ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

Pharmaceutical compounds can harm the environment. However, in waterways that don't receive treated wastewater, these pollutants aren't expected to be present. Now, researchers have found that amounts of some medications carried by a stream in Baltimore were substantial, despite generally low concentrations over the course of a year. Because wastewater plants don't impact this stream, the high loads are likely coming from leaking sewer pipes, they say.

Researchers have developed a climate-friendly alternative to conventional cement. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions can be reduced during production by up to two thirds when a previously unused overburden from bauxite mining is used as a raw material. The alternative was found to be just as stable as the traditional Portland cement.

A research group is developing polymers that can be broken down into their constituent parts; thus, when the catalyst for depolymerization is absent or removed, the polymers will be highly stable and their thermal and mechanical properties can be tuned to meet the needs of various applications.

Researchers contributed to a deeper understanding of free electron laser physics by evaluating the interaction between an ultraviolet laser and a relativistic electron beam in a pure dipole magnet. The team used a 266-nm laser at the soft x-ray FEL test facility to modulate an 800-MeV electron beam....The results showed that a short dipole magnet can serve as an effective tool for introducing energy modulation of relativistic electron beams, effectively tailoring FEL pulse properties by introducing precise bends in the pathway.

Scientists have developed a bioprocess using engineered yeast that completely and efficiently converted plant matter consisting of acetate and xylose into high-value bioproducts.

While other simulations have modeled black hole growth, new model is the first single computer simulation powerful enough to comprehensively account for the numerous forces and factors that play into the evolution of supermassive black holes. Simulation shows that galaxies' spiral arms 'put the brakes on gas,' enabling it to fall into the black hole and as gas heats up while falling into a black hole, it turns into a bright quasar.

Violent activity on our Sun leads to some of the most extreme space weather events on Earth, impacting systems such as satellites, communications systems, power distribution and aviation. The roughly 11 year cycle of solar activity has three 'seasons', each of which affects the space weather felt at Earth differently: (i) solar maximum, the sun is active and disordered, when space weather is stormy and events are irregular (ii) the declining phase, when the sun and solar wind becomes ordered, and space weather is more moderate and (iii) solar minimum, when activity is quiet. Scientists found that the change from solar maximum to the declining phase is fast, happening within a few (27 day) solar rotations.

Scientists have designed a 3D-bioprinted model of a blood vessel that mimics its state of health and disease, thus paving the way for possible cardiovascular drug advancements with better precision.

Researchers address some of the questions surrounding these massive and enigmatic features of the universe by using new, high-powered simulations.

A research team has discovered magnetic phenomena in antiferromagnets that could pave the way to developing faster and more efficient data storage.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be used to generate brain organoids containing an eye structure called the optic cup, according to a new study. The organoids spontaneously developed bilaterally symmetric optic cups from the front of the brain-like region, demonstrating the intrinsic self-patterning ability of iPSCs in a highly complex biological process.

Scientists have created a new type of catalyst that will lead to new, sustainable ways of making and using molecules and protect the supply of precious metals.

Some proteins in cells can separate into small droplets like oil droplets in water, but faults in this process may underlie neurodegenerative diseases in the brains of older people. Now, researchers have developed a new method to quantify protein droplets involved in these diseases.