Phys.org July 2, 2024 A team of researchers in the UK identified the Laboratory of Molecular Biology’s (LMB’s) management model as the key — it sets a culture with incentives and provides oversight to optimize the interplay between science and technology. By integrating high-risk basic science with innovative technology, the LMB facilitates a knowledge feedback loop that helps the institute to identify promising questions and continuously push scientific boundaries. In the context of economics and management theory, the LMB behaves as a ‘complex adaptive system’. They outlined their findings and encourage research organizations, funding bodies and policymakers to consider adopting […]
Tag Archives: S&T UK
True scale of carbon impact from long-distance travel revealed
Phys.org July 2, 2024 Researchers in the UK characterized the long-distance travel pattern in England and explored its importance on carbon emissions from and decarbonization of passenger travel. They found that only 2.7% of a person’s trips are for long distance travel (>50 miles one-way), but they account for 61.3% of the miles and 69.3% of the greenhouse gas (CO2 equivalent) emissions from passenger travel. Flying for leisure and social purposes are the largest contributors to long distance miles and emissions. Overall, per capita travel emissions have started decreasing slowly from 2007, but are still higher than in 1997. They […]
New tipping point discovered beneath the Antarctic ice sheet
Phys.org June 25, 2024 Recently published studies of the complex hydrography of grounding zones suggest that warm ocean water can intrude large distances beneath the ice sheet, with dramatic consequences for ice dynamics. Researchers in the UK developed a model to capture the feedback between intruded ocean water, the melting it induces and the resulting changes in ice geometry showing a sensitive dependence of the grounding-zone dynamics on this feedback: as the grounding zone widens in response to melting, both temperature and flow velocity in the region increase, further enhancing melting. They found that increases in ocean temperature could lead […]
Scientists suggest causes behind one of the most significant climate catastrophes
Phys.org June 17, 2024 Anoxic events are prolonged periods where large expanses of the Earth’s oceans are depleted of dissolved oxygen, which creates toxic waters and leads to mass extinction and habitat loss. The cause of this anoxic event which lasted >500,000 years has been a source of debate among experts. Researchers in the UK used basin sedimentary mercury (Hg) concentrations to determine the timing of volcanism, and neodymium (Nd) and strontium (Sr) isotopes for sedimentary provenance. High Hg concentrations compared to Northern Hemisphere records, and a shift to radiogenic Nd isotopes, indicated Kerguelen LIP volcanic activity and plateau uplift […]
New method could allow multi-robot teams to autonomously and reliably explore other planets
Phys.org June 9, 2024 Researchers in the UK proposed a novel methodology for trustworthy autonomous multi-robot teams which incorporates data from multiple sources (HiRISE orbiter imaging, probability distribution maps, and on-board rover sensors) to find efficient exploration routes in Jezero crater. A map was generated, consisting of a 3D terrain model, traversability analysis, and probability distribution map of points of scientific interest. A three-stage mission planner generated an efficient route, which maximized the accumulated probability of identifying points of interest. A 4D RRT* algorithm was used to determine smooth, flat paths, and prioritized planning was used to coordinate a safe […]
New metal-free porous framework materials may have potential for hydrogen storage
Phys.org May 22, 2024 The isoreticular principle, which allows families of structurally analogous frameworks to be built in a predictable strategies do not translate to other common crystalline solids, such as organic salts, in which the intermolecular ionic bonding is less directional. Researchers in the UK showed that chemical knowledge could be combined with computational crystal-structure prediction (CSP) to design porous organic ammonium halide salts that contain no metals. The nodes in the salt frameworks were tightly packed ionic clusters that directed the materials to crystallize in specific ways on the predicted lattice energy landscapes. The energy landscapes allowed them […]
Researchers develop world’s smallest quantum light detector on a silicon chip
Phys.org May 17, 2024 Quantum noise–limited homodyne detectors have applications across quantum technologies, and they comprise photonics and electronics. Researchers in the UK developed a quantum noise–limited monolithic electronic-photonic integrated homodyne detector, with a footprint of 80 micrometers by 220 micrometers, fabricated in a 250-nanometer lithography bipolar CMOS process. They measured a 15.3-gigahertz 3-decibel bandwidth with a maximum shot noise clearance of 12 decibels and shot noise clearance out to 26.5 gigahertz, when measured with a 9–decibel-milliwatt power local oscillator. This performance was enabled by monolithic electronic-photonic integration, which went below the capacitance limits of devices made up of separate […]
Clues from deep magma reservoirs could improve volcanic eruption forecasts
Phys.org May 10, 2024 Researchers in the UK demonstrated that the size, frequency, and composition of large-scale, explosive volcanic eruption can be explained by processes in long-lived, high-crystallinity source reservoirs that control the episodic creation of large volumes of eruptible silicic magma and its delivery to the subvolcanic chamber where it is stored before eruption. A large volume of low-crystallinity silicic magma which remains trapped until buoyancy causes magma-driven fractures to propagate into the overlying crust, allowing rapid magma transfer from the reservoir into the chamber. Ongoing melt percolation in the reservoir accumulates a new magma layer and the process […]
Innovative electrospinning method creates advanced ceramic nanofibers and springs
Nanowerk May 9, 2024 Electrospinning has been applied to produce ceramic fibers using sol gel-based spinning solutions consisting of ceramic precursors, a solvent, and a polymer to control the viscosity of the solution. However, the addition of polymers to the spinning solution makes the process more complex, increases the processing time, and results in porous mechanically weak ceramic fibers. Researchers in the UK developed a coelectrospinning technique, where a nonspinnable sol consisting of only the ceramic precursor(s) and solvent(s) was encapsulated inside a polymeric shell, forming core–shell precursor fibers that were further calcined into ceramic fibers with reduced porosity, decreased […]
Scientists discover a new type of porous material that can store greenhouse gases
Phys.org April 29, 2024 Researchers in the UK have developed a two-step, hierarchical synthesis that assembled a trigonal prismatic organic cage into a more symmetric, higher-order tetrahedral cage. Both the preformed [2+3] trigonal prismatic cage building blocks and the resultant tetrahedral [4[2+3]+6]cage molecule were constructed using ether bridges. This strategy afforded the tetrahedral cage molecule excellent hydrolytic stability that was not a feature of more common dynamic cage linkers. Despite its relatively high molar mass, tetrahedral cage exhibited good solubility and crystallized into a porous superstructure. By contrast, the [2+3] building block was not porous. The tetrahedral cage molecule showed […]