A less 'clumpy,' more complex universe?

 

Date:

January 29, 2025

Source:

University of Pennsylvania

Summary:

New research has combined cosmological data from two major surveys of the universe's evolutionary history and found hints that it may be less clumpy at certain points than previously thought. Their findings suggest that the universe may have become more complex with advancing age.

Across cosmic history, powerful forces have acted on matter, reshaping the universe into an increasingly complex web of structures.

Now, new research led by Joshua Kim and Mathew Madhavacheril at the University of Pennsylvania and their collaborators at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggests our universe has become "messier and more complicated" over the roughly 13.8 billion years it's been around, or rather, the distribution of matter over the years is less "clumpy" than expected.

"Our work cross-correlated two types of datasets from complementary, but very distinct, surveys," says Madhavacheril, "and what we found was that for the most part, the story of structure formation is remarkably consistent with the predictions from Einstein's gravity. We did see a hint for a small discrepancy in the amount of expected clumpiness in recent epochs, around four billion years ago, which could be interesting to pursue."

The data, published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics and the preprint server arXiv, comes from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope's (ACT) final data release (DR6) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument's (DESI) Year 1. Madhavacheril says that pairing this data allowed the team to layer cosmic time in a way that resembles stacking transparencies of ancient cosmic photographs over recent ones, giving a multidimensional perspective of the cosmos.

"ACT, covering approximately 23% of the sky, paints a picture of the universe's infancy by using a distant, faint light that's been travelling since the Big Bang," says first author of the paper Joshua Kim, a graduate researcher in the Madhavacheril Group. "Formally, this light is called the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), but we sometimes just call it the universe's baby picture because it's a snapshot of when it was around 380,000 years old."

The path of this ancient light throughout evolutionary time, or as the universe has aged, has not been a straight one, Kim explains. Gravitational forces from large, dense, heavy structures like galaxy clusters in the cosmos have been warping the CMB, sort of like how an image is distorted as it travels through a pair of spectacles. This "gravitational lensing effect," which was first predicted by Einstein more than 100 years ago, is how cosmologists make inferences about its properties like matter distribution and age.

DESI's data, on the other hand, provides a more recent record of the cosmos. Based in the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona and operated by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, DESI is mapping the universe's three-dimensional structure by studying the distribution of millions of galaxies, particularly luminous red galaxies (LRGs). These galaxies act as cosmic landmarks, making it possible for scientists to trace how matter has spread out over billions of years.

"The LRGs from DESI are like a more recent picture of the universe, showing us how galaxies are distributed at varying distances," Kim says, likening the data to the universe's high school yearbook photo. "It's a powerful way to see how structures have evolved from the CMB map to where galaxies stand today.

By combining the lensing maps from ACT's CMB data with DESI's LRGs, the team created an unprecedented overlap between ancient and recent cosmic history, enabling them to compare early- and late-universe measurements directly. "This process is like a cosmic CT scan," says Madhavacheril, "where we can look through different slices of cosmic history and track how matter clumped together at different epochs. It gives us a direct look into how the gravitational influence of matter changed over billions of years."

In doing so they noticed a small discrepancy: the clumpiness, or density fluctuations, expected at later epochs didn't quite match predictions. Sigma 8 (σ8), a metric that measures the amplitude of matter density fluctuations, is a key factor, Kim says, and lower values of σ8 indicate less clumping than expected, which could mean that cosmic structures haven't evolved according to the predictions from early-universe models and suggest that the universe's structural growth may have slowed in ways current models don't fully explain.

This slight disagreement with expectations, he explains, "isn't strong enough to suggest new physics conclusively -- it's still possible that this deviation is purely by chance."

If indeed the deviation is not by chance, some unaccounted-for physics could be at play, moderating how structures form and evolve over cosmic time. One hypothesis is that dark energy -- the mysterious force thought to drive the universe's accelerating expansion -- could be influencing cosmic structure formation more than previously understood.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Pennsylvania.

