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Highlights

Jan 28, 2016
Brandeis University

Hierarchical organization of chiral colloidal

P. Sharma, A. W. Ward, T. Gibaud, M. F. Hagan and Z. Dogic

Liquid–liquid phase separation in bulk proceeds through the continuous coalescence of droplets until the system undergoes complete phase separation. But when colloids, nanoparticles or proteins are confined to interfaces, surfaces or membranes, their interactions differ fundamentally from those mediated by
Jan 28, 2016
Brandeis University

In 3D – Molecules of Life

A.Olivier-Mason, D. Pomeranz Krummel, I. Roy

In 2015, the MRSEC led the development of an outreach course at Brandeis for Waltham High School students to strengthen our engagement with the WHS community. The course was structured to teach the students biochemistry using 3D molecular models, hands-on activities, CAD, and 3D printing. The class sessions were taught by graduate student and postdoc instructors who received extensive one-on-one curriculum-development mentoring by the
Jan 6, 2016

The Traveling Salesman Enables the Rapid Synthesis of Repetitive Polypeptides

Ashutosh Chilkoti, Duke UniversityNicholas C. Tang, Duke University  

A codon-scrambling algorithm enables the PCR-based synthesis of repetitive proteins by finding the least-repetitive synonymous gene sequence
Dec 23, 2015
University of Colorado at Boulder

Dynamic Self-Pattering of Archimedes Spirals

A thin liquid crystal film on a surface of photoactive dye turns into a wonderland of exotic moving patterns if just illuminated by a simple lamp.  Spirals move and oscillate across the surface in the form of advancing wavefronts, encountering and annihilating each other.
Dec 23, 2015
University of Colorado at Boulder

Quantum Dot / DNA Necklaces

 Researchers at the Soft Materials Research Center of the University of Colorado have made hybrid bio-semiconductor nano-necklaces consisting of strings of nanometer size quantum dots (QDs) tethered by nano-length DNA chains.  When the necklaces are connected between electrodes and illuminated, the alignment of the energetic states of the QDs and DNA
Dec 4, 2015
Princeton University

Semiconductor Double Quantum Dot Maser

Y. Liu, J. Stehlik, C. Eichler, M. J. Gullans, J. M. Taylor, J. R. Petta

A conventional laser consists of three main components: a gain medium, a cavity, and an energy source. Researchers at Princeton and the University of Maryland Joint Quantum Institute have demonstrated a nanoscale laser that is driven by a single electron tunneling events.
Dec 4, 2015
Princeton University

The chiral anomaly in a Dirac semimetal

J. Xiong, S. Kushwaha, T. Liang, J. Krizan, W. Wang, M. Hirschberger, R. J. Cava and N. P. Ong

The notion of handedness or chirality (Greek for “hand”) is ubiquitous in chemistry, biology and physics. In quantum field theory, all massless particles (e.g. neutrinos) are chiral. The left- and right-handed populations are independent and never mix (Fig. A). However, inter-conversion occurs once electromagnetic fields are turned on. The field-induced mixing -- known as the chiral anomaly – produces an “axial current”. The effect was predicted in 1983 to occur in crystals. This was recently confirmed in the Dirac semimetal Na3Bi [1].