Bright ‘nearby’ gamma-ray burst dazzles astronomers

29 Mar 2023

Circular vision: NASA's Swift X-Ray Telescope managed to capture the afterglow of GRB 221009A about an hour after it was first detected (Courtesy: NASA/Swift/A Beardmore (University of Leicester))

Update 29/03/2023: Astronomers have reported the results of their observatios on GRB 221009A in a special issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters. The article below was first published on 14/10/2022.

Several orbiting space telescopes scanning the skies for powerful cosmic explosions have spotted one of the brightest gamma-ray bursts ever detected. Initial evidence suggests that the blast of high-energy radiation occurred when an extremely massive star collapsed – a process that results in an immense flood of gamma-rays and X-rays. Astronomers have been racing to follow-up the discovery, with one researcher suggesting it will become the “best studied gamma-ray burst in history”.

 

Let’s talk about quantum 2.0: why we need to sharpen up our language

24 Apr 2023 Robert P Crease

Quantum technology could benefit from us finding less spooky ways to describe the weird phenomena on which they’re based, argue Robert P Crease, Jennifer Carter and Gino Elia

Words matter Our inability to find the right language to describe quantum phenomena could be holding back the development of quantum technology. (Courtesy: iStock/Anadmist)

Superposition, entanglement and other baffling facets of the quantum world are now the driving forces behind various breakthrough technologies. Whereas “quantum 1.0” was all about interrogating the mysteries of Schrödinger’s wave equations and setting up clever experiments to close loopholes in the theory, “quantum 2.0” is putting the most bizarre aspects of quantum physics to routine work. Quantum computers based on superposition, as well as encryption devices relying on entanglement for long-distance communication, are now all becoming technologically viable.

 

Photon bound states pave the way to manipulation of ‘quantum light’

25 Apr 2023 Isabelle Dumé

Exotic photonic states Artist's impression of photons bound together after interaction with a quantum dot. (Courtesy: The University of Basel)

Researchers have succeeded in observing individual photons and a pair of bound photons interacting with a single quantum dot in a different way. The feat could pave the way to the manipulation of exotic photonic states with implications for quantum-enhanced measurement techniques, light-based quantum computing and metrology.

 

Beyond the quantum woo-niverse: getting to grips with the fundamentals of quantum mechanics

26 Apr 2023

Philip Moriarty reviews Quantum Bullsh*t: How to Ruin Your Life with Advice from Quantum Physics by Chris Ferrie

Woo-niversal truths Chris Ferrie attempts to take the quantum mysticism out of quantum mechanics. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/Space Wind)

You can no doubt guess that Chris Ferrie’s Quantum Bullsh*t: How to Ruin Your Life with Advice from Quantum Physics is not a formal, dispassionate academic treatise on the cultural and societal ramifications of quantum physics. And if you’ve already wrinkled your nose at that title, be warned – inside the covers it gets a heck of a lot more sweary. Ferrie’s expletive-laden writing style is not for the faint-hearted, in this universe or any other.

 

First stars in the universe formed in groups, machine-learning study reveals

24 Apr 2023

Metalworks: artistic impression of a supernova. (Courtesy: NASA/ESA/G Bacon (STScI))

Machine learning has been used to characterize the heavy elements that the first stars in the universe passed on to their immediate successors after they exploded in supernovae. This cosmic inheritance of elements was studied by researchers affiliated with the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe in Tokyo, who have found evidence that most of the first generation of stars in the universe existed in systems of two or more stars.

‘Goldilocks zone’ may not be a good metric for whether life exists on exoplanets, say astrobiologists

25 Apr 2023

Out of this world: researchers hope their work will be used to direct observational resources towards planets more likely to show life (courtesy: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio)

Most exoplanets lying in the habitable zones around stars are in fact inhospitable to plant life as we know it. That is according to a new study from microbiologists and astronomers at the University of Georgia who say that taking into account the light a planet receives as well as its ability to hold liquid water is a better definition of whether life could exist on other planets.

 

Emirates Mars Mission takes first high-resolution images of Mars' moon Deimos

25 April 2023

Close-up: Deimos with Mars in the background as taken by the Emirate Mars Mission on 10 March 2023 (courtesy: Emirates Mars Mission)

The United Arab Emirates Mars probe has taken the first high-resolution images of Deimos, the smaller and lesser observed of Mars' two moons. The photos were released yesterday at Vienna's week-long European Geosciences Union meeting.

The Emirates Mars Mission, also known as Hope, was launched in July 2020 and arrived at Mars in February 2021. The probe carries three instruments: an ultraviolet spectrometer, an infrared spectrometer, and a high-resolution imager.

