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Categories: Chemistry: Biochemistry, Computer Science: General
Published Researchers clarify how soft materials fail under stress
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Understanding how soft materials fail under stress is critical for solving engineering challenges as disparate as pharmaceutical technology and landslide prevention. A new study linking a spectrum of soft material behaviors -- previously thought to be unrelated -- led researchers to identify a new parameter they call the brittility factor, which allows them to simplify soft material failure behavior. This will ultimately help engineers design better materials that meet future challenges.
Published Revolutionizing the abilities of adaptive radar with AI
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have shown that using a type of AI that revolutionized computer vision can greatly enhance modern adaptive radar systems. And in a move that parallels the impetus of the computer vision boom, they have released a large dataset of digital landscapes for others to build on their work.
Published Waste Styrofoam can now be converted into polymers for electronics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study describes a chemical reaction that can convert Styrofoam into a high-value conducting polymer known as PEDOT:PSS. Researchers also noted that the upgraded plastic waste can be successfully incorporated into functional electronic devices, including silicon-based hybrid solar cells and organic electrochemical transistors.
Published Shining light on amyloid architecture
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers use microscopy to chart amyloid beta's underlying structure and yield insight into neurodegenerative disease.
Published Chemists design novel method for generating sustainable fuel
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Chemists have been working to synthesize high-value materials from waste molecules for years.
Published Can consciousness exist in a computer simulation?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new essay explores which conditions must be met for consciousness to exist. At least one of them can't be found in a computer.
Published Converting wastewater to fertilizer with fungal treatment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Creating fertilizers from organic waste can help reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and promote sustainable production. One way of doing this is through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), which converts biomass into biocrude oil through a high-temperature, high-pressure process. Two studies explore the use of a fungal treatment to convert the leftover wastewater into fertilizer for agricultural crops.
Published How pollution may remain in water after oil spill cleanups
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The way oil drops break up at the water's surface means some oil may not get cleaned up after a spill.
Published Solar farms with stormwater controls mitigate runoff, erosion, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As the number of major utility-scale ground solar panel installations grows, concerns about their impacts on natural hydrologic processes also have grown. However, a new study by Penn State researchers suggests that excess runoff or increased erosion can be easily mitigated -- if these 'solar farms' are properly built.
Published Want privacy? You're just a stick figure to this camera
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new camera could prevent companies from collecting embarrassing and identifiable photos and videos from devices like smart home cameras and robotic vacuums. It's called PrivacyLens.
Published Does the type of workstation you use make a difference in your health and productivity?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Although devices such as standing desks have been found to alleviate physical symptoms and increase worker productivity, questions remain regarding the best use of the primary types of workstations -- stand-biased, sit-stand or traditional -- for increasing workers' physical activity and preventing health problems. To answer these questions, researchers measured the computer usage and activity levels of 61 office workers for 10 days to evaluate any discomfort and develop possible remedies.
Published Microbes found to destroy certain 'forever chemicals'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An environmental engineering team has discovered that specific bacterial species can cleave the strong fluorine-to-carbon bond certain kinds of 'forever chemical' water pollutants, offering promise for low-cost treatments of contaminated drinking water.
Published Ant insights lead to robot navigation breakthrough
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Have you ever wondered how insects are able to go so far beyond their home and still find their way? The answer to this question is not only relevant to biology but also to making the AI for tiny, autonomous robots. Drone-researchers felt inspired by biological findings on how ants visually recognize their environment and combine it with counting their steps in order to get safely back home. They have used these insights to create an insect-inspired autonomous navigation strategy for tiny, lightweight robots. It allows such robots to come back home after long trajectories, while requiring extremely little computation and memory (0.65 kiloByte per 100 m). In the future, tiny autonomous robots could find a wide range of uses, from monitoring stock in warehouses to finding gas leaks in industrial sites.
Published Soft, stretchy 'jelly batteries' inspired by electric eels
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed soft, stretchable 'jelly batteries' that could be used for wearable devices or soft robotics, or even implanted in the brain to deliver drugs or treat conditions such as epilepsy.
Published New technique pinpoints nanoscale 'hot spots' in electronics to improve their longevity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers engineered a new technique to identify at the nanoscale level what components are overheating in electronics and causing their performance to fail.
Published Designing safer opioids
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Opioid medications offer people relief from debilitating pain, but these drugs come with dangers: the risk for addiction, miserable withdrawal symptoms and the potential for fatal overdose. Researchers have now identified a strategy to design safer opioids. They showed that an experimental opioid, which binds to an unconventional spot in the receptor, suppresses pain in animal models with fewer side effects -- most notably those linked to fatal overdoses.
Published Smart soil can water and feed itself
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A newly engineered type of soil can capture water out of thin air to keep plants hydrated and manage controlled release of fertilizer for a constant supply of nutrients.
Published Paving the way to extremely fast, compact computer memory
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have demonstrated that the layered multiferroic material nickel iodide (NiI2) may be the best candidate yet for devices such as magnetic computer memory that are extremely fast and compact. Specifically, they found that NiI2 has greater magnetoelectric coupling than any known material of its kind.
Published Enzyme-powered 'snot bots' help deliver drugs in sticky situations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Snot might not be the first place you'd expect nanobots to be swimming around. But this slimy secretion exists in more places than just your nose and piles of dirty tissues -- it also lines and helps protect the lungs, stomach, intestines and eyes. And now, researchers have demonstrated in mice that their tiny, enzyme-powered 'snot bots' can push through the defensive, sticky layer and potentially deliver drugs more efficiently.
Published A new addition to the CRISPR toolbox: Teaching the gene scissors to detect RNA
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source CRISPR-Cas systems, defense systems in bacteria, have become a plentiful source of technologies for molecular diagnostics. Researchers have now expanded this extensive toolbox further. Their novel method, called PUMA, enables the detection of RNA with Cas12 nucleases, which naturally target DNA. PUMA promises a wide range of applications and high accuracy.