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Blog – Page 37

Attosecond time-resolved experiments have revealed the increasing importance of electronic correlations in the collective plasmon response as the size of the system decreases to sub-nm scales.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, was led by the University of Hamburg and DESY as part of a collaboration with Stanford, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Northwest Missouri State University, Politecnico di Milano and the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter.

Plasmons are collective electronic excitations that give rise to unique effects in matter. They provide a means of achieving extreme light confinement, enabling groundbreaking applications such as efficient solar energy harvesting, ultrafine sensor technology, and enhanced photocatalysis.

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Dr. Ben Allardyce and Ph.D. candidate Mr. Martin Zaki from Deakin’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) have delivered a world first in next-generation materials research. Silkworm silk is a protein-based fiber with mechanical properties rivaling petroleum-derived synthetic fibers, yet spun using a fraction of the energy. Despite decades of research, aspects of natural silkworm spinning remain a mystery.

Published in Advanced Materials, the IFM discovery takes researchers one step closer to solving this mystery by wet-spinning a new class of silk that produces fibers that outperform natural silk.

This research, led by Dr. Allardyce and Mr. Zaki, with expert input from Sheffield University’s Professor Chris Holland, involves sidestepping degumming—a commonplace industrial process—and experimenting with dissolving whole silk fibers.

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In Europe alone, approximately 2 million people live with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), and their incidence has been rising steadily in recent decades. However, a small proportion of the European population carries a genetic variant that provides natural protection against IBD.

A newly published study in the journal eBioMedicine explores how this protective variant can be leveraged to develop modern therapies, demonstrating the potential of evolutionary medicine in addressing chronic diseases of the modern era.

The study, led by the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology (IKMB) at Kiel University, brought together researchers from genetics, medicine, and archaeology.

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Transparent aluminum oxide (TAlOx), a real material despite its sci-fi name, is incredibly hard and resistant to scratches, making it perfect for protective coatings on electronics, optical sensors, and solar panels. On the sci-fi show Star Trek, it is even used for starship windows and spacefaring aquariums.

Current methods of making TAlOx are expensive and complicated, requiring high-powered lasers, vacuum chambers, or large vats of dangerous acids. That may change thanks to research co-authored by Filipino scientists from the Ateneo de Manila University.

Instead of immersing entire sheets of metal into acidic solutions, the researchers applied microdroplets of acidic solution onto small aluminum surfaces and applied an . Just two volts of electricity—barely more than what’s found in a single AA household flashlight battery—was all that was needed to transform the metal into glass-like TAlOx.

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To test this new system, the team executed what is known as Grover’s search algorithm—first described by Indian-American computer scientist Lov Grover in 1996. This search looks for a particular item in a large, unstructured dataset using superposition and entanglement in parallel. The search algorithm also exhibits a quadratic speedup, meaning a quantum computer can solve a problem with the square root of the input rather than just a linear increase. The authors report that the system achieved a 71 percent success rate.

While operating a successful distributed system is a big step forward for quantum computing, the team reiterates that the engineering challenges remain daunting. However, networking together quantum processors into a distributed network using quantum teleportation provides a small glimmer of light at the end of a long, dark quantum computing development tunnel.

“Scaling up quantum computers remains a formidable technical challenge that will likely require new physics insights as well as intensive engineering effort over the coming years,” David Lucas, principal investigator of the study from Oxford University, said in a press statement. “Our experiment demonstrates that network-distributed quantum information processing is feasible with current technology.”

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Silicon Valley-based robotics startup Figure AI is in talks to raise a massive $1.5 billion round at a $39.5 billion valuation, Bloomberg reports.

That’s a whopping 15 times higher than Figure’s $2.6 billion post-money valuation for its $675 million Series B last year. Figure’s current round is expected to be led by Align Ventures and Parkway Venture Capital, Bloomberg reported.

Figure builds humanoid robots for commercial and residential purposes. Humanoid robots are all the rage thanks to the AI boom: Austin-based Apptronik just raised $350 million while Meta is reportedly looking to get into robotics, too.

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Elon Musk revives discussion on Mars colonization with a viral AI-generated video, amassing over 46 million views, showing an advanced Martian city. Originally predicted for 2024–2025, Musk’s vision includes direct democracy for Mars governance. The video sparked a mix of curiosity and criticism, especially regarding the absence of natural greenery.

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