 

Membrane mirrors take off for use in large space telescopes

26 Apr 2023 Isabelle Dumé

Lightweight and low cost: researchers have developed a new way to make telescope mirrors that could enable much larger, and thus more sensitive, telescopes to be placed in orbit. (Courtesy: Sebastian Rabien, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics)

Extremely large telescopes in space or balloon-based observatories will require mirrors that are much larger, more sensitive and lighter than those in operation today. Large membrane mirrors with low areal weight show promise in this context, but they are difficult to manufacture with the required optical quality.

 

Giant magnetoresistance spotted in near-pristine graphene

20 Apr 2023

Wonder material: ball-and-stick illustration of a single sheet of graphene. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/billdayone)

After amazing us with its incredible strength, flexibility and thermal conductivity, graphene has now chalked up another remarkable property with its magnetoresistance. Researchers in Singapore and the UK have shown that, in near-pristine monolayer graphene, the room-temperature magnetoresistance can be orders of magnitude higher than in any other material. It could therefore provide both a platform for exploring exotic physics and potentially a tool for improving electronic devices.

 

Photoacoustic mapping of tumour oxygenation predicts radiotherapy efficacy

18 Apr 2023 Jigar Dubal

Research team Janggun Jo, Mingyang Wang, Kaiwei Chang and Wei Zhang (from left to right) and colleagues at the University of Michigan have developed PA chemical imaging powered by TTCCNE, with the aim of predicting tumour response to radiotherapy. (Courtesy: Janggun Jo)

Advances in radiation therapy have revolutionized the treatment of cancer, but the efficacy of treatment can vary significantly among patients. Recent developments in imaging techniques have enabled clinicians to monitor changes in tumour structure to assess response to radiation therapy.

 

Machine learning framework classifies pneumonia on chest X-rays

24 Apr 2023 Tami Freeman

Test data Chest X-ray images showing examples of normal lung (left), bacterial pneumonia (centre), and viral pneumonia (right). (Courtesy: Mach. Learn.: Sci. Technol. 10.1088/2632-2153/acc30f)

Pneumonia is a potentially fatal lung infection that progresses rapidly. Patients with pneumonia symptoms – such as a dry, hacking cough, breathing difficulties and high fever – generally receive a stethoscope examination of the lungs, followed by a chest X-ray to confirm diagnosis. Distinguishing between bacterial and viral pneumonia, however, remains a challenge, as both have similar clinical presentation.

 

Mouse brain imaging reaches record-breaking resolution

25 Apr 2023 Tami Freeman

Sharpest images ever Super-powerful MRI merged with light-sheet microscopy allows researchers to create a high-definition wiring diagram of the entire mouse brain. (Courtesy: Duke Center for In Vivo Microscopy)

A research team headed up at Duke Center for In Vivo Microscopy has created the highest-resolution MR images ever obtained of the mouse brain. The key to this breakthrough, which the team describe as “the culmination of nearly 40 years of research”, lies in the merging of magnetic resonance histology with light sheet microscopy.

 

Giant orbital magnetic moment appears in a graphene quantum dot

20 Apr 2023 Isabelle Dumé

In the lab: physicist Jairo Velasco Jr (left) and graduate student Zhehao Ge. Behind them is the scanning tunnelling microscope that they use to create and study graphene quantum dots. (Courtesy: Tianhui Zhu)

A giant orbital magnetic moment exists in graphene quantum dots, according to new work by physicists at the University of California Santa Cruz in the US. As well as being of fundamental interest for studying systems with relativistic electrons – that is those travelling at near-light speeds – the work could be important for quantum information science since these moments could encode information.

 

Materials innovation on display in Boston

24 Nov 2022 Sponsored by MRS Fall Meeting exhibitors

Delegates attending the Fall Meeting of the Materials Research Society will be able to explore the latest products and services for preparing, analysing and studying novel materials and devices

Two-in-one The Fall Meeting of the Materials Research Society combines a live meeting in Boston followed by a dedicated virtual event. (Courtesy: iStock/Andrey-Prokhorov)

Thousands of scientists and engineers will be converging in Boston at the end of November for the Fall Meeting of the Materials Research Society, the largest international scientific gathering for materials research. Over 50 technical symposia during the event will showcase leading interdisciplinary research in fundamental and applied areas, presented by scientists from all over the world.

 

Microbial nanowires create ‘electronic nose’ for health monitoring

05 Apr 2023 Isabelle Dumé

Tracer detection: specific molecules stick to microbial nanowires grown on genetically modified E. coli. (Courtesy: UMass Amherst)

A new nanowire structure that can be grown by a common bacterium could be used as an “electronic nose” to detect a variety of chemical tracers, including those exhaled by patients with medical conditions such as asthma and kidney disease. The device, developed by a team of researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is more sensitive than conventional inorganic nanowire sensors, while being biodegradable and more sustainably produced.