Visit Us : bookofaward.com

Contact Us :  contact@bookofaward.com

Nomination Link : https://bookofaward.com/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee

Registration Link: https://bookofaward.com/award-registration/ 

Awards-Winners : https://bookofaward.com/awards-winners/

Social Media:

Blogger : https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/posts/4193764698228727747

Pinterest : https://in.pinterest.com/kajalmalhothra/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093535591961

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/irea.boa/

Twitter : https://x.com/Kajal_0211

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKyUuNou89geZv23XSybOeA

Tags:

#Cosmology, #Universe, #DarkMatter, #Astrophysics, #SpaceScience, #CosmicEvolution, #BigBang, #Galaxies, #Physics, #Astronomy, #SpaceExploration, #Hubble, #JamesWebbTelescope, #DarkEnergy, #TimeSpace, #ScientificDiscovery, #ExpandingUniverse, #QuantumPhysics, #Relativity, #Stargazing, #GalacticClusters, #SpaceTime, #Telescopes, #MilkyWay, #Interstellar, #AstroResearch, #CMB, #CosmicStructure, #HiggsBoson, #Exoplanets, #ScienceNews, #CosmicWeb, #Supernova, #AstrophysicsResearch, #TheoreticalPhysics, #Multiverse, #LightYears, #Astronomers, #Neutrinos, #SpaceMysteries, #ScientificBreakthrough

Scientists 'mimic real biological processes' using synthetic neurons

 

Advance could enable perceptual capabilities in robotics

Date:

January 29, 2025

Source:

Northwestern University

Summary:

A new collaboration has unlocked new potential for the field by creating a novel high-performance organic electrochemical neuron that responds within the frequency range of human neurons.

Artificially engineered biological processes, such as perception systems, remain an elusive target for organic electronics experts due to the reliance of human senses on an adaptive network of sensory neurons, which communicate by firing in response to environmental stimuli.

A new collaboration between Northwestern University and Georgia Tech has unlocked new potential for the field by creating a novel high-performance organic electrochemical neuron that responds within the frequency range of human neurons. They also built a complete perception system by designing other organic materials and integrating their engineered neurons with artificial touch receptors and synapses, which enabled real-time tactile signal sensing and processing.

The research, described in a paper published this month in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could move the needle on intelligent robots and other systems currently stymied by sensing systems that are less powerful than those of a human.

"The study highlights significant progress in organic electronics and their application in bridging the gap between biology and technology," said first author Yao Yao, a Northwestern engineering professor. "We created an efficient artificial neuron with reduced footprint and outstanding neuronal characteristics. Leveraging this capability, we developed a complete tactile neuromorphic perception system to mimic real biological processes."

According to corresponding author Tobin J. Marks, Northwestern's Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, existing artificial neural circuits tend to fire within a narrow frequency range.

"The synthetic neuron in this study achieves unprecedented performance in firing frequency modulation, offering a range 50 times broader than existing organic electrochemical neural circuits," Marks said. "In contrast, our device's outstanding neuronal characteristics establish it as an advanced achievement in organic electrochemical neurons."

Marks is a world leader in the fields of organometallic chemistry, chemical catalysis, materials science, organic electronics, photovoltaics and nanotechnology. He is also a professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering in Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and as Professor of Applied Physics. His co-corresponding author Antonio Facchetti, a professor at Georgia Tech's School of Materials Science and Engineering, also serves as an adjunct professor of chemistry at Northwestern.

"This study presents the first complete neuromorphic tactile perception system based on artificial neurons, which integrates artificial tactile receptors and artificial synapses," said Facchetti. "It demonstrates the ability to encode tactile stimuli into spiking neuronal signals in real time and further translate them into post-synaptic responses."

The research, described in a paper published this month in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could move the needle on intelligent robots and other systems currently stymied by sensing systems that are less powerful than those of a human.

"The study highlights significant progress in organic electronics and their application in bridging the gap between biology and technology," said first author Yao Yao, a Northwestern engineering professor. "We created an efficient artificial neuron with reduced footprint and outstanding neuronal characteristics. Leveraging this capability, we developed a complete tactile neuromorphic perception system to mimic real biological processes."

According to corresponding author Tobin J. Marks, Northwestern's Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, existing artificial neural circuits tend to fire within a narrow frequency range.

"The synthetic neuron in this study achieves unprecedented performance in firing frequency modulation, offering a range 50 times broader than existing organic electrochemical neural circuits," Marks said. "In contrast, our device's outstanding neuronal characteristics establish it as an advanced achievement in organic electrochemical neurons."

Marks is a world leader in the fields of organometallic chemistry, chemical catalysis, materials science, organic electronics, photovoltaics and nanotechnology. He is also a professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering in Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and as Professor of Applied Physics. His co-corresponding author Antonio Facchetti, a professor at Georgia Tech's School of Materials Science and Engineering, also serves as an adjunct professor of chemistry at Northwestern.

"This study presents the first complete neuromorphic tactile perception system based on artificial neurons, which integrates artificial tactile receptors and artificial synapses," said Facchetti. "It demonstrates the ability to encode tactile stimuli into spiking neuronal signals in real time and further translate them into post-synaptic responses."

