https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The global demand for sustainable energy sources has intensified the search for environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuels. Biomass waste, a byproduct of various industrial processes, presents an untapped potential for the production of biofuels and bio-additives. However, the conversion of biomass into useful chemicals has been hindered by inefficiencies in existing catalytic processes. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-advancing-green-chemistry-tandem-catalyst.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 26 Sep 2024 16:48:02 EDT news646588081 The global transition towards sustainability has sparked significant interest in bio-based materials and energy-efficient technologies. Among these, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), derived from renewable resources, have shown great potential for use in composites, biomedical materials, and packaging. However, a major challenge in CNC production is the energy-intensive drying process, which often requires removing large amounts of water from low-concentration suspensions. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ultrasound-technology-drying-renewable-cellulose.html Nanomaterials Thu, 26 Sep 2024 16:09:31 EDT news646585769 In 1998, scientists discovered that our universe expands with acceleration, and in order to explain this effect, the concept of dark matter was introduced. This is a special type of energy that fills up all of existing space-time but is impossible to detect by direct methods. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-scientists-holographic-dark-energy-longer.html Astronomy Thu, 26 Sep 2024 12:53:30 EDT news646574005 A small team of biologists and animal movement specialists in the Netherlands and the U.K. has found that birds such as the emu have a grounded running style at medium speeds, allowing them to conserve energy compared to the ungrounded running style of other animals such as humans. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-bird-grounded-styles-energy.html Plants & Animals Evolution Thu, 26 Sep 2024 10:18:54 EDT news646564720 Norway inaugurated Thursday the gateway to a massive undersea vault for carbon dioxide, a crucial step before opening what its operator calls the first commercial service offering CO2 transport and storage. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-world-co8322-storage-ready-norway.html Environment Thu, 26 Sep 2024 03:50:01 EDT news646540834 Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are growing in adoption, used in devices like smartphones and laptops, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems. But supplies of nickel and cobalt commonly used in the cathodes of these batteries are limited. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-manganese-cathodes-boost-lithium-ion.html Nanomaterials Wed, 25 Sep 2024 12:57:07 EDT news646487820 Researchers led by Ryuhei Nakamura at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan and The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) of Tokyo Institute of Technology have discovered inorganic nanostructures surrounding deep-ocean hydrothermal vents that are strikingly similar to molecules that make life as we know it possible. These nanostructures are self-organized and act as selective ion channels, which create energy that can be harnessed in the form of electricity. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-nanostructures-deep-ocean-floor-hint.html Earth Sciences Wed, 25 Sep 2024 10:36:24 EDT news646479381 Hot carrier solar cells, a concept introduced several decades ago, have long been seen as a potential breakthrough in solar energy technology. These cells could surpass the Shockley–Queisser efficiency limit, which is a theoretical maximum efficiency for single-junction solar cells. Despite their promise, practical implementation has faced significant challenges, particularly in managing the rapid extraction of hot electrons across material interfaces. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-insights-hot-carrier-solar-cells.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Tue, 24 Sep 2024 17:06:03 EDT news646416362 Oregon State University researchers are part of a team looking at reducing bird collision risks with wind turbines by painting a single blade of the turbine black. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-scientists-impact-turbine-blade-black.html Ecology Biotechnology Tue, 24 Sep 2024 14:21:10 EDT news646406466 Achieving carbon neutrality requires the effective use of renewable biomass. In the production of biodiesel, for instance, glycerol is generated as a major byproduct. Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed a new catalyst that efficiently converts a derivative of glycerol into bio-based propylene, contributing to sustainable chemical production. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-catalyst-sustainable-propylene-production-biomass.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 24 Sep 2024 14:20:28 EDT news646406422 Since the late 1960s, the Laboratoire Aimé Cotton (LAC) in Orsay, France, has made significant progress in the classification of complex atomic spectra. These advances have been driven both by the development of Fourier transform spectroscopy, and through novel theoretical interpretations of atomic spectra. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-energy-atomic-hyperfine.html General Physics Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:33:52 EDT news646400023 Hydrogen gas, owing to its high energy density and carbon-free nature, is gaining much attention as the energy source for a green and sustainable future. Despite being the most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen is mostly found in a bound state as chemical compounds such as ammonia, metal hydrides, and other hydrogenated compounds. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-temperature-ammonia-hydrogen-conversion-electric.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 24 Sep 2024 11:48:03 EDT news646397281 University of Adelaide researchers have developed a new theoretical model to predict the distances ocean waves can travel to break up sea ice. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-importance-climate-effect-sea-ice.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 24 Sep 2024 10:12:04 EDT news646391522 A mysterious type of iron-rich magma entombed within extinct volcanoes is likely abundant with rare earth elements and could offer a new way to source these in-demand metals, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-extinct-volcanoes-rich-source-rare.html Earth Sciences Tue, 24 Sep 2024 10:00:01 EDT news646385101 To make sure everyone eats well in our crowded world, we need to innovate. Vertical farming systems, which grow plants intensively in an indoor setting, could be part of the answer—but to use them on a large scale we need to overcome key problems, especially the management of the energy-intensive, expensive light the plants need to grow. