Chemists have developed a novel way to capture and convert carbon dioxide into methane, suggesting that future gas emissions could be converted into an alternative fuel using electricity from renewable sources.
Asking children 'What does a scientist look like?' now results in more illustrations of women and people of color than decades ago. But do generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools also depict the diversity among scientists?...
A new theory, that explains how light and matter interact at the quantum level has enabled researchers to define for the first time the precise shape of a single photon.
New cathode materials are being developed to further increase the capacity of lithium batteries. Multilayer lithium-rich transition metal oxides (LRTMOs) offer particularly high energy density. However, their capacity decreases with each...
Researchers have developed a new crystalline material that can harvest water from fog without any energy input. The design of the novel type of smart crystals, which the researchers named Janus crystals, is inspired by desert plants and...
Researchers have developed a new bio-inspired approach to building complex 3D microfluidic networks by utilizing plant roots and fungal hyphae as molds. The team grew plants and fungi in nanoparticles of silica, then baked out the plants...
Using zero liquid discharge to increase water recovery from desalination is an emerging method to combat water scarcity, but is expensive, energy-intensive and comes with environmental risks. Researchers have optimized zero liquid...
Researchers have used machine learning and supercomputer simulations to investigate how tiny gold nanoparticles bind to blood proteins. The studies discovered that favorable nanoparticle-protein interactions can be predicted from machine...
Alongside carbon dioxide, methane is a key driver of global warming. To detect and monitor the climate pollutants in the atmosphere precisely, scientists have developed an advanced laser technology. A high-power ytterbium thin-disk laser...
Researchers have developed a new class of oral painkillers to suppress chronic abdominal pain that is based on the peptide hormone oxytocin that drives childbirth contractions.
Scientists have created a new 'biocooperative' material based on blood, which has shown to successfully repair bones, paving the way for personalised regenerative blood products that could be used as effective therapies to treat injury...
Scientists have produced a new route to materials with complex 'disordered' magnetic properties at the quantum level. The material, based on a framework of ruthenium, fulfils the requirements of the 'Kitaev quantum spin liquid state' --...
A simple, highly efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly process could provide a viable pathway for the sustainable recycling of depleted lithium-ion batteries (LIBs): No chemicals beyond citric acid need to be added to...
Water, a molecule essential for life, has unusual properties -- known as anomalies -- that define its behavior. However, there are still many enigmas about the molecular mechanisms that would explain the anomalies that make the water...
Researchers have devised a mathematical approach to predict the structures of crystals -- a critical step in developing many medicines and electronic devices -- in a matter of hours using only a laptop, a process that previously took a...
Capturing carbon dioxide from the hot industrial exhaust of cement and steel plants requires cooling the exhaust from around 200 C to 60 C so that liquid amines can react with the CO2. Chemists have now created a new type of...
Researchers have found that under certain conditions, a laser beam can act like an opaque object and cast a shadow, opening new possibilities for technologies that could use a laser beam to control another laser beam.
For a wide variety of emerging quantum technologies, such as secure quantum communications and quantum computing, quantum entanglement is a prerequisite. Scientists have now demonstrated a particularly efficient way in which photons can...
Researchers have implemented polyphenylene-based anion exchange membranes poised to make hydrogen production more efficient and durable. The robust hydrophobic design enables effective ion transport while resisting chemical degradation.
Researchers have explored how a particular chemical can selectively trap certain molecules in the cavities of its structure -- even though in normal conditions it has no such cavities. This innovative material with...
Researchers have developed an innovative electrochemical reactor to extract lithium from natural brine solutions, offering a promising approach to address the growing demand for lithium used in rechargeable batteries.
Most people don't enjoy getting shots for treatments or vaccines. So, researchers are working to create more medicines, such as those made from messenger RNA (mRNA), that can be sprayed and inhaled. A study reports steps toward making...
Few questions have captivated humankind more than the origin of life on Earth. How did the first living cells come to exist? How did these early protocells develop the structural membranes necessary for cells to thrive and assemble into...
Researchers have developed a new method to extract fluorine from fluorspar using oxalic acid and a fluorophilic Lewis acid in water under mild reaction conditions. This technology enables direct access to fluorochemicals, including...
A new study has uncovered important behavior in the flow of electric current through quantum superconductors, potentially advancing the development of future technologies like quantum computing.
A research team has succeeded in synthesizing simple, environmentally sensitive cells complete with artificial organelles. For the first time, the researchers have also been able to emulate natural cell-cell communication using these...
An international research team has for the first time designed realistic photonic time crystals ---- exotic materials that exponentially amplify light. The breakthrough opens up exciting possibilities across fields such as communication,...
An interdisciplinary team of researchers has developed a machine learning framework that uses limited water quality samples to predict which inorganic pollutants are likely to be present in a groundwater supply. The new tool allows...
Using data from historic ship measurements and Argo floats, researchers introduced a machine learning technique that improves assessment and analysis of the ocean's declining oxygen levels.
A team combined compositional data of primitive bodies like Kuiper Belt objects, asteroids and comets with new solar data sets to develop a revised solar composition that potentially reconciles spectroscopy and helioseismology...
Creating sustainable chemicals and developing better waste management will contribute to better sustainability. This research is part of figuring out how to make green hydrogen available for waste management using catalysts. The research...
The discovery, centred around controlling tiny hurricanes of light and electromagnetic fields, could revolutionise how much information we can deliver over cables.
Researchers have succeeded in developing a microbial strain that efficiently produces pseudoaromatic polyester monomer to replace polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using systems metabolic engineering.
Why is the expansion of our Universe accelerating? Twenty-five years after its discovery, this phenomenon remains one of the greatest scientific mysteries. Solving it involves testing the fundamental laws of physics, including Albert...
Where does the periodic table of chemical elements end and which processes lead to the existence of heavy elements? Researchers report on experiments to come closer to an answer. They gained insight into the structure of atomic nuclei of...
Plastics are inescapable in our daily lives. The vast amounts of plastic garbage heaped in landfills and in the environment, however, are as problematic as the plastics are useful. A research team has now introduced a new method for...
How well a catalyst works often depends on the surface it is placed on. For years, it has been known that carbon substrates work well with precious metal catalysts, but it could never be properly explained. Now scientists managed to get...
Researchers have created a new material that will be pivotal in making the next generation of high-power electronics faster, transparent and more efficient.