Today’s rechargeable batteries are a wonder, but far from perfect. Eventually, they all wear out, begetting expensive replacements and recycling. “But what if batteries were indestructible?” asks William Chueh, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford University and senior author of a new paper detailing a first-of-its-kind analytical approach to building better batteries that could help speed that day. The study appears in the journal Nature Materials. Chueh, lead author Haitao “Dean” Deng, PhD ’21, and collaborators…
Aston University partners with Pulse Power and Measurement to develop game-changing satellite communication technology. Aston University and Pulse Power and Measurement (PPM) enter three-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) This KTP will allow PPM to access Aston University’s expertise in coherent optical communications network domain techniques Aston University students will benefit from real-world teaching through potential industrial projects and final-year placements Aston University has been working with Pulse Power and Measurement Ltd (PPM) through a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) to develop…
Rock properties are hard to measure under extreme pressure. Scientists present a simple solution for a very challenging problem. Researchers led by Sergey Lobanov from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences have developed a new method to measure the density of silicon dioxide (SiO2) glass, one of the most important materials in industry and geology, at pressures of up to 110 gigapascals, 1.1 million times higher than normal atmospheric pressure. Instead of employing highly focused X-rays at a synchrotron…
The new tool has made it possible to detect SARS-CoV-2 in exudate from symptomatic patients with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 87.5%. This new methodology, whose first results are published in the journal Scientific Reports, from the Nature Group, has obtained a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 87.5% in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal exudate (the same samples used in a PCR test) from symptomatic people. It has also been possible to detect the…
This is a common press release of Stockholm University and the Alfred Wegener Institute. Single individuals of Atlantic cod and squid occur much further north than previously expected. Scientists participating in the international MOSAiC expedition with research icebreaker Polarstern have found fish and squid in deep water in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. The results from Stockholm University, the Alfred Wegener Institute and colleagues in the European Fisheries Inventory in the Central Arctic Ocean (EFICA) Consortium are published today…
UNC-Chapel Hill scientists sequenced the genes expressed in individual single cells from human GI tracts to discover new cell-type characteristics and gain insights into important cell functions such as nutrient absorption and immune defense. If you get nervous, you might feel it in your gut. If you eat chili, your gut might revolt, but your friend can eat anything and feel great. You can pop ibuprofen like candy with no ill effects, but your friend’s belly might bleed and might…
Scientists studied antimatter in the proton with higher precision than ever before, revealing insights into the particle’s puzzling dynamics. The Science The proton is a positively charged particle that exists at the center of every atom. It is a confined complex system of strongly interacting fundamental particles, quarks, and the nuclear force carriers, gluons. Its properties like charge are dominated by an excess of three quarks — two “up” quarks and one “down” quark, called valence quarks. However, take a closer look,…
ageAWI experts confirm the delayed spread of the ice sheet 35 million years ago. Roughly 35 million years ago, Earth cooled rapidly. At roughly the same time, the Drake Passage formed between South America and the Antarctic, paving the way for the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Thanks to these two factors, Antarctica was soon completely covered in ice. As a study from the Alfred Wegener Institute now shows, this massive glaciation was delayed in at least one region. This new piece…
A research team led by Chemnitz University of Technology with the participation of IFW Dresden and Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry present an application-oriented method for an unsolved problem in microelectronics – Publication in the prestigious journal Advanced Energy Materials. Computers are getting smaller and smaller, just as current cell phones offer computing power similar to that of a laptop. And the trend toward miniaturization continues. Smart dust applications (tiny microelectronic devices), such as biocompatible sensor systems in the body,…
Electrical tuning of plasmonic conducting polymer nanoantennas. Researchers at Linköping University have developed optical nanoantennas that can be turned on/off and gradually tuned by applying electrical potentials. The study, which has been published in Advanced Materials, opens for applications including dynamic flat metaoptics and tuneable smart materials. Already in the medieval times, nanostructures of noble metals were embedded in glass to create beautiful colours. Although not known at the time, the colours appear because light at certain frequencies transforms into…
A recent study by ITQB NOVA scientists unravelled the role of a small marker protein in increasing metabolic activity for sulfate respiration. The metabolism of sulfur compounds is among the most important microbial processes sustaining life in many anoxic environments where oxygen is not present. This metabolic activity cycles sulfur between sulfate and hydrogen sulfide. Sulfate, in particular, is an extremely important molecule in the geological, biological and chemical processes of the sulfur cycle. Some anaerobic bacteria and archaea play…
Genetic networks mimic electronic circuits to perform a range of logic functions. Northwestern University synthetic biologists have developed a low-cost, easy-to-use, hand-held device that can let users know — within mere minutes — if their water is safe to drink. The new device works by using powerful and programmable genetic networks, which mimic electronic circuits, to perform a range of logic functions. Among the DNA-based circuits, for example, the researchers engineered cell-free molecules into an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a ubiquitous…
Compact, inexpensive tunable lenses could be useful for portable medical diagnostics, miniature cameras and more. For the first time, researchers have created a metasurface lens that uses a piezoelectric thin film to change focal length when a small voltage is applied. Because it is extremely compact and lightweight, the new lens could be useful for portable medical diagnostic instruments, drone-based 3D mapping and other applications where miniaturization can open new possibilities. “This type of low-power, ultra-compact varifocal lens could be…
As a physician with the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, Dr. Laura E. Crotty Alexander has heard from more and more patients over recent years that they’re thinking of switching to vaping e-cigarettes as a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes. Not so fast, says the pulmonologist, who is also an associate professor at University of California San Diego. She calls it a “dangerous situation,” with so many people apparently unaware that e-cigarettes come with wide-ranging dangers of their own….
Scientists obtain first high-resolution 3D image of muscle protein. Max Planck Institute’s researchers visualise the structure of the muscle protein nebulin using electron cryo-tomography. Scientists have obtained the first high-resolution 3D image of nebulin, a giant actin-binding protein that is an essential component of skeletal muscle. This discovery has brought to light the chance to better understand the role of nebulin, as its functions have remained largely nebulous due to its large size and the difficulty in extracting nebulin in…
The carnivorous Venus flytrap can be anaesthetised with ether. Some surprising parallels to anaesthesia in humans emerge. Medicine has a broad repertoire of anaesthetics at its medication allows patients to better endure painful treatments or even sleep through them. As early as 1842, ether was first used for a dental treatment in New York. Since then, this anaesthetic has served as one of the main anaesthetics worldwide for over 100 years. Remarkably, anaesthetisation is also possible in plants. Claude Bernard…
Feedback
