(Lancaster University) For the first time, LEGO ® has been cooled to the lowest temperature possible in an experiment which reveals a new use for the popular toy — the development of quantum computing. A figure and four blocks were placed inside the most effective refrigerator in the world, capable of reaching 1.6 millidegrees above absolute zero (minus 273.15 Centigrade), which is about 200,000 times colder than room temperature and 2,000 times colder than deep space.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/lu-tcl121919.php

(sphingotec GmbH) Data from more than 2,000 patients enrolled in the FROG-ICU study demonstrate that high levels of bioactive adrenomedullin (bio-ADM®) predict the need for organ support, ionotropes, and vasopressors in the general patient population at admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/sg-sef122019.php

(University of Michigan) Leftover prescription opioids pose big risks to kids, yet most parents keep their own and their child’s unused painkillers even after they’re no longer medically necessary for pain.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/uom-ptm121919.php

(University of Queensland) University of Queensland researchers have combined quantum liquids and silicon-chip technology to study turbulence for the first time, opening the door to new navigation technologies and improved understanding of the turbulent dynamics of cyclones and other extreme weather.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/uoq-nsi121919.php

(Arizona State University) Paul Davies’ newest book, The Demon in the Machine, takes aim at one of the great outstanding scientific enigmas — what is life, how and why does it emerge and what distinguishes the living from the non-living? The book, which was published this past October in the US has now been named the top physics book of 2019 by Physics World, a publication of the UK Institute of Physics.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/asu-tdi121919.php

(Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) Computer algorithms disassemble prey capture behavior of zebrafish into its components.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/m-aia122019.php

(Kobe University) A research team at Kobe University Hospital have further illuminated the likelihood of cancer drug side effects that can occur due to genetic mutations in the drug-metabolizing enzyme. The team led by Dr. TAKAOKA Yutaka also developed a mathematical model by using the results of molecular simulation analyses to predict the possibility of side effects. It is hoped that this research will pave the way for effective predictions of cancer drug side effects and treatment results.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/ku-ndm122019.php

(Universitat Pompeu Fabra – Barcelona) A set of techniques used in image processing that allow better viewing between the lighter and darker areas of an image. A study by Raquel Gil Rodríguez, Javier Vázquez-Corral and Marcelo Bertalmío, researchers of the Image Processing for Enhanced Cinematography (IP4EC) research group.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/upf–ait122019.php

(Kyoto University) Kyoto researchers have developed a new ‘tumor-on-a-chip’ device that can better mimic the environment inside the body, paving the way for improved screening of potential cancer fighting drugs. The device, has a 1 mm well at the center flanked by a series of 100 μm ‘microposts’. The culture is placed in the middle well, and cells that construct blood vessels are places along the microposts. Over a few days the vessels grow and attaches to the culture.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/ku-uac122019.php

(Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University) The research team of the IKBFU developed a fundamentally new method of manufacturing laser optics, which is based on the use of rare-earth metal ions of ytterbium and its oxide. The results of the work of scientists were recently published in the scientific journal Optics Communications.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/ikbf-rsh122019.php