Direct Thermal Charging Cell Converts Waste Heat Into Usable Electricity
Dr. Tony Shien-Ping Feng of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and his team invented a Direct Thermal Charging…
New Findings Call Into Question Current Understanding of Earth’s Sulfur Cycle
Laboratory results from Leipzig question current knowledge on the degradation of dimethyl sulfide within the sulfur cycle. An international research team was able to experimentally…
This Foam Can Manipulate Light – Could Enable Optical Transistors That Perform Computations Using Light
There is more to foam than meets the eye. Literally. A study by Princeton scientists has shown that a type of foam long studied by…
Quieter Drones Inspired by the Physics of Mosquito Mating Ritual Sounds
Research could also lead to nontoxic method using sound to diminish mosquito breeding. Mosquitoes flap their wings not just to stay aloft but for two…
Researchers Strengthen Machines That Produce “Super Engineering Plastics”
Industrial and automotive machinery, such as automotive engine parts, contain materials that are, heat-, wear-, and corrosion-resistant. They are known as “super engineering plastics,” and…
French Earthquake Fault Mapped by Satellite-Based Radar
This past week, southeast France was hit by a magnitude 5 earthquake with tremors felt between Lyon and Montélimar. The Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar mission has…
Charismatic Little Hawaiian Duck Is Threatened With Genetic Extinction
The endangered Hawaiian duck, or koloa, the only endemic duck remaining on the main Hawaiian Islands, is threatened with genetic extinction due to interbreeding with…
Strong Emission Lines Seen in Galaxy 135 Million Light-Years Away
For this Picture of the Week, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope turned its powerful eye towards an emission line galaxy called NGC 3749. When astronomers…
Hunting and Ivory Trade Likely Drove Icelandic Walrus to Extinction
An international collaboration of scientists in Iceland, Denmark, and the Netherlands has for the first time used ancient DNA analyses and C14-dating to demonstrate the…
WFIRST Coronagraph ‘Starglasses’ May Be the Most Complicated Astronomical Instrument Ever Flown
When a new NASA space telescope opens its eyes in the mid-2020s, it will peer at the universe through some of the most sophisticated sunglasses…
Efficient Seawater Desalination and Hydrogen Production Possible With New Catalyst
New catalyst efficiently produces hydrogen from seawater, holding promise for large-scale hydrogen production, desalination. Seawater is one of the most abundant resources on earth, offering…
Military-Grade Communications With Quantum Chip 1,000 Times Smaller Than Current Setups
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a quantum communication chip that is 1,000 times smaller than current quantum setups, but offers…
Arctic Permafrost Turning Into a Carbon Source – Holds More Carbon Than Has Ever Been Released by Humans
Arctic regions have captured and stored carbon for tens of thousands of years, but a new study shows winter carbon emissions from the Arctic may…
Scientists Cracked the Case of Why Octopuses of the Same Species Can Look Totally Different
Deep beneath the ocean’s surface, surprisingly cute warty pink octopuses creep along the seafloor. But not all these octopuses look alike. While we humans love…
Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole Flings Star Away at 6,000,000 km/h
An international study has discovered a star traveling at more than six million km/h through the Milky Way after being flung from the center of…
Unlocking the Secrets of Explosive Volcanism for Better Eruption Prediction
When will the next eruption take place? Examination of samples from Indonesia’s Mount Merapi show that the explosivity of stratovolcanoes rises when mineral-rich gases seal…
Cancer-Shielding Protein Discovery Could Guide a New Generation of Cancer Treatments
A better understanding of ‘checkpoint proteins,’ which protect cancer cells against immune system strikes, could lead to the development of more effective drugs. In a…
Harvesting Hot Electrons Without Tricks Could Increase Solar Panel Efficiency
The efficiency of solar panels is hampered by a ‘Goldilocks’ problem: the light needs to have just the right amount of energy to be converted…