• share
• favorite_border

Studies show wearing masks and social distancing can contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, but their combined effectiveness is not precisely known. In Chaos, researchers at New York University and Politecnico di Torino in Italy developed a network model to study the effects of these two measures on the spread of airborne diseases like COVID-19. The model shows viral outbreaks can be prevented if at least 60% of a population complies with both measures.

• share
• favorite_border

With research increasingly showing the COVID-19 virus is transmissible via smaller droplets suspended in air, there is growing concern current guidelines of mask wearing and social distancing are insufficient in indoor environments where people tend to be in close quarters. In AIP Advances, researchers in India show social distancing is equally as important as mask wearing when people indoors are just breathing or participating in normal conversation, even when there is no risk of coughing or sneezing.

• share
• favorite_border

Dragonfly wings, lotus leaves, cicada wings -- thanks to millennia of evolution, nature has optimized the ways these surfaces and others behave to offer antibacterial functionality. An international, interdisciplinary team of researchers is trying to find the best way to translate these features to create nature-inspired bactericidal surfaces for use in medical implants. They discuss the surface structures and chemical compositions for an ideal implant material in the journal Applied Physics Reviews.

• share
• favorite_border

Cryocoolers are ultracold refrigeration units used in surgery and drug development, semiconductor fabrication, and spacecraft. The regenerative heat exchanger, or regenerator, is a core component of cryocoolers. At temperatures below 10 kelvins, performance drops precipitously, with maximum regenerator loss of more than 50%. In Applied Physics Letters, researchers used superactivated carbon particles as an alternative regenerator material to increase cooling capability at temperatures as low as 4 kelvins.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists have grown small amounts of self-organizing brain tissue, known as organoids, in a tiny 3D-printed system that allows observation while they grow and develop. The advance uses 3D printing to create a reusable and easily adjustable platform that costs only about $5 per unit to fabricate, and the design includes imaging wells for the growing organoids and microfluidic channels to provide a nutrient medium and preheating that supports tissue growth. The work is reported in Biomicrofluidics.

• share
• favorite_border

As environmental and energy crises become more common, a thermal energy harvester capable of converting abundant thermal energy into mechanical energy appears to be a promising mitigation strategy. The majority of thermal power generation technologies involve solid moving parts, which can reduce reliability and lead to frequent maintenance. This inspired researchers in China to develop a thermal power nanogenerator without solid moving parts. In Applied Physics Letters, they propose a thermal power nanogenerator that converts thermal energy into electrical energy.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists are developing tools to observe the biological machinery in in vivo animal models to be able to understand and better treat severe brain diseases, and holographic endoscopes attracted interest because of their potential to conduct minimally invasive observations. In APL Photonics, researchers in Germany created a particularly narrow endoscope made of single hair-thin optical fibers that uses holographic methods to reconstruct images of macroscopic objects placed in front of the far end of the endoscope.

• share
• favorite_border

Emerging technologies can screen for cervical cancer better than Pap smears and, if widely used, could save lives in areas where access to health care may be limited. In Biophysics Reviews, scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital write advances in nanotechnology and computer learning are among the technologies helping develop HPV screening that take the guesswork out of the precancer tests. That could mean better screening in places that lack highly trained doctors and advanced laboratories.

• share
• favorite_border

As biofuels continue to present challenges, microalgae are gaining momentum as a biofuel energy crop. In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, researchers show how a combination of monochromatic red and blue LED illumination on one type of microalga can enhance its growth and increase the biosynthesis of critical components, such as lipids, for microalgae feedstock development. The researchers focused on Dunaliella salina, typically extracted from sea salt fields and found in salt lakes.

• share
• favorite_border

In Biomicrofluidics, researchers review lung-on-chip technologies that represent the vital properties of lung tissue and are capable of recapitulating the fundamental aspects of various pathologies. The researchers reviewed various lung-on-chips and their applications in examining, diagnosing, and treating human viruses, including the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The knowledge accumulated paves the way to use these models to study the interaction of several human respiratory viruses with the airway epithelium and alveolus in an organ-relevant setting.

• share
• favorite_border

Particle physicists are at the forefront for pioneering low-cost, mass-producible ventilators to help address the worldwide shortage. An international, interdisciplinary team spearheaded one such effort and presents the design in Physics of Fluids. The ventilator consists of a gas inlet valve and a gas outlet valve, with controls and alarms to ensure proper monitoring and customizability from patient to patient. The design is built from readily available parts and is presented under an open license.

