Lifeboat Foundation

Heat management at the nanoscale has long been a cornerstone of advanced technological applications, ranging from high-performance electronics to quantum computing. Addressing this critical challenge, we have been deeply intrigued by the emerging field of thermotronics, which focuses on manipulating heat flux in ways analogous to how electronics control electric energy. Among its most promising advancements are quantum thermal diodes, which enable directional heat control, and quantum thermal transistors, which regulate heat flow with precision.

Thermal diodes, much like their electrical counterparts, provide unidirectional heat transfer, allowing heat to flow in one direction while blocking it in the reverse. We find this capability revolutionary for heat management, as it has the potential to transform numerous fields.

For instance, thermal diodes can significantly improve the cooling of high-performance electronics, where heat dissipation is a major bottleneck. They could also enable more efficient energy harvesting by converting waste heat into usable energy, contributing to sustainability efforts.

Scientists unveil a cutting-edge nanoparticle platform that supercharges vaccines for stronger, longer-lasting immunity tailored to every age group.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a method to generate bright, twisted light using technology similar to an Edison light bulb. This breakthrough overcomes the challenges of producing twisted light with sufficient brightness using traditional methods like electron or photon luminescence.

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Middlemen get a bad rap for adding cost and complications to an operation. So, eliminating the go-betweens can reduce expense and simplify a process, increasing efficiency and consumer happiness.

James Dahlman and his research team have been thinking along those same lines for stem cell treatments. They’ve created a technique that eliminates noisome middlemen and could lead to new, less-invasive treatments for blood disorders and genetic diseases. It sidesteps the discomfort and risks of current treatments, making life easier for patients.

“This would be an alternative to invasive hematopoietic stem cell therapies—we could just give you an IV drip,” said Dahlman, McCamish Early Career Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. “It simplifies the process and reduces the risks to patients. That’s why this work is important.”

A research group led by Prof. Yao Baoli and Dr. Xu Xiaohao from Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have revealed a full-gray optical trap in structured light, which is able to capture nanoparticles but appears at the region where the intensity is neither maximized nor minimized. The study is published in Physical Review A.

The optical trap is one of the greatest findings in optics and photonics. Since the pioneering work by Arthur Ashkin in the 1970s, the optical trap has been employed in a broad range of applications in life sciences, physics, and engineering. Akin to its thermal and acoustic counterparts, this trap is typically either bright or dark, located at the field intensity maxima or minima.

In this study, researchers developed a high-order multipole model for gradient forces based on multipole expansion theory. Through immersing the Si particles in the structured light with a petal-shaped field, they found that the high-order multipole gradient forces can trap Si particles at the optical intensity, which is neither maximized nor minimized.

A research team led by Prof. Nie Guangjun from the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and collaborators have demonstrated a tumor membrane antigens-based nanovaccine derived from liposomal doxorubicin treated tumor tissues, which is efficacious in inducing a potent immunological defense against tumors. The study is published online in Cell Reports Medicine.

For solid tumor surgeries, challenges remain in postoperative tumor recurrence and metastasis. The correlation between postoperative tumor recurrence and metastasis and the host’s antitumor immune status is well-established. Personalized cancer vaccines, using the patient’s own tumor as an antigen source, stimulate a robust immune response that is efficacious in eliminating residual neoplastic foci following surgical intervention as well as in targeting metastatic lesions at a distance, significantly reducing the risk of postoperative tumor recurrence and metastasis.

The efficacy of autologous tumor cells in clinical trials has been limited by their weak immunogenicity. The tumor membrane contains tumor-presented antigens and associated antigens, which can be developed into a personalized antigen library that more accurately reflects the expression of tumor antigens. Vaccines based on autologous tumor cell membrane antigens have been developed.

Application of graph theory in liver research: A review.

Scientists have discovered a remarkable way to destroy cancer cells. A study published last year found stimulating aminocyanine molecules with near-infrared light caused them to vibrate in sync, enough to break apart the membranes of cancer cells.

Aminocyanine molecules are already used in bioimaging as synthetic dyes. Commonly used in low doses to detect cancer, they stay stable in water and are very good at attaching themselves to the outside of cells.

The research team from Rice University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas, said their approach is a marked improvement over another kind of cancer-killing molecular machine previously developed, called Feringa-type motors, which could also break the structures of problematic cells.

Quantum sensing is a rapidly developing field that utilizes the quantum states of particles, such as superposition, entanglement, and spin states, to detect changes in physical, chemical, or biological systems. A promising type of quantum nanosensor is nanodiamonds (NDs) equipped with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers. These centers are created by replacing a carbon atom with nitrogen near a lattice vacancy in a diamond structure.

When excited by light, the NV centers emit photons that maintain stable spin information and are sensitive to external influences like magnetic fields, electric fields, and temperature. Changes in these spin states can be detected using optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR), which measures fluorescence changes under microwave radiation.

In a recent breakthrough, scientists from Okayama University in Japan developed nanodiamond sensors bright enough for bioimaging, with spin properties comparable to those of bulk diamonds. The study, published in ACS Nano, on 16 December 2024, was led by Research Professor Masazumi Fujiwara from Okayama University, in collaboration with Sumitomo Electric Company and the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology.