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Light-Matter Particle Breakthrough Could Change Displays Forever

POSTECH researchers have created a technique for controlling polaritons, which could lead to advancements in optical displays and various optoelectronic devices.

A research team consisting of Professor Kyoung-Duck Park and Hyeongwoo Lee, an integrated PhD student, from the Department of Physics at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) has pioneered an innovative technique in ultra-high-resolution spectroscopy. Their breakthrough marks the world’s first instance of electrically controlling polaritons—hybridized light-matter particles—at room temperature.

Novel Characteristics of Polaritons.

Testing drugs on mini-cancers in the lab may reveal best treatment

The next innovation in cancer treatment could be to test all possible drugs on thousands of miniature versions of a person’s tumour, grown in the lab, to see which works the best. The technique, sometimes called drug sensitivity testing, may have already helped a few children with advanced cancer live for longer than the standard approach.

It could eventually become routinely used for everyone with cancer, says Diana Azzam at Florida International University in Miami. “I would say it will help guide treatments in any [cancer], whether it’s aggressive or not.”

CSIR-NIIST unveils innovative technology for safe biomedical waste management

Thiruvananthapuram: CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST) has pioneered a groundbreaking technology for the safe, sustainable, and cost-effective management of biomedical waste, marking a significant milestone as the first of its kind in the country.

This innovative technology was unveiled at the Biomedical Waste Management Conclave, a one-day event hosted at the CSIR-NIIST campus in the city on March 26.

According to UNI, Dr M Srinivas, Director, AIIMS New Delhi, inaugurated the meet, which was presided over by Dr N Kalaiselvi, Secretary, DSIR and Director General, CSIR, through videoconferencing.

Japanese scientists discover clue to erasing traumatic memories

Can light be a factor in eliminating traumatic memories? Japanese scientists found that the long-term memory of flies can be affected if they are kept in the dark. This is the first discovery of the role of environmental light on such memories. The scientists hope to extend this approach to human victims of life-affecting traumas.

Events that are shocking can become a part of our long-term memory (LTM), with new proteins synthesized and the neuronal circuits in our brain becoming altered, explains the press release from researchers at the Tokyo Metropolitan University, who made the breakthrough. These memories can be hard to erase and may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Through their research, the team led by Professor Takaomi Sakai from Tokyo Metropolitan University discovered a particular molecular mechanism in Drosophilia flies that affects LTM. To find this, they set up a trauma for male flies by placing them with females who already mated. According to the courtship conditioning paradigm, in such situations mated females stress the unmated males to such an extent that they remember the experience, unwilling to ever mate with any more females – even if they were to be exposed to those that are unmated.

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