Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa have developed “smart” disinfectants which not only destroy the coronavirus, but unlike other commonly used disinfectants that diminish rapidly, remains on surfaces for an extender period of time. “The materials we developed will be a game changer because they will block the cycle of infection from contaminated surfaces,” said Assistant Professor Shady Farah, head of the research group. “Infection from touching surfaces is a serious problem, especially in public places such as hospitals, factories, schools, shopping malls, and public transportation. Our polymers will make these places safer,” Farah added.

The coronavirus has been seen to last on surfaces upwards of 17 days, and common disinfecting break down rapidly. This new disinfectant is long-lasting.

Researchers have demonstrated a proof-of-concept design for a quantum radar that uses entangled photon pairs to detect objects.

Magnesium dimer (Mg₂) is a fragile molecule consisting of two weakly interacting atoms held together by the laws of quantum mechanics. It has recently emerged as a potential probe for understanding fundamental phenomena at the intersection of chemistry and ultracold physics, but its use has been thwarted by a half-century-old enigma—five high-lying vibrational states that hold the key to understanding how the magnesium atoms interact but have eluded detection for 50 years.

The lowest fourteen Mg₂ vibrational states were discovered in the 1970s, but both early and recent experiments should have observed a total of nineteen states. Like a quantum cold case, experimental efforts to find the last five failed, and Mg₂ was almost forgotten. Until now.

Piotr Piecuch, Michigan State University Distinguished Professor and MSU Foundation Professor of chemistry, along with College of Natural Science Department of Chemistry graduate students Stephen H. Yuwono and Ilias Magoulas, developed new, computationally derived evidence that not only made a quantum leap in first-principles quantum chemistry, but finally solved the 50-year-old Mg₂ mystery.

In an area stretching from Africa to South America, Earth’s magnetic field is gradually weakening. This strange behaviour has geophysicists puzzled and is causing technical disturbances in satellites orbiting Earth. Scientists are using data from ESA’s Swarm constellation to improve our understanding of this area known as the ‘South Atlantic Anomaly.’

Earth’s magnetic field is vital to life on our planet. It is a complex and dynamic force that protects us from cosmic radiation and charged particles from the Sun. The magnetic field is largely generated by an ocean of superheated, swirling liquid iron that makes up the outer core around 3000 km beneath our feet. Acting as a spinning conductor in a bicycle dynamo, it creates electrical currents, which in turn, generate our continuously changing electromagnetic field.

This field is far from static and varies both in strength and direction. For example, recent studies have shown that the position of the north magnetic pole is changing rapidly.

Researchers find a much less yucky way to treat people with a common killer infection.

As a life support engineer at NASA Ames Research Center, it’s Michael Flynn’s job to keep astronauts alive in space, making sure they have the basic necessities like clean water to survive. But launching clean water into space is cost-prohibitive, so for years, Flynn and his team have been working on new ways to recycle waste water into safe, drinking water. SmartPlanet visits Flynn’s lab and looks at how he’s doing it through a process known as “forward osmosis.”

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

Using Houston as a model, researchers at Rice’s Brown School of Engineering have developed a plan that could reduce the need for surface water (from rivers, reservoirs or wells) by 28% by recycling wastewater to make it drinkable once again.

While the cost of energy needed for future advanced purification systems would be significant, they say the savings realized by supplementing fresh water shipped from a distance with the “direct potable reuse” of municipal wastewater would more than make up for the expense.

And the water would be better to boot.