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Published

Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using environmental DNA analysis, an international team of researchers identified a collection of plants used in ceremonial rituals in the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah in Mexico. The plants, known for their religious associations and medicinal properties, were discovered beneath a plaza floor where a ballcourt was built.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

More efficient molecular motor widens potential applications      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Light-driven molecular motors were first developed nearly 25 years ago. However, making these motors do actual work proved to be a challenge. In a new paper, scientists describe improvements that bring real-life applications closer.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Diamond dust shines bright in Magnetic Resonance Imaging      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An unexpected discovery surprised a scientist: nanometer-sized diamond particles, which were intended for a completely different purpose, shone brightly in a magnetic resonance imaging experiment -- much brighter than the actual contrast agent, the heavy metal gadolinium. Could diamond dust -- in addition to its use in drug delivery to treat tumor cells -- one day become a novel contrast agent used for MRI?

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

'Like a nanoscopic Moon lander': Scientists unlock secret of how pyramidal molecules move across surfaces      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have watched a molecule move across a graphite surface in unprecedented detail. It turns out this particular molecule moves like a Moon lander -- and the insights hold potential for future nanotechnologies.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

Freeze casting: A guide to creating hierarchically structured materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Freeze casting is an elegant, cost-effective manufacturing technique to produce highly porous materials with custom-designed hierarchical architectures, well-defined pore orientation, and multifunctional surface structures. Freeze-cast materials are suitable for many applications, from biomedicine to environmental engineering and energy technologies.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General
Published

Decoding Avar society      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A multidisciplinary research team has combined ancient DNA data with a clear archaeological, anthropological and historical context to reconstruct the social dynamics of Avar-period steppe descent populations that settled in Europe's Carpathian Basin in the 6th century.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

A chemical mystery solved -- the reaction explaining large carbon sinks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A mystery that has puzzled the scientific community for over 50 years has finally been solved. A team has discovered that a certain type of chemical reaction can explain why organic matter found in rivers and lakes is so resistant to degradation.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

Making diamonds at ambient pressure      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have grown diamonds under conditions of 1 atmosphere pressure and at 1025 degrees Celsius using a liquid metal alloy composed of gallium, iron, nickel, and silicon, thus breaking the existing paradigm. The discovery of this new growth method opens many possibilities for further basic science studies and for scaling up the growth of diamonds in new ways.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Lead-vacancy centers in diamond as building blocks for large-scale quantum networks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A lead-vacancy (PbV) center in diamond has been developed as a quantum emitter for large-scale quantum networks by researchers. This innovative color center exhibits a sharp zero-phonon-line and emits photons with specific frequencies. The PbV color center stands out among other diamond color centers due to its ability to maintain optical properties at relatively high temperatures of 16 K. This makes it well-suited for transferring quantum information in large-scale quantum networks.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Magnetic with a pinch of hydrogen      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Magnetic two-dimensional materials consisting of one or a few atomic layers have only recently become known and promise interesting applications, for example for the electronics of the future. So far, however, it has not been possible to control the magnetic states of these materials well enough. A research team is now presenting an innovative idea that could overcome this shortcoming -- by allowing the 2D layer to react with hydrogen.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Engineering: Graphene
Published

More economical and sustainable rechargeable batteries      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lithium salts make batteries powerful but expensive. An ultralow-concentration electrolyte based on the lithium salt LiDFOB may be a more economical and more sustainable alternative. Cells using these electrolytes and conventional electrodes have been demonstrated to have high performance. In addition, the electrolyte could facilitate both production and recycling of the batteries.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

New copper-catalyzed C-H activation strategy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Inspired by what human liver enzymes can do, chemists have developed a new set of copper-catalyzed organic synthesis reactions for building and modifying pharmaceuticals and other molecules. The new reactions are expected to be widely used in drug discovery and optimization, as well as in other chemistry-based industries.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General
Published

'Forgotten city:' the identification of Dura-Europos' neglected sister site in Syria      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Dura-Europos site in modern-day Syria is famous for its exceptional state of preservation. Like Pompeii, this ancient city has yielded many great discoveries, and serves as a window into the world of the ancient Hellenistic, Parthian, and Roman periods. Yet despite the prominence of Dura-Europos in Near Eastern scholarship, there is another city, only some miles down the Euphrates river, that presents a long-neglected opportunity for study.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene
Published

Development of organic semiconductors featuring ultrafast electrons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Collaboration has led to the successful observation of these ultrafast electrons within conducting two-dimensional polymers.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: General
Published

Accelerating the discovery of new materials via the ion-exchange method      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have unveiled a new means of predicting how to synthesize new materials via the ion-exchange. Based on computer simulations, the method significantly reduces the time and energy required to explore for inorganic materials.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing
Published

Energy scientists unravel the mystery of gold's glow      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

EPFL researchers have developed the first comprehensive model of the quantum-mechanical effects behind photoluminescence in thin gold films; a discovery that could drive the development of solar fuels and batteries.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils
Published

First evidence of human occupation in lava tube cave in Saudi Arabia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has highlighted an area in Arabia that once acted as a key point for cultural exchanges and trades amongst ancient people -- and it all took place in vast caves and lava tubes that have remained largely untapped reservoirs of archaeological abundance in Arabia. Through meticulous excavation and analysis, the international team uncovered a wealth of evidence at Umm Jirsan, spanning from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age periods (~10,000-3,500 years ago).

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

From defects to order: Spontaneously emerging crystal arrangements in perovskite halides      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new hybrid layered perovskite featuring elusive spontaneous defect ordering has been found, report scientists. By introducing specific concentrations of thiocyanate ions into FAPbI3 (FA = formamidinium), they observed that ordered columnar defects appeared in the stacked crystalline layers, taking up one-third of the lattice space. These findings could pave the way to an innovative strategy for adjusting the properties of hybrid perovskites, leading to practical advances in optoelectronics and energy generation.