Hydrogen can be produced with renewable energies in a climate neutral way and could make a major contribution to the energy system of the future. One of the options is to use sunlight for electrolytic water splitting, either indirectly by coupling a solar cell with an electrolyser or directly in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell. Light-absorbing semiconductors serve as photoelectrodes. They are immersed in an electrolyte solution of water mixed with strong acids or bases, which contains high concentration of protons…
Simplified model of van der Waals forces will allow previously impossible simulations of how faceted nanoparticles self-assemble into larger structures. Materials scientists at Duke University have devised a simplified method for calculating the attractive forces that cause nanoparticles to self-assemble into larger structures. With this new model, accompanied by a graphical user interface that demonstrates its power, researchers will be able to make previously impossible predictions about how nanoparticles with a wide variety of shapes will interact with one another….
A repetitive DNA sequence that causes health risks when it malfunctions can now be watched inside living cells using a synthetic tool. A new synthetic probe offers a safe and straightforward approach for visualizing chromosome tips in living cells. The probe was designed by scientists at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Science (iCeMS) and colleagues at Kyoto University, and could advance research into aging and a wide range of diseases, including cancers. The details were published in the Journal of…
– precisely sending and receiving single molecules Researchers of the University of Graz, Austria, managed to send single molecules to a distant location and receive them from there. The study appears as the cover story in the current issue of the magazine Science. The idea of throwing and catching a ball is familiar to everyone. Now, if the ball is replaced with something as tiny as a single molecule, is this task still possible? Can a single molecule be transferred…
– and preparation for “SARS-CoV3” For the first time, an international research alliance has observed the RNA folding structures of the SARS-CoV2 genome with which the virus controls the infection process. Since these structures are very similar among various beta corona viruses, the scientists not only laid the foundation for the targeted development of novel drugs for treating COVID-19, but also for future occurrences of infection with new corona viruses that may develop in the future. The genetic code of…
Scientists at Osaka University create seaweed-shaped sodium titanate mats made of nanofibers that can remove cobalt ions from water, which may help provide a source of safe, recycled drinking water by removal of heavy metals and radionuclides. A team of researchers at Osaka University has developed a nanopowder shaped like seaweed for a water filter to help remove toxic metal ions (Fig. 1). Made of layered sodium titanate, the randomly oriented nanofibers increase the efficacy of cobalt-II (Co2+) ion capture….
Understanding the behavior of light-matter interaction under extreme conditions, such as in high-density plasmas, is important for our identification of cosmologic objects and the formation of the universe. Researchers at the Universities of Jena, Germany, California in Berkeley, USA, Madrid, Spain, and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, France have succeeded in directly observing the formation and interaction of highly ionized krypton plasma using femtosecond coherent ultraviolet light and a novel four-dimensional model. The last decade has been marked by a…
Looking for clues with the Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis method. Portuguese scientists have analyzed lichens from areas with traditional charcoal production for the first time with the help of the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) of the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Lichens located near areas of charcoal production contained more than twice the concentration of phosphorus, which is generated during the combustion process. In the region around Ponte de Sor (Portalegre County, Portugal), coal has been produced…
New study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The motion of magnetic particles as they pass through a magnetic field is called magnetophoresis. Until now, not much was known about the factors influencing these particles and their movement. Now, researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago describe several fundamental processes associated with the motion of magnetic particles through fluids as they are pulled by a magnetic field. Their findings are reported in the journal Proceedings of the…
High-resolution, 3D images of human chromosomes in single cells reveal how DNA structure might influence its function. In high school textbooks, human chromosomes are pictured as wonky Xs like two hotdogs jammed together. But those images are far from accurate. “For 90 percent of the time,” said Jun-Han Su, “chromosomes don’t exist like that.” Last year, before Su graduated with his Ph.D., he and three current Ph.D. candidates in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences–Pu Zheng, Seon Kinrot and…
A team of physicists led by researchers from the University of Oldenburg, Germany, have recorded an ultrafast film of the directed energy transport between neighbouring molecules in a nanomaterial. Theoretical simulations confirmed the experimental finding. Whether in solar cells, in photosynthesis or in the human eye: when light falls on the material, a green leaf or the retina, certain molecules transport energy and charge. This ultimately leads to the separation of charges and the generation of electricity. Molecular funnels, so-called…
Large objects, such as baseballs, vehicles, and planets, behave in accordance with the classical laws of mechanics formulated by Sir Isaac Newton. Small ones, such as atoms and subatomic particles, are governed by quantum mechanics, where an object can behave as both a wave and a particle. The boundary between the classical and quantum realms has always been of great interest. Research reported in AVS Quantum Science, by AIP Publishing, considers the question of what makes something “more quantum” than…
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have invented a miniature thermometer with big potential applications such as monitoring the temperature of processor chips in superconductor-based quantum computers, which must stay cold to work properly. NIST’s superconducting thermometer measures temperatures below 1 Kelvin (minus 272.15 ?C or minus 457.87 ?F), down to 50 milliKelvin (mK) and potentially 5 mK. It is smaller, faster and more convenient than conventional cryogenic thermometers for chip-scale devices and could be mass…
UCLA researchers using a model of airway tissue created from human stem cells have pinpointed how smoking cigarettes causes more severe infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the airways of the lungs. The study, led by scientists at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and published in Cell Stem Cell, will help researchers better understand COVID-19 risks for smokers and could inform the development of new therapeutic strategies…
Prototype tech shrinks AI to deliver brain-like functionality in one powerful device. Researchers have developed artificial intelligence technology that brings together imaging, processing, machine learning and memory in one electronic chip, powered by light. The prototype shrinks artificial intelligence technology by imitating the way that the human brain processes visual information. The nanoscale advance combines the core software needed to drive artificial intelligence with image-capturing hardware in a single electronic device. With further development, the light-driven prototype could enable smarter…
One-step multicomponent reaction with interpretable machine learning innovation to develop chemical library for drug discovery. Machine learning has been used widely in the chemical sciences for drug design and other processes. The models that are prospectively tested for new reaction outcomes and used to enhance human understanding to interpret chemical reactivity decisions made by such models are extremely limited. Purdue University innovators have introduced chemical reactivity flowcharts to help chemists interpret reaction outcomes using statistically robust machine learning models trained…
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