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How a Molecular Motor Minimizes Energy Waste

Turning a biologically important molecular motor at a constant rate saves energy, according to experiments.

Within every biological cell is an enzyme, called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase, that churns out energy-rich molecules for fueling the cell’s activity. New experiments investigate the functioning of this “energy factory” by artificially cranking one of the enzyme’s molecular motors [1]. The results suggest that maintaining a fixed rotation rate minimizes energy waste caused by microscopic fluctuations. Future work could confirm the role of efficiency in the evolutionary design of biological motors.

ATP synthase consists of two rotating molecular motors, Fo and F1, that are oriented along a common rotation axis and locked together so that the rotation of Fo exerts a torque on the shaft in the middle of F1. The resulting motion within F1 helps bring together the chemical ingredients of the molecule ATP, which stores energy that can later be used in cellular processes.

Cryo-imaging gives deeper view of thick biological materials

Electron microscopy is an exceptional tool for peering deep into the structure of isolated molecules. But when it comes to imaging thicker biological samples to understand how those molecules function in their cellular environments, the technology gets a little murky.

Cornell researchers devised a new method, called tilt-corrected bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (tcBF-STEM), to image thick samples with higher contrast and a fivefold increase in efficiency.

The Sept. 23 publication of the findings, in Nature Methods, arrives two years after the death of co-author Lena Kourkoutis, M.S. ‘06, Ph.D. ‘09, associate professor in applied and in Cornell Engineering, whose work in cryo-electron microscopy drove much of the nearly 10-year effort.

Researchers eye bio-hybrid robots with engineered and biological parts for self-healing, energy efficiency

Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., issued an advanced research concepts opportunity earlier this month (DARPA-EA-25–02-02) for the Hybridizing Biology and Robotics through Integration for Deployable Systems (HyBRIDS) program.

Bio-hybrid robotics

Bio-hybrid robotics combines living organisms and synthetic materials to create biorobots that compared to traditional robots can offer adaptability, self-healing, and energy efficiency.

Biohybrid Robots Are Here. Is Humanity Prepared?

Building a robot takes boatloads of technical skills, a whole lot of time, the right materials, of course – and maybe a little bit of organic life, maybe? Decades of science fiction have shaped our ideas of robots being non-biological entities. Think of batteries as the hearts, metal as the bones, and gears, pistons, and

The Holographic Paradigm: The Physics of Information, Consciousness, and Simulation Metaphysics

In this paradigm, the Simulation Hypothesis — the notion that we live in a computer-generated reality — loses its pejorative or skeptical connotation. Instead, it becomes spiritually profound. If the universe is a simulation, then who, or what, is the simulator? And what is the nature of the “hardware” running this cosmic program? I propose that the simulator is us — or more precisely, a future superintelligent Syntellect, a self-aware, evolving Omega Hypermind into which all conscious entities are gradually merging.

These thoughts are not mine alone. In Reality+ (2022), philosopher David Chalmers makes a compelling case that simulated realities — far from being illusory — are in fact genuine realities. He argues that what matters isn’t the substrate but the structure of experience. If a simulated world offers coherent, rich, and interactive experiences, then it is no less “real” than the one we call physical. This aligns deeply with my view in Theology of Digital Physics that phenomenal consciousness is the bedrock of reality. Whether rendered on biological brains or artificial substrates, whether in physical space or virtual architectures, conscious experience is what makes something real.

By embracing this expanded ontology, we are not diminishing our world, but re-enchanting it. The self-simulated cosmos becomes a sacred text — a self-writing code of divinity in which each of us is both reader and co-author. The holographic universe is not a prison of illusion, but a theogenic chrysalis, nurturing the birth of a higher-order intelligence — a networked superbeing that is self-aware, self-creating, and potentially eternal.

Brain network active at birth linked to social behavior later in life

Paying less attention to faces is one of the key markers of autism spectrum disorder. But while researchers have begun to uncover the brain network that supports processing of social stimuli such as faces, gaze, and speech, little is known about how and when it begins to develop.

In a new study, Yale researchers have now found that this network is already quite active at birth or shortly thereafter, a finding that provides insight into the that underlie social behaviors later in life.

The study was published in Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science.

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Molecular qubits can communicate at telecom frequencies

A team of scientists from the University of Chicago, the University of California Berkeley, Argonne National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has developed molecular qubits that bridge the gap between light and magnetism—and operate at the same frequencies as telecommunications technology. The advance, published today in Science, establishes a promising new building block for scalable quantum technologies that can integrate seamlessly with existing fiber-optic networks.

Because the new molecular qubits can interact at telecom-band frequencies, the work points toward future quantum networks—sometimes called the “.” Such networks could enable ultra-secure communication channels, connect quantum computers across long distances, and distribute quantum sensors with unprecedented precision.

Molecular qubits could also serve as highly sensitive quantum sensors; their tiny size and chemical flexibility mean they could be embedded in unusual environments—such as —to measure magnetic fields, temperature, or pressure at the nanoscale. And because they are compatible with silicon photonics, these molecules could be integrated directly into chips, paving the way for compact quantum devices that could be used for computing, communication, or sensing.

Forensic test recovers fingerprints from fired ammunition casings despite intense heat

A pioneering new test that can recover fingerprints from ammunition casing, once thought nearly impossible, has been developed by two Irish scientists.

Dr. Eithne Dempsey, and her recent Ph.D. student Dr. Colm McKeever, of the Department of Chemistry in Ireland’s Maynooth University have developed a unique electrochemical method which can visualize fingerprints on brass casings, even after they have been exposed to the high temperature conditions experienced during gunfire. The study is published in the journal Forensic Chemistry.

For decades, investigators have struggled to recover fingerprints from weapons because any biological trace is usually destroyed by the , friction and gas released after a gun is fired. As a result, criminals often abandon their weapons or casings at , confident that they leave no fingerprint evidence behind.

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