Sustainable Flourishing

Scientists Cracked the Code to Capturing Ultrafast Electron Motion in Real Time – SciTechDaily

pgnewser March 19, 2025 0

Scientists Cracked the Code to Capturing Ultrafast Electron Motion in Real Time – SciTechDaily
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Researchers have simplified a highly complex quantum imaging technique, 2DES, used to observe ultrafast electron interactions.

By refining an existing interferometer design, they improved control over laser pulses, unlocking new capabilities for studying energy transfer in materials.

Unveiling the Ultrafast World of Electrons

The ultrafast movements and interactions of electrons in molecules and solids have long been difficult to observe directly. In recent years, scientists have developed methods to study these quantum processes, such as chemical reactions, solar energy conversion, and quantum computing operations, in real-time with extreme precision.

One of the most advanced techniques for this is two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES), which can track electron dynamics with a resolution of just a few femtoseconds (quadrillionths of a second). However, 2DES is highly complex and has only been used by a few research teams worldwide.

Spooky Action Could Bring Quantum Computers to Life

pgnewser March 11, 2025 0

Scientists discover simpler way to achieve Einstein’s ‘spooky action at a distance’ thanks to AI breakthrough — bringing quantum internet closer to reality– www.space.com
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Scientists have used AI to discover an easier method to form quantum entanglement between subatomic particles, paving the way for simpler quantum technologies.

When particles such as photons become entangled, they can share quantum properties — including information — regardless of the distance between them. This phenomenon is important in quantum physics and is one of the features that makes quantum computers so powerful.

But the bonds of quantum entanglement have typically proven challenging for scientists to form. This is because it requires the preparation of two separate entangled pairs, then measuring the strength of entanglement — called a Bell-state measurement — on a photon from each of the pairs.

These measurements cause the quantum system to collapse and leave the two unmeasured photons entangled, despite them never having directly interacted with one another. This process of “entanglement swapping” could be used for quantum teleportation.

Printed nanoparticle sensors could enable personalised healthcare – Professional Engineering

pgnewser February 4, 2025 0

Printed nanoparticle sensors could enable personalised healthcare – Professional Engineering
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Personalised healthcare could transform medicine. By tracking and measuring patients’ conditions, doctors could deliver the precise combination of nutrients and medications they need, stabilising and improving conditions.

To make that possible, healthcare professionals need a way to continuously monitor certain biomarkers. Wearable and implantable sensors offer a way to do that – but until now, scaling up production has been a challenge.

A team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology hope to change that with a new technique for inkjet printing arrays of special nanoparticles, which could be used in mass production of long-lasting wearable sweat sensors. These could monitor biomarkers such as vitamins, hormones and medications in real time, allowing patients and physicians to track changes.

Wearable biosensors that incorporate the new nanoparticles have already been used to monitor metabolites in patients suffering from long Covid, and the levels of chemotherapy drugs in cancer patients.

“These are just two examples of what is possible,” said Professor Wei Gao, corresponding author of a paper describing the new technique. “There are many chronic conditions… that these sensors now give us the possibility to monitor continuously and non-invasively.”

Scientists identify neurons in mice that, once activated, can change body’s metabolic rate, induce hibernation-like state– www.sciencedaily.com

pgnewser January 27, 2025 0

Scientists identify neurons in mice that, once activated, can change body’s metabolic rate, induce hibernation-like state– www.sciencedaily.com
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A team led by researchers at Georgia State University has identified a novel group of neurons controlling the brain-heart-gut axis which can be activated to induce a hypometabolic state that resembles hibernation. The discovery could have wide-ranging impacts for scientific fields ranging from obesity to cardiometabolic health, and even space travel.

The new study is published in the journal Nature Metabolism.

Lead author Eric Krause is a professor of neuroscience, a Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Distinguished Investigator at Georgia State University and a core member of the Center for Neuroinflammation and Cardiometabolic Disease (CNCD). Krause worked with researchers from the University of Florida and the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.

“We identified this population of neurons located near the base of the skull that relay the sensation of mechanical stretch exerted on the gut and heart to the brain. When these neurons are activated, they seem to recreate the sensation of feeling full or having increased blood pressure,” Krause said. “We found that activating these neurons suppresses eating and lowers blood pressure, heart rate and whole-body metabolism.”

During the research, the team discovered that simultaneous, recurrent firing of these neurons in mice produces a torpor-like state, similar to that of animals in hibernation, characterized by reductions in cardiac output, body temperature and energy expenditure.

“We found that repeated excitation of the neurons decreased body mass and produced a hypometabolic state without inducing anxiety-like behaviors that are often observed with chronic stress,” Krause said. “This is changing what we know about body-to-brain communication and how profoundly it affects physiology and behavior.”