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Blog – Page 22

For the first time, researchers can study the microstructures inside metals, ceramics and rocks with X-rays in a standard laboratory without needing to travel to a particle accelerator, according to a study led by University of Michigan engineers.

The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

The new technique makes 3D X-ray diffraction—known as 3DXRD—more readily accessible, potentially enabling quick analysis of samples and prototypes in academia and industry, as well as providing more opportunities for students.

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The system was trained to decode words and turn them into speech in increments of 80 milliseconds (0.08 seconds). For comparison, people speak about three words per second, or around 130 words per minute. The system then delivered audible words using the woman’s voice, which was captured from a recording made before the stroke.

The system was able to decode the full vocabulary set at a rate of 47.5 words per minute. It could decode a simpler set of 50 words even more rapidly, at 90.9 words per minute. That’s much faster than an earlier device the researchers had developed, which decoded about 15 words per minute with a 50-word vocabulary. The new device had a more than 99% success rate in decoding and synthesizing speech in less than 80 milliseconds. It took less than a quarter of a second to translate speech-related brain activity into audible speech.

The researchers found that the system wasn’t limited to trained words or sentences. It could make out novel words and decode new sentences to produce fluent speech. The device could also produce speech indefinitely without interruption.

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Stem cell-derived pancreatic islets are being studied as a rich transplantable source for insulin production, a therapeutic for type 1 diabetes that overcomes the need to obtain islet cells from deceased donors.

The first attempts to transplant to treat type 1 diabetes began half a century ago. Doctors then sought the pancreatic tissue of deceased donors from which islet-producing tissue was removed for transplants. The islets produce life-saving insulin. Substantial advancements and increased success rates have led to islet-cell transplants becoming an approved therapy in Canada and Europe. The technique is still considered investigational in the United States.

But in a series of new advances, a team of endocrinologists and regenerative medicine specialists in the Netherlands has developed methods that improve the production of stem cells used to generate insulin-making islets.

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Exotic nuclei near and beyond the proton drip line exhibit a range of unique decay processes, including β-delayed proton emission, α decay, and direct proton radioactivity. Spectroscopic studies utilizing high-efficiency, low-threshold detection systems have become essential for exploring the intricate properties of these nuclei.

In research, play a crucial role as their characteristics can provide key clues for revealing the nature of nuclear forces and testing nuclear structure theoretical models. However, due to the extreme rarity and difficulty in measuring these decay processes, related research has always faced numerous challenges.

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A research team from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a novel large-scale compound cryopump (multi-stage cryopump) capable of separating fuel particles from helium ash.

Designed to meet the demanding requirements of radiation resistance and efficient gas handling, the cryopump features an innovative structural configuration and utilizes a new fabrication technique. The researchers developed a process for bonding activated charcoal to cryogenic panels using an inorganic cryo-adhesive, ensuring long-term stability under . The full-scale prototype measures 1.2 meters in diameter, includes a 0.58-meter valve opening, and weighs 4 tons.

Cryopumps based on adsorption technology are widely recognized as essential components in systems. They offer large pumping speeds, broad temperature tolerance, and strong resistance to harsh electromagnetic and nuclear conditions. These capabilities are critical for the removal of unburned and helium ash—key to maintaining plasma stability and enabling sustained fusion reactions.

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Physicists propose that high-energy photon jets from collapsing stars may be secret factories of heavy elements like plutonium, challenging traditional theories and possibly explaining strange cosmic glows and metal traces in Earth’s crust. One of the biggest unanswered questions in physics is ho

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Two new research studies explore how a stellar nursery in the heart of the Milky Way is affected by the region’s strong magnetic fields. Despite decades of research, the process of how stars form is still filled with unanswered questions. Because stars create nearly all the chemical elements in the

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Carnegie Mellon researchers have used FRESH 3D bioprinting to create the first collagen-based microphysiologic systems, offering new hope for Type 1 diabetes treatment. Collagen is widely recognized for its role in maintaining healthy skin, but its importance extends far beyond that. As the most

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