A Surprise from Metallic Grills
Physics

A Surprise from Metallic Grills

Researchers have carried out a new study using a metallic grid and infrared light. A light-matter coupling regime in which the local coupling strength can be 3,5 times greater than the average global coupling strength of the material [more…]

A New Generation Light Source
Physics

A New Generation Light Source

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's Linac Coherent Light Source, an x-ray free electron laser, is operating for the first time after an upgrade that will enable it to produce one million x-ray pulses per second. Twenty years [more…]

Conscious Awareness in Babies
SCIENCE

Conscious Awareness in Babies

Researchers used human newborns as test subjects to examine the age-old question of agency. They were able to connect a baby's foot to a mobile device mounted on his crib and track the moment the baby realized he could influence his environment. [more…]

Hydrogen Production from Used Plastic
Environment and Climate

Hydrogen Production from Used Plastic

Although hydrogen production is seen as a potential replacement for fossil fuels, the processes either produce too much carbon dioxide or are too expensive. Obtaining hydrogen from plastic garbage by Rice University researchers [more…]

Topological Phonons of Graphene
SCIENCE

Topological Phonons of Graphene

New research reveals graphene's unusual phonon spectrum with remarkable completeness. During crystallization, atoms are separated into broad energy bands. The electrical properties of the crystal are determined by this level spread, but this is not the only [more…]

Is Task Complexity the Cause of Brain Asymmetry?
Biology

Is Task Complexity the Cause of Brain Asymmetry?

Animal brains have somewhat mirror-symmetric neural networks, and asymmetries are hypothesized to be more common in species with higher cognitive abilities. This assumption suggests that more sophisticated neural tasks involve mirror-symmetric neural circuits in the brain. [more…]

If Personal Robots Were Cuter
SCIENCE

If Personal Robots Were Cuter

At the Media Lab, a research scientist named Sharifa Alghowinem is researching personal robot technology that can explain emotions in both English and Arabic. Research science at the Personal Robotics Group (PRG) at the MIT Media Lab [more…]

Producing Tiny Artificial Eyelashes
Biology

Producing Tiny Artificial Eyelashes

With the help of small magnetic rods and a rotating magnetic field, scientists were able to mimic the undulating motion of hair-like structures on cell surfaces. Thanks to the coordinated fluctuation of hair-like structures known as cilia, [more…]