Research News
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Study proves viability of quantum satellite communications
Researchers in Canada have taken a significant step towards enabling secure quantum communication via moving satellites, as announced by the Canadian Government in April 2017. Their study, published today in the new journal Quantum Science and Technology, demonstrates the first quantum key distribution transmissions from a ground transmitter to a quantum payload on a moving […]
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3D printing breakthrough heralds ‘new era’ for advanced skin models
Scientists in South Korea have come up with a new method for 3D printing human skin, which both shortens the process and reduces the cost. Reporting their results today in the journal Biofabrication, the team from Pohang University of Science and Technology demonstrate a new 3D cell printing strategy, for engineering a 3D human skin […]
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Rising sea levels leave US coastal areas facing increased flood risk by 2050
US coastal areas should prepare for more frequent and more severe flooding in the next 35 years and beyond, a new study has warned. According to the research, carried out by Princeton and Rutgers universities, without cutting carbon emissions, the US coastline’s risk of a ‘100-year flood’ is likely to see an average 40-fold increase […]
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Physicists add amplifier to quantum communication toolbox
High-security data encryption could be applied over greater distances thanks to latest demonstration, result also benefits scalable memory systems. Quantum encryption using single photons is a promising technique for boosting the security of communication systems and data networks, but there are challenges in applying the method over large distances due to transmission losses. Using conventional […]
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Study uncovers widespread leak risk for US underground natural gas storage wells
With the average well built in 1963, more than 1 in 5 active US underground natural gas storage (UGS) wells could be vulnerable to leaks due to obsolete well designs, according to a new study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. These obsolete wells operate in 19 states across 160 UGS facilities […]
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Physics modelling explains how hunters team up to catch faster prey
Seeing a chase play out between predator and prey on a wildlife documentary is a familiar sight for many. But in situations where the prey is faster than the hunters, how do the hunters get the upper hand? To answer this question, scientists from Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary, applied physics modelling to demonstrate how groups […]
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Research reveals strong link between drug trafficking and Central American forest loss
Cocaine trafficking may be behind up to 30 per cent of annual deforestation in the Central American countries of Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. A new study – published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters – quantitatively estimates for the first time the potential role of drug trafficking, as opposed to drug cultivation, in forest […]
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Super strength nanocomposites owe a debt to mighty molluscs
Mother-of-pearl and mussel threads could hold the key to developing graphene-based nanocomposite materials with enhanced properties. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, employed the structure of mother of pearl (also known as nacre), and the extreme adhesiveness of mussel threads to create a graphene oxide-polydopamine (GO-PDA) composite with improved electrical conductivity and tensile […]
