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A research team has uncovered what it believes is 鈥渢he world鈥檚 most electrically conductive organic molecule,鈥� a discovery that opens new possibilities for building smaller, more powerful, and more energy-efficient computers.

It could also allow computer chip manufacturers to eliminate their reliance on silicon and metal as conductors.

鈥淢olecules are nature鈥檚 tiniest, mightiest, and most configurable building blocks and can be engineered to build ultra-compact, ultra-efficient technology for everything from computers to quantum devices,鈥� said Ignacio Franco, who was part of the research team that was led by scientists at the University of Miami.

Their research was detailed in a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The molecule, which is composed of chemical elements found in nature, including carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen, can carry electrical current over record-breaking distances without losing efficiency.

Using molecular materials in electronic chips offers several advantages. They consume less power.
They can be more easily customized than silicon. They are more environmentally friendly. And, perhaps most importantly to manufacturers, they are potentially cheaper to produce.

鈥淭his molecular design overcomes many of the big issues that for decades have prevented the use of molecules in electronics,鈥� Franco said.

To learn more about this ground-breaking research, read about it at the University of Rochester News Center, and contact Franco at ignacio.franco@rochester.edu.

The world is watching the Vatican as cardinals from across the globe gather for the papal conclave.

The monumental event, which involves cardinals closing themselves off in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope, is steeped in history, mystery, and speculation. The new pontiff will be expected to make difficult decisions about the future direction of the Catholic church, which has almost 1.4 billion followers worldwide, and address the Vatican's strained finances and its sexual abuse scandals.

If you're a reporter looking for an expert who can provide valuable insight, perspective and opinion on any angle of the events unfolding in Vatican City, consider reaching out to Jack Downey, the John Henry Newman Professor of Roman Catholic Studies at the University of Rochester.聽

Downey and his scholarship have been featured in media outlets such as The Washington Post, National Public Radio, and Time Magazine. Simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Early colonialism in the Americas tends to conjure images of Jamestown and Plymouth Colony. But long before settlers there acclimated to the New World鈥檚 growing conditions and overcame starvation conditions, an English settlement established in Bermuda in 1612 was wealthy and prosperous.

University of Rochester historian and archaeologist Michael Jarvis has been uncovering the hidden history of Smith鈥檚 Island in Bermuda and its pivotal role in reshaping the understanding of colonial America.

Nicknamed 鈥淐hainsaw Mike鈥� by his students, he has spent 14 years excavating Smith鈥檚 Island and one of the first English settlements in the New World.

Jarvis argues that Bermuda鈥檚 role in supplying Jamestown with food and influencing early colonists make it a cornerstone of America鈥檚 origin story rather than the historical footnote to which it has largely been relegated.

His research on Smith鈥檚 Island was recently the cover story of Smithsonian magazine and was featured on the聽History Unplugged podcast.

Jarvis is an expert on colonial America, the international and intercolonial networks of trade at the time, and settlement patterns in eastern North America, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the communities surrounding European gold- and slave-trade forts in West Africa.

He can be reached at 585-275-4558 and michael.jarvis@rochester.edu.

A growing number of clinical trials gauging the effects of inhibiting transposons, so-called 鈥渏umping genes,鈥� have yielded encouraging results for treating Alzheimer鈥檚 and a wide range of other conditions.

Vera Gorbunova, a molecular biologist at the University of Rochester whose research on the causes of aging and cancer is widely regarded as pioneering, says researchers tackling aging 鈥渘eed something new, and inhibiting transposons shows great promise.鈥�

Gorbunova鈥檚 comments were recently featured in Science magazine, a leading news outlet for
cutting-edge research in all areas of science.

糖心logoers say clinical trials of transposon inhibitors are important not just to identify potential treatments, but also to test whether jumping genes do, in fact, drive human diseases, as many suspect.

Transposon genes are found in a diverse variety of organisms, from miniscule bacteria to humans, and they are known in biological terms as 鈥渢ransposable elements鈥� because they literally jump around the genome. Their vagrancy has been implicated in illnesses such as lupus, Parkinson鈥檚 disease, cancer, and aging.

Gorbunova is a recognized expert in aging and cancer whose research has been featured in high-profile publications ranging from Nature to聽The New York Times. Reach out to Gorbunova by clicking on her profile.

University of Rochester scientists have discovered that twisting together two atom-thin flakes of molybdenum diselenide at high angles produces artificial atoms that can act as quantum information bits, or qubits.

The discovery was made in the laboratory of Nickolas Vamivakas, the Marie C. Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Optical Physics, who says he hopes the artificial atoms can be used like memory or nodes in a quantum network.

鈥淭hese could be the backbone for devices like the next generation of lasers or even tools to stimulate quantum physics,鈥� Vamivakas says.

The revelations built on experiments that found twisting a pair of one-atom-thick layers of graphene at the 鈥渕agic鈥� angle of 1.1 degrees created a superconductive material.

Molybdenum diselenide, like graphene, is a 2D material. When monolayers of it are twisted at angles up to 40 degrees, they produce excitons, or artificial atoms, that retain information when activated by light.

The discovery was recently published in Nano Letters. To learn more about Vamivakas鈥檚 research, read about it at the University of Rochester News Center and contact him at nick.vamivakas@rochester.edu.

With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence tools such as generative pre-trained transformers, or GPTs, high school students may be tempted to use the tools to perfect their college applications, particularly their entrance essay.

