By emitting photons from a quantum dot at the top of a micropyramid, researchers at Linköping University are creating a polarized light source for such things as energy-saving computer screens and wiretap-proof communications.
Tech
Recently, Beijing and the nearby Chinese provinces were veiled in smog that reduced visibility, induced health problems, and reached levels described as "beyond index."
Children improved their understanding of stroke symptoms and what to do if they witness a stroke after playing a 15-minute stroke education video game, according to new research reported in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.
HOUSTON – (Jan. 30, 2014) – Plasmonic nanoparticles developed at Rice University are becoming known for their ability to turn light into heat, but how to use them to generate electricity is not nearly as well understood.
Scientists at Rice are working on that, too. They suggest that the extraction of electrons generated by surface plasmons in metal nanoparticles may be optimized.
AUSTIN, Texas — A team of researchers at The University of Texas at Austin's Cockrell School of Engineering has built the first-ever circulator for sound. The team's experiments successfully prove that the fundamental symmetry with which acoustic waves travel through air between two points in space ("if you can hear, you can also be heard") can be broken by a compact and simple device.
Most websites with information on vertebroplasty – a procedure in which a special medical-grade cement mixture is injected into a fractured vertebra – do not paint the full picture about the pros, cons and alternatives of the treatment. Therefore patients should always sit down with their physicians to thoroughly discuss their options, rather than take everything they read on the Internet as the full gospel.
Piezoelectrics—materials that can change mechanical stress to electricity and back again—are everywhere in modern life. Computer hard drives. Loud speakers. Medical ultrasound. Sonar. Though piezoelectrics are a widely used technology, there are major gaps in our understanding of how they work.
HUNTSVILLE, TX (1/30/14) -- With high rates of sexual assault at colleges and universities, campus law enforcement officers are important facets of a campus' response to this crime. The Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State University recognizes the central role campus law enforcement play in sexual assault response and conducted a survey to increase understanding of that role and their procedures in responding to sexual assault cases.
An international research group led by the University of Bristol has made an important advance towards a quantum computer by shrinking down key components and integrating them onto a silicon microchip.
Scientists and engineers from an international collaboration led by Dr Mark Thompson from the University of Bristol have, for the first time, generated and manipulated single particles of light (photons) on a silicon chip – a major step forward in the race to build a quantum computer.
Quantum logic spectroscopy – which is closely linked with the name of the 2012 Nobel prize laureate, David J. Wineland – has been significantly extended: this new method is called "photon-recoil spectroscopy" (PRS). The potential of this method has been demonstrated by the research group led by Piet Schmidt from the QUEST Institute, which is based at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, together with colleagues from Leibniz University Hannover. In contrast to the original quantum logic technique, the new method enables the investigation of very fast transitions in atoms or molecules.
A Kansas State University engineer has made a breakthrough in rechargeable battery applications.
Gurpreet Singh, assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering, and his student researchers are the first to demonstrate that a composite paper -- made of interleaved molybdenum disulfide and graphene nanosheets -- can be both an active material to efficiently store sodium atoms and a flexible current collector. The newly developed composite paper can be used as a negative electrode in sodium-ion batteries.
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that valproic acid, a widely prescribed drug for treating epilepsy, has the additional benefits of reducing fat accumulation in the liver and lowering blood sugar levels in the blood of obese mice. A summary of their research appears in this month's issue of the journal Molecular Pharmacology.
HOUSTON – (Jan. 29, 2014) – Merging companies that focus on a dual-goal emphasis of simultaneously enhancing efficiency and customer satisfaction show the highest increase in long-term financial performance, according to a new study from Rice University, Kent State University and the University of Pittsburgh.
"However, achieving a dual emphasis is very difficult," the study's authors said. "Managers need to be prepared with a realistic timetable and implementation plan."
Long stigmatized because of its "high"-inducing cousins, hemp — derived from low-hallucinogenic varieties of cannabis — is making a comeback, not just as a source of fiber for textiles, but also as a crop packed with oils that have potential health benefits. A new study, which appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, details just how many healthful compounds hempseed oil contains.
HOUSTON, Jan. 29, 2014 – A new theoretical model developed by professors at the University of Houston (UH) and Université de Montréal may hold the key to methods for developing better materials for solar cells.