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Achieving strong light-matter interaction at the quantum level has always been a central task in quantum physics since the emergence of quantum information and quantum control. However, the scale mismatch between the quantum emitters (nanometers) and photons (micrometers) makes the task challenging. Metallic nanostructures resolve the mismatch by squeezing the light into nanoscale volume, but their severe dissipations make quantum controls unlikely. Now, a group led by Xiao Yun-Feng at Peking University (China) has theoretically demonstrated that the strong light-matter interaction at quantum level can be achieved using microcavity-engineered metallic nanostructures. This result has been published in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-microcavity-engineered-plasmonic-resonances-strong-light-matter.html

On an unseasonably warm December afternoon in the mountains of eastern San Diego County, Boulder Creek's name feels half-right—hundreds of stony gray outcrops line a dry indentation in the land. In a couple of months, rain will fill the creek up to six feet deep, forming the largest tributary of the Upper San Diego River and eventually emptying into the El Capitan Reservoir.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-health-san-diego-river-mountainous.html

Thermophoresis for the energy supply of early cells. NIM scientist Dr Christof Mast and his team suggest thermally driven formation of pH gradients and proton flux as source of chemical energy conversion in early stages of life.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-gradients.html

New research is the first to establish the darker side of being devoted to your favourite brand.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-reveals-dark-side-brand-loyalty.html

What do your skin, the clothes you wear, and the soil you stand on have in common? They are all porous substances. Like a sponge, their surfaces are covered with tiny holes that allow liquids and gasses to pass through. Porous materials are widespread throughout our world, and those with nanoscale pores—called mesoporous materials—make up everything from chemical catalyst supports to gas storage chambers and separation membranes.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-nanoscientists-material-pores.html

South Africa's status as a major cradle in the African nursery of humankind has been reinforced with today's unveiling of "Little Foot", the country's oldest, virtually complete fossil human ancestor.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-years-australopithecus-fossil.html

Since the Trump administration announced last June its intended withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, attention—and hope—has turned to America's cities and states.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-american-cities-states-climate-globally.html

Astounding footage of Galapagos sea lions hunting was perhaps the highlight of the latest Blue Planet II. For the first time ever, these marine mammals were filmed working as a pack to drive tuna fish in to shallow, rocky waters where they could be caught. Yellowfin tuna are typically able to outswim all predators but the fastest sharks and marlins, yet the much slower sea lions were able to outsmart them thanks to an amazing display of movement and cooperation.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-sea-lions-unique-whiskers-fastest.html

Nature has evolved sugars, amino acids, and special antifreeze proteins as cryoprotectants. People use organic solvents and synthetic polymers as additives to prevent cell cultures from freezing damage. Now, English scientists have combined both methods: In work published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, they introduced polyproline, a polypeptide made of the natural amino acid proline, as an effective cryoprotectant for monolayers of cells.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-polyproline-cell-monolayers.html

The internet would be nothing without hyperlinks. They are what makes the net a network. They define the paths that give users access to content. And they also help to determine which results search engines show over others. Hyperlinks are set neither evenly nor randomly. What does all this mean for political discourse? And which actors are given disproportionately high visibility? A study examines this question.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-filter-uneven-visibility-transnationality.html

Dr Brigitte Schoenemann (University of Cologne) and her colleagues Helje Pärnaste (Tallinn, Estonia), and Euan Clarkson (Edinburgh, Scotland) have succeeded in unraveling the structure and functioning of the oldest known compound eye. The researchers used an exceptionally well-preserved fossil trilobite (Schmidtiellus reetae), which is over half a billion years old, showing the cellular structure of a compound eye. It not only shows how this eye was constructed, but also its functioning, its performance, and how it differs from contemporary compound eyes. The results show that modern compound eyes work in ways strikingly similar to those of half a billion years ago. They are very conservative in their structure – and quite successfully so. "The principle of the modern compound eye most likely goes back to before the times of our first fossil records. Half a billion years ago, it was in the early stage of its development, and with our work we have succeeded in uncovering the first visible steps of this extremely successful visual principle," says Schoenemann.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-compound-eyes-feature-evolution.html