Nanowerk March 28, 2019 Fibrinogen is a blood protein which through self-organization process turns dissolved proteins into ultrafine fibers that then combine to form tissue. Researchers in Germany introduced a novel biofabrication technique to prepare three-dimensional, nanofibrous fibrinogen scaffolds by salt-induced self-assembly. They were able to fabricate either free-standing or immobilized fibrinogen scaffolds on demand by tailoring the underlying substrate material and adding a fixation and washing procedure after the fiber assembly. Thickness can be adjusted by altering the salt concentration. The possibility to choose between free-standing and immobilized scaffolds makes the process attractive for the preparation of versatile tissue […]
A billion people will be newly exposed to diseases like dengue fever as world temperatures rise
Science Daily March 28, 2019 An international team of researchers (USA – University of Florida, South Africa) applied an empirically parameterized model of viral transmission by the vectors Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, as a function of temperature, to predict cumulative monthly global transmission risk in current climates and compare them with projected risk in 2050 and 2080 based on general circulation models. According to the researchers climate-driven risk of transmission from both mosquitoes will increase substantially, even in the short term, for most of Europe. In contrast, significant reductions in climate suitability are expected for Ae. albopictus, most noticeably […]
10 Breakthrough Technologies with Bill Gates
MIT Technology Review March 28, 2019 The magazine has been publishing its list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies annually since 2001. Usually the list is assembled by the magazine’s expert editors and reporters, but this year Bill Gates curated the list to share his own perspective on which emerging technologies that could make the biggest difference for the largest number of people…read more.
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of March 29, 2019
01. Computer program developed to find ‘leakage’ in quantum computers 02. Engineers demonstrate metamaterials that can solve equations 03. In a new quantum simulator, light behaves like a magnet 04. Materials could delay frost up to 300 times longer than existing anti-icing coatings 05. Supercrystal: A hidden phase of matter created by a burst of light 06. The taming of the light screw 07. Radioactive material detected remotely using laser-induced electron avalanche breakdown 08. One transistor for all purposes 09. The best topological conductor yet: Spiraling crystal is the key to exotic discovery 10. Growing Drone Industry Spawns a Growing […]
US Military Procurement at a Quarter Trillion in 2020
Next Big Future March 20, 2019 According to the analysis of the DOD budget, in 2020, the US military will spend nearly a quarter of trillion dollars to buy military weapons and hardware. The Navy will get the most at about $70 billion, then the air force at $57 billion… read more.
The taming of the light screw
Phys.org March 22, 2019 Researchers in Germany performed high-harmonic generation measurements from silicon and quartz to demonstrate that the polarization states of the harmonics are not only determined by crystal symmetries, but can be dynamically controlled, as a consequence of the intertwined interband and intraband electronic dynamics. Using symmetry-dynamics duality they generated coherent circularly polarized harmonics from elliptically polarized pulses. The method is versatile and expected to find important applications in future studies of novel quantum materials such as strongly correlated materials, topological insulators, and magnetic materials… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Supercrystal: A hidden phase of matter created by a burst of light
Science Daily March 18, 2019 A team of researchers in the US (Pennsylvania State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, UC Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) has shown that atomic-scale PbTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices, counterpoising strain and polarization states in alternate layers, are converted by sub-picosecond optical pulses to a supercrystal phase. This phase persists indefinitely under ambient conditions, has not been created via equilibrium routes, and can be erased by heating. By adjusting only dielectric properties, the phase-field model describes this emergent phase as a photo-induced charge-stabilized supercrystal formed from a two-phase equilibrium state. The research has implications for […]
Radioactive material detected remotely using laser-induced electron avalanche breakdown
Phys.org March 22, 2019 Researchers at the University of Maryland present a proof-of-principle demonstration of a remote detection scheme using mid-infrared laser–induced avalanche breakdown of air. They observed on-off breakdown sensitivity to the presence of an external radioactive source. They correlated the shift of the temporal onset of avalanche to the degree of seed ionization from the source. They present scaling of the interaction with laser intensity, verify observed trends with numerical simulations, and discuss the use of mid-IR laser–driven electron avalanche breakdown to detect radioactive material at range. The method could be used to scan trucks and shipping containers […]
An Optimist’s View of the 4 Challenges to Quantum Computing
IEEE Spectrum March 22, 2019 According to some experts quantum computing will never materialize as it will require control over an exponentially large number of quantum states, and that this amount of control is too difficult to achieve. According to Intel there are four key challenges that could keep quantum computing from becoming a reality – Qubit Quality, Error Correction, Qubit Control, Too Many Wires. Researches at Intel are working to tackle each of these challenges. But if solved, we could create a commercially relevant quantum computer in about 10-12 years… read more.
One transistor for all purposes
Nanowerk March 19, 2019 Until now, organic semiconductors have failed to achieve high performance in highly integrated sub-100 nm transistors. Using a vertical field-effect transistor design with a channel length of only 40 nm and a footprint of 2 × 80 × 80 nm2, researchers in Germany show that high electrical performance with organic polymers can be realized when using electrolyte gating. These organic transistors combine high on-state current densities of above 3 MA cm−2, on/off current modulation ratios of up to 108 and large transconductances of up to 5,000 S m−1. These structures show promise for use in artificial neural networks, where they could operate as memristive devices with sub-100 fJ […]