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Irvine, Calif., Dec. 17, 2020 Reflectins, the unique structural proteins that give squids and octopuses the ability to change colors and blend in with their surroundings, are thought to have great potential for innovations in areas as diverse as electronics, optics and medicine. Scientists and inventors have been stymied in their attempts to fully utilize the powers of these biomolecules due to their atypical chemical composition and high sensitivity to subtle environmental changes.
In a study published recently in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of California, Irvine researchers have revealed the structure of a reflectin variant at the molecular level, and they have demonstrated a method for mechanically controlling the hierarchical assembly and optical properties of the protein. These findings are seen as key steps in exploiting many of the potentially useful attributes of the reflectin family.
MIL-OSI USA: JILA s Bigger and Better Tweezer Clock Is Super Stable foreignaffairs.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from foreignaffairs.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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IMAGE: JILA s tweezer clock uses optical tweezers to confine and control many strontium atoms. (Full animation at http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/mted8.) view more
Credit: NIST
JILA physicists have boosted the signal power of their atomic tweezer clock and measured its performance in part for the first time, demonstrating high stability close to the best of the latest generation of atomic clocks.
The unusual clock, which uses laser tweezers to trap, control and isolate atoms, offers unique possibilities for enhancing clock performance using the tricks of quantum physics as well as future applications in quantum information processing, quantum simulation, and measurement science.
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IMAGE: The new sensing paradigm can tell where on a vehicle most of the pressure is going during flight testing. view more
Credit: Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin.
NASA and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research are backing a team of four universities, led by The University of Texas at Austin, in a project to re-define sensing and analysis of hypersonic vehicles, which can travel at least five times the speed of sound and potentially revolutionize space and air travel.
The three-year, $3.3 million project is funded by NASA s University Leadership Initiative, and the team s goal is to create a new paradigm in sensing for hypersonic vehicles, which could also be applied to lower-speed craft. The project Full Airframe Sensing Technology (FAST) will treat the vehicles themselves as sensors, analyzing aerodynamic changes during flight tests, and use that information to infer where force is being applied so they can better pr