ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

An international team of researchers recently developed and experimentally demonstrated a spectral-volumetric (SV) CUP system that can simultaneously capture 5D information with a single snapshot measurement.

Antimicrobials are used to kill or slow the growth of bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms. They are essential to preventing and treating infections, but they also pose a global threat to public health when microorganisms develop antimicrobial resistance. A lab studied the mechanisms behind bacterial resistance to silver nanoparticles to determine if their ubiquitous use is a solution to this challenge or if it is perhaps fueling the fire.

Researchers have created insecticide-free, mosquito-resistant clothing using textile materials they confirmed to be bite-proof in experiments with live mosquitoes.

Researchers have developed a new device that harvests energy from the sweat on -- of all places -- your fingertips. To date, the device is believed to be the most efficient on-body energy harvester ever invented, producing 300 millijoules (mJ) of energy per square centimeter without any mechanical energy input during a 10-hour sleep and an additional 30 mJ of energy with a single press of a finger.

Scientists have developed a computational method based on large-scale molecular dynamics simulations to predict the cell-membrane permeability of cyclic peptides using a supercomputer. Their protocol has exhibited promising accuracy and may become a useful tool for the design and discovery of cyclic peptide drugs, which could help us reach new therapeutic targets inside cells beyond the capabilities of conventional small-molecule drugs or antibody-based drugs.

Crenarchaeol is a large, closed-loop lipid that is present in the membranes of ammonium-oxidizing archaea. In comparison to other archaeal membrane lipids, crenarchaeol is very complex and, so far, attempts to confirm its structure by synthesizing the entire molecule have been unsuccessful. Organic chemists have now taken up this challenge and discovered that the proposed structure for the molecule was largely, but not entirely, correct.

As rechargeable batteries get more powerful, the chance of batteries overheating -- thermal runaway -- increases. Seeking a way to make batteries safer, researchers have investigated one of thermal runaway's main triggers: oxygen release.

In addition to chemical factors, mechanical influences play an important role in the natural growth of human organs such as kidneys, lungs and mammary glands - but also in the development of tumors. Now a research team has investigated the process in detail using organoids, three-dimensional model systems of such organs which are produced in the laboratory.

The absorption of energy from laser light by free electrons in a liquid has been demonstrated for the first time. Until now, this process was observed only in the gas phase. The findings open new doors for ultra-fast electron microscopy.

New research shows how control over self-propelled microswimmers could be achieved using exotic materials named 'nematic liquid crystals' - whose viscosity and elasticity can vary depending on the direction of an applied force.

New research has identified the processes that underpin the trajectories of microplastics below the ocean surface. The authors analyzed how biofouling -- the accumulation of algae on the surface of microplastics -- impacts the vertical movement of buoyant particles.

As the complexity of radiation therapy has grown, so too has the amount of data that goes into treatment machines. With more data comes more opportunity for errors in data transfer. A medical physics researcher is working to make those errors less likely.

A research team revealed a newly developed hydrogel-based flexible brain-machine interface.