The next step is to combine a charged nanopore setup with a sensor to build a DNA sequencing device that would incorporate both motion control and nucleotide recognition.
and amount of circuitry disruption indicating that a greater loss of stem cells led to a larger degree of disorganization in the olfactory bulb.
The study led to another important discovery about egg-cell development. Although it was known that developing egg cells go through a bottleneck period that decreases the number of mtdna molecules scientists didn't know how small
Semiconductors which form the basis of modern electronics are doped by adding a small number of impure atoms to tune their properties for specific applications.
Theory-based calculations for dopant motion in aluminum nitride predicted faster diffusion for cerium atoms than for manganese atoms.
In the study the researchers used a scanning transmission electron microscope to observe the diffusion processes of cerium and manganese dopant atoms.
and technologies such as energy saving LED LIGHTS where dopants can affect color and atom movement can determine the failure modes.
The new technology is designed for conventional lithium-ion batteries now used in billions of cellphones laptops and other electronic devices as well as a growing number of cars and airplanes.
In 2006 the Sony Corporation recalled millions of lithium-ion batteries after reports of more than a dozen consumer-laptop fires.
A typical lithium-ion battery consists of two tightly packed electrodes--a carbon anode and a lithium metal-oxide cathode--with an ultrathin polymer separator in between.
The separator keeps the electrodes apart. If it's damaged the battery could short-circuit and ignite the flammable electrolyte solution that shuttles lithium ions back and forth.
so that lithium ions can flow between the electrodes as the battery charges and discharges. Manufacturing defects such as particles of metal and dust can pierce the separator
and trigger shorting as Sony discovered in 2006. Shorting can also occur if the battery is charged too fast
and his colleagues applied a nanolayer of copper onto one side of a polymer separator creating a novel third electrode halfway between the anode and the cathode.
The copper layer acts like a sensor that allows you to measure the voltage difference between the anode
and we start to replace onboard electronics on airplanes this will become a much larger problem Zhuo said.
NTU Singapore's scientists replaced the traditional graphite used for the anode (negative pole) in lithium-ion batteries with a new gel material made from titanium dioxide an abundant cheap and safe material found in soil.
Naturally found in a spherical shape NTU Singapore developed a simple method to turn titanium dioxide particles into tiny nanotubes that are a thousand times thinner than the diameter of a human hair.
Invented by Associate professor Chen Xiaodong from the School of Materials science and engineering at NTU Singapore the science behind the formation of the new titanium dioxide gel was published in the latest issue of Advanced Materials a leading international scientific journal
since Sony commercialised it in 1991 the market is fast expanding towards new applications in electric mobility
Lithium-ion batteries usually use additives to bind the electrodes to the anode which affects the speed in
However Prof Chen's new cross-linked titanium dioxide nanotube-based electrodes eliminate the need for these additives
The research team behind the finding led by MIT professor Ju Li says the work could have important implications for the design of components in nanotechnology such as metal contacts for molecular electronic circuits.
The use of nanoparticles in applications ranging from electronics to pharmaceuticals is a lively area of research;
For example if gold or silver nanoligaments are used in electronic circuits these deformations could quickly cause electrical connections to fail.
Only skin deepthe researchers'detailed imaging with a transmission electron microscope and atomistic modeling revealed that
That crossover he says takes place at about 10 nanometers at room temperature--a size that microchip manufacturers are approaching as circuits shrink.
#Revving up fluorescence for superfast LEDS Duke university researchers have made fluorescent molecules emit photons of light 1000 times faster than normal--setting a speed record
and making an important step toward realizing superfast light emitting diodes (LEDS) and quantum cryptography.
This year's Nobel prize in physics was awarded for the discovery of how to make blue LEDS allowing everything from more efficient light bulbs to video screens.
which LEDS can be turned on and off has limited their use as a light source in light-based telecommunications.
To make future light-based communications using LEDS practical researchers must get photon-emitting materials up to speed.
One of the applications we're targeting with this research is said ultrafast LEDS Maiken Mikkelsen an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and physics at Duke.
If we can precisely place molecules like this it could be used in many more applications than just fast LEDS said Akselrod.
#Getting sharp images from dull detectors Observing the quantum behavior of light is a big part of Alan Migdall's research at the Joint Quantum Institute.
