Your energy-efficient washing machine could be harboring pathogens

For the first time ever, investigators have identified a washing machine as a reservoir of multidrug-resistant pathogens. The pathogens, a single clone of Klebsiella oxytoca, were transmitted repeatedly to newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit at a children's hospital. The transmission was stopped only when the washing machine was removed from the hospital.

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Physicists score double hit in LED research

In 2 breakthroughs in the realm of photonics, researchers are reporting the successful demonstration of an LED (light-emitting diode) based on half-light half-matter quasiparticles in atomically thin materials. This is also the first successful test of an electrically driven light emitter using atomically thin semiconductors embedded in a light trapping structure (optical cavity).

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Scientists finally find superconductivity in place they have been looking for decades

Scientists prove a well-known model of material behavior applies to high-temperature superconductors, giving them a new tool for understanding how these materials conduct electricity with no loss. Simulations suggest we might be able to toggle superconductivity on and off in certain materials by tweaking their chemistry so electrons hop from atom to atom in a particular pattern – as if hopping to the atom diagonally across the street rather than to the one next door.

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Development of highly sensitive diode, converts microwaves to electricity

A group of researchers developed a highly sensitive rectifying element in the form of a nanowire backward diode, which can covert low-power microwaves into electricity. The new technology is expected that the newly-developed nanowire backward diode will be applied in using plentiful ambient radio wave energy in 5G communications, serving as a stable power source of sensors and contributing to battery-free sensors.

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Scientists one step closer to a fully functioning quantum computer

Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize technology, medicine, and science by providing faster and more efficient processors, sensors, and communication devices. But transferring information and correcting errors within a quantum system remains a challenge. Researchers now demonstrate a new method of relaying information by transferring the state of electrons. The research brings scientists one step closer to creating fully functional quantum computers.

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