Scientists at TU Dresden and Hasselt University in Belgium investigated the physical causes that limit the efficiency of novel solar cells based on organic molecular materials. Currently, the voltage of such cells is still too low—one reason for their...
On the cellular highway, motor proteins called dyneins rule the road. Dyneins "walk" along structures called microtubules to deliver cellular cargo, such as signaling molecules and organelles, to different parts of a cell. Without dynein on the job, cells...
Washington State University researchers have developed an environmentally-friendly, plant-based material that for the first time works better than Styrofoam for insulation.
The foam is mostly made from nanocrystals of cellulose, the most abundant plant material on earth. The researchers also developed an...
Chemists at the University of Bayreuth have developed a material that could well make an important contribution to climate protection and sustainable industrial production. With this material, the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂) can be specifically separated from industrial...
Scientists have broken the rules of enzyme engineering to unlock a new method for creating chemical reactions that could unlock a wide range of new applications -- from creating new drugs to food production.
In their paper published today in Nature...
Cornell University scientists Rachel Hestrin and Johannes Lehmann, along with collaborators from Canada and Australia, have shown that charcoal can mop up large quantities of nitrogen from the air pollutant ammonia, resulting in a potential slow-release fertilizer with more...
A hydrogen bond forms between a propellane (lower molecule) and the carbon monoxide functionalized tip of an atomic force microscope. The measured forces and the distance between the oxygen atom at the AFM tip and the propellane’s hydrogen atoms...
A new material developed by University of Colorado Boulder engineers can transform into complex, pre-programmed shapes via light and temperature stimuli, allowing a literal square peg to morph and fit into a round hole before fully reverting to its...
Scientists at Stanford University have developed electrochemical cells that convert carbon monoxide (CO) derived from CO2 into commercially viable compounds more effectively and efficiently than existing technologies. Their research, published October 25 in the journal Joule, provides a new...
When you reach for a bottle of acetaminophen, you may be looking for relief from a headache. But if you take more than what is recommended, the drug can damage your liver.
That's because when a component of the drug—a...
SrTiO3 mesocrystal light emission.
Credit: Image courtesy of Kobe University
Hydrogen is an alternative source of energy that can be produced from renewable sources of sunlight and water. A group of Japanese researchers has developed a photocatalyst that increases hydrogen production...
