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Advanced algorithm to study catalysts on material surfaces could lead to better batteries

A new algorithm opens the door for using artificial intelligence and machine learning to study the interactions that happen on the surface of materials.

Scientists and engineers study the that happen on the surface of materials to develop more energy efficient batteries, capacitors, and other devices. But accurately simulating these fundamental interactions requires immense computing power to fully capture the geometrical and chemical intricacies involved, and current methods are just scratching the surface.

“Currently it’s prohibitive and there’s no supercomputer in the world that can do an analysis like that,” says Siddharth Deshpande, an assistant professor in the University of Rochester’s Department of Chemical Engineering. “We need clever ways to manage that large data set, use intuition to understand the most important interactions on the surface, and apply data-driven methods to reduce the sample space.”

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Scale of how chronic fatigue syndrome affects patients’ blood shown for first time

People with ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome) have significant differences in their blood compared with healthy individuals, a new study reveals, suggesting a path toward more reliable diagnosis of the long-term debilitating illness. The paper is published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.

The largest ever biological study of ME/CFS has identified consistent blood differences associated with chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, and liver disease.

Significantly, the results were mostly unaffected by patients’ activity levels, as low activity levels can sometimes hide the biological signs of illness, experts say.

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Rewriting a century-old physics law on thermal radiation to unlock the potential of energy, sensing and more

A research team from Penn State has broken a 165-year-old law of thermal radiation with unprecedented strength, setting the stage for more efficient energy harvesting, heat transfer and infrared sensing.

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Magically reducing errors in quantum computers: Researchers invent technique to decrease overhead

For decades, quantum computers that perform calculations millions of times faster than conventional computers have remained a tantalizing yet distant goal. However, a new breakthrough in quantum physics may have just sped up the timeline.

In an article titled “Efficient Magic State Distillation by Zero-Level Distillation” published in PRX Quantum, researchers from the Graduate School of Engineering Science and the Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology at the University of Osaka devised a method that can be used to prepare high-fidelity “magic states” for use in quantum computers with dramatically less overhead and unprecedented accuracy.

Quantum computers harness the fantastic properties of quantum mechanics such as entanglement and superposition to perform calculations much more efficiently than classical computers can. Such machines could catalyze innovations in fields as diverse as engineering, finance, and biotechnology. But before this can happen, there is a significant obstacle that must be overcome.

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AI image models gain creative edge by amplifying low-frequency features

Recently, text-based image generation models can automatically create high-resolution, high-quality images solely from natural language descriptions. However, when a typical example like the Stable Diffusion model is given the text “creative,” its ability to generate truly creative images remains limited.

KAIST researchers have developed a technology that can enhance the creativity of text-based image generation models such as Stable Diffusion without additional training, allowing AI to draw creative chair designs that are far from ordinary.

Professor Jaesik Choi’s research team at KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI, in collaboration with NAVER AI Lab, developed this technology to enhance the creative generation of AI generative models without the need for additional training. The work is published on the arXiv preprint server the code is available on GitHub.

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Phonon-mediated heat transport across materials visualized at the atomic level

Gao Peng’s research group at the International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, has developed a breakthrough method for visualizing interfacial phonon transport with sub-nanometer resolution. Leveraging fast electron inelastic scattering in electron microscopy, the team directly measured temperature fields and thermal resistance across interfaces, unveiling the microscopic mechanism of phonon-mediated heat transport at the nanoscale.

The study is published in Nature under the title “Probing transport dynamics across an interface by .”

Phonons are central to heat conduction, electrical transport, and light interactions. In modern semiconductor devices, phonon mismatches at material interfaces create significant thermal resistance, limiting performance. Yet, existing methods lack the spatial resolution needed for today’s sub-10 nm technologies.

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Three-mode smart window cut indoor temperature by 27°C and eliminate urban glare

In the building sector, which accounts for approximately 40% of global energy consumption, heat ingress through windows has been identified as a primary cause of wasted heating and cooling energy.

A KAIST research team has successfully developed a ‘pedestrian-friendly smart window’ technology capable of not only reducing heating and cooling energy in urban buildings but also resolving the persistent issue of ‘’ in urban living.

Professor Hong Chul Moon’s research team at KAIST’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering have developed a ‘smart window technology’ that allows users to control the light and entering through windows according to their intent, and effectively neutralize glare from external sources.

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Intercellular fluid flow, not just cell structure, governs how tissues respond to physical forces

Water makes up around 60% of the human body. More than half of this water sloshes around inside the cells that make up organs and tissues. Much of the remaining water flows in the nooks and crannies between cells, much like seawater between grains of sand.

Now, MIT engineers have found that this “intercellular” fluid plays a major role in how tissues respond when squeezed, pressed, or physically deformed. Their findings could help scientists understand how , tissues, and organs physically adapt to conditions such as aging, cancer, diabetes, and certain neuromuscular diseases.

In a paper appearing in Nature Physics, the researchers show that when a is pressed or squeezed, it is more compliant and relaxes more quickly when the fluid between its cells flows easily. When the cells are packed together and there is less room for intercellular flow, the tissue as a whole is stiffer and resists being pressed or squeezed.

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The New King of Propylene? Cobalt Catalyst Outperforms Precious Metals

CoS-1 is a cobalt zeolite catalyst that boosts propylene production efficiently and stably, challenging platinum-based alternatives.

Propane dehydrogenation is an important industrial method for producing propylene without depending on oil. However, most current processes still depend heavily on precious-metal catalysts like those made with platinum. Finding efficient alternatives that use more common, earth-abundant metals has proven difficult.

Synthesis of high-performance CoS-1 catalyst.

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MIT’s Window-Sized Device Pulls Drinking Water From Thin Air, Even in the Desert

Today, 2.2 billion people around the world do not have access to safe drinking water. In the United States, over 46 million people face water insecurity, living without running water or relying on supplies that are unsafe to drink. As demand for clean water grows, traditional sources like rivers, lakes, and reservoirs are being pushed to their limits.

To help address this challenge, MIT engineers are exploring an alternative source: the air. Earth’s atmosphere holds trillions of gallons of water in the form of vapor. If this vapor can be captured and condensed efficiently, it could provide clean drinking water in areas where traditional supplies are unavailable.

Working toward that goal, the MIT team has developed and tested a new atmospheric water harvester that successfully captures vapor and produces safe drinking water across a range of humidity levels, including extremely dry desert air.

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