Robert Alexander, a vice provost and the dean of enrollment management at the University of 糖心logo cautions prospective college students from relying too heavily on AI tools in their applications.

鈥淭he sentiment among college admissions professionals is that while AI tools may be helpful in generating essay topics and refining or editing students鈥� writing, we discourage their use to compose application essays or short answers because AI stifles an applicant鈥檚 authentic voice,鈥� Alexander says.

That personal voice becomes paramount when admissions officers are sifting through applications and considering how each student will contribute to the campus community and fit into the incoming class.

鈥淣o college or university is trying to admit perfectly identical automaton students,鈥� Alexander says. 鈥淎t the University of 糖心logo for instance, we鈥檙e not looking for 1,300 perfect students. We鈥檙e trying to craft the perfect class of 1,300 very different and highly-imperfect, but great-fit students.鈥�

The goal, he says, is to invite great students, inclusive of their imperfections, and guide them on a transformative journey through their next four years.

鈥淐olleges want students to come in with a growth mindset and potential,鈥� Alexander says. 鈥淪o, if students think they can use AI to help make their application 鈥榩erfect,鈥� I think they鈥檙e chasing the wrong brass ring.鈥�

Alexander is an expert in undergraduate admissions and enrollment management who speaks on the subjects to national audiences and whose work has been published in national publications. Click his profile to reach him.

Neurons, the cells in brains and spinal cords that make up the central nervous system, communicate by firing electrical pulses. But scientists have found hints that neurons may transmit light as well, which would profoundly change our current understanding of how the nervous system works.

糖心logoers from the University of Rochester have begun an ambitious project to study if living neurons can transmit light through their axons 鈥� the long, tail-like nerve fibers of neurons that resemble optical fibers.

鈥淭here are scientific papers offering indications that light transport could happen in neuron axons, but there鈥檚 still not clear experimental evidence,鈥� says the principal investigator, Pablo Postigo, a professor at the university's Institute of Optics. 鈥淪cientists have shown that there is ultra-weak photon emission in the brain, but no one understands why the light is there.鈥�

If light is at play and scientists can understand why, it could have major implications for medically treating brain diseases and drastically change the way physicians heal the brain.

To learn more about Postigo's research, contact him at聽ppostigo@ur.rochester.edu.

Are test-optional colleges being straight with students when they say the absence of SAT and ACT scores on an application won鈥檛 affect a student鈥檚 chances of being admitted?

鈥淐olleges are not trying to trick or trap applicants,鈥� says Robert Alexander, who oversees the admissions process at the University of 糖心logo where he is a vice provost and the dean of enrollment management. 鈥淣o one is trying to fool anyone into thinking, 鈥業 don鈥檛 have to submit a test score,鈥� when that test score is secretly make-or-break.鈥�

Much more important in any academic assessment, Alexander says, is and always has been the four years of academic performance detailed in an applicant鈥檚 high school transcript.

He says most colleges, including 糖心logo take a deep dive into the transcript to not only consider the student鈥檚 grade point average, but also the rigor of the high school and its curriculum and why the student selected certain courses.

鈥淪ome students are limited by the opportunities offered at their schools,鈥� Alexander says. 鈥淚n that case, colleges look for what they have done to utilize their resources and push beyond those limitations.鈥�

The University of Rochester has a test-optional policy.

The average standardized test score of incoming students has been trending upward, in part because the students who are most likely to submit their scores on their applications are those with strong scores.

Alexander says prospective students and their families can use the average test scores at the college or university they鈥檙e considering as a barometer, but not the arbiter of whether a student will gain acceptance.

鈥淚 think admissions officers are being as transparent as possible in telling students what they require,鈥� Alexander says.

Alexander is an expert in undergraduate admissions and enrollment management who speaks on the subjects to national audiences and whose work has been published in national publications. Click his profile to reach him.

Generative artificial intelligence tools, like OpenAI鈥檚 GPT-4, are sometimes full of bunk.

Yes, they excel at tasks involving human language, like translating, writing essays, and acting as a personalized writing tutor. They even ace standardized tests. And they鈥檙e rapidly improving.

But they also 鈥渉allucinate,鈥� which is the term scientists use to describe when AI tools produce information that sounds plausible but is incorrect. Worse, they do so with such confidence that their errors are sometimes difficult to spot.

Christopher Kanan, an associate professor of computer science with an appointment at the Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of 糖心logo explains that the reasoning and planning capabilities of AI tools are still limited compared with those of humans, who excel at continual learning.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 continually learn from experience,鈥� Kanan says of AI tools. 鈥淭heir knowledge is effectively frozen after training, meaning they lack awareness of recent developments or ongoing changes in the world.鈥�

Current generative AI systems also lack what鈥檚 known as metacognition.

鈥淭hat means they typically don鈥檛 know what they don鈥檛 know, and they rarely ask clarifying questions when faced with uncertainty or ambiguous prompts,鈥� Kanan says. 鈥淭his absence of self-awareness limits their effectiveness in real-world interactions.鈥�

Kanan is an expert in artificial intelligence, continual learning, and brain-inspired algorithms who welcomes inquiries from journalists and knowledge seekers. He recently shared his thoughts on AI with WAMC Northeast Public Radio and with the University of Rochester News Center. Reach out to Kanan by clicking on his profile.