Design
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Nanotechnology
Diversifying DNA origami: Generative design tools rely on grammatical rules to find optimal shapes
(A) The grammar rules in this work include triangulation of surface meshes. The distance d and rotation angle θ are user-defined values. (B) Grammar rules are randomly sampled and applied to evolve the design solution sn during the generation process. Credit: Nucleic Acids Research (2024). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae1268 As the name suggests, DNA origami is a fabrication technique in which researchers…
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Physics
Building a better infrared sensor: New photodiode design improves responsiveness
New, more sensitive infrared sensors can benefit a variety of technologies. Credit: Aalto University/Xiaolong Liu Infrared detection is important in a wide range of technologies, from remote controls to autofocus systems to self-driving cars and virtual reality headsets. This means there are significant benefits to be gained by improving the efficiency of infrared sensors such as photodiodes. Researchers at Aalto…
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Space & Cosmos
Astronomers discover supermassive Grand Design spiral galaxy
Morphology and photometric redshift of Zhúlóng. Credit: Xiao et al., 2024. An international team of astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to detect a new grand design spiral galaxy as part of a panoramic survey. The newly discovered galaxy, named Zhúlóng, is so massive that it appears to be the most distant spiral galaxy yet identified. The findings…
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Physics
Novel molecular design increases scintillator radiant emission by 1,300x
The process of energy transfer from the molecular antenna to the lanthanide center (Eu3⁺) via triplet excitons. X-ray irradiation (1) triggers a cascade of secondary X-ray excitations, which are then captured by organic ligands (2) after thermalization, (3) and subsequently returned to the lanthanide center by resonance energy transfer (4 ). Enhanced radioluminescence (HV). Credit: Nature Photonics (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41566-024-01586-w…
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Physics
Physics and emote design: Quantifying the clarity of digital images
Diagram of clarity loss: effects of blur and color contrast. The first row shows the effect of blur on sharpness, with constant color contrast. The second row shows the effect of reduced color contrast on clarity when the spatial color arrangement is fixed. Credit: Chan et al., 2024 When analyzing artwork, it is important to understand the visual clarity of…
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Nanotechnology
Unique copper nanocluster design increases selectivity in CO₂ reduction
Detailed structures of two different Cu14 NCs protected by two different thiols investigated in this study. These NCs exhibit various intercluster interactions that shape the stability and reaction selectivity of the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction. Credit: Small (2024). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202409910 The humble copper (Cu) may not have the allure of gold or silver, but its incredible versatility makes it invaluable…
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Science
After a disappointing COP29, here’s how to design global climate talks that could actually work
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Many people who have been involved in global climate change negotiations for years see the annual United Nations COP climate negotiations as fundamentally flawed. That includes me. The 29th round of talks concluded on Sunday in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was probably my 25th COP. I have attended these talks in a variety of roles, but primarily…
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Nanotechnology
Quantum-inspired design improves heat-to-electricity conversion efficiency
Reactor used to test new heat emitters (left). Gururaj Naik (right). Credit: Gustavo Raskosky / Rice University Researchers at Rice University have discovered a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems, which convert heat to electricity through light. Using an unconventional approach inspired by quantum physics, Rice engineer Gururaj Naik and his team designed a thermal…
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Nanotechnology
Scientists design stable protein complexes for targeted cancer therapy
Credit: ACS Nano (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c09220 Auburn University researchers, in partnership with the University of Basel in Switzerland, have discovered a new way to make cancer-targeting protein complexes more stable, opening the door to better cancer treatments. . The study, led by Dr. Rafael Bernardi of Auburn University’s Department of Physics and Dr. Michael Nash of the Department of Chemistry…
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Nanotechnology
New plasma-based technology design increases graphene production by more than 22%
Shielded TIAGO torch reaction chamber: conceptual diagram (left) and realized prototype (right). Credit: Chemical Engineering Journal (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2024.155088 Harder than diamond, stronger than steel, flexible like rubber, and lighter than aluminum. These are just some of the properties attributed to graphene. Although this material has attracted great interest in the scientific community in recent years, there is still no…
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