Tech

DURHAM, N.C. - Combining structural biology and computation, a Duke-led team of researchers has identified how multiple mutations on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein independently create variants that are more transmissible and potentially resistant to antibodies.

Aerospace engineering faculty member Melkior Ornik is also a mathematician, a history buff, and a strong believer in integrity when it comes to using hard science in public discussions. So, when a story popped up in his news feed about a pair of researchers who developed a statistical method to analyze datasets and used it to purportedly refute the number of Holocaust victims from a concentration camp in Croatia, it naturally caught his attention.

Research from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis has found a missing piece in the puzzle of optical quantum computing.

Jung-Tsung Shen, associate professor in the Preston M. Green Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering, has developed a deterministic, high-fidelity two-bit quantum logic gate that takes advantage of a new form of light. This new logic gate is orders of magnitude more efficient than the current technology.

"In the ideal case, the fidelity can be as high as 97%," Shen said.

Irvine, Calif., June 29, 2021 - Fireworks are synonymous in the United States with the celebration of Independence Day and other special events, but the colorful displays have caused a growing risk to public safety in recent years, according to a study by environmental health researchers at the University of California, Irvine.

This lobster tale begins a few years ago when the proprietor of a northeastern seafood restaurant publicly asserted that exposing lobsters to a little cannabis prior to cooking produced notable changes in their behavior and a less dramatic scene in the kitchen for all concerned, which was the Maine thing.

June 29, 2021 - Nutley, NJ - Scientists from the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation, working with collaborators from across the globe, uncovered the mechanism of action of a novel anti-tuberculosis drug that they have helped develop.

The new findings show how the enzyme inhibitor triaza-coumarin, or TA-C, is metabolized by the TB germs, which makes it effective in inhibiting the disease from within, like in a "Trojan horse" attack, according to the new paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

For many years, researchers have been focused on developing technologies that can help us fight the imminent climate change crisis. They have one goal in common: finding sustainable energy sources that can replace the environmentally toxic fossil fuels. "Photocatalysts" that drive an artificial process that replicates photosynthesis (in which solar energy is converted to useful materials) are promising in this regard, given that we are able to develop the technology needed for them.

A 50% rise in the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere could reduce rainfall in the Amazon as much as or even more than substitution of the entire forest by pasture. The rise in CO2 would reduce the amount of water vapor emitted by the forest, leading to a 12% annual drop in the volume of rainfall, while total deforestation would reduce rainfall by 9%.

The historic 2020 hurricane season, with its record-breaking 30 tropical storms and hurricanes, left in its wake hundreds of deaths in the United States, tens of billions of dollars in damages, and one important question: Is this what the future will look like?

(OTTAWA, ON) The University of Ottawa, the University of Montreal and the Assembly of First Nations are pleased to announce the newly published First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (FNFNES) in the Canadian Journal of Public Health. Mandated by First Nations leadership across Canada through Assembly of First Nations Resolution 30 / 2007 and realized through a unique collaboration with researchers and communities, the First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study is the first national study of its kind.

UCLA engineers have demonstrated successful integration of a novel semiconductor material into high-power computer chips to reduce heat on processors and improve their performance. The advance greatly increases energy efficiency in computers and enables heat removal beyond the best thermal-management devices currently available.

Natural wood remains a ubiquitous building material because of its high strength-to-density ratio; trees are strong enough to grow hundreds of feet tall but remain light enough to float down a river after being logged.

A RMIT-led international collaboration published this week has achieved record-high electron doping in a layered ferromagnet, causing magnetic phase transition with significant promise for future electronics

Control of magnetism (or spin directions) by electric voltage is vital for developing future, low-energy high-speed nano-electronic and spintronic devices, such as spin-orbit torque devices and spin field-effect transistors.

Preliminary results from the European gene therapy trial for Crigler-Najjar syndrome, conducted by Genethon in collaboration with European network CureCN, were presented at the EASL (European Association for the Study of the Liver) annual International Liver Congress on June 26. Based on initial observations, the drug candidate is well tolerated and the first therapeutic effects have been demonstrated, to be confirmed as the trial continues.

The internet is full of dangers: Sensitive data can be leaked, malicious websites can allow hackers to access private computers. The Security & Privacy Research Unit at TU Wien in collaboration with Ca' Foscari University has now uncovered a new important security vulnerability that has been overlooked so far. Large websites often have many subdomains - for example, "sub.example.com" could be a subdomain of the website "example.com". With certain tricks, it is possible to take control of such subdomains.