Researchers have developed an “optoexcitonic switch” that could transform how devices handle energy. Unlike conventional switches, which use electrons and generate waste heat, the new design relies on excitons: neutrally charged quasiparticles formed when an excited electron pairs with the hole it leaves behind. Because excitons carry no net charge, they transfer information without producing heat. Published August 31 in ACS Nano, the study marks the first use of excitons to build a switch that outperforms photonic models while shrinking size by two orders of magnitude. The advance could enable cooler quantum computers and data centers, while cutting the need for fans and extending battery life.
Image Credit: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan
True Spies
The Profiler
How do you get inside the mind of a criminal?
Jim Clemente spent 22 years in the FBI as both an undercover agent and a profiler. He posed as a street hustler on the Bowery, a jeweler in Manhattan’s diamond district, even a commodities trader on Wall Street. Always with a wire, always one mistake away from disaster.
But Clemente’s real skill wasn’t just disguise. In the Bureau’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, he learned to reverse-engineer crimes, putting himself in the place of offenders to understand how and why they acted. That ability made him invaluable when a shocking event of the Clinton presidency demanded answers: the death of White House counsel Vince Foster.
Join Jim Clemente in this week’s podcast selection, 'The Profiler', as he uses the psychology of criminals to unravel a political mystery at the heart of Washington.
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NASA’s Perseverance rover has uncovered the clearest signs yet of possible life on Mars. While exploring the Jezero Crater, once an ancient lake bed, the rover found a rock formation speckled with dots resembling poppy seeds and leopard spots. A new study reports that these colorful patterns contain vivianite and greigite, iron-rich minerals that on Earth are often linked to biological activity.
Researchers ruled out heat as the source of the deposits, strengthening the case for a biological origin. Still, they caution that more work is needed before drawing conclusions. The challenge: retrieving the samples. NASA’s Mars Sample Return program, originally planned for the 2030s, has been pushed back until at least the 2040s, with costs now estimated at $11 billion.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL - Caltech/MSSS
Articles
From Berlin To The CIA
What does it take to live a life on the edge of history?
For James Stejskal, it started in Omaha with a Clint Eastwood film, Where Eagles Dare. The movie’s commandos parachuting into enemy territory inspired a teenager to chase his own missions behind the Iron Curtain. By the mid-1970s, Stejskal was part of Special Forces Berlin, a clandestine Cold War unit tasked with sabotage and surveillance deep inside East Germany. Outnumbered, his team mapped targets, staged mock strikes, and prepared for “Day X”: the outbreak of World War III.
After decades in uniform, Stejskal traded Berlin’s shadows for the CIA, working on overseas intelligence operations before turning to fiction. His thrillers, rooted in his 35 years of real-world spycraft, blur the line between memory and imagination. Discover more in this SPYSCAPE article.
Why assess your empathy and your capacity to lie and spot lies? Why tackle authentic challenges in code-making and code-breaking? Why put your perception and observation skills to the test? Come to SPYSCAPE and find out!
Take a closer look at a goat’s eyes and you’ll notice something unusual: rectangular pupils. Unlike round or vertical shapes, these horizontal slits give goats an extraordinary panoramic field of vision, nearly 340 degrees, without moving their heads.
For prey animals, that wide-angle view is a lifesaver. It allows them to scan for predators in almost every direction while grazing, keeping danger in sight even when their heads are down. Their eyes also rotate slightly as they move, staying aligned with the horizon. This results in stable, clear vision, whether they’re on flat ground or navigating steep, rocky slopes.
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