'Jumping film' harnesses the power of humidity
Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) and the University of Tokyo have developed a film that curls up and straightens out autonomously when exposed to tiny, barely...
View ArticleSelf-healing textiles not only repair themselves, but can neutralize chemicals
Someday, chemically protective suits made of fabric coated in self-healing, thin films may prevent farmers from exposure to organophosphate pesticides, soldiers from chemical or biological attacks in...
View ArticleWatering solar cells makes them grow... in power
Perovskite solar cells are the rising star in the photovoltaic landscape. Since their invention, less than ten years ago, their efficiency has doubled twice and it is now over 22% - an astonishing...
View ArticleAn appetite suppressant with side effects
Neurogeneticists from the University of Würzburg have discovered a peptide in Drosophila that has a strong impact on the fly's feeding and sleeping habits. At the same time, it is associated with the...
View ArticleNew method increases energy density in lithium batteries
Yuan Yang, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Columbia Engineering, has developed a new method to increase the energy density of lithium (Li-ion) batteries. He has built a...
View ArticleIndian roadside refuse fires produce toxic rainbow
Samples of smoke particles emanating from burning roadside trash piles in India have shown that their chemical composition and toxicityare very bad for human health.
View ArticleFree software to predict the energy production of photovoltaic systems
Researchers at UPM make available for the general public programmes to simulate the functioning and predict the energy production of photovoltaic systems.
View ArticleNoise pollution from fracking may harm human health
Fracking creates noise at levels high enough to harm the health of people living nearby, according to the first peer-reviewed study to analyze the potential public health impacts of ambient noise...
View ArticleBattery can be recharged with carbon dioxide
(Phys.org)—Researchers have developed a type of rechargeable battery called a flow cell that can be recharged with a water-based solution containing dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from fossil...
View ArticleDual-function nanorod LEDs could make multifunctional displays
Cellphones and other devices could soon be controlled with touchless gestures and charge themselves using ambient light, thanks to new LED arrays that can both emit and detect light.
View ArticleMismatched eyes help squid survive ocean's twilight zone
From eyes the size of basketballs to appendages that blink and glow, deep-sea dwellers have developed some strange features to help them survive their cold, dark habitat.
View ArticlePotential approach to how radioactive elements could be 'fished out' of...
Manchester scientists have revealed how arsenic molecules might be used to 'fish out' the most toxic elements from radioactive nuclear waste - a breakthrough that could make the decommissioning...
View ArticleHybrid circuits can increase computational power of chaos-based systems
New research from North Carolina State University has found that combining digital and analog components in nonlinear, chaos-based integrated circuits can improve their computational power by enabling...
View ArticleA trick of the light: How the hatchetfish hides
Hatchetfish, tiny "alien-looking" creatures known for an uncanny ability to hide out in open water, use mirror-like scales to deflect and diffuse light to make themselves invisible to predators,...
View ArticleA stream of superfluid light
Scientists have known for centuries that light is composed of waves. The fact that light can also behave as a liquid, rippling and spiraling around obstacles like the current of a river, is a much more...
View ArticlePeering at the crystal structure of lithium
Elemental metals usually form simple, close-packed crystalline structures. Though lithium (Li) is considered a typical simple metal, its crystal structure at ambient pressure and low temperature...
View ArticleThe comeback kid—black phosphorus and its new potential
When it was discovered over a century ago, black phosphorus was considered relatively useless. Over the past five years, however, the engineers and chemists have become intrigued by the material for...
View ArticleA uranium-based compound improves manufacturing of nitrogen products
Nitrogen is abundantly available in nature and forms the basis for many valuable products, both natural and artificial. This requires a reaction known as "nitrogen fixation", whereby molecular nitrogen...
View ArticleMicro-membrane diaphragm pump for delivering ambient air to gas sensors
Particulate matter harms the heart and lungs. In the future, a smartphone with an inbuilt gas sensor could be used to warn of heavy exposure. To help the sensor respond quickly and provide accurate...
View ArticleGlasses generate power with flexible organic solar cells
Organic solar cells are flexible, transparent and lightweight, and can be manufactured in arbitrary shapes or colors. Thus, they are suitable for a variety of applications that cannot be realized with...
View ArticleImproved air quality research software to help reduce emissions, pollution
Purdue University researchers are developing an on-site computer and software system that could provide a more flexible, high-quality and user-friendly way to conduct agriculture-based air quality...
View ArticleHow ambient energy could power the Internet of things
In the modern world, we are increasingly surrounded by digital sensors, cameras and communications devices sending data cloud-based analysis services. Those devices need power, and designers are...
View ArticleWhat changes when you warm the Antarctic Ocean just 1 degree? Lots
After warming a natural seabed in the Antarctic Ocean by just 1° or 2° Celsius, researchers observed massive impacts on a marine assemblage, as growth rates nearly doubled. The findings of what the...
View ArticlePowerful micro diaphragm pump for mini-sensors
Particulate matter harms the heart and lungs. In the future, a smartphone with an inbuilt gas sensor could be used to warn of heavy exposure. To help the sensor respond quickly and provide accurate...
View ArticleBreakthrough in direct activation of CO2 and CH4 into liquid fuels and chemicals
Researchers from the University of Liverpool have made a significant breakthrough in the direct conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) into liquid fuels and chemicals which could help...
View ArticleResearchers show materials strengthen on their own when impacted at very high...
Army and MIT researchers advanced a unique experimental device to better test the durability of high performance and robust polymeric materials that appear to strengthen themselves under attack by...
View ArticleConcentrated CO2 enables growth spurt in algae
A new technology captures CO2 from ambient air efficiently and inexpensively. Researchers at the University of Twente used the CO2 captured to cultivate algae, but the technology can also be used in a...
View ArticleFish and ships: Vessel traffic reduces communication ranges for Atlantic cod,...
NOAA scientists studying sounds made by Atlantic cod and haddock at spawning sites in the Gulf of Maine have found that vessel traffic noise is reducing the distance over which these animals can...
View ArticleStudy finds that hackers could guess your phone PIN using its sensor data
Instruments in smart phones such as the accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensors represent a potential security vulnerability, according to researchers from Nanyang Technological University,...
View ArticleA material that superconducts continuously up to extreme pressures
Researchers have discovered a metal alloy that can conduct electricity with zero resistance, or superconduct, from ambient pressure up to pressures similar to those that exist near the center of the...
View Article
