ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

A 'wise counsel' for synthetic biology

Posted: 08 Jul 2022 09:36 AM PDT

Researchers develop user-friendly software system to optimize biological systems.

Electric vehicles pass the remote road test

Posted: 08 Jul 2022 09:36 AM PDT

A new study, which demonstrates that even the most rural areas of Australia are feasible for electric vehicles, provides new hope for how the technology could be spread around the most secluded locations in other parts of the world. The study found the vast majority of residents, or 93 per cent, could travel to essential services with even the lower-range of electric vehicles currently available on the Australian market, without needing to recharge en route.

Potential energy surfaces of water mapped

Posted: 08 Jul 2022 09:36 AM PDT

Liquids are more difficult to describe than gases or crystalline solids. Researchers have now mapped the potential energy surfaces of water molecules in liquid water under ambient conditions. The work contributes to a better understanding of the chemistry of water and in aqueous solutions.

Major step forward in fabricating an artificial heart, fit for a human

Posted: 08 Jul 2022 09:36 AM PDT

Bioengineers have developed the first biohybrid model of human ventricles with helically aligned beating cardiac cells, and have shown that muscle alignment does, in fact, dramatically increases how much blood the ventricle can pump with each contraction.

Surfaces at realistic conditions

Posted: 08 Jul 2022 09:36 AM PDT

Researchers have been engaged in describing how surfaces change in contact with reactive gas phases under different temperature and pressure conditions.

Researchers create method for breaking down plant materials for earth-friendly energy

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 02:18 PM PDT

With energy costs rising, and the rapidly emerging effects of burning fossil fuels on the global climate, the need has never been greater for researchers to find paths to products and fuels that are truly renewable.

Citizen scientist leads discovery of 34 ultracool dwarf binaries

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 02:18 PM PDT

How often do stars live alone? For brown dwarfs -- objects that straddle the boundary between the most massive planets and the smallest stars -- astronomers need to uncover more examples of their companions to find out. Ace citizen scientists have done just that by using the Astro Data Lab science platform at NSF's NOIRLab to discover 34 new ultracool dwarf binary systems in the Sun's neighborhood, nearly doubling the number of such systems known.

New insights about surface, structure of asteroid Bennu

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 11:24 AM PDT

When NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected samples from asteroid Bennu's surface in 2020, forces measured during the interaction provided scientists with a direct test of the poorly understood near-subsurface physical properties of rubble-pile asteroids. Now, a new study has characterized the layer just below the asteroid's surface as composed of weakly bound rock fragments containing twice the void space as the overall asteroid.

New research finds deep-sea mining noise pollution will stretch hundreds of miles

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 11:21 AM PDT

New research examines the potential for underwater noise pollution from seabed mining operations, which could affect the understudied species that live in the deep sea -- the largest habitat on Earth.

Electric vehicle buyers want rebates, not tax credits

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 11:19 AM PDT

Financial incentives play an important role in the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. New research, however, finds that not all financial incentives are created equal in the eyes of prospective car buyers, and the current federal incentive -- a tax credit -- is, in fact, valued the least by car buyers.

Nanoparticle 'backpacks' restore damaged stem cells

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 11:18 AM PDT

Bioengineers have shown that a new strategy can restore damaged stem cells and enable them to grow new tissues again. The new drug delivery system could help infants born from complicated pregnancies.

Porosity of the moon's crust reveals bombardment history

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 11:18 AM PDT

Researchers find that, early in its history, the moon was highly porous, which was likely a result of early, massive impacts that shattered much of the crust. They reached their conclusions with simulations and data from NASA's GRAIL mission.

Research reveals why tackling particle pollution leads to rise in photochemical smog

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 11:18 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered why reducing particle pollution is leading to a rise in photochemical smog in some emerging economies such as India, Africa and China.

Researchers build long, highly conductive molecular nanowire

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 11:18 AM PDT

Researchers announced today that they have built a nanowire that is 2.6 nanometers long, shows an unusual increase in conductance as the wire length increases, and has quasi-metallic properties. Its excellent conductivity holds great promise for the field of molecular electronics, enabling electronic devices to become even tinier.

Smart textiles sense how their users are moving

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 11:17 AM PDT

MIT Media Lab researchers developed a novel fabrication process to create smart textiles that comfortably and snugly fit the user's body, enabling very precise pressure sensor data that can be used to analyze and classify the wearer's postures and motions.

The key is in the coating: Multilayered coating to improve the corrosion resistance of steel

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 07:09 AM PDT

Steel is one of the strongest materials found on earth and is widely used for construction. But on its own, the durability of steel is poor. Galvanizing steel increases its corrosion resistance, making it more sustainable. Recently, a group of scientists proposed a novel method of multilayer coating to increase the longevity of steel.

Quantum physics: Record entanglement of quantum memories

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 07:09 AM PDT

Researchers have entangled two quantum memories over a 33-kilometer-long fiber optic connection -- a record and an important step toward the quantum internet.

Towards autonomous prediction and synthesis of novel magnetic materials

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 07:09 AM PDT

In materials science, candidates for novel functional materials are usually explored in a trial-and-error fashion through calculations, synthetic methods, and material analysis. However, the approach is time-consuming and requires expertise. Now, researchers have used a data-driven approach to automate the process of predicting new magnetic materials. By combining first-principles calculations, Bayesian optimization, and monoatomic alternating deposition, the proposed method can enable a faster development of next-generation electronic devices.

Human-like robots may be perceived as having mental states

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 07:09 AM PDT

When robots appear to engage with people and display human-like emotions, people may perceive them as capable of 'thinking,' or acting on their own beliefs and desires rather than their programs, according to new research.

Thin mica shows semiconducting behavior, say scientists in new study

Posted: 07 Jul 2022 07:05 AM PDT

Muscovite mica (MuM) is a highly stable mineral that is commonly used as an insulator. However, the electrical properties of single-layer and few-layered MuM are not well understood. Now, a group of researchers reports and explains unusually high conductivity in MuM flakes that are only a few molecule layers thick. Their findings could open doors to the development of two-dimensional electronic devices that are robust against harsh environments.

A four-stroke engine for atoms

Posted: 06 Jul 2022 10:33 AM PDT

If you switch a bit in the memory of a computer and then switch it back again, you have restored the original state. There are only two states that can be called '0 and 1'. However, in a crystal based on oxides of gadolinium and manganese, an atomic switch was found that has to be switched back and forth not just once, but twice, until the original state is reached again.

Caught in the act: Key chemical intermediates in pollutant-to-fuel reaction identified

Posted: 06 Jul 2022 06:29 AM PDT

Researchers identified chemical intermediates in the hydrogenation of copper-adsorbed formate. Depending on the temperature, some of the hydrogenation product decomposed into formaldehyde. The activation energy was also quantified, based on experimental and computational work. These results will be useful for optimizing production of methanol fuel from carbon dioxide.

Seeing photovoltaic devices in a new light

Posted: 05 Jul 2022 01:22 PM PDT

Researchers described a novel effect in which the voltage generated by photovoltaic devices can change based on the color of incidence light. They show how this feature is due to random energy states that exist inside the antimony sulfiodide devices. This work may lead to more robust renewable energy generated by solar cells.