An anonymous reader quotes a report from New Atlas: One of the most remarkable “sixth” senses in the animal kingdom is magnetoreception — the ability to detect magnetic fields — but exactly how it works remains a mystery. Now, researchers in Japan may have found a crucial piece of the puzzle, making the first observations of live, unaltered cells responding to…
Tag: University of Tokyo
Betelgeuse is smaller, closer, and won’t explode any time soon
According to new research, the red supergiant star Betelgeuse – which began to dim dramatically in brightness in late 2019 – might not explode for another 100,000 years. The star is also smaller and closer to us than first thought. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/betelgeuse-supergiant-smaller-closer-wont-explode-soon…
Touching the asteroid Ryugu
It’s a spectacular achievement to rendezvous with an asteroid as it’s whizzing around the sun. It’s even more amazing to collect a sample. That’s what the Hayabusa2 spacecraft did in February 2019. Here’s what researchers learned. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/asteroid-ryugu-hayabusa2-findings…
Glass transition of spins and orbitals of electrons in a pure crystal
A joint research group from Osaka University and the University of Tokyo uncovered the mechanism of the glass transition that electrons can experience in pyrochlore oxide crystals. The researchers show that distortions in the atomic lattice cause two types of rotational degrees of freedom of spins to become coupled and form a glassy state at the exact same temperature. This work…
A filter for cleaner qubits
A research team at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), RIKEN, and the University of Tokyo have demonstrated how to increase the lifetime of qubits inside quantum computers by using an additional “filter” qubit. This work may help make higher fidelity quantum computers that can be used in financial, cryptographic, and chemistry applications. …
Cosmic rays and Titan’s organic molecules
A new study from researchers in Tokyo helps explain how cosmic rays affect prebiotic organic chemistry in the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/titan-cosmic-rays-atmosphere-prebiotic-organic-chemistry…
A spookily good sensor
Scientists from the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST) at The University of Tokyo demonstrated a method for coupling a magnetic sphere with a sensor via the strange power of quantum entanglement. They showed that the existence of even a single magnetic excitation in the sphere could be detected with a one-shot measurement. This work represents a major advancement…
Cosmic web fuels stars and supermassive black holes
Astronomers probed the cosmic web, a large-scale structure composed of massive filaments of galaxies separated by giant voids. They found the filaments also contained significant amounts of gas, believed to help fuel the galaxies’ growth. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/cosmic-web-gas-reservoir-fuel-galaxies-growth…
Keeping cool with quantum wells
University of Tokyo researchers have announced a new approach for electrical cooling without the need for moving parts. By applying a bias voltage to quantum wells made of the semiconductor aluminum gallium arsenide, electrons can be made to shed some of their heat in a process called “evaporative cooling.” Devices based on this principle may be added to electronic circuit boards…
New insights on Venus’ cloud-tops and super-rotation
Why does Venus’ upper atmosphere circle the planet in just 4 Earth-days, while the planet itself takes 243 Earth-days to spin once? Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft probed the mysterious “super-rotation” of Venus’ clouds. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/study-venus-cloudtops-super-rotation-variety…