Technology

The system combines an activated carbon filter with a special, patented catalyst that traps harmful chemicals and breaks them down into harmless components on the filter material. Chemical engineers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new treatment that traps and treats PFAS substances -- widely known as "forever chemicals" -- in a

A research group has developed an innovative approach to creating anti-counterfeiting labels for high-value goods. Their findings enhance the security of the currently used cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) by adding fluorescent dyes to produce florescent CLCs (FCLCs). Using this unique technology, the group created unique labels with almost impossible-to-counterfeit security features. These advanced labels are

Engineers have developed a smart material that could significantly enhance energy efficiency for indoor space cooling. The new thermochromic polymer blend has an estimated lifespan of 60 years and is lower cost than existing thermochromics. Rice University researchers have developed a smart material that adjusts its transparency with changes in temperature, outperforming similar materials in

Researchers have developed new analytical methods to rapidly analyze fuels and complex petroleum products by using high-resolution mass spectrometry. U.S. Naval Research Laboratory researcher Mark Romanczyk, Ph.D., developed new analytical methods to rapidly analyze fuels and complex petroleum products by using high-resolution mass spectrometry. The approaches Romanczyk utilizes enable highly detailed qualitative analysis of complex

Supermassive black holes typically take billions of years to form. But the James Webb Space Telescope is finding them not that long after the Big Bang -- before they should have had time to form. Astrophysicists have discovered that if dark matter decays, the photons it emits keep the hydrogen gas hot enough for gravity

Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool for researchers, but with a significant limitation: The inability to explain how it came to its decisions, a problem known as the 'AI black box.' By combining AI with automated chemical synthesis and experimental validation, an interdisciplinary team of researchers has opened up the black box to find the

Scanning ultraviolet (UV) light through a slit can boost the efficiency of photopolymerization reactions and produce polymers with higher molecular weight, scientists reveal. This straightforward strategy induces molecular diffusion in the reactants that ultimately favor the formation of longer polymer chains while also saving massive amounts of energy, paving the way to more sustainable and

Simulating particles is a relatively simple task when those particles are spherical. In the real world, however, most particles are not perfect spheres but take on irregular and varying shapes and sizes. Simulating these particles becomes a much more challenging and time-consuming task. Simulating particles is a relatively simple task when those particles are spherical.

As electronic devices continue to get smaller and smaller, physical size limitations are beginning to disrupt the trend of doubling transistor density on silicon-based microchips approximately every two years according to Moore's law. Molecular electronics -- the use of single molecules as the building blocks for electronic components -- offers a potential pathway for the

Over the past three years, a team of researchers has been pioneering an environmentally friendly method to separate critical rare-earth elements from watery mixtures. Rare-earth elements are everywhere in modern life, found in everything from the smart device you're reading this on to the LED lightbulbs overhead and neodymium magnets in electric vehicles and wind

Scientists have observed new details of how plasma interacts with magnetic fields, potentially providing insight into the formation of enormous plasma jets that stretch between the stars. Whether between galaxies or within doughnut-shaped fusion devices known as tokamaks, the electrically charged fourth state of matter known as plasma regularly encounters powerful magnetic fields, changing shape

Electron microscope (EM) has revolutionized our ability to visualize the intricate details inside cells. The advancement to 3D electron microscopy, known as volume EM (vEM), has further expanded this three-dimensional, nanoscale imaging capacity. However, trade-offs between imaging speed, quality, and sample size still limit the achievable imaging area and volume. Concurrently, artificial intelligence (AI) is