Science

Tags:

Prototype chip could help make quantum computing practical: Built-in optics could enable chips that use trapped ions as quantum bits

Quantum computers are largely hypothetical devices that could perform some calculations much more rapidly than conventional computers can. Instead of the bits of classical computation, which can represent 0 or 1, quantum computers consist of quantum bits, or qubits, which can, in some sense, represent 0 and 1 simultaneously.

53805.jpg
Researchers from MIT and MIT Lincoln Laboratory report an important step toward practical quantum computers, with a paper describing a prototype chip that can trap ions in an electric field and, with built-in optics, direct laser light toward each of them.

Tags:

Lithium-ion batteries: Capacity might be increased by 6 times

The team was able to show through neutron measurements made at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, France, that lithium ions do not penetrate deeply into the silicon. During the charge cycle, a 20-nm anode layer develops containing an extremely high proportion of lithium. This means extremely thin layers of silicon would be sufficient to achieve the maximal load of lithium.

53803.jpg
Lithium ions migrate through the electrolyte (yellow) into the layer of crystalline silicon (c-Si). During the charging cycle, a 20-nm layer (red) develops on the silicon electrode adsorbing extreme quantities of lithium atoms.

Tags:

Nothing -- and something -- give concrete strength, toughness: Rice University scientists show how voids, particles sap energy from cracks

What does one need to strengthen or toughen concrete? A lot of nothing. Or something. The "nothing" is in the form of microscopic voids and the "something" consists of particular particles embedded in the most common construction material on Earth. Rice University materials scientist Rouzbeh Shahsavari and postdoctoral researcher Ning Zhang analyzed more than 600 computer models of concrete's inner matrix to determine that both voids and portlandite particles are significant players in giving the material its remarkable qualities.

53800.jpg
Rice University researchers used computer models of concrete's inner matrix to show how tiny holes filled with portlandite (blue) impart strength and toughness by preventing the spread of cracks.

Tags:

Scientists discover light could exist in a previously unknown form

New research suggests that it is possible to create a new form of light by binding light to a single electron, combining the properties of both.

53792.jpg
Artistic image of light trapped on the surface of a nanoparticle topological insulator.

Tags:

NASA Charges Toward Greener Aviation With Novel Concepts

cast-2016_0.png
NASA Charges Toward Greener Aviation With Novel Concepts.

Tags:

Gentle cancer treatment using nanoparticles works

Cancer treatments based on laser irridation of tiny nanoparticles that are injected directly into the cancer tumor are working and can destroy the cancer from within. Researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute and the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Copenhagen have developed a method that kills cancer cells using nanoparticles and lasers. The treatment has been tested on mice and it has been demonstrated that the cancer tumors are considerably damaged. The results are published in the scientific journal, Scientific Reports.

53784.jpg
The images show PET scans of a mouse with a large tumor (by the white arrow). The tumor is treated with nanoparticles, which are injected directly into the tumor and are then flashed with near infrared laser light. The laser light heats the nanoparticles, thus damaging or killing the cancer cells (red arrows).

Tags:

Study Maps Hidden Water Pollution in U.S. Coastal Areas

earth20160804b_0.jpg
U.S. coastal areas where freshwater and seawater mix unseen below ground, making them vulnerable to ocean and/or drinking water contamination. Dark blue areas are vulnerable to land-to-sea pollution; pink to sea-to-land pollution; light blue to both. Areas may appear larger for visibility purposes.

Tags:

Carbon nanotube 'stitches' make stronger, lighter composites: Method to reinforce these materials could help make airplane frames lighter, more damage-resistant

The newest Airbus and Boeing passenger jets flying today are made primarily from advanced composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic -- extremely light, durable materials that reduce the overall weight of the plane by as much as 20 percent compared to aluminum-bodied planes. Such lightweight airframes translate directly to fuel savings, which is a major point in advanced composites' favor.

53776.jpg
The researchers’ technique integrates a scaffold of carbon nanotubes within a polymer glue. They first grew a forest of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes and transferred it onto a sticky, uncured composite layer. Then they repeated the process to generate a stack of 16 composite plies, with carbon nanotubes glued between each layer.

Tags:

Is Earthly Life Premature from a Cosmic Perspective?

2016-17_0.jpg

Tags:

Synthetic vaccine particles immune tolerance mechanism published in Nature Nanotechnology: Antigen-specific targeting of the immune system offers new treatment approach to improve efficacy and safety profile of biologic drugs

A clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted antigen-specific immune therapies for rare and serious diseases, announced. Details that elucidate the mechanism of action of the company's immune tolerance therapy, SVP-Rapamycin (SEL-110), were also shown. Data in the publication support the Company's lead clinical program, showing Selecta's SVP-Rapamycin (SEL-110) induces antigen-specific immune tolerance and mitigates the formation of anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) to biologic drugs, including pegsiticase (for gout) and adalimumab (for rheumatoid arthritis).

"Undesired immune responses affect both the efficacy and safety of marketed biologic therapies and the development of otherwise promising new technologies. Selecta's SVP platform positions the company to enhance biologic therapy and to advance a pipeline of proprietary products that meet the therapeutic needs of patients with rare and serious diseases," said Werner Cautreels, PhD,Chairman of the Board, CEO and President of Selecta Biosciences. "We believe that SVP-Rapamycin has the potential to mitigate ADAs against a broad range of biologic therapies."

Could not connect2