Converting Wi-Fi signals to Electricity with new 2D materials

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have designed the first fully flexible, battery-free “rectenna” – a device that converts energy from Wi-Fi signals into electricity – that could be used to power flexible and wearable electronics, medical devices, and sensors for the “internet of things.”
Credit: Christine Daniloff

Device made from flexible, inexpensive materials could power large-area electronics, wearables, medical devices, and more. Imagine a world where smartphones, laptops, wearables, and other electronics are powered without batteries. Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have taken a step in that direction, with the first fully flexible device that can convert energy from Wi-Fi signals into electricity that could power electronics.

Devices that convert AC electromagnetic wave...

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Missing-link in Planet Evolution found

This is an artist’s impression of the newly discovered object.
Credit: Ko Arimatsu

For the first time ever, astronomers have detected a 1.3 km radius body at the edge of the Solar System. Kilometer sized bodies like the one discovered have been predicted to exist for more than 70 years. These objects acted as an important step in the planet formation process between small initial amalgamations of dust and ice and the planets we see today.

The Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt is a collection of small celestial bodies located beyond Neptune’s orbit. The most famous Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt Object is Pluto. Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt Objects are believed to be remnants left over from the formation of the Solar System...

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Cancer: A Mutation that Breaks Gene Interplay in 3D

An illustration of chromatin contacts in the cell nucleus that activate transcription.
Credit: Giovanni Ciriello (UNIL)

Scientists have discovered how a mutated gene can affect the three-dimensional interactions of genes in the cell, leading to various forms of cancer. Inside the cell, DNA is tightly wrapped around proteins and packed in a complex, 3D structure that we call “chromatin.” Chromatin not only protects our genetic material from damage, but also organizes the entire genome by regulating the expression of genes in three dimensions, unwinding them to be presented to the cell’s gene-expression machinery and then winding them back in.

Inside the 3D chromatin structure there are certain regions called “topologically associating domains” or TADs...

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Not all Saturated Fats are equal when it comes to Heart Health

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Consumption of individual saturated fatty acids and the risk of myocardial infarction in a UK and a Danish cohortInternational Journal of Cardiology, 2018; DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2018.10.064
Jun Li, Qi Sun. Consumption of saturated fatty acids and coronary heart disease riskInternational Journal of Cardiology, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2019.01.022

Cardiovascular risk of diets rich in saturated fats found in meats and the benefits of plant-based and dairy alternatives. The type of saturated fats we eat can affect our risk of a heart attack, according to a study published in the International Journal of Cardiology...

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