--and sometimes only one photon at a time, using"smart"detectors that can count the number of individual photons in a pulse.
what Migdall calls"stupid"detectors that, when counting the number of photons in a light pulse,
as anything more than zero befuddles these detectors and is considered as number that is known only to be more than zero.
And why use"stupid"detectors? Because they are cheaper to use. The Experiment In the case of coherent light, a coordinated train of waves approach a baffle with two openings (figure, top.
creating a characteristic pattern as recorded by a detector, which is moved back and forth to record the arrival of light at various points.
Each of these two portions of light will strike movable detectors which scan across sideways.
If the detectors could record a whole pattern, they would show that the pattern changes from moment to moment.
if you record not just the instantaneous interference pattern but rather a correlation between the two movable detectors.
when detector 1 observes light at a coordinate x1 how often does detector 2 observe light at a coordinate x2?
Plotting such a set of correlations between the two detectors does result in an interference-like pattern,
the detectors would run into each other. To avoid that a simple partially silvered mirror, commonly called a beam splitter,
That way the two detectors can simultaneously sample the light from virtual positions that can be as close as desired
And what about the use of stupid detectors those for which each"click"denoting an arrival tells us only that more than zero photons have arrived?
so that its limited coherence time is larger than the recovery time of our stupid detectors,
it is possible for the detector to tell us that a specific number of photons were recorded, perhaps 3 or 10,
"In this way, we get dumb detectors to act in a smart way, "says Migdall. This improved counting the number of photons,
or equivalently the intensity of the light at various places at the measuring screen, ensures that the set of correlations between the two detectors does result in an interference-like pattern in those correlations.
So while seeing an interference pattern could not be accomplished with dumb detectors, it could be accomplished by engineering the properties of the light source to accommodate the lack of ability of the detectors
and then accumulating a pattern of correlation between two detectors. Considering that the incoming light has a wavelength of 800 nm,
the pattern is sharper by a factor of 20 or more from what you would expect
#Sensor invented that uses radio waves to detect subtle changes in pressure Stanford engineers have invented a wireless pressure sensor that has already been used to measure brain pressure in lab mice with brain injuries.
In one simple demonstration they used this wireless pressure sensor to read a team member's pulse without touching him.
Bao's wireless sensor is made by placing a thin layer of specially designed rubber between two strips of copper.
The technology involves beaming radio waves through this simple antenna-and-rubber sandwich. When the device comes under pressure the copper antennas squeeze the rubber insulator and move infinitesimally closer together.
That tiny change in proximity alters the electrical characteristics of the device. Radio waves passing through the two antennas slow down in terms of frequency.
When pressure is relaxed the copper antennas move apart and the radio waves accelerate in frequency.
The engineers proved that this effect was measurable giving them a way to gauge the pressure exerted on the device by tracking the frequency of radio waves passing through the device.
and calibrated the pressure sensor in simple laboratory tests. Alex Chortos graduate student in the department of materials science and engineering made the wireless device more robust and reusable.
Tse tested the wireless pressure sensor as a tool for managing patients with severe brain trauma.
In experiments on laboratory mice Tse used radio waves to probe Bao's wireless sensor allowing him to monitor changes in intracranial pressure continuously.
On a slightly different tack his team is thinking about how to retool the wireless sensor
By putting this pyramid-shaped rubber layer between the copper antennas this team of engineers was able to exploit the subtle interactions of radio waves
"The sensor is connected to a modem using radio frequency systems. The processed information from the elder's movement pattern may include factors such as temperature, heart rate and deviations in the usual activity path,
#Launch of new sensor device on Hudson river set to wire river for cleaner water In the race to find solutions to critical water issues the launch of a new cost-effective water quality sensor
The installation of the Institute's newest generation of River and Estuary Observatory Network (REON II) sensor arrays signifies the passing of the baton from the science lab to the river as they run ahead complementing government capacity to invest in wiring the river for cleaner water.
It is one of 37 sensor stations currently in place in the Hudson and St lawrence river watersheds making REON one of the world's most robust resources of real-time data.
The goal of the REON research team to develop affordable scalable low-profile sensor networks
and its potential for making water sensor technology universal could be transformational to the field of environmental science.
