Light beams are widely used in photonics applications and attracted immense research interests. Compared to homogeneously polarized light beams, vectorial optical fields (VOFs) with tailored wave-fronts and inhomogeneous polarization distributions exhibits more advantages in applications comparing to their scalar-wave counterparts, thanks to the added degree of freedom (DOF) of polarization. By tailoring the polarization distributions, special VOFs such as flap-top beams and radially polarized beams can be generated, being highly favored in super-resolution microscopy, optical manipulations, etc. Despite of great advances in applications, generation of such complex VOFs are far from satisfactory. Available methods ...

In a study published in Applied Materials Today, researchers from Singapore have developed the largest range of silicone and epoxy hybrid resins for the 3D printing of wearable devices, biomedical equipment, and soft robotics. The range of tunable functionally graded materials, which displayed over five orders of magnitude of elastic modulus, demonstrated excellent interfacial toughness, higher precision in complex structures and better fabrication control for the integration of mechatronic components. The multi-disciplinary team from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) highlighted the issue on the potential of soft robotics being limited in its robustness and ...

Osaka, Japan - SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. We know that mutations in the genome of SARS-CoV-2 have occurred and spread, but what effect do those mutations have? Current methods for studying mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome are very complicated and time-consuming because coronaviruses have large genomes, but now a team from Osaka University and Hokkaido University have developed a quick, PCR-based reverse genetics system for analyzing SARS-CoV-2 mutations. This system uses the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a circular polymerase extension reaction (CPER) to reconstruct the full-length cDNA of viral genome. This process does not involve the use of bacteria, which can introduce further ...

In the 1930s, English climatologist, Sir Gilbert Walker, successfully predicted Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) based on the relationship between Southern Oscillation and ISMR connected by what is later-called Walker circulation, which is regarded as the first achievement of modern climate prediction with a clear physical mechanism. The Southern Oscillation was also recognized as the atmospheric component of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, at the end of the 20th century, a research in Science led by Indian climatologist Krishna Kumar found the significant reverse relationship between ENSO and Indian rainfall has been ...

Ammonia (NH3) is among the most important chemicals produced by humans and has a promising future in sustainable energy applications besides being used in fertilizer production. Unfortunately, so far, the only realistic way that exists to produce ammonia at an industrial scale is through the Haber-Bosch process. This technique, discovered in the 19th century, is very energy-intensive and environmentally unfriendly; about 2% of the yearly global CO2 emissions come from Haber-Bosch processes. "Considering the threats posed by global warming, it is high time we swap to an ammonia synthesis route with zero CO2 emissions," says Professor Sangaraju Shanmugam from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Korea. ...

What started out as a second-year physics project is making its way into Amazon Web Service's (AWS) quantum computing program. University of Sydney science undergraduate Pablo Bonilla Ataides has tweaked some computing code to effectively double its capacity to correct errors in the quantum machines being designed in the emerging technology sector. The simple but ingenious change to quantum error correcting code has grabbed the attention of quantum researchers at the AWS Center for Quantum Computing in Pasadena, California, and the quantum technology programs at Yale University and Duke University in the United States. "Quantum technology is in its infancy, partly because we haven't ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. - A new study by Oregon State University researchers found that shade provided by solar panels increased the abundance of flowers under the panels and delayed the timing of their bloom, both findings that could aid the agricultural community. The study, believed to be the first that looked at the impact of solar panels on flowering plants and insects, has important implications for solar developers who manage the land under solar panels, as well as agriculture and pollinator health advocates who are seeking land for pollinator habitat restoration. The findings, ...

Durham, NC - When leukemia strikes an older person, it is in part due to the aging of his or her hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These immature cells can develop into all types of blood cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. As such, researchers have focused on rejuvenating HSCs as a way to treat leukemia. A new study released today in STEM CELLS adds much to that level of knowledge by showing that the youthful function of rejuvenated HSCs upon transplantation depends in part on a young bone marrow "niche," which is the microenvironment surrounding stem cells that interacts with them to regulate their fate. "The information revealed by our study tells us that the influence of this niche ...

