New Metamaterial can Switch from Hard to Soft – and back again

 Topological transitions of a deformed kagome lattice by uniform soft twisting.

Topological transitions of a deformed kagome lattice by uniform soft twisting. Two types of triangles (red and blue) are connected by free hinges at their corners, forming a deformed kagome lattice with primitive vectors a1, a2. The angle θ between the triangles defines the twisting coordinate. The blue curve shows (defined in equation (1)) as a function of θ. The 3 white dots on the θ axis represent three critical angles (, and ) where sides of the triangles form straight lines (yellow stripes on the lattices) and topological polarization RT (shown as black arrows above the axes) changes.

University of Michigan researchers have developed a new way to design a “metamaterial” that allows the material to switch between being hard and soft without damaging or altering the material itself...

Read More

Quantum Optical Sensor tested in Space for the 1st time, with a Laser System from Berlin

1. MOPA laser module for MAIUS Hybrid-integrated master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) laser module for rubidium precision spectroscopy in space developed by the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut – three of these MOPA modules along with two redundant modules are integrated into the laser system. (© FBH/schurian.com) 2, MAIUS laser system used to successfully create a Bose-Einstein condensate for the first time in space. It is about as big as a shoe box with a mass of 27 kg. FBH’s laser modules are integrated on the bottom side of the heat sink, the top side houses modules for further processing of the light to be transferred to the main experiment. (© Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

1. MOPA laser module for MAIUS
Hybrid-integrated master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) laser module for rubidium precision spectroscopy in space developed by the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut – three of these MOPA modules along with two redundant modules are integrated into the laser system.
(© FBH/schurian.com)
2, MAIUS laser system
used to successfully create a Bose-Einstein condensate for the first time in space. It is about as big as a shoe box with a mass of 27 kg. FBH’s laser modules are integrated on the bottom side of the heat sink, the top side houses modules for further processing of the light to be transferred to the main experiment.
(© Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

For the 1st time ever, a cloud of ultra-cold atoms has been successfully created in space on board of a soundin...

Read More

Can the Donut-Shaped Magnet ‘CAPPuccino submarine’ hunt for Dark Matter?

Scientists at IBS CAPP are prototyping haloscopes - machines that hunt for dark matter. Haloscope have very strong magnets. Helix-shaped magnets (solenoid magnets, on the left) are commonly used in dark matter experiments. CAPP scientists are also investigating the possibility of using donut-shaped magnets, technically known as toroidal magnets, and nicknamed this device "CAPPuccino submarine". Credit: Image courtesy of Institute for Basic Science

Scientists at IBS CAPP are prototyping haloscopes – machines that hunt for dark matter. Haloscope have very strong magnets. Helix-shaped magnets (solenoid magnets, on the left) are commonly used in dark matter experiments. CAPP scientists are also investigating the possibility of using donut-shaped magnets, technically known as toroidal magnets, and nicknamed this device “CAPPuccino submarine”. Credit: Image courtesy of Institute for Basic Science

IBS scientists clarify that toroidal magnets can also look for axions, one of the particle candidates for the mysterious dark matter...

Read More

Tumor-Suppressing Protein actually promotes Cancer

High expression of PHLDB3 is found in multiple cancers and mutually exclusive to TP53 mutations in some cancers.

High expression of PHLDB3 is found in multiple cancers and mutually exclusive to TP53 mutations in some cancers.

Tulane University researchers have discovered that the protein PHLDB3, thought to be a potential tumor suppressor, actually allows cancer cells to thrive in pancreatic, prostate, colon, breast, lung, and other common cancers. The discovery could explain how cancer is able to overcome p53 – a key tumor-suppressing protein. The findings, recently published in Nature Communications, could eventually lead to targeted diagnostic tests and treatments of certain types of cancer.

“Now that we’ve identified the molecule, we could utilize it as an anti-cancer target,” said Dr. Hua Lu, the Reynolds and Ryan Families Chair in Translation Cancer at Tulane...

Read More