Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed

Did you know that the world's deadliest animal is the mosquito? And Aedes aegypti is one of the most dangerous. This bug spreads viruses that cause dengue fever, which was recently declared as an epidemic in Puerto Rico. Research reports new molecules that label proteins in the unique, alkaline environment of the Ae. aegypti digestive system that could help scientists develop insecticides to fight back.

PFAS (aka 'forever chemicals') are notoriously difficult to destroy. They've been linked to environmental and health issues, including some cancers, but a lot remains unknown about the true scale and potential impacts of the problem -- including how much is in our water supply. A new study assessed the levels of PFAS contamination in surface and ground water around the globe -- and found that much of our global source water exceeds PFAS safe drinking limits.

Scientists have developed an automated workflow that could accelerate the discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs and other useful products. The new automated approach could analyze chemical reactions in real time and identify new chemical-reaction products much faster than current laboratory methods.

Research groups have made a breakthrough in the field of hard disk drives (HDD) by demonstrating the feasibility of multi-level recording using a three-dimensional magnetic recording medium to store digital information. The research groups have shown that this technology can be used to increase the storage capacity of HDDs, which could lead to more efficient and cost-effective data storage solutions in the future.

A new study reveals that PFAS re-emit into the air from crashing ocean waves at levels comparable to or greater than other sources, establishing a cyclical transport process for these 'forever chemicals' between land and sea.

The active ingredient in many drugs is what's known as a small molecule: bigger than water, much smaller than an antibody and mainly made of carbon. It's tough, however, to make these molecules if they require a quaternary carbon -- a carbon atom bonded to four other carbon atoms. But now, scientists have uncovered a potential cost-effective way to produce these tricky motifs.

Engineers unlock the power of exceptional points (EPs) for advanced optical sensing. EPs -- specific conditions in systems where extraordinary optical phenomena can occur -- can be deployed on conventional sensors to achieve a striking sensitivity to environmental perturbations.

A team of researchers has shown that molecules can be as formidable at scrambling quantum information as black holes by combining mathematical tools from black hole physics and chemical physics and testing their theory in chemical reactions.

A team has developed a method for simultaneous detection of multiple disease-causing bacterial species within one hour using a handheld device.

A novel technique for enhancing optical spring that utilizes the Kerr effect to improve the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors (GWDs) has recently been developed. This innovative design uses optical non-linear effects from the Kerr effect in the Fabry-Perot cavity to achieve high signal amplification ratios and optical spring constant, with potential applications in not only GWDs but also in a range of optomechanical systems.

Millions of historical employment records show the British workforce turned sharply towards manufacturing jobs during the 1600s -- suggesting the birth of the industrial age has much deeper roots, say historians.

An international team including researchers from the University of W rzburg has succeeded in creating a special state of superconductivity. This discovery could advance the development of quantum computers.

Physicists show that the shape of components is a major determinant of how quickly and efficiently complex structures self-assemble.

Using a cell phone, driving while tired and driving on unfamiliar roads increased the likelihood of a crash.

Researchers 3D printed a miniature ionizer, a key component of a mass spectrometer. Their device could someday enable an affordable, in-home mass spectrometer for health monitoring.

An international research team is attracting the attention of experts in the field with computational results on the behavior of ring polymers under shear forces: They showed that for the simplest case of connected ring pairs, the type of linkage -- chemically bonded vs. mechanically linked -- has profound effects on the dynamic properties under continuous shear. In these cases novel rheological patterns emerge.

Lanthanide elements are important for clean energy and other applications. To use them, industry must separate mixed lanthanide sources into individual elements using costly, time-consuming, and waste-generating procedures. An efficient new method can be tailored to select specific lanthanides. The technique combines two substances that do not mix and that prefer different types of lanthanides. The process would allow for smaller equipment, less use of chemicals, and less waste production.

In an unprecedented study of the South American 'Lithium Triangle,' hydrologists discover that not all water responds the same way to environmental change and human use.

Chemical biologists design an early 'proof-of-concept' vaccine that could lead to the first effective treatment of xylazine overdose in people.

Researchers have discovered 'neutronic' molecules, in which neutrons can be made to cling to quantum dots, held just by the strong force. The finding may lead to new tools for probing material properties at the quantum level and exploring new kinds of quantum information processing devices.