The ability to mold inorganic nanoparticles out of materials such as gold and silver in precisely designed 3d shapes is a significant breakthrough that has the potential to advance laser technology microscopy solar cells electronics environmental testing disease
To look at the structure with an electron microscope the research team turned to Jing Tao a researcher at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
a new type of meson 1 was discovered by analysing data collected with the LHCB detector at CERN's Large hadron collider (LHC) 2. The new particle is bound together in a similar way to protons.
#More efficient transformer materials Almost every electronic device contains a transformer. An important material used in their construction is electrical steel.
Transformers convert the standard voltage from the wall outlet into the lower voltages required by electronic devices.
A novel sensor makes it possible to significantly reduce their size and moreover enables a more precise analysis in half the time previously required.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS in Duisburg have developed a sensor that shrinks the size of the spectrometer optics.
Whereas earlier high-resolution spectrometers were the size of a washing machine those built using our sensor will be no bigger than a microwave oven says IMS department head Werner Brockherde.
And this is not the only advantage of the new sensor: the delivered results are also more precise and available in half the time.
The first sensor that combines time-and space-resolved measurementsto understand how the scientists were able to miniaturize the instrument to this extent we need to take a closer look at its inner workings.
In the first beam channel light-sensitive electronic components known as CCD line sensors record the entire spectrum of the sample.
Our CMOS-based sensor enables these two sets of measurements to be conducted in parallel. As a result we only require a single beam channel
Demonstrator at the Vision trade showa demonstration version of the sensor will be presented at the Vision trade show in Stuttgart from November 4 to 6 (Booth 1h74.
Our new sensor which was developed in Germany and is not available anywhere else will enable these manufacturers to secure a further competitive advantage.
After the integrated image sensor has recorded the images, the processor evaluates the frames.""The video itself no longer has to--as previously the case--be sorted
A total of 72 passive and 13 active components (such as LEDS, DC-to-DC converters, memory chip, image sensor and image processor) had to be positioned within the module in an especially space-saving manner.
"By encapsulating the electronic components, the microcamera is now impervious to vibrations on uneven street surfaces."
and observed that repeated topical exposure to peanut allergens led to sensitization and a severe whole-body allergic reaction upon a second exposure.
not by electrodes inserted through the protective nerve membranes. Surgeons Michael W Keith, MD and J. Robert Anderson, MD, from Case Western Reserve School of medicine and Cleveland VA, implanted three electrode cuffs in Spetic
's forearm, enabling him to feel 19 distinct points; and two cuffs in Vonderhuevel's upper arm, enabling him to feel 16 distinct locations.
when a sensor was touched was a tingle. To provide more natural sensations, the research team has developed algorithms that convert the input from sensors taped to a patient's hand into varying patterns and intensities of electrical signals.
The sensors themselves aren't sophisticated enough to discern textures, they detect only pressure. The different signal patterns, passed through the cuffs,
are read as different stimuli by the brain. The scientists continue to fine-tune the patterns
Then the human's biological control system, that is nerves and muscles, is interfaced also to the machine's control system via neuromuscular electrodes.
Before the surgery, his prosthesis was controlled via electrodes placed over the skin. Robotic prostheses can be advanced very,
Electrodes are implanted in nerves and muscles as the interfaces to the biological control system. These electrodes record signals which are transmitted via the osseointegrated implant to the prostheses,
where the signals are decoded finally and translated into motions. Direct skeletal attachment by osseointegration means:
every day No socket adjustments required (there is no socket) Implanting electrodes in nerves and muscles means that:
The close proximity between source and electrode also prevents activity from other muscles from interfering (cross-talk),
because there is no need to reposition the electrodes on every occasion the prosthesis is worn (as opposed to superficial electrodes).
Since the electrodes are implanted rather than placed over the skin, control is affected not by environmental conditions (cold and heat) that change the skin state,
or power lines) as the electrodes are shielded by the body itself. Electrodes in the nerves can be used to send signals to the brain as sensations coming from the prostheses e
#Minimally invasive procedures offer hope for elderly patients with heart-valve problems Annie Henderson 69 suffers from multiple chronic ailments including kidney failure and mitral valve insufficiency.
When the researchers used a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to examine the deposits, they saw clear evidence of a phase explosion--a mixture of liquid and vaporized particles thrown out by the laser impact.
and is detected by a sensor. In the NIST LADAR system the laser sweeps continuously across a band of frequencies.
