Tech

DURHAM, N.C. - Engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a versatile microfluidic lab-on-a-chip that uses sound waves to create tunnels in oil to touchlessly manipulate and transport droplets. The technology could form the basis of a small-scale, programmable, rewritable biomedical chip that is completely reusable to enable on-site diagnostics or laboratory research.

The results appear online on June 10 in the journal Science Advances.

HOUSTON - (June 11, 2020) - A Rice University lab's project to make better fluorescent tags has turned into a method to kill tumors.
Switching one atom in the tag does the trick.

Rice chemist Han Xiao and his colleagues found that replacing a single oxygen atom with a sulfur atom in a common fluorophore turns it into a photosensitizing molecule. When exposed to light, the molecule generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) that destroyed breast cancer cells in the lab.

HOUSTON -- (June 11, 2020) -- Rice University researchers have demonstrated methods for both designing innovative data-centric computing hardware and co-designing hardware with machine-learning algorithms that together can improve energy efficiency by as much as two orders of magnitude.

The covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated conditions for people living with chronic pain around the world and its long-term consequences are likely to be substantial, according to a new paper from researchers at the University of Bath's Centre for Pain Research.

Two new studies from University of Utah researchers show what can be learned from a short seismic checkup of natural rock arches and how erosion sculpts some arches--like the iconic Delicate Arch--into shapes that lend added strength.

A study published in Geophysical Research Letters begins with thorough measurements of vibrations at an arch in Utah, and applies those measurements to glean insights from 17 other arches with minimal scientific equipment required.

Scientists have found a way of measuring neutron lifetime from space for the first time - a discovery that could teach us more about the early universe.

Knowing the lifetime of neutrons is key to understanding the formation of elements after the Big Bang that formed the universe 13.8 billion years ago.

Scientists at Durham University, UK, and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, USA,
used data from NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft to make their discovery.

High performing esports professionals may require the same mental stamina it takes to be a top Olympian, according to latest QUT research.

A new study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, indicated an overlap between the mental toughness and stress-coping processes in traditional sports and competitive esports athletes.

Competitive esports athletes appear to cope with stressors similarly to high-performing sports athletes

esports players with higher ranks tended to have higher levels of mental toughness

A new study shows for the first time that the collapse of terrestrial ecosystems during Earth's most deadly mass extinction event was directly responsible for disrupting ocean chemistry.

The international study, led by the University of Leeds, highlights the importance of understanding the inter-connectedness of ecosystems as our modern environment struggles with the devastating effects of a rapidly warming planet.

It looks quite inconspicuous to the casual beholder, hardly like groundbreaking innovation: a small metallic chessboard, four millimeters long on either side. At first glance, it shines like polished steel; at second glance, minute differences in color are visible: The tiny chessboard has 16 squares, eight appear slightly darker, the other eight a bit lighter.

Kazan University continues its extensive research into catalysts for non-traditional hydrocarbons - viscous and heavy oils.

In this publication, the authors studied transformations of asphaltenes, the compounds determining the viscosity of petroleum. The provided catalyst proved to be effective for in-situ conversion of asphaltenes.

BEER-SHEVA, Israel...June 11, 2020 - Can a probiotic derived from Chinese pickles prevent cavities? That seems to be the case, according to a study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Chengdu University in China.

Cranfield-led research has assessed the initial impact of COVID-19 on air transport and found that it is likely to lead to a smaller, consolidated sector in the future.

The research - involving a series of in-depth interviews with senior aviation industry executives along with analysis of flight and air freight data - provides an early assessment of the medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on air transport for both passenger and cargo traffic.

Researchers around the world are working on ways to transfer data in the terahertz (THz) range, which would make it possible to send and receive information much faster than what is allowed by today's technology. But the issue they're facing is that it is much more difficult to encode data in the THz range than in the GHz range, which is currently used by 5G tech. A group of scientists from ITMO University have demonstrated the possibility of modifying terahertz pulses in order to use them for data transmission. An article on this subject was published in Scientific Reports.

NEW YORK, June 10, 2020 -- A research team led by scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center, CUNY (CUNY ASRC), in collaboration with National University of Singapore, University of Texas at Austin and Monash University, has employed "twistronics" concepts (the science of layering and twisting two-dimensional materials to control their electrical properties) to manipulate the flow of light in extreme ways.

Researchers have identified two brain phenomena that may explain some of the side-effects of ketamine. Their measurements of the brain waves of sheep sedated by the drug may explain the out-of-body experience and state of complete oblivion it can cause.