research

Solar Energy Conversion Efficiency of 47% Demonstrated

Posted in Hardware on 26th Jun, 2020
by Alex Muller

A new six-junction solar cell, developed by NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), converts 47.1% of incident light into electricity when combined with optical concentration.

Coronavirus Antibody Immunity Fades by 70% Within 2-3 Months

Posted in Medicine on 23rd Jun, 2020
by Alex Muller

Antibody levels found in recovered COVID-19 patients fell sharply in 2-3 months after infection for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, according to a Chinese study published in Nature Medicine. This raises questions about the length of any immunity against the novel coronavirus.

CRISPR at Lightning Speeds

Posted in Science on 17th Jun, 2020
by Alex Muller

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University has developed a way to speed up the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing process by using light-sensitive nucleotides.

Synthetic fungal compound activates cancer's self-destruct switch

Posted in Medicine on 12th Jun, 2020
by Alex Muller

Scientists at the University of Tokyo have developed a synthetic version of a fungal compound that could help swing things back in our favor, by reactivating a missing gene that would normally drive these sinister cells to self-destruction.

Impressive long-term benefits of MDMA for treating PTSD, study reports

Posted in Medicine on 11th Jun, 2020
by Alex Muller

At the original end-point of the trials, 56 percent of the cohort no longer met the clinical criteria for PTSD. The long-term follow-up data revealed continued improvements in most subjects for well over a year, with 67 percent of the cohort subsequently no longer meeting the PTSD criteria.