Tech
Use of an AC rather than a DC electric field can improve the piezoelectric response of a crystal. Now, an international team of researchers say that cycles of AC fields also make the internal crystal domains in some materials bigger and the crystal transparent.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Composites made from self-assembling inorganic materials are valued for their unique strength and thermal, optical and magnetic properties. However, because self-assembly can be difficult to control, the structures formed can be highly disordered, leading to defects during large-scale production. Researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan have developed a templating technique that instills greater order and gives rise to new 3D structures in a special class of materials, called eutectics, to form new, high-performance materials.
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) developed a new nanoparticle drug formulation that targets a specific receptor on cancer cells, and appears to be more effective than a standard nanoparticle therapy currently on the market to treat metastatic breast cancer. The study, published today in the journal Science Advances, found that the new 'DART' nanoparticles bypass healthy cells and tissues and bind to tumor cells, dispersing evenly throughout the tumor while releasing the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel.
A young boy with a rare genetic disease that typically kills within weeks of birth is now 3 years old and in remission thanks to a collaborative effort that included physicians at King Saud University Department of Pediatrics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and immunologists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.
As the drug epidemic began to unfold in the United States, deaths classified as drug-related for 15- to 64-year-olds hit 9% in 2016, up from about 4% less than two decades earlier.
HOUSTON -- The likelihood of a patient responding to immune checkpoint blockade may depend on B cells in the tumor, located within specialized immune-cell clusters known as tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS), according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Studies published today in Nature conclude that enrichment of B cells, a type of immune cell known for producing antibodies, in TLS was predictive of response to checkpoint blockade in patients with melanoma, soft-tissue sarcomas and renal cell carcinomas (RCC).
Large-scale irrigation is one of the land management practices with the largest effect on climate conditions - and especially hot extremes - in various regions across the globe. Yet how the climatic effects of irrigation compare to those of global warming is largely unknown.
Structural colors appear because the imprinted pattern on a surface changes the wavelengths of light. Chinese scientists have introduced an azopolymer that allows the imprinting of nanopatterns in a novel room-temperature lithographic process. A key aspect of the technique is the light-induced phase change of a novel azopolymer, explains the study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie. The process relies solely on light regulation and allows nanoimprinting even on flexible substrates.
Heidelberg 15 January 2020 - EMBO is pleased to announce that nine life scientists have been selected to receive Installation Grants, which will support them in establishing independent laboratories in the Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal and Turkey.
"All nine researchers have demonstrated their ability to conduct outstanding scientific research, and we are delighted to welcome them to the EMBO community," says EMBO Director Maria Leptin.
Printed circuit boards are vital components of modern electronics. However, once they have served their purpose, they are often burned or buried in landfills, polluting the air, soil and water. Most concerning are the brominated flame retardants added to printed circuit boards to keep them from catching fire. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering have developed a ball-milling method to break down these potentially harmful compounds, enabling safer disposal.
Throughout history, people have sought vibrant blue pigments. The Egyptians and Babylonians used lapis lazuli 6,000 years ago. In 1802, a French chemist synthesized cobalt blue. More recently, in 2009 scientists discovered YInMn Blue, otherwise known as "Oregon Blue." But most of these pigments have limitations in terms of cost, stability, color or toxicity. Now, researchers in ACS Omega report a new class of 'cool' blue colorants that are inexpensive, durable and more environmentally friendly.
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 15, 2020 -- Since the invention of the transistor in 1947, computing development has seen a consistent doubling of the number of transistors that can fit on a chip. But that trend, known as Moore's Law, may reach its limit as components of submolecular size encounter problems with thermal noise, making further scaling impossible.
Psychology researchers from HSE University have trialed the reliability of a student engagement scale on 537 Russian primary school students. The findings indicated that the emotional component contributes the most to school engagement. The paper has been published in PLOS ONE journal.
INDIANAPOLIS - Research scientists at Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine have conducted the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate the pros and cons of population screening for dementia. The researchers found no harm, as measured by patient reported depressive and anxiety symptoms, from screening for Alzheimer's disease and related dementia in diverse rural, suburban and urban primary care clinics in Indiana.
The name 'quantum dots' is given to particles of semiconducting materials that are so tiny - a few nanometres in diameter - that they no longer behave quite like ordinary, macroscopic matter. Thanks to their quantum-like optical and electronic properties, they are showing promise as components of quantum computing devices, but these properties are not yet fully understood. Physicists Sanjay Prabhakar of Gordon State College, Georgia, USA and Roderick Melnik of Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada have now described the theory behind some of these novel properties in detail.