NEWSROOM

Using proteins from a common tobacco plant virus, McGill chemistry researchers have developed a simple, eco-friendly way to arrange gold nanoparticles into ultrathin sheets, strengthening the particles’ optical properties. The result: cheaper, safer materials for solar panels, sensors and advanced optical devices. Gold nanoparticles are only effective in strengthening optical signals when the nanoparticles are arranged on a surface and spaced at exact distances. Until now, cr

A team from the Faculty of Physics and the Centre for Quantum Optical Technologies at the Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw has developed a new method for measuring elusive terahertz signals using a "quantum antenna." The authors of the work utilized a novel setup for radio wave detection with Rydberg atoms to not only detect but also precisely calibrate a so-called frequency comb in the terahertz band. This band was until recently a white spot in the electroma

One of the enigmas of life is emergence, when the whole becomes more than its parts. Flocks of birds can instantly change direction when a predator appears, guided not by a lead bird but by a collective intelligence that no single bird can possess on its own. Multitudes of molecules skitter chaotically in a cell, but certain ones find each other, interact, and give rise to sophisticated cellular structures and functions that could not have been predicted by studying the molec

For a long time, the two areas of strong-field physics and quantum optics were considered independent areas of physics research without any significant overlaps. Whilst strong-field physics focuses on the behavior of material, such as atomic gases, in intense light fields, quantum optics focuses on researching special quantum properties of light that cannot be described within the framework of classical physics. Strong-field physics requires intense laser rays, in other words

Drugs are often only needed at a specific site in the body. That is why medical research has long been trying to deliver them precisely to where they are needed – in the case of a stroke, directly to the vicinity of the blood clot. A team from ETH Zurich has now achieved decisive breakthroughs on several levels in pursuit of this goal. The results have been published in the prestigious journal Science. The authors of the publication include Professor Tessa Lühmann from the In

Using a combination of spectromicroscopy at BESSY II and microscopic analyses at DESY's NanoLab, a team has gained new insights into the chemical behaviour of nanocatalysts during catalysis. The nanoparticles consisted of a platinum core with a rhodium shell. This configuration allows a better understanding of structural changes in, for example, rhodium-platinum catalysts for emission control. The results show that under typical catalytic conditions, some of the rhodium in th