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Oct 17, 2024

Synthesizing New 3D Materials by Twisting

Posted by in categories: particle physics, space

Overlapping two 3D lattices with a relative twist opens the door to synthesizing crystals with diverse symmetries that showcase nontrivial band structures and novel properties.

When two identical periodic lattices overlap in space, with one twisted at an angle relative to the other, they form moiré lattices. The best-known examples are formed from stacked and rotated 2D sheets. These structures can possess fascinating properties not seen in their component layers. Twisted bilayer graphene, for example, can exhibit superconductor and Mott insulator behavior [1, 2]. Ce Wang of Tongji University in China and his colleagues now propose how to construct a 3D moiré lattice using two cubic optical lattices hosting ultracold atoms [3]. The researchers mathematically describe how two simple periodic structures, twisted relative to each other, can lead to 3D optical moiré patterns (Fig. 1). The result is a crystal-like structure with emergent properties that differ from those of the underlying simple lattices.

Oct 17, 2024

China’s underground lab seeks answer to deep scientific riddle

Posted by in category: futurism

Far beneath the lush landscape of southern China, a sprawling subterranean laboratory aims to be the world’s first to crack a deep scientific enigma.

Oct 17, 2024

Water crisis threatening world food production: report

Posted by in categories: food, sustainability

Inaction on the water crisis could put more than half of the world’s food production at risk by 2050, experts warned in a major report published Thursday.

Oct 17, 2024

It’s twins! Mystery of famed brown dwarf solved

Posted by in category: futurism

Hundreds of papers have been written about the first known brown dwarf, Gliese 229B, since its discovery by Caltech researchers at the Institute’s Palomar Observatory in 1995. But a pressing mystery has persisted about this orb: It is too dim for its mass.

Oct 17, 2024

14-year-old who invented device to detect pesticides on produce named America’s Top Young Scientist

Posted by in category: futurism

Sirish Subash is named “America’s Top Young Scientist” for his device PestiSCAND that can help detect harmful pesticide residue.

Oct 17, 2024

Billionaire Drools That “Citizens Will Be on Their Best Behavior” Under Constant AI Surveillance

Posted by in categories: finance, information science, robotics/AI, surveillance

If it were up to Larry Ellison, the exorbitantly rich cofounder of software outfit Oracle, all of us will soon be smiling for the camera — constantly. Not for a cheery photograph, but to appease our super-invasive, if not totally omnipresent, algorithmic overseers.

As Business Insider reports, the tech centibillionaire glibly predicts that the wonders of AI will bring about a new paradigm of supercharged surveillance, guaranteeing that the proles — excuse us, “citizens” — all behave and stay in line.

“We’re going to have supervision,” Ellison said this week at an Oracle financial analysts meeting, per BI. “Every police officer is going to be supervised at all times, and if there’s a problem, AI will report that problem and report it to the appropriate person.”

Oct 17, 2024

The first object in 4 dimensions, printed: Beyond our capacity for comprehension

Posted by in categories: 4D printing, materials

Discover the revolutionary world of 4D printing technology and its potential to transform industries with self-adaptive, intelligent materials.

Oct 17, 2024

New nuclear clean energy agreement with Kairos Power

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

Since pioneering the first corporate purchase agreements for renewable electricity over a decade ago, Google has played a pivotal role in accelerating clean energy solutions, including the next generation of advanced clean technologies.


Google’s first nuclear energy deal is a step toward helping the world decarbonize through investments in advanced clean energy technologies.

Oct 17, 2024

Original Art Stimulates the Brain More Than Reproductions, Study Finds

Posted by in categories: education, neuroscience

A neurological study from the Netherlands reveals that viewing art in person triggers emotions 10 times stronger than seeing the same works in reproduction.


Five artworks induced stronger positive responses in 20 participants in the Netherlands than museum shop posters of the same works.

Oct 17, 2024

Inhibition of IL-11 signalling extends mammalian healthspan and lifespan

Posted by in categories: genetics, internet, life extension

To support the data generated in Il11ra1-deleted mice on a mixed C57BL6/129 genetic background30 and to more deeply dissect age-related effects, we studied young (3-month-old) and aged (2-year-old) female mice with deletion of Il11 (Il11−/−) on a C57BL6/J background31.

Immunoblots confirmed IL-11 up-regulation across tissues in old age in this additional strain (Fig. 1m). Old female Il11−/− mice had lower body weights and fat mass and preserved lean mass (Fig. 2a–c). The frailty score15 of old female Il11−/− mice was lower than that of old wild-type mice and their body temperatures were mildly increased (Fig. 2d and Extended Data Fig. 5a). Lower frailty scores were largely driven by improvements in tremor, loss of fur colour, gait disorders and vestibular disturbance (Supplementary Table 1). Muscle strength was higher in both young and old Il11−/− mice (a phenomenon that was observed for some other phenotypes) compared with age-matched controls (Fig. 2e and Extended Data Fig. 5b).

Chronic inhibition of mTORC1 with rapamycin can cause glucose intolerance owing to indirect inhibition of mTORC235. It was therefore important to more fully assess the effects of IL-11 inhibition on liver function, metabolism and glucose utilization in old mice. As wild-type mice aged, there were increases in serum AST, ALT, cholesterol and triglycerides, which were collectively mitigated in old Il11−/− mice (Fig. 2f and Extended Data Fig. 5c, d). Glucose tolerance test (GTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT) profiles of old Il11−/− mice were similar to those of young wild-type mice, whereas GTTs and ITTs of old wild-type mice showed impairment (Fig. 2g and Extended Data Fig. 5e, f). Indexed skeletal muscle mass was greater in both young and old Il11−/− mice compared with the equivalent wild-type mice (Extended Data Fig. 5g).

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