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‘Molecular movie’ technology reveals a better way to thwart environmental pollutant

The latest production from the “molecular movie” imaging technology developed at Oregon State University is a new, inexpensive way of dealing with a common environmental pollutant. Based on short-pulse lasers, the imaging technology allows chemical and biological actions to be measured as they are occurring, one high-speed frame at a time.

The measurements occur on the level of the femtosecond—one-millionth of one-billionth of a second. A femtosecond is to a second roughly as a second is to 32 million years.

“We’re able to slow down the observation of chemical processes and understand the exact sequences of biochemical reactions,” said Chong Fang, professor of chemistry at OSU, who unveiled the technology in 2014. “It’s a really powerful tool to study, understand and tune biological processes. Now we have extended the tool set to delineate a wide array of chemical processes.”

Space station dust maps slash climate uncertainty over iron-rich particles

New research from a team of scientists led by Cornell is transforming how researchers understand one of the atmosphere’s most abundant and least understood constituents: mineral dust.

Mineral dust, composed of tiny particles lifted from arid regions including the Sahara, Middle East and East Asia, plays a complex role in Earth’s climate system. These particles both scatter and absorb radiation, influence cloud formation and even fertilize ecosystems. But until recently, scientists lacked reliable global data on the surface soils’ mineral composition, particularly on the prevalence of light-absorbing iron oxides.

Using high-resolution data from a NASA mission aboard the International Space Station, the team has reduced long-standing uncertainty about how airborne dust particles affect Earth’s energy balance through interactions with sunlight. The findings are published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Better math discriminates exotic from classical materials

The planar Hall effect is a tabletop diagnostic tool for special quantum properties useful in basic research and technological applications. Or so it was thought, because careful calculation by Kobe University researchers clarifies the conditions under which this effect may also appear in classical materials. This makes the diagnostic more meaningful and enables more purposeful design.

In the hunt for materials with properties that are useful for quantum computing or spintronics, researchers have used the “planar Hall effect” as a tabletop diagnostic tool: The researchers send a current through a thin, flat sample and observe whether an electric voltage is produced in response to a magnetic field in the same plane as the sample.

If it is, the pattern of how the voltage responds to rotating the magnetic field in the plane of the sample tells researchers about the properties of the material.

Fiber optic components enable high-performance 2-µm fiber lasers

Laser systems operating in the 2-micrometer wavelength range open diverse opportunities in medical technology, agriculture, and plastics processing. In the Eurostars project DECOMP, Laser Zentrum Hannover e. V. (LZH) has developed novel fiber optic components that overcome previous technical barriers.

Thulium-doped fiber lasers operate at a wavelength of approximately 2 micrometers, making them particularly well-suited for applications where conventional lasers reach their limits. However, commercially available laser sources that simultaneously offer high beam quality, sufficient laser power, and the necessary reliability in quasi-continuous-wave operation at power levels around 1 kilowatt have been lacking.

In the project, LZH scientists developed novel fiber optic components based on triple-clad fibers that enable a reliable and low-maintenance laser architecture. For the implementation of the final laser system, LZH collaborated with Futonics Laser GmbH as well as South Korean partners COSET, inc. and the Korean Photonics Technology Institute.

Stanford’s Revolutionary New Microscope Reveals Living Cells in Stunning Detail

Stanford researchers have developed a microscope that can show how nanostructures interact inside living cells at the highest resolution achieved so far. The view into living cells just got better. Stanford researchers have merged two microscopy methods to build a unique instrument that can ca

Dutch Authorities Dismantle Botnet Linked to 17 Million Infected Devices

Dutch authorities have announced the takedown of a botnet that enslaved millions of infected devices, including computers, tablets, smartphones, and IoT devices, to carry out malicious attacks.

The bot network, per the Dutch Politie and the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), consisted of at least 17 million infected devices. More than 200 servers located in the Netherlands acted as the platform’s backend infrastructure.

According to a statement issued by the NCSC, police officials seized a subset of these servers from a hosting provider that provided the infrastructure. The provider is said to have subsequently taken the botnet offline following its use for criminal purposes.

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