117 articles from FRIDAY 8.10.2021

Photon-phonon breakthrough

New research has uncovered a novel way to combine two different states of matter. For one of the first times, topological photons -- light -- has been combined with lattice vibrations, also known as phonons, to manipulate their propagation in a robust and controllable way.

A rare feat: Material protects against both biological and chemical threats

Researchers have developed a versatile composite fabric that can deactivate both biological threats, such as the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and chemical threats, such as those used in chemical warfare. A material that is effective against both classes of threats is rare. The new material also is reusable. It can be restored to its original state after the fabric has been exposed to...

COVID-19 leads to African agricultural innovation

In a paper published in Advances in Food Security and Sustainability, researchers found that farmers in East Africa (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda) were able to better adapt to the impact of COVID-19 than those in the Southern African countries of Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 

Rocks on floor of Jezero Crater, Mars, show signs of sustained interactions with water

Since the Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater on Mars in February, the rover and its team of scientists back on Earth have been hard at work exploring the floor of the crater that once held an ancient lake. Perseverance and the Mars 2020 mission are looking for signs of ancient life on Mars and preparing a returnable cache of samples for later analyses on Earth.

Researchers announce photon-phonon breakthrough

New research by a City College of New York team has uncovered a novel way to combine two different states of matter. For one of the first times, topological photons—light—has been combined with lattice vibrations, also known as phonons, to manipulate their propagation in a robust and controllable way. 

Sharri Markson’s book on Covid’s Wuhan lab leak theory raises more questions than it answers

Details are deficient, scientific analysis contentious and expert voices missing in Markson’s thesis about ‘what really happened’ in China, which establishes a crime scene around the Wuhan Institute of Virology With 4.55 million deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic so far, the hunt for its origins has turned into something akin to an inquest on a mass scale. Are we dealing essentially with a...

Roman noblewoman’s tomb reveals secrets of ancient concrete resilience

Over time, concrete cracks and crumbles. Well, most concrete cracks and crumbles. Structures built in ancient Rome are still standing, exhibiting remarkable durability despite conditions that would devastate modern concrete. One of these structures is the large cylindrical tomb of first-century noblewoman Caecilia Metella. New research shows that the quality of the concrete of her tomb may exceed...