Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Team designs four-legged robotic system that can walk a balance beam      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have designed a system that makes an off-the-shelf quadruped robot nimble enough to walk a narrow balance beam -- a feat that is likely the first of its kind.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

Researchers successfully establish a strong mechanical bond of immiscible iron and magnesium      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Transport relies heavily on steel. But steel is heavy, and scientists are turning to alternatives to lessen the transportation industry's carbon emissions. Magnesium alloys are one such alternative. But developing bonding technology that bonds magnesium alloys with structural steels has been severely limited because magnesium and iron are immiscible. Now, a research group has established a dealloying bonding technology that obtains a strong mechanical bond between iron and magnesium.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Gentle method allows for eco-friendly recycling of solar cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By using a new method, precious metals can be efficiently recovered from thin-film solar cells. The method is also more environmentally friendly than previous methods of recycling and paves the way for more flexible and highly efficient solar cells.

Biology: General Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Chemists redesign biological PHAs, 'dream' biodegradable plastics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

They've been called 'dream' plastics: polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHAs. Already the basis of a fledgling industry, they're a class of polymers naturally created by living microorganisms, or synthetically produced from biorenewable feedstocks. They're biodegradable in the ambient environment, including oceans and soil.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Luminous molecules      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Twisted molecules play an important role in the development of organic light-emitting diodes. A team of chemists has managed to create these compounds with exactly the three-dimensional structure that they wanted. In so doing, they are smoothing the path for new and better light sources.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Your fork could someday be made of sugar, wood powders and degrade on-demand      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Single-use hard plastics are all around us: utensils, party decorations and food containers, to name a few examples. These items pile up in landfills, and many biodegradable versions stick around for months, requiring industrial composting systems to fully degrade. Now, researchers have created a sturdy, lightweight material that disintegrates on-demand -- and they made it from sugar and wood-derived powders.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

It's all in the wrist: Energy-efficient robot hand learns how not to drop the ball      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have designed a low-cost, energy-efficient robotic hand that can grasp a range of objects -- and not drop them -- using just the movement of its wrist and the feeling in its 'skin'.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Ecology: Sea Life Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
Published

Pollution monitoring through precise detection of gold nanoparticles in woodlice      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers introduce a novel imaging method to detect gold nanoparticles in woodlice. Their method, known as four-wave mixing microscopy, flashes light that the gold nanoparticles absorb. The light flashes again and the subsequent scattering reveals the nanoparticles' locations. With information about the quantity, location, and impact of gold nanoparticles within the organism, scientists can better understand the potential harm other metals may have on nature.

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

Scientists use peroxide to peer into metal oxide reactions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers to get a better look at how peroxides on the surface of copper oxide promote the oxidation of hydrogen but inhibit the oxidation of carbon monoxide, allowing them to steer oxidation reactions.

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

Toward tunable molecular switches from organic compounds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Newly synthesized organic molecules can be tuned to emit different colors depending on their molecular structures in crystal form.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Mathematics: Modeling Physics: General
Published

New atomic-scale understanding of catalysis could unlock massive energy savings      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In an advance they consider a breakthrough in computational chemistry research, chemical engineers have developed a model of how catalytic reactions work at the atomic scale. This understanding could allow engineers and chemists to develop more efficient catalysts and tune industrial processes -- potentially with enormous energy savings, given that 90% of the products we encounter in our lives are produced, at least partially, via catalysis.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Long-forgotten equation provides new tool for converting carbon dioxide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To manage atmospheric carbon dioxide and convert the gas into a useful product, scientists have dusted off an archaic -- now 120 years old -- electrochemical equation.

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

Two-dimensional nanoparticles with great potential      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has discovered how catalysts and many other nanoplatelets can be produced in an environmentally friendly way from readily available materials and in sufficient quantities.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Optics
Published

Technology advance paves way to more realistic 3D holograms for virtual reality and more      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new way to create dynamic ultrahigh-density 3D holographic projections. They now describe their new approach, called three-dimensional scattering-assisted dynamic holography (3D-SDH). They show that it can achieve a depth resolution more than three orders of magnitude greater than state-of-the-art methods for multiplane holographic projection.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Engineering: Graphene Physics: General
Published

Discovery of ferroelectricity in an elementary substance      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered a new single-element ferroelectric material that alters the current understanding of conventional ferroelectric materials and has future applications in data storage devices.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

A new type of photonic time crystal gives light a boost      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a way to create photonic time crystals and shown that these bizarre, artificial materials amplify the light that shines on them. These findings could lead to more efficient and robust wireless communications and significantly improved lasers.

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

Opening a new frontier: PdMo intermetallic catalyst for promoting CO2 utilization      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recently discovered catalyst, can convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into useful methanol at room temperature and low-pressure conditions. This novel compound, which is thermally and chemically stable in air, represents a new milestone in CO2 conversion via hydrogenation and could be key to slow down climate change.

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

Scientists use computational modeling to design 'ultrastable' materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers developed a computational approach to predict which metal-organic framework (MOF) structures will be the most stable, and therefore the best candidates for applications such as capturing greenhouse gases.