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Molecular Teamwork To Boost Performance of Smartwatches and Solar Cells

Lead Image: A method to induce cooperative behavior in organic semiconductors has been discovered by the researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. This energy- and time-saving phenomenon could potentially improve the performance of organic electronics, including smartwatches and solar cells. Cooperativity in organic semiconductors may enhance the performance of smartwatches, solar cells, and other organic electronics. The virus responsible for E. coli infection has a secret weapon: teamwork. Always scrappy in its bid for survival, the virus alights on an unassuming host cell and grips the surface with the business end of its tubular tail. Then,…

How Copper Deposits Turned a Village Into One of the Most Important Trade Hubs of the Late Bronze Age

Lead Image: Copper slag from one of the city’s workshops. Credit: T. Bürge Researchers from the University of Gothenburg have uncovered evidence that highlights the significance of the Cypriot village of Hala Sultan Tekke during the Late Bronze Age. Through excavations, the team has established that the village’s strategic location and its abundant reserves of the coveted metal copper played a crucial role in making it one of the most important trade hubs during the early stages of international trade in the Mediterranean. The findings have been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. “We have found huge quantities of…

New “Biohybrid” Neural Implant Could Restore Function in Paralyzed Limbs

In a study carried out in rats, researchers from the University of Cambridge used a biohybrid device to improve the connection between the brain and paralyzed limbs. The device combines flexible electronics and human stem cells – the body’s ‘reprogrammable’ master cells – to better integrate with the nerve and drive limb function. Credit: University of Cambridge Researchers have developed a new type of neural implant that could restore limb function to amputees and others who have lost the use of their arms or legs. In a study carried out in rats, researchers from the University of Cambridge used the…

Stay Sharp: Healthy Lifestyle Linked to Slower Memory Decline in Older Adults

The researchers found that each individual healthy behavior (healthy diet, regular exercise, active social contact, cognitive activity, non-smoking, and never drinking alcohol) was associated with a slower-than-average decline in memory over 10 years after accounting for other health, economic, and social factors. The strongest effect on slowing memory decline was a healthy diet, followed by cognitive activity and then physical exercise. Even those with genes linked to Alzheimer’s disease see benefits. According to a decade-long study of older adults in China, recently published in The BMJ, a healthy lifestyle, particularly a healthy diet, is linked to slower memory decline. The…

Time Can Do Tricks: Why Children and Adults Experience Time Differently

Time can play tricks on us, causing the same period to feel different depending on our age. For example, while the summers of our childhood felt like they lasted forever, the same three months now seem to fly by in the blink of an eye. Researchers at Eötvös Loránd University have investigated whether the perception of time changes with age, and if so, how, and why we perceive the passage of time differently. Their study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Time can do tricks. Many of us experienced the illusion that those long summers during childhood felt so…