What drives ions through polymer membranes?
Ion exchange membranes are needed in (photo)electrolyzers, fuel cells and batteries to separate ions and enable the desired processes. Polymeric membranes such as synthetically produced compounds like NAFION are particularly efficient, but they canno.....»»
Micro-Lisa: Making a mark with novel nano-scale laser writing
High-power lasers are often used to modify polymer surfaces to make high-tech biomedical products, electronics and data storage components......»»
New study shows treating work like a game drives results
A study from West Virginia University engineers demonstrates that people's completion of monotonous assembly tasks improves when doing those tasks involves playing a game......»»
Ghana"s free high school policy is getting more girls to complete secondary education: Study
Education drives economic growth and individual well-being. Secondary education, in particular, plays a crucial role. In recent decades, this recognition has encouraged several African countries to make secondary education free. One example is Ghana'.....»»
Physicists develop modeling software to study biological membranes at the mesoscale
Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen and University of Southern Denmark have recently published FreeDTS—a shared software package designed to model and study biological membranes at the mesoscale—the scale "in between.....»»
Advertising drives online gambling among young Australians
Gambling features such as loot boxes in video games and sports betting are the most popular forms of online gambling among young adults in the ACT, with many introduced to it before the age of 18, according to a new report from The Australian Nationa.....»»
Apricorn releases 24TB hardware encrypted USB drive
Apricorn released a 24TB version of its Aegis Padlock DT and Padlock DT FIPS Desktop Drives. Apricorn brings a 24TB encrypted drive to market, delivering high performance and mass capacity to industries such as healthcare, financial services, educati.....»»
Vernor Vinge, father of the tech singularity, has died at age 79
Vinge won multiple Hugo awards and created a sci-fi concept that drives AI researchers. Enlarge / A photo of Vernor Vinge in 2006. (credit: Raul654) On Wednesday, author David Brin announced that Vernor Vinge, sci-fi aut.....»»
Study demonstrates spontaneous self-organization of microdroplets through quasi one-dimensional confinement
Polymer systems composed of multiple components can spontaneously induce emulsion or microdroplets by mechanical mixing, as an intermediate state of macroscopic phase separation. Unfortunately, the size of generated droplets is nonuniform and their s.....»»
F1’s pursuit of sustainability drives Pirelli to unveil forest-friendly tires
The Forest Stewardship Council has given its approval to Pirelli's natural rubber. Enlarge / You'll notice the Forest Stewardship Council's logo on the sidewall to the right of the Pirelli logo. (credit: Pirelli) Formula.....»»
Searching for data in DNA with CRISPR
The digital age has led to the explosive growth of data of all kinds. Traditional methods for storing data—such as hard drives—are beginning to face challenges due to limited storage capacities. With the growing demand for data storage on the ris.....»»
Transforming wood waste for sustainable manufacturing
Lignin, a complex organic polymer, is one of the main components of wood, providing structural support and rigidity to make trees strong enough to withstand the elements. When transforming wood into paper, lignin is a key ingredient that must be remo.....»»
Domain knowledge drives data-driven artificial intelligence in well logging
Data-driven artificial intelligence, such as deep learning and reinforcement learning, possesses powerful data analysis capabilities. These techniques enable the statistical and probabilistic analysis of data, facilitating the mapping of relationship.....»»
Researchers develop novel "super-tetragonal" sacrificial layer for freestanding oxide membranes
Researchers have developed a new water-soluble sacrificial layer, "super-tectragonal" Sr4Al2O7 (SAOT), with broad tunability in lattice constants, which can be used to prepare high-quality freestanding oxide membrane. Their work is published in Scien.....»»
Study shows how surface curvature drives cell migration
The curvature of a surface determines the migration behavior of biological cells. They preferentially move along valleys or grooves while avoiding ridges. These findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences with c.....»»
Our survey of the sky is uncovering the secrets of how planets are born
When we look out to the stars, it is typically not a yearning for the distant depths of outer space that drives us. When we are looking out there, we are truly looking back at ourselves. We try to understand our place in the unimaginable vastness of.....»»
Urban humans have lost much of their ability to digest plants
Rural populations still have lots of the gut bacteria that break down cellulose. Enlarge (credit: Nathan Devery) Cellulose is the primary component of the cell walls of plants, making it the most common polymer on Earth......»»
How climate change drives the spread of invasive plants
As the climate warms, the number of alien species on every continent is expected to increase 36% by 2050. Some alien species—that is, plants or animals that live outside their natural range—are invasive and can harm ecosystems and the areas they.....»»
Valorization of depolymerized lignin using microorganisms
Lignin is an abundant natural polymer which is eliminated as a byproduct in the pulp and paper industry. A recent review article explored different microbial processes available for sustainable lignin valorization, yielding not only environmental but.....»»
Weekend"s best Apple deals offer record-low prices on MacBooks, monitors & more
Apple deals are heating up this weekend, as the launch of the M3 MacBook Air drives prices down to record-low levels on M2 models. Plus, grab an external display at up to $750 off.Today's best deals include Apple products, complementary displays, and.....»»
New study discovers how altered protein folding drives multicellular evolution
Researchers have discovered a mechanism steering the evolution of multicellular life. They identify how altered protein folding drives multicellular evolution......»»