ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News |
| Novel liquid crystal metalens offers electric zoom Posted: 10 Jun 2021 01:23 PM PDT Researchers have created a first-of-its-kind metalens - a metamaterial lens - that can be focused using voltage instead of mechanically moving its components. |
| Cause, scope determined for deadly winter debris flow in Uttarakhand, India Posted: 10 Jun 2021 12:01 PM PDT The Uttarakhand region of India experienced a humanitarian tragedy on Feb. 7, 2021, when a wall of debris and water barreled down the Ronti Gad, Rishiganga and Dhauliganga river valleys. This debris flow destroyed two hydropower facilities and left more than 200 people dead or missing. A self-organized coalition of 53 scientists came together in the days following the disaster to investigate the cause, scope and impacts. |
| Printing flexible wearable electronics for smart device applications Posted: 10 Jun 2021 11:44 AM PDT With the increase in demand for flexible wearable electronics, researchers have explored flexible energy storage devices, such as flexible supercapacitators, that are lightweight and safe and easily integrate with other devices. Printing electronics has proved to be an economical, simple, and scalable strategy for fabricating FSCs. Researchers provide a review of printed FSCs in terms of ability to formulate functional inks, design printable electrodes, and integrate functions with other electronic devices. |
| Bacteria: Serving tasty solution to global plastic crisis Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:57 AM PDT Scientists have devised a novel way of tackling the mounting issue of plastic pollution -- by using bacteria to transform plastic waste into vanilla flavoring. |
| Bacteria-sized robots take on microplastics and win by breaking them down Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:57 AM PDT Small pieces of plastic are everywhere, stretching from urban environments to pristine wilderness. Left to their own devices, it can take hundreds of years for them to degrade completely. Catalysts activated by sunlight could speed up the process, but getting these compounds to interact with microplastics is difficult. In a proof-of-concept study, researchers developed self-propelled microrobots that can swim, attach to plastics and break them down. |
| Could all your digital photos be stored as DNA? Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:57 AM PDT Biological engineers have demonstrated a way to easily retrieve data files stored as DNA. This could be a step toward using DNA archives to store enormous quantities of photos, images, and other digital content. |
| Microscopic imaging without a microscope? Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:56 AM PDT A new technique uses high-throughput sequencing, instead of a microscope, to obtain ultra-high-resolution images of gene expression from a tissue slide. |
| Improved climate resilience through better seasonal forecasts Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:56 AM PDT Lack of water, floods, or crop losses: As a result of climate change, pronounced periods of drought and rainfall are causing human suffering and major economic damage. Precise seasonal forecasts can help to mitigate these consequences. A research team has now been able to improve global forecasts using statistical methods so that they can be used on the regional level. |
| Research establishes safe water thresholds for antimicrobials, to help mitigate resistance Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:56 AM PDT Scientists summarize and critically appraise the current approaches to determining the concentrations of antimicrobials that increase AMR. By collating and assessing available data, they have recommended what these safe thresholds could be, to enable governments to act to reduce them. |
| Researchers' algorithm to make CRISPR gene editing more precise Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:56 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new method which makes CRISPR gene editing more precise than conventional methods. The method selects the molecules best suited for helping the CRISPR-Cas9 protein with high-precision editing at the correct location in our DNA, the researchers explain. |
| New way to 3D-print custom medical devices to boost performance and bacterial resistance Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:56 AM PDT Using a new 3D printing process, researchers have discovered how to tailor-make artificial body parts and other medical devices with built-in functionality that offers better shape and durability, while cutting the risk of bacterial infection at the same time. |
| Novel materials: Sound waves traveling backwards Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:55 AM PDT Acoustic waves in gases, liquids, and solids usually travel at an almost constant speed of sound. Rotons are an exception: their speed of sound changes significantly with the wavelength, it is also possible that the waves travel backwards. Researchers are studying the possibilities of using rotons in artificial materials. These metamaterials might be used in the future to manipulate or direct sound in ways that have never been possible before. |
