Looking at the night sky, one's thoughts might be drawn to astrochemistry. What molecules inhabit the vast spaces between the stars? Would we see the same molecules that surround us here on Earth? Or would some of them be more exotic--something rarely observed or even unknown? Recent research by a multinational team led by Prof. Robert Ko?os from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences has revealed an unusual molecule obtained and detected for the first time in laboratory conditions and also paved a smooth path to produce and further study another. Now that they can be seen and studied, they may prove worthy ...

Until now, it was only possible to optimize an acoustic cloaking structure for the air-environment. However, with this latest research, Acoustic cloak designed by topology optimization for acoustic-elastic coupled systems, published in the latest Applied Physics Letters, it is possible to design an acoustic cloak for underwater environments. In the conventional topology optimization of acoustic cloaking, the design method was based on an analysis that approximated an elastic body in the air as a rigid body. However, since the approximation holds only for materials that are sufficiently ...

Two types of materials are better than one when it comes to solar cells, as revealed by an international team that has tested a new combination of materials and architecture to improve solar-cell efficiency. Silicon has long dominated as the premier material for solar cells, helped by its abundance as a raw material. However, perovskites, a class of hybrid organic-inorganic material, are a viable alternative due to their low-cost and large-scale manufacture and potentially higher performance. While still too unstable for full commercialization, they might become available to the market by 2022. KAUST's Michele ...

It was not the fly itself that caught the scientists' attention, but its bulging abdomen suggesting it was still full with the fly's last food intake. Surprisingly, analysis of the stomach content revealed it was full with pollen from different plants. The fossil pollen from the fly's stomach was used to reconstruct the ancient environment inhabited by the fly, the biotic interactions between plant and fly, and the fly's behaviour during feeding. Flies as pollinators Today, bees, butterflies and bumblebees are the typical pollinators, which are also known to feed on pollen. That flies also play an important role in pollination ...

BOs describe the periodic movement of electrons in solids to which an external static electric field is applied. However, it is challenging to measure the BOs directly in natural solids since the relaxation time of electrons is usually much shorter than the oscillation period. To date, analogies of electron BOs have been extended to the synthetic dimensions of time, frequency and angular momenta. In previous studies, the frequency BOs have been experimentally demonstrated in a nonlinear fibre with cross-phase modulation. However, the frequency spectrum has ...

An innovative analysis of two-dimensional (2D) materials from engineers at the University of Surrey could boost the development of next-generation solar cells and LEDs. Three-dimensional perovskites have proved themselves remarkably successful materials for LED devices and solar panels in the past decade. One key issue with these materials, however, is their stability, with device performance decreasing quicker than other state-of-the-art materials. The engineering community believes the 2D variant of perovskites could provide answers to these performance issues. In a study published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, researchers from Surrey's Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) detail how to improve the physical properties of 2D perovskite called Ruddlesden-Popper. The study ...

Recently, a research group led by Prof. WAN Yinhua from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a novel targeted modification strategy to improve the separation selectivity of polyamide NF membranes. The study was published in Journal of Membrane Science on March 10. The low selectivity of commercial nanofiltration (NF) membranes to monosaccharides and monovalent salts is mainly due to the nonuniform pore size distribution and strong electronegativity. Targeted modification can regulate the pore size distribution and electronegativity of polyamide NF membranes, and thus improve the separation selectivity. In the strategy, carboxyl groups (-COOH) on the surface are activated by N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethyl ...

An international collaboration headed by researchers from iPSYCH has found genetic variants that increase the risk of aggression in children with ADHD. In the same study, the researchers also discovered that the genetics which increase aggression in some children with ADHD, are the same genetics that affect aggression in children without a diagnosis. For the first time, researchers have found positions in the genome that increase the risk of getting ADHD with disruptive behaviour disorders (DBDs). DBDs are child psychiatric disorders characterised by antisocial and ...

Most new achievements in artificial intelligence (AI) require very large neural networks. They consist of hundreds of millions of neurons arranged in several hundred layers, i.e. they have very "deep" network structures. These large, deep neural networks consume a lot of energy in the computer. Those neural networks that are used in image classification (e.g. face and object recognition) are particularly energy-intensive, since they have to send very many numerical values from one neuron layer to the next with great accuracy in each time cycle. Computer scientist Wolfgang Maass, together with his PhD student Christoph Stöckl, has ...

The genetics of human eye colour is much more complex than previously thought, according to a new study published today. An international team of researchers led by King's College London and Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam have identified 50 new genes for eye colour in the largest genetic study of its kind to date. The study, published today in Science Advances, involved the genetic analysis of almost 195,000 people across Europe and Asia. These findings will help to improve the understanding of eye diseases such as pigmentary glaucoma and ocular albinism, where eye pigment levels play a role. In addition, the team found ...

Extremely preterm infants can suffer from a life-threatening inflammation of the gut. A new clinical study has shown that supplements of a lactic acid bacterium may have positive effects by increasing the diversity of intestinal bacteria in these infants. The study has been led by researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, and published in the scientific journal Cell Reports Medicine. A litre of milk weighs a kilogram. Most infants who are born extremely prematurely weigh less than that. An infant who should have developed and grown for three more months in the protective environment of the mother's womb is, of course, extremely vulnerable. As a consequence of advances in neonatal care, many premature infants survive, although one out of four of the extremely ...

