Tech
Stanford University engineers have developed an airborne method for imaging underwater objects by combining light and sound to break through the seemingly impassable barrier at the interface of air and water.
In the last few decades, only temporal modes have been considered for mode-locked fiber lasers using single-mode fibers. Mode-locked single-mode fiber lasers offer advantages due to their high-gain doping, intrinsically single-spatial mode, and compact setups. However, in terms of power levels, mode-locked fiber lasers suffer from high nonlinearity, which is introduced by the small core size of the single-mode fibers.
A new University of Wollongong study overcomes a major challenge of thermoelectric materials, which can convert heat into electricity and vice versa, improving conversion efficiency by more than 60%.
Current and potential future applications range from low-maintenance, solid-state refrigeration to compact, zero-carbon power generation, which could include small, personal devices powered by the body’s own heat.
A team of chemists from RUDN University suggested a universal method to synthesize thienoindolizine derivatives. Because of their special properties, these substances can be used to manufacture antibacterial and antitumor drugs, as well as new materials for optoelectronics. The results of the study were published in the Chemistry Select journal.
Warming waters and oxygen depletion in the Red Sea could slow the flow of organic carbon from the surface into the deep ocean where it can be stored, out of reach of the atmosphere. A KAUST team has used an underwater robot to investigate the little-studied mesopelagic, or "twilight," zone, at depths of between 100 and 1000 meters.
Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University, in cooperation with the Czech colleagues have developed a new hydrogel for agriculture. It is meant to retain moisture and fertilizers in soil. The difference of the new hydrogel from other formulations is that it is made entirely of natural components and degrades in soil into nontoxic products to humans, animals, and plants. The research results are published in the Journal of Cleaner Production (IF: 7, 246; Q1).
Researchers from the Centre for Audio, Acoustics and Vibration at the University of Technology Sydney are exploring technology for those wanting a quieter life!
Reporting in the journal Scientific Reports (a Nature Springer publication), the team of Tong Xiao, Xiaojun Qiu and Benjamin Halkon highlight the positive impacts for health and wellbeing of their 'virtual Active Noise Control/Cancellation (ANC) headphone' and its enhanced ability to reduce ambient noise.
A new study led by researchers at UC San Francisco has found that among older Americans with cognitive impairment, the greater the air pollution in their neighborhood, the higher the likelihood of amyloid plaques - a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The study adds to a body of evidence indicating that pollution from cars, factories, power plants and forest fires joins established dementia risk factors like smoking and diabetes.
General smartphone usage is a poor predictor of anxiety, depression or stress say researchers, who advise caution when it comes to digital detoxes.
The study published in Technology, Mind, and Behavior was led by Heather Shaw and Kristoffer Geyer from Lancaster University with Dr David Ellis and Dr Brittany Davidson from the University of Bath and Dr Fenja Ziegler and Alice Smith from the University of Lincoln.
Researchers are a step closer to realizing a new kind of memory that works according to the principles of spintronics which is analogous to, but different from, electronics. Their unique gallium arsenide-based ferromagnetic semiconductor can act as memory by quickly switching its magnetic state in the presence of an induced current at low power. Previously, such current-induced magnetization switching was unstable and drew a lot of power, but this new material both suppresses the instability and lowers the power consumption too.
When riding your bike to the store you might have two very different reasons to steer: plain old reflex when you something dart into your path, or executive control when you see street signs that indicate the correct route. A new study by MIT neuroscientists shows how the brain is wired for both by tracking the specific circuits involved and their effect on visually cued actions.
The possibilities of citizens to participate in natural resource governance are increasing. Responsive and collaborative models of natural resource governance can open up new opportunities, but can also lead to unreasonable responsibilization, or even force responsibility on under-resourced organisations and individuals.
A seven-year analysis of almost 10,000 Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) events worldwide over three decades will be published by the HAB Programme of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.
More than 100 scientists in 112 countries contributed to the synthesis and analysis of HAB data gathered from 1985 to 2018 -- a first-ever big data approach to detecting changes in the costly phenomenon's global distribution, frequency, and intensity.
The authors detail the health and economic damages caused by harmful microalgae, including:
Researchers at the University of Liverpool and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have made reported some exciting findings relating to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a class of porous materials, which could benefit a wide range of important gas separation processes. The findings are reported in two research papers.
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a relatively new class of porous, crystalline materials with a broad range of applications.
If you've been experiencing odour distortions after Covid-19, then 'smell training' could help you start smelling normally again - according to new research involving the University of East Anglia.
Parosmia is a symptom where people experience strange and often unpleasant smell distortions. Instead of smelling a lemon you may smell rotting cabbage, or chocolate may smell like petrol. The symptom has been linked to smell disturbance in Covid-19, as well as due to other viruses and head injuries.