ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

A team of scientists has conducted a comprehensive analysis reconstructing how kidneys form their filtering units, known as nephrons. The team studied hundreds of human and mouse nephrons at various points along their typical developmental trajectories, comparing important processes that have been conserved during the nearly 200 million years of evolution since humans and mice diverged from their common mammalian ancestor. The study details the similar genetic machinery that underpins nephron formation in humans and mice, enabling other groups of scientists to follow the logic of these developmental programs to make new types of kidney cells.

Scientists have harnessed the natural ability of wood to faintly glow to develop a new sustainable phosphorescent material that could potentially be used in a wide number of applications, from medical imaging and optical sensing to 'glow in the dark' dyes and paints.

In a finding that could help pave the way toward cleaner fuels and a more sustainable chemical industry, researchers have used machine learning to predict how the compositions of metal alloys and metal oxides affect their electronic structures.

Magnesium rechargeable batteries show immense promise for a greener future because of their energy density, safety, and cost. But the lack of high-performance cathode materials has impeded their development. Now, a research team has developed liquid-sulfur/sulfide composite cathodes that enable high-rate magnesium batteries.

The miniaturization of microelectronic sensor technology, microelectronic robots or intravascular implants is progressing rapidly. However, it also poses major challenges for research. One of the biggest is the development of tiny but efficient energy storage devices that enable the operation of autonomously working microsystems -- in more and more smaller areas of the human body for example. In addition, these energy storage devices must be bio-compatible if they are to be used in the body at all. Now there is a prototype that combines these essential properties.

Research suggests that introducing new airline routes reduces the discard rate of donated kidneys and increases the number of kidneys sent to transplant centers across the U.S.

Researchers have developed a new type of laminate that changes color as soon as the material is deformed. This way, the materials researchers can kill two birds with one stone: a lightweight composite material that inspects itself.

Experts have assessed the risks and potential benefits associated with deploying autonomous vehicles (AVs) on U.S. roads and predicts that the benefits will substantially outweigh potential harms -- but only if the AVs are well regulated.

Scientists have developed a novel way to isolate exosomes from cow's milk. Exosomes are nano-sized biological capsules that cells produce to protect and courier delicate molecules throughout the body. Harvesting them to achieve clinical-grade levels of purity, however, is a complex process.

Researchers investigate which material properties support vessel formation.

Researchers have devised a method for measuring the high-spin state of up to four electrons confined on a tiny gallium arsenide quantum dot. This research may lead to quantum computers that can process information by manipulating both electron charge and spin.