Robots solving computer games, recognizing human voices, or helping in finding optimal medical treatments: those are only a few astonishing examples of what the field of artificial intelligence has produced in the past years. The ongoing race for better machines has led to the question of how and with what means improvements can be achieved. In parallel, huge recent progress in quantum technologies have confirmed the power of quantum physics, not only for its often peculiar and puzzling theories, but also for real-life applications. Hence, the idea of merging the two fields: on one hand, artificial intelligence ...

Scientists have discovered a route of introduction for High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIV) H5N8 into Japan and, in parallel, have investigated the potential of two human anti-influenza drugs for the control of HPAI in birds. Since October 30, 2020, there have been over 30 recorded outbreaks of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) in domestic poultry and wild fowl in Japan. This outbreak was caused by the influenza A virus H5N8, a known High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIV). In such a scenario, identification of the source of the virus and its transmission route is important to control its spread. A team of scientists led by Professor Yoshihiro Sakoda of Hokkaido University have recently found the probable route of introduction of ...

WASHINGTON -- Researchers have developed a noninvasive technique that can capture images of rod and cone photoreceptors with unprecedented detail. The advance could lead to new treatments and earlier detection for retinal diseases such as macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss. "We are hopeful that this technique will better reveal subtle changes in the size, shape and distribution of rod and cone photoreceptors in diseases that affect the retina," said research team leader Johnny Tam from the National Eye Institute. "Figuring out what happens to these cells before they are lost is an important step toward developing earlier interventions to treat and prevent blindness." In Optica, The Optical Society's (OSA) journal for high impact research, the researchers show that ...

A team led by scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI) has noninvasively visualized the light-sensing cells in the back of the eye, known as photoreceptors, in greater detail than ever before. Published in Optica, the researchers report how they improved imaging resolution by a third by selectively blocking the light used to image the eye. NEI is part of the National Institutes of Health. The achievement is the latest in an evolving strategy to monitor cell changes in retinal tissue that, in turn, will help identify new ways to treat and prevent vision loss from diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in people age ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- Non-O blood type may increase the risk of stroke among women who smoke and take oral contraceptives, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. According to the most recent comprehensive data (January 2020) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and a major contributor to long-term disability. Some risk factors ...

Rainbows are some of the most spectacular optical phenomena in the natural world and Hawai'i has an amazing abundance of them. In a new publication, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa makes an impassioned case for Hawaii being the best place on Earth to experience the wonder of rainbows. He begins by highlighting the Hawaiian cultural significance of rainbows, he reviews the science of rainbows and the special combination of circumstances that makes Hawai'i a haven for rainbows. "The cultural importance of rainbows is reflected in the Hawaiian language, which has many words and phrases to describe the variety of manifestations in Hawai'i," said author Steven Businger, professor in the UH ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- Stroke patients were nearly 50% more likely than heart attack patients to develop depression, and female stroke patients had a higher risk of depression than their male counterparts, according to two preliminary studies by the same research group to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. In what researchers described as one of the largest ...

Researchers in Japan have used a novel, ultra-fast technique to explore the fine structure of a potential alternative material to lead titanate, a ferroelectric material widely used for sensors in many everyday devices. Understanding this structure takes us a step closer to eliminating these remaining sources of lead pollution. The study appeared in the materials science journal Acta Materialia on 21 January. Ferroelectric materials are used in a wide range of practical applications, from capacitors to memory cells, medical ultrasound to data storage and displays. These materials have a spontaneous polarization, or direction, of their electrons that can be switched back and forth via the application of an electric field, called ferroelectricity. Worldwide, society is increasingly ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- When NA1, a neuroprotectant, was delivered to the brain in nanoparticles, it reduced stroke severity and improved survival in a mouse model of stroke, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. In an earlier human trial (the ESCAPE-NA1 trial), NA1, a small peptide designed to save brain cells from death after stroke, showed mixed results when NA1 was administered to patients undergoing clot removal for severe ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021-- Stroke survivors may be more likely to attempt or die by suicide than people who have not had a stroke, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. This study will be simultaneously published in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke. Rates of depression among stroke survivors range from 28% to 35%, and stroke is considered an independent risk factor for depression. Since depression after a stroke has been associated with increased suicidal ...

Contains updated information not available in the abstract. DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- Having an ischemic stroke increases dementia risk, and that risk escalates with the number and severity of strokes, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. Ischemic stroke is the most common stroke type, accounting for 87% of all strokes. It occurs when a vessel supplying blood to the brain is obstructed. Stroke is the leading preventable cause ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 — For every 10-minute delay between arrival at the emergency room (ER) and starting stroke treatment, patients with severe strokes may lose eight weeks of healthy life, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. Delays between the onset of stroke symptoms and arrival at the hospital have long been known to cost lives and brain cells. “Our study showed that delays in treatment at the hospital ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 — Pictures of the retina may someday provide early warning signs that a person is at an increased risk of stroke and dementia, making it possible to take preventive measures, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. Studies have shown that people with severe retinopathy, damage to the light-sensing ...

DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- Discriminatory housing policies that restricted the sale or purchase of homes by race in certain neighborhoods across the U.S., called 'redlining,' which were established nearly a century ago and outlawed by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, were associated with higher rates of stroke in the same neighborhoods in 2017, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. "Differences in stroke rates, whether we are studying ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, ...