Ancient clues, in the shape of fossils and archaeological evidence of varying quality scattered across Australia, have formed the basis of several hypotheses about the fate of megafauna that vanished about 42,000 years ago from the ancient continent of Sahul, comprising mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea and neighbouring islands. There is a growing consensus that multiple factors were at play, including climate change, the impact of people on the environment, and access to freshwater sources. Now, research led by Professor Corey Bradshaw of Flinders University and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence of Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH) has used sophisticated mathematical modelling to assess how susceptible different species were to extinction - and what ...

April 13th, 2021, Washington, D.C. - The severe health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted food systems and upended livelihoods. Yet pandemic responses have demonstrated the power of well-crafted policies to blunt the impact of major shocks while laying the groundwork for stronger, more resilient food systems, according to the 2021 Global Food Policy Report, released today by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The report provides lessons drawn from the current crisis that can help us transform food systems to reduce the impact of the ongoing pandemic, better prepare for future shocks, and address longstanding weaknesses and inequalities. "We have known ...

In the early time of optical design, people have to be proficient in aberration theory and perform a huge amount of numerical calculations, and thus mathematical skills and talents are very important. The emergence of electronic computers has freed people from heavy calculation tasks, and realized fast real ray tracing and been able to solve complex aberration equations. Since then, the application and development of optimization algorithms and optical design software have greatly improved the speed and effect of optical design. However, optical design still requires to solve or find an initial solution as the starting point of optimization, which will greatly determine the final result of optimization. Moreover, optimization is essentially ...

The top priority in the field of transplantation is to ensure that donor organs are allocated to the patients with the greatest need. In a large-scale joint international project conducted by the Medical University of Vienna and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester (USA), researchers from the Department of General Surgery and the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of MedUni Vienna's Department of Medicine III, have made a significant step forward to improve prediction of survival on the waiting list for liver transplantation by including additional laboratory parameters. Donor ...

In recent years the boom in streaming platforms and video on demand services has led to disruption in audiences, representing a difficulty when measuring the number of viewers of the content distributed by these platforms. This new situation has not only altered the traditional television and film viewing model, but also has impacted the advertising market, which is a fundamental factor in funding and the business of audiovisual entertainment. In this context, real and objective audience measurement (which is not influenced by the interests of the platforms) has become a key objective; it is fundamental to obtain real-time data on the reach of each production ...

When trees die during a period of drought, they die of thirst. Researchers from the University of Basel have demonstrated in a field study that a rapid collapse in the hydraulic system is responsible for tree death. And they found out that the trees possibly die more rapidly than previously thought. The heatwave of summer 2018 was an exceptional situation - both for nature and for research. Although admittedly hard on our native woods, it also presented an opportunity for researchers at the University of Basel to closely study the reaction of trees to this weather phenomenon. The research group led by Professor Ansgar Kahmen had already set up a research area in the Basel-Landschaft municipality of Hölstein the previous year. Their aim was to study the tree ...

Misinformation in public debates about scientific issues such as vaccinations and climate change can be found all over the internet, especially on social media. In a new study, Sara K. Yeo, associate professor of communication at the University of Utah, examines why it's so difficult to detect science misinformation and suggests that using humor may help combat the issue. In the article, published in Proceedings of National Academics of Sciences, Yeo and her colleague Meaghan McKasy, assistant professor of communication at Utah Valley University, argue that limited science and media literacy combined with structural constraints such as fewer ...

Low-dimensional colloidal quantum dots (CQD) have attracted significant attention because of their unique structures, extraordinary optical properties, and low-cost preparation processes. Since its first synthesis in the 1990s, motivation to realize high-performance low-cost CQD micro-/nanolasers have been a driving force for more than three decades. However, the low packing density, inefficient coupling of CQD with optical cavities, and the poor thermal stability of miniaturized complex systems make it challenging to achieve practical CQD micro-/nanolasers, especially to combine the continuous working ...

Osaka, Japan - Fluorescence spectroscopy is indispensable in biomedical diagnostics. One can think of turning on fluorescence as turning on a flashlight in a dark room. A diagnostic assay can be designed to label, for example, a specific molecule of DNA with a fluorescent probe. If that specific molecule of DNA is present, you see fluorescence or a change in the fluorescence. Sometimes an otherwise fluorescent molecule stops emitting light for a brief period of time. This is called fluorescence blinking, which can make it difficult to detect biomolecules at the ultralow concentrations ...

