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Awards Funding

University Secures £500K for Sustainability in Jordan, Thailand, and Philippines

An Aston University researcher has secured more than half a million pounds funding to train early career researchers to tackle sustainability challenges in their home countries. The University will host nine early career academics for 12 months as part of the International Science Partnership Fund (ISPF) research fellowship programme. Fellows from Jordan will focus on energy systems, those from Thailand will work on sustainable plastics and green solvents and researchers from the Philippines will specialise in sustainability assessments. The £540,000…

Physics & Astronomy

Precise Nuclear Timekeeping: The Role of Temperature Control

For decades, atomic clocks have been the pinnacle of precision timekeeping, enabling GPS navigation, cutting-edge physics research, and tests of fundamental theories. But researchers at JILA, led by JILA and NIST Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder physics professor Jun Ye, in collaboration with the Technical University of Vienna, are pushing beyond atomic transitions to something potentially even more stable: a nuclear clock. This clock could revolutionize timekeeping by using a uniquely low-energy transition within the nucleus of a thorium-229…

Earth Sciences

Hurricanes Leave Lasting Impact on Deep Ocean Ecosystems

By David Chandler WOODS HOLE, Mass. – The impact of hurricanes when they travel over land, or when they affect ships or oil-drilling platforms, are quite well understood. But these huge cyclones also stir up the ocean itself, with consequences that are relatively unknown and hard to study. But a unique, subsurface experimental platform moored to the floor of the Sargasso Sea, about 47 miles southeast of Bermuda, is changing that. With collection points at increasing depths along the mooring…

Physics & Astronomy

Unlocking New Dimensions in Light Manipulation for Photonics

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University have made a ground-breaking discovery paving the way for a transformative era in photonic technology. For decades, scientists have theorised the possibility of manipulating the optical properties of light by adding a new dimension—time. This once-elusive concept has now become a reality thanks to nanophotonics experts from the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team’s breakthrough emerged from experiments with nanomaterials known as transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) – a special glass capable…

Power and Electrical Engineering

Optimizing Agrivoltaic Systems for Crops and Clean Energy

Combining solar energy and farming can be enhanced by smart PV-trackers that adjust solar panel positioning to ensure an optimal balance between light available for photosynthesis and light available for electricity production Agrivoltaic systems, which combine solar power generation with agricultural practices, offer a promising solution to the growing demand for both renewable energy and food production. By integrating solar panels with crops, these systems not only address the land use conflict between agriculture and energy production, but they also…

Physics & Astronomy

uOttawa Scientists Use Light to Reveal Atomic Secrets

A team of researchers from the University of Ottawa has made significant strides in understanding the ionization of atoms and molecules, a fundamental process in physics that has implications for various fields including x-ray generation and plasma physics. Think about atoms – the building blocks of everything around us. Sometimes, they lose their electrons and become charged particles (that’s ionization). It happens in lightning, in plasma TVs, and even in the northern lights. Until now, scientists thought they could only…

Studies and Analyses

Neurologists Discover Link Between Blood-Brain Barrier and Down Syndrome

Researchers led by CHLA’s Jonathan D. Santoro, MD, have identified signs of neuroinflammation and dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier among patients with Down syndrome Regression Disorder (DSRD). A new research study led by Jonathan D. Santoro, MD, Director of the Neuroimmunology Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, shows evidence of dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier and inflammation in the central nervous system in individuals with Down syndrome Regression Disorder (DSRD). The new study, “Evidence of blood–brain barrier dysfunction and CSF…

Information Technology

Unlocking Your True Biological Age: AI Insights From Blood Drops

We all know someone who seems to defy aging—people who look younger than their peers despite being the same age. What’s their secret? Scientists at Osaka University (Japan) may have found a way to quantify this difference. By incorporating hormone (steroid) metabolism pathways into an AI-driven model, they have developed a new system to estimate a person’s biological age a measure of how well their body has aged, rather than just counting the years since birth. Using just five drops…

Studies and Analyses

Shark Decline: How Retention Bans Can Help Save Them

Data reveals that retention bans are a good first step, but won’t be enough to prevent continued decline Despite the fear they may inspire in humans, sharks have far more reason to fear us. Nearly one-third of sharks are threatened with extinction globally, mostly as a result of fishing. A team led by researchers at UC Santa Barbara discovered that mandates to release captured sharks won’t be enough to prevent the continued decline of these important ocean predators. These findings,…

Social Sciences

Cambridge Study Reveals New VR Treatment for Speech Anxiety

As discussed in the paper, the fear of public speaking is widely cited as being the most common fear. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that the prevalence of social anxiety and a fear of public speaking are both on the rise. This is concerning when one considers the range of known subsequent negative impacts on mental health, physical health, academic attainment, and career progression. To address this, Dr Chris Macdonald created an online platform where users transform into skilled…

Technology Offerings

Advances in Construction Robotics for Extreme Environments

As the new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation progresses, scientific research is expanding towards the macroscopic, delving into the microscopic, and advancing into extreme conditions, which becoming the developmental trends at the forefront of global science and technology. With the implementation of national strategies such as the high-quality development of green and low-carbon, China faces a series of new scientific and technological challenges in the field of construction under extreme environments. Among these, construction robotics in extreme environments,…

Life & Chemistry

KIST Develops Carbon Catalyst for Green Hydrogen Peroxide

Mesopore introduction enables world-class hydrogen peroxide production characteristics even in low oxygen air supply environments Hydrogen peroxide is one of the world’s top 100 industrial chemicals with a wide range of applications in the chemical, medical, and semiconductor industries. Currently, hydrogen peroxide is mainly produced through the anthraquinone process, but this process has several problems, including high energy consumption, the use of expensive palladium catalysts, and environmental pollution due to by-products. In recent years, an environmentally friendly method of producing…

Science Reports

Chocolate’s Surprising Health Benefits Uncovered

Many people will soon load up Easter baskets with chocolate candy for children and adults to enjoy. On its own, dark chocolate has health benefits, such as antioxidants that neutralize damaging free radicals. And a report in ACS Food Science & Technology suggests that packing the sweet treat with pre- and probiotics could make it more healthful. Flavoring agents, however, can affect many properties, including moisture level and protein content of the chocolate product. Probiotics, found in fermented foods such…

Information Technology

AI Uncovers New Insights Into Antarctic Ice Flow

As the planet warms, Antarctica’s ice sheet is melting and contributing to sea-level rise around the globe. Antarctica holds enough frozen water to raise global sea levels by 190 feet, so precisely predicting how it will move and melt now and in the future is vital for protecting coastal areas. But most climate models struggle to accurately simulate the movement of Antarctic ice due to sparse data and the complexity of interactions between the ocean, atmosphere, and frozen surface. In…

Materials Sciences

Twisted Light: A New Power Source for Next-Gen Electronics

Researchers have advanced a decades-old challenge in the field of organic semiconductors, opening new possibilities for the future of electronics. The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge and the Eindhoven University of Technology, have created an organic semiconductor that forces electrons to move in a spiral pattern, which could improve the efficiency of OLED displays in television and smartphone screens, or power next-generation computing technologies such as spintronics and quantum computing. The semiconductor they developed emits circularly polarised light—meaning…

Earth Sciences

Geological Resources and Regional Water Availability Limits

The study shows that the regional water availability constrains the current and future production of 32 geological resources Geological resources such as critical metals and minerals, essential for the diffusion of technologies such as renewable energy and energy storage towards a decarbonized society, are indispensable for supporting modern life in the form of various products and services. Their demand is expected to increase in the coming years owing to global population as well as economic growth. Thus far, scientists and…

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