Lifeboat Foundation

The first materials scientists might have been early humans who—through trial-and-error experiments—discovered the first “cutting-edge” technologies. They found that the best arrowheads and other tools could be made from certain types of natural, structural materials, which at the time included stones and animal bones.

In the famous double-slit experiment, an interference pattern consisting of dark and bright bands emerges when a beam of light hits two narrow slits. The same effect has also been seen with particles such as electrons and protons, demonstrating the wave nature of propagating particles in quantum mechanics.

Applying chaos theory to the movement of iconic arctic whales uncovered a 24-hour diving cycle and a long-range (~100 km) synchronization.

Microplastics are a global problem: they end up in rivers and oceans, they accumulate in living organisms and disrupt entire ecosystems. How tiny particles behave in a current is difficult to describe scientifically, especially in the case of thin fibers, which make up more than half of microplastic contamination in marine life-forms. In turbulent currents, it is almost impossible to predict their movement.

An automated computational approach to the optical lens design of imaging systems promises to provide optimal solutions without human intervention, slashing the time and cost usually required. The result could be improved cameras for mobile phones with superior quality or new functionality.

A previously unknown mechanism of active matter self-organization essential for bacterial cell division follows the motto “dying to align”: Misaligned filaments “die” spontaneously to form a ring structure at the center of the dividing cell. The study, led by the Šarić group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), was published in Nature Physics. The work could find applications in developing synthetic self-healing materials.

Since the first demonstration of the laser in the 1960s, laser spectroscopy has become an essential tool for studying the detailed structures and dynamics of atoms and molecules. Advances in laser technology have further enhanced its capabilities. There are two main types of laser spectroscopy: frequency comb-based laser spectroscopy and tunable continuous-wave (CW) laser spectroscopy.

Astronomers from the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and elsewhere have observed an X-ray binary system known as CXOU J005245.0–722844. They detected an X-ray outburst from this binary and found that it harbors a white dwarf star. The findings were presented in a research paper published August 2 on the pre-print server arXiv.

Using seismic activity to probe the interior of Mars, geophysicists have found evidence for a large underground reservoir of liquid water—enough to fill oceans on the planet’s surface.