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

Plant-inspired polymers for water purification      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have synthesized a bio-inspired polymer for water purification. The polymer was designed to mimic phytochelatin, a plant protein that selectively captures and neutralizes harmful heavy metal ions. The hyperconfinement of the polymer enabled a flow-through system and effectively removed cadmium ions from contaminated water, making it safe to drink. The system was selective for heavy metals and provides a new way to remove specific contaminants from water.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

New additive process can make better -- and greener -- high-value chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have achieved a significant breakthrough that could lead to better -- and greener -- agricultural chemicals and everyday products. Using a process that combines natural enzymes and light, the team developed an eco-friendly way to precisely mix fluorine, an important additive, into chemicals called olefins -- hydrocarbons used in a vast array of products, from detergents to fuels to medicines. This groundbreaking method offers an efficient new strategy for creating high-value chemicals with potential applications in agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, renewable fuels, and more.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Energy: Fossil Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Win-win potential of grass-powered energy production      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers modeled the impact of using anaerobic digestion to produce renewable natural gas from grassy biomass in different settings and from varying perspectives, analysis that helps flesh out the system's potential.

Biology: Biochemistry Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Energy: Alternative Fuels Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

New understanding of fly behavior has potential application in robotics, public safety      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have identified an automatic behavior in flies that helps them assess wind conditions -- its presence and direction -- before deploying a strategy to follow a scent to its source. The fact that they can do this is surprising -- can you tell if there's a gentle breeze if you stick your head out of a moving car? Flies aren't just reacting to an odor with a preprogrammed response: they are responding in context-appropriate manner. This knowledge potentially could be applied to train more sophisticated algorithms for scent-detecting drones to find the source of chemical leaks.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Nuclear Energy: Technology Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

Fresh light on the path to net zero      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have used magnetic fields to reveal the mystery of how light particles split. Scientists are closer to giving the next generation of solar cells a powerful boost by integrating a process that could make the technology more efficient by breaking particles of light photons into small chunks.

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

Pioneering measurement of the acidity of ionic liquids using Raman spectroscopy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study has made it possible to estimate experimentally the energy required to transfer protons from water to ionic liquids.

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

'Miracle' filter turns store-bought LEDs into spintronic devices      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists transformed existing optoelectronic devices into ones that can control electron spin at room temperature, without a ferromagnet or magnetic field. Researchers replaced the electrodes of store-bought LEDs with a patented spin filter made from hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: General
Published

How molecular interactions make it possible to overcome the energy barrier      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Non-reciprocal interactions allow the design of more efficient molecular systems. Scientists now propose a mechanism on how energy barriers in complex systems can be overcome. These findings can help to engineer molecular machines and to understand the self-organization of active matter.

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

Quantum sensor for the atomic world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a scientific breakthrough, an international research team has developed a quantum sensor capable of detecting minute magnetic fields at the atomic length scale. This pioneering work realizes a long-held dream of scientists: an MRI-like tool for quantum materials.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Nonreciprocal interactions go nonlinear      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using two optically trapped glass nanoparticles, researchers observed a novel collective Non-Hermitian and nonlinear dynamic driven by nonreciprocal interactions. This contribution expands traditional optical levitation with tweezer arrays by incorporating the so called non-conservative interactions.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Researchers explore the interplay between high-affinity DNA and carbon nanotubes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) hold promise for biomedicine and nanoelectronics, yet the functionalization with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) remains a challenge. Researchers using high-affinity ssDNA sequences identified through high-throughput selection. They demonstrated the effectivity and stability of these constructs using molecular dynamics simulations. Machine-learning models were used to accurately predict patterns that govern ssDNA-SWCNT binding affinity. These findings provide valuable insights into the interactions between ssDNA and SWCNTs.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

A recipe for zero-emissions fuel: Soda cans, seawater, and caffeine      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers discovered that when the aluminum in soda cans is purified and mixed with seawater, the solution produces hydrogen -- which can power an engine or fuel cell without generating carbon emissions. The reaction can be sped up by adding caffeine.

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

Tackling industrial emissions begins at the chemical reaction      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are proposing a new way to curb industrial emissions, by tapping into the 'atomic intelligence' of liquid metals to deliver greener and more sustainable chemical reactions.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published

Researchers discover faster, more energy-efficient way to manufacture an industrially important chemical      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The reactivity of zirconium on silicon nitride enhances the conversion of propane into propylene, a key commodity chemical needed to make polypropylene. This finding hints at the reactivity researchers might achieve with other nontraditional catalysts.

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

Researchers develop innovative battery recycling method      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team is tackling the environmental issue of efficiently recycling lithium ion batteries amid their increasing use.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

It's got praying mantis eyes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The praying mantis is one of the few insects with compound eyes and the ability to perceive 3D space. Engineers are replicating their visual systems to make machines see better.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
Published

Nanoscale device simultaneously steers and shifts frequency of optical light, pointing the way to future wireless communication channels      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A tunable metasurface can control optical light in space and time, offering a path toward new ways of wirelessly and securely transmitting large amounts of data both on Earth and in space.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Traffic-related ultrafine particles hinder mitochondrial functions in olfactory mucosa      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ultrafine particles, UFPs, the smallest contributors to air pollution, hinder the function of mitochondria in human olfactory mucosa cells, a new study shows. The study showed that traffic-related UFPs impair mitochondrial functions in primary human olfactory mucosa cells by hampering oxidative phosphorylation and redox balance.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Nuclear Offbeat: General Physics: General
Published

A new way to make element 116 opens the door to heavier atoms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have successfully made super-heavy element 116 using a beam of titanium-50. That milestone sets the team up to attempt making the heaviest element yet: 120.