Quantum sensors tested for next-generation particle physics experiments
Researchers have developed a novel high-energy particle detection instrumentation approach that leverages the power of quantum sensors -- devices capable of precisely detecting single particles.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
A new recycling process for silicones could greatly reduce the sector's environmental impacts
A study describes a new method of recycling silicone waste (caulk, sealants, gels, adhesives, cosmetics, etc.). It has the potential to significantly reduce the sector's environmental impacts. This is the first universal recycling process that brings any type of used silicone material back to an earlier state in its life cycle where each molecule has only one silicon atom. And there is no need for the raw materials currently used to design new silicones. Moreover, since it is chemical and not mechanical recycling, the reuse of the material can be carried out infinitely.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Combining signals could make for better control of prosthetics
Combining two different kinds of signals could help engineers build prosthetic limbs that better reproduce natural movements, according to a new study. A combination of electromyography and force myography is more accurate at predicting hand movements than either method by itself.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Flying robots unlock new horizons in construction
An international team has explored how in future aerial robots could process construction materials precisely in the air -- an approach with great potential for difficult-to-access locations or work at great heights. The flying robots are not intended to replace existing systems on the ground, but rather to complement them in a targeted manner for repairs or in disaster areas, for instance.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Trawling-induced sediment resuspension reduces CO2 uptake
When bottom trawls are dragged across the seafloor, they stir up sediments. This not only releases previously stored organic carbon, but also intensifies the oxidation of pyrite, a mineral present in marine sediments, leading to additional emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Plant-based calamari that rivals real seafood in texture
Plant-based seafood alternatives should have similar flavors, textures and nutritional content to the foods they mimic. And recreating the properties of fried calamari rings, which have a neutral flavor and a firm, chewy texture after being cooked, has been a challenge. Building off previous research, a team describes successfully using plant-based ingredients to mimic calamari that matches the real seafood's characteristic softness and elasticity.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Engineering a robot that can jump 10 feet high -- without legs
Inspired by the movements of a tiny parasitic worm, engineers have created a 5-inch soft robot that can jump as high as a basketball hoop. Their device, a silicone rod with a carbon-fiber spine, can leap 10 feet high even though it doesn't have legs. The researchers made it after watching high-speed video of nematodes pinching themselves into odd shapes to fling themselves forward and backward.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
FRESH bioprinting brings vascularized tissue one step closer
Using their novel FRESH 3D bioprinting technique, which allows for printing of soft living cells and tissues, a lab has built a tissue model entirely out of collagen.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Smart bandage clears new hurdle: Monitors chronic wounds in human patients
The iCares bandage uses innovative microfluidic components, sensors, and machine learning to sample and analyze wounds and provide data to help patients and caregivers make treatment decisions.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
'Periodic table of machine learning' could fuel AI discovery
After uncovering a unifying algorithm that links more than 20 common machine-learning approaches, researchers organized them into a 'periodic table of machine learning' that can help scientists combine elements of different methods to improve algorithms or create new ones.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Engineer reinvents ceramics with origami-inspired 3D printing
In a breakthrough that blends ancient design with modern materials science, researchers have developed a new class of ceramic structures that can bend under pressure -- without breaking.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Generative AI masters the art of scent creation
Addressing the challenges of fragrance design, researchers have developed an AI model that can automate the creation of new fragrances based on user-defined scent descriptors. The model uses mass spectrometry profiles of essential oils and corresponding odor descriptors to generate essential oil blends for new scents. This breakthrough is a game-changer for the fragrance industry, moving beyond trial-and-error, enabling rapid and scalable fragrance production.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Crystal clear design for high-performance flexible thermoelectric semiconductor
Researchers have identified a new material which could be used as a flexible semiconductor in wearable devices by using a technique that focuses on the manipulation of spaces between atoms in crystals.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
New porous crystal catalyst offers durable, efficient solution for clean hydrogen production
A new catalyst structure offers a potential pathway toward more cost-effective hydrogen production via water electrolysis. The material centers on mesoporous single-crystalline Co3O4 doped with atomically dispersed iridium (Ir), designed for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
From beam to battery: Single-step laser printing supercharges high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries
A research team has developed an innovative single-step laser printing technique to accelerate the manufacturing of lithium-sulfur batteries. Integrating the commonly time-consuming active materials synthesis and cathode preparation in a nanosecond-scale laser-induced conversion process, this technique is set to revolutionize the future industrial production of printable electrochemical energy storage devices.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Engineers print synthetic 'metamaterials' that are both strong and stretchy
Engineers have fabricated a metamaterial that is not only strong but also stretchy. Their new method could enable stretchable ceramics, glass, and metals, for tear-proof textiles or stretchy semiconductors.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Bacteria killing material creates superbug busting paint
A bacteria killing coating created by scientists has been used in trials of a new paint that can be applied to a range of surfaces to effectively kill bacteria and viruses, including difficult to kill species such as MRSA, flu and COVID-19.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Some protective resin coatings may damage metal artifacts
Conservators and museum technicians protect precious archaeological metal objects, such as tools and weapons, with clear coatings, leaving preserved and unobstructed views of these detailed treasures. However, researchers have reported that some of the resins used for these coatings react with iron-containing metals and can cause damage. The team developed a non-invasive fluorescence imaging strategy that reveals early signs of these damaging chemical reactions and confirmed its utility on ancient artifacts.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
Scientists have found a way to 'tattoo' tardigrades
If you haven't heard of a tardigrade before, prepare to be wowed. These clumsy, eight-legged creatures, nicknamed water bears, are about half a millimeter long and can survive practically anything: freezing temperatures, near starvation, high pressure, radiation exposure, outer space and more. Researchers took advantage of the tardigrade's nearly indestructible nature and gave the critters tiny 'tattoos' to test a microfabrication technique to build microscopic, biocompatible devices.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)
New electronic 'skin' could enable lightweight night-vision glasses
Engineers developed a technique to grow and peel ultrathin 'skins' of electronic material that could be used in applications such as night-vision eyewear and autonomous driving in foggy conditions.
Categories: Global Energy News (news-and-events/news)