Tech
In the early time of optical design, people have to be proficient in aberration theory and perform a huge amount of numerical calculations, and thus mathematical skills and talents are very important. The emergence of electronic computers has freed people from heavy calculation tasks, and realized fast real ray tracing and been able to solve complex aberration equations. Since then, the application and development of optimization algorithms and optical design software have greatly improved the speed and effect of optical design.
When trees die during a period of drought, they die of thirst. Researchers from the University of Basel have demonstrated in a field study that a rapid collapse in the hydraulic system is responsible for tree death. And they found out that the trees possibly die more rapidly than previously thought.
The heatwave of summer 2018 was an exceptional situation - both for nature and for research. Although admittedly hard on our native woods, it also presented an opportunity for researchers at the University of Basel to closely study the reaction of trees to this weather phenomenon.
Misinformation in public debates about scientific issues such as vaccinations and climate change can be found all over the internet, especially on social media. In a new study, Sara K. Yeo, associate professor of communication at the University of Utah, examines why it's so difficult to detect science misinformation and suggests that using humor may help combat the issue.
Low-dimensional colloidal quantum dots (CQD) have attracted significant attention because of their unique structures, extraordinary optical properties, and low-cost preparation processes. Since its first synthesis in the 1990s, motivation to realize high-performance low-cost CQD micro-/nanolasers have been a driving force for more than three decades.
Osaka, Japan - Fluorescence spectroscopy is indispensable in biomedical diagnostics. One can think of turning on fluorescence as turning on a flashlight in a dark room. A diagnostic assay can be designed to label, for example, a specific molecule of DNA with a fluorescent probe. If that specific molecule of DNA is present, you see fluorescence or a change in the fluorescence.
Hokkaido University researchers have clarified different causes of past glacial river floods in the far north of Greenland, and what it means for the region's residents as the climate changes.
A new study published in Elementa by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz and NOAA examines traditional aspects of seafood sustainability alongside greenhouse gas emissions to better understand the "carbon footprint" of U.S. tuna fisheries.
Spain boasts the largest cultivated area of almond trees in the world, with more than 700,000 ha (MAPA, 2018), but ranks third in terms of production. How can this be? Actually it's easy to explain: most of the country's cultivated area of almond trees is comprised of traditional rainfed orchards and located in marginal areas featuring a low density of trees per hectare.
Understanding the effects of specific mutations in gene regulatory regions - the sections of DNA and RNA that turn genes on and off - is important to unraveling how the genome works, as well as normal development and disease. But studying a large variety of mutations in these regulatory regions in a systematic way is a monumental task. While progress has been made in cell lines and yeast, few studies in live animals have been done, especially in large populations.
Scientists from the Skoltech Space Center (SSC) have developed nanosatellite interaction algorithms for scientific measurements using a tetrahedral orbital formation of CubeSats that exchange data and apply interpolation algorithms to create local maps of physical measurements in real time. The study presents an example of geomagnetic field measurement, which shows that these data can be used by other satellites for attitude control and, therefore, provided on a data-as-a-service basis. The research was published in the journal Advances in Space Research.
A recent case study from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill demonstrates that, with training, neural control of a powered prosthetic ankle can restore a wide range of abilities, including standing on very challenging surfaces and squatting. The researchers are currently working with a larger group of study participants to see how broadly applicable the findings may be.
The immune response to tuberculosis (TB) differs in adults and newborn babies due to the way immune cells use energy to kick into gear in a bid to kill the bacteria. This fresh discovery - just published in leading journal, Frontiers in Immunology - offers hope for improving treatments for what remains a deadly disease.
Extremely precise measurements are possible using atom interferometers that employ the wave character of atoms for this purpose. They can thus be used, for example, to measure the gravitational field of the Earth or to detect gravitational waves. A team of scientists from Germany has now managed to successfully perform atom interferometry in space for the first time - on board a sounding rocket.
ITHACA, N.Y. - We've all seen them: political ads on television that promise doom gloom if Candidate X is elected, and how all your problems will be solved if you choose Candidate Y. And Candidate Y, of course, approves this message.
Beyond attempting to move a large swath of the population to vote one way or another, the seemingly constant bombardment of negativity in the name of our democratic process is anxiety-inducing, researchers have found.
Human non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a little-understood condition that significantly increases the risk of inflammation, fibrosis and liver cancer and ultimately requires liver transplant.
"NAFLD has been difficult to study mainly because we had no good animal model," said corresponding author Dr. Karl-Dimiter Bissig, who was at Baylor during the development of this project and is now at Duke University.