Nanoparticle-infused saline could help people facing kidney stone surgery

By adding dark nanoparticles to a common saline solution used in kidney stone laser surgeries, researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Duke University have found a method that could one day lead to shorter surgeries, faster recoveries and less recurrence of disease.
Photo Credit: John Zich

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary: Nanoparticle-Enhanced Kidney Stone Removal

• Main Discovery: Researchers have developed a nanoparticle-infused saline solution that transforms microscopic kidney stone fragments into magnetic targets, allowing for their complete physical extraction during laser lithotripsy surgery.
• Methodology: Functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles are introduced into the kidney via standard irrigation; these particles utilize electrostatic charges to adhere to stone "dust," which is then retrieved using a specialized magnetic wire inserted through a ureteroscope.
• Key Data: The technology focuses on clearing fragments smaller than 200 micrometers—debris typically left behind by current surgical tools—to combat the 50% recurrence rate of kidney stones observed in patients within ten years of an initial procedure.
• Significance: By ensuring the total removal of residual mineral "seeds," this method eliminates the biological foundation for stone regrowth and minimizes the post-operative pain and complications associated with passing sharp fragments naturally.
• Future Application: This magnetic retrieval platform provides a foundation for developing targeted nanoparticle therapies that could eventually dissolve stones chemically or be adapted for the removal of other pathological debris, such as gallstones.
• Branch of Science: Nanotechnology, Molecular Engineering, and Urology.
• Additional Detail: The iron oxide nanoparticles are engineered for biocompatibility and are designed to be fully compatible with existing surgical irrigation systems, requiring minimal changes to established clinical workflows.

Tiny thermometers offer on-chip temperature monitoring for processors

A team including Anirban Chowdhury, left, and Dipanjan Sen, right, developed an incredibly tiny thermometer that can be integrated directly onto computer chips.
Photo Credit: Jaydyn Isiminger / Pennsylvania State University
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary: Microscopic Thermometers for Computer Chips

• Main Discovery: A microscopic thermometer has been developed using two-dimensional bimetallic thiophosphates, allowing the sensors to be integrated directly onto computer chips for accurate, localized temperature tracking.
• Methodology: Researchers exploited the specific properties of bimetallic thiophosphates to couple the transport of both ions and electrons. By utilizing the heat sensitivity of the ions for temperature detection and the electrons for reading the thermal data, the team manufactured and embedded thousands of these sensors onto a single chip using existing electrical currents.
• Key Data: The sensors measure just one square micrometer across and can detect subtle temperature fluctuations in 100 nanoseconds. They are more than 100 times smaller and up to 80 times more power-efficient than traditional silicon-based systems, requiring no extra circuitry or signal converters.
• Significance: Embedding thermal sensors directly into processors solves a major challenge in the development of high-performance integrated circuits. It enables real-time thermal management to prevent the steep drops in performance caused by individual transistors overheating under stress.
• Future Application: This integration of two-dimensional materials provides a proof-of-concept framework for designing future ultra-compact sensors capable of measuring optical, chemical, or physical information directly alongside existing semiconductor technologies.
• Branch of Science: Materials Science, Semiconductor Electronics, and Engineering Science.
• Additional Detail: The design successfully turns a common semiconductor limitation into a functional advantage by actively utilizing ion movement—a behavior typically considered undesirable by the industry in standard transistor operation—to achieve high thermal sensitivity.

These robots are born to run — and never die

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary: Legged Metamachines

• Main Discovery: Northwestern University researchers developed "legged metamachines," which are the first modular robots with athletic intelligence capable of assembling autonomously, recovering from catastrophic physical damage, and maintaining mobility.
• Methodology: An AI-driven evolutionary algorithm was used to simulate natural selection in a virtual environment, mutating and testing novel body configurations using half-meter-long autonomous modules, each equipped with an independent motor, battery, and circuit board.
• Key Data: The algorithm generated optimal three-, four-, and five-legged robotic configurations that successfully navigated physical terrains including gravel, grass, sand, and mud, while demonstrating the mechanical ability to self-right and operate independently if severed.
• Significance: This development marks a transition from fragile, rigidly designed robots to resilient, adaptable robotic systems that can survive and autonomously reconfigure in unstructured, unpredictable real-world conditions.
• Future Application: These systems offer substantial utility for deployment in hazardous, remote, or dynamic environments where rapid field assembly, self-repair, and continuous operational resilience are required.
• Branch of Science: Biorobotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Mechanical Engineering.
• Additional Detail: Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study demonstrates the successful translation of computationally accelerated evolutionary design into functional, durable physical robots.

