spintronics
jhalper | March 30, 2011Today's Weizmann Institute news stories include two new papers from the prolific lab of Prof. Yadin Dudai. The first is on a protein that boosts memory in rats. Dudai and his group have been investigating this protein for several years. Previously, they had managed to show that blocking the protein, even for a very short time, erases memories. Now, they have demonstrated that adding more of the protein to certain areas of the brain can strengthen memory. Note: They increased the protein via gene-carrying viruses that infiltrated the rats' brain cells - not a clinic-ready technique. But until…
ksnyder | July 14, 2010Thanks to the smart nano detectives out there who took a stab at solving yesterday's picture puzzle.
Mystery image #1, aka the "Nano Vortex," shows the different magnetization directions of an arrangement of nickel and nickel oxide. Captured by Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) scientist Yimei Zhu, this photo reveals the local distribution of electromagnetic potential. The ability to directly observe electromagnetic properties at the nanoscale may help scientists engineer new materials that rely on magnetic spin - rather than just electric charge - to control electric current. Such "…