A research team affiliated with UNIST has unveiled a technology that transforms nitrates found in wastewater into ammonia, a vital chemical and promising energy carrier, without carbon emissions. This advancement not only offers a sustainable method for ammonia production but also contributes to wastewater purification efforts.
Fresh grapes contain a potent mix of over 1,600 compounds that benefit heart, brain, skin, and gut health. New evidence suggests they deserve official superfood recognition, with benefits even at the genetic level.
A new article appearing in the current issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry explores the concept of “superfoods” and makes a case that fresh grapes have earned what should be a prominent position in the superfood family. The author, leading resveratrol and cancer researcher John M. Pezzuto, Ph.D., D.Sc., Dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Western New England University, brings forth an array of evidence to support his perspective on this issue.
As noted in the article, the term “superfood” is a common word without an official definition or established criteria. Mainstream superfoods are typically part of the Mediterranean Diet and generally rich in natural plant compounds that are beneficial to a person’s health. Pezzuto addresses the broader topic of superfoods in detail, then makes the scientific case for grapes, noting that fresh grapes are underplayed in this arena and often not included with mention of other similar foods, such as berries.
Scientists have developed a new machine learning approach that accurately predicted critical and difficult-to-compute properties of molten salts, materials with diverse nuclear energy applications.
In a Chemical Science article, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers demonstrated the ability to rapidly model salts in liquid and solid state with quantum chemical accuracy. Specifically, they looked at thermodynamic properties, which control how molten salts function in high-temperature applications. These applications include dissolving nuclear fuels and improving reliability of long-term reactor operations. The AI-enabled approach was made possible by ORNL’s supercomputer Summit.
“The exciting part is the simplicity of the approach,” said ORNL’s Luke Gibson. “In fewer steps than existing approaches, machine learning gets us to higher accuracy at a faster rate.”
Quasi-solid-state electrolytes promise the safety of ceramics, the flexibility of polymers, and the conductivity of liquids—yet the “how” behind their superior ion transport has remained murky. Now, a joint team from Fudan University and the National Institute for Cryogenic & Isotopic Technologies (Romania), led by Professors Aishui Yu and Tao Huang, delivers a decisive answer in Nano-Micro Letters. Their review, “Enhancement of Li⁺ Transport Through Intermediate Phase in High-Content Inorganic Composite Electrolytes,” decodes the hidden chemistry that lets lithium sprint across solid/liquid boundaries.
The Secret Sauce: Acidic Interfaces
Advances in technology have led to the miniaturization of many mechanical, electronic, chemical and biomedical products, and with that, an evolution in the way these tiny components and parts are transported is necessary to follow. Transport systems, such as those based on conveyor belts, suffer from the challenge of friction, which drastically slows the speed and precision of small transport.
Researchers from Yokohama National University addressed this issue by developing an untethered levitation device capable of moving in all directions. The frictionless design allows for ultrafast, agile movement that can prove to be very valuable in machine assembly, biomedical and chemical applications via contactless transport.
The results are published in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems.
The limitations of conventional semiconductor technology have become increasingly apparent as AI applications require exponentially larger computational resources. Once the engines of rapid technological advances, silicon-based transistors are now encountering fundamental physical constraints at the nanoscale that inhibit further scaling and performance enhancement. Moore’s law, which predicted the doubling of transistors on a chip every two years, is running out of space.
On top of that, the breakdown of Dennard scaling, which once enabled simultaneous improvements in speed, power efficiency, and density, has further intensified the need for alternative materials and device architectures capable of sustaining AI-driven workloads.
This is where nanotechnology comes in. Working on a nanoscale offers a pathway to overcome the constraints of conventional tech, enabling the precise manipulation of materials at the atomic and molecular levels, typically within the one to 100 nanometer range.
At this minute scale, materials exhibit unique physical, chemical, and electrical characteristics. These small-scale properties can enable faster operation, lower energy consumption, and can be used to deliver complex functionalities within a single nanoscale architecture.
Discover how nanotechnology is advancing AI with energy-efficient chips, in-memory computing, neuromorphic hardware, and nanoscale data storage solutions.
Researchers at Northeastern University have identified two proteins abundant on drug-resistant ovarian cancer cells that become receptive to chemotherapy when treated with light.
Published in the journal Photochemistry and Photobiology, the research findings represent promising progress in the treatment of one of the most deadly forms of cancer. By targeting cancer cells with photo-sensitive antibodies and then shining light on them, researchers have made previously untreatable tumors receptive to drugs.
(This may be a repost, but still cool. Reposts are cool because it is a sign of something to pay attention to.)
Researchers have developed a light-based ovarian cancer therapy that makes tumors more receptive to chemotherapy.