Hawk Study Shows Potential Lessons of Bird Flight

Graduate students Huanglun Zhu and Kiran Weston set up a 3D printed model of a hawk wing for testing in the UC Davis wind tunnel. Based on motion capture imaging at Oxford University, the wind tunnel model shows how a Harris's hawk changes aerodynamic stability as it flies through a gap. Research of this type can give insight into aerodynamics that could be applied to uncrewed aerial vehicles (drones). The new Center for Animal Flight and Innovation at UC Davis will expand these studies.
Photo Credit: Huanglun Zhu and Kiran Weston

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Avian Aerodynamic State-Shifting

The Core Concept: Birds, such as the Harris's hawk, alter their wing and tail shapes mid-flight to transition seamlessly between highly maneuverable, aerodynamically unstable states and steady, aerodynamically stable states to navigate narrow obstacles.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike traditional human-built aircraft, which generally maintain a constant state of aerodynamic stability or instability, birds dynamically morph their physical shape to shift between unstable flight (which allows high maneuverability) and stable flight (which allows a steady course).

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Motion Capture Imaging: Utilized in a specialized flight hall to observe the specific anatomical maneuvers of a Harris's hawk gliding through constrained gaps.
• Wind Tunnel Modeling: Resin 3D-printed models replicating the hawk’s wing and tail configurations at different phases of flight were tested to quantify aerodynamic forces.
• Dynamic Aerodynamic Stability: The theoretical framework analyzing the calculated shift from an unstable aerodynamic state to a stable one as the wings tuck.

Nitrous oxide, a product of fertilizer use, may harm some soil bacteria

Nitrous oxide (orange and green molecules) produced at the plant root may harm certain soil bacteria, according to a new study — revealing a surprising ecological interaction that could potentially be leveraged to improve crop health.
Image Credit: Christine Daniloff, MIT; iStock
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary: Nitrous Oxide Toxicity in Soil Bacteria

• Main Discovery: Nitrous oxide, a common greenhouse gas and byproduct of agricultural fertilizer use, actively shapes microbial communities at the plant root by exhibiting toxicity toward specific soil bacteria, contradicting the long-held assumption that the gas does not interact with rhizosphere organisms.
• Methodology: Researchers genetically removed a vitamin B12-independent enzyme from Pseudomonas aeruginosa to demonstrate its resulting sensitivity to nitrous oxide. They subsequently combined a synthetic microbial community from Arabidopsis thaliana with nitrous oxide-producing bacteria, confirming that the gas hampers the growth of neighboring soil bacteria dependent on vitamin B12 to synthesize methionine.
• Key Data: An estimated 30 percent of all bacteria with sequenced genomes are susceptible to nitrous oxide toxicity due to their strict reliance on vulnerable biological processes like vitamin B12-dependent methionine biosynthesis.
• Significance: Spikes in nitrous oxide caused by common agricultural practices, such as nitrogen fertilization and watering, can heavily disrupt intricate microbial ecosystems that are critical for nutrient access and pathogen protection in crops.
• Future Application: The timing and methods of fertilization and irrigation could be strategically managed to mitigate nitrous oxide spikes, thereby preserving beneficial microbial relationships and optimizing overall crop health.
• Branch of Science: Environmental Microbiology, Agricultural Science, and Civil and Environmental Engineering.

SwRI develops magnetostrictive probe for safer, more cost-effective storage tank inspections

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has created a magnetostrictive (MST) probe that uses guided wave technology to detect corrosion in storage tanks, creating a more cost-effective and efficient inspection method. SwRI's probe attaches to the side of a storage tank and produces a highly detailed map of damaged areas inside.
Photo Credit: Southwest Research Institute

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: SwRI Magnetostrictive Transducer (MST) Probe

The Core Concept: The SwRI MST 8x8 is a magnetostrictive transducer probe that utilizes ultrasonic guided wave technology to externally detect corrosion and anomalies in storage tanks and other structures.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike traditional inspection methods that require emptying and physically entering a tank, the MST probe attaches directly to the exterior. It operates using a flexible strip of eight ultrasonic sensors that generate shear horizontal guided waves; these waves reflect off corrosion or structural flaws. The data is processed utilizing an advanced imaging algorithm known as the total focusing method, allowing the system to produce high-resolution, two-dimensional maps of structural integrity rather than merely signaling the presence of an anomaly.