• share
• favorite_border

Michael Hill, technical director of Skyworks Solutions, and his colleagues provide an overview in Applied Physics Letters on nascent 5G technologies and show how enhancing ceramic materials could play a pivotal role in development. They have developed a ceramic called a circulator, a three-port device that serves as a traffic circle to keep the signal flowing in one direction and enable a receiver and a transmitter to share the same antenna.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have developed a method, described in APL Bioengineering, that uses machine learning to determine whether a single cell is cancerous by detecting its pH. Their approach can discriminate cells originating from normal tissues from cells originating from cancerous tissues, as well as among different types of cancer, while keeping the cells alive. The method relies on treating the cells with bromothymol blue, a pH-sensitive dye that changes color depending on acidity.

• share
• favorite_border

In APL Bioengineering, University of Maryland scientists highlight a growing body of research suggesting sex differences play roles in how patients respond to brain diseases, as well as multiple sclerosis, motor neuron disease, and other brain ailments. They are urging their colleagues to remember those differences when researching treatments and cures.

• share
• favorite_border

As Europe experienced its enormous second wave of the COVID-19 disease, researchers noticed the mortality rate was much lower than during the first wave. This inspired some to study and quantify the mortality rate on a country-by-country basis to determine how much the rate decreased. In Chaos, they introduce methods to study the progression of COVID-19 cases to deaths during the pandemic's different waves; their methods involve applied mathematics, specifically nonlinear dynamics, and time series analysis.

• share
• favorite_border

Sea-based fish farming systems using net pens are hard on the environment and fish. A closed cage can improve fish welfare, but seawater must be continuously circulated through the cage. However, waves can cause the water to slosh inside the cage, creating violent motions and endangering the cage and fish. A study using a scale-model containment system is reported in Physics of Fluids and shows why violent sloshing motions arise and how to minimize them.

• share
• favorite_border

In APL Bioengineering, researchers have developed materials that can interface with an injured spinal cord and provide a scaffolding to facilitate healing. To do this, scaffolding materials need to mimic the natural spinal cord tissue, so they can be readily populated by native cells in the spinal cord, essentially filling in gaps left by injury. The researchers show how the pores improve efficiency of gene therapies administered locally to the injured tissues, which can further promote tissue regeneration.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have studied the operation of a small device fabricated in the write gap of a hard disk drive's write head to extend its recording density. The device is based on microwave-assisted magnetic recording. This technology, reported in Journal of Applied Physics, uses a spin-torque oscillator, which causes the magnetic particles of the recording medium to wobble. This makes them much easier to flip over when the write head applies a recording magnetic field in the writing process.

• share
• favorite_border

The extreme confusion at the beginning of the pandemic inspired Marche Polytechnic University researchers, who happen to be intrigued by saliva droplet diffusion, to search for answers and ways to help. In Physics of Fluids, they describe using a supercomputer to do numerical modeling of cough droplets irradiated by UV-C light. They also report exploring the social distances required to prevent virus transmission.

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Minnesota School of Music was concerned about one-on-one teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic and wondered if it should supplement its ventilation system with portable HEPA air purifiers. So, school officials reached out to Suo Yang, a professor within the College of Science and Engineering, and his team to figure it out. In Physics of Fluids, Yang and the researchers describe their work to predict how virus particles spread within a music classroom.

• share
• favorite_border

The heart cannot regenerate new tissue, because cardiomyocytes, or heart muscle cells, do not divide after birth. However, researchers have now developed a shape memory polymer to grow cardiomyocytes. Raising the material’s temperature turned the polymer’s flat surface into nanowrinkles, which promoted cardiomyocyte alignment. The research is part of the growing field of mechanobiology, which investigates how physical forces between cells and changes in their mechanical properties contribute to development, cell differentiation, physiology, and disease.

• share
• favorite_border

Research into hydroplaning currently uses a test track equipped with a transparent window embedded in the ground. The area above is flooded and a tire rolling over the window is observed with a high-speed camera. Investigators in France have developed a more sophisticated approach involving fluorescent seeding particles to visualize the flow and used a sheet of laser light to illuminate the area. They discuss their work in Physics of Fluids.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers in the U.S. and Germany decided to explore which pathways transport debris to the middle of the oceans, causing garbage patches, as well as the relative strengths of different subtropical gyres and how they influence long-term accumulation of debris. In Chaos, they report creating a model of the oceans' surface dynamics from historical trajectories of surface buoys. Their model describes the probability of plastic debris being transported from one region to another.

• share
• favorite_border

The American Institute of Physics is accepting nominations for three AIP Robert H.G. Helleman memorial fellowships, which support graduate students or postdoctoral fellows with Dutch citizenship to pursue research activities in physics in the United States and who demonstrate academic excellence and financial need. Applications to AIP for the inaugural awards will be accepted until March 15.

• share
• favorite_border

Global wind power capacity has increased more than fivefold over the past decade, leading to larger turbines, but low-level jets are one cause for concern. The effects of these strong, energetic wind flows depend on how high the wind flows are in relation to the turbines. In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, researchers considered three different scenarios in which the LLJs were above, below, and in the middle of the turbine rotors.

