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‘Motivation brake’ may explain why it’s so hard to get started on an unpleasant task

Most of us know the feeling: maybe it is making a difficult phone call, starting a report you fear will be criticized, or preparing a presentation that’s stressful just to think about. You understand what needs to be done, yet taking that very first step feels surprisingly hard.

When this difficulty becomes severe, it is known medically as avolition. People with avolition are not lazy or unaware: they know what they need to do, but their brain seems unable to push the “go” button.

Avolition is commonly seen in conditions such as depression, schizophrenia, and Parkinson’s disease, and it seriously disrupts a person’s ability to manage daily life and maintain social functions.

OLED lighting: Corrugated panel design extends longevity and efficiency

The organic light emitting diodes—known widely as OLEDs—that create vibrant smartphone displays could illuminate rooms, but current designs burn out too quickly at the high brightness needed for room lighting. A new approach overcomes this tradeoff by building OLEDs on a corrugated surface, packing more emitting material into a given lighting panel area to produce the same amount of light while operating the OLED itself at lower brightness.

This corrugated panel strategy increased device lifespan by a factor of 2.7 compared to flat panels operated at the same current, according to a study led by the University of Michigan in collaboration with OLEDWorks and The Pennsylvania State University.

“While the problems we solved along the way were daunting, in the end the new device performed tremendously better than predecessors. It’s rewarding to see our ideas point towards a valid path to improve the efficiency and lifetime of OLED lighting,” said Max Shtein, a professor of materials science and engineering and chemical engineering at U-M and co-corresponding author of the study published in Nature Communications.

Perovskite solar cells maintain 95% of power conversion efficiency after 1,100 hours at 85°C with new molecular coating

Scientists have found a way to make perovskite solar cells not only highly efficient but also remarkably stable, addressing one of the main challenges holding the technology back from widespread use.

Perovskite has long been hailed as a game-changer for the next generation of solar power. However, advances in material design are still needed to boost the efficiency and durability of solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity.

What Happens When Light Gains Extra Dimensions

Shaped quantum light is turning ordinary photons into powerful tools for the future of technology.

A global group of scientists, including researchers from the UAB, has published a new review in Nature Photonics exploring a rapidly developing area of research called quantum structured light. This field is changing how information can be sent, measured, and processed by combining quantum physics with carefully designed patterns of light in space and time. By doing so, researchers can create photons capable of carrying far more information than traditional light.

From qubits to higher dimensional quantum states.

New China-linked hackers breach telcos using edge device exploits

A sophisticated threat actor that uses Linux-based malware to target telecommunications providers has recently broadened its operations to include organizations in Southeastern Europe.

Tracked internally by Cisco Talos as UAT-7290, the actor shows strong China nexus indicators and typically focuses on telcos in South Asia in cyber-espionage operations.

Active since at least 2022, the UAT-7290 group also serves as an initial access group by establishing an Operational Relay Box (ORB) infrastructure during the attacks, which is then utilized by other China-aligned threat actors.

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