Science Daily June 9, 2020 A team of researchers in the US (University of Washington, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Maryland, Arizona State University) combined data with evidence from ancient sedimentary rocks to show a tipping point sometime after 2.5 billion years ago, when oxygen produced by microbes overcame its loss to volcanic gases and began to accumulate in the atmosphere during the Great Oxidation Event. The data demonstrates that an evolution of the mantle of the Earth could control an evolution of the atmosphere of the Earth, and possibly an evolution of life as multicellular life needs a […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of June 5, 2020
01. Lasers Write Data Into Glass 02. Carbon nanotube transistors make the leap from lab to factory floor 03. Configurable circuit technology poised to expand silicon photonic applications 04. Graphene and 2D materials could move electronics beyond ‘Moore’s Law’ 05. Paper-thin gallium oxide transistor handles more than 8,000 volts 06. Terahertz radiation can disrupt proteins in living cells 07. Lab-made skin grows its own hair 08. Scientists develop the most heat-resistant material ever created 09. New stretchable, self-healing and illuminating electronic material for wearables and soft robots 10. Princeton team develops ‘poisoned arrow’ to defeat antibiotic-resistant bacteria And others… Making matter […]
Researchers develop viable sodium battery
Science Daily June 1, 2020 An international team of researchers (USA – Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Washington State University, China) created a layered metal oxide cathode and a liquid electrolyte that included extra sodium ions. The cathode design and electrolyte system allowed for continued movement of sodium ions, preventing inactive surface crystal build-up, and allowing for unimpeded electricity generation. The research revealed the essential correlation between cathode structure evolution and surface interaction with the electrolyte. They are working to better understand the important interaction between their electrolyte and the cathode, so they can work with different materials […]
When Scientists Find Nothing: The Value of Null Results
Inside Science June 3, 2020 Some of the most significant physics discoveries in the past decade, notably the detections of the Higgs boson by the Large Hadron Collider and gravitational waves by the LIGO collaboration, happened only after decades of null results helped fine-tune the experimental efforts that eventually made the discoveries. In science, these “failures” are sometimes known by their less disparaging name — null results. They are an integral part of the exploratory nature of research. Finding a way to share this seemingly boring information can save scientists from repeating each other’s mistakes. If we ever do find […]
Terahertz radiation can disrupt proteins in living cells
EurekAlert June 2, 2020 Because terahertz radiation is stopped by liquids and is non-ionizing it is considered generally safe for use in the airports for scanning passengers. However, researchers in Japan have discovered that the energy from the light could enter into water as a “shockwave.” They investigated (G)-actin and (F)-actin, which have different structures and functions. Looking at the effect of terahertz radiation on the growth of chains in an aqueous solution of actin, they found that it led to a decrease in filaments, preventing the (G)-actin from forming chains and becoming (F)-actin. Ruling out the rise in temperature, […]
Synthetic red blood cells mimic natural ones, and have new abilities
EurekAlert June 3, 2020 Based on a silica cell bioreplication approach researchers at the University of New Mexico designed and constructed synthetic red blood cells (RRBCs) that fully mimic the broad properties of native RBCs – size, biconcave shape, deformability, oxygen-carrying capacity, and long circulation time. Four successive nanoscale processing steps were employed for RRBC construction. Tests proved the recapitulation of RBC shape, size, and membrane structure, confirmed the ability of RRBCs to deform and pass through small slits and reconstitute themselves in a manner comparable to native RBCs. They developed modular procedures with which to load functional cargos such […]
Solution to century-old math problem could predict transmission of infectious diseases
Science Daily May 29, 2020 The diffusion equation models random movement and is one of the fundamental equations of physics. The analytic solution of the diffusion equation in finite domains, when time and space is continuous, has been known for a long time. However, the diffusion equation in finite space was not solved until now. Researchers in the UK used Chebyshev polynomials, and the method of images which is used to tackle electrostatic problems to construct the solution to the discrete diffusion equation in higher dimension from the one in lower dimensions. The solution could be used to accurately predict […]
Scientists develop the most heat-resistant material ever created
Phys.org May 27, 2020 Using the method of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, an international team of researchers (Russia, USA – University of Notre Dame) fabricated nonstoichiometric hafnium carbonitrides (HfCxNy). It had a rock-salt crystal structure with a lattice parameter of 0.4606 nm. and hardness of 21.3 GPa. The melting point of this synthesized material was experimentally shown to be higher than that of binary hafnium carbide. The nonstoichiometric hafnium carbonitride was then consolidated under a constant pressure of 50 MPa at a temperature of 2000 °C and a dwelling time of 10 min, through spark plasma sintering. The obtained bulk ceramic […]
Princeton team develops ‘poisoned arrow’ to defeat antibiotic-resistant bacteria
EurekAlert June 3, 2020 An international team of researchers (USA – Princeton University, Germany) have found a compound, SCH-79797, that can simultaneously puncture bacterial walls and destroy folate within their cells while being immune to antibiotic resistance. This is the first antibiotic that can target Gram-positives and Gram-negatives without resistance, attacking via two different mechanisms within one molecule. They hope that it is generalizable, leading to better antibiotics and new types of antibiotics in the future. Even with extraordinary effort, they were unable to generate any resistance to this compound… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Paper-thin gallium oxide transistor handles more than 8,000 volts
Science Daily May 29, 2020 To achieve passivation in gallium arsenide a team of researchers in the US (SUNY Buffalo, Stanford University) added a layer of SU-8, an epoxy-based polymer commonly used in microelectronics. In tests the transistor could handle 8,032 volts before breaking down, which is more than similarly designed transistors made of silicon carbide or gallium nitride. The higher the breakdown voltage, the more power a device can handle. Simulations suggest the transistor has a field strength of more than 10 million volts per centimeter. The transistor could lead to smaller and more efficient electronic systems that control […]