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Category: innovation – Page 27

How can we advance cutting-edge research but consume less energy? CERN’s scientists are working on innovative solutions, and superconductivity is one of the key ingredients.

A team has recently successfully tested a demonstrator magnet coil that will significantly reduce the power consumption of certain experiments. The coil is made of magnesium diboride (MgB2) , which are used in the high-intensity electrical transfer line that will power the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), the successor to the LHC. It is mounted in a low-carbon steel magnetic yoke that holds and concentrates the field lines, in a so-called superferric configuration.

This innovative magnet is intended for the SHiP experiment, which is designed to detect very weakly interacting particles and is scheduled to be commissioned in 2031. One of the detector’s two magnets must produce a field of approximately 0.5 tesla. The field is of moderate intensity but must be produced in a huge volume that is 6 meters high and 4 meters wide and deep. A normal-conducting resistive electromagnet would have an electrical power of over one megawatt and, as it would have to operate continuously, its power consumption would be high.

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Researchers have advanced their understanding of how drugs interact with connexin molecules. Connexins create channels that enable direct communication between adjacent cells. Dysfunctions in these channels play a role in neurological and cardiac disorders. This enhanced knowledge of drug binding and action on connexins could aid in developing treatments for these diseases.

Today we use many electronic means to communicate, but sometimes dropping a note in a neighbor’s letter box or leaving a cake on a doorstep is most effective. Cells too have ways to send direct messages to their neighbors.

Adjacent cells can communicate directly through relatively large channels called gap junctions, which allow cells to freely exchange small molecules and ions with each other or with the outside environment. In this way, they can coordinate activities in the tissues or organs that they compose and maintain homeostasis.

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Set for completion this decade, the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile will be the largest telescope globally, with a main mirror spanning 39 meters and made from 798 precision-engineered segments. It represents a significant international effort in astronomy.

Currently under construction in the Chilean Atacama Desert, the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ESO ’s ELT) is one step closer to completion. German company SCHOTT has successfully delivered the blank for the last of the 949 segments commissioned for the telescope’s primary mirror (M1). With a diameter of more than 39 meters, M1 will be by far the largest mirror ever made for a telescope.

Innovations in Telescope Mirror Design.

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The quest to understand the enigma of photosynthesis, how water is involved, and its critical role on Earth has taken a significant leap forward.

A recent breakthrough in visual technology has resulted in the capture of high-resolution images beyond any achieved before, shedding never-before-seen light on this essential life process.

Our story begins within the walls of a renowned institution, Umeå University, where diligent researchers embarked on a fascinating journey to understand the positions of hydrogen atoms and water molecules in photosynthesis.

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Increased atmospheric moisture may alter critical weather patterns over Africa, making it more difficult for the predecessors of many Atlantic hurricanes to form, according to a new study published this month. The work is published in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems.

The research team, led by scientists from the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR), used an innovative model that allows for higher-resolution simulations of hurricane formation than ever before. This allowed researchers to study the effects of increased regional moisture over Africa, which is the birthplace of weather systems that later produce hurricanes over the Atlantic.

Past research has suggested that warmer ocean water and a moister atmosphere could cause hurricanes to become more intense with greater amounts of rainfall. But how , which is predicted to increase in a warming climate, may be impacting hurricane formation itself has not been studied in detail until now.

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Chinese researchers say their innovation could lead to hybrid human-robot intelligence.

Researchers at China’s Tianjin University and the Southern University of Science and Technology have reportedly developed a robot with a lab-grown artificial brain.

Brain-on-chip technology has been used to train the machine to perform various tasks, according to local media.

Scientists reportedly combined brain organoid with a neural interface chip to power the complex machine. The robot has been trained to easily grip objects and avoid obstacles, according to Tianjin University.

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The ambitious plan involves catching the falling Super Heavy boosters using the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms. This innovative approach aims to revolutionise rocket recovery and enhance the reusability of the company’s Starship system.

Recent footage shared by SpaceX showcases tests of the chopstick mechanism at their Starbase facility in Texas. The company has been observed clamping the tower arms around a portion of a Super Heavy booster to evaluate the system’s parameters.

This testing is crucial for verifying the forces the chopsticks will need to withstand during an actual catch attempt.

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