Engineers discover a new way to control atomic nuclei as “qubits”

Diagram illustrates the way two laser beams of slightly different wavelengths can affect the electric fields surrounding an atomic nucleus, pushing against this field in a way that nudges the spin of the nucleus in a particular direction, as indicated by the arrow.
Illustration Credit: Courtesy of the researchers | MIT
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In principle, quantum-based devices such as computers and sensors could vastly outperform conventional digital technologies for carrying out many complex tasks. But developing such devices in practice has been a challenging problem despite great investments by tech companies as well as academic and government labs.

Today’s biggest quantum computers still only have a few hundred “qubits,” the quantum equivalents of digital bits.

Now, researchers at MIT have proposed a new approach to making qubits and controlling them to read and write data. The method, which is theoretical at this stage, is based on measuring and controlling the spins of atomic nuclei, using beams of light from two lasers of slightly different colors. The findings are described in a paper published Tuesday in the journal Physical Review X, written by MIT doctoral student Haowei Xu, professors Ju Li and Paola Cappellaro, and four others.

Nuclear spins have long been recognized as potential building blocks for quantum-based information processing and communications systems, and so have photons, the elementary particles that are discreet packets, or “quanta,” of electromagnetic radiation. But coaxing these two quantum objects to work together was difficult because atomic nuclei and photons barely interact, and their natural frequencies differ by six to nine orders of magnitude.

Two-dimensional oxides open door for high-speed electronics

Furkan Turker, graduate student in the Department of Materials Sciences, works on a silicon carbide chip in the laboratory 
Photo Credit: Pennsylvania State University
 Creative Commons

Advances in computing power over the decades have come thanks in part to our ability to make smaller and smaller transistors, a building block of electronic devices, but we are nearing the limit of the silicon materials typically used. A new technique for creating 2D oxide materials may pave the way for future high-speed electronics, according to an international team of scientists.

“One way we can make our transistors, our electronic devices, work faster is to shrink the distance electrons have to travel between point A and B,” said Joshua Robinson, professor of materials science and engineering at Penn State. “You can only go so far with 3D materials like silicon — once you shrink it down to a nanometer, its properties change. So, there’s been a massive push looking at new materials, one of which are 2D materials.”

The team, led by Furkan Turker, graduate student in the Department of Materials Sciences, used a technique called confinement hetroepitaxy, or CHet, to create 2D oxides, materials with special properties that can serve as an atomically thin insulating layer between layers of electrically conducting materials.

“Now we can create essentially the world’s thinnest oxides — just a few atoms thick,” Turker said. “That allows you to bring conducting layers closer together than ever without letting them touch. This enables the formation of an ultrathin barrier between conducting layers, which is essential for the fabrication of next-generation electronic devices, such as diodes or transistors.”

World’s oldest European hedgehog

European hedgehog
Photo Credit: Monicore

The world’s oldest scientifically-confirmed European hedgehog has been found in Denmark by a citizen science project involving hundreds of volunteers. The male hedgehog, called Thorvald, lived for 16 years, 7 years longer than the previous record holder.

"I vividly remember the day when I counted 16 growth rings in the microscope. I was completely overwhelmed and even shed a tear of joy! Because if a hedgehog can reach an age of 16 years, there is still hope for the population."

Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Biology, University of Oxford.

The European hedgehog is one of our most beloved mammals but populations have declined dramatically in recent years. In the UK, studies indicate that urban populations have fallen by up to 30% and rural populations by at least 50% since the turn of the century. To combat this, researchers and conservationists have launched various projects to monitor hedgehog populations, to inform initiatives to protect hedgehogs in the wild. These include “The Danish Hedgehog Project”, a citizen science project led by Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen (aka ‘Dr Hedgehog’) of Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, WildCRU, part of the Department of Biology.

During 2016, The Danish Hedgehog Project asked Danish citizens to collect any dead hedgehogs they found to better understand how long individual Danish hedgehogs typically live for. Over 400 volunteers collected an astonishing 697 dead hedgehogs originating from all over Denmark, with a roughly 50/50 split from urban and rural areas.

Climate Change Portends Wider Malaria Risk as Mosquitos Spread South and to Higher Elevations in Africa

Anopheles funestus, one of the common mosquito species that transmit malaria in Africa.
Photo Credit: Oberholster Venita

Based on data that span the past 120 years, scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have found that the mosquitoes responsible for transmitting malaria in Africa are spreading deeper into southern Africa and to higher elevations than previously recorded. The researchers estimate that Anopheles mosquito populations in sub-Saharan Africa have gained an average of 6.5 meters (21 feet) of elevation per year, and the southern limits of their ranges moved south of the equator by 4.7 kilometers (nearly 3 miles) per year.

The study appeared February 15, 2023, in Biology Letters.

“This is exactly what we would expect to see if climate change is helping these species reach colder parts of the continent,” says Colin Carlson, PhD, an assistant research professor at the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University Medical Center and lead author of the study. “If mosquitoes are spreading into these areas for the first time, it might help explain some recent changes in malaria transmission that have otherwise been hard to trace back to climate.”

AI with infrared imaging enables precise colon cancer diagnostics

Klaus Gerwert, Stephanie Schörner and Frederik Großerüschkamp (from left) want to improve the diagnosis of colon cancer with the help of artificial intelligence.
Photo Credit: © RUB, Marquard

Artificial intelligence and infrared imaging automatically classify tumors and are faster than previous methods.

