Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed

Researchers have identified the origin of the restoring force that lets elastic crystals return to their original shape.

Researchers have pioneered a new catalytic transformation that converts epoxides into fluorinated oxetanes, a coveted but difficult-to-make class of drug molecules that escaped synthetic preparation for years. By unlocking a pathway to these valuable drug scaffolds, this discovery potentially opens the door to new medicines for drug discovery applications.

Researchers have investigated how microbubbles tiny gas bubbles can deliver drugs into cells in a targeted manner using ultrasound. For the first time, they have visualized how tiny cyclic microjets liquid jets generated by microbubbles penetrate the cell membrane enabling the drug uptake.

Perovskite solar cells are highly efficient and low cost in production. However, they still lack stability over the decades under real weather conditions. An international research collaboration has now explored the effects of multiple thermal cycles on microstructures and interactions between different layers of perovskite solar cells. They conclude that thermal stress is the decisive factor in the degradation of metal-halide perovskites. Based on this, they derive the most promising strategies to increase the long-term stability of perovskite solar cells.

Photonics researchers have demonstrated how self-imaging of light, a phenomenon known for nearly two centuries, can be applied to cylindrical systems, facilitating unprecedented control of light's structure with great potential for advanced optical communication systems. In addition, a new type of space-time duality is explored for powerful analogies bridging different fields of optics.

Researchers developed a low-cost, scalable terahertz amplifier that could be used to make antenna arrays that can steer and focus high-frequency terahertz waves, for applications like high-resolution radar, high-speed communications, and medical imaging.

After a cyber attack or natural disaster, a backup network of decentralized devices -- like residential solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, heat pumps, and water heaters -- could restore electricity or relieve stress on the grid, engineers find.

A novel system that chases larval zebrafish around an arena with predator robots is enabling scientists to understand how these days-old fish quickly learn in the real world.

In a leap forward for quantum computing, physicists unveiled an eight-qubit topological quantum processor, the first of its kind. The chip, built as a proof-of-concept for the scientists' design, opens the door to the development of the long-awaited topological quantum computer.

Chemical engineers have discovered that adding nickel atoms to silver catalysts could revolutionize the production of ethylene oxide by eliminating the need for toxic chlorine while maintaining efficiency. The breakthrough could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the $40 billion global ethylene oxide industry, which currently produces this crucial chemical used in plastics, textiles, antifreeze, and disinfectants through a process that emits millions of tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Safety critical components for aircraft and Formula 1 racing cars could one day be 3D printed via a new technique that substantially reduces imperfections in the manufacturing process.

Rapid, localized heat management is essential for electronic devices and could have applications ranging from wearable materials to burn treatment. While so-called thermoelectric materials convert temperature differences to electrical voltage and vice versa, their efficiency is often limited, and their production is costly and wasteful. Researchers have now used a 3D printing technique to fabricate high-performance thermoelectric materials, reducing production costs significantly.

Researchers have succeeded in establishing a method for producing recycled liquid fertilizer that contains high concentrations of phosphorus.

Researchers have developed Deep Nanometry, an analytical technique combining advanced optical equipment with a noise removal algorithm based on unsupervised deep learning. Deep Nanometry can analyze nanoparticles in medical samples at high speed, making it possible to accurately detect even trace amounts of rare particles. This has proven its potential for detecting extracellular vesicles indicating early signs of colon cancer, and it is hoped that it can be applied to other medical and industrial fields.

Epigenetic inhibitors as a promising new antimalarial intervention strategy? A new study identifies an inhibitor of gene regulation that specifically kills the malaria pathogen.

An international research collaboration has overturned the long-standing belief that the atomic nucleus of lead-208 is perfectly spherical. The discovery challenges fundamental assumptions about nuclear structure and has far-reaching implications for our understanding of how the heaviest elements are formed in the universe.

Dynamic facial projection mapping (DFPM) has reached new heights in speed and accuracy, with the development of a state-of-the-art system with groundbreaking innovations. The first breakthrough involved a hybrid detection technique combining different methods to detect facial landmarks in just 0.107 milliseconds. The researchers also proposed a way to simulate high-frame-rate video annotations to train their models and introduced a lens-shift co-axial projector-camera setup to reduce alignment errors, enabling smoother and more immersive projections.

Engineers have developed a versatile swimming robot that nimbly navigates cluttered water surfaces. Inspired by marine flatworms, the innovative device offers new possibilities for environmental monitoring and ecological research.

For decades, scientists have sought ways to counter our dependence on lithium-ion batteries. These traditional, rechargeable batteries energize today's most ubiquitous consumer electronics -- from laptops to cell phones to electric cars. But raw lithium is expensive and is often sourced through fragile geopolitical networks. This month, chemists have announced an exciting alternative that relies on an organic, high-energy cathode material to make sodium-ion batteries, advancing the likelihood that this technology will find commercialization with safe, cheaper, more sustainable components.

Electrons are incredibly fast. Because of their ultrafast motions, directly observing their behavior has been challenging. Now researchers have suggested a new method to make visualizing electron motion a reality.