Category Physics

To diagnose either type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes, clinicians typically rely on a lab value known as HbA1c. This test captures a person’s average blood glucose levels over the previous few months. But HbA1c cannot predict who is at highest risk of progressing from healthy to prediabetic, or from prediabetic to full-blown diabetes.

Now, scientists at Scripps Research have discovered that artificial intelligence can use a combination of other data—including real-time glucose levels from wearable monitors—to provide a more nuanced view of diabetes risk.

The new model, described in Nature Medicine, uses continuous glucose monitor (CGM) data alongside gut microbiome, diet, ph...

To further reduce the size of electronic devices, while also improving their performance and energy efficiency, electronics engineers have been trying to identify alternative materials that outperform silicon and other conventional semiconductors. Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, materials that are just a few atoms thick and have a tunable electrical conductivity, are among the most promising candidates for the fabrication of smaller and better performing devices.

Past studies showed that these materials could be used to fabricate miniaturized transistors, electronic components that amplify or switch electrical signals, particularly f...

Scientists at the Institute for Photonic Quantum Systems (PhoQS) and the Paderborn Center for Parallel Computing (PC2) at Paderborn University have developed a powerful open-source software tool that allows them to simulate light behavior in quantum systems.

The unique feature of this tool, named “Phoenix,” is that researchers can use it to very quickly investigate complex effects to a level of detail that was previously unknown, and all without needing knowledge of high-performance computing. The results have now been published in Computer Physics Communications.

Phoenix solves equations that describe how light interacts with material at the quantum level, which is essential for under...

For the first time ever, scientists have watched electrons perform a bizarre quantum feat: tunneling through atomic barriers by not just slipping through, but doubling back and slamming into the nucleus mid-tunnel. This surprising finding, led by POSTECH and Max Planck physicists, redefines our understanding of quantum tunneling—a process that powers everything from the sun to your smartphone.

Recently, Professor Dong Eon Kim from POSTECH’s Department of Physics and Max Planck Korea-POSTECH Initiative and his research team have succeeded in unraveling for the first time the mystery of the ‘electron tunneling’ process, a core concept in quantum mechanics, and confirm...