news 2020

Scientists have developed a way of extracting a richer palette of colours from the available spectrum by harnessing disordered patterns inspired by nature that would typically be seen as black. Colours that we see in nature often come from nanoscale patterns that reflect light back in particular ways.

A breakthrough in the development of quantum-enhanced optical systems could pave the way for advances in encryption, communication and measurement, scientists say. In a new paper published today in the journal Science Advances, a group of researchers, led by Matteo Clerici at the University of Glasgow's James Watt School of Engineering and colleagues from the UK, Japan and Germany, demonstrates a new method of generating and detecting quantum-entangled photons at a wavelength of 2.1 micrometres.

Drug therapies that help older adults maintain their skeletal muscle mass and physical function for longer could be a step closer after researchers at the University of Birmingham identify a key mechanism that drives the clearance of damaged mitochondria. A team in the University's School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences are well-versed at investigating dynamic machinery within cells called mitochondria.

One of the biggest ideas in physics is the possibility that all known forces, particles, and interactions can be connected in one framework. String theory is arguably the best-known proposal for a 'theory of everything' that would tie together our understanding of the physical universe. If these particles are eventually detected it would change physics forever Christopher Reynolds Despite having many different versions of string theory circulating throughout the physics community for decades, there have been very few experimental tests.

Mathematicians have developed a new theory to explain the strange, loopy motions seen in 'passive' particles immersed in 'active' fluids. The theory could help researchers understand how microorganisms forage for nutrients, and how randomness arises in real-life, out-of-equilibrium systems like financial markets.

A new imaging method combined with machine learning uncovers previously hidden information in micrographs of biological cells to reveal quantitative information of gene expression levels. Researchers from the University of Glasgow's James Watt School of Engineering and School of Computing Science describe in a paper published today how they have used image analysis and machine learning as a tool to directly determine the gene activity in single cells.

Astronomers working on 'first light' results from a newly commissioned telescope in Chile made a chance discovery that led to the identification of a rare eclipsing binary brown dwarf system. The discovery was led by an international team of researchers, including scientists at the University of Birmingham, working on the SPECULOOS (Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars) project.

The malaria parasite uses a specific molecule on its surface to get around a mosquito's immune system, allowing it to invade and infect humans. The molecule could be targeted by new transmission-blocking vaccines, or even thwarted by genetically modified mosquitos. The study, published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , was led by scientists at Imperial College London.

The work, which is reported , was carried out in collaboration with the University of Southampton and the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. The invention is an important development for all-electric vehicles and more-electric aircraft which require electronics with integrated data storage that can operate in extreme temperatures with high energy efficiency.

Neutron's 'electric dipole moment' smaller than ever predicted New international standard for detail and sensitivity has been set Scientists one step closer to understanding the mystery of matter in the Universe Scientists at the University of Sussex have measured a property of the neutron - a fundamental particle in the universe - more precisely than ever before.

The NASA InSight lander, which is supported by the UK Space Agency, has recorded 400 likely 'Marsquakes' in the first year of its mission. The seismic vibrations on Mars were detected by a set of silicon sensors developed in the UK for InSight's Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS). Imperial College London, Oxford University, University of Bristol and STFC RAL Space worked in partnership, with £4 million in funding from the UK Space Agency, to develop three sensors which are sensitive enough to detect motion at sub-atomic scales.

Scientists have developed a three-dimensional imaging technique to observe complex behaviours in magnets, including fast-moving waves and 'tornadoes' thousands of times thinner than a human hair. We can now investigate the dynamics of new types of systems that could open up new applications we haven't even thought of Claire Donnelly The team, from the Universities of Cambridge and Glasgow in the UK and ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, used their technique to observe how the magnetisation behaves, the first time this has been done in three dimensions.

A new imaging method which exploits the unique properties of quantum-entangled photons to reveal hidden information could help move forward the developing field of quantum radar. Physicists from the University of Glasgow's Optics Group describe in a paper published today in Science Advances how they used a technique known as quantum illumination to image through noise.

Scientists have demonstrated a key technology in making next-generation high-energy particle accelerators possible. Particle accelerators are used to probe the make-up of matter in colliders like the Large Hadron Collider, and for measuring the chemical structure of drugs, treating cancers and manufacturing silicon microchips.

Particle accelerators have many practical applications, from fundamental discoveries such as the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), to determining the structure of drugs and advanced materials, to the treatment of cancer. The LHC at CERN is the world's most powerful accelerator, but the main question is, what should be the next accelerator to replace the LHC at the highest possible energies once it ceases operation? A muon collider could be the answer.

Even though they are inanimate objects, sand dunes can 'communicate' with each other, researchers have found. A team from the University of Cambridge has found that as they move, sand dunes interact with and repel their downstream neighbours. We've discovered physics that hasn't been part of the model before Nathalie Vriend Using an experimental dune 'racetrack', the researchers observed that two identical dunes start out close together, but over time they get further and further apart.

Scientists from the University of Bristol and Université Paris-Saclay have discovered a new class of material ' non-sticky gels. Until now gels have been made of particles that stick to one another to form a network. The research team, whose findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , have now shown that networks and from and persist without the particles sticking to one another if the particles behave as liquid crystals.

The clearest and most detailed images of the Sun have been captured by the largest telescope in the world. Just released first images and videos from the US National Science Foundation's (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope reveal unprecedented detail of the Sun's surface, with experts saying it will enable a new era of solar science and a leap forward in understanding the Sun and its impacts on our planet.

The largest telescope in the world, which was built by a team involving UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory engineers and scientists, has captured the clearest and most detailed images of the Sun. The first images and videos from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope reveal unprecedented detail of the Sun's surface, with experts saying it will enable a new era of solar science and a leap forward in understanding the Sun and its impacts on our planet.

Heat can be converted to electricity more efficiently using nanowires as thin as atoms, according to new research Atomically thin nanowires conduct less heat and more electricity at the same time, yielding unprecedented conversion efficiency in comparison to the same bulk material Research opens up future routes into renewable energy from heat-to-electricity conversion Waste heat can be converted to electricity more efficiently using one-dimensi