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Team’s flexible Micro LEDs may reshape future of Wearable Technology

The flexible micro LEDs can be twisted (on left) or folded (on the right). The LEDs, which can be peeled off and stuck to almost any surface, could help pave the way for the next generation of wearable technology.

Novel devices can be folded, cut, attached to surfaces. University of Texas at Dallas researchers and their international colleagues have developed a method to create micro LEDs that can be folded, twisted, cut and stuck to different surfaces.

The research, published online in June in the journal Science Advances, helps pave the way for the next generation of flexible, wearable technology.

Used in products ranging from brake lights to billboards, LEDs are ideal components for backlighting and displays in electronic devices because they are lightweight, thin, energy effi...

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After a Century of Searching, Scientists find a New Liquid Phase

The colors in this newly discovered phase of liquid crystal shift as researchers apply a small electric field. (Credit: SMRC)

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Soft Materials Research Center (SMRC) have discovered an elusive phase of matter, first proposed more than 100 years ago and sought after ever since.

The team describes the discovery of what scientists call a “ferroelectric nematic” phase of liquid crystal in a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The discovery opens a door to a new universe of materials, said co-author Matt Glaser, a professor in the Department of Physics.

Nematic liquid crystals have been a hot topic in materials research since the 1970s...

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Astronomers discover How Long-Lived Peter Pan Discs Evolve

Most stars form in big stellar clusters. This image depicts a stellar cluster called M16 also known as The Eagle Nebula. Credit- T.A.Rector (NRAO/AUI/NSF and NOAO/AURA/NSF) and B.A.Wolpa (NOAO/AURA/NSF).
Astronomers discover How Long-Lived Peter Pan Discs Evolve

New research from scientists at Queen Mary University of London has revealed how long-lived Peter Pan discs form, which could provide new insights into how planets arise.

Planet-forming, or protoplanetary discs are giant discs of gas and dust found circling young stars. The recently discovered Peter Pan discs received their name as like their fictional counterpart they are thought to “never grow up,” living around 5-10 times longer than other typical protoplanetary discs.

Whilst astronomers have been aware of the existence of Peter Pan discs since 2016, questions around how and why these discs live so long and the implications for how planets form, have been left unanswered.

In this study, the scientists used computer ...

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An image captured through transmission electron microscopy shows the nanoparticles used to further stimulate the immune system to fight cancer.
Image: Nicki Watson, W. M. Keck Microscopy Facility at Whitehead Institute, colorized by MIT News

Engineers design nanoparticles that stimulate the immune system, helping it to attack tumors. MIT engineers have now come up with a way to boost the effectiveness of one type of cancer immunotherapy. They showed that if they treated mice with existing drugs called checkpoint inhibitors, along with new nanoparticles that further stimulate the immune system, the therapy became more powerful than checkpoint inhibitors given alone. This approach could allow cancer immunotherapy to benefit a greater percentage of patients, the researchers say.

“These ...

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