• share
• favorite_border

COVID-19 can spread from asymptomatic but infected people through small aerosol droplets in their exhaled breath. Most studies of the flow of exhaled air have focused on coughing or sneezing; however, speaking while near one another is also risky. In Physics of Fluids, scientists used smoke and laser light to study the flow of expelled breath near and around two people conversing in various relative postures commonly found in the service industry, such as in hair salons, medical exam rooms, or long-term care facilities.

• share
• favorite_border

A complete blood count can help ascertain the health of a patient and typically includes an estimate of the hemoglobin concentration, which can indicate several conditions, including anemia, polycythemia, and pulmonary fibrosis. In AIP Advances, researchers describe a new AI-powered imaging-based tool to estimate hemoglobin levels. The setup was developed in conjunction with a microfluidic chip and an AI-powered automated microscope that was designed for deriving the total as well as differential counts of blood cells.

• share
• favorite_border

To highlight and enhance the awareness of Black physicists, the American Institute of Physics is partnering with Black in Physics to host a Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon to address inaccuracies and incomplete information on the popular resource website about African American and Black scientists. The event will take place during the last week of Black History Month, Feb. 22-26, and bring together volunteers in the physics community to build and edit Wikipedia pages about Black physicists.

• share
• favorite_border

For explosion wounds as well as some incurred in disasters and accidents, severe hemorrhage is a leading cause of death. Hydrogel dressings, which have advanced in recent years, may help; they are good at promoting wound healing and can better meet the demands of different situations. Many are antibacterial, biodegradable, responsive, and injectable and can fill irregularly shaped wounds. In APL Bioengineering, researchers in China examine some of the recent advances.

• share
• favorite_border

Research into 3D bioprinting has grown rapidly in recent years as scientists seek to re-create the structure and function of complex biological systems from human tissues to entire organs. In APL Bioengineering, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University provide perspective on the Freefrom Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels 3D bioprinting approach, which solves the issue of gravity and distortion by printing within a yield-stress support bath that holds the bioinks in place until they are cured.

• share
• favorite_border

Advances in the fields of biomaterials and nanotechnology could lead to big breakthroughs in the fight against dangerous viruses like the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. In APL Bioengineering, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science describe possibilities being explored by scientists, combining biomaterials and nanotechnology, to make vaccines more effective and build surfaces that could fight and kill viruses on their own.

• share
• favorite_border

School closures, the loss of public spaces, and having to work remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic have caused major disruptions in people’s lives all over the world. After running thousands of simulations of the pandemic response in New York City with variations in social distancing behavior, researchers suggest a reduction in fatal coronavirus cases can be achieved without the need for so much social disruption. They discuss the impacts of the closures of various types of facilities in the journal Chaos.

• share
• favorite_border

A restaurant outbreak in China was widely reported as strong evidence of airflow-induced transmission of COVID-19, but it lacked a detailed investigation about exactly how transmission occurred. In Physics of Fluids, researchers at the University of Minnesota report using advanced simulation methods to capture the complex flows that occur when the cold airflow from air conditioners interacts with the hot plume from a dining table and the transport of virus-loading particles within such flows.

• share
• favorite_border

As COVID-19 spreads via respiratory droplets, researchers have become increasingly interested in the drying of droplets on impermeable and porous surfaces; surfaces that accelerate evaporation can decelerate the spread of the virus. In Physics of Fluids, researchers show a droplet remains liquid for a much shorter time on a porous surface, making it less favorable to survival of the virus. On paper and cloth, the virus survived for only three hours and two days, respectively.

• share
• favorite_border

The “second wave” of the coronavirus pandemic has placed much blame on a lack of appropriate safety measures. However, due to the impacts of weather, research suggests two outbreaks per year are inevitable. Though face masks, travel restrictions, and social distancing guidelines help slow the number of new infections in the short term, the lack of climate effects incorporated into epidemiological models presents a glaring hole that can cause long-term effects. In Physics of Fluids, researchers discuss the impacts of these parameters.

• share
• favorite_border

Some promising biosensors and medical devices work well within pristine laboratory environments but may stop working once exposed to real-world conditions. A thick layer of foulants will quickly cover biosensors, and there is no good way to revive them once they quit working. Essentially, a biosensor is only as good as its antifouling properties. In APL Materials, researchers review a variety of approaches developed to combat fouling.

• share
• favorite_border

Foods will sometimes get stuck to a heated surface, even if oil or a nonstick frying pan is used. Scientists have investigated the fluid properties of oil on a flat surface and their work, reported in Physics of Fluids, shows convection may be to blame. When the pan is heated from below, a temperature gradient is established in the oil film, as well as a surface tension gradient. This gradient sets up a type of convection known as thermocapillary convection.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists are hoping advances in cancer research could lead to a day when a patient's own immune system could be used to fight and destroy a wide range of tumors. Cancer immunotherapy has some remarkable successes, but its effectiveness has been limited to a relatively small handful of cancers. In APL Bioengineering, researchers describe how advances in engineering models of tumors can greatly expand cancer immunotherapy's effectiveness to a wider range of cancers.

