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Plasma technology could help plant-based packaging replace plastic

A new study has found a sustainable and scalable way to improve the durability of plant-based packaging; it’s a discovery that researchers say could help curb the environmental footprint of plastic. Researchers used advanced plasma technology to apply layered, protective coatings to the surface of cellulosic nanofibril (CNF) films, with the goal of reducing water absorption and improving moisture resistance.

They found that one of the plasma-treated coatings reduced liquid water absorption in CNF films to less than 1%, while another weakened the film’s moisture barrier and allowed more water vapor to pass through.

According to the researchers, the results show that the plasma technology—dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma—can be used to precisely control how CNF films interact with moisture, opening new possibilities for plant-based packaging. The work is published in the journal Applied Surface Science.

Scientists reveal how our cells conduct emergency repairs for DNA

Two new studies from Johns Hopkins University are providing scientists with an unprecedented view of how human cells repair one of the most dangerous forms of genetic damage: a break that severs both strands of the DNA double helix.

Published back-to-back in Nature Communications, the studies examine different stages of a repair process called “non-homologous end joining,” or NHEJ. Together, the findings show how cells gain access to damaged DNA packaged inside chromatin and assemble a versatile collection of molecular tools to prepare and reconnect its broken ends.

The research could ultimately contribute to better cancer treatments and more predictable gene-editing techniques. Its immediate importance, however, lies in improving scientists’ fundamental understanding of a repair system that protects the human genome every day.

Jupiter uses a surprisingly complex system to fend off particles from the sun

A University of Iowa-led research team has reported in a new study the most detailed observations to date of the bow shock at Jupiter, our solar system’s gas giant. The findings from NASA’s Juno mission reveal key differences between Jupiter’s bow shock and Earth’s. They also may lead to a better understanding of the physics of how shocks function in even more powerful energy releases, such as those from dying stars. The research is published in Nature Communications.

The bow shock is an invisible boundary between the sun and a planet’s magnetic field. It is the first line of defense against the supersonic burst of energetic particles from the sun known as the solar wind.

On Earth, the bow shock is important because it marks the point where the solar wind is slowed, heated and then deflected around Earth. If that didn’t happen, our planet would be bombarded by the solar wind, and those harmful particles could reach our atmosphere and make Earth less safe for life.

New nanoparticle drug-delivery method may improve treatment for endometriosis

Researchers have engineered a drug treatment that shows rapid effectiveness against endometriosis in early testing, laying the foundation for a potential therapy for an incurable, chronic disease that affects 1 in 10 women. The targeted nanotherapy, developed by a team of scientists at Washington State University, reduced endometriosis symptoms and disease progression after a single dose in a mouse model.

The treatment targets a cell associated with endometriosis with a commonly available drug delivered by a tiny nanoparticle. The results were published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials, and the researchers hope to eventually test the drug for human use.

“We found the disease-specific immune cell, and then we had a drug, but we couldn’t target the cell with the drug alone,” said Kanako Hayashi, a professor in WSU’s School of Molecular Biosciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and a corresponding author of the new publication. “So we used this nanocarrier that delivers the drug specifically to the disease site.”

Low-cost sensor tracks soil pH continuously for months across varied soils

At first glance, a farm field doesn’t seem all that complicated. It’s just dirt and crops.

But among the landscape lies one of Earth’s most complex ecosystems—a bustling network of microbes, nutrients, roots and chemical reactions that quietly govern the health of every harvest.

For years, understanding what’s happening beneath that surface has been one of agriculture’s biggest challenges. Important soil and plant indicators, like pH, microbial activity and plant physiology, are always changing yet notoriously difficult to track in real time.

New ligand design balances radical generation and catalyst regeneration for challenging chemical reactions

Radicals, atoms or molecules that readily react with other substances to form new bonds, are useful tools for building complex substances such as pharmaceuticals. But even when a radical is generated efficiently, the reaction cannot continue unless the catalyst returns to its original state.

A KAIST research team has developed a new strategy that balances radical generation and catalyst regeneration, broadening the possibility of using substrates that are difficult to activate to synthesize complex molecules needed for pharmaceuticals and other applications.

The research team led by Professor Sarah Yunmi Lee of the Department of Chemistry developed a method that uses a ligand, a molecule that attaches to a metal catalyst and controls its properties, to effectively regulate the process by which a copper catalyst generates a radical and then returns to its original state.

Biggest Supernova Dataset Yet Challenges Dark Energy Theory

Nearly 3,000 exploding stars have revealed a startling possibility: the mysterious force accelerating the universe may be changing over time.

The largest catalog of Type Ia supernovae assembled so far is giving astronomers a more detailed record of cosmic expansion. The results add to evidence that dark energy, the unknown component believed to drive that expansion, may evolve rather than remain constant.

Type Ia supernovae occur when white dwarf stars undergo thermonuclear explosions. Because their brightness can be standardized, astronomers use them as cosmic distance markers, comparing how bright they appear with how quickly their host galaxies are receding. Similar observations helped reveal the accelerating expansion of the universe in the late 1990s.

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