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An exotic physical phenomenon, involving optical waves, synthetic magnetic fields, and time reversal, has been directly observed for the first time, following decades of attempts. The new finding could lead to realizations of what are known as topological phases, and eventually to advances toward fault-tolerant quantum computers, the researchers say.

The new finding involves the non-Abelian Aharonov-Bohm Effect and is reported today in the journal Science by MIT graduate student Yi Yang, MIT visiting scholar Chao Peng (a professor at Peking University), MIT graduate student Di Zhu, Professor Hrvoje Buljan at University of Zagreb in Croatia, Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics John Joannopoulos at MIT, Professor Bo Zhen at the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT professor of physics Marin Soljacic.

The finding relates to gauge fields, which describe transformations that particles undergo. Gauge fields fall into two classes, known as Abelian and non-Abelian. The Aharonov-Bohm Effect, named after the theorists who predicted it in 1959, confirmed that gauge fields—beyond being a pure mathematical aid—have physical consequences.

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A 5 year study. In recent years it has been shown to extend the lives of nematodes (or roundworms) by 57% and mice by 6%. In humans, claims abound that metformin-takers are living longer, having fewer cardiovascular episodes and seeing reduced odds of getting cancer.

Groundbreaking TAME trial, which directly targets aging as an endpoint, finally begins this November, reveals lead clinician Dr Nir Barzilai.

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Space historian Robert Zimmerman came across images, with the labels “Candidate Landing Site for SpaceX Starship,” in data from the NASA orbiter.

The images of the Martian surface were taken by a high-res camera system called HiRISE onboard the orbiter, and uploaded to the University of Arizona’s website, the institution responsible for operating the camera.

SpaceX’s search for a landing site dates back to 2017, according to Teslarati. Over the past two years, the company has narrowed its search to a massive plains region called Arcadia Planitia. Five of the six potential landing sites shown in the new images are inside this zone.

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Physicists at LMU have developed a highly sensitive method for measuring the mechanical stability of protein conformations, and used it to monitor the early steps in the formation of blood clots.

As the central mediators of cell function in biological organisms, proteins are involved in the execution of virtually all cellular processes. They provide the internal scaffolding that gives cells their form, and enable cells to dynamically alter their morphology. They transport substrates back and forth across membranes, and they catalyze most of the that take place in cells. In the course of these tasks many proteins are subjected to external forces. Indeed, some “mechanosensitive” proteins effectively measure the strength of the forces acting upon them and are activated when the imposed exceeds a given threshold value. Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), which initiates the formation of blood clots, is an important representative of this class.

The mechanical forces required to activate proteins like VWF are often so small that their magnitude could not be determined using existing methods. Now, a team of scientists led by LMU physicists Dr. Martin Benoit and Professor Jan Lipfert has developed a much more sensitive procedure. Their “magnetic tweezers” can quantify forces that are 100 times smaller than the commonly used alternative method currently available. As Lipfert and colleagues report in the journal PNAS, they have employed the technique to observe the unfolding of the VWF protein under the influence of low mechanical forces.

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