Finally the system uses real-time fast processing digital electronics to produce fully calibrated 3d megapixel images.
and analysis instruments of a modern chemistry lab onto a microchip-sized wafer Zeng said. Also referred to as'microfluidics'technology it was inspired by revolutionary semiconductor electronics
and has been under intensive development since the 1990s. Essentially it allows precise manipulation of minuscule fluid volumes down to one trillionth of a liter
and uses a technique called on-chip immunoisolation. We used magnetic beads of 3 micrometers in diameter to pull down the exosomes in plasma samples Zeng said.
It was this discovery that led to the two present studies which were published recently in Nature Chemical Biology and PNAS.
#Lego-like modular components make building 3-D labs-on-a-chip a snap Thanks to new LEGO-like components developed by researchers at the USC Viterbi School of engineering it is now possible
Traditionally microfluidic devices are built in a cleanroom on a two-dimensional surface using the same technology developed to produce integrated circuits for the electronics industry.
The founders of the microfluidics field took the same approach as the semiconductor industry: to try to pack in as much integrated structure as possible into a single chip explained Bhargava.
In electronics this is important because a high density of transistors has many direct and indirect benefits for computation and signal processing.
In microfluidics our concerns are not with bits and symbolic representations but rather with the way fluidics are routed combined mixed and analyzed;
there's no need to stick with continuing to integrate more and more complex devices. Borrowing an approach from the electronics industry
which uses prototype boards to build circuits Bhargava conceived of three-dimensional modular components that encapsulated the common elements of microfluidic systems as well as a connector that could join the separate components together.
and a component that contains an integrated optical sensor for measuring the size of small droplets.
In the paper the researchers also described how off-the-shelf sensors or other integrated components can be incorporated easily into systems built from MFICS
The technology often dubbed Lab-on-Chip has the potential to accelerate the pace of development
or having the capability to design complex integrated devices. The team envisions an open community where designs can be shared via an open-source database.
This scanning electron microscope image shows the network of conductive nanoribbons in Rice university's high-density graphene nanoribbon film.
but can be used to coat glass and plastic as well as radar domes and antennas. This scanning electron microscope image shows a closeup of the nanoribbon network in Rice university's high-density graphene nanoribbon film.
In the previous process the nanoribbons were mixed with polyurethane, but testing showed the graphene nanoribbons themselves formed an active network when applied directly to a surface.
"He said nanoribbon films also open a path toward embedding electronic circuits in glass that are both optically and RF transparent.
And because the new process creates membranes on silicon surfaces it is a significant step toward creating bio-silicon interfaces where biological sensor molecules can be printed onto cheap silicon chip holding integrated electronic circuits.
First discovered five years ago, Rice's silicon oxide memories are a type of two-terminal,"resistive random-access memory"(RRAM) technology.
"This memory is superior to all other two-terminal unipolar resistive memories by almost every metric,
For example, manufacturers have announced plans for RRAM prototype chips that will be capable of storing about one terabyte of data on a device the size of a postage stamp--more than 50 times the data density of current flash memory technology.
Silicon is the most abundant element On earth and the basic ingredient in conventional microchips. Microelectronics fabrication technologies based on silicon are widespread and easily understood,
but until the 2010 discovery of conductive filament pathways in silicon oxide in Tour's lab, the material wasn't considered an option for RRAM.
and just drop down electrodes without having to fabricate edges, "Tour said.""When we made our initial announcement about silicon oxide in 2010, one of the first questions
which would give personnel and equipment such as sensors improved protection along with other benefits. This research was reported in the January 30 2014 issue of the journal Acta Materialia.
Different sensors see different wavelengths of light. Infrared is important for heat-seeking capabilities. UV imaging can be used to detect threats not seen in the visible spectrum.
UV detectors also have applications in space-borne astronomy missions. A single window that could be produced using the NRL-developed nanocrystalline spinel would be transparent across many technologically important wavelengths easing design
Sensor-based irrigation systems show potential to increase greenhouse profitability Wireless sensor-based irrigation systems can offer significant benefits to greenhouse operators.
