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A team of researchers in the Faculty of Engineering of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has developed a coin-sized system that can read weak electrochemical signals and can be used for personalized health monitoring and the measurement of such conditions as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mental health. The discovery was featured on the cover of Analytical Chemistry.

The PERfECT System—an acronym for Personalized Electronic Reader for Electrochemical Transistors—is the world’s smallest system of its kind, measuring 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm x 0.2 cm and weighing only 0.4 gram. It is easily wearable, for instance integrated with a smartwatch or as a patch, to allow for continuous monitoring of biosignals such as glucose levels and antibody concentrations in blood and even sweat.

“Our wearable system is tiny, soft and imperceptible to wearers, and it can do continuous monitoring of our body condition. These features mean it has the potential to revolutionize health care technology,” said Dr. Shiming Zhang of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, who leads the HKU WISE (wearable, intelligent and ) Research Group to develop the system.

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Virginia is going from near-zero wind power to 2.6 gigawatts all at once, with the approval of a new offshore wind plan for Dominion Energy.

California is making waves with a big announcement of big plans for offshore wind, but the Golden State already hosts hundreds of wind turbines on shore. The really big news on the wind front is all the way across the country in Virginia, which has practically zero megawatts to its credit, onshore or off. That’s about to change all at once. Utility regulators in Virginia just stamped their seal of approval on a massive, Texas-sized offshore wind farm to the tune of 176 wind turbines totaling almost 2.6 gigawatts.

Wait, How Does An Offshore Wind Turbine Get To 14.7 Megawatts?

The new offshore wind farm comes under the umbrella of the Virginia-based company Dominion Energy, and we have questions.

Continue reading “Virginia Wades Into Offshore Wind Race, Bigly” | >

Physicists have just caught light acting the part of ‘glue’ between atoms, in a kind of loosely bonded molecule.

“We have succeeded for the first time in polarizing several atoms together in a controlled way, creating a measurable attractive force between them,” says University of Innsbruck physicist Matthias Sonnleitner.

Atoms connect to form molecules in a variety of ways, all involving a trade of charges as a kind of ‘superglue’.

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We’ve recently heard about efforts to replace some of the aggregate used in concrete with crumbled used tires. Now, scientists have succeeded in producing good quality concrete in which all of the aggregate has been replaced with tire particles.

In recent years, we’ve heard about efforts to replace some of the aggregate used in concrete with crumbled used tires. Now, however, scientists have succeeded in producing good quality concrete in which all of the aggregate has been replaced with tire particles.

Concrete consists of three parts: water, a cement which binds everything together, and an aggregate such as sand or gravel. That aggregate has to be mined from the ground, and is actually now in short supply in many parts of the world.

Discarded tires can be recycled to a certain extent, but often just end up sitting in landfills or getting burned.

Continue reading “Scientists create quality concrete with 100% tire-rubber aggregate” | >

Researchers at Aalto University have developed a bio-based adhesive that can replace formaldehyde-containing adhesives in wood construction. The main raw material in the new adhesive is lignin, a structural component of wood and a by-product of the pulp industry that is usually burned after wood is processed. As an alternative to formaldehyde, lignin offers a healthier and more carbon-friendly way to use wood in construction.

The carbon footprint of timber construction is significantly lower than concrete construction, and timber construction has often been viewed as better for the health of human occupants as well. However, wood panels still use adhesives made from fossil . They contain formaldehyde, which can be harmful to health, especially for those working in the adhesive manufacturing process. People living in or visiting buildings can also be exposed to toxic formaldehyde from wood panels.

Lignin, on the other hand, comes from wood itself. It binds cellulose and hemicellulose together and gives wood its tough, strong structure. Lignin accounts for about a quarter of the weight of wood and is produced in huge quantities in the pulp and bioprocessing industry. Only two to five percent of the produced is used, and the rest is burned in factories for energy.

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As published in Nature Materials (“Nuclear spin polarization and control in hexagonal boron nitride”), the research team used electron spin qubits as atomic-scale sensors, and also to effect the first experimental control of nuclear spin qubits in ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride.

Researchers used light and electron spin qubits to control nuclear spin in a 2D material, opening a new frontier in quantum science and technology. (Image: Secondbay Studio)

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