Origin/History: The technology was detailed in a press release by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) on March 2, 2026. The efficacy of the MST 8x8 was established in a study authored by Dr. Sergey Vinogradov, titled “Screening of Corrosion in Storage Tank Walls and Bottoms Using an Array of Guided Wave Magnetostrictive Transducers,” published in the journal MDPI Sensors.

Just the Right Amount: Microbial Nutrients Drive Success and Failure of Antibiotics

Micrographs show an E. coli population (green) encountering an antibiotic, fosfomycin (initial concentration 2.05 mg/mL, equivalent to 250× MIC), as it diffuses in from the cell-free reservoir on the left. Adding 0.22 mm glucose to the reservoir reveals a propagating front of cell death, indicated by the replacement of green signal from live cells with magenta signal from dead cells.
Image Credit: Anna Hancock, Datta Lab

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary: Microbial Nutrients and Antibiotic Efficacy

• Main Discovery: Microbial nutrients dictate the success or failure of antibiotics in structured bacterial communities, creating an observable death front where metabolically active surface cells perish while nutrient-starved interior cells survive.
• Methodology: Researchers immobilized Escherichia coli in a specialized hydrogel mimicking the extracellular matrix and introduced antibiotics and nutrients from an adjacent cell-free reservoir, tracking cellular death and survival in real time via fluorescent signals and optical microscopy.
• Key Data: Application of fosfomycin at 2.05 mg/mL, representing 250 times the standard minimum inhibitory concentration, alongside 0.22 mm glucose generated a propagating death front, whereas the exact antibiotic concentration yielded no cellular death in the absence of nutrients.
• Significance: The findings reveal a long-theorized nutrient bottleneck, explaining why antibiotics that successfully eliminate bacteria in thoroughly mixed laboratory liquid cultures frequently fail to eradicate spatially structured infections within the human body.
• Future Application: The developed mathematical model and experimental platform will serve as a quantitative framework to predict effective antibiotic dosages and design targeted therapeutic strategies that prevent the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.
• Branch of Science: Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biophysics.
• Additional Detail: Providing excess nutrients to the bacterial population functions as a double-edged sword, unexpectedly promoting the rapid regrowth of heterogeneous, antibiotic-resistant subpopulations in the wake of the initial death front.

Twisting optical fiber creates a robust new pathway for light

Emerging from the 2000 degree C furnace, a fibre 'stack' guides light even while it is being drawn.
 Credit: Dr Nathan Roberts

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary: Twisted Optical Fibers

• Main Discovery: A novel fiber-based photonic topological insulator ensures uninterrupted light propagation, bypassing physical defects, twists, and bends without signal scattering or leakage.
• Methodology: Researchers engineered an optical fiber with multiple light-guiding cores using standard telecommunication-grade materials and introduced a continuous, controlled physical twist during the standard high-temperature drawing process.
• Key Data: Drawn from a 2000-degree Celsius furnace, the engineered design marks the first successful demonstration of an optical fiber featuring two-dimensional topologically protected light guidance.
• Significance: The induced topological behavior isolates light within protected states, preventing unwanted channel coupling and backward reflection caused by microscopic glass imperfections, thereby drastically enhancing overall signal robustness.
• Future Application: The technology is structurally optimized for mass-produced, high-capacity data center interconnects, advanced quantum communications, and precision sensing instruments utilized in medical imaging and environmental monitoring.
• Branch of Science: Photonics, Condensed Matter Physics, and Telecommunications Engineering.
• Additional Detail: The twisted multi-core fiber retains the physical flexibility and low-loss transmission properties of conventional optical cables and integrates seamlessly into current manufacturing techniques, overcoming the restrictive size limitations of previous solid-state topological materials.

New tool could reduce collision risk for Earth-observation satellites

Image Credit: Scientific Frontline

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary

The Core Concept: A computational modeling tool that incorporates space debris collision probability directly into the earliest design phases of Earth-observation satellite missions.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike traditional workflows where collision risk is assessed only after a satellite is designed, this framework links performance requirements (such as image resolution and coverage) immediately with physical constraints (size, mass) and orbital debris density. This allows engineers to see how specific mission goals—like higher resolution imagery—increase or decrease the statistical likelihood of a collision before any hardware is built.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Variable Linkage: Connects optical requirements (resolution) directly to satellite physical dimensions (cross-sectional area).
• Orbital Mapping: correlates specific altitudes (e.g., 850–950 km) with both debris density and necessary satellite size.
• Trade-off Analysis: Calculates the safety "cost" of higher-performance data, revealing that higher orbits may carry greater risk due to the need for larger, more vulnerable satellite bodies.