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-scientists-explore-indoor-vertical-farming.html Biotechnology Agriculture Tue, 24 Sep 2024 05:00:01 EDT news646299241 An atlas doesn't seem to be an essential item in cars these days, but think about them and most people will think about distances. An atlas of the stars not only covers distances but must also take into account time too. The Andromeda galaxy, for example, is so far away that its light takes 2.5 million years to reach us. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-evolution-universe.html Astronomy Mon, 23 Sep 2024 16:53:03 EDT news646329182 An unexpected finding about how our universe formed is again raising the question: do we need new physics? The answer could fundamentally change what physics students are taught in classes around the world. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-physics-experts-possibility-fundamental-concepts.html General Physics Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:15:36 EDT news646312532 Earth's average global temperatures have been steadily increasing since the Industrial Revolution. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), Earth has been heating up at a rate of 0.06°C (0.11°F) per decade since 1850—or about 1.11°C (2°F) in total. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-advanced-civilizations-overheat-planets-years.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:15:04 EDT news646312501 Quasars are the most luminous objects in the universe and are powered by material accreting onto supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-early-universe-quasar-neighborhoods-densely.html Astronomy Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:00:01 EDT news646299422 UC Irvine-led research reveals that the optical properties of materials can be dramatically enhanced—not by changing the materials themselves, but by giving the light new properties. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-momentum-pure-silicon-indirect-bandgap.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 20 Sep 2024 14:10:02 EDT news646059727 As one of the largest heat reservoirs in the climate system, the global ocean absorbs more than 90% of the excess energy from ongoing anthropogenic warming. In the last century, the greatest warming in the ocean has occurred in the upper 500 m, with relatively weak warming in the deep ocean, corresponding to a small ocean heat storage efficiency of ~0.1. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-reveals-large-ocean-storage-efficiency.html Earth Sciences Environment Fri, 20 Sep 2024 14:00:01 EDT news645979935 Penicillin was hailed as "the silver bullet" when it was discovered, as it had the unprecedented quality of being able to kill disease-causing bacteria without harming the human body. Since then, a multitude of other antibiotics have been developed that specifically target a wide range of bacteria; but the more often they are used, the greater the risk that antibiotic-resistant strains will arise. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-size-bioinformatics-accurately-short-fat.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 20 Sep 2024 10:50:38 EDT news646048234 Increasingly severe wildfires at high elevations are impacting snowpack—an important reservoir for the U.S. West. The altered landscape makes it more challenging to predict when snow will melt and how much water will be available for use. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-snowpack-storage-runoff-scars-site.html Environment Fri, 20 Sep 2024 04:33:42 EDT news646025608 Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have found a galaxy cluster has two streams of superheated gas crossing one another. This result shows that crossing the streams may lead to the creation of new structure. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-nasa-chandra-galaxy-cluster-streams.html Astronomy Thu, 19 Sep 2024 16:36:56 EDT news645982614 The ion's pathway is strongly influenced by a process that is ubiquitous across bio- and electrochemistry: ions need to reorganize their solvation shell before they can intercalate into battery cathodes, enter ion channels across biochemical membranes or adsorb and convert to chemicals, such as green hydrogen, on electrocatalyst surfaces. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ions-hiking-insights-solvation-kinetics.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 19 Sep 2024 13:12:03 EDT news645970321 Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa can secure future food supplies by unlocking the potential of their people and farming systems, a new study reveals. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-african-food-future-bright-blueprint.html Agriculture Thu, 19 Sep 2024 12:24:48 EDT news645967484 When studying the spread of cancer or the behavior of a virus like the one that causes COVID-19, the irony is that working with these harmful pathogens requires gentleness. Especially in the case of COVID, the particles do not survive well when making contact with surfaces. To observe a live virus and move it around, methods that make no physical contact will keep these destructive but tiny subjects alive longer, allowing more time to study them. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-kind-tool-scientists-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 19 Sep 2024 11:04:36 EDT news645962670 Dr. Albert Solé-Daura and Prof. Feliu Maseras have explored the application of the Marcus theory, traditionally used to model electron transfer, to estimate the free-energy barriers underlying energy transfer (EnT) processes. These results support the fact that the Marcus theory can be effectively applied in combination with Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to predict the height of EnT barriers and motivates computational research on EnT, which is a fundamental event in photocatalysis. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-insights-marcus-theory-potential-photocatalysis.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 19 Sep 2024 10:13:03 EDT news645959581 With the rapid growth of industrial and agricultural activities, water bodies are increasingly contaminated with harmful organic pollutants such as dyes, antibiotics, and bisphenol A. Traditional methods like adsorption, chemical treatments, and biological processes have limitations, including inefficiency, potential secondary pollution, and high operational costs. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-harnessing-nature-rhythm-piezocatalysis-pollutant.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 18 Sep 2024 19:30:01 EDT news645892027 As global demand for electrochemical electrodes continues to rise, a new trend has emerged, emphasizing the need to maintain ion diffusion efficiency while accommodating ultra-high loadings of active materials to enhance capacity and energy density. In three-dimensional space, structured electrodes with high porosity and low tortuosity have proven effective in improving the performance of various electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs). https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ion-diffusion-kinetics-interpenetrated-electrochemical.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 18 Sep 2024 16:22:03 EDT news645895321