Story Source:

Materials provided by Northwestern University.

Visit Us : bookofaward.com

Contact Us :  contact@bookofaward.com

Nomination Link : https://bookofaward.com/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee

Registration Link: https://bookofaward.com/award-registration/ 

Awards-Winners : https://bookofaward.com/awards-winners/

Social Media:

Blogger : https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/posts/4193764698228727747

Pinterest : https://in.pinterest.com/kajalmalhothra/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093535591961

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/irea.boa/

Twitter : https://x.com/Kajal_0211

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKyUuNou89geZv23XSybOeA

Tags:

#NeuromorphicComputing, #ArtificialNeuron, #Bioelectronics, #Neuroprosthetics, #OrganicElectronics, #NeuralNetworks, #BrainInspiredAI, #BiomimeticTech, #ComputationalNeuroscience, #NeuroscienceInnovation, #AIandNeuroTech, #SmartMaterials, #SyntheticNeurons, #NeurologicalEngineering, #CognitiveComputing, #FutureTech, #NeuralInterfaces, #MedicalTechnology, #BrainMachineInterface, #Nanoelectronics, #TechInnovation, #NeuralCircuitry, #Biotechnology, #CognitiveNeuroscience, #NeuralProcessing, #ComputingRevolution, #NextGenAI, #SmartElectronics, #HumanLikeAI, #BioInspiredComputing, #SyntheticBiology, #NeuroscienceBreakthrough, #Neuroengineering, #OrganicMaterials, #TechBreakthrough, #MachineIntelligence, #HumanAugmentation, #FuturisticTech, #AIRevolution, #ScientificDiscovery

Progress toward a new generation of rechargeable batteries

Redox mediator improves performance and lifespan of Li-O2 batteries

Date:

January 27, 2025

Source:

Wiley

Summary:

Lithium-air batteries have the potential to outstrip conventional lithium-ion batteries by storing significantly more energy at the same weight. However, their high-performance values have thus far remained theoretical, and their lifespan remains too short. A team has now proposed addition of a soluble catalyst to the electrolyte. It acts as a redox mediator that facilitates charge transport and counteracts passivation of the electrodes.

Lithium-air batteries have the potential to outstrip conventional lithium-ion batteries by storing significantly more energy at the same weight. However, their high-performance values have thus far remained theoretical, and their lifespan remains too short. A Chinese team has now proposed addition of a soluble catalyst to the electrolyte. It acts as a redox mediator that facilitates charge transport and counteracts passivation of the electrodes.

In contrast to lithium-ion batteries, in which lithium ions are "pushed" back and forth between two electrodes, lithium-air batteries (Li-O2) use an anode made of metallic lithium.

As the battery is used, positively charged lithium ions dissolve and move over to the porous cathode, which has air flowing through it. Oxygen is oxidized and bound into lithium peroxide (Li2O2). Upon charging, the oxygen is released, and the lithium ions are reduced back to metallic lithium, which deposits back onto the anode.

Unfortunately, the theoretically high performance of such batteries has not become a reality.

In practice, an effect known as overpotential slows the electrochemical reactions: the formation and decomposition of insoluble Li2O2 are slow and its conductivity is also very low.

In addition, the pores of the cathode tend to become clogged, and the high potential required for the formation of oxygen decomposes the electrolyte and promotes undesirable side reactions.

This causes the batteries to lose the majority of their performance after only a few charge/discharge cycles.

A team led by Zhong-Shuai Wu from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of CAS, collaborating with Xiangkun Ma from the Dalian Maritime University, has now proposed the addition of a novel imidazole iodide salt (1,3-dimethylimidazolium iodide, DMII) to act as a catalyst and redox mediator to enhance the performance and lifespan.

The iodide ions (I−) in the salt can easily react to form I3− and then back again (redox pair). In this process, they transfer electrons to oxygen (discharge) and take them back up (charge). This facilitated charge transport accelerates the reactions, reduces the overpotential of the cathode, and increases the discharge capacity of the electrochemical cell.

The DMI+ ions from the salt contain a ring made from three carbon and two nitrogen atoms.

This ring has freely mobile electrons and can "capture" lithium ions during discharge and effectively transfer them to the oxygen at the cathode.

In addition, the DMI+ ions form an ultrathin but highly stable interface film on the anode, which prevents direct contact between the electrolyte and the lithium surface, minimizing the decomposition of the electrolyte and preventing side reactions.

This stabilizes the anode and increases the lifespan of the battery.