 

Laser-printed electronics could create next-generation medical implants

19 Apr 2023 Isabelle Dumé

3D printing in a living organism: star (left) and square (right) shapes printed onto an anesthetized C. elegans worm’s head, imaged by confocal fluorescence and transmitted light at x40, without damaging the worm. Scale bar, 10 µm. (Courtesy: CC BY 4.0/Adv. Mater. Technol. 10.1002/admt.202201274)

Researchers at Lancaster University have succeeded in directly printing three-dimensional conducting polymer structures inside a living organism. While the process is in its very early stages, if properly developed, it could be used to print next-generation implants for a variety of medical applications, including real-time health monitoring and interventions such as neuromodulation. Human–computer interfaces might also be a possibility.

 

Real-time error correction extends the lifetime of quantum information

29 Mar 2023 Naomi Solomons

Extended lifetime Quantum information is protected by encoding it in a more complicated system, such as the “GKP state”. (Courtesy: Volodymyr Sivak, Yale University)

A team of researchers at Yale University has been able to observe and correct errors in real time as they occur in a quantum system, preserving the information for over twice as long as it could otherwise be stored.

 

New photon detector accelerates quantum key distribution

14 Apr 2023

Cool concept: the new single-photon detector makes use of multiple superconducting nanowires. (Courtesy: M Perrenoud and G Resta/UNIGE)

A single-photon detector that could boost the performance of some quantum key distribution (QKD) cryptography systems has been unveiled by Hugo Zbinden and colleagues at the University of Geneva and ID Quantique in Switzerland. The device contains 14 intertwined superconducting nanowires, which share the task of photon detection.

 

Image-guided HIFU system shows potential for clinical treatments

17 Apr 2023

On target Left: the pre-determined multi-spot HIFU ablation pattern; right: the resulting ablation pattern in a polydimethylsiloxane phantom. (Courtesy: Biomed. Opt. Express 10.1364/BOE.484986 ©The Optical Society)

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is an early-stage, non-invasive thermal therapy used to treat a variety of medical conditions, including neurological disorders and some cancers. Now, researchers at the City University of Hong Kong have developed an array-based HIFU system that integrates real-time ultrasound (US) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging to improve treatment delivery. The system provides temperature and structural information with which to guide therapy, overcoming previous challenges of long treatment times and inaccurate or costly image guidance.

 

Simulations shed light on mechanisms of DNA damage during proton therapy

13 Apr 2023 Rojin Jafari

Damage simulations Changes in electron density when a proton passes through the centre of solvated DNA. Red indicates increases in electron density, blue indicates decreases. (Courtesy: Chris Shepard)

Understanding the radiobiological response of DNA to charged particle irradiation is crucial to help optimize particle therapies and improve radiation protection strategies. DNA damage in extreme conditions (such as those experienced by astronauts, for example) can result in double-strand breaks, which can lead to mutations, chromosomal aberrations and changes in gene expression.

 

Machine learning sharpens images from scanning transmission electron microscopes

29 Mar 2023

Before and after: example of image denoising as applied to atomic resolution imaging of a gold nanoparticle. On the left is the original experimental data as captured. On the right is the same image after reconstruction with the proposed algorithm. The data were acquired at low-dose (372 electrons/pixel). The reconstructed image is now practically noise free and the true position of the atoms can be determined with enhanced precision. (Courtesy: Laura Gambini/TCD)

 

Engineered bacteria attract cancer-killing radioisotopes into tumours

12 Apr 2023 Tami Freeman

Targeting multiple tumour types Nalinikanth Kotagiri and colleagues have developed a new type of targeted radionuclide therapy, using engineered bacteria to attract beta-emitting radiopharmaceuticals into tumours to kill the cancer cells. (Courtesy: Colleen Kelley/University of Cincinnati)

Targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) is an emerging cancer treatment in which radiopharmaceuticals travel through the bloodstream and selectively bind to cancer cells. Once within the tumour, the radioactive nuclides emit alpha or beta particles that deposit their energy in a localized region and destroy surrounding cancer cells.

 

Multimodal optical imaging ready to shine in the early detection of colorectal cancer

03 Apr 2023

Europe’s PROSCOPE R&D consortium is exploiting innovative fibre-optic technologies in tandem with endoscopic delivery to diagnose colorectal cancer in its earliest stages. Joe McEntee checks out progress towards clinical translation with project co-ordinator Peter Andersen at DTU Health Tech

Out of the lab, into the clinic DTU Health Tech’s biophotonic imaging group is developing multimodal optical imaging techniques with the potential for at-scale clinical translation. Above: group leader Peter Andersen (centre) with colleagues Gavrielle Untracht (left) and Madhu Veettikazhy (right). (Courtesy: DTU Health Tech)

Colorectal (bowel) cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Europe – at around 160,000 deaths each year – and comes with an aggregate economic overhead in the region of €20 billion per annum – half of that relating to the primary healthcare impacts of treatment and follow-up patient care.