The immense progress in the area of therapy options over the past few years has significantly improved the chances of recovery for patients with colon cancer. However, these new approaches, such as immunotherapy, require a precise diagnosis so that they can be tailored to the respective person. Researchers at the Center for Protein Diagnostics PRODI at the Ruhr University Bochum use artificial intelligence in combination with infrared imaging to optimally coordinate the therapy of colon cancer with the individual patient. The label-free and automatable method can complement existing pathological analyzes. The team around Prof. Dr. Klaus Gerwert reports in the journal "European Journal of Cancer" on January 28, 2023.

Deep insights into human tissue within an hour

The PRODI team has been developing a new method of digital imaging for several years: The so-called label-free infrared (IR) imaging measures the genomic and proteomic composition of the tissue examined, i.e. provides molecular information based on the infrared spectra. This information is decoded using artificial intelligence and displayed as false color images. For this purpose, the researchers use image analysis methods from the field of deep learning.

Pesticides in Capsules Are Less Toxic and More Effective at Killing Pests

Pesticides are taken up by the roots of plants when they germinate, and move up the food chain into the human body.
Photo Credit: Elizaveta Veretennikova

Pesticides in capsules are less toxic and more effective in killing pests. This was discovered by a group of chemists from China and Russia, including scientists from the Ural Federal University. The researchers proposed the use of β-cyclodextrins as capsule shells, which weaken the toxic effect of pesticides. Reducing toxicity in the long term will reduce the amount of pesticides not only in plants, but also in the human body. Humans can absorb them by eating plant foods and animal flesh. An article with the results of the research has been published in the journal Advanced Agrochem.

"Pesticides are used to kill pests and plant pathogens. They are also used to control various parasites, weeds, pests of grain and grain products, and wood. They are among the most toxic pollutants. They are very difficult to remove from the soil and are slow to decompose. As a result, they are absorbed into the roots of plants during germination and move up the food chain to enter the human body. Pesticides also tend to accumulate, especially in fatty tissues, which poses a serious threat to humans. In addition, in hot weather they can become gaseous and pollute the air," says Elena Kovaleva, Professor of the Department of Technology of Organic Synthesis at the Ural Fereral University.

Researchers find thermal limits of advanced nanomaterials

Boron nitride nanotube material in a crucible for heating at Florida State University's High-Performance Materials Institute.
Photo Credit: Mark Wallheiser/FAMU-FSU Engineering

A team of FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers at the High-Performance Materials Institute is exploring the thermal limits of advanced nanomaterials, work that could have a direct impact on medicine delivery systems, electronics, space travel and other applications.

The research team, led by Assistant Professor in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Rebekah Sweat, completed the first-ever study on how purified boron nitride nanotubes remain stable in extreme temperatures in inert environments.

Their work was published in the journal Applied Nano Materials.

Boron nitride nanotubes, or BNNTs, are stronger and more resistant to high temperatures than carbon nanotubes. Like their carbon cousins, they are structures measured by the nanometer — a length equal to one-billionth of a meter.

Irreversible loss of ice sheets imminent past 1.8°C warming

Greenland ice sheet from about 40,000 feet elevation.
Photo Credit: NASA

Irreversible loss of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, and a corresponding rapid acceleration of sea-level rise, may be imminent if global temperature change cannot be stabilized below 1.8°C, compared to preindustrial levels. That finding was published in Nature Communications by an international team of scientists, including Fabian Schloesser, researcher at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.

The team of climate researchers found that an ice sheet/sea level run-away effect can be prevented only if the world reaches net zero carbon emissions before 2060.

Melting ice sheets are potentially the largest contributor to sea-level change, and historically the hardest to predict because the physics governing their behavior is notoriously complex.

“The model used in our study captures for the first time the coupling between ice sheets, icebergs, ocean and atmosphere, which is important for improving future sea-level projections and understanding of the underlying processes,” said Schloesser.

Engineering skin grafts for complex body parts

A bioengineered glove of human skin created for grafting.
Photo Credit: Alberto Pappalardo and Hasan Erbil Abaci / Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Skin grafts are a vital treatment for burns and other extensive skin injuries. Since the 1980s, advances in bioengineering have allowed researchers to grow new patches of skin in the lab. Such engineered grafts are less traumatic for patients than transplanting skin from elsewhere on the body.

To date, available techniques have only allowed such skin patches to be produced in shapes similar to bandages, such as flat rectangles or circles. These shapes work well to cover wounds on flat surfaces like the back. But using them on complex structures like the hands or face requires extensive cutting and suturing, which can cause damage and scarring.

A research team led by Dr. Hasan Erbil Abaci of Columbia University has been working on methods to make 3D engineered skin in the shape of complex body parts. Such custom grafts could then be transplanted intact, with minimal suturing required. In a new study, the team tested their skin-culture system using models of human hands and the hindlimbs of mice. Results were published on January 27, 2023, in Science Advances.

Securing supply chains with quantum computing

Sandia National Laboratories scientists Alicia Magann, right, Kenneth Rudinger, top left, Mohan Sarovar, bottom left, and Matthew Grace, not pictured, developed Feedback-based Algorithm for Quantum Optimization, or FALQON, as a new framework for programming quantum computers, an emerging technology that could become a powerful tool for global security.
Photo Credit: Robin Blume-Kohout

The Russo-Ukrainian conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic have shown how vulnerable global supply chains can be. International events can disrupt manufacturing, delay shipping, induce panic buying and send energy costs soaring.

New research in quantum computing at Sandia National Laboratories is moving science closer to being able to overcome supply-chain challenges and restore global security during future periods of unrest.

“Reconfiguring the supply chain on short notice is an exceptionally difficult optimization problem, which restricts the agility of global trade,” said Alicia Magann, a Truman Fellow at Sandia. She has led the development of a new way to design programs on quantum computers, which she and her team think could be especially useful for solving these kinds of massive optimization problems someday in the future when quantum technology becomes more mature.