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Recently, a research group led by CHU Yannan and HUANG Chaoqun from the Institute of Health & Medical Technology of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) developed an effective method for on-site detection of methamphetamine (MA) in the presence of nicotine by a homemade ion mobility spectrometry. Relevant results were published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.

Sending photons encoded with quantum information through free-space for applications like quantum communication and imaging are currently limited to channels with direct line-of-sight and low-noise. Researchers at University of Waterloo, Canada, have demonstrated a technique to encode quantum information in photons that will survive scattering from diffuse objects, while recording an image. This research could open up new possibilities for non-line-of-sight quantum channels and broaden the application of quantum communications or imaging to scattered signals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the importance of understanding precisely how diseases spread throughout networks of transportation. In a paper publishing on Thursday in the IAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, Stephen Kirkland (University of Manitoba), Zhisheng Shuai (University of Central Florida), P. van den Driessche (University of Victoria), and Xueying Wang (Washington State University) study the way in which changes in a network of multiple interconnected communities impact the ensuing spread of disease.

A CABI-led study has revealed that the success of Classical Biological Control (CBC) in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East is only rarely dependent on the released biological control agent, but more often on other factors, such as the target pest, its host plant, or the circumstances of the releases.

In a new study in Optica, The Optical Society's journal for high impact research, researchers show that the fiber optic cables that carry data across the world's oceans can also be used to sense geophysical events and monitor ocean and seafloor conditions.

Researchers have long believed that as we move up into 6G frequency, the ways in which a signal can reach a receiver will be greatly limited. New research shows that this is not always accurate..Making 6G technology a reality is an important step towards realizing a whole host of new applications including haptic internet, mobile edge computing, and holographic communications. All three of these areas have the potential to change the face of communications, health, transportation, education, and more.

Bacteriophages are still a relatively unknown component of the human microbiome. However, they can play a powerful role in the life cycles of bacteria. Biochemist Thomas Böttcher from the University of Vienna and Ph.D. student Magdalena Jancheva were able to show for the first time how Pseudomonas bacteria use a self-produced signal molecule to selectively manipulate phages in a competing bacterial strain to defeat their enemy.

A team led by Dr. Jorge Alegre-Cebollada has shown, for the first time, an association between hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and mechanical alterations to a component of the contractile machinery of the heart

Scientists are hoping the RNA of an obscure infection can one day be used like a Trojan horse to deliver life-saving treatments to citrus trees.

Salk researchers have identified how tumors cause immune cells to lose their ability to fight cancer, by producing harmful fats the energy-hungry immune cells ingest, impairing their functionality. The understanding opens new avenues for novel immunotherapies for cancer.

A team of archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) made a rare discovery when they unearthed a small clay seal impression dating back some 7,000 years. The impression, with two different geometric stamps imprinted on it, was discovered in Tel Tsaf, a prehistoric village located in Israel's Beit She'an Valley up north.

The delicate strands that carry life's genetic code take a beating as they jumble about in the course of their work. If left untreated, errors accumulate, with fatal consequences for the organism. This is where two key proteins come to the rescue: PARP acts as a marker for a trouble spot, allowing XRCC1 to zoom in and begin a repair.

Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Fathom Bristol used a hydraulic model to consider the degree to which human-caused climate change may have affected flooding in Houston in 2017 during Hurricane Harvey. Resources at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center were used to quantify the increase in Houston flood area and depth and to host a portal where other scientists and the public can access and explore the resulting data.

The researchers found incompatibilities between mammals and amphibians in the relation between body size and extinction risk.The researchers found that the females of smaller amphibians, such as rain frogs (Eleutherodactylus), produce a smaller number of offspring per clutch.

Cell viability require that a variety of functions at the cell membrane are maintained properly. P-type ATPases translocate substrates across the membrane, and they have evolved into different types taking care of specific substrates within a diverse range. Now, key structural aspects have been described on how two different types of P-type ATPases -- a Ca2+ transporting Ca2+-ATPase and a lipid transporting P4-ATPase - have adapted to different substrates and physical environments.

An inter-university research group has succeeded in constructing the gene expression network behind the vascular development process in plants. They achieved this by performing bioinformatics analysis using the 'VISUAL' tissue culture platform, which generates vascular stem cells from leaf cells. In this network, they also discovered a new BES/BZR transcription factor, BEH3, and illuminated its role in vascular cell maintenance.

POSTECH and Korea Institute of Materials Science joint research team develops an AI-based technique that improves the quality of SEM images that requires no human oversight.

Curtin University researchers have helped uncover the four billion year old story of a lunar sample brought from the Moon to Earth, by the manned Apollo 17 mission more than 50 years ago.

A team led by Kanazawa University, Japan, discovered that applying the vitamin nicotinamide (NIM) to plants prevents development of fungal disease. Pre-treatment with NIM activates the plant immune response and increases amounts of antimicrobial compounds that suppress the growth of the fungus. The results could lead to novel approaches to tackling crop diseases, potentially replacing toxic fungicide sprays with new, safer ways to stimulate the plant's own defense systems.

Financial institutions are linked together in a global web of interactions whose structure can be analyzed quantitatively by means of network theory. Today, 15 years after the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the role of networks for monitoring financial stability is widely recognized. Both policymakers and researchers agree that systemic risk has to be studied and managed by adopting a network perspective.