Lifeboat Foundation

In an article published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C, Brazilian researchers describe a strategy to enhance the efficiency and stability of solar cells made of perovskite, a semiconductor material produced in the laboratory. The results of the project could be highly positive for the future of the solar power sector.

Developed by researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Bauru, Brazil, the method involves the use of a class of materials known as MXenes, a family of two-dimensional materials with a graphene-like structure combining transition metals, carbon and/or nitrogen, and surface functional groups such as fluoride, oxygen or hydroxyl. Their properties include high electrical conductivity, good thermal stability, and high transmittance (relating to the amount of light that passes through a substance without being reflected or absorbed).

Scientists from Massey University in New Zealand, the University of Mainz in Germany, Sorbonne University in France, and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) discuss the limit of the periodic table and revising the concept of the “island of stability” with recent advances in superheavy element research. Their work first appeared in Nature Reviews Physics.

In addition to the Nature Reviews Physics, Physics Reports has published a review on the atomic electronic structure theory for superheavy elements.

What is the heaviest bound nucleus and the heaviest bound atom and what are their properties? The nuclei of chemical elements with more than 103 protons are labeled as “superheavy.” They are part of a vast unknown territory of these nuclei that scientists are trying to uncover. Exploring this uncharted territory provides prospects for discoveries that connect the broad areas of science.

Studies on the synthesis and application of chiral materials has important scientific significance and market value. However, the design, synthesis and application of chiral materials are still in their infancy, and relevant research is limited to natural chiral polymer materials and very few artificial synthetic chiral materials.

In response to the key problems of synthesis, characterization, and mechanism research in the field of chiral materials, researchers from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have proposed a novel concept of “asymmetric kinetic resolution polymerization” (AKRP), which provides a new method for the efficient synthesis, direct characterization of chiral polymer materials, and a new approach for studying the reaction mechanism of asymmetric polymerization.

The challenge in achieving AKRP is the design and synthesis of highly enantioselective catalysts. To solve this problem, the researchers proposed the “dual-ligand” strategy for the first time, enabling the highly enantioselective chiral (BisSalen)Al catalysts. The research is published in Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Our immune system is talented at telling the difference between the chemistry of our own body and that of an invading pathogen. When it malfunctions, our body can become host to an intense civil war.

Scientists are keen to understand this in more detail, and a newly identified ‘switch’ that deactivates a sensor of foreign DNA may provide important insight.

A key part of this discovery, made by a team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, is an enzyme called cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS).

Khyati Malhan of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg, Germany, who spearheaded the research, expressed astonishment at the ability to detect these ancient structures.

“The Milky Way has undergone profound changes since these stars were born. The fact that we can still recognize them as a group is truly amazing and a testament to the unprecedented data provided by Gaia,” Malhan stated.

The discovery was made possible through Gaia’s observations, which allowed researchers to determine the orbits, content, and composition of individual stars within the Milky Way. “Upon visualising the orbits of these stars, two new structures emerged, distinguished by their unique chemical composition. We named them Shakti and Shiva,” added Malhan.

In a study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers from Peking University have unveiled a miniaturized implantable sensor capable of health monitoring without the need of transcutaneous wires, integrated circuit chips, or bulky readout equipment, thereby reducing infection risks, improving biocompatibility, and enhancing portability. The study is titled “Millimeter-scale magnetic implants paired with a fully integrated wearable device for wireless biophysical and biochemical sensing.”

Chinese researchers are making variations of LK99 room temperature superconductor materials with more sulfur and copper in the chemistry. They are publishing results with stronger magnetic indications of a Meissner effect.

The chinese researchers have been online discussing their room temperature superconducting research and the challenges of the materials.

Here are the issues discussed.

The field of aging research has made significant progress over the last three decades, reaching a stage where we now understand the underlying mechanisms of the aging process. Moreover, the knowledge has broadened to include techniques that quantify aging, decelerate its process, as well as sometimes reverse aging.

To date, twelve hallmarks of aging have been identified; these include reduced mitochondrial function, loss of stem cells, increased cellular senescence, telomere shortening, and impaired protein and energy homeostasis. Biomarkers of aging help to understand age-related changes, track the physiological aging process and predict age-related diseases [1].

Longevity. Technology: Biological information is stored in two main ways, the genomes consisting of nucleic acids, and the epigenome, consisting of chemical modifications to the DNA as well as histone proteins. However, biological information can be lost over time as well as disrupted due to cell damage. How can this loss be overcome? In the 1940s, American mathematician and communications engineer Claude Shannon came up with a neat solution to prevent the loss of information in communications, introducing an ‘observer’ that would help to ensure that the original information survives and is transmitted [2]. Can these ideas be applied to aging?

Hydrogen gas is a clean fuel. It burns with oxygen in the air to provide energy with no CO₂. Hydrogen is a key to sustainable energy for the future. Though humans are just now coming to realize the benefits of hydrogen gas (H2 in chemical shorthand), microbes have known that H2 is a good fuel for as long as there has been life on Earth. Hydrogen is ancient energy.