Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed

A new study shows that adding fruit and microbes to alfalfa, a protein-rich feed for livestock, improves fermentation and biogas production.

Researchers argue that the problem that has been lurking in the margins of many papers about touch sensors lies in the robotic skin itself.

Ear infections are a common and painful occurrence in infants and toddlers. Oral antibiotics are often prescribed for a week to treat the condition, but these drugs can trigger side effects that disrupt treatment, which can lead to infection recurrence and antibiotic resistance. Now, researchers report a topical antibiotic gel that, applied once, cured middle ear infection within 24 hours in chinchillas.

A new shortcut can help engineers design leak-proof magnetic confinement systems for fusion reactors 10 times as fast as the gold standard method, without sacrificing accuracy. While several other big challenges remain for all magnetic fusion designs, this advance addresses the biggest challenge that's specific to a type of fusion reactor first proposed in the 1950s, called a stellarator.

A new article puts artificial intelligence and machine learning on the task of finding new, powerful electrolytes for designing next-generation batteries for electric vehicles, phones, laptops and grid-scale energy storage. The paper outlines a new framework for finding molecules that maximize three components that make an ideal battery electrolyte -- ionic conductivity, oxidative stability and Coulombic efficiency.

Computer scientists have developed a new AI text-to-video model that learns real-world physics knowledge from time-lapse videos.

Researchers have developed a new quantum theory of gravity which describes gravity in a way that's compatible with the Standard Model of particle physics, opening the door to an improved understanding of how the universe began.

In 1959, physicists James Terrell and Roger Penrose (Nobel laureate in 2020) independently concluded that fast-moving objects should appear rotated. However, this effect has never been demonstrated. Now, scientists have succeeded for the first time in reproducing the effect using laser pulses and precision cameras -- at an effective speed of light of 2 meters per second.

Researchers developed a framework to enable decentralized artificial intelligence-based building automation with a focus on privacy. The system enables AI-powered devices like cameras and interfaces to cooperate directly, using a new form of device-to-device communication. In doing so, it eliminates the need for central servers and thus the need for centralized data retention, often seen as a potential security weak point and risk to private data.

An international team has succeeded at BESSY II to elucidate how ultrafast spin-polarized current pulses can be characterized by measuring the ultrafast demagnetization in a magnetic layer system within the first hundreds of femtoseconds. The findings are useful for the development of spintronic devices that enable faster and more energy-efficient information processing and storage.

For the cautious -- or simply curious -- homeowner, an at-home water testing kit may seem reassuring. But there are high levels of variability between test kits' abilities to detect potential contaminants in water, a new study has found.

Lithium-ion batteries have been a staple in device manufacturing for years, but the liquid electrolytes they rely on to function are quite unstable, leading to fire hazards and safety concerns. Now, researchers are pursuing a reliable alternative energy storage solution for use in laptops, phones and electric vehicles: solid-state electrolytes (SSEs).

Researchers have created a hairlike device for long-term, non-invasive monitoring of the brain's electrical activity. The lightweight and flexible electrode attaches directly to the scalp and delivers stable, high-quality electroencephalography (EEG) recordings.

New research reveals how Saharan dust impacts solar energy generation in Europe. Dust from North Africa reduces photovoltaic (PV) power output by scattering sunlight, absorbing irradiance, and promoting cloud formation. The study, based on field data from 46 dust events between 2019 and 2023, highlights the difficulty of predicting PV performance during these events. Conventional forecasting tools often fail, so the team suggests integrating real-time dust load data and aerosol-cloud coupling into models for better solar energy scheduling and preparedness.

A watched pot never boils, goes the old saying, but many of us have at least kept an eye on the pot, waiting for the bubbling to start. It's satisfying to finally see the rolling boil, behind which complex physical mechanisms are at play. When this happens, the bubbles that form continuously change in shape and size. These dynamic movements influence the surrounding fluid flow, thereby affecting the efficiency of heat transfer from the heat source to the water. Manipulating small amounts of liquid at high speeds and frequencies is essential for processing large numbers of samples in medical and chemical fields, such as in cell sorting. Microbubble vibrations can create flows and sound waves, aiding in liquid manipulation. However, the collective behavior and interactions of multiple bubbles is poorly understood, so their applications have been limited.

A next-generation technology developed in 2023, conversational swarm intelligence (CSI), combines the principles of ASI with the power of large language models.

Scientists have expanded on a longstanding model governing the mechanics behind slip banding, a process that produces strain marks in metals under compression, gaining a new understanding of the behavior of advanced materials critical to energy systems, space exploration and nuclear applications.

A team has discovered how certain bacteria breathe by generating electricity, using a natural process that pushes electrons into their surroundings instead of breathing on oxygen. The findings could enable new developments in clean energy and industrial biotechnology.

While exploring a digitally represented object through artificially created sense of touch, brain-computer interface users described the warm fur of a purring cat, the smooth rigid surface of a door key and cool roundness of an apple.

A research team has developed a new technique to rapidly and accurately determine the charge state of electrons confined in semiconductor quantum dots -- fundamental components of quantum computing systems. The method is based on Bayesian inference, a statistical framework that estimates the most likely state of a system using observed data.