Quantum Material Should Be a Conductor but Remains an Insulator
New research sheds light on the mechanism behind how a special quantum material, lanthanum strontium nickel oxide, transitions from an electrical insulator to a conductive metal. The mechanism is associated with atomic vibrations that trap electrons and thus impede electrical conduction. The results will help validate theoretical models of materials with strongly interacting electrons and contribute to the design of new materials.
Story tips: DNA in a drop, printing in the wind, drier air, revealing hidden biology and calculating better batteries
ORNL story tips: DNA in a drop, printing in the wind, drier air, revealing hidden biology and calculating better batteries
Norman Murray Awarded 2022 Dannie Heineman Prize for His Astrophysical Insights
The Heineman Foundation, AIP, and AAS announce Norman Murray, professor at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, as the winner of the 2022 Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics. The Heineman committee selected Murray "for his deep theoretical insight into an exceptionally broad range of astrophysical phenomena, including the dynamics of planetary systems, accretion disk winds in active galactic nuclei, and star formation and feedback in galaxies."
Single-Use Sensor Strips Detect Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks
In Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, researchers developed a single-use sensor strip that can be used with a circuit board to detect cerebrospinal fluid leaks. They collected nine clinical samples and introduced the test fluid into a small liquid channel on the tip of the sensor strips. The liquid channel held electrodes, which contained antibodies specific to proteins found only in human cerebrospinal fluid. The circuit board analyzed the signal and produced a four-digit number that correlates to the concentration of the protein beta-2-transferrin, found in CSF.
More Predictive In Vitro Assays May Improve Nanomedicine
One recent obstacle to drug delivery research is an observed weak correlation between in vitro and in vivo performance. When nanoparticles are applied intravenously, they face several obstacles that differ from in vitro situations. Nanoparticles are usually covered by a biomolecular multilayer (a protein corona), which alters the physiochemical properties, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity profile of the nanoparticles. In Biophysics Reviews, researchers provide a cutting-edge characterization of the protein corona formed around nanoparticles and its impact on the physiochemical and biological properties of these nanoparticles.
New public-private partnership comes to PPPL through a novel program to speed the development of fusion energy
PPPL's machine learning expertise is aiding French company Renaissance Fusion through a unique U.S. Department of Energy program.
Johns Hopkins APL Names Former Under Secretary of Defense James N. Miller as Assistant Director for Policy and Analysis
Dr. James N. Miller, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and an expert in nuclear deterrence, missile defense, cyber conflict and space policy, has been named as the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory's (APL) Assistant Director for Policy and Analysis.
New Approach Transports Trapped Ions to Create Entangling Gates
Scientists at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have demonstrated the feasibility of a new approach that moves trapped ion pairs through a single laser beam, potentially reducing power requirements and simplifying the system for creating entangled qubits.
HKIAS e-Newsletter Issue 10, January 2022
Newsletter
Earliest known report of ball lightning phenomenon in England discovered
Researchers have discovered what appears to be the earliest known account of a rare weather phenomenon called ball lightning in England.
Argonne is first to offer an ultrafast electron microscope at a national user facility
A newly constructed advanced microscope at Argonne uses a combination of high spatial and high time resolution to help users gain exciting new insights to nanoscale events.
New experiment results bolster potential for self-sustaining fusion
For more than 60 years, scientists have sought to understand and control the process of fusion, a quest to harness the vast amounts of energy released when nuclei in fuel come together. A paper published today in the journal Nature describes recent experiments that have achieved a burning plasma state in fusion, helping steer fusion research closer than it has ever been to its ultimate goal: a self-sustaining, controlled reaction.
7 UCI researchers are elected AAAS fellows, giving campus total of 192
Irvine, Calif., Jan. 26, 2022 -- Seven University of California, Irvine researchers - working in fields as diverse as atmospheric chemistry, artificial intelligence, big data, and climate and ecosystem science - have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest general scientific society.
Plasma physicist and innovative science educator Arturo Dominguez is PPPL's new head of Science Education
Arturo Dominguez, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory's (PPPL) new head of Science Education, is a plasma physicist who has been a science educator at PPPL for nearly 10 years.
SLAC and Stanford researchers reveal the fourth signature of the superconducting transition in cuprates
Superconductors have four classic traits, including conducting electric current without loss and levitating magnets. Now the discovery of the fourth and final trait caps 15 years of detective work.
Brookhaven Lab Physicist Abhay Deshpande Named AAAS Fellow
Abhay Deshpande, director of Electron-Ion Collider science at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University, has been named a 2021 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Simulation Models Exercise, Age Effects on Plaque Formation in Arteries
In Physics of Fluids, engineers from China use fluid dynamics simulations to study the effect of exercise at various ages on plaque formation in the arteries. The authors considered two arterial geometries, one with a bulging outer artery and the other without, and modeled the effect of exercise and age on blood flow. To model exercise, the authors digitized blood flow measurements from individuals in three age groups and used these flowrates as input to their computational model.
Simulations Shed Significant Light on Janus Particles
In Physics of Fluids, researchers use dissipative particle dynamics simulations to examine the translational diffusion of Janus nanoparticles at the interface between two immiscible fluids. The simulations shed light on the dynamic behavior of the nanoparticles at a water-oil interface, and the work reveals a strong influence of their shape on their orientation at the interface as well as on their mobility. In theory, these findings imply the geometrical characteristics of Janus particles can be modified without their surface chemistries becoming altered to produce either stable or unstable emulsions.
How Big Does Your Quantum Computer Need to Be?
Researchers in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands decided to explore two very different quantum problems: breaking the encryption of Bitcoin and simulating the molecule responsible for biological nitrogen fixation. In AVS Quantum Science, they describe a tool they created to determine how big a quantum computer needs to be to solve problems like these and how long it will take. "We explored how to best take advantage of [the] ability to connect distant qubits, with the aim of solving problems in less time with fewer qubits," said Mark Webber, of the University of Sussex.
Making Matter from Collisions of Light
Scientists have used a powerful particle accelerator to create matter (and antimatter)--electrons (and positrons)--directly from collisions of light. The idea of creating matter from light stems from Einstein's famous E=mc2 equation, but using light energy to test this idea--and proving that the photons are real and long-lived, not "virtual" and short-lived--has been challenging. This marks the first time scientists have achieved this process in a single direct step.
New footprinting technique helps answer questions about proteins in living systems
Chemists demonstrated an innovative footprinting method to answer questions about proteins in biological systems with applications in drug design, binding and screening.
Tug of sun, moon could be driving plate motions on 'imbalanced' Earth
A study led by geophysicist Anne M. Hofmeister proposes that imbalanced forces and torques in the Earth-moon-sun system drive circulation of the whole mantle. The new analysis provides an alternative to the hypothesis that the movement of tectonic plates is related to convection currents in the Earth's mantle.
Gender bias in lab groups not rooted in personal preference
Gender bias in physics labs - where women typically work more on the computer and on communication tasks, while men more often handle equipment - is not rooted in personal preference, according to new Cornell research.
Researchers simulate SARS-COV-2 transmission and infection on airline flights
A study published in Indoor Air simulated the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, on a flight from London to Hanoi and on another flight from Singapore to Hangzhou.