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Deadly 'superbugs' destroyed by molecular drills
Molecular drills have gained the ability to target and destroy deadly bacteria that have evolved resistance to nearly all antibiotics. In some cases, the drills make the antibiotics effective once again.
Tiny quantum sensors watch materials transform under pressure Since their invention more than 60 years ago, diamond anvil cells have made it possible for scientists to recreate extreme phenomena—such as the crushing pressures deep inside the Earth's mantle—or to enable chemical reactions that can only be triggered by intense pressure, all within the confines of a laboratory apparatus that you can safely hold in the palm of your hand.
Researchers perfect nanoscience tool for studies of nuclear waste storage Safe nuclear waste storage, new ways of generating and storing hydrogen, and technologies for capturing and reusing greenhouse gases are all potential spinoffs of a new study by University of Guelph researchers.
Tiny insects become 'visible' to bats when they swarm Small insects that would normally be undetectable to bats using echolocation suddenly become detectable when they occur in large swarms. Arjan Boonman of Tel-Aviv University and colleagues present these findings in PLOS Computational Biology.
Achieving optimal collaboration when goals conflict New research suggests that, when two people must work together on a physical task despite conflicting goals, the amount of information available about each other's actions influences how quickly and optimally they learn to collaborate. Vinil Chackochan and Vittorio Sanguineti of the University of Genoa, Italy, present these findings in PLOS Computational Biology.
Interstellar comet 2I/Borisov swings past sun When astronomers see something in the universe that at first glance seems like one-of-a-kind, it's bound to stir up a lot of excitement and attention. Enter comet 2I/Borisov. This mysterious visitor from the depths of space is the first identified comet to arrive here from another star. We don't know from where or when the comet started heading toward our Sun, but it won't hang around for long. The Sun's gravity is slightly deflecting its trajectory, but can't capture it because of the shape of its orbit and high velocity of about 100,000 miles per hour.
Transformative change can save humans and nature The survival of Earth's life is not a battle of humans versus nature. In this week's Science, an independent group of international experts, including one from Michigan State University (MSU), deliver a sweeping assessment of nature, concluding victory needs both humans and nature to thrive.
Google has performed the biggest quantum chemistry simulation ever Google's Sycamore quantum computer, which recently demonstrated its dominance over ordinary computers, is now breaking records in quantum chemistry
Feature: Wonder Material Grows on Trees
Synopsis: How to Transmit Light Through a Vapor
Heat can quantum leap across a totally empty vacuum Even a total vacuum is full of strange quantum fluctuations, which have now been caught making heat leap across empty space for the first time
Viewpoint: “Tweezer Clock” Offers New Possibilities in Timekeeping
Synopsis: New Hope for Milky Way Dark Matter
Does tapping a beer can prevent it foaming over? Scientists found out A rigorous randomised trial has put to bed the idea that tapping or flicking a can of beer makes bubbles come to the top and prevents the liquid fizzing out
In the quantum world, uncertainty reigns – or is it all in the mind? Schrödinger's dead-and-alive cat embodies the uncertainty of the quantum world. But whether parallel realities truly exist is a question less of science than belief
Why information could be our route to the universe’s deepest secrets Physicists are finally getting their heads round what information truly is – and using it to gain new insights into life, the universe and, well… everything
Synopsis: Probing Wave Turbulence at High Gravity
AI is helping tackle one of the biggest unsolved problems in maths Machine-learning algorithms are being used to tackle the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, one of the fiendishly difficult Millennium Prize Problems
Feature: Undergrad Research Teaches Skills and Confidence
How I made the world’s most accurate thermometer – using sound Join Michael De Podesta as he explains how he made the world’s most precise thermometer – and demonstrates its principle live on stage
Synopsis: Diagnosing Flow Problems in Mechanical Heart Valves
Physicists beat Lorentz reciprocity for microwave transmission New device could boost telecommunications and be adapted for photonics
Japan’s SuperKEKB set for first particle collisions Revamped accelerator will soon be smashing electrons and positrons together
Wood-based 'supermaterial' is stronger and tougher than steel New material is made by compressing treated wood
Three photons bind together to make a ‘molecule’ of light Technique could be used to create quantum-information systems
Nuclear excitation by electron capture seen at long last Breakthrough could lead to new type of energy source
Pistachio trees 'talk' to their neighbours, reveals statistical physics Ising model could account for nut production of pistachio orchards
US National Science Foundation clamps down on misconduct Agency will now require every grantee organization to report cases of sexual harassment
Tiny quantum sensors watch materials transform under pressure Since their invention more than 60 years ago, diamond anvil cells have made it possible for scientists to recreate extreme phenomena—such as the crushing pressures deep inside the Earth's mantle—or to enable chemical reactions that can only be triggered by intense pressure, all within the confines of a laboratory apparatus that you can safely hold in the palm of your hand.
