Lifeboat Foundation

Topological materials are a special kind of material that have different functional properties on their surfaces than on their interiors. One of these properties is electrical. These materials have the potential to make electronic and optical devices much more efficient or serve as key components of quantum computers. But recent theories and calculations have shown that there can be thousands of compounds that have topological properties, and testing all of them to determine their topological properties through experiments will take years of work and analysis. Hence, there is a dire need for faster methods to test and study topological materials.

A team of researchers from MIT, Harvard University, Princeton University, and Argonne National Laboratory proposed a new approach that is faster at screening the candidate materials and can predict with more than 90 percent accuracy whether a material is topological or not. The traditional way of solving this problem is quite complicated and can be explained as follows: Firstly, a method called density functional theory is used to perform initial calculations, which are then followed by complex experiments that involve cutting a piece of material to atomic-level flatness and probing it with instruments under high vacuum.

The new proposed method is based on how the material absorbs X-rays, which is different from the old methods, which were based on photoemissions or tunneling electrons. There are certain significant advantages to using X-ray absorption data, which can be listed as follows: Firstly, there is no requirement for expensive lab apparatus. X-ray absorption spectrometers are used, which are readily available and can work in a typical environment, hence the low cost of setting up an experiment. Secondly, such measurements have already been done in chemistry and biology for other applications, so the data is already available for numerous materials.

Stability AI, the venture-backed startup behind the text-to-image AI system Stable Diffusion, is funding a wide-ranging effort to apply AI to the frontiers of biotech. Called OpenBioML, the endeavor’s first projects will focus on machine learning-based approaches to DNA sequencing, protein folding and computational biochemistry.

The company’s founders describe OpenBioML as an “open research laboratory” — and aims to explore the intersection of AI and biology in a setting where students, professionals and researchers can participate and collaborate, according to Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque.

“OpenBioML is one of the independent research communities that Stability supports,” Mostaque told TechCrunch in an email interview. “Stability looks to develop and democratize AI, and through OpenBioML, we see an opportunity to advance the state of the art in sciences, health and medicine.”

The fundamental laws of friction remain a mystery to this day.

Researchers at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering have discovered a fundamental friction law that is leading to the design of two-dimensional materials capable of minimizing energy loss, according to a press release from the institution published on Thursday.

Continue reading “Discovery of a law of friction leads to a material that minimizes energy loss” »

Objects that can transform themselves after they’ve been built could have a host of useful applications in everything from robotics to biomedicine. A new technique that combines 3D printing and an ink with dynamic chemical bonds can create microscale structures of alterable sizes and properties.

Sometimes astrophysics gets super weird.

A recent study of the star’s surface, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, says that we’re seeing Gamma Columbae in a short, deeply weird phase of a very eventful stellar life, one that lets astronomers look directly into the star’s exposed heart.

What’s New – The mix of chemical elements on the surface of Gamma Columbae look like the byproducts of nuclear reactions that should be buried in the depths of a massive star, not bubbling on its surface.

A team of researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, working with a pair of colleagues from Harvard University, has developed a new way to synthesize single quantum nanomagnets that are based on metal-free, multi-porphyrin systems. In their paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the group describes their method and possible uses for it.

Molecular magnets are materials that are capable of exhibiting ferromagnetism. They are different from other magnets because their building blocks are composed of organic molecules or a combination of coordination compounds. Chemists have been studying their properties with the goal of using them to develop medical therapies such advanced magnetic resonance imaging, new kinds of chemotherapy and possibly magnetic-field-induced local hyperthermia therapy. In this new effort, the researchers have developed a way to create molecular nanomagnets with quantum properties.

The technique involved first synthesizing a monoporphyrin using what they describe as conventional “solution chemistry”—the monoporhyrins were created by using an atomic-force microscope to pull hydrogen atoms off of polyporphyrins. The researchers then applied the result to a base of gold, which they placed in an oven and heated to 80 °C. This forced the rings in the material to become chained. They then turned the oven up to 290°C and then let the material cook for another 10 minutes. This resulted in the formation of additional carbon cycles and the creation of quantum nanomagnets.

“This represents a significant source of PFAS in the home environment,” said Sydney Evans, a science analyst with the EWG.

PFAS, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of about 12,000 compounds used to make products resist water, stains and heat. They’re called “forever chemicals” because they don’t naturally break down, accumulating in humans and animals. PFAS are linked to a range of serious health problems like cancer, birth defects, kidney disease and liver disease.

The chemicals are likely used in pet food bags to make them repel grease. For cats, the highest levels were detected in the Meow Mix Tender Centers salmon and chicken flavors dry cat food, at more than 600 parts per million (ppm). Purina Cat Chow Complete chicken showed over 350 ppm, while Blue Buffalo, Iams and Rachael Ray Nutrish all had levels of less than 100 ppm.

It could decrease reliance on palm oil to produce biofuel.

Have you ever guessed that a leftover coffee could turn into biodiesel? Here’s a remarkable development for bioscience. Seemingly, Aston University scientists produced high-quality biodiesel microalgae fed on leftover coffee. According to Aston University’s release, this development is also a breakthrough in the microalgal cultivation system.

Dr. Vesna Najdanovic, senior lecturer in chemical engineering, and Dr. Jiawei Wang were part of a team that produced algae and subsequently turned it into fuel.

Continue reading “Researchers fed microalgae on leftover coffee grounds to produce high-quality biodiesel” »

The method requires only visible light and no external heating.

Hydrogen sulfide, infamous for its aroma of rotten eggs, is known to be highly poisonous and corrosive — especially in wastewater applications. Petrochemical plants and other industries make thousands of tons of this gas every year as a byproduct of various processes that separate sulfur from petroleum, natural gas, coal, and other products.

Now, Rice University engineers and scientists have devised a new way for such petrochemical industries to turn the noxious gas into “high-demand” hydrogen gas.

Continue reading “Engineers developed a breakthrough method to generate hydrogen gas in one-step process” »