Cornell University scientists have identified a new contender when it comes to quantum materials for computing and low-temperature electronics.

Using nitride-based materials, the researchers created a material structure that simultaneously exhibits superconductivity — in which electrical resistance vanishes completely — and the quantum Hall effect, which produces resistance with extreme precision when a magnetic field is applied.

“This is a beautiful marriage of the two things we know, at the microscale, that give electrons the most startling quantum proper...

A new theoretical study has proposed a novel mechanism for the creation of supermassive black holes from dark matter. The international team find that rather than the conventional formation scenarios involving ‘normal’ matter, supermassive black holes could instead form directly from dark matter in high density regions in the centers of galaxies...

Scientists identify first compound to repair degenerating brain cells in paralyzing disease. Northwestern University scientists have identified the first compound that eliminates the ongoing degeneration of upper motor neurons that become diseased and are a key contributor to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a swift and fatal neurodegenerative disease that paralyzes its victims.

In addition to ALS, upper motor neuron degeneration also results in other motor neuron diseases, such as hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) and primary lateral sclerosis (PLS).

In ALS, movement-initiating nerve cells in the brain (upper motor neurons) and muscle-controlling nerve cells in the spinal cord (lower motor neurons) die. The disease results in rapidly progressing paralysis and death.

So...

3D-printed novel biomaterial mimics properties of living tissues. Imagine if surgeons could transplant healthy neurons into patients living with neurodegenerative diseases or brain and spinal cord injuries. And imagine if they could “grow” these neurons in the laboratory from a patient’s own cells using a synthetic, highly bioactive material that is suitable for 3D printing.

By discovering a new printable biomaterial that can mimic properties of brain tissue, Northwestern University researchers are now closer to developing a platform capable of treating these conditions using regenerative medicine.

A key ingredient to the discovery is the ability to control the self-assembly processes of molecules within the m...