Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Self-assembling, biomimetic composites possess unusual electrical properties
Sometimes, breaking rules is not a bad thing. Especially when the rules are apparent laws of nature that apply in bulk material, but other forces appear in the nanoscale. “Nature...
Self-assembling, biomimetic composites possess unusual electrical properties
Sometimes, breaking rules is not a bad thing. Especially when the rules are apparent laws of nature that apply in bulk material, but other forces appear in the nanoscale.
Theres plenty of room at the Top: What will drive computer performance after Moores law?
The miniaturization of semiconductor transistors has driven the growth in computer performance for more than 50 years. As miniaturization approaches its limits, bringing an end to Moore’s law, performance gains...
Barcoded microbial system for high-resolution object provenance
Determining where an object has been is a fundamental challenge for human health, commerce, and food safety. Location-specific microbes in principle offer a cheap and sensitive way to determine object...
A fractional corner anomaly reveals higher-order topology
Spectral measurements of boundary-localized topological modes are commonly used to identify topological insulators. For high-order insulators, these modes appear at boundaries of higher codimension, such as the corners of a...
Iridium-catalyzed acid-assisted asymmetric hydrogenation of oximes to hydroxylamines
Asymmetric hydrogenations are among the most practical methods for the synthesis of chiral building blocks at industrial scale. The selective reduction of an oxime to the corresponding chiral hydroxylamine derivative...
Giant thermopower of ionic gelatin near room temperature
Harvesting heat from the environment into electricity has the potential to power Internet-of-things (IoT) sensors, freeing them from cables or batteries and thus making them especially useful for wearable devices....
Photoelectron spectra of alkali metal-ammonia microjets: From blue electrolyte to bronze metal
Experimental studies of the electronic structure of excess electrons in liquids—archetypal quantum solutes—have been largely restricted to very dilute electron concentrations. We overcame this limitation by applying soft x-ray photoelectron...
Scientists Aim Gene-Targeting Breakthrough Against COVID-19
A team of scientists from Stanford University is working with researchers at the Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience user facility located at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), to...
How Airborne is the Virus?
In March, an Italian study claiming that pollution particles could be a vector for spreading SARS-CoV-2 made the headlines. The physicist and chemist Jean-François Doussin explains why this thesis does...
Metasurface design methods can make LED light act more like lasers
UC Santa Barbara researchers continue to push the boundaries of LED design a little further with a new method that could pave the way toward more efficient and versatile LED...
X-ray method solves mystery of metallic ammonia
Researchers study how solvated electrons behave inside the classic reagent used in Birch reductions
Discovery unlocks 'hot' electrons for more efficient energy use
Highly energetic, "hot" electrons have the potential to help solar panels more efficiently harvest light energy.
'Artificial chemist' combines AI, robotics to conduct autonomous R&D
Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University at Buffalo have developed a technology called "Artificial Chemist," which incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and an automated system for performing chemical...
New material, modeling methods promise advances in energy storage
The explosion of mobile electronic devices, electric vehicles, drones and other technologies have driven demand for new lightweight materials that can provide the power to operate them. Researchers from the...
Breaking the mold: An unusual choice of material yields incredibly long-lasting batteries
Scientists have developed a novel silica-based cathode for lithium-sulfur batteries, thereby enabling the realization of batteries that can last for over 2000 charge/discharge cycles. The possibility of successfully using the...
Showtime for photosynthesis
Using a unique combination of nanoscale imaging and chemical analysis, researchers have revealed a key step in the molecular mechanism behind the water splitting reaction of photosynthesis, a finding that...
Microscale armor toughens super water-repellant surfaces
Researchers add a microstructured frame around fragile superhydrophobic nanostructures to improve their durability
Using tear gas to subdue protesters may help spread the coronavirus, experts warn
A petition signed by infectious disease experts says spraying tear gas causes people to cough and scream — which can disperse infectious droplets.
A touch of gold and silver
Metals are usually characterized by good electrical conductivity. This applies in particular to gold and silver. However, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, together...
What is tear gas?
In the past week, there have been reports of tear gas being used to control crowds protesting the death of George Floyd, so questions have arisen on the dangers of...
Exploring new ways to see the Higgs boson
The ATLAS and CMS collaborations presented their latest results on new signatures for detecting the Higgs boson at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. These include searches for rare transformations of the...
Scientists propose novel method to synthesize atomic dispersed Cu-N-C catalyst
Non-noble metal nitrogen doped carbon material (M-N-C) catalysts are considered as potential alternatives for precious metals, due to their abundance, biocompatibility, environmental benign and high catalytic performance.
Breaking the mold: An unusual choice of material yields incredibly long-lasting batteries
The tremendous increase in the use of mobile technology, wearable electronics, and a wide range of portable devices in general over the past few decades, has driven scientists worldwide to...
Scientists aim gene-targeting breakthrough against COVID-19
A team of scientists from Stanford University is working with researchers at the Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience user facility located at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley...
Scientists aim gene-targeting breakthrough against COVID-19
Scientists at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry have joined forces with a research team at Stanford to aim a gene-targeting, antiviral agent called PAC-MAN against COVID-19.
Recovery is slow for the chemical industry in China
Materials for infrastructure will benefit from government spending, but other markets are lagging
Micro-pipette probe for tuning the volume and particle concentration of liquids
At the PME department, a micro-sized pipette probe has been developed for handling multiple liquids. It is the first time that such a small probe can dose fluid volume, and...