| Tuning the energy gap: A novel approach for organic semiconductors Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:55 AM PDT What is already established for inorganic semiconductors stays a challenge for their organic counterparts: Tuning the energy gap by blending different semiconducting molecules to optimize device performance. Now, scientists demonstrated how to reach this goal. |
| Discovery of ray sperms' unique swimming motion and demonstration with bio-inspired robot Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:55 AM PDT It is generally agreed that sperms 'swim' by beating or rotating their soft tails. However, a research team has discovered that ray sperms move by rotating both the tail and the head. The team further investigated the motion pattern and demonstrated it with a robot. Their study has expanded the knowledge on the microorganisms' motion and provided inspiration for robot engineering design. |
| Reduction of carbon monoxide through nitrogenase Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:55 AM PDT Through the biological fixation of the element nitrogen by the enzyme nitrogenase, organisms gain access to molecular nitrogen (N2) in the Earth's atmosphere, which is essential for building cellular structures. In addition, a vanadium-dependent variant of nitrogenase can reduce the toxic gas carbon monoxide (CO) to hydrocarbons. These reductions of N2 and CO are among the most important processes in industrial chemistry, as they are used to produce both fertilizers and synthetic fuels. However, researchers have not yet been able to decipher the different pathways of the two reactions. |
| Humans are ready to take advantage of benevolent AI Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:55 AM PDT Humans expect that AI is benevolent and trustworthy. A new study reveals that at the same time humans are unwilling to cooperate and compromise with machines. They even exploit them. |
| Research uncovers broadband gaps in US to help close digital divide Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:38 AM PDT Events of the past year have exposed the crisis of the digital divide in the U.S. To tackle this problem, researchers have developed a new tool to smooth the collection of federal broadband access data that helps pinpoint coverage gaps across the US. |
| 'Vegan spider silk' provides sustainable alternative to single-use plastics Posted: 10 Jun 2021 06:11 AM PDT Researchers have created a plant-based, sustainable, scalable material that could replace single-use plastics in many consumer products. |
| New twist on DNA data storage lets users preview stored files Posted: 10 Jun 2021 06:11 AM PDT Researchers have turned a longstanding challenge in DNA data storage into a tool, using it to offer users previews of stored data files -- such as thumbnail versions of image files. |
| Scientists identify distinctive deep infrasound rumbles of space launches Posted: 10 Jun 2021 06:10 AM PDT New research used a system for monitoring nuclear tests to track the infrasound from 1,001 rocket launches, identifying the distinctive sounds from seven different types of rockets. In some cases, like the Space Shuttle and the Falcon 9, the researchers were also able to identify the various stages of the rockets' journey. |
| Researchers develop tool to aid in development, efficiency of hydrogen-powered cars Posted: 09 Jun 2021 11:33 AM PDT Researchers are addressing one aspect of creating fuel cells that can convert hydrogen and oxygen safely into water by developing new computational tools and models needed to better understand and manage the conversion process. |
| Better-fitting face masks greatly improve COVID-19 protection Posted: 09 Jun 2021 09:34 AM PDT Researchers have found that while N95 masks are effective barriers against airborne diseases like COVID-19, poorly fitting masks can have substantial leaks around the face that reduce their effectiveness and increase the risk of infection. |
| Researchers create quantum microscope that can see the impossible Posted: 09 Jun 2021 08:55 AM PDT In a major scientific leap, researchers have created a quantum microscope that can reveal biological structures that would otherwise be impossible to see. |
| Wider applications for Vortex Fluidic Device Posted: 07 Jun 2021 08:02 AM PDT Wider clean chemistry applications of the extraordinary Vortex Fluidic Device are likely in the wake of new research that has been published outlining the seemingly endless possible uses. |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2021 05:46 AM PDT Engineers discovered a way to generate electricity using tiny carbon particles that can create an electric current simply by interacting with an organic solvent in which they're floating. |
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