Category: Funding

Researchers at Princeton explored electrons in a magnetic material at room temperature and discovered that they engage in collective quantum behaviors called Weyl loops. Left: Distribution of electrons on the surface of the topological quantum magnet. The sharp light-colored features are the quantum Weyl loops. Middle: A theoretical calculation related to the system's response to applied electromagnetic fields. The correspondence between the top and middle images reflects that the quantum Weyl loops are at the heart of the exotic electromagnetic properties of the topological quantum magnet. Right: Photoemission spectroscopy snapshot of the quantum Weyl loops. Image by M. Zahid Hasan's research team.

Princeton physicists discover topological behavior of electrons in three-dimensional magnetic material

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In a room-temperature magnet, researchers find behaviors of electrons that mimic massless particles and anti-particles. Continue Reading →

Two purple cells with green pyrenoids
The left panel shows a type of single-celled algae known as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with its chloroplast (purple) containing only a single pyrenoid (green). The SAGA1 mutant shown on the right displays several extra pyrenoids. Image credit: Alan Itakura

Princeton researchers explore how a carbon-fixing organelle forms via phase separation

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A new study yields insights into how an organelle called the pyrenoid, which helps algae remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, forms inside the cell via a process similar to how oil separates from water. Continue Reading →

cells
Long-term co-infection of hepatocytes with HBV and HDV can be established in highly scalable cell culture system (SACC-PHH).  Image shown is of SACC-PHH 28 days after HBV/HDV co-infection, with hepatocyte nuclei in blue, a Hepatitis B viral protein in red, and HDV genomic RNA in green. Image credit: Winer et al., Princeton University

How hepatitis B and delta viruses establish infection of liver cells

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Princeton University researchers have developed a new, scalable cell culture system that allows for detailed investigation of how host cells respond to infection with hepatitis B (HBV) and delta virus (HDV). The paper describing their Continue Reading →

quasiparticles moving on a surface

Mysterious Majorana quasiparticle is now closer to being controlled for quantum computing

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As mysterious as the Italian scientist for which it is named, the Majorana particle is one of the most compelling quests in physics. Its fame stems from its strange properties – it is the only Continue Reading →

diagram of research

Danger avoidance can be genetically encoded for four generations

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Princeton University researchers have discovered that learned behaviors in worms of the species C. elegans can be inherited for multiple generations, transmitted from parent to progeny via eggs and sperm cells. The paper detailing this Continue Reading →

Children with a chemistry set
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“Doing science,” rather than “being scientists,” more encouraging to those underrepresented in the field

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Over the course of a school year, elementary school children lose confidence that they can “be scientists,” but remain more confident that they can “do science,” finds a new psychology study by researchers at New Continue Reading →

Image of a molecule
A model of the "humanized" version of mouse cyclophilin A shows the mutated parts of the protein as green sticks, and the protein's active site as purple sticks. Credit: Jenna Gaska, Princeton University

New progress in developing an animal model of hepatitis C

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Small differences in a liver cell protein have significant impacts on hepatitis C virus replication in mice and humans, findings that could facilitate the development of a mouse model of the infection. The report, led Continue Reading →

cell
Artist's rendering, Shutterstock

For infection-fighting cells, a guideline for expanding the troops

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T cells are like the special ops forces of the immune system, detecting and killing infected cells. When a new threat is detected, the cells ramp up from just a few sentry cells to a Continue Reading →

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A quantum magnet with a topological twist

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Taking their name from an intricate Japanese basket pattern, kagome magnets are thought to have electronic properties that could be valuable for future quantum devices and applications. Theories predict that some electrons in these materials Continue Reading →

Child pouring liquid
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“Doing science,” rather than “being scientists,” more encouraging to girls, new research shows

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Asking young girls to “do science” leads them to show greater persistence in science activities than does asking them to “be scientists,” finds a new psychology study by researchers at New York University and Princeton Continue Reading →

Cover photo of electron

Controllable electron flow in quantum wires

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Princeton University researchers have demonstrated a new way of making controllable “quantum wires” in the presence of a magnetic field, according to a new study published online today in the journal Nature. The researchers detected channels Continue Reading →

Dane Christie

Turning up the heat on the search for better plastics

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By Scott Lyon If you have ever poured hot coffee into a cheap plastic cup, you may recall that sinking feeling as the cup seems to wilt. Not quite solid, not quite liquid, the cup Continue Reading →

Thomas Gregor and his team

Finding meaning among the junk

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By Kevin McElwee Only about 10 percent of the human genome are actually genes. The other 90 percent? Once called “junk DNA,” researchers now know that this genetic material contains on-off switches that can activate Continue Reading →

Astrophysicist Eve Ostriker

Engine of cosmic evolution: Eve Ostriker looks under the hood

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By Catherine Zandonella Outside Eve Ostriker’s office door stretches the universe, dotted with orange galaxies against the black backdrop of space. The mural lines the hallway in Princeton’s astrophysical sciences building, where it inspires Ostriker Continue Reading →

Clifford Brangwynne selected as Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator

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By Adam Hadhazy Clifford Brangwynne, whose research explores the hidden order within cellular liquid, has been named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Brangwynne, an associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at Princeton University, Continue Reading →

