Measles, a highly contagious viral infection, continues to pose a significant public health threat worldwide. Despite the availability of effective vaccines, outbreaks persist, particularly in regions with low immunization rates. In 2023, the World Health Organization observed up to a 30-fold increase in measles cases in Europe. There are currently no treatment options for measles. Instead, patients must allow the virus to take its course and let the immune system naturally clear the infection.

Erica Ollmann Saphire, a structural biologist, and her research team at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology uncovered the structure of the measles glycoprotein and engineered a neutralizing antibody against it. This therapy could be implemented to manage measles outbreaks worldwide.

Researchers uncovered the structure of the measles fusion glycoprotein and identified a neutralizing antibody capable of decreasing its virulence.

To ensure that information maintains a high quality and isn’t overwhelmed by noise, optical amplifiers are essential. The data transmission capacity of an optical communication system is largely determined by the amplifier’s bandwidth, which refers to the range of light wavelengths it can handle.

“The amplifiers currently used in optical communication systems have a bandwidth of approximately 30 nanometers. Our amplifier, however, boasts a bandwidth of 300 nanometers, enabling it to transmit ten times more data per second than those of existing systems,” explains Peter Andrekson, Professor of Photonics at Chalmers and lead author of the study published in Nature.

The rapidly increasing data traffic is placing ever greater demands on the capacity of communication systems. In an article published in the prestigious journal Nature, a research team from Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, introduces a new amplifier that enables the transmission of ten times more data per second than those of current fiber-optic systems. This amplifier, which fits on a small chip, holds significant potential for various critical laser systems, including those used in medical diagnostics and treatment.

The advancement of AI technology, the growing popularity of streaming services, and the proliferation of new smart devices are among the factors driving the expected doubling of data traffic by 2030. This surge is heightening the demand for communication systems capable of managing vast amounts of information.

Currently, optical communication systems are employed for the internet, telecommunications, and other data-intensive services. These systems utilise light to transmit information over long distances. The data is conveyed through laser pulses that travel at high speeds through optical fibers, which are composed of thin strands of glass.

Purdue University researchers have developed a new type of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterial called a tungsten carbide MXene. This small but mighty material could be used to produce hydrogen fuel for electric vehicles, possibly becoming the key to a more reliable future.

Generation of hydrogen (H₂) by means of photocatalysis has been at the forefront of research since the 1970s because it can potentially fulfill the demand for this green fuel by employing abundant solar light as the only energy source. It encompasses mainly two approaches: overall water splitting and selective dehydrogenation of organic compounds.

University of California, Davis, researchers have developed a new, neuroplasticity-promoting drug closely related to LSD that harnesses the psychedelic’s therapeutic power with reduced hallucinogenic potential.

“Surgery means extensive recovery time and can significantly impact patient health. Our system doesn’t require surgery because we use a conventional stent, the catheter, as a delivery vehicle,” said W. Hong Yeo, the Harris Saunders Jr. Endowed Professor and an associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.

Made from ultra-thin, flexible silicone, these nanosensors can be embedded in almost anything, from pacifiers to catheters. But size was just one element the researchers needed to consider when developing this device; accuracy was just as important.

Hong Yeo holds an in-stent nanomembrane sensor that can detect intracranial pressure.

A car accident, football game, or even a bad fall can lead to a serious or fatal head injury. Annually, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) cause half a million permanent disabilities and 50,000 deaths. Monitoring pressure inside the skull is key to treating TBI and preventing long-lasting complications.

Most of these monitoring devices are large and invasive, requiring surgical emplacement. But Georgia Tech researchers have recently created a sensor smaller than a dime. The miniature size offers huge benefits.

Marines with 7th Communication Battalion are conducting tests with the new free space optics communications system at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan. The highly secured FSO system employs an infrared

MIT CSAIL researchers devised a way to maintain an AI model’s accuracy while ensuring attackers can’t extract sensitive information used to train it. The approach is computationally efficient, reducing a longstanding tradeoff between accuracy and privacy.

Ukrainian startup SorbiForce said they’ve created the world’s first sustainable battery using four key ingredients: carbon, water, salt and agricultural waste.

“With the current way energy storage systems and batteries are designed, they have really big sustainability implications for the planet,” Kevin Drolet, SorbiForce’s CMO, told pv magazine USA. He explained that material scientist Serhii Kaminskyi, SorbiForce’s CEO and co-founder, had long been bothered by those environmental ramifications.

Kaminskyi pulled together a team of experts in the late 2010s to work on solving the problem. This ultimately landed them a spot in the University of Arizona Center for Innovation startup incubator following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war through the U.S. Department of State’s Global Innovation through Science and Technology initiative.

SorbiForce, a Ukrainian energy storage company now in Arizona, has developed metal-free organic batteries made entirely from agricultural waste.

Army scientists, with a team of researchers from the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, have created a water-based zinc battery that is simultaneously powerful, rechargeable and intrinsically safe.