Lifeboat Foundation

Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical molecules that consist of rolled-up sheets of single-layer carbon atoms (graphene); they possess unique properties like high aspect ratio, mechanical strength, electrical and thermal conductivity, chemical stability, and a tip-surface area near the theoretical limit. They are one of the strongest materials known to man.

Researchers from Tohoku University have created a theoretical framework for an advanced spin wave reservoir computing (RC) system that leverages spintronics. This innovation advances the field toward realizing energy-efficient, nanoscale computing with unparalleled computational power.

Details of their findings were published in npj Spintronics on March 1, 2024.

“Cannabis vapes are newly regulated products in Canada, so we don’t yet have much scientific data about them,” said Dr. Andrew Waye. “This is an opportunity for us to look at some of the questions concerning the risks and unknowns of cannabis vapes.”

Do vapes pose health risks on par with the very tobacco and cannabis products it’s using to safeguard against? This is what a recent study presented at the ACS (American Chemical Society) Spring 2024 meeting hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated the potential health risks that vaping devices could pose, specifically pertaining to the vaping liquids that possess toxic metal nanoparticles, with both regulated and unregulated vaping devices. This study holds the potential to help researchers, medical professionals, and the public better understand the long-term health risks by vaping, which until now have been deemed a “safer” alternative to smoking cigarettes or cannabis.

A flat sheet of atoms can act as a kind of antenna that absorbs light and funnels its energy into carbon nanotubes, making them glow brightly. This advance could aid the development of tiny future light-emitting devices that will exploit quantum effects.

A novel approach in the field of Alzheimer’s research is emerging that could potentially transform how we tackle this debilitating disease. Recent studies have revealed a paradigm shift in understanding Alzheimer’s pathology, emphasizing the importance of targeting the early-stage aggregation of the pathogenic amyloid beta (A-beta) protein, specifically focusing on its soluble oligomeric form.

Over the past three decades, conventional treatments for Alzheimer’s have largely been ineffective, primarily due to their focus on combating the fibrillar form of A-beta. However, emerging research suggests that it is the soluble oligomeric form of A-beta that poses the greatest threat to neuronal health, leading to cognitive decline and neurotoxicity.

A recent breakthrough in Alzheimer’s treatment has come from the development of an antibody capable of recognizing both oligomeric and fibrillar forms of A-beta, offering newfound hope to the field. This innovative therapy has demonstrated promising results in delaying disease progression by up to 36% in individuals with early-to-mild cognitive impairment.

A nanoparticle-based therapy developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists stimulated an immune pathway that eradicated tumors in mouse models of various cancer types. Their findings, published in Science Immunology, offer a new way to potentially harness the power of the body’s immune system against cancer.

Wafer-scale realization of a nanoscale magnetic tunnel junction hosting a single, ambient skyrmion enables its large readout, efficient switching, and compatibility with lateral manipulation, and thereby provides the backbone for all-electrical skyrmionic device architectures.

Optical nanoscale disk memory with petabit-level capacity is developed by extending the recording architecture to three dimensions with hundreds of layers, and exabit-level storage can be achieved by stacking the disks into arrays.

At first glance, Rabih O. Al-Kaysi’s molecular motors look like the microscopic worms you’d see in a drop of pond water. But these wriggling ribbons are not alive; they’re devices made from crystallized molecules that perform coordinated movements when exposed to light. With continued development, Al-Kaysi and colleagues say, their tiny machines could be used by physicians as drug-delivery robots or engineered into arrays that direct the flow of water around submarines.