Observation of strong coupling between one atom and a monolithic microresonator

Over the past decade, strong interactions of light and matter at the single-photon level have enabled a wide set of scientific advances in quantum optics and quantum information science. This work has been performed principally within the setting of cavity quantum electrodynamics with diverse physical systems, including single atoms in Fabry-Perot resonators, quantum dots coupled to micropillars and photonic bandgap cavities and Cooper pairs interacting with superconducting resonators. Experiments with single, localized atoms have been at the forefront of these advances with the use of optical resonators in high-finesse Fabry-Perot configurations. As a result of the extreme technical challenges involved in further improving the multilayer dielectric mirror coatings of these resonators and in scaling to large numbers of devices, there has been increased interest in the development of alternative microcavity systems. Here we show strong coupling between individual caesium atoms and the fields of a high-quality toroidal microresonator. From observations of transit events for single atoms falling through the resonator's evanescent field, we determine the coherent coupling rate for interactions near the surface of the resonator. We develop a theoretical model to quantify our observations, demonstrating that strong coupling is achieved, with the rate of coherent coupling exceeding the dissipative rates of the atom and the cavity. Our work opens the way for investigations of optical processes with single atoms and photons in lithographically fabricated microresonators. Applications include the implementation of quantum networks, scalable quantum logic with photons, and quantum information processing on atom chips.     

为杀死害虫,农作物发送SOS信号

当毛虫咬植物的叶子时,植物便释放一种易发散的化学物质,这是植物的SOS信号,这是植物在呼叫:“救命!毛虫在咬我!”这个SOS信号吸引捕食毛虫的蚂蜂像救护车一样赶忙向事发地点飞奔而去。美国加州大学的     

腺嘌呤核苷抗炎症作用的机制

十多年来 ,某些研究者提示腺嘌呤核苷有抗炎能力 ,如数年前有研究者认为治疗类风湿关节炎的药物———氨甲喋呤的抗炎作用是因为它引起腺嘌呤核苷的释放 .最近 ,研究者报道 ,腺嘌呤核苷确定体内受体对于腺嘌呤核苷的抗炎作用是至关重要的 .研究者使小鼠的Ａ2ａ受体的基因发生突     

紫外诱变筛选耐氧性Chlamydomonas moewusii产氢藻株

为解决绿藻中氢化酶对O2极为敏感的问题,以具高产氢催化活性的绿藻Chlamydomonas moewusii野生株作为出发藻株,通过紫外辐射,结合甲硝唑及外加氧法进行耐氧性产氢突变株的诱变和筛选,得到4株耐氧性及产氢活性均显著提高的突变藻株Mu-1、Mu-2、Mu-3、Mu-4,并进行了相应的氢化酶体内活性、呼吸活性与...     

Increasing adult hippocampal neurogenesis is sufficient to improve pattern separation

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is a unique form of neural circuit plasticity that results in the generation of new neurons in the dentate gyrus throughout life. Neurons that arise in adults (adult-born neurons) show heightened synaptic plasticity during their maturation and can account for up to ten per cent of the entire granule cell population. Moreover, levels of adult hippocampal neurogenesis are increased by interventions that are associated with beneficial effects on cognition and mood, such as learning, environmental enrichment, exercise and chronic treatment with antidepressants. Together, these properties of adult neurogenesis indicate that this process could be harnessed to improve hippocampal functions. However, despite a substantial number of studies demonstrating that adult-born neurons are necessary for mediating specific cognitive functions, as well as some of the behavioural effects of antidepressants, it is unknown whether an increase in adult hippocampal neurogenesis is sufficient to improve cognition and mood. Here we show that inducible genetic expansion of the population of adult-born neurons through enhancing their survival improves performance in a specific cognitive task in which two similar contexts need to be distinguished. Mice with increased adult hippocampal neurogenesis show normal object recognition, spatial learning, contextual fear conditioning and extinction learning but are more efficient in differentiating between overlapping contextual representations, which is indicative of enhanced pattern separation. Furthermore, stimulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis, when combined with an intervention such as voluntary exercise, produces a robust increase in exploratory behaviour. However, increasing adult hippocampal neurogenesis alone does not produce a behavioural response like that induced by anxiolytic agents or antidepressants. Together, our findings suggest that strategies that are designed to increase adult hippocampal neurogenesis specifically, by targeting the cell death of adult-born neurons or by other mechanisms, may have therapeutic potential for reversing impairments in pattern separation and dentate gyrus dysfunction such as those seen during normal ageing.     

Streptococcal M1 protein constructs a pathological host fibrinogen network

M1 protein, a major virulence factor of the leading invasive strain of group A Streptococcus, is sufficient to induce toxic-shock-like vascular leakage and tissue injury. These events are triggered by the formation of a complex between M1 and fibrinogen that, unlike M1 or fibrinogen alone, leads to neutrophil activation. Here we provide a structural explanation for the pathological properties of the complex formed between streptococcal M1 and human fibrinogen. A conformationally dynamic coiled-coil dimer of M1 was found to organize four fibrinogen molecules into a specific cross-like pattern. This pattern supported the construction of a supramolecular network that was required for neutrophil activation but was distinct from a fibrin clot. Disruption of this network into other supramolecular assemblies was not tolerated. These results have bearing on the pathophysiology of streptococcal toxic shock.