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Taming the tiny: Sussex researchers’ world record discovery detects tiny electric fields 100 times more effectively |
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A powerful world record-beating technique to detect tiny electric fields 100 times more effectively than currently possible, offering ‘exciting’ potential for healthcare and defence applications, has been discovered by quantum computing experts at the University of Sussex.
Published today (11 June) in Nature Physics, the research used a single charged atom, held inside a vacuum system, coupled with a measurement technique invented by the University’s quantum |
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computing team. This allowed the researchers to detect tiny electric fields 100 times more effectively than previously possible.
Quantum computers could, in theory, solve problems that would take current supercomputers billions of years to solve, changing the way we work and live. However, electric field noise that is present all around us can limit the performance of quantum computers. By finding the sources of electrical noise, we can then eliminate them to enhance their performance.
Professor Winfried Hensinger, director of the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies which made the discovery, said: “We have managed to tame some of the very strange phenomena of quantum physics to create a device that can detect low frequency electric fields with unprecedented sensitivity.
"This is an excellent example of a path basic research often takes. We developed a powerful tool to reduce errors in trapped ion quantum computers, and as a direct result of that effort we now have a novel quantum sensing capability.”
Medical experts suggest the discovery could lead to huge breakthroughs in our understanding of mental illness – including in the treatment of depression and epilepsy – through improved and less intrusive brain imaging.
Read more about the quantum computing research. |
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Turbo-charging cancer immunotherapy |
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A group of Sussex scientists, led by Professor Georgios Giamas and working in partnership with Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, have discovered that a protein called LMTK3 acts like an ‘off switch’, helping breast cancer tumours evade the body’s immune defences. Blocking this protein could dramatically improve treatment.
High levels of LMTK3 allows tumours to manipulate immune cells into helping – rather than fighting – the cancer. |
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But when the team used a new drug candidate, C28, to block LMTK3 in breast cancer cells, the body’s immune response was restored. This could turbo-charge immunotherapy, offering a powerful new route to treating aggressive breast cancer tumours.
The study, published in Molecular Cancer, also found LMTK3 could act as a biomarker, helping identify which patients are most likely to benefit. Its presence in other organs including the lungs, ovaries, colon and more opens the door to broader cancer applications.
Professor Giamas said: “This research is another step towards unravelling the contribution of LMTK3 in cancer progression. Our findings suggest that by targeting LMTK3, we can control tumour growth, both directly by attacking the cancer cells and indirectly by modulating the signals that promote immune cell infiltration and their anti-cancer function.”
Read the full cancer immunotherapy story |
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eDNA uncovers a coastal comeback |
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What is the real impact of banning trawling near Sussex shores?
On World Ocean Day (8 June), PhD student Alice Clark shared how her team is using environmental DNA (eDNA) to find out – sampling water to detect marine species from the DNA they leave behind. They have found over 80 species, including the tope shark and the critically endangered European eel, and their research is helping to shape new conservation efforts.
Watch our World Ocean Day video to learn more. |
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Comment: Public engagement in science – a two-way street |
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By Anil Seth
Science is for the good of society. But for scientific research to be as socially positive as possible, there needs to be a two-way street between scientists and wider society.
One direction encourages dissemination of scientific advances and their implications, bringing the insights and potential of scientific research to broader audiences. |
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The other allows scientists to learn, through collecting data and contributing analyses (so-called ‘citizen science’) and by shaping of research agendas according to societal priorities. There are challenges in both directions. There is also no such thing as the ‘general public’. Society is complex, layered, and diverse – just like science itself.
Public engagement is not just about results. It is also about how science works, or how it ought to work, and about its role in society. Scientists need to avoid reaching for certainty, since doing so erodes trust. Another key point is to avoid trivialising science. Accessibility is about clarity, not caricature.
New challenges constantly emerge. This year, the UK’s premier scientific institution, the Royal Society, is updating its 1982 report on public engagement – the Bodmer report. Having had my own public engagement efforts recognised by the Royal Society, I am pleased to have been invited to help them ensure that the UK retains its leading role in scientific communication and engagement.
I’ve been fortunate to be well supported in my engagement activities, both by the University and by organisations such as the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society. I’ve been able to get involved with many impactful projects that have effectively traversed the two-way street. Recent highlights have been the Dreamachine programme, which cultivated an interest in the neuroscience of perception in nearly 40,000 people in the UK, and The Perception Census, an ongoing citizen-science study probing ‘perceptual diversity'. It has also been a real joy to see my book Being You – A New Science of Consciousness be of value to people from all walks of life.
One final lesson has become clear. Practicing public engagement is not only about becoming a better communicator, it’s about becoming a better scientist too.
Professor Anil Seth is Director of the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science and Professor of Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Sussex. Discover more about Anil Seth’s work at the intersection of science and society.
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Professor John Drury featured in The Conversation, The Guardian and BBC News, discussing new research on protest behaviour. He explained how disruptive tactics are often strategic and legitimate, introducing the idea of "constructive disruption".
Meanwhile, Professor Fiona Mathews was interviewed by BBC South East about new research co-led with Doctoral Tutor Emily Thrift, revealing how microplastics are harming UK invertebrates — a threat to the entire food chain. The story also featured on BBC Online, The Telegraph, The Independent and The Conversation.
Finally, Professor Dave Goulson appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Crowdscience, answering questions on how consumer choices could help save bees, drawing on his research into pollinator health.
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