The electrochemical test cells produced by the team were highly promising, demonstrating a very low overpotential (0.52 V), high cycle stability over 960 hours, and highly reversible formation/decomposition of Li2O2 with no side reactions.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Wiley.

Visit Us : bookofaward.com

Contact Us :  contact@bookofaward.com

Nomination Link : https://bookofaward.com/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee

Registration Link: https://bookofaward.com/award-registration/ 

Awards-Winners : https://bookofaward.com/awards-winners/

Social Media:

Blogger : https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/posts/4193764698228727747

Pinterest : https://in.pinterest.com/kajalmalhothra/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093535591961

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/irea.boa/

Twitter : https://x.com/Kajal_0211

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKyUuNou89geZv23XSybOeA

Tags:

#LithiumAirBattery, #EnergyStorage, #BatteryInnovation, #RenewableEnergy, #ElectricVehicles, #BatteryResearch, #NextGenBatteries, #SustainableTech, #EnergyRevolution, #FutureTech, #GreenEnergy, #LithiumBattery, #TechInnovation, #ScienceBreakthrough, #BatteryTech, #EcoFriendly, #Electrochemistry, #CleanEnergy, #EnergyEfficiency, #AdvancedMaterials, #TechTrends, #BatteryScience, #SmartEnergy, #RedoxReaction, #BatteryLife, #ResearchAndDevelopment, #EVRevolution, #Nanotechnology, #MaterialScience, #Electronics, #BatteryPerformance, #EnergyTech, #Innovation, #SustainableFuture, #TechDiscovery, #Breakthrough, #PowerStorage, #ScienceAndTechnology, #EnvironmentalTech, #LithiumTech

 

Date:

January 27, 2025

Source:

Van Andel Research Institute

Summary:

A person's lifetime risk for cancer may begin before they are even born, reports a paradigm-shifting study. The findings identified two distinct epigenetic states that arise during development and are linked to cancer risk. One of these states is associated with a lower lifetime risk while the other is associated with a higher lifetime risk.

A person's lifetime risk for cancer may begin before they are even born, reports a paradigm-shifting study by Van Andel Institute scientists.

The findings, published in Nature Cancer, identified two distinct epigenetic states that arise during development and are linked to cancer risk. One of these states is associated with a lower lifetime risk while the other is associated with a higher lifetime risk.

If cancer does develop in the lower risk state, it is more likely to be a liquid tumor, such as leukemia or lymphoma. If cancer develops in the higher risk state, it is more likely to be a solid tumor, such as lung or prostate cancer.

"Because most cancers occur later in life and are understood as diseases of mutation, or genetics, there hasn't been a deep focus on how development might shape cancer risk. Our findings change that," said J. Andrew Pospisilik, Ph.D., chair of VAI's Department of Epigenetics and co-corresponding author of the study. "Our identification of these two epigenetically different states open the door to an entirely new world of study into the underpinnings of cancer."

Cancer risk increases as people age, thanks to an accumulation of DNA damage and other factors. Still, not every abnormal cell goes on to become cancer. In recent years, scientists have identified other influences, such as epigenetic errors, as additional contributors to cancer.

Epigenetics are processes that affect how and when the instructions in DNA are carried out. Problems with epigenetics can derail cellular quality control processes, enabling sick cells to survive and spread.

In their study, Pospisilik and collaborators found that mice with reduced levels of the gene Trim28 can have one of two patterns of epigenetic marks on cancer-related genes, despite being otherwise identical. These patterns are established during development. The strength of the patterns determines which of the two cancer risk states occur.

"Everyone has some level of risk but, when cancer does arise, we tend to think of it just as bad luck," said Ilaria Panzeri, Ph.D., a research scientist in the Pospisilik Lab and the study's first and co-corresponding author. "However, bad luck doesn't fully explain why some people develop cancer and others don't. Most importantly, bad luck cannot be targeted for treatment. Epigenetics, on the other hand, can be targeted. Our findings show that cancer's roots may start during the sensitive period of development, offering a new perspective to study the disease and potential new options for diagnosis and treatment."

The team found evidence of the two epigenetic states throughout tissues in the body, which suggests that developmental epigenetic risk may be common across cancers. In the future, they plan to explore the effects of these two states in individual cancer types.

Other authors include Luca Fagnocchi, Ph.D., Stefanos Apostle, M.S., Megan Tompkins, Emily Wolfrum, MPH, Zachary Madaj, M.S., Galen Hostetter, M.D., Yanqing Liu, Kristen Schaefer, Chih-Hsiang Yang, Ph.D., Alexis Bergsma, Ph.D., Anne Drougard, Ph.D., Erez Dror, Ph.D., Darrell Chandler, Ph.D., and Timothy J. Triche, Jr., Ph.D., of VAI; the PERMUTE Consortium; and Daniel Schramek, Ph.D., of University of Toronto. Schaefer also is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Van Andel Research Institute.