 

When will quantum computers finally break into the market?

03 Apr 2023 James McKenzie

With all the hype and excitement surrounding quantum computers, James McKenzie wonders when they will become mainstream products and what they will be useful for

Ups and downs The Gartner hype cycle depicts how any new technology goes through five main phases: quite where quantum computers currently sit is anyone’s guess.

 

Carbon-capture technology could benefit from quantum computing

05 Apr 2023

Quantum chemistry: artistic conception of a molecule being simulated by a quantum computer. (Courtesy: iStock/thelightwriter)

Quantum computers could be used to study chemical reactions related to carbon capture by doing calculations that are beyond the capability of even the most powerful classical computers – according to researchers in the US. The team at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and the University of Kentucky used a supercomputer to simulate the quantum calculations. This revealed that the computation could be done much faster on quantum computers of the future.

 

Quantum memories in space: experiments in Earth orbit push the limits of physics

30 Mar 2023 Hamish Johnston

Quantum science and technology have been developing by leaps and bounds over the past few decades, so it is not surprising that quantum experiments are now being done in space. In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast Lisa Wörner and Jan-Michael Mol of the Institute of Quantum Technologies of the German Aerospace Center in Ulm explain why physicists are launching quantum memories and other devices into space and talk about the challenges of doing experiments in Earth orbit.

With ambitious plans being dreamed up to send astronauts to the red planet, what challenges would face them if they ever went – and what technology would they need? Stephen Ornes finds out

 With ambitious plans being dreamed up to send astronauts to the red planet, what challenges would face them if they ever went – and what technology would they need? Stephen Ornes finds out

In most Hollywood movies, interplanetary travel seems fairly straightforward: hop on a spaceship, blast off, fly through space (with or without hibernation that may or may not go awry), land on foreign soil. But throw in the known and unknown hazards of deep space physics, multiplied by the limitations of the human body, and the adventure becomes decidedly more complicated.

Yet something about going to Mars has captivated the space-curious for generations; from scientists who want to build the spaceships and go, to politicians who can approve the spending. “Mankind is drawn to the heavens for the same reason we were once drawn into unknown lands and across the open sea,” said US President George W Bush in 2004, when he proposed spending $12bn to get to the Moon by 2020 as a stepping stone to Mars. Not to be outdone, President Barack Obama announced in 2016 that he wanted to get people to Mars by 2030, and more recently, President Donald Trump signed a bill authorizing $19.5bn to go towards NASA’s quest to have humans visit Mars. (“You could send Congress to space,” one senator quipped at the signing.)

 

Tunable lasers and femtosecond lasers from Hübner Photonics

22 Mar 2023 Sponsored by HÜBNER Photonics

Hübner Photonics

This short video filmed at the Photonics West 2023 meeting features Martin Ruge from Hübner Photonics, who introduces the company’s C-WAVE product family of tunable and lockable laser light sources, which operate from 450 nm in the blue to 3.5 μm in the infrared. Ruge, who is global product manager of the C-WAVE tunable laser series, explains how it emits a continuous wave with a line width of a few hundred kHz and comes with three tuning mechanisms.

 

‘Trojan horse’ injection method enables ultracompact X-ray free-electron laser

30 Mar 2023 Isabelle Dumé

Plasma-X-FEL: artist’s representation of the ultracompact X-ray free-electron laser. (Courtesy: University of Strathclyde/Science Communication Lab)

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) are used to create extreme matter conditions, enabling fundamental research in areas such as materials science, hot-dense-matter research and drug development. Currently, such lasers are behemoths, requiring kilometre-scale set-ups costing billions. Researchers at Strathclyde University in the UK have now put forward a new blueprint for a miniaturized XFEL based on a plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA). The device, which would be just a few metres in size, could herald the advent of next-generation ultracompact XFELs, they say.

 

Lithium niobate photonic integrated circuits create ultrafast tunable laser

10 Apr 2023 Isabelle Dumé

Hybrid device: the photonic integrated chip developed in this study. (Courtesy: G Likhachev, EPFL)

A new type of ultrafast tuneable laser based on low-loss lithium niobate integrated photonics could find application in technologies such as continuous-wave light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems. The device, made by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and IBM Research Europe in Zurich, has a high frequency-tuning rate and outperforms previous such lasers in terms of the laser linewidth.