Particle-in-cell study of electron beam propagation through ionospheric plasma

ADR system in action
Theoretical use of an e-beam in the ionosphere to disperse debris.
Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary

The Core Concept: A proposed method for clearing space debris using remotely transmitted electron beams to induce ablation and propulsion, serving as a high-efficiency alternative to laser-based systems.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike lasers, electron beams (e-beams) theoretically offer higher overall energy efficiency and momentum transfer. However, the system relies on transmitting the beam through the ionosphere's plasma, where it faces challenges like beam divergence and instability (turbulence) that must be managed to maintain focus over long distances.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Active Debris Removal (ADR): The overarching strategy of actively removing defunct satellites and fragments from orbit.
• Particle-in-Cell (PIC) Simulation: The numerical method used to model the complex behavior of charged particles in the ionosphere.
• Two-Stream Instability: A specific plasma instability identified as the source of turbulence that disrupts the electron beam.
• Laminar-to-Turbulent Transition: The critical threshold where the beam loses cohesion, which determines the effective range and focus of the system.

Branch of Science: Aerospace Engineering, Plasma Physics, Thermophysics.

Future Application: The development of ground-based or orbital systems capable of "pushing" hazardous space junk out of orbit more effectively than current theoretical laser models.

Why It Matters: As low Earth orbit becomes increasingly crowded, the risk of catastrophic collisions (Kessler Syndrome) grows; this research provides crucial data on how to stabilize the high-energy beams necessary to clean up the space environment efficiently.

Cracking complex networks with partial data

Given that more than 20 internal signals drive the behavior of a single neuron, measuring all of them is close to impossible. Jr-Shin Li’s lab and explored an alternative: What if we could measure only one signal per node?
Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / stock image

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary

The Core Concept: A computational framework capable of reconstructing the connectivity of massive, complex networks by measuring only a single data signal from each node, rather than tracking every internal variable.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike ideal scenarios requiring comprehensive data for every network component, NIPS employs a mathematical instrument called "forced time-delay embedding." This allows researchers to model a node's future behavior based on its past values and treat signals from other nodes as external inputs to infer connectivity.

Origin/History: Developed by researchers in Jr-Shin Li’s lab at Washington University in St. Louis and published in PNAS Nexus in January 2026.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Network Inference from Partial States (NIPS): The overarching framework for reconstructing network architecture from limited data.
• Forced Time-Delay Embedding: The mathematical technique used to extract dynamic information from a single variable's history.
• Single-Variable Measurement: The methodological shift from full-state observation to partial-state observation.

Branch of Science: Systems Science, Network Science, and Electrical Engineering.

Future Application:

• Infrastructure: Pinpointing broken links in power grids by analyzing generator frequency data during disruptions.
• Healthcare: Mapping neuron connectivity to study circadian rhythms and diagnose sleep disorders.

Engineers design structures that compute with heat

This artistic rendering shows a thermal analog computing device, which performs computations using excess heat, embedded in a microelectronic system.
Image Credit: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: Researchers have developed microscopic silicon structures capable of performing analog computations by utilizing waste heat instead of electricity.
• Methodology: The team employed an "inverse design" software system to iteratively optimize the geometry and porosity of silicon metastructures, enabling them to conduct and diffuse heat in specific patterns that represent mathematical operations.
• Key Data: The thermal computing structures achieved over 99 percent accuracy in performing matrix-vector multiplications, a fundamental calculation for machine learning models.
• Significance: This paradigm shifts heat from a problematic waste product to a functional information carrier, potentially allowing for energy-free thermal sensing and signal processing within microelectronics.
• Future Application: Beyond thermal management, the technology is envisioned for use in sequential machine learning operations and programmable thermal structures that can detect localized heat gradients without digital components.
• Branch of Science: Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics, and Computer Science.
• Additional Detail: To handle negative numerical values—which heat conduction cannot naturally represent—the researchers developed a method to split matrices into positive and negative components, optimizing separate structures for each.

