Amniotic fluid contains cells, cells shed by the growing fetus and which could be used to build “mini organs” in vitro, as a new study reports . What do we mean by “mini organs”? This so-called organoids are 3D cellular systems that aim to replicate the structure and function of real organs but at a […]
Condensed matter • Nanotechnology • Particle physics • Physics
Superconductors can carry large electrical currents without any resistance. One situation where they don’t carry currents without resistance is when there is too much current. By designing microscopic electronic components made from very thin superconductors, researchers can use this effect to create a switch, like a transistor. Nanowire superconducting switching devices (called nanocryotrons, or nTrons […]
Blind quantum computing promises widespread access A breakthrough method to securely connect a quantum computing server to an independent computer over existing fiber optic networks could allow home or office computers to access quantum computing through the cloud,. The method dubbed blind quantum computing uses unique combinations of quantum memory and photons to ensure data […]
A team of researchers has successfully synthesized the first 2D heavy fermion material. The new material is a layered intermetallic crystal composed of cerium, silicon, and iodine (CeSiI) . Heavy fermion compounds are a class of materials with electrons that are up to 1000x heavier than usual. In these materials, electrons get tangled up with […]
I will close this series by commenting on the most conspicuous element of the contemporary debate about whether science points towards the existence of some kind of ‘cosmic purpose’: the possibility that the universe we observe is only a vanishingly small part of a mega-infinity of worlds – the multiverse, and more specifically, the inflationary […]
Many books have been published on the history of science. Each one provides a specific insight, and together they offer a fairly complete overview of the evolution of a substantial part of the intellectual heritage of mankind. The book I will review in these lines is, from that point of view, one more. One more […]
Authors: Elissa-Marie Cocquyt, speech therapist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Groningen & Adrià Rofes, assistant professor of Neurolinguistics at the University of Groningen. The human brain is one of the most wonderful organs. In general, our brain consists of a left and right part, of which the outermost layer is called the ‘cortex’ […]
Fossils of 2 new mammal species clarify evolution’s path Teeth, ears and jaws of two newly identified mammal species could help scientists understand mammals’ evolution from crocodilians, dinosaurs and lizards. Specimens of Feredocodon chowi, mouse-size members of the family shuotheriids from the Jurassic period, have molars more like reptiles than modern mammals, and the middle […]
Scientists sketch face of 1,500-year-old Chinese emperor DNA analysis, an almost complete skull and open-source software have enabled scientists to reconstruct the face of Emperor Wu, who ruled China’s Northern Zhou dynasty around 1,500 years ago and whose remains were found in 1996. Scientists have extracted more than a million single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or differences in […]