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Jan 28, 2024

Two-dimensional magnetic materials for spintronic applications

Posted by in categories: computing, particle physics

Liu, C. S.; Chen, H. W.; Wang, S. Y.; Liu, Q.; Jiang, Y. G.; Zhang, D. W.; Liu, M.; Zhou, P. Two-dimensional materials for next-generation computing technologies. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2020, 15, 545–557.

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Jan 28, 2024

Quantum Breakthrough: Unveiling the Mysteries of Electron Tunneling

Posted by in categories: biological, chemistry, computing, quantum physics

Tunneling is a fundamental process in quantum mechanics, involving the ability of a wave packet to cross an energy barrier that would be impossible to overcome by classical means. At the atomic level, this tunneling phenomenon significantly influences molecular biology. It aids in speeding up enzyme reactions, causes spontaneous DNA mutations, and initiates the sequences of events that lead to the sense of smell.

Photoelectron tunneling is a key process in light-induced chemical reactions, charge and energy transfer, and radiation emission. The size of optoelectronic chips and other devices has been close to the sub-nanometer atomic scale, and the quantum tunneling effects between different channels would be significantly enhanced.

Jan 28, 2024

Augmenting insect olfaction performance through nano-neuromodulation

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, nanotechnology

Insects have been shown to have the ability to detect different chemical agents. Here, the authors present a nanomaterial-assisted neuromodulation strategy to augment the chemosensory abilities of insects via photothermal effect and on-demand neurotransmitter release from cargo-loaded nanovehicles to augment natural sensory function.

Jan 28, 2024

Space photo of the week: Ancient ‘labyrinth of night’ on Mars, one of the biggest mazes in the solar system

Posted by in category: space

Take a trip through the maze-like valleys and canyons of a unique place in the solar system: Mars’ ‘labyrinth of night.’

Jan 28, 2024

Ancient philosophers understood a key truth of modern cosmology

Posted by in category: cosmology

Ancient ideas about the Universe describe matter as constantly ebbing and flowing, positioning nature as the ultimate recycler.

Jan 28, 2024

On computational models of theory of mind and the imitative reinforcement learning in spiking neural networks

Posted by in categories: biological, robotics/AI

Gorgan Mohammadi, A., Ganjtabesh, M. Sci Rep 14, 1945 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52299-7

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Jan 28, 2024

Changing fitness effects of mutations through long-term bacterial evolution

Posted by in category: evolution

Predictable and parallel changes occur in the fitness effects of mutations in Escherichia coli over 50,000 generations.

Jan 28, 2024

The Sixth Finger

Posted by in categories: evolution, neuroscience

“Where are we going? Life, the timeless, mysterious gift, is still evolving. What wonders, or terrors, does evolution hold in store for us in the next ten thousand years? In a million? In six million? Perhaps the answer lies in this old house in this old and misty valley…” A benign and brilliant scientist (Edward Mulhare) discovers a way to accelerate human evolution. David McCallum (super-agent Illya Kuryakin from “The Man From Uncle”) plays the bitter young coal miner who is miraculously transformed into the man of the future. As a result of the experiment, the size of his brain grows grotesquely, a “sixth finger” appears, and he becomes the possessor of tremendous mental powers!

Jan 28, 2024

Inside ‘ambulance to the future’ where people are frozen in hope of life after death

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, futurism

Posted for: stormykitteh Josh Layton Suspended in a deep freeze, the growing number of ‘patients’ at the world’s biggest cryo-preservation facilities are taking a dice roll at another life. Some ha…

Jan 28, 2024

CRISPR off-switches: A path towards safer genome engineering?

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

Using CRISPR, an immune system bacteria use to protect themselves from viruses, scientists have harnessed the power to edit genetic information within cells. In fact, the first CRISPR-based therapeutic was recently approved by the FDA to treat sickle cell disease in December 2023. That therapy is based on a highly studied system known as the CRISPR-Cas9 genetic scissor.

However, a newer and unique platform with the potential to make large-sized DNA removals, called Type I CRISPR or CRISPR-Cas3, waits in the wings for potential therapeutic use.

A new study from Yan Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry at the University of Michigan Medical School, and her collaborators at Cornell University develops off-switches useful for improving the safety of the Type I-C/Cas3 gene editor. The study, “Exploiting Activation and Inactivation Mechanisms in Type I-C CRISPR-Cas3 for 3 Genome Editing Applications,” is published in the journal Molecular Cell.