• share
• favorite_border

The positions of air inlets and outlets in confined spaces, such as elevators, greatly affect airborne virus transmission. In Physics of Fluids, researchers show air purifiers may actually increase the spread. They use ultraviolet radiation to kill viruses and other microbes, but they also circulate air, sucking it in and exhausting cleaned air. This adds to overall circulation.

• share
• favorite_border

As the pandemic continues, scientists are increasingly focused on developing methods to assist in decontaminating surfaces and spaces. In Review of Scientific Instruments, researchers report on experimental tools capable of presenting electromagnetic waves to an aerosol mixture with the capability to vary power, energy, and frequency of the electromagnetic exposure. The researchers seek to better characterize the threshold levels of microwave energy needed to inactivate aerosolized viral particles and reduce their ability to spread infection.

• share
• favorite_border

While decades of research have resulted in substantial improvements in surviving cancer, a key challenge remains in identifying new drugs that improve outcomes for patients. In APL Bioengineering, researchers suggest a major hurdle is the paucity of models for cancer research that accurately represent patient tumors. They provide a perspective on strategies using models from individual patients and where the field needs to go in terms of research in animal systems and in culture systems.

• share
• favorite_border

Treatment options for many types of cancers remain limited, due partly to the in vitro tools used to model cancers and that results from animal studies do not always translate well to human disease. These shortcomings point to a clear need for a better, patient-specific model. Researchers suggest bioengineered microscale organotypic models can address this need. They discuss the advantages and capabilities of this technique, as well as its challenges, in the journal APL Bioengineering.

• share
• favorite_border

A Velcro-like fastener with a microscopic design that looks like tiny mushrooms could mean advances for everyday consumers and scientific fields. Currently available fasteners are called hook and loop fasteners and require harder, stiff material. In Biointerphases, researchers describe a design that can use softer materials and still be strong enough to work. The team believes a 3D mushroom design can be made with softer, more flexible materials and provide sufficient interlocking force on the fabric and hold strong.

• share
• favorite_border

Our brains consist of soft matter bathed in watery cerebrospinal fluid inside a hard skull, and in Physics of Fluids, researchers describe studying another system with the same features, an egg, to search for answers about concussions. Considering that in most concussive brain injuries, the skull does not break, they wanted to find out if it was possible to break or deform the egg yolk without breaking the eggshell and did a simple experiment using an egg scrambler, measuring the soft matter deformation.

• share
• favorite_border

In AIP Advances, researchers describe how to exploit DNA origami as a platform to build superconducting nanoarchitectures. The structures they built are addressable with nanometric precision that can be used as a template for 3D architectures that are not possible today via conventional fabrication techniques. Inspired by previous works using the DNA molecule as a template for superconducting nanowires, the group took advantage of a recent bioengineering advance known as DNA origami to fold DNA into arbitrary shapes.

• share
• favorite_border

Biomedical engineers developed a technique to observe wound healing in real time, discovering a central role for cells known as fibroblasts. The work, reported in APL Bioengineering, is the first demonstration of a wound closure model within human vascularized tissue in a petri dish.

• share
• favorite_border

The American Institute of Physics and the National Society of Black Physicists congratulate physicist Thomas A. Searles as the winner of the inaugural Joseph A. Johnson III Award for Excellence. Named to honor the legacy of the renowned experimental physicist and founder of NSBP, the Joseph A. Johnson III Award will be given annually to recognize an early career NSBP physicist who exemplifies Johnson’s ingenuity as a scientist and passion for mentorship and service.

• share
• favorite_border

The American Institute of Physics is still accepting nominations for the 2021 Andrew Gemant Award. The deadline to apply is Jan. 31, 2021. The Gemant Award is presented every year and recognizes the accomplishments of a person who has made significant contributions to the cultural, artistic, or humanistic dimension of physics. Self-nominations are permitted, and nominations of women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and scientists from outside the United States are encouraged.

• share
• favorite_border

The executive leadership of the American Institute of Physics and seven of its Member Societies have joined more than 1,500 other leaders in signing the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion pledge, recommitting their organizations to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The pledge, currently signed by CEOs across 85 industries, was created by CEO Action for Racial Equality, a fellowship to advance racial equity through public policy.

• share
• favorite_border

The American Institute of Physics, the American Astronomical Society, and the Heineman Foundation proudly announce Robert Lupton and David Weinberg as recipients of the 2021 Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics. The award is given annually to recognize outstanding mid-career work in any area of astrophysics.