Researchers harness blurred light to 3D print high quality optical components
Canadian researchers have developed a new 3D printing method called blurred tomography that can rapidly produce microlenses with commercial-level optical quality. The new method may make it easier and faster to design and fabricate a variety of optical devices. “We…
Chemists produce new-to-nature enzyme containing boron
Boronic acid has been used in organic chemistry for decades, even though it is not present in any organism. ‘It gives rise to different chemical reactions than those we find in nature,’ explains Gerard Roelfes, Professor of Biomolecular Chemistry &…
‘Wraparound’ implants represent new approach to treating spinal cord injuries
A tiny, flexible electronic device that wraps around the spinal cord could represent a new approach to the treatment of spinal injuries, which can cause profound disability and paralysis. A team of engineers, neuroscientists and surgeons from the University of…
This sound-suppressing silk can create quiet spaces
We are living in a very noisy world. From the hum of traffic outside your window to the next-door neighbor’s blaring TV to sounds from a co-worker’s cubicle, unwanted noise remains a resounding problem. To cut through the din, an…
Venus has almost no water: A new study may reveal why
Planetary scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered how Venus, Earth’s scalding and uninhabitable neighbor, became so dry. The new study fills in a big gap in what the researchers call “the water story on Venus.” Using computer…
Geologists, biologists unearth the atomic fingerprints of cancer
Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder and Princeton University have, for the first time, employed a tool often used in geology to detect the atomic fingerprints of cancer. In a case of medicine meets earth science, the researchers discovered…
New discoveries about Jupiter’s magnetosphere
New discoveries about Jupiter could lead to a better understanding of Earth’s own space environment and influence a long-running scientific debate about the solar system’s largest planet. “By exploring a larger space such as Jupiter, we can better understand the…
Stony coral tissue loss disease is shifting the ecological balance of Caribbean reefs
The outbreak of a deadly disease called stony coral tissue loss disease is destroying susceptible species of coral in the Caribbean while helping other, “weedier” organisms thrive — at least for now — according to a new study published today…
Physics confirms that the enemy of your enemy is, indeed, your friend
Now, Northwestern University researchers have used statistical physics to confirm the theory that underlies this famous axiom. The study will be published on May 3 in the journal Science Advances. In the 1940s, Austrian psychologist Fritz Heider introduced social balance…
Quantifying U.S. health impacts from gas stoves
Households with gas or propane stoves regularly breathe unhealthy levels of nitrogen dioxide, a study of air pollution in U.S. homes found. “I didn’t expect to see pollutant concentrations breach health benchmarks in bedrooms within an hour of gas stove…