Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Data-driven music: Converting climate measurements into music      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

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

From defects to order: Spontaneously emerging crystal arrangements in perovskite halides      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new hybrid layered perovskite featuring elusive spontaneous defect ordering has been found, report scientists. By introducing specific concentrations of thiocyanate ions into FAPbI3 (FA = formamidinium), they observed that ordered columnar defects appeared in the stacked crystalline layers, taking up one-third of the lattice space. These findings could pave the way to an innovative strategy for adjusting the properties of hybrid perovskites, leading to practical advances in optoelectronics and energy generation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry
Published

E-tongue can detect white wine spoilage before humans can      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While the electronic tongue bears little physical resemblance to its namesake, the strand-like sensory probes of the 'e-tongue' still outperformed human senses when detecting contaminated wine in a recent study. In a recent experiment, the e-tongue identified signs of microorganisms in white wine within a week after contamination -- four weeks before a human panel noticed the change in aroma. This was also before those microbes could be grown from the wine in a petri-dish. Winemakers traditionally rely on these two methods, sniffing the wine and petri-dish testing, to identify potential wine 'faults' or spoilage.

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

Two-dimensional nanomaterial sets record for expert-defying, counter-intuitive expansion      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a record-setting nanomaterial which when stretched in one direction, expands perpendicular to the applied force.

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

'Nanostitches' enable lighter and tougher composite materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In an approach they call 'nanostitching,' engineers used carbon nanotubes to prevent cracking in multilayered composites. The advance could lead to next-generation airplanes and spacecraft.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Chemistry: Biochemistry Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

New tagging method provides bioadhesive interface for marine sensors on diverse, soft, and fragile species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tagging marine animals with sensors to track their movements and ocean conditions can provide important environmental and behavioral information. Existing techniques to attach sensors currently largely rely on invasive physical anchors, suction cups, and rigid glues. While these techniques can be effective for tracking marine animals with hard exoskeletons and large animals such as sharks, individuals can incur physiological and metabolic stress during the tagging process, which can affect the quality of data collection. A newly developed soft hydrogel-based bioadhesive interface for marine sensors, referred to as BIMS, holds promise as an effective, rapid, robust, and non-invasive method to tag and track all sorts of marine species, including soft and fragile species. The BIMS tagging, which is also simple and versatile, can help researchers better understand animal behavior while also capturing oceanographic data critical for helping to better understand some impacts of climate change and for resource management.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Cooler transformers could help electric grid      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

Chemistry: Biochemistry
Published

Physicists explain--and eliminate--unknown force dragging against water droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers adapt a novel force measurement technique to uncover the previously unidentified physics at play at the thin air-film gap between water droplets and superhydrophobic surfaces.

Chemistry: Biochemistry
Published

Next-generation treatments hitch a ride into cancer cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers found that a new activator called L687 induces cancer cells to accept delivery of antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drugs. These drugs can treat cancer by blocking the transfer of messages from genes that encourage cancer growth. Previous methods to deliver ASOs into cells had only limited success. This research will help accelerate the development and delivery of novel ASO cancer therapies.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: General
Published

Millions of gamers advance biomedical research      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

4.5 million gamers around the world have advanced medical science by helping to reconstruct microbial evolutionary histories using a minigame included inside the critically and commercially successful video game, Borderlands 3. Their playing has led to a significantly refined estimate of the relationships of microbes in the human gut. The results of this collaboration will both substantially advance our knowledge of the microbiome and improve on the AI programs that will be used to carry out this work in future.

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

Researchers study effects of solvation and ion valency on metallopolymers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers analyzed the effects of solvation and ion valency on metallopolymers, with implications for critical materials recovery and recycling, and environmental remediation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Innovative antiviral defense with new CRISPR tool      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The rise of RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2 highlights the need for new ways to fight them. RNA-targeting tools like CRISPR/Cas13 are powerful but inefficient in the cytoplasm of cells, where many RNA viruses replicate. Scientists have devised a solution: Cas13d-NCS. This new molecular tool allows CRISPR RNA molecules that are located within the nucleus of a cell to move to the cytoplasm, making it highly effective at neutralizing RNA viruses. This advancement opens doors for precision medicine and proactive viral defense strategies.

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

A new spin on organic shampoo makes it sudsier, longer lasting      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While there's no regulation in the U.S. for what's in organic shampoos, they tend to contain ingredients perceived as safe or environmentally friendly. However, these 'clean' shampoos separate and spoil faster than those made with synthetic stabilizers and preservatives. Now, researchers demonstrate that a simple process -- spinning organic shampoo at high speeds -- improved the final products' shelf lives and ability to clean hair.

Chemistry: Biochemistry
Published

New AI method captures uncertainty in medical images      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tyche is a machine-learning framework that can generate plausible answers when asked to identify potential disease in medical images. By capturing the ambiguity in images, the technique could prevent clinicians from missing crucial information that could inform diagnoses.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Cloud engineering could be more effective 'painkiller' for global warming than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Cloud 'engineering' could be more effective for climate cooling than previously thought, because of the increased cloud cover produced, new research shows.

Chemistry: Biochemistry
Published

Synthetic platelets stanch bleeding, promote healing in animal models      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed synthetic platelets that can be used to stop bleeding and enhance healing at the site of an injury. The researchers have demonstrated that the synthetic platelets work well in animal models but have not yet begun clinical trials in humans.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry
Published

A new coating method in mRNA engineering points the way to advanced therapies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a novel method of adding polyethylene glycol molecules to engineered groups of messenger RNAs called 'mRNA polyplexes', which enable the cells that receive them to produce specific proteins. This technique allows greater control of the site in the body to which the polyplexes are delivered, significantly advancing the field of therapeutic mRNA technologies, with applications in vaccine development and the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

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

New strategy for assessing the applicability of reactions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists show that a machine-based method prevents widespread 'bias' in chemical publications.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Offbeat: General
Published

Revolutionary molecular device unleashes potential for targeted drug delivery and self-healing materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new breakthrough that could revolutionise medical and material engineering, scientists have developed a first-of-its-kind molecular device that controls the release of multiple small molecules using force.