Efficient cooling method could enable chip-based quantum computers

Caption:Researchers developed a photonic chip that incorporates precisely designed antennas to manipulate beams of tightly focused, intersecting light, which can rapidly cool a quantum computing system to someday enable greater efficiency and stability.
Illustration Credit: Michael Hurley and Sampson Wilcox
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Core Discovery: Researchers successfully demonstrated a high-efficiency polarization-gradient cooling method integrated directly onto a photonic chip, enabling faster and more effective cooling for trapped-ion quantum computers.
• Methodology: The system utilizes precisely designed nanoscale antennas connected by waveguides to emit intersecting light beams with diverse polarizations; this creates a rotating light vortex that drastically reduces the kinetic energy of trapped ions.
• Key Data: The approach achieved ion cooling temperatures nearly 10 times below the standard Doppler limit, reaching this state in approximately 100 microseconds—several times faster than comparable techniques.
• Context: Unlike traditional quantum setups that rely on bulky external lasers and are sensitive to vibrations, this integrated architecture generates stable optical fields directly on the chip, eliminating the need for complex external optical alignment.
• Significance: This advancement validates a scalable path for quantum computing where thousands of ion-interface sites can coexist on a single chip, significantly improving the stability and practicality of quantum information processing.
• Specific Mechanism: The on-chip antennas feature specialized curved notches designed to scatter light upward, maximizing the optical interaction with the ion and allowing for advanced operations beyond simple cooling.

A Robot Learns to Lip Sync

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: Columbia Engineering researchers developed a robot that autonomously learns to lip-sync to speech and song through observational learning, bypassing traditional rule-based programming.
• Methodology: The system utilizes a "vision-to-action" language model (VLA) where the robot first maps its own facial mechanics by watching its reflection, then correlates these movements with human lip dynamics observed in YouTube videos.
• Specific Detail/Mechanism: The robot features a flexible silicone skin driven by 26 independent motors, allowing it to translate audio signals directly into motor actions without explicit instruction on phoneme shapes.
• Key Statistic or Data: The robot successfully articulated words in multiple languages and performed songs from an AI-generated album, utilizing training data from thousands of random facial expressions and hours of human video footage.
• Context or Comparison: Unlike standard humanoids that use rigid, pre-defined facial choreographies, this data-driven approach aims to resolve the "Uncanny Valley" effect by generating fluid, human-like motion.
• Significance/Future Application: This technology addresses the "missing link" of facial affect in robotics, a critical component for effectively deploying humanoid robots in social roles such as elder care, education, and service industries.

Self-Healing Composite Can Make Airplane, Automobile and Spacecraft Components Last for Centuries

3D printed thermoplastic healing agent (blue overlay) on glass-fiber reinforcement (left); infrared thermograph during in situ self-healing of a fractured fiber-composite (middle); 3D printed healing agent (blue) on carbon-fiber reinforcement (right).
Image Credit: Jason Patrick, NC State University.

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: Researchers developed a self-healing fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite capable of enduring more than 1,000 autonomous repair cycles, offering a potential solution to the persistent problem of delamination.
• Mechanism: The system utilizes a thermoplastic healing agent (poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid)) 3D-printed onto fiber reinforcements, which is activated by embedded carbon-based heater layers to melt and re-bond cracks.
• Key Data: Experimental testing verified 1,000 fracture-and-heal cycles, with fracture resistance starting at 175% of standard non-healing composites and maintaining approximately 60% strength after extensive cycling.
• Context: Predictive modeling estimates the material could last 125 years with quarterly healing or up to 500 years with annual healing, vastly exceeding the typical 15–40 year lifespan of current FRPs.
• Significance: This technology is positioned to drastically reduce maintenance costs and waste in aerospace and renewable energy sectors, particularly for spacecraft and wind turbines where manual repair is difficult or impossible.
• Critical Detail: The gradual decline in healing efficacy is attributed to the accumulation of brittle fiber micro-debris and waning chemical reactions at the interface, though performance remains statistically viable for century-scale use.

Cleaning Up the Final Frontier: Embry‑Riddle Researchers Develop Net Mechanism to Catch Space Debris

Embry‑Riddle’s Dr. Morad Nazari, graduate student Sahasra Boyapati and Dr. Daewon Kim (from right to left) display prototype components of their space debris removal system.
Photo Credit: Embry‑Riddle/Daryl LaBello

With damaging strikes by accumulating space debris a serious threat to space missions and exploration, Embry‑Riddle researchers are developing a mechanism that can snag the debris with nets and tow it toward Earth’s atmosphere to burn up on reentry.

