Latest News Releases12 April

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) has attracted increasing attention owing to its promising applications in organic light-emitting diodes, optical information processing, and chemical and biological sensing. In a new paper published in Light: Science & Application, researchers from the Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (NUPT) have summarized the recent advances in CPL-active organic micro-/nano-structures, which have been regarded as promising candidates for CPL due to their high quantum efficiency and luminescence dissymmetry factor (glum).

A new method was developed for high-resolution detection of landslides based on seismic data. This method was applied to detect landslides that occurred during the transit of Typhoon Talas across western Japan in 2011. Multiple landslides were detected and located, including one in Shizuoka Prefecture, 400 km east of the typhoon's track. The results show that large and small landslides may follow the same scaling relationships. This method may help develop landslide emergency alert technology.

Vectorial optical fields (VOFs) exhibiting arbitrarily designed wave-fronts and polarization distributions are highly desired in photonics. To efficiently generate arbitrary VOFs, Scientist in China proposed a generic approach based on metasurfaces exhibiting full-matrix yet inhomogeneous Jones-matrix distributions. Based on their strategy, efficient generations of complex VOFs in both far- and near-field were experimentally demonstrated in NIR regime. The proposed meta-platform opens new avenues for diversified photonic applications, such as optical trapping, super-resolution imaging.

Largest range of resins developed by SUTD are tougher and will allow for more robust integration of mechatronic components in 3D printed multi-material structures.

Osaka/Hokkaido University researchers established a novel PCR-based, bacterium-free reverse genetics system for SARS-CoV-2 using the CPER method, which is simpler and faster than previous methods. Large numbers of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 can be produced in about two weeks. This method can be used to modify the viral genome, allowing detailed study of the functions of mutations and the pathogenesis of COVID-19, and could speed the development of preventative measures and therapeutic strategies for the disease.

A new study found that the ENSO-Indian rainfall relationship has been restoring since 1999/2000.

Ammonia (NH3) is mass-produced for use in the agricultural, pharmaceutical, and sustainable energy sectors. However, its conventional synthesis methods are environmentally unfriendly, so we need alternatives! Recently, Scientists from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, developed a new cost-effective and durable electrocatalyst that mimics a natural enzyme to produce NH3 from nitrogen in the air. Their findings take us a step closer to safer and cleaner ways to electrochemically produce NH3.

A simple yet elegant change to code studied for more than 20 years could shorten timeline to achieve scalable quantum computation and has attracted the attention of quantum computing programs at Amazon Web Services and Yale University.

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 emergence of 2D puddles of superconductivity within a 3D superconductor may be an example of how 3D superconductors reorganize themselves just before undergoing an abrupt shift into an insulating state. It also suggests a novel and potentially easier way to make 2D materials.