Electrocatalysis is an interface-dominated process, in which the activity of the catalyst highly relates to the adsorption/desorption behaviors of the reactants/intermediates/products on the active sites. From the perspective of catalyst design, the chemical functionalization on noble metal surfaces will inevitably affect the reaction process, which is considered to be one of the effective strategies to tune the electrocatalytic performance of noble metal nanocrystals. Recently, a research team led by Prof. Yu Chen from Shaanxi Normal University, China published the latest…
Thanks to a new method developed by researchers at the University of Bern and Empa, greenhouse gas concentrations in 1.5 million year old ice can be measured even more accurately. Ice cores are a unique climate archive. Thanks to a new method developed by researchers at the University of Bern and Empa, greenhouse gas concentrations in 1.5 million year old ice can be measured even more accurately. The EU project “Beyond EPICA” with the participation of the University of Bern…
Knowledge of the cell-type specific make-up of the brain is useful to understand the role of each cell type as part of the network, is necessary to tackle any large scale neural circuit simulation, and is key to Blue Brain’s long term goal of accurately building a digital model of the whole mouse brain. Nonetheless, obtaining a global understanding of the cellular composition of the brain is an excessively complex task, not only because of the great variability inherent in…
Rice U. scientists’ method could lower both emissions and building construction costs. Rice University scientists have figured out a way to engineer wood to trap carbon dioxide through a potentially scalable, energy-efficient process that also makes the material stronger for use in construction. Structural materials like steel or cement come at a high cost both in dollars and carbon dioxide emissions; building construction and use accounts for an estimated 40% of emissions. Developing sustainable alternatives to existing materials could help mitigate climate…
Very soon, we need to become fossil free, not only in the energy sector, but as well in industry. Hydrocarbons or other raw chemicals can be produced in principle using renewable energy and abundant molecules such as water and carbon dioxide with the help of electrocatalytically active materials. But at the moment, those catalyst materials either consist of expensive and rare materials or lack efficiency. Key reaction in water splitting A team led by Dr. Prashanth W. Menezes (HZB/TU-Berlin) has…
Gas clouds in the Cygnus X Region, a region where stars form, are composed of a dense core of molecular hydrogen (H2) and an atomic shell. These ensembles of clouds interact with each other dynamically in order to quickly form new stars. That is the result of observations conducted by an international team led by scientists at the University of Cologne’s Institute of Astrophysics and at the University of Maryland. Until now, it was unclear how this process precisely unfolds….
Using green light and a double-layered cell, Riccardo Ollearo of the Eindhoven University of Technology has come up with a photodiode that has sensitivity that many can only dream of. Solar panels with multiple stacked cells are currently breaking records. Remarkably, a team of researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology and TNO at Holst Centre have now managed to make photodiodes – based on a similar technology – with a photoelectron yield of more than 200 percent. You would think…
Software opens the door for a greater number of complete genome sequences. National Institutes of Health researchers have developed and released an innovative software tool to assemble truly complete (i.e., gapless) genome sequences from a variety of species. This software, called Verkko, which means “network” in Finnish, makes the process of assembling complete genome sequences more affordable and accessible. A description of the new software was published today in Nature Biotechnology. Verkko grew from assembling the first gapless human genome…
A new method for removing the greenhouse gas from the ocean could be far more efficient than existing systems for removing it from the air. As carbon dioxide continues to build up in the Earth’s atmosphere, research teams around the world have spent years seeking ways to remove the gas efficiently from the air. Meanwhile, the world’s number one “sink” for carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is the ocean, which soaks up some 30 to 40 percent of all of…
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have made real-time movies of copper nanoparticles as they evolve to convert carbon dioxide and water into renewable fuels and chemicals. Their new insights could help advance the next generation of solar fuels. Since the 1970s, scientists have known that copper has a special ability to transform carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals and fuels. But for many years, scientists have struggled to understand how this common metal works as an electrocatalyst, a mechanism that uses energy…
– just got a lot more efficient. University of Rochester researchers use substrates of metal and dielectrics to boost the light conversion efficiency of perovskites by 250 percent. Silicon, the standard semiconducting material used in a host of applications—computer central processing units (CPUs), semiconductor chips, detectors, and solar cells—is an abundant, naturally occurring material. However, it is expensive to mine and to purify. Perovskites—a family of materials nicknamed for their crystalline structure—have shown extraordinary promise in recent years as a…
Researchers repurpose 3D printing to discover high-performance material. As the world looks for ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions, researchers from Sandia National Laboratories have shown that a new 3D-printed superalloy could help power plants generate more electricity while producing less carbon. Sandia scientists, collaborating with researchers at Ames National Laboratory, Iowa State University and Bruker Corp., used a 3D printer to create a high-performance metal alloy, or superalloy, with an unusual composition that makes it stronger and lighter than…
… of a wide range of mental health disorders related to stress, anxiety. Virginia Tech research points to a molecule critical in development of the brain’s stress response. Virginia Tech researchers studying brain development have identified a molecule that is critical in developing the stress response, a finding that sheds new light on the potential cause of mental health conditions such as stress, anxiety and related disorders. Deficiencies in the molecule called DSCAML1, short for DS cell adhesion molecule like 1,…
A team of scientists led by Professor Tanja Gulder at Leipzig University’s Institute of Organic Chemistry, together with colleagues from the University of Regensburg, has developed a simplified and efficient method for the artificial production of terpenes. Terpenes are a very extensive and diverse class of natural products that perform a wide range of functions in nature and are also used industrially. Until now, producing them has required a wide variety of starting scenarios, some with harsh conditions, or has…
MHH cardiology starts the multicentre ORION HF study. She wants to find out whether a preparation in tablet form can correct iron deficiency and alleviate the typical symptoms of heart failure. People with heart failure, also called heart failure, often have too little iron in the body. Iron deficiency exacerbates the symptoms of heart disease such as shortness of breath, tiredness and weakness. A dose of iron can help those affected. So far, this is done by infusion through the…
The so-called isolated REM-sleep behavior disorder is a condition that can provide an indication of Parkinson’s disease well in advance. A research team headed by Professor Dr Erdem Gültekin Tamgüney from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) has shown that a greater concentration of α-synuclein aggregates can be detected in the stool samples of sufferers. In the scientific journal “npj Parkinson’s disease”, which is published by the NatureSpringer group, they now present a method for detecting these aggregates, which they have…
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