Visit Us : bookofaward.com

Contact Us :  contact@bookofaward.com

Nomination Link : https://bookofaward.com/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee

Registration Link: https://bookofaward.com/award-registration/ 

Awards-Winners : https://bookofaward.com/awards-winners/

Social Media:

Blogger : https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/posts/4193764698228727747

Pinterest : https://in.pinterest.com/kajalmalhothra/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093535591961

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/irea.boa/

Twitter : https://x.com/Kajal_0211

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKyUuNou89geZv23XSybOeA

Tags:

#CancerRisk #Epigenetics #Genetics #DevelopmentalBiology #CancerPrevention #HealthResearch #DNAStudies #EpigeneticMarkers #CancerAwareness #GeneticResearch #ChildhoodDevelopment #Genomics #HealthInnovation #MedicalBreakthrough #DiseasePrevention #ResearchMatters #LifespanHealth #PrenatalCare #FutureHealth #EpigeneticFactors #BiologyInsights #CancerGenetics #ScientificDiscovery #EarlyPrevention #HealthSciences #DNAResearch #InnovativeMedicine #GeneticMarkers #EpigeneticHealth #MolecularBiology #HealthEquity #PreventiveCare #CuttingEdgeScience #MedicalStudies #HealthcareInnovation #CancerStudies #EarlyIntervention #RiskReduction #ScienceMatters #HealthOptimization

Ultrasound-directed microbubbles could boost immune response against tumors

 

Date:

January 15, 2025

Source:

Concordia University

Summary:

Researchers have designed process that uses ultrasound to modify the behavior of cancer-fighting T cells by increasing their cell permeability. They targeted freshly isolated human immune cells with tightly focused ultrasound beams and clinically approved contrast agent microbubbles. When hit with the ultrasound, the bubbles vibrate at extremely high frequency, acting as a push-pull on the walls of the T cell's membranes. This can mimic the T cell's natural response to the presence of an antigen. The T cell then begins to secrete vital signalling molecules that would otherwise be restricted by the tumor's hostile microenvironment. The process does not damage the cell itself.

A new paper by a team of Concordia researchers from the departments of Biology and Physics proposes a novel method of fighting cancer tumours that uses ultrasound-guided microbubbles -- a technology already widely used in medical imaging and drug delivery.

Writing in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, the researchers describe a process that uses ultrasound to modify the behaviour of cancer-fighting T cells by increasing their cell permeability.

They examined how this can influence the release of more than 90 kinds of cytokines, a type of signalling molecule crucial for immune response.

The researchers targeted freshly isolated human immune cells with tightly focused ultrasound beams and clinically approved contrast agent microbubbles.

When hit with the ultrasound, the bubbles vibrate at extremely high frequency, acting as a push-pull on the walls of the T cell's membranes.

This can mimic the T cell's natural response to the presence of an antigen.

The T cell then begins to secrete vital signalling molecules that would otherwise be restricted by the tumour's hostile microenvironment.

The process does not damage the cell itself.

"We're combining the use of ultrasound and microbubbles to help modulate brain immunology with the emerging field of cancer immunotherapy, which is the harnessing of our own immune cells to fight cancer," says Brandon Helfield, an associate professor of biology and physics and the paper's supervising author.

Reactivating cells

This approach directly confronts one of the major challenges to the body's natural response to cancer: the tumour's ability to deactivate T cells from producing cytokines and other proteins of interest once they enter the tumour itself.

"The microbubbles can re-activate the cells that have been turned off inside the tumour," says the paper's lead author, PhD candidate Ana Baez.

"This process will help them release the proteins that are needed to grow additional immune and blood cells, which creates a positive feedback loop."

The changes to cytokine secretion were found to be time dependent.

The amount of cytokines increased between 0.1 to 3.6 times compared to untreated cells over 48 hours.

Additionally, the researchers noticed that when the ultrasound made the cell membranes more permeable, the amount of cytokines released generally went down.

While only preliminarily shown through benchtop experiments, the authors hope that this study will deepen their understanding of the different pathways chemicals in the body's immune system use to fight cancer.

At the same time, they believe this avenue of research will improve and complement existing cancer treatments and cellular therapies.

"We already use microbubbles clinically as image-guided tools," says Helfield, Tier II Canada Research Chair in Molecular Biophysics in Human Health.

