MIT physicists observed key evidence of unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle graphene. The findings could lead to the development of higher-temperature superconductors.

NYU scientists report the discovery of “gyromorphs”—a material that combines the seemingly incompatible properties of liquids and crystals and that performs better than any other known structure in blocking light from all incoming angles. The breakthrough marks an innovative way to control optical properties and to potentially advance the capabilities of light-based computers.

In a new paper in Nature Communications, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering Asst. Prof. Tian Zhong raised the quantum coherence times of individual erbium atoms from 0.1 milliseconds to longer than 10 milliseconds. This would theoretically allow quantum computers to connect through fiber cable at up to 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), smashing the previous limit of a few kilometers and bringing a quantum internet closer than ever before. The team achieved this breakthrough by building rare-earth doped crystals atom by atom using a technique called molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) rather than the traditional Czochralski method.

Tambet Teesalu, University of Tartu Professor of Nanomedicine, has been awarded an ERC Synergy Grant to study the blood-nerve barrier – the interface between blood vessels and nerve cells – in search of solutions to shortcomings in pain treatment. 

Type 1 diabetes is caused by an insufficient production of the hormone insulin by cells in the pancreas called beta cells and estimated to affect 9.5 million people worldwide. Low insulin levels allow glucose levels to remain elevated, which in the long term can damage organs such as the kidneys, the eyes, and the cardiovascular system. People with diabetes require lifelong monitoring of blood sugar levels coupled with insulin injections to keep blood sugar levels at a stable, healthy level.

A potential new treatment option for those patients is the replacement of lost or dysfunctional pancreatic beta cells, either by cell transplantation, or by the generation of new beta cells from existing cells within the body. This latter strategy was pursued by the team of Xiaofeng Huang from Weill Cornell Medicine, USA and Qing Xia from Peking University, China who previously discovered that cells in the mouse stomach can be transformed into pancreatic beta cells by genetic engineering.