ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

Researchers have developed a new tomography method with which they can measure chemical properties inside catalyst materials in 3-D extremely precisely and faster than before. The application is equally important for science and industry.

Scientists have developed polypeptide-based materials that act as effective vectors for delivering gene therapies. The new platform enables the vectors to be adapted to suit the specific gene therapy cargo.

The movement of electrons can have a significantly greater influence on spintronic effects than previously assumed. Until now, a calculation of these effects took, above all, the spin of electrons into consideration. The study offers a new approach in developing spintronic components.

Research, development, and production of novel materials depend heavily on the availability of fast and at the same time accurate simulation methods. Machine learning, in which artificial intelligence autonomously acquires and applies new knowledge, will soon enable researchers to develop complex material systems in a purely virtual environment. How does this work, which applications will benefit?

Two articles describe how ground-breaking image reconstruction and analysis algorithms developed for surface-based MicroBooNE detector filter out cosmic ray tracks to pinpoint elusive neutrino interactions with unprecedented clarity.

Microphones are perhaps the most common electronic sensor in the world, with an estimated 320 million listening for our commands in the world's smart speakers. The trouble is that they're capable of hearing everything else, too.

The speed of water flow is a limiting factor in many membrane-based industrial processes, including desalination, molecular separation and osmotic power generation. Researchers have revealed a dramatic decrease in friction when water is passed through nanoscale capillaries made of graphene. In contrast, capillaries made from hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) - which has a similar surface topography and crystal structure as graphene - display high friction.

A research team has created an electronic microsystem that can intelligently respond to information inputs without any external energy input, much like a self-autonomous living organism. The microsystem is constructed from a novel type of electronics that can process ultralow electronic signals and incorporates a device that can generate electricity 'out of thin air' from the ambient environment.

High-value chemicals used in biofuels and pharmaceuticals can be made from bacteria by switching their chemistry to produce novel products. Researchers have found a way to drastically cut the cost of turning on these switches.

Forty years of data came together to show just how many birds can be saved by buildings turning their lights off. Using decades' worth of data and birds, researchers found that on nights when half the windows were darkened, there were 11 times fewer bird collisions during spring migration and 6 times fewer collisions during fall migration than when all the windows were lit.