A Neurospora experiment for on introductory biology course

A Neurospora experiment for on introductory biology course

Enhanced indistinguishability of in-plane single photons by resonance fluorescence on an integrated quantum dot

Integrated quantum light sources in photonic circuits are envisaged as the building blocks of future on-chip architectures for quantum logic operations. While semiconductor quantum dots have been proven to be the highly efficient emitters of quantum light, their interaction with the host material induces spectral decoherence, which decreases the indistinguishability of the emitted photons and limits their functionality. Here, we show that the indistinguishability of in-plane photons can be greatly enhanced by performing resonance fluorescence on a quantum dot coupled to a photonic crystal waveguide. We find that the resonant optical excitation of an exciton state induces an increase in the emitted single-photon coherence by a factor of 15. Two-photon interference experiments reveal a visibility of 0.80 ± 0.03, which is in good agreement with our theoretical model. Combined with the high in-plane light-injection efficiency of photonic crystal waveguides, our results pave the way for the use of this system for the on-chip generation and transmission of highly indistinguishable photons

The Global Renormalization Group Trajectory in a Critical Supersymmetric Field Theory on the Lattice Z^3

We consider an Euclidean supersymmetric field theory in $Z^3$ given by a supersymmetric $\Phi^4$ perturbation of an underlying massless Gaussian measure on scalar bosonic and Grassmann fields with covariance the Green's function of a (stable) L\'evy random walk in $Z^3$. The Green's function depends on the L\'evy-Khintchine parameter $\alpha={3+\epsilon\over 2}$ with $0<\alpha<2$. For $\alpha ={3\over 2}$ the $\Phi^{4}$ interaction is marginal. We prove for $\alpha-{3\over 2}={\epsilon\over 2}>0$ sufficiently small and initial parameters held in an appropriate domain the existence of a global renormalization group trajectory uniformly bounded on all renormalization group scales and therefore on lattices which become arbitrarily fine. At the same time we establish the existence of the critical (stable) manifold. The interactions are uniformly bounded away from zero on all scales and therefore we are constructing a non-Gaussian supersymmetric field theory on all scales. The interest of this theory comes from the easily established fact that the Green's function of a (weakly) self-avoiding L\'evy walk in $Z^3$ is a second moment (two point correlation function) of the supersymmetric measure governing this model. The control of the renormalization group trajectory is a preparation for the study of the asymptotics of this Green's function. The rigorous control of the critical renormalization group trajectory is a preparation for the study of the critical exponents of the (weakly) self-avoiding L\'evy walk in $Z^3$.Comment: 82 pages, Tex with macros supplied. Revision includes 1. redefinition of norms involving fermions to ensure uniqueness. 2. change in the definition of lattice blocks and lattice polymer activities. 3. Some proofs have been reworked. 4. New lemmas 5.4A, 5.14A, and new Theorem 6.6. 5.Typos corrected.This is the version to appear in Journal of Statistical Physic

A high throughput zebrafish chemical screen reveals ALK5 and non-canonical androgen signalling as modulators of the pkd2−/− phenotype

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common monogenic cause of end-stage renal failure in humans and results from germline mutations in PKD1 or PKD2. Despite the recent approval of tolvaptan, safer and more effective alternative drugs are clearly needed to slow disease progression. As a first step in drug discovery, we conducted an unbiased chemical screen on zebrafish pkd2 mutant embryos using two publicly available compound libraries (Spectrum, PKIS) totalling 2,367 compounds to identify novel treatments for ADPKD. Using dorsal tail curvature as the assay readout, three major chemical classes (steroids, coumarins, flavonoids) were identified from the Spectrum library as the most promising candidates to be tested on human PKD1 cystic cells. Amongst these were an androgen, 5α−androstane 3,17-dione, detected as the strongest enhancer of the pkd2 phenotype but whose effect was found to be independent of the canonical androgen receptor pathway. From the PKIS library, we identified several ALK5 kinase inhibitors as strong suppressors of the pkd2 tail phenotype and in vitro cyst expansion. In summary, our results identify ALK5 and non-canonical androgen receptors as potential therapeutic targets for further evaluation in drug development for ADPKD

Generalized contact process on random environments

Spreading from a seed is studied by Monte Carlo simulation on a square lattice with two types of sites affecting the rates of birth and death. These systems exhibit a critical transition between survival and extinction. For time- dependent background, this transition is equivalent to those found in homogeneous systems (i.e. to directed percolation). For frozen backgrounds, the appearance of Griffiths phase prevents the accurate analysis of this transition. For long times in the subcritical region, spreading remains localized in compact (rather than ramified) patches, and the average number of occupied sites increases logarithmically in the surviving trials.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Smeared phase transition in a three-dimensional Ising model with planar defects: Monte-Carlo simulations

We present results of large-scale Monte Carlo simulations for a three-dimensional Ising model with short range interactions and planar defects, i.e., disorder perfectly correlated in two dimensions. We show that the phase transition in this system is smeared, i.e., there is no single critical temperature, but different parts of the system order at different temperatures. This is caused by effects similar to but stronger than Griffiths phenomena. In an infinite-size sample there is an exponentially small but finite probability to find an arbitrary large region devoid of impurities. Such a rare region can develop true long-range order while the bulk system is still in the disordered phase. We compute the thermodynamic magnetization and its finite-size effects, the local magnetization, and the probability distribution of the ordering temperatures for different samples. Our Monte-Carlo results are in good agreement with a recent theory based on extremal statistics.Comment: 9 pages, 6 eps figures, final version as publishe

Low Density Limit of BCS Theory and Bose-Einstein Condensation of Fermion Pairs

We consider the low density limit of a Fermi gas in the BCS approximation. We show that if the interaction potential allows for a two-particle bound state, the system at zero temperature is well approximated by the Gross-Pitaevskii functional, describing a Bose-Einstein condensate of fermion pairs.Comment: LaTeX2e, 17 page

Genome editing poses ethical problems that we cannot ignore

The ability to precisely and accurately change almost any part of any genome, even in complex species such as humans, may soon become a reality through genome editing. But with great power comes great responsibility – and few subjects elicit such heated debates about moral rights and wrongs. Although genetic engineering techniques have been around for some time, genome editing can achieve this with lower error rates, more simply and cheaply than ever – although the technology is certainly not yet perfect. Genome editing offers a greater degree of control and precision in how specific DNA sequences are changed. It could be used in basic science, for human health, or improvements to crops. There are a variety of techniques but clustered regularly inter-spaced short palindromic repeats, or CRISPR, is perhaps the foremost. CRISPR has prompted recent calls for a genome editing moratorium from a group of concerned US academics. Because it is the easiest technique to set up and so could be quickly and widely adopted, the fear is that it may be put into use far too soon – outstripping our understanding of its safety implications and preventing any opportunity to think about how such powerful tools should be controlled. Ethical concerns over genetic modification are not new, particularly when it comes to humans. While we don’t think genome editing gives rise to any completely new ethical concerns, there is more to gene editing than just genetic modification..