Lifeboat Foundation

Nice read that ties Quantum properties such as tunneling to everything around us including our own blood supply in our bodies.

Objects of the quantum world are of a concealed and cold-blooded nature: they usually behave in a quantum manner only when they are significantly cooled and isolated from the environment. Experiments carried out by chemists and physicists from Warsaw have destroyed this simple picture. It turns out that not only does one of the most interesting quantum effects occur at room temperature and higher, but it plays a dominant role in the course of chemical reactions in solutions!

We generally derive our experimental knowledge of quantum phenomena from experiments carried out using sophisticated equipment under exotic conditions: at extremely low temperatures and in a vacuum, isolating quantum objects from the disturbing influence of the environment. Scientists from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC PAS) in Warsaw, led by Prof. Jacek Waluk and Prof. Czeslaw Radzewicz’s group from the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw (FUW), have just shown that one of the most spectacular quantum phenomena — that of tunneling — takes place even at temperatures above the boiling point of water. However, what is particularly surprising is the fact that the observed effect applies to hydrogen nuclei, which tunnel in particles floating in solution. The results of measurements leave no doubt: in the studied system, in conditions typical for our environment, tunneling turns out to be the main factor responsible for the chemical reaction!

Continue reading “Exotic quantum effects can govern the chemistry around us” »

Quicker time to discovery. That’s what scientists focused on quantum chemistry are looking for. According to Bert de Jong, Computational Chemistry, Materials and Climate Group Lead, Computational Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), “I’m a computational chemist working extensively with experimentalists doing interdisciplinary research. To shorten time to scientific discovery, I need to be able to run simulations at near-real-time, or at least overnight, to drive or guide the next experiments.” Changes must be made in the HPC software used in quantum chemistry research to take advantage of advanced HPC systems to meet the research needs of scientists both today and in the future.

NWChem is a widely used open source software computational chemistry package that includes both quantum chemical and molecular dynamics functionality. The NWChem project started around the mid-1990s, and the code was designed from the beginning to take advantage of parallel computer systems. NWChem is actively developed by a consortium of developers and maintained by the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) located at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Washington State. NWChem aims to provide its users with computational chemistry tools that are scalable both in their ability to treat large scientific computational chemistry problems efficiently, and in their use of available parallel computing resources from high-performance parallel supercomputers to conventional workstation clusters.

“Rapid evolution of the computational hardware also requires significant effort geared toward the modernization of the code to meet current research needs,” states Karol Kowalski, Capability Lead for NWChem Development at PNNL.

Continue reading “Modified NWChem Code Utilizes Supercomputer Parallelization” »

Last summer, the team reported another achievement: the development of a DNA nanosensor that can measure the physiological concentration of chloride with a high degree of accuracy.

“Yamuna Krishnan is one of the leading practitioners of biologically oriented DNA nanotechnology,” said Nadrian Seeman, the father of the field and the Margaret and Herman Sokol Professor of Chemistry at New York University. “These types of intracellular sensors are unique to my knowledge, and represent a major advance for the field of DNA nanotechnology.”

Chloride sensor

Continue reading “DNA Devices Perform Bio-Analytical Chemistry Inside Live Cells” »

Interesting — DNA Microchips to be released soon.

Researchers presented this incredible work at the national meeting and exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in San Diego, California, on Sunday.

Adam T Woolley, professor of chemistry at Brigham Young University (BYU) said that they are planning to use DNA’s small size and base-pairing capabilities and ability to self-assemble, and direct it to make nanoscale structures that could be used for electronics.

Continue reading “Get ready for DNA-based computer chips!” »

Could a cheap molecule used to disinfect swimming pools provide the key to creating a new form of DNA nanomaterials?

Cyanuric acid is commonly used to stabilize chlorine in backyard pools; it binds to free chlorine and releases it slowly in the water. But researchers at McGill University have now discovered that this same small, inexpensive molecule can also be used to coax DNA into forming a brand new structure: instead of forming the familiar double helix, DNA’s nucleobases — which normally form rungs in the DNA ladder — associate with cyanuric acid molecules to form a triple helix.

Read More ON Mcgill University

Continue reading “Researchers create new triple helix structure for DNA — Many potential uses in chemistry, tissue engineering, etc” »

Life’s chemistry, it appears, is quite kludgy. Such computer metaphors help explain Dr. Venter’s perspective on synthetic biology. Is a genomic version of Moore’s Law in the offing?

Digital CMOS camera with QE technology with improved photon detection capabilities — now this should interest to many medical departments, researchers, and even for security checkpoint screening.

Hamamatsu Corporation has again raised the bar in scientific CMOS camera performance with the 2016 version of the ORCA-Flash4.0 V2. The increased quantum efficiency (QE), now at a peak of 82%, increases the likelihood of detecting the faintest of signals, helping to answer the question “Is it there?” And, for brighter samples, higher QE translates into shorter exposure times without sacrificing image quality. The ORCA-Flash4.0 V2 opens up new possibilities for imaging in low conditions and improves signal to noise at all light levels.

Since its introduction and evolution, the ORCA-Flash4.0 series has become the favorite scientific CMOS camera of investigators everywhere, powering cutting-edge imaging research in every field from biology and chemistry to astrophysics and nanotechnology. The widespread appeal is due to the vast array of high-performance features: low read noise, large field of view, high dynamic range and fast frame rates. The newly enhanced QE of the “Flash V2” only serves to increase the power and versatility of this game-changing camera.

Continue reading “Digital CMOS Camera Series Boosts Quantum Efficiency (QE) For Breakthrough Photon Detection Capability” »

Noodle-like nanostructures emerge as a cheap alternative to graphene.

Constructing the 1st 42 titanium atoms fullerene style structure.

Titanium oxide nanocluster has been captured under electron microscope.