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A study by researchers from the University of British Columbia’s Blusson Quantum Matter Institute (UBC Blusson QMI) has found a rare form of one-dimensional quantum magnetism in the metallic compound Ti4MnBi2, offering evidence into a phase space that has remained, until now, largely theoretical.

The study, published in Nature Materials, comes at a time of growing global interest in that redefine the boundaries between magnetism, conductivity, and quantum coherence.

“We proved the existence of a new class of quantum materials that are both metallic and one-dimensional magnets, with strong coupling between the and their metallic host,” said UBC Blusson QMI Investigator Prof. Meigan Aronson.

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Google on Monday announced plans that might help a scientific breakthrough in research into the communication patterns of dolphins. The tech giant announced that it would make DolphinGemma, its foundational AI model, accessible to researchers over the summer.

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Human astrocytes are larger and more complex than those of infraprimate mammals, suggesting that their role in neural processing has expanded with evolution. To assess the cell-autonomous and species-selective properties of human glia, we engrafted human glial progenitor cells (GPCs) into neonatal immunodeficient mice. Upon maturation, the recipient brains exhibited large numbers and high proportions of both human glial progenitors and astrocytes. The engrafted human glia were gap-junction-coupled to host astroglia, yet retained the size and pleomorphism of hominid astroglia, and propagated Ca2+ signals 3-fold faster than their hosts. Long-term potentiation (LTP) was sharply enhanced in the human glial chimeric mice, as was their learning, as assessed by Barnes maze navigation, object-location memory, and both contextual and tone fear conditioning. Mice allografted with murine GPCs showed no enhancement of either LTP or learning. These findings indicate that human glia differentially enhance both activity-dependent plasticity and learning in mice.

Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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The team studied the long, jointed legs of the crane fly, an insect known for its slow, deliberate movements. These legs appear perfectly designed to absorb impact and ensure a gentle touchdown.

Inspired by this natural design, the engineers outfitted the RoboBee with its own set of long, double-jointed legs. These new appendages are designed to cushion the impact as the robot transitions from air to ground, protecting its delicate components.

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A team of researchers has engineered a groundbreaking optical device that mimics the physics of black holes and their mysterious counterparts, white holes.

These “optical analogs” use a principle called coherent perfect absorption to either absorb or reflect light depending on its polarization, much like how black holes trap matter and white holes hypothetically expel it. Their success opens new doors not only for studying far-off cosmic phenomena in a lab setting but also for developing advanced technologies like energy conversion systems and stealth materials.

From cosmic phenomena to lab devices.

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