Scientists create world’s 1st practical artificial leaf, 10x as efficient as the real thing

What’s the News: This week, scientists say that they’ve passed a chemistry milestone by creating the world’s first practical photosynthesis device. The playing-card-sized photosynthetic gadget uses sunlight to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, which can then be used to produce energy, and is reputedly 10 times more efficient than a natural leaf. Researchers …

Self-strengthening nanocomposite gets stronger from repeated stress

Researchers at Rice University have created a synthetic material that gets stronger from repeated stress, much like the body strengthens bones and muscles

Neurons grow into semiconductor tubes: future intelligent chips?

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, led by Minrui Yu, have successfully induced nerve cell tendrils to grow through semiconductor tubes

Nano-electrodes may lead to phones that charge in seconds, electric cars in minutes

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a three-dimensional nanostructure for battery cathodes that allows for dramatically

Quantum no-hiding theorem experimentally confirmed for first time

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the classical world, information can be copied and deleted at will. In the quantum world, however, the conservation of quantum information means that information cannot be created nor destroyed. This concept stems from two fundamental theorems of quantum mechanics: the no-cloning theorem and the no-deleting theorem.

'Light sheets' image life in 3d

A technique to image living cells in action, in an unprecedented mix of detail in both time and space, is described by researchers.

New kinds of superconductivity? physicists demonstrate coveted 'spin-orbit coupling' in atomic gases

Physicists have for the first time caused a gas of atoms to exhibit an important quantum phenomenon known as spin-orbit coupling. Their technique opens new possibilities for studying and better understanding fundamental physics and has potential applications to quantum computing, next-generation

Black holes: a model for superconductors?

Physicists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have shown how charged black holes can be used to model the behavior of interacting electrons

The quantum singularity

A paper describing an experiment that, if it worked, would offer strong evidence that quantum computers can do things that classical computers can’t