Cryo-EM

Going green: What we can learn from a little alga

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By Yasemin Saplakoglu WE ARE CONCERNED, rightly so, about the amount of carbon dioxide accumulating in the Earth’s atmosphere. But to most plants, which use carbon for photosynthesis, the amount we have is not enough. Continue Reading →

John Pardon

John Pardon on math’s power to distract and divert

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By Yasemin Saplakoglu GETTING A TIRED and hungry 12-year-old to hike another mile up a steep mountain is a daunting task. But John Pardon’s parents quickly figured out a simple solution that saved many of Continue Reading →

Nitrogen-vacancy color center

Diamonds’ flaws hold promise for new technologies

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By Yasemin Saplakoglu DESPITE THEIR CHARM AND ALLURE, diamonds are rarely perfect. They have tiny defects that, to assistant professor Nathalie de Leon, make them ever so appealing. These atom-sized mistakes have enormous potential in Continue Reading →

Mike Levine

Lights, camera, action – of genes in development

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By Yasemin Saplakoglu MOLECULAR BIOLOGIST MIKE LEVINE likes to recall his childhood when he talks about the reason he came to Princeton. “I grew up near Hollywood and I always loved movies as a kid, so Continue Reading →

A challenge to help kids

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By Yasemin Saplakoglu A collaborative approach to sociology aims to target fundamental and perhaps overlooked issues to improve policies that affect the lives of disadvantaged children. The effort, called the Fragile Families Challenge, brings together Continue Reading →

Gloved hand holding glass

Self-powered system makes smart windows smarter

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By Sharon Adarlo A new solar cell technology could make it inexpensive to create and install smart windows that automatically vary their tint to augment lighting, heating and cooling systems in buildings. The new transparent Continue Reading →

Emily Shuldiner

Probing the genetic basis for dog-human relationships

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By Pooja Makhijani A new study has identified genetic changes that are linked to dogs’ human-directed social behaviors and suggests there is a common underlying genetic basis for hyper-social behavior in both dogs and humans. Continue Reading →

Elke Weber

Better decision-making for the planet

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By Yasemin Saplakoglu We might think we have control of the mix of decisions we make during the day. But it turns out that our brain gives us subconscious nudges, preferring some choices over others. Continue Reading →

Discovery provides a path to safe, clean, plentiful energy

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By John Greenwald Fusion — the energy-producing reaction that powers our sun and most stars — can be a safe, clean and virtually limitless source for generating electricity on Earth, ending reliance on fossil fuels and Continue Reading →

Waseem Bakr

Atom catcher: With lasers and magnets, Waseem Bakr traps atoms for study under the microscope

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By Bennett McIntosh THE COLDEST SPOT on the Princeton campus is a cluster of a few thousand atoms suspended above a table in Waseem Bakr’s laboratory. When trapped in a lattice of intersecting lasers at Continue Reading →

Probing antimatter-matter interactions

Exploring collective interactions of matter and antimatter

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STRIP AWAY ELECTRONS FROM THEIR ATOMS and you get a plasma — a collection of negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions. But at high energies around compact cosmic objects such as black holes, quasars Continue Reading →

Cities

CITIES: Resilient • Adaptable • Livable • Smart

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Innovations in building materials, design, water systems and power grids are helping to make cities more livable, say researchers in Princeton’s School of Engineering and Applied Science By Bennett McIntosh Cities. They sprawl and tangle, Continue Reading →

Behavioral science

Better living through behavioral science

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How the psychology of human behavior is helping tackle society’s biggest problems By Wendy Plump SUPPOSE someone approaches you on the street with the following proposition: You can receive either cash on the spot or Continue Reading →

Bright future

Bright future: Princeton researchers unlock the potential of light to perform previously impossible feats

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By Bennett McIntosh One hundred years ago, Italian chemist Giacomo Ciamician predicted a future society that would run on sunlight. In a paper presented in 1912 to an international meeting of chemists in New York Continue Reading →

‘Jack’ Hoang Lu researches nanoparticles for drug delivery

Tiny delivery capsules for new drugs

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Some drugs cannot be delivered via a normal pill or injection because they cannot readily dissolve in water. About 40 percent of new pharmaceuticals have this hydrophobic (water-fearing) character, and like a globule of oil Continue Reading →

SPIDER

Cosmic background: 51 years ago, an accidental discovery sparked a big bang in astrophysics

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ON NEW YEAR’S DAY 2015, A BALLOON-BORNE SPACECRAFT ascended above Antarctica and snapped crisp photos of space, unobscured by the humidity of Earth’s atmosphere. Meanwhile, a telescope located 4,000 miles to the north, in the Continue Reading →

NSTX-U

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory: The quest for clean energy continues

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FUSION — the energy-making process that powers the sun — could provide us with a near limitless source of energy, ending our dependence on fossil fuels for making electricity. This summer, after a nearly three-year Continue Reading →

Imaging system tracks brain activity of a freely moving worm

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TO EXPLORE HOW THE BRAIN controls behavior, researchers have for the first time captured the whole-brain activity of a freely moving animal, in this case a nematode worm called Caenorhabditis elegans. Using an imaging system Continue Reading →