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Optical tweezers reveal cell dynamics in milliseconds

Researchers will soon be able to study biological changes at scales and speeds not previously possible to significantly expand knowledge in areas such as disease progression and drug delivery.

Physicists at The University of Queensland have used “tweezers made from light” to measure activity within microscopic systems over timeframes as short as milliseconds. Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop from UQ’s School of Mathematics and Physics said the method could help biologists understand what was happening within single living cells.

“For example, they will be able to look at how a cell is dividing, how it responds to outside stimuli, or even how affect cell properties,” Professor Rubinsztein-Dunlop said.

New DESI results strengthen hints that dark energy may evolve

The fate of the universe hinges on the balance between matter and dark energy: the fundamental ingredient that drives its accelerating expansion. New results from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration use the largest 3D map of our universe ever made to track dark energy’s influence over the past 11 billion years. Researchers see hints that dark energy, widely thought to be a “cosmological constant,” might be evolving over time in unexpected ways.

DESI is an international experiment with more than 900 researchers from more than 70 institutions around the world and is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The collaboration shared their findings today in multiple papers that will be posted on the online repository arXiv and in a presentation at the American Physical Society’s Global Physics Summit in Anaheim, California.

“What we are seeing is deeply intriguing,” said Alexie Leauthaud-Harnett, co-spokesperson for DESI and a professor at UC Santa Cruz. “It is exciting to think that we may be on the cusp of a major discovery about dark energy and the fundamental nature of our .”

A simple way to control superconductivity: Twisting atomically thin layers fine-tunes properties

Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) and collaborators have discovered a new way to control superconductivity—an essential phenomenon for developing more energy-efficient technologies and quantum computing—by simply twisting atomically thin layers within a layered device.

By adjusting the twist angle, they were able to finely tune the “superconducting gap,” which plays a key role in the behavior of these materials. The research is published in Nature Physics.

The superconducting gap is the energy threshold required to break apart Cooper pairs—bound electron pairs that enable superconductivity at low temperatures. Having a larger gap allows superconductivity to persist at higher, more accessible temperatures, and tuning the gap is also important for optimizing Cooper pair behavior at the nanoscale, contributing to the high functionality of quantum devices.

Machine learning uncovers hidden heat transport mechanisms in organic semiconductors

Complex materials such as organic semiconductors or the microporous metal-organic frameworks known as MOFs are already being used for numerous applications such as OLED displays, solar cells, gas storage and water extraction. Nevertheless, they still harbor a few secrets. One of these has so far been a detailed understanding of how they transport thermal energy.

Egbert Zojer’s research team at the Institute of Solid State Physics at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), in collaboration with colleagues from TU Vienna and the University of Cambridge, has now cracked this secret using the example of organic semiconductors, opening up new perspectives for the development of innovative materials with customized thermal properties.

The team has published its findings in npj Computational Materials.

Muonic atoms unlock new possibilities in nuclear physics

University of Queensland researchers have made a breakthrough in muonic atom research, clearing the way for new nuclear physics experiments.

A team at the UQ School of Mathematics and Physics has combined theory and experiments to show that nuclear polarization does not limit studies of muonic atoms. The research was published in Physical Review Letters.

Co-author Dr. Odile Smits said the finding provides a clear path for using muonic atoms to better understand the magnetic structure of the .

Is the Universe Changing? Breakthrough Data Suggests Dark Energy Is Evolving

Using data from nearly 15 million galaxies and quasars, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has created the most detailed 3D map of the universe ever made. A new analysis combining DESI’s observations with other major cosmic datasets suggests that dark energy, the mysterious force behind

Hofstadter’s Butterfly Lands at Last — A 50-Year Quantum Mystery Solved

Scientists at Princeton University have made a groundbreaking discovery in quantum materials, revealing that electron energy levels in certain systems follow a fractal pattern known as Hofstadter’s butterfly. This phenomenon was first theorized in 1976 but had never been directly observed in a re

Mysterious Space Signals Went Unexplained for Years — Astronomers Just Found the Star System Behind Them

A puzzling new type of radio signal – lasting seconds to minutes – has been linked to a binary star system featuring a white dwarf and a red dwarf. Scientists suspect these signals arise from the white dwarf’s intense magnetic field or its interaction with its companion. This discovery suggests t

Revolutionary MRI Tech Unmasks Hidden Brain Lesions and Transforms Epilepsy Treatment

A new imaging technique is helping ultra-powerful MRI scanners detect tiny differences in the brains of patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy. In a groundbreaking study, doctors at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge used this approach to identify hidden brain lesions, allowing them to offer patients surgery that could cure their condition.

7T MRI scanners, named for their use of a 7 Tesla magnetic field, which is more than twice as strong as the 3T scanners commonly used, have previously struggled with signal blackspots in key areas of the brain. However, researchers from Cambridge and Paris have developed a technique that overcomes this issue, as detailed in a study published today (March 21) in Epilepsia.

The challenge of treating focal epilepsy.

This AI Uses Light Instead of Electricity and It’s Mind-Blowingly Fast

Imagine fiber optic cables acting as vast sensor networks, detecting vibrations for everything from earthquake warnings to railway monitoring. The challenge? Processing the enormous data flow in real-time. Traditional electronic computing struggles, but researchers have merged machine learning wi