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Published

New simulation reveals secrets of exotic form of electrons called polarons      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Conditions mapped for the first time of polaron characteristics in 2D materials. TACC's Frontera supercomputer generated quantum mechanical calculations on hexagonal boron nitride system of 30,000 atoms.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Synthesis gas and battery power from sunlight energy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Plants use photosynthesis to harvest energy from sunlight. Now researchers have applied this principle as the basis for developing new sustainable processes which in the future may produce syngas (synthetic gas) for the large-scale chemical industry and be able to charge batteries.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Visualization of electron dynamics on liquid helium      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international team has discovered how electrons can slither rapidly to-and-fro across a quantum surface when driven by external forces. The research has enabled the visualization of the motion of electrons on liquid helium.

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

'Y-ball' compound yields quantum secrets      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists investigating a compound called 'Y-ball' -- which belongs to a mysterious class of 'strange metals' viewed as centrally important to next-generation quantum materials -- have found new ways to probe and understand its behavior.

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

Batteries: Passivation layer mystery solved      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In our daily lives, lithium-ion batteries have become indispensable. They function only because of a passivation layer that forms during their initial cycle. As researchers found out via simulations, this solid electrolyte interphase develops not directly at the electrode but aggregates in the solution. Their findings allow the optimization of the performance and lifetime of future batteries.

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

Surprise in the quantum world: Disorder leads to ferromagnetic topological insulator      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Magnetic topological insulators are an exotic class of materials that conduct electrons without any resistance at all and so are regarded as a promising breakthrough in materials science. Researchers have achieved a significant milestone in the pursuit of energy-efficient quantum technologies by designing the ferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi6Te10 from the manganese bismuth telluride family. The amazing thing about this quantum material is that its ferromagnetic properties only occur when some atoms swap places, introducing antisite disorder.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

'Inkable' nanomaterial promises big benefits for bendable electronics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international team of scientists is developing an inkable nanomaterial that they say could one day become a spray-on electronic component for ultra-thin, lightweight and bendable displays and devices.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology
Published

High-energy-density, long life-cycle rechargeable lithium metal batteries      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Research shows promise for developing high-energy-density rechargeable lithium-metal batteries and addressing the electrochemical oxidation instability of ether-based electrolytes.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

First detection of neutrinos made at a particle collider      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team including physicists has for the first time detected subatomic particles called neutrinos created by a particle collider, namely at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The discovery promises to deepen scientists' understanding of the nature of neutrinos, which are among the most abundant particles in the universe and key to the solution of the question why there is more matter than antimatter.

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Published

Genome research: Origin and evolution of vine      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Cultivation and growth of grapevines have strongly influenced European civilizations, but where the grapevine comes from and how it has spread across the globe has been highly disputed so far. In an extensive genome project, researchers have determined its origin and evolution from the wild vine to today's cultivar by analyzing thousands of vine genomes collected along the Silk Road from China to Western Europe.

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

Can synthetic polymers replace the body's natural proteins?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists developing new biomaterials often try to mimic the body's natural proteins, but a chemist shows that simpler polymers -- based on a handful of plastic building blocks -- also work well. Using AI, her team was able to design polymer mixtures that replicate simple protein functions within biological fluids. The random heteropolymers dissolve and stabilize proteins and can support cells' normal protein-making machinery. The technique could speed the design of materials for biomedical applications.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene
Published

Another crystalline layer on crystal surface as a precursor of crystal-to-crystal transition      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Ice surfaces have a thin layer of water below its melting temperature of 0 degrees Celsius. Such premelting phenomenon is important for skating and snowflake growth. Similarly, liquid often crystallizes into a thin layer of crystal on a flat substrate before reaching its freezing temperature, i.e. prefreezing. The thickness of the surface layer usually increases and diverges as approaching the phase transition (such as melting and freezing) temperature. Besides premelting and prefreezing, whether similar surface phenomenon exists as a precursor of a phase transition has rarely been explored. Scientists now propose that a polymorphic crystalline layer may form on a crystal surface before the crystal-crystal phase transition and names it pre-solid-solid transition.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene
Published

Nano cut-and-sew: New method for chemically tailoring layered nanomaterials could open pathways to designing 2D materials on demand      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new process that lets scientists chemically cut apart and stitch together nanoscopic layers of two-dimensional materials -- like a tailor altering a suit -- could be just the tool for designing the technology of a sustainable energy future. Researchers have developed a method for structurally splitting, editing and reconstituting layered materials, called MAX phases and MXenes, with the potential of producing new materials with very unusual compositions and exceptional properties.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Displays with more brilliant colors through a fundamental physical concept      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research has shown that a strong coupling of light and material increases the colour brilliance of OLED displays. This increase is independent of the viewing angle and does not affect energy efficiency.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New approach to harvesting aerial humidity with organic crystals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have reported a novel method of harvesting water from naturally occurring sources such as fog and dew.

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Published

Cyprus's copper deposits created one of the most important trade hubs in the Bronze Age      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The coveted metal copper and a sheltered location turned the Cypriot village of Hala Sultan Tekke into one of the most important trade hubs of the Late Bronze Age. Recent excavations confirm the importance of the Bronze Age city in the first period of international trade in the Mediterranean.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Mathematics: Modeling Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Modelling superfast processes in organic solar cell material      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In organic solar cells, carbon-based polymers convert light into charges that are passed to an acceptor. Scientists have now calculated how this happens by combining molecular dynamics simulations with quantum calculations and have provided theoretical insights to interpret experimental data.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Indigenous Ashaninka DNA helps geneticists write new chapters of pre-colonial history in South America      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Geneticists have written new chapters in the reconstruction of pre-colonial Americas history after using DNA from the indigenous Ashaninka people from Amazonian Peru. They have discovered previously unexpected levels of genetic variation in this group and uncovered a strong hint that these people were involved in a South-to-North migration that led to the transition from an archaic to ceramic culture in the Caribbean islands.