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MIT Engineers Develop a Low-Cost Terahertz Camera Using Quantum Dots

Illustration shows terahertz illumination (yellow curves at top right) entering the new camera system, where it stimulates quantum dots inside nanoscale holes (shown as illuminated rings) to emit visible light, which is then detected using a CMOS-based chip (bottom left) like those in digital cameras. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers The new terahertz camera device provides greater sensitivity and speed than previous versions, and could be used for industrial inspection, airport security, and communications. Terahertz radiation, also known as submillimeter radiation, has wavelengths that lie between those of microwaves and visible light. It can penetrate many nonmetallic materials and detect…

Biofuel Research: Full Decarbonization of U.S. Aviation Sector Is Within Grasp

The study found that planting the grass miscanthus on 23.2 million hectares of existing marginal agricultural lands – land that often lays fallow or is poor in soil quality – across the United States would provide enough biomass feedstock to meet the liquid fuel demands of the U.S. aviation sector fully from biofuels, an amount expected to reach 30 billion gallons/year by 2040. Research demonstrates a pathway to sustainably produce biojet fuel domestically and meet the country’s growing aviation fuel demand. Every day in the United States, 45,000 planes fly across the country carrying some 1.7 million passengers. A frequent…

Working Memory: How the Brain Focuses on What’s in Mind

Remembering directions someone just gave you is an example of working memory. In a new study, MIT researchers show that the brain’s focus on the contents of what it’s holding in mind derives from bursts of gamma frequency rhythms in the front of the brain. When holding information in mind, neural activity is more focused when and where there are bursts of gamma frequency rhythms. Working memory is the handy ability to consciously hold and manipulate new information in mind. It takes mental work. In particular, participating neurons in the prefrontal cortex have to work together in synchrony to focus…

A New Way To Lose Weight Could Change Your Metabolism

Lead Image: The study involved twenty-one different patients with metabolic syndrome. They were given either a calorie-restricted or protein-restricted diet. According to new research, protein restriction is effective in combating obesity and diabetes. According to a study comparing the effects of protein and calorie restriction diets in humans, reducing protein consumption may help control metabolic syndrome and some of its primary symptoms, such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure (hypertension). The study’s findings were recently published in the journal Nutrients. The term “metabolic syndrome” refers to a group of diseases, including hypertension, high blood sugar, excess body fat around…

Brain Development: Does Video Gaming Actually Make Kids Smarter?

According to new research, kids who played video games for three hours per day or more performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory compared to children who had never played video games. Video Gaming May Be Associated With Better Cognitive Performance in Children Additional research is necessary to parse the potential benefits and harms of video games on the developing brain. Children who reported playing video games for three hours or more per day performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory compared to children who had never played video games.…