Researchers perfect nanoscience tool for studies of nuclear waste storage Safe nuclear waste storage, new ways of generating and storing hydrogen, and technologies for capturing and reusing greenhouse gases are all potential spinoffs of a new study by University of Guelph researchers.
Tiny insects become 'visible' to bats when they swarm Small insects that would normally be undetectable to bats using echolocation suddenly become detectable when they occur in large swarms. Arjan Boonman of Tel-Aviv University and colleagues present these findings in PLOS Computational Biology.
Achieving optimal collaboration when goals conflict New research suggests that, when two people must work together on a physical task despite conflicting goals, the amount of information available about each other's actions influences how quickly and optimally they learn to collaborate. Vinil Chackochan and Vittorio Sanguineti of the University of Genoa, Italy, present these findings in PLOS Computational Biology.
Interstellar comet 2I/Borisov swings past sun When astronomers see something in the universe that at first glance seems like one-of-a-kind, it's bound to stir up a lot of excitement and attention. Enter comet 2I/Borisov. This mysterious visitor from the depths of space is the first identified comet to arrive here from another star. We don't know from where or when the comet started heading toward our Sun, but it won't hang around for long. The Sun's gravity is slightly deflecting its trajectory, but can't capture it because of the shape of its orbit and high velocity of about 100,000 miles per hour.
Transformative change can save humans and nature The survival of Earth's life is not a battle of humans versus nature. In this week's Science, an independent group of international experts, including one from Michigan State University (MSU), deliver a sweeping assessment of nature, concluding victory needs both humans and nature to thrive.
Google has performed the biggest quantum chemistry simulation ever Google's Sycamore quantum computer, which recently demonstrated its dominance over ordinary computers, is now breaking records in quantum chemistry
Feature: Wonder Material Grows on Trees
A material that combines graphite with cellulose from wood pulp is lighter and stronger than structural materials like steels, titanium alloys, and carbon fibers.
[Physics 12, 142] Published Thu Dec 12, 2019
Synopsis: How to Transmit Light Through a Vapor
By combining two frequencies of light into a pulse called a simulton, a weak signal can travel through a dense atomic vapor as though the medium were nearly transparent.
[Physics] Published Thu Dec 12, 2019
Heat can quantum leap across a totally empty vacuum Even a total vacuum is full of strange quantum fluctuations, which have now been caught making heat leap across empty space for the first time
Viewpoint: “Tweezer Clock” Offers New Possibilities in Timekeeping
Author(s): Andrew Ludlow
An optical clock based on an array of individually trapped atoms provides a new twist in atom-based timekeeping.
[Physics 12, 141] Published Wed Dec 11, 2019
Synopsis: New Hope for Milky Way Dark Matter
The so-called gamma-ray excess that radiates from the core of our Galaxy might be from dark matter after all.
[Physics] Published Wed Dec 11, 2019
Does tapping a beer can prevent it foaming over? Scientists found out A rigorous randomised trial has put to bed the idea that tapping or flicking a can of beer makes bubbles come to the top and prevents the liquid fizzing out
In the quantum world, uncertainty reigns – or is it all in the mind? Schrödinger's dead-and-alive cat embodies the uncertainty of the quantum world. But whether parallel realities truly exist is a question less of science than belief
Why information could be our route to the universe’s deepest secrets Physicists are finally getting their heads round what information truly is – and using it to gain new insights into life, the universe and, well… everything
Synopsis: Probing Wave Turbulence at High Gravity
A wave experiment in a centrifuge reveals how the size of the fluid container strongly influences turbulent behavior.
[Physics] Published Tue Dec 10, 2019
AI is helping tackle one of the biggest unsolved problems in maths Machine-learning algorithms are being used to tackle the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, one of the fiendishly difficult Millennium Prize Problems
Feature: Undergrad Research Teaches Skills and Confidence
At the PhysCon meeting for undergraduate physics majors, attendees say research is key to their education.
[Physics 12, 140] Published Mon Dec 09, 2019
How I made the world’s most accurate thermometer – using sound Join Michael De Podesta as he explains how he made the world’s most precise thermometer – and demonstrates its principle live on stage
Synopsis: Diagnosing Flow Problems in Mechanical Heart Valves
Simulations of blood flow through mechanical heart valves pinpoint a possible origin of turbulence that leads to clotting.
[Physics] Published Fri Dec 06, 2019
Physicists beat Lorentz reciprocity for microwave transmission New device could boost telecommunications and be adapted for photonics
Japan’s SuperKEKB set for first particle collisions Revamped accelerator will soon be smashing electrons and positrons together
Wood-based 'supermaterial' is stronger and tougher than steel New material is made by compressing treated wood
Three photons bind together to make a ‘molecule’ of light Technique could be used to create quantum-information systems
Nuclear excitation by electron capture seen at long last Breakthrough could lead to new type of energy source
Pistachio trees 'talk' to their neighbours, reveals statistical physics Ising model could account for nut production of pistachio orchards
US National Science Foundation clamps down on misconduct Agency will now require every grantee organization to report cases of sexual harassment