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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 03:
A new world record for solar cell efficiency
In a remarkable feat, scientists at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have developed thin film solar cells on flexible polymer foils with a new record efficiency of 20.4 percent for converting sunlight into electricity. The cells are based on CIGS semiconducting material known for its potential to provide cost-effective solar electricity. The technology is currently awaiting scale-up for industrial applications.
Mathematical breakthrough sets out rules for more effective teleportation
For the last ten years, theoretical physicists have shown that the intense connections generated between particles as established in the quantum law of 'entanglement' may hold the key to eventual teleportation of quantum information.
Nearly perfect, ultrathin invisibility cloak could have wide practical applications
(Phys.org)�Researchers have created a dc invisibility cloak made of a metamaterial that not only shields an object almost perfectly, but at 1-cm thick is also the thinnest cloak ever constructed, reaching the ultimate limit of thinness for artificial materials. As the first invisibility cloak that combines both near-perfect performance and extreme thinness, it could open the doors to practical applications. In the past, invisibility cloaks have been too large to be used in many real-world applications.
'Quadruple helix' DNA discovered in human cells
In 1953, Cambridge researchers Watson and Crick published a paper describing the interweaving 'double helix' DNA structure - the chemical code for all life. Now, in the year of that scientific landmark's 60th Anniversary, Cambridge researchers have published a paper proving that four-stranded 'quadruple helix' DNA structures - known as G-quadruplexes - also exist within the human genome. They form in regions of DNA that are rich in the building block guanine, usually abbreviated to 'G'.
New qubit control bodes well for future of quantum computing
(Phys.org)�Yale University scientists have found a way to observe quantum information while preserving its integrity, an achievement that offers researchers greater control in the volatile realm of quantum mechanics and greatly improves the prospects of quantum computing.
Russians announce retrieval of first clean ice sample from Lake Vostok
(Phys.org)�Researchers with Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute have announced that they have successfully retrieved a clean ice core sample from Lake Vostok in Antarctica. The sample, taken from a bore hole drilled over two miles through the ice to the lake underneath, is the result of years of effort. Researchers hope to find evidence in the ice of life on Earth as it existed as far back as 20 million years ago.
Japan to replace nuclear plant with world's largest wind farm
(Phys.org)�Officials in Japan have announced plans for building the largest wind farm in the world, ten miles off the coast of Fukushima � site of the nuclear disaster that followed the earthquake and tsunami that struck the island nation in 2011. Projections call for developing a wind farm capable of producing 1 gigawatt of power.
Star Wars: What would hyperspace travel really look like?
The sight of the Millennium Falcon making the "jump to lightspeed" is one of the most iconic images from the Star Wars trilogy.
A material that most liquids won't wet
(Phys.org)�A nanoscale coating that's at least 95 percent air repels the broadest range of liquids of any material in its class, causing them to bounce off the treated surface, according to the University of Michigan engineering researchers who developed it.
New multi-junction solar cell could break efficiency barrier
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientists in the Electronics Technology and Science Division, in collaboration with the Imperial College London and MicroLink Devices, Inc., Niles, Ill., have proposed a novel triple-junction solar cell with the potential to break the 50 percent conversion efficiency barrier, which is the current goal in multi-junction photovoltaic development.
Space station to get $18 million balloon-like room (Update)
NASA is partnering with a commercial space company in a bid to replace the cumbersome "metal cans" that now serve as astronauts' homes in space with inflatable bounce-house-like habitats that can be deployed on the cheap.
Black holes growing faster than expected
(Phys.org)�Astronomers from Swinburne University of Technology have discovered how supermassive black holes grow - and it's not what was expected.
Researchers use snail teeth to improve solar cells and batteries
(Phys.org)�An assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering is using the teeth of a marine snail found off the coast of California to create less costly and more efficient nanoscale materials to improve solar cells and lithium-ion batteries.
Australian study turns HIV against itself (Update)
An Australian scientist said Wednesday he had discovered a way to turn the HIV virus against itself in human cells in the laboratory, in an important advance in the quest for an AIDS cure.
EU releases all data on GM corn linked to cancer
The EU's food safety agency challenged its doubters on Monday, making available all the scientific information used to clear a genetically modified corn which a French researcher had linked to cancer.
Google's Ray Kurzweil revs up search focus with AI vision
(Phys.org)�The setting: An intimate gathering at Singularity University's NASA campus in Silicon Valley. This is the place founded by Dr. Peter Diamandis and Dr. Ray Kurzweil, pursuing the idea of a new university that could "leverage the power of exponential technologies to solve humanity's grand challenges." Speaking in an interview is artificial intelligence expert and Google's new Director of Engineering, Ray Kurzweil.
Comet ISON shaping up to be a spectacular display
(Phys.org)�Excitement is mounting for astronomers and star gazers the world over as word spreads that Comet ISON may go down in the history books as one of the flashiest ever. First discovered in September of last year by Russian astronomers, Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok, Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) has been drawing attention ever since.
What's causing Australia's heat wave?
Australia has started 2013 with a record-breaking heat wave that has lasted more than two weeks across many parts of the country. Temperatures have regularly gone above 48�C, with the highest recorded maximum of 49.6�C at Moomba in South Australia. The extreme conditions have been associated with a delayed onset of the Australian monsoon, and slow moving weather systems over the continent.
Moving Barkhausen Effect forward
Almost 100 years after the initial discovery, a team of scientists at the University of Alberta and the National Institute for Nanotechnology in Edmonton have harnessed the Barkhausen Effect as a new kind of high-resolution microscopy for the insides of magnetic materials.
A new clean nuclear fusion reactor has been designed
A researcher at the Universidad polit�cnica de Madrid (UPM, Spain) has patented a nuclear fusion reactor by inertial confinement that, apart from be used to generate electric power in plants, can be applied to propel ships.
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