The researchers used an approach called colloidal lithography to create a silver nanopattern that conducts electricity while letting light through the holes. The new transparent electrode films could be useful for solar cells as well as flexible displays and touch screens. Credit: Jes Linnet, University of Southern Denmark

Silver-based electrode films could be used for flexible touch displays, televisions and solar cells. Researchers have demonstrated large-scale fabrication of a new type of transparent conductive electrode film based on nanopatterned silver. Smartphone touch screens and flat panel televisions use transparent electrodes to detect touch and to quickly switch the color of each pixel...

A panorama of Gale crater on Mars taken from Vera Rubin ridge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Mineralogist’s big data approach improves resolution of a Curiosity instrument by an order of magnitude. A team of scientists led by Carnegie’s Shaunna Morrison and including Bob Hazen have revealed the mineralogy of Mars at an unprecedented scale, which will help them understand the planet’s geologic history and habitability. Their findings are published in two American Mineralogist papers.

Minerals form from novel combinations of elements. These combinations can be facilitated by geological activity, including volcanoes and water-rock interactions...

MIT researchers have developed technology that could be used to remotely trigger “smart pills” to deliver drugs.

New technology could enable remote control of drug delivery, sensing, and other medical applications. MIT researchers, working with scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, have developed a new way to power and communicate with devices implanted deep within the human body. Such devices could be used to deliver drugs, monitor conditions inside the body, or treat disease by stimulating the brain with electricity or light.

The implants are powered by radio frequency waves, which can safely pass through human tissues. In tests in animals, the researchers showed that the waves can power devices located 10 centimeters deep in tissue, from a distance of 1 meter.

“Even though t...

Microwaves can influence the ‘quantum switches’ in a narrow diamond rod, which can be linked by vibrations. Credit: TU Wien

How can quantum information be transferred from one atom to another? Quantum physics is on the brink of a technological breakthrough: new types of sensors, secure data transmission methods and maybe even computers could be made possible thanks to quantum technologies. However, the main obstacle here is finding the right way to couple and precisely control a sufficient number of quantum systems (for example, individual atoms).

A team of researchers from TU Wien and Harvard University has found a new way to transfer the necessary quantum information. They propose using tiny mechanical vibrations...