"In the future, we could manipulate the beam to go from imaging to a therapeutic sequence. This would localize the effect on the T cells so you are only activating the ones where the beam is."

"We may also be able to include cancer-fighting drugs that target the tumour in the treatment," Baez adds.

"The technique is completely non-invasive, so we can always repeat it."

Davindra Singh, Stephanie He, Mehri Hajiaghayi, Fatemeh Gholizadeh and Peter Darlington contributed to this study.

This work was supported by the Canada Research Chairs Program, the Cancer Research Society and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Story Source:

Materials provided by Concordia University.

Visit Us : bookofaward.com

Contact Us :  contact@bookofaward.com

Nomination Link : https://bookofaward.com/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee

Registration Link: https://bookofaward.com/award-registration/ 

Awards-Winners : https://bookofaward.com/awards-winners/

Social Media:

Blogger : https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/posts/4193764698228727747

Pinterest : https://in.pinterest.com/kajalmalhothra/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093535591961

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/irea.boa/

Twitter : https://x.com/Kajal_0211

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKyUuNou89geZv23XSybOeA

Tags:

#UltrasoundTherapy, #CancerResearch, #ImmuneResponse, #TCellActivation, #CellPermeability, #MedicalInnovation, #Immunotherapy, #TumorMicroenvironment, #NonInvasiveTreatment, #CancerFightingCells, #BiomedicalEngineering, #FocusedUltrasound, #CancerBreakthrough, #CellTherapy, #ImmuneBoost, #MicrobubbleTechnology, #CuttingEdgeScience, #OncologyResearch, #TargetedTherapies, #CancerImmunotherapy, #TCellEngineering, #CellSignaling, #AdvancedHealthcare, #TumorTreatment, #InnovativeMedicine, #BioTechAdvancements, #UltrasoundInnovation, #TCellTherapy, #MedicalBreakthroughs, #ImmuneSupport, #AntigenResponse, #HighFrequencyVibration, #MedicalUltrasound, #NextGenTherapies, #CancerSupport, #ImmuneScience, #TumorSuppression, #CellResearch, #PrecisionMedicine

The new ability to pinpoint sources of fast radio bursts places one recent burst in a surprising location

Date:

January 21, 2025

Source:

University of California - Berkeley

Summary:

Fast radio bursts are mysterious and brief flashes of radio emissions that were thought to be produced by magnetars, highly magnetized rotating neutron stars. Yet magnetars appear primarily in young star clusters. A repeating burst discovered last year has been pinpointed to the distant outskirts of an old but massive elliptical galaxy where, theoretically, such stars would long since have disappeared. Does this mean magnetars are not the source of FRBs?

Astronomer Calvin Leung was excited last summer to crunch data from a newly commissioned radio telescope to precisely pinpoint the origin of repeated bursts of intense radio waves -- so-called fast radio bursts (FRBs) -- emanating from somewhere in the northern constellation Ursa Minor.

Leung, a Miller Postdoctoral Fellowship recipient at the University of California, Berkeley, hopes eventually to understand the origins of these mysterious bursts and use them as probes to trace the large-scale structure of the universe, a key to its origin and evolution. He had written most of the computer code that allowed him and his colleagues to combine data from several telescopes to triangulate the position of a burst to within a hair's width at arm's length.

The excitement turned to perplexity when his collaborators on the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) turned optical telescopes on the spot and discovered that the source was in the distant outskirts of a long-dead elliptical galaxy that by all rights should not contain the kind of star thought to produce these bursts.

Instead of finding an expected "magnetar" -- a highly magnetized, spinning neutron star left over from the core collapse of a young, massive star -- "now the question was: How are you going to explain the presence of a magnetar inside this old, dead galaxy?" Leung said.

The young stellar remnants that theorists think produce these millisecond bursts of radio waves should have disappeared long ago in the 11.3-billion-year-old galaxy, located 2 billion light years from Earth and weighing more than 100 billion times the mass of the sun.

"This is not only the first FRB to be found outside a dead galaxy, but compared to all other FRBs, it's also the farthest from the galaxy it's associated with. The FRB's location is surprising and raises questions about how such energetic events can occur in regions where no new stars are forming," said Vishwangi Shah, a doctoral student at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, who refined and extended Leung's initial calculations about the location of the burst, called FRB 20240209A.

Shah is the corresponding author of a study of the FRB published today (Tuesday, Jan. 21) in the Astrophysical Journal Letters along with a second paper by colleagues at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Leung, a co-author of both papers, is a lead developer of three companion telescopes -- so-called outriggers -- to the original CHIME radio array located near Penticton, British Columbia. He mentored Shah at McGill while Leung was a doctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and subsequently held an Einstein Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Berkeley prior to his Miller fellowship.

