Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed

An international team of scientists has identified a surprising factor that accelerates the degradation of lithium-ion batteries leading to a steady loss of charge. This discovery provides a new understanding of battery life and offers strategies to combat self-discharge, which could improve performance in various applications from smartphones to electric vehicles.

Engineers have invented a protective coating for concrete pipes that could help drastically reduce the formation of fatbergs in sewers.

How to keep stray radiation from 'shorting' superconducting qubits; a pair of studies shows where ionizing radiation is lurking and how to banish it.

Researchers have developed a robot that identifies different plant species at various stages of growth by 'touching' their leaves with an electrode. The robot can measure properties such as surface texture and water content that cannot be determined using existing visual approaches. The robot identified ten different plant species with an average accuracy of 97.7% and identified leaves of the flowering bauhinia plant with 100% accuracy at various growth stages.

Researchers have developed a new method to extract fluorine from fluorspar using oxalic acid and a fluorophilic Lewis acid in water under mild reaction conditions. This technology enables direct access to fluorochemicals, including commonly used fluorinating agents, from both fluorspar and lower-grade metspar, eliminating reliance on the supply chain of hazardous hydrogen fluoride (HF).

Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have reached a record high in 2024, according to new research.

Completely artificial proteins that produce bioluminescence can serve as a non-invasive method for bioimaging, diagnostics, drug discovery, and more.

A team of archaeologists has excavated the earliest known ancient Maya salt works in southern Belize.

A new study has uncovered important behavior in the flow of electric current through quantum superconductors, potentially advancing the development of future technologies like quantum computing.

These miniature immune system models -- known as human immune organoids -- mimic the real-life environment where immune cells learn to recognize and attack harmful invaders and respond to vaccines. Not only are these organoids powerful new tools for studying and observing immune function in cancer, their use is likely to accelerate vaccine development, better predict disease treatment response for patients, and even speed up clinical trials.

A research team has succeeded in synthesizing simple, environmentally sensitive cells complete with artificial organelles. For the first time, the researchers have also been able to emulate natural cell-cell communication using these proto-cells -- based on the model of photoreceptors in the eye. This opens up new possibilities for basic research and applications in medicine.

Researchers have developed PanoRadar, a new tool to give robots superhuman vision by transforming simple radio waves into detailed, 3D views of the environment.

When active filaments are exposed to localized illumination, they accumulate into stable structures along the boundaries of the illuminated area. Based on this fact, researchers developed a model that can be used to simulate the self-organization of thread-like living matter. This model provides important insights for potential technical applications in the formation of structures.

Researchers have developed a groundbreaking coating that could make medical devices safer for millions of patients, reducing the risks associated with blood clots and dangerous bleeding. The new material is designed to mimic the natural behavior of blood vessels so that catheters, stents, blood-oxygenation machines and dialysis machines won't trigger clotting by activating certain proteins in the blood.

Scientists have advanced their NeuroMechFly model, simulating fruit fly movement in the real world. With integrated vision and smell, NeuroMechFly v2 helps us understand brain-body coordination, setting a path for neuroengineering's role in robotics and AI.

An international research team has for the first time designed realistic photonic time crystals ---- exotic materials that exponentially amplify light. The breakthrough opens up exciting possibilities across fields such as communication, imaging and sensing by laying the foundations for faster and more compact lasers, sensors and other optical devices.

Researchers have developed a patch for easier and more effective treatment of psoriasis. The method may also be used in treatment of other inflammatory skin diseases.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers has developed a machine learning framework that uses limited water quality samples to predict which inorganic pollutants are likely to be present in a groundwater supply. The new tool allows regulators and public health authorities to prioritize specific aquifers for water quality testing.

Researchers have combined two gene editing methods. This enables them to quickly investigate the significance of many genetic mutations involved in the development and treatment of cancer.

Using data from historic ship measurements and Argo floats, researchers introduced a machine learning technique that improves assessment and analysis of the ocean's declining oxygen levels.