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Categories: Energy: Technology, Offbeat: Earth and Climate

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When we think of evolution, we think of a process that happens over hundreds or thousands of years. In research recently published, a species of frog that has evolved over the course of merely 25 years. The adaptation was spurred on by something many assume is innocuous: salt.

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Researchers deploy an array of microscopic coils to create a magnetic field and stimulate individual neurons. The magnetic field can induce an electric field in any nearby neurons, the same effect created by an electrode but much more precise. They used an array of eight coils, which combined can induce electric fields using much less current per coil, and employed soft magnetic materials, which boost the magnetic strength of the coils. The researchers constructed a prototype of their coil array, called MagPatch, and encapsulated it within a biocompatible coating.

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Using light pulses as a model for electrical defibrillation, scientists developed a method to assess and modulate the heart function. The research team has thus paved the way for an efficient and direct treatment for cardiac arrhythmias. This may be an alternative for the strong and painful electrical shocks currently used.

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Researchers have discovered a unique property, the quantum metric, within magnetic materials, altering the 'electron universe' geometry. This distinct electric signal challenges traditional electrical conduction and could revolutionize spintronic devices.

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What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by another vulnerable species, a carnivore called a fosa.

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A new DC-DC power converter is superior to previous designs and paves the way for more efficient, reliable and sustainable energy storage and conversion solutions. The development can efficiently interface with a wide range of energy sources while enhancing system stability and simplicity at an unprecedented efficiency.

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Researchers have found differences between experienced Ordnance Survey (OS) mapmakers and novices in the way that they interpret aerial images for mapmaking, which could lead to improved training processes for new recruits.

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The energy density of supercapacitors -- battery-like devices that can charge in seconds or a few minutes -- can be improved by increasing the 'messiness' of their internal structure. Researchers used experimental and computer modelling techniques to study the porous carbon electrodes used in supercapacitors. They found that electrodes with a more disordered chemical structure stored far more energy than electrodes with a highly ordered structure.

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Scientists have developed artificial heterostructures made of freestanding 2D and 3D membranes that have an energy density up to 19 times higher than commercially available capacitors.

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A geo-environmental scientist from Japan has composed a string quartet using sonified climate data. The 6-minute-long composition -- entitled 'String Quartet No. 1 'Polar Energy Budget'-- is based on over 30 years of satellite-collected climate data from the Arctic and Antarctic and aims to garner attention on how climate is driven by the input and output of energy at the poles.

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Wind power is a source of energy that is both affordable and renewable. However, decision-makers have been reluctant to invest in wind energy due to a perception that wind farms require a lot of land compared to electric power plants driven by fossil fuels. Research was based on the assessment of the land-use of close to 320 wind farms in the U.S. paints a very different picture.

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To make weeding easier, scientists suggest bioengineering crops to be colorful or to have differently shaped leaves so that they can be more easily distinguished from their wild and weedy counterparts. This could involve altering the crops' genomes so that they express pigments that are already produced by many plants, for example, anthocyanins, which make blueberries blue, or carotenoids, which make carrots orange. Then, they say, weeding robots could be trained to remove only the weeds using machine learning.

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Simulations on the Stampede2 supercomputer of the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) are helping scientists engineer solutions to overheating of grid transformers -- a critical component of the electric grid.

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For the first time, scientists have managed to create sheets of gold only a single atom layer thick. The material has been termed goldene. According to researchers, this has given the gold new properties that can make it suitable for use in applications such as carbon dioxide conversion, hydrogen production, and production of value-added chemicals.

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Manufacturing nations in the Global North are stockpiling energy and emission problems by outsourcing energy-intensive industrial processes to countries in the Global South.

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Researchers have developed a method that can improve the performance of quantum resistance standards. It's based on a quantum phenomenon called Quantum Anomalous Hall effect.

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The technology revolution and development of new renewable energy resources is driving demand for lithium to new heights, but it is not a common mineral. Scientists say they have found lithium in an unexpected place; fool's gold, or pyrite, deposits.

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A new detector system based on the game 'Tetris' could enable inexpensive, accurate radiation detectors for monitoring nuclear sites.

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Researchers show that ozone levels, such as those found in many places on hot summer days today, destroy the sex pheromones of fruit fly species. As a result, some natural mating boundaries maintained by species-specific pheromones no longer exist. The research team has shown in experiments that flies of different species mate when exposed to ozone and produce hybrid offspring. Since most of these offspring are unable to reproduce, the results could provide another explanation for the global decline of insects.

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Wirelessly connected devices perform an expanding array of applications, such as monitoring the condition of machinery and remote sensing in agricultural settings. These applications hold much potential for improving the efficiency, but how do you power these devices where reliable electrical sources are not available? Research points to a possible solution in the form of a novel type of battery.