New CHIME outrigger in California

A third outrigger radio array will go online this week at Hat Creek Observatory, a facility in Northern California formerly owned and operated by UC Berkeley and now managed by the SETI Institute in Mountain View. Together, the four arrays will immensely improve CHIME's ability to precisely locate FRBs.

"When paired with the three outriggers, we should be able to accurately pinpoint one FRB a day to its galaxy, which is substantial," Leung said. "That's 20 times better than CHIME, with two outrigger arrays."

With this new precision, optical telescopes can pivot to identify the type of star groups -- globular clusters, spiral galaxies -- that produce the bursts and hopefully identify the stellar source. Of the 5,000 or so sources detected to date -- over 95% of which were detected by CHIME -- few have been isolated to a specific galaxy, which has hindered efforts to confirm whether magnetars or any other type of star are the source.

As detailed in the new paper, Shah averaged many bursts from the repeating FRB to improve the pinpointing accuracy provided by the CHIME array and one outrigger array in British Columbia. After its discovery in February 2024, astronomers recorded 21 more bursts through July 31. Since the paper was submitted, Shion Andrew at MIT incorporated data from a second outrigger at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia to confirm Shah's published position with 20 times the precision.

"This result challenges existing theories that tie FRB origins to phenomena in star-forming galaxies," said Shah. "The source could be in a globular cluster, a dense region of old, dead stars outside the galaxy. If confirmed, it would make FRB 20240209A only the second FRB linked to a globular cluster."

She noted, however, that the other FRB originating in a globular cluster was associated with a live galaxy, not an old elliptical in which star formation ceased billions of years ago.

"It's clear that there's still a lot of exciting discovery space when it comes to FRBs and that their environments could hold the key to unlocking their secrets," said Tarraneh Eftekhari, who has an Einstein Postdoctoral Fellowship at Northwestern and first author of the second paper.

"CHIME and its outrigger telescopes will let us do astrometry at a level unmatched by the Hubble Space Telescope or the James Webb Space Telescope. It'll be up to them to drill down to find the source," Leung added. "It's an amazing radio telescope."

The studies were supported by Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, NASA, the Space Telescope Science Institute, the National Science Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Trottier Space Institute at McGill.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of California - Berkeley.  

Visit Us : bookofaward.com

Contact Us :  contact@bookofaward.com

Nomination Link : https://bookofaward.com/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee

Registration Link: https://bookofaward.com/award-registration/ 

Awards-Winners : https://bookofaward.com/awards-winners/

Social Media:

Blogger : https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/posts/4193764698228727747

Pinterest : https://in.pinterest.com/kajalmalhothra/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093535591961

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/irea.boa/

Twitter : https://x.com/Kajal_0211

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKyUuNou89geZv23XSybOeA

Tags:

#FastRadioBursts, #FRB, #Magnetars, #EllipticalGalaxy, #NeutronStars, #CosmicMystery, #Astronomy, #Astrophysics, #RadioAstronomy, #SpaceScience, #GalacticOutskirts, #UniverseExploration, #StellarPhenomena, #RadioSignals, #StarClusters, #RepeatingFRB, #OldGalaxies, #DeepSpace, #HighEnergyAstrophysics, #ExtragalacticSignals, #StarEvolution, #FRBOrigins, #RadioWaves, #AstrophysicalEnigma, #MassiveEllipticalGalaxy, #CosmicWonders, #SpaceResearch, #GalaxyMysteries, #RadioEmissions, #OuterSpace, #NeutronStarTheories, #DistantUniverse, #SpacePhenomena, #MagneticFields, #CosmicSignals, #AstronomyCommunity, #GalaxyFormation, #TheoreticalPhysics, #SpaceObservation, #MysteriesOfTheUniverse

'Unprecedented' level of control allows person without use of limbs to operate virtual quadcopter

 

Brain-computer interface can enable people with paralysis to socialize with others, participate in remote work and enjoy recreational activities

Date:

January 21, 2025

Source:

University of Michigan

Summary:

A brain-computer interface, surgically placed in a research participant with tetraplegia, paralysis in all four limbs, provided an unprecedented level of control over a virtual quadcopter -- just by thinking about moving his unresponsive fingers.

A brain-computer interface, surgically placed in a research participant with tetraplegia, paralysis in all four limbs, provided an unprecedented level of control over a virtual quadcopter -- just by thinking about moving his unresponsive fingers.

