ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

Researchers have developed a new and simple method for upcycling plastic waste at room temperature.

An object hidden below ground has been located using quantum technology - a long-awaited milestone with profound implications for industry, human knowledge and national security.

Physicists observed an exotic 'multiferroic' state in a perfectly two-dimensional material for the first time. The findings could lead to faster, more efficient magnetic data storage devices.

Succinic acid is an important precursor for pharmaceutical and cosmetic products and also serves as a component in biodegradable plastics. It is currently derived mainly from petroleum-based processes. Researchers are using the marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens as a biocatalyst. This could permit the production of succinic acid in sustainable processes using renewable raw materials.

Scientists have been trying to build devices that could diagnose Parkinson's disease (PD) through odor compounds on the skin. Now, researchers have developed a portable, artificially intelligent olfactory system, or 'e-nose,' that could someday diagnose the disease in a doctor's office.

A chemical used in electric vehicle batteries could also give us carbon-free fuel for space flight, according to new research.

Stretchy films and squishy gels help make wearable electronics, soft robotics and biocompatible tissues a reality. But too much force can cause these polymers to break apart without warning. To detect stress before it's too late, researchers show they have designed a compound with 'wings' that makes these materials change color when they are stretched or crushed.

Space travel can be agonizingly slow: For example, the New Horizons probe took almost 10 years to reach Pluto. Traveling to Proxima Centauri b, the closest habitable planet to Earth, would require thousands of years with even the biggest rockets. Now, researchers calculate that low-power lasers on Earth could launch and maneuver small probes equipped with silicon or boron nitride sails, propelling them to much faster speeds than rocket engines.

Researchers have developed a new method for controlled interrogation and recording of neuronal activity. The system combines technology from multichannel optogenetics with laminar recordings in the brain. The research team proposes alternative design for silicon probes and develops fibers with a Lambertian emission.

Using deep learning and supercomputers, researchers have been able to identify and map 1.2 billion ice wedge polygons in the Arctic permafrost based on satellite imagery. The data helps establish a baseline from which to detect changes to the region. The researchers trained a deep learning system to identify Arctic features and TACC's Longhorn supercomputer to analyze the data. The ice wedge data will be available for rapid analysis on the new Permafrost Discovery Gateway.

Using electricity, a new method offers the possibility of recycling carbon dioxide while also performing a notoriously difficult reaction, producing compounds potentially useful for drug development.