Category Health/Medical

Complex Shapes of Photons to Boost future Quantum Technologies

Conceptual image of complex shapes of photons
Conceptual image of the used method for manipulating the spatial structures of photons using multiple consecutive lossless modulations. Image: Markus Hiekkamäki / Tampere University

Researchers have demonstrated how two interfering photons can bunch into various shapes. These complex shapes are beneficial for quantum technologies, such as performing fast photonic quantum computations and safe data transfer. The method opens new possibilities also for creating enhanced measurement and sensing techniques.

As the digital revolution has now become mainstream, quantum computing and quantum communication are rising in the consciousness of the field...

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Engineering T cells to Attack Cancer Broadly

Through T cell engineering, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center show that it’s possible to arrest tumor growth for a variety of cancers and squash the spread of cancer to other tissues. This research will be published in tomorrow’s print edition of Cancer Research.

The paper builds on decades of research by study co-senior author Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., a member of Massey’s Cancer Biology research program, who discovered a protein called IL-24 that attacks a variety of cancers in several different ways.

In this latest study, Fisher teamed up with his colleague Xiang-Yang (Shawn) Wang, Ph.D...

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Stable, Efficient, Anode-free Sodium Battery

Bingyuan Ma holding a transparent capillary cell. Bai’s Lab at the McKelvey School of Engineering is the only one in the world with such diagnostic cells. (Courtesy: Bai Lab)

One-of-a-kind tool helped solve anode puzzle that thwarted previous attempts. The Washington University in St. Louis lab of Peng Bai, assistant professor in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering, has developed a stable sodium ion battery that is highly efficient, will be less expensive to make and is significantly smaller than a traditional lithium ion battery due to the elimination of a once-necessary feature.
“We’ve found that the minimal is maximum,” Bai said. “No anode is the best anode.”
The research was published May 3, 2021, in the journal Advan...

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Avocado discovery may point to Leukemia Treatment

man seated before several avocados and holding half an avocado in his right hand
Dr. Paul Spagnuolo

A compound in avocados may ultimately offer a route to better leukemia treatment, says a new University of Guelph study.

The compound targets an enzyme that scientists have identified for the first time as being critical to cancer cell growth, said Dr. Paul Spagnuolo, Department of Food Science.

Published recently in the journal Blood, the study focused on acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is the most devastating form of leukemia. Most cases occur in people over age 65, and fewer than 10 per cent of patients survive five years after diagnosis.

Leukemia cells have higher amounts of an enzyme called VLCAD involved in their metabolism, said Spagnuolo.

“The cell relies on that pathway to survive,” he said, explaining that the compound is a likely candidate ...

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