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Shop-bought cable helps power two quantum networks

For decades, physicists have dreamed of a quantum internet: a planetary web of ultrasecure communications and super-powered computation built not from electrical signals, but from the ghostly connections between particles of light.

Now, scientists in Edinburgh say they’ve taken a major step toward turning that vision into something real.

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University have unveiled a prototype quantum network that links two smaller networks into one reconfigurable, eight-user system capable of routing and even teleporting entanglement on demand.

Telescope in Chile captures stunning new picture of a cosmic butterfly

A telescope in Chile has captured a stunning new picture of a grand and graceful cosmic butterfly.

The National Science Foundation’s NoirLab released the picture Wednesday.

Snapped last month by the Gemini South telescope, the aptly named Butterfly Nebula is 2,500 to 3,800 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. A single light-year is 6 trillion miles.

Brain’s GPS hasn’t changed in millions of years: Specialized neurons may be vital to evolutionary survival

The same brain cells linked to disorientation in Alzheimer’s disease have been preserved—and even slightly increased—across millions of years of evolution.

A new University of Michigan study suggests these neurons are vital to evolutionary survival. Nature has guarded and amplified them through countless generations, helping mammals instinctively know where they are in their environments. The research is published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Astronomers investigate nearby pulsar with radio telescopes

Using the Large Phased Array (LPA) and the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), astronomers from Russia and China have observed a nearby pulsar designated PSR J1951+2837. The new observations, presented Nov. 18 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver important insights into the nature of this pulsar.

Pulsars are highly magnetized, rotating neutron stars emitting a beam of electromagnetic radiation. They are usually detected in the form of short bursts of radio emission; however, some of them are also observed via optical, X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes.

Corral technique measures fragile quantum states in magnet-superconductor hybrids from afar

Hybrid materials made of magnets and superconductors give rise to fascinating quantum phenomena, which are so sensitive that it is crucial to measure them with minimal interference. Researchers at the University of Hamburg and the University of Illinois Chicago have now demonstrated, both experimentally and theoretically, how these quantum phenomena can be detected and controlled over longer distances using special techniques with a scanning tunneling microscope.

Their findings, which could be important for topological quantum computers, were published in the journal Nature Physics.

When a magnetic atom is located in a superconductor, so-called Yu-Shiba-Rusinov quasiparticles are created. Normally, they can only be measured with a high detection probability directly at the location of the atom using the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope.

Innovative materials boost stretchable digital displays’ performance

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) power the high-end screens of our digital world, from TVs and phones to laptops and game consoles.

If those displays could stretch to cover any 3D or irregular surfaces, the doors would be open for technologies like wearable electronics, medical implants and humanoid robots that integrate better with or mimic the soft human body.

“Displays are the intuitive application, but a stretchable OLED can also be used as the light source for monitoring, detection and diagnosis devices for diabetes, cancers, heart conditions and other major health problems,” said Wei Liu, a former postdoctoral researcher in the lab of University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) Assoc. Prof. Sihong Wang.

Interlaced origami structure enables compact storage and high-strength robotic deployment

Researchers at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, have applied the principle of interlacing to an origami-inspired structure and developed a “Foldable-and-Rollable corruGated Structure (FoRoGated-Structure)” that can be smoothly folded and rolled up for compact storage while maintaining very high strength when deployed. The study was published in the journal Science Robotics on November 26.

The team was led by Professor Kyu-Jin Cho—Director of the Human-Centered Soft Robotics Research Center and a founding member of the SNU Robotics Institute (SNU RI).

Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders may originate in specific brain regions that show early structural damage

Researchers at the University of Seville have identified the possible origins of structural damage in the brains of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). These are regions that show the greatest morphological alterations in the early stages of the disease compared to neurotypical people of the same sex and age. The study also found that people with SSD have significant reductions in structural similarity between different regions of the temporal, cingulate and insular lobes.

The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Possible therapeutic approach to treat diabetic nerve damage discovered

Nerve damage is one of the most common and burdensome complications of diabetes. Millions of patients worldwide suffer from pain, numbness, and restricted movement, largely because damaged nerve fibers do not regenerate sufficiently. The reasons for this are unclear.

A research team led by Professor Dr. Dietmar Fischer, Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Cologne’s Faculty of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Pharmacology at University Hospital Cologne, has now identified a central mechanism that explains limited regeneration in diabetes.

Building on this, the researchers have developed a promising therapeutic approach that can be used to increase regeneration. Their findings were published in the Science Translational Medicine journal under the title “Failure of nerve regeneration in mouse models of diabetes is caused by p35-mediated CDK5 hyperactivity.”

Sensor-integrated food wrapper can facilitate real-time, non-destructive detection of nutritional components

Food quality and safety are crucial. However, conventional food-monitoring methods, including ribotyping and polymerase chain reaction, tend to be destructive and lengthy. These shortcomings limit their potential for broad applications. In this regard, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing, with real-time, non-destructive, and high sensitivity capabilities, is a highly promising alternative.

In a new breakthrough, a team of researchers, led by Associate Professor Ji-Hwan Ha from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hanbat National University, Republic of Korea, has developed a two-in-one nanostructured SERS sensor integrated into a stretchable and antimicrobial wrapper (NSSAW) that not only monitors food directly on the surface but also actively preserves it.

Their novel findings are published in the journal Small.

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