EurekAlert November 27, 2019 Detection of nitroaromatic compounds (NAC) vapors is challenging owing to their low vapor pressure and relatively weak sensitivity of the existing detection techniques. An international team of researchers (Russia, Australia) proposes a novel concept to design fluorescence (FL) detection platforms based on chemical functionalization of nanotextured dielectric surfaces exhibiting resonant light absorption, trapping, and localization effects. They demonstrated the sensor with selective FL-quenching response from monolayers of carbazole moieties covalently bonded to a spiky silicon surface, “black” silicon. It provided unprecedented ppt (10–12) range limits of detection for several NAC vapors. The easy-to-implement scalable fabrication procedure […]
Gene Editors Could Find New Use as Rapid Detectors of Pathogenic Threats
DARPA News November 15, 2019 The overarching goal of Detect It with Gene Editing Technologies (DIGET) is to provide comprehensive, specific, and trusted information about health threats to medical decision-makers within minutes, even in far-flung regions of the globe, to prevent the spread of disease, enable timely deployment of countermeasures, and improve the standard of care after diagnosis. The DIGET vision incorporates two devices: a handheld, disposable point-of-need device that screens samples for at least 10 pathogens or host biomarkers at once, combined with a massively multiplexed detection platform capable of screening clinical and environmental samples for more than 1,000 […]
How Brexit Will Affect Europe’s Research Infrastructure
EurekAlert November 22, 2019 Britain’s likely exit from the EU will probably damage scientific research both in the UK and the EU for decades to come, according to researchers in the UK and the Royal Society. The impact manifests most clearly in two ways, reluctance to engage UK partners for EU research projects and EU nationals are less likely to want to apply for short-term jobs in the UK. An international workforce that can migrate across international borders is the life blood of science and research that could seriously damage UK science and technology. The situation becomes further muddied by […]
Laser combo opens up futuristic terahertz technology
Physics World November 25, 2019 The terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum has been the least utilized owing to inadequacies of available sources. A team of researchers in the US (Harvard University, MIT, Duke University) has created a compact, widely frequency-tunable, extremely bright source of terahertz radiation: a gas-phase molecular laser based on rotational population inversions optically pumped by a quantum cascade laser. By identifying the essential parameters that determine the suitability of a molecule for a terahertz laser, almost any rotational transition of almost any molecular gas can be made to lase. Nitrous oxide is used to illustrate the […]
Metal-organic framework captures and converts toxic air pollutant into industrial chemical
Nanowerk November 23, 2019 An international team of researchers (UK, USA – Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) has developed an MOF, denoted as MFM-520, that can capture atmospheric nitrogen dioxide at ambient pressures and temperatures—even at low concentrations and during flow—in the presence of moisture, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. Despite the highly reactive nature of the pollutant, MFM-520 proved capable of being fully regenerated multiple times by degassing or by treatment with water from the air—a process that also converts nitrogen dioxide into nitric acid. The highest rate of NO2 uptake by this material occurs at […]
Molecular eraser enables better data storage and computers for AI
EurekAlert November 27, 2019 The bottom up approaches for atomic and molecular electronics, quantum computation, and data storage, all rely on a well-developed understanding of materials at the atomic scale. Researchers in Canada have developed a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) charge characterization technique which reduces the influence of the typically perturbative STM tip field for this purpose. Using the technique, they observed single molecule binding events to atomically defined reactive sites. They developed a simplified error correction tool for automated hydrogen lithography and incorporated the molecular repassivation technique as the primary rewriting mechanism in ultra-dense atomic data storage designs. The […]
NASA rockets study why tech goes haywire near poles
Phys.org November 26, 2019 Most of Earth is shielded from the solar wind but right near the poles the magnetic field becomes a funnel, known as cusp, where the solar wind can get all the way down to the atmosphere disrupting satellites and radio and GPS signals. Beginning Nov. 25, 2019, three new NASA-supported missions will launch into the northern polar cusp, aiming to improve the technology affected by it. The three missions are all part of the Grand Challenge Initiative. Cusp is a series of nine sounding rocket missions exploring the polar cusp capturing the strange phenomena inside the […]
Nine climate tipping points now ‘active,’ warn scientists
Science Daily November 27, 2019 According to an international team of researchers (UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Australia) the evidence from tipping points alone suggests that we are in a state of planetary emergency: both the risk and urgency of the situation are acute. They summarize evidence on the threat of exceeding tipping points, such as the loss of the Amazon rainforest or the West Antarctic ice sheet, identify knowledge gaps and suggest how these should be plugged. They explore the effects of such large-scale changes, how quickly they might unfold and whether we still have any control over them. According […]
New technology developed to improve forecasting of Earthquakes, Tsunamis
Science Daily November 22, 2019 Techniques currently available for seafloor monitoring work best in the deeper ocean where there is less noise interference. An international team of researchers (USA – University of South Florida, Italy) has developed and tested a new high-tech shallow water buoy that can detect the small movements and changes in the Earth’s seafloor that are often a precursor to deadly natural hazards. The seafloor geodesy system is an anchored spar buoy topped by high precision GPS. The buoy’ orientation is measured using a digital compass that provides heading, pitch, and roll information — helping to capture […]
Novel memory device can be written on and read out optically or electrically
Science Daily November 25, 2019 Researchers in Germany have demonstrated a new type of programmable organic capacitive memory called p‐i‐n‐metal‐oxide‐semiconductor (pinMOS) memory with the possibility to store multiple states. It can be written as well as read electrically and optically. The device shows excellent repeatability, an endurance of more than 104 write‐read‐erase‐read cycles, and currently already over 24 hours retention time. The working mechanism of the pinMOS memory under dynamic and steady‐state operations is investigated to identify further optimization steps. The results reveal that the pinMOS memory principle is promising as a reliable capacitive memory device for future applications in […]