Advances in sensor technology and increased understanding of plant physiology have made it possible for greenhouse growers to use water content sensors to accurately determine irrigation timing and application rates in soilless substrates.
The wireless sensor systems provide more accurate measurements of substrate moisture than qualitative methods and can save irrigation water labor energy and fertilizer.
The authors of a report published in Horttechnology said that the use of sensor-based irrigation technology can also accelerate container and greenhouse plant production time.
Sensor-based irrigation systems substitute capital for water and associated inputs such as energy labor and fertilizer the authors explained.
The scientists found that controlling irrigation using data from moisture sensors led to substantial reductions in both production time and crop losses.
Calculations showed that annualized profit under the wireless sensor system was over 1. 5 times more than under the nursery's standard practice
even if efficiency gains are not as high as those in the study controlling irrigation using wireless sensor systems is likely to increase profitability substantially.
They added that wireless sensor systems can have environmental benefits as well as the economic benefits shown in the study.
#Laser scientists create portable sensor for nitrous oxide, methane Rice university scientists have created a highly sensitive portable sensor to test the air for the most damaging greenhouse gases.
The device created by Rice engineer and laser pioneer Frank Tittel and his group uses a thumbnail-sized quantum cascade laser (QCL) as well as tuning forks that cost no more than a dime to detect very small amounts of nitrous oxide and methane.
and the QEPAS sensor's findings compared favorably to the lab's much larger instrument,
the researchers pass a suspension of B cells and target antigen through tiny, parallel channels etched on a chip.
This week, at the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineersinternational Conference on Robotics and Automation, a group of MIT researchers were nominated for two best-paper awards for a new algorithm that can significantly reduce robot teamsplanning time.
but problematic for the next step because another robot or sensor is needed, Rus says. he current grasping formation may not allow room for a new robot
or sensor to join the team. So our solution considers a multiple-step assembly operation
who led the new work. ut the way that it done opens a very interesting possibility.
or fuel cell electrodes, which catalyze reactions at their surfaces. Nanofibers can also yield materials that are permeable only at very small scales, like water filters,
however, and the number of nozzles per unit area is limited by the size of the pump hydraulics. The other approach is to apply a voltage between a rotating drum covered by metal cones and a collector electrode.
where it emitted toward the electrode as a fiber. That approach is erratic, however, and produces fibers of uneven lengths;
When an electrode is mounted opposite the sawteeth and a voltage applied between them, the water-ethanol mixture streams upward, dragging chains of polymer with it.
The water and ethanol quickly dissolve, leaving a tangle of polymer filaments opposite each emitter, on the electrode.
The researchers were able to pack 225 emitters, several millimeters long, on a square chip about 35 millimeters on a side.
wee demonstrated that we can make all the universal logic gates used in electronics, simply by changing the layout of the bars on the chip,
said Katsikis. he actual design space in our platform is incredibly rich. Give us any Boolean logic circuit in the world,
and demonstrates building blocks for synchronous logic gates, feedback and cascadability hallmarks of scalable computation. A simple-state machine including 1-bit memory storage (known as lip-flop is demonstrated also using the above basic building blocks.
A new way to manipulate matter The current chips are about half the size of a postage stamp,
and do more number of operations on a chip, said graduate student and co-author Jim Cybulski. hat lends itself very well to a variety of applications.
With its current power output, the floating evaporation engine could supply small floating lights or sensors at the ocean floor that monitor the environment,
In this so-called low battery, the electrodes are suspensions of tiny particles carried by a liquid
while the electrode material does not flow, it is composed of a similar semisolid, colloidal suspension of particles.
e realized that a better way to make use of this flowable electrode technology was to reinvent the lithium ion manufacturing process. nstead of the standard method of applying liquid coatings to a roll of backing material,
the new process keeps the electrode material in a liquid state and requires no drying stage at all.
thicker electrodes, the system reduces the conventional battery architecture number of distinct layers, as well as the amount of nonfunctional material in the structure, by 80 percent.
Having the electrode in the form of tiny suspended particles instead of consolidated slabs greatly reduces the path length for charged particles as they move through the material a property known as ortuosity.
A less tortuous path makes it possible to use thicker electrodes, which, in turn, simplifies production
While conventional lithium-ion batteries are composed of brittle electrodes that can crack under stress the new formulation produces battery cells that can be bent,
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