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Categories: Chemistry: General, Offbeat: Space

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As the world warms and ice sheets melt, the ocean continually rises. The greater Boston area can expect to see between one and six feet of sea level rise by 2100, according to recent estimates. To find out what this rise might mean for freshwater supplies, a team of hydrogeologists developed an innovative new model that can not only predict saltwater intrusion over the next 75 years, but also pinpoint the main sources of salt contamination today -- road salt and human development.

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A team of researchers has unveiled a first-of-its-kind stable and fully solid-state thermal transistor that uses an electric field to control a semiconductor device's heat movement.  The group's study details how the device works and its potential applications. With top speed and performance, the transistor could open new frontiers in heat management of computer chips through an atomic-level design and molecular engineering. The advance could also further the understanding of how heat is regulated in the human body.

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New observations down to light-year scale of the gas flows around a supermassive black hole have successfully detected dense gas inflows and shown that only a small portion (about 3 percent) of the gas flowing towards the black hole is eaten by the black hole. The remainder is ejected and recycled back into the host galaxy.

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An innovative plastic, stronger and stretchier than the current standard type and which can be healed with heat, remembers its shape and partially biodegradable, has been developed. They created it by adding the molecule polyrotaxane to an epoxy resin vitrimer, a type of plastic. Named VPR, the material can hold its form and has strong internal chemical bonds at low temperatures.

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In the realm of electric vehicles, powered by stored electric energy, the key lies in rechargeable batteries capable of enduring multiple charge cycles. Lithium-ion batteries have been the poster child for this application. However, due to limitations in energy storage capacity and other associated challenges, the focus has shifted to an intriguing alternative known as dual-ion batteries (DIBs).

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Compact genetic testing device could be used to detect a range of pathogens, or conditions including cancer.

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Biodegradable waste from plant and animal sources released into freshwater ecosystems is a significant environmental concern. Nonetheless, current methods for assessing water quality seem more or less impractical due to their complexity and high costs. In a promising development, a team of researchers has successfully constructed a self-sustaining and buoyant biosensor using inexpensive carbon-based materials for monitoring water quality at the inlets of freshwater lakes and rivers.

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When massive stars or other stellar objects explode in the Earth's cosmic neighborhood, ejected debris can also reach our solar system. Traces of such events are found on Earth or the Moon and can be detected using accelerator mass spectrometry, or AMS for short.

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Chemists offer two new methods to develop a way to easily replace a carbon atom with a nitrogen atom in a molecule.  The findings could make it easier to develop new drugs.

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The remnants of an ancient planet that collided with Earth to form the Moon lie deep within the earth, according to a new model.

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Formic acid, which can be produced electrochemically from carbon dioxide, is a promising energy carrier. A research team has now developed a fast-charging hybrid battery system that combines the electrochemical generation of formic acid as an energy carrier with a microbial fuel cell. This novel, fast-charging biohybrid battery system can be used to monitor the toxicity of drinking water, just one of many potential future applications.

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A new paper revealed that human activities are making Earth's air, soil and freshwater saltier, which could pose an 'existential threat' if current trends continue. Geologic and hydrologic processes bring salts to Earth's surface over time, but human activities such as mining and land development are rapidly accelerating this natural 'salt cycle.'

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A joint research team has developed a dual metalens that can switch between shooting modes based on light conditions.

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Micron-size microplastic debris can be carried by the jet stream across oceans and continents, and their shape plays a crucial role in how far they travel.

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Researchers have developed a device that can detect the presence of specific molecules in a sample every 20 nanoseconds, or billionths of a second. With this new capability, researchers can potentially use frequency combs to better understand the split-second intermediate steps in fast-moving processes ranging from the workings of hypersonic jet engines to the chemical reactions between enzymes that regulate cell growth.

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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has gazed at the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Since the recording of this energetic event in 1054 CE by 11th-century astronomers, the Crab Nebula has continued to draw attention and additional study as scientists seek to understand the conditions, behavior, and after-effects of supernovae through thorough study of the Crab, a relatively nearby example.

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Researchers developed an efficient process that can convert carbon dioxide into formate, a nonflammable liquid or solid material that can be used like hydrogen or methanol to power a fuel cell and generate electricity.

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Research into how 3D printing works in a weightless environment aims to support long-term exploration and habitation on spaceships, the moon or Mars.

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To quickly and accurately characterize prospective materials for use in solar energy, researchers built an automated system to perform laboratory experiments and used machine learning to help analyze the data they recorded. Their goal is to identify semiconductor materials for use in photovoltaic solar energy, which are highly efficient and have low toxicity.

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The search is on for better semiconductors. A team of chemists describes the fastest and most efficient semiconductor yet: a superatomic material called Re6Se8Cl2.