The technology divides the hand into three parts: the thumb and two pairs of fingers (index and middle, ring and small). Each part can move both vertically and horizontally. As the participant thinks about moving the three groups, at times simultaneously, the virtual quadcopter responds, maneuvering through a virtual obstacle course.

It's an exciting next step in providing those with paralysis the chance to enjoy games with friends while also demonstrating the potential for performing remote work.

"This is a greater degree of functionality than anything previously based on finger movements," said Matthew Willsey, U-M assistant professor of neurosurgery and biomedical engineering, and first author of a new research paper in Nature Medicine. The testing that produced the paper was conducted while Willsey was a researcher at Stanford University, where most of his collaborators are located.

While there are noninvasive approaches to allow enhanced video gaming such as using electroencephalography to take signals from the surface of the user's head, EEG signals combine contributions from large regions of the brain. The authors believe that to restore highly functional fine motor control, electrodes need to be placed closer to the neurons. The study notes a sixfold improvement in the user's quadcopter flight performance by reading signals directly from motor neurons vs. EEG.

To prepare the interface, patients undergo a surgical procedure in which electrodes are placed in the brain's motor cortex. The electrodes are wired to a pedestal that is anchored to the skull and exits the skin, which allows a connection to a computer.

"It takes the signals created in the motor cortex that occur simply when the participant tries to move their fingers and uses an artificial neural network to interpret what the intentions are to control virtual fingers in the simulation," Willsey said. "Then we send a signal to control a virtual quadcopter."

The research, conducted as part of the BrainGate2 clinical trials, focused on how these neural signals could be coupled with machine learning to provide new options for external device control for people with neurological injuries or disease. The participant first began working with the research team at Stanford in 2016, several years after a spinal cord injury left him unable to use his arms or legs. He was interested in contributing to the work and had a particular interest in flying.

"The quadcopter simulation was not an arbitrary choice, the research participant had a passion for flying," said Donald Avansino, co-author and computer scientist at Stanford University. "While also fulfilling the participant's desire for flight, the platform also showcased the control of multiple fingers."

Co-author Nishal Shah, incoming professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University, explained, "controlling fingers is a stepping stone; the ultimate goal is whole body movement restoration."

Jaimie Henderson, a Stanford professor of neurosurgery and co-author of the study, said the work's importance goes beyond games. It allows for human connection.

"People tend to focus on restoration of the sorts of functions that are basic necessities -- eating, dressing, mobility -- and those are all important," he said. "But oftentimes, other equally important aspects of life get short shrift, like recreation or connection with peers. People want to play games and interact with their friends."

A person who can connect with a computer and manipulate a virtual vehicle simply by thinking, he says, could eventually be capable of much more.

"Being able to move multiple virtual fingers with brain control, you can have multifactor control schemes for all kinds of things," Henderson said. "That could mean anything, from operating CAD software to composing music."

Researchers Nick Hahn, Ryan Jamiolkowski, Foram Kamdar and Francis Willett at Stanford and Leigh Hochberg at Brown University also contributed to the study.

CAUTION: Investigational Device. Limited by Federal law to investigational use.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Michigan.

Visit Us : bookofaward.com

Contact Us :  contact@bookofaward.com

Nomination Link : https://bookofaward.com/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee

Registration Link: https://bookofaward.com/award-registration/ 

Awards-Winners : https://bookofaward.com/awards-winners/

Social Media:

Blogger : https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/posts/4193764698228727747

Pinterest : https://in.pinterest.com/kajalmalhothra/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093535591961

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/irea.boa/

Twitter : https://x.com/Kajal_0211

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKyUuNou89geZv23XSybOeA

Tags:

#BrainComputerInterface, #BCI, #Neurotechnology, #ParalysisRecovery, #AccessibleTech, #Tetraplegia, #ThoughtControl, #VirtualQuadcopter, #Innovation, #NeuroRehabilitation, #Independence, #AssistiveTechnology, #FutureTech, #Empowerment, #SocialInclusion, #RevolutionizingAccessibility, #ThoughtToAction, #BCIResearch, #CuttingEdgeTech, #NeuralInterface, #TechnologyForAll, #DisabilityInnovation, #HumanPotential, #DigitalAccessibility, #RemoteWork, #RecreationalTech, #MindControl, #TechForGood, #FuturisticSolutions, #BrainTechnology, #AccessibleFuture, #InclusivityThroughTech, #BCISuccess, #EmpoweringLives, #TechBreakthrough, #NeuroInnovation, #AssistiveDevices, #MindControlledTech, #TechAdvancement, #MedicalInnovation, #FutureOfDisabilityTech