“What's most exciting about this project is that it offers a practical and elegant way to clean up space,” said Dr. Daewon Kim, professor of Aerospace Engineering. “It's a simple idea powered by advanced engineering, turning the vision of catching and removing space junk into something real and achievable.”

Ultra-high-resolution Lidar Reveals Hidden Cloud Structures

This experimental setup at Michigan Technological University allows researchers to create and study clouds under carefully controlled conditions. Researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory used it to demonstrate the capabilities of a new ultra-high-resolution lidar, a laser-based remote sensing instrument for studying cloud properties.
Photo Credit: Michigan Technological University

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators have developed a new type of lidar — a laser-based remote-sensing instrument — that can observe cloud structures at the scale of a single centimeter. The scientists used this high-resolution lidar to directly observe fine cloud structures in the uppermost portion of laboratory-generated clouds. This capability for studying cloud tops with resolution that is 100 to 1,000 times higher than traditional atmospheric science lidars enables pairing with measurements in well-controlled chamber experiments in a way that has not been possible before.

The results, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide some of the first experimental data showing of how cloud droplet properties near the tops of clouds differ from those in the cloud interior. These differences are crucial to understanding how clouds evolve, form precipitation, and affect Earth’s energy balance.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to see these cloud-top microstructures directly and non-invasively,” said Fan Yang, an atmospheric scientist at Brookhaven Lab and the lead author of the study. “These structures occur on scales smaller than those used in most atmospheric models, yet they can strongly affect cloud brightness and how likely clouds are to produce rain.”

Membrane magic: Researchers repurpose fuel cells membranes for new applications

Daniel Hallinan Jr. works with perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) polymers in his lab in the Aero-Propulsion Mechatronics & Energy building at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.
Photo Credit: Scott Holstein/FAMU-FSU College of Engineering

FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers are applying fuel cell technology to new applications like sustainable energy and water treatment.

In a study published in Frontiers in Membrane Science and Technology, the researchers examined a type of membrane called a perfluorosulfonic acid polymer membrane, or PFSA polymer membrane. These membranes act as filters, allowing protons to move through, but blocking electrons and gases.

In the study, the researchers examined how boiling these membranes — a common treatment applied to the material — affects their performance and helps them work as specialized tools for different applications.

New SwRI laboratory to study the origins of planetary systems

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has created a new space science laboratory, the Nebular Origins of the Universe Research (NOUR) Laboratory. Led by SwRI Senior Research Scientist Dr. Danna Qasim, the NOUR laboratory aims to bridge pre-planetary and planetary science to create a better understanding of the origins of our universe.
Photo Credit: Southwest Research Institute

The laboratory will trace the chemical origins of planetary systems. Qasim aims to establish a robust astrochemistry program within SwRI’s Space Science Division, connecting early cosmic chemistry to planetary evolution. The SwRI lab will give particular focus on the chemistry of interstellar clouds, vast regions of ice, gas and dust between stars representing a largely unexplored area of astrochemistry.

“We are examining the chemistry of ice, gas and dust that have existed since before our solar system formed, connecting the dots to determine how materials in those clouds ultimately evolve into planets,” Qasim said. “By simulating the physico-chemical conditions of these pre-planetary environments, we can fill key data gaps, providing insights that future NASA missions need to accomplish their goals.”

Rice engineers show lab grown diamond films can stop costly mineral buildup in pipes

Pulickel Ajayan and Xiang Zhang
Photo Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

In industrial pipes, mineral deposits build up the way limescale collects inside a kettle ⎯ only on a far larger and more expensive scale. Mineral scaling is a major issue in water and energy systems, where it slows flow, strains equipment and drives up costs.

A new study by Rice University engineers shows that lab-grown diamond coatings could resolve the issue, providing an alternative to chemical additives and mechanical cleaning, both of which offer only temporary relief and carry environmental or operational downsides.

“Because of these limitations, there is growing interest in materials that can naturally resist scale formation without constant intervention,” said Xiang Zhang, assistant research professor of materials science and nanoengineering and a first author on the study alongside Rice postdoctoral researcher Yifan Zhu. “Our work addresses this urgent need by identifying a coating material that can ‘stay clean’ on its own.”