Human blood contains several different components, including plasma, red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets. Among these, WBCs are divided into numerous subcategories each with unique functions and characteristics, such as lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, and others. Lymphocytes are further subdivided into T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and NK cells. Distinguishing and separating different types of these cells is highly important in carrying out studies in the field of immunology. Discriminating different immune cell types is typically done by flow cytometry and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), which can identify distinct populations ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- In a state with greater income inequality, the happiest place to occupy is not at the pinnacle of the income distribution, as one might think, but somewhere in the middle that provides clear vantage points of people like ourselves, a new study suggests. According to sociologist Tim Liao of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, it's the ability to compare ourselves with people of similar backgrounds, both people who earn more and others who earn less, that determine how our income affects our happiness - not the absolute amount we earn. "Contrary to popular belief, more income does not necessarily make people happier. The actual amount a person earns doesn't matter much in terms of happiness," Liao said. "People who can make both upward and ...

New study with 756 1st through 5th graders demonstrates that a six-week mashup of hoops and math has a positive effect on their desire to learn more, provides them with an experience of increased self-determination and grows math confidence among youth. The Basketball Mathematics study was conducted at five Danish primary and elementary schools by researchers from the University of Copenhagen's Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports. Over the past decades, there has been a considerable amount of attention paid to explore different approaches to stimulate children's learning. Especially, there has been a focus on how physical activity, separated from the learning activities, can improve children's cognitive performance ...

Asthma afflicts more than 300 million people worldwide. The most severe manifestation, known as non-Th2, or non-atopic childhood asthma, represents the majority of the cases, greater than 85%, particularly in low-income countries, according to Hyunok Choi (https://health.lehigh.edu/faculty/choi-hyunok), an associate professor at the Lehigh University College of Health (https://health.lehigh.edu/). Yet, whether non-Th2 is a distinct disease (or endotype) or simply a unique set of symptoms (or phenotype) remains unknown. "Non-Th2 asthma is associated with very poor prognosis in children and great, life-long suffering due to the absence of effective therapies," says Choi. "There is an urgent need to better understand its mechanistic origin to enable early diagnosis and to stop the progression ...

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 -- From Los Angeles and the Lower East Side of New York City to Paris and Penang, street art by famous and not-so-famous artists adorns highways, roads and alleys. In addition to creating social statements, works of beauty and tourist attractions, street art sometimes attracts vandals who add their unwanted graffiti, which is hard to remove without destroying the underlying painting. Now, researchers report novel, environmentally friendly techniques that quickly and safely remove over-paintings on street art. The researchers will present their results today at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Spring 2021 is being held online April 5-30. Live sessions will be hosted April 5-16, and on-demand and networking ...

WHAT: A large study of children has uncovered evidence that behavioral problems in children who snore may be associated with changes in the structure of their brain's frontal lobe. The findings support early evaluation of children with habitual snoring (snoring three or more nights a week). The research, published in Nature Communications, was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and nine other Institutes, Centers, and Offices of the National Institutes of Health. Large, population-based studies have established a clear link between snoring and behavioral problems, such as inattention or hyperactivity, but the exact nature ...

Ammonoids, ancestors of today's octopus, squid and cuttlefish, bobbed and jetted their way through the oceans for around 340 million years beginning long before the age of the dinosaurs. If you look at the fossil shells of ammonoids over the course of that 340 million years, you'll notice something striking--as time goes on, the wavy lines inside the shell become more and more complex, eventually becoming frilled almost like the edges of kale leaves. Fossil of Menuites oralensis with external shell removed to reveal intricate suture patterns. These ...

Children who regularly snore have structural changes in their brain that may account for the behavioral problems associated with the condition including lack of focus, hyperactivity, and learning difficulties at school. That is the finding of a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), which was published today in the journal Nature Communications. The research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and nine other Institutes, Centers, and Offices of the National Institutes of Health. To conduct study, the researchers examined MRI images collected from more than 10,000 children aged 9 to 10 years enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development ...