain waves Department […]
Closing critical gap in weather forecasting
Science Daily December 7, 2019 An international team of researchers (USA – NOAA, NASA, George Mason University, University of Florida, SUNY Stony Brook, Canada) reports that the Subseasonal Experiment (SubX) is a multimodel subseasonal prediction [weather conditions 3-to-4 weeks out] experiment designed around operational requirements with the goal of improving subseasonal forecasts. Seven global models have produced 17 years of retrospective (re)forecasts and more than a year of weekly real-time forecasts. The reforecasts and forecasts are archived at the Data Library of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, Columbia University, providing a comprehensive database for research on subseasonal […]
Communications device offers huge bandwidth potential
EurekAlert December 10, 2019 Researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated that the device they developed can rapidly switch functionality to perform the varied tasks needed to support a network with carrier frequencies of over 100 gigahertz. They developed a 3D-printed scaffold, which served as a negative of the desired network. A polymer was poured in and, once set, microcapillaries 0.3 millimeters in diameter were filled with plasma, metal or a dielectric gas. Using this replica-molding technique they perfected the dimensions and spacings of the microcapillaries in the lattice. They showed that rapid changes in the electromagnetic characteristics of […]
Controlling attention with brain waves
MIT News December 4, 2019 In a new study, the researchers found that people can enhance their attention by controlling their own alpha brain waves based on neurofeedback they receive as they perform a task. They found that when subjects learned to suppress alpha waves in one hemisphere of their parietal cortex, they were able to pay better attention to objects that appeared on the opposite side of their visual field. This suggests that it may be possible for people to learn to improve their attention through neurofeedback. There’s a lot of interest in using neurofeedback to try to help […]