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Categories: Energy: Technology, Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published A method that paves the way for improved fuel cell vehicles



More efficient and longer-lasting fuel cells are essential for fuel cell-powered heavy-duty hydrogen vehicles to be an alternative to combustion fuelled counterparts. Researchers have developed an innovative method to study and understand how parts of fuel cells degrade over time. This is an important step towards the improved performance of fuel cells and them becoming commercially successful.
Published Nighttime light data shows inequities in restoring power after Hurricane Michael



Using nighttime lightdata from NASA, remote sensing, official outage records and census information, a study reveals notable differences in power-restoration rates between urbanized and rural areas and between disadvantaged and more affluent communities after Hurricane Michael in Florida's Panhandle. Block groups with higher proportions of minorities, multi-family housing units, rural locations, and households receiving public assistance experienced slower restoration of power compared to urban and more affluent neighborhoods.
Published Climate change raised the odds of unprecedented wildfires in 2023-24



Unprecedented wildfires in Canada and parts of Amazonia last year were at least three times more likely due to climate change and contributed to high levels of CO2 emissions from burning globally, according to the a new systematic review. The State of Wildfires report takes stock of extreme wildfires of the 2023-2024 fire season (March 2023-February 2024), explains their causes, and assesses whether events could have been predicted. It also evaluates how the risk of similar events will change in future under different climate change scenarios.
Published Halogen bonding for selective electrochemical separation, path to sustainable chemical processing demonstrated



A team has reported the first demonstration of selective electrochemical separation driven by halogen bonding. This was achieved by engineering a polymer that modulates the charge density on a halogen atom when electricity is applied. The polymer then attracts only certain targets -- such as halides, oxyanions, and even organic molecules -- from organic solutions, a feature that has important implications for pharmaceuticals and chemical synthesis processes.
Published Study reveals urban trees suffer more from heat waves and drought than their rural counterparts



A recent study details how trees in New York City and Boston are more negatively impacted by heat waves and drought than trees of the same species in nearby rural forests. The finding highlights the challenges urban trees face in the context of climate change and underscores the importance of tailored urban forestry management as a tool for protecting tree species and reducing urban heat islands.
Published New study unveils 16,000 years of climate history in the tropical Andes



Researchers highlight the roles of carbon dioxide and ocean currents as key drivers of temperature fluctuations in the tropical Andes over a 16,000 year period.
Published Engineers bring efficient optical neural networks into focus



Researchers have published a programmable framework that overcomes a key computational bottleneck of optics-based artificial intelligence systems. In a series of image classification experiments, they used scattered light from a low-power laser to perform accurate, scalable computations using a fraction of the energy of electronics.
Published Increasing solid-state electrolyte conductivity and stability using helical structure



Solid-state electrolytes have been explored for decades for use in energy storage systems and in the pursuit of solid-state batteries. These materials are safer alternatives to the traditional liquid electrolyte -- a solution that allows ions to move within the cell -- used in batteries today. However, new concepts are needed to push the performance of current solid polymer electrolytes to be viable for next generation materials.
Published Electric bandage holds promise for treating chronic wounds



Researchers have developed an inexpensive bandage that uses an electric field to promote healing in chronic wounds. In animal testing, wounds that were treated with these electric bandages healed 30% faster than wounds treated with conventional bandages.
Published Turning unused signals such as Wi-Fi into energy for electronics



We are constantly surrounded by electromagnetic waves such as Wi-Fi. Researchers tested a device to convert this ambient energy into energy for electronic devices.
Published World's highest-performance superconducting wire segment



Researchers report that they have fabricated the world's highest-performing high-temperature superconducting wire segment while making the price-performance metric significantly more favorable.
Published New report on Great Barrier Reef shows coral cover increases before onset of serious bleaching, cyclones



Coral cover has increased in all three regions on the Great Barrier Reef and is at regional highs in two of the three regions, according to a new report. But the results come with a note of caution.
Published Stacking molecules like plates improves organic solar device performance



Researchers found that how well light-converting molecules stack together in a solid is important for how well they convert light into electric current. A rigid molecule that stacked well showed excellent electricity generation in an organic solar cell and photocatalyst, easily outperforming a similar flexible molecule that did not stack well. This new way of improving the design of molecules could be used to pioneer the next generation of light-converting devices.
Published Novel ultrafast electron microscopy technique advances understanding of processes applicable to brain-like computing



A team developed a new microscopy technique that uses electrical pulses to track the nanosecond dynamics within a material that is known to form charge density waves. Controlling these waves may lead to faster and more energy-efficient electronics.
Published Revolutionary loop heat pipe transports 10 kW of waste heat -- No electricity required



Researchers have unveiled a new loop heat pipe capable of transporting up to 10 kW of heat without using electric power. The loop heat pipe's design aims to contribute to energy savings and carbon neutrality in various fields, including waste heat recovery, solar heat utilization, electric vehicle thermal management, and data center cooling.
Published Combined effects of plastic pollution and seawater flooding amplify threats to coastal plant species



A new study highlights how a combination of environmental stressors -- namely plastic pollution and seawater flooding -- can increase the threats faced by plants in some of the planet's critical ecosystems. It showed that both stressors had some effects on the species tested, but being exposed to both microplastics and flooding together -- a threat likely to increase as a result of climate change and plastic use -- had a more pronounced impact on their resource allocation.
Published Solving the doping problem: Enhancing performance in organic semiconductors



Physicists have discovered two new ways to improve organic semiconductors. They found a way to remove more electrons from the material than previously possible and used unexpected properties in an environment known as the non-equilibrium state, boosting its performance for use in electronic devices.
Published Retreat of tropical glaciers foreshadows changing climate's effect on the global ice



As they are in many places around the globe, glaciers perched high in the Andes Mountains are shrinking. Now, researchers have uncovered evidence that the high-altitude tropical ice fields are likely smaller than they've been at any time since the last ice age ended 11,700 years ago.
Published 'Smarter' semiconductor technology for training 'smarter' artificial intelligence



A research team has recently demonstrated that analog hardware using ECRAM devices can maximize the computational performance of artificial intelligence, showcasing its potential for commercialization.
Published Pursuing the middle path to scientific discovery



Scientists have made significant strides in understanding the properties of a ferroelectric material under an electric field. This breakthrough holds potential for advances in computer memory, lasers and sensors for ultraprecise measurements.