Transistors that control electron flow are the foundation of electronic gadgets, but human bodies and all other living things send signals and perform “work” using ions or protons. Seamlessly interfacing these biologic and electronic realms could now become a reality with the development of a new type of transistor that controls proton – rather than […]
The aroma of roasted cocoa beans – the key ingredient of chocolate – comes from substances that individually smell like potato chips, cooked meat, peaches, raw beef fat, cooked cabbage, human sweat, dirt and an improbable palate of other distinctly un-cocoa-like aromas. That’s among the discoveries emerging from an effort to reverse engineer the essential […]
A new generation of biocompatible electronic devices may be in the offing with the development of a memory device that is soft and functions well in wet environments. The developers, at North Carolina State University, said the device had the physical properties of Jell-O. “Conventional electronics are typically made of rigid, brittle materials and don’t […]
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers have made an artificial neural network out of DNA, creating a circuit of interacting molecules that can recall memories based on incomplete patterns, just as the human brain can. Detailing the work in Nature, lead author Lulu Qian explained that the neural net consisted of four artificial neurons made […]
The discovery of a new type of symmetry in the structure of materials will greatly expand the options available for designing or discovering new materials with desirable properties. The finding is important and has broad relevance to the fields of physics, chemistry, biology and engineering. Before the discovery, detailed in the journalNature Materials, scientists and […]
Investigating how stress affects gastrointestinal function, scientists say they’ve unwittingly stumbled upon a chemical compound – astressin-B – that induces “remarkable” hair growth by blocking a stress-related hormone associated with hair loss. The serendipitous discovery is described in the journal PLoS One. “Our findings show that a short-duration treatment with this compound causes an astounding […]
