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A team of chemists at McGill University, working with a colleague from Charité-Universitätsmedizin, in Germany, has uncovered part of the process used by mussels to bind to rocks and to quickly release from them when conditions warrant.

In their project, reported in the journal Science, the group studied the interface between mussel and the bundle of filaments that use to anchor themselves to rocks and other objects. Guoqing Pan and Bin Li, with Jiangsu University and Soochow University, both in China, have published a Perspective article in the same journal issue outlining the work done by the team on this new effort.

Mussels are bivalve mollusks that live in both fresh and saltwater environments. They have hinged shells that are joined by a ligament. Muscles ensure a tight seal when the shell is closed. Mussels use byssus threads (known commonly as a beard) to attach themselves to such as rocks.

Are you ready for a cell phone with a medium-format-sized sensor?


It’s science time. New research tells us how, with the help of metalenses and spaceplates, we don’t need conventional lenses anymore. Furthermore, that will allow manufacturers to develop tiny cameras with bigger sensors. Read the highlights of the research below.

New research has found a solution for reducing the size of cameras, by combining both metalenses and spaceplates. That combination allows a significant reduction of the glass and the length from the camera sensor. The result can be a lens-free camera and a bigger sensor. Furthermore, it’s a whole new approach for how light can be focused, and utilized, that can result in manufacturing facilitation of both cameras and lenses.

Adding a spaceplate to an imaging system such as a standard camera will shorten the camera. An ultra-thin monolithic imaging system can be formed by integrating a metalens and a spaceplate directly on a sensor.