'Light squeezer' reduces quantum noise in lasers, could enhance quantum computing and gravitational-wave detection
Physicists at MIT have designed a quantum "light squeezer" that reduces quantum noise in an incoming laser beam by 15 percent. It is the first system of its kind to work at room temperature, making it amenable to a compact, portable setup that may be added to high-precision experiments to improve laser measurements where quantum noise is a limiting factor.
Cooling mechanism increases solar energy harvesting for self-powered outdoor sensors
Sensors placed in the environment spend long periods of time outdoors through all weather conditions, and they must continuously power themselves in order to collect data. Many, like photovoltaic cells, use the sun to produce electricity, but powering outdoor sensors at night is a challenge.
Protein linked to cancer acts as a viscous glue in cell division
An over-abundance of the protein PRC1, which is essential to cell division, is a telltale sign in many cancer types, including prostate, ovarian, and breast cancer. New research, published online today in Developmental Cell, shows that PRC1 acts as a "viscous glue" during cell division, precisely controlling the speed at which two sets of DNA are separated as a single cell divides. The finding...
Colleges that emphasize activism have more civically engaged students
Students tend to be more engaged in activism if the school that they attend emphasizes social and political issues, according to new research featuring faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.
The study of lysosomal function during cell division and chromosomal instability
A team from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the University of Barcelona (UB), in collaboration with a researcher from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota, have described that lysosomes and autophagy processes are active during mitosis and are necessary for a correct cell division. Lysosomes and autophagy eliminate and recycle damaged cellular components; thus,...
Video: How COVID-19 is affecting support for mail-in voting
How will opinions change as cases across the country fluctuate—particularly in states, such as Arizona or Florida, where cases are rising sharply? .
Scientists create new device to light up the way for quantum technologies
Researchers at CRANN and Trinity's School of Physics have created an innovative new device that will emit single particles of light, or photons, from quantum dots that are the key to practical quantum computers, quantum communications, and other quantum devices.
Report reveals the technology behind bank card gambling blockers works, but millions do not have access
A new review of the availability, uptake, and effectiveness of bank card gambling blockers in the UK has found an estimated 28 million personal current accounts do not have the option to block gambling expenditure.
Puppies & burnout: The impact of the coronavirus on veterinarians
At a superficial glance, becoming a veterinarian seems like the realization of an animal lover's childhood dream—devoting a career to the care of animals.
Northern fish are tough, but climate change is causing some to dwindle
Summer has finally arrived in the northern reaches of Canada and Alaska, liberating hundreds of thousands of northern stream fish from their wintering habitats.
Study shows human-dominated areas are highly lethal to bears until they learn to adapt to people
A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Canada has found that bears living with people are at high risk of dying until they learn to adapt. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study of data on grizzly bears in British Columbia over a 41-year period and what they learned from it.
Does voting by mail increase the risk of voter fraud?
We are living in the midst of a global pandemic. And there is a bitter partisan debate unfolding on whether more Americans should cast their votes through the mail during a time when going out may be hazardous to peoples' health.
Experiments confirm light-squeezing 2-D exciton-polaritons can exist
Measurements of the optical response of 2-D transition-metal dichalcogenides have now pinpointed real material systems in which a hypothesized light-squeezing quasiparticle can form. The 2-D exciton-polariton, which couples light to bound electron-hole pairs in the form of excitons in an unusual way, can confine light to dimensions orders of magnitude below the diffraction limit. Confining light...
Marine life found in ancient Antarctica ice helps solve a carbon dioxide puzzle from the ice age
Evidence of minute amounts of marine life in an ancient Antarctic ice sheet helps explain a longstanding puzzle of why rising carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels stalled for hundreds of years as Earth warmed from the last ice age.
COVID-19 demonstrates why wealth matters
While COVID-19 has impacted all individuals, the impact has not been equal. In a new national Socioeconomic Impact of COVID-19 survey, the Social Policy Institute (SPI) at Washington University in St. Louis found that liquid assets increased the likelihood that an individual could practice social distancing. However, Black individuals were least likely to afford social distancing.
Big data analytics shows how America's individualism complicates coronavirus response
To understand America's response to the coronavirus pandemic, researchers started with data from more than 200 years ago—at the American frontier.
Can a human drug stop life-threatening bleeding in dogs with traumatic injuries?
Sean Majoy, V06, VG13, was far too familiar with the toll that traumatic bleeding can take on dogs before he joined Cummings School as an emergency and critical care veterinarian and clinical assistant professor. Majoy served on active duty in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps from 2006 to 2017, and one of his jobs was caring for military working dogs returning injured from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Heat-detecting drones are a cheaper, more efficient way to find koalas
Last summer's catastrophic bushfires burnt about one quarter of New South Wales' best koala habitat. On the state's mid-north coast, an estimated 30% of koalas were killed.
Engineers use electricity to clean up toxic water
A team of engineers may be one step closer to cleaning up heavily contaminated industrial wastewater streams.
Toward improved wound healing: Chemical synthesis of a trefoil factor peptide
The fascinating family of trefoil factor peptides brings hope to both research and industry to improve the treatment of chronic disorders such as Crohn's disease. For the first time, a team led by ERC awardee Markus Muttenthaler from the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna succeeded in the synthesis and folding of the peptide TFF1, a key player in mucosal protection and repair....
5000 eyes on the skies: Scientists choreograph robots to observe distant galaxies
Since 2005, scientists have been scanning the night sky to create a three-dimensional map of our universe with the purpose of shedding light on one of the biggest mysteries in physics: the nature and identity of dark energy and dark matter. That effort is about to get a massive upgrade with the successful installation and testing of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, or DESI.
Future hurricanes: Fast like Ike or slow like Harvey?
Climate change will intensify winds that steer hurricanes north over Texas in the final 25 years of this century, increasing the odds for fast-moving storms like 2008's Ike, compared with slow-movers like 2017's Harvey, according to new research.
Intensive farming is eating up the Australian continent, but there's another way
Last week we learned woody vegetation in New South Wales is being cleared at more than double the rate of the previous decade—and agriculture was responsible for more than half the destruction.
How to build a better Canada after COVID-19: The power of everyday actions can bring about change
I teach in gender studies, where I spend time with university students discussing critical issues that shape our society —power, violence, racism and colonialism. My students learn that histories are complicated and alive in the present.
New study analyses multiple-tailed lizards
Ph.D. Candidate James Barr, from Curtin University's School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said while the phenomena of multiple-tailed lizards are widely known to occur, documented events were generally limited to opportunistic, single observations of one in its natural environment.