New compound that withstands extreme heat and electricity could lead to next-generation energy storage devices

A new type of polysulfate compound can be used to make polymer film capacitors that store and discharge high density of electrical energy while tolerating heat and electric fields beyond the limits of existing polymer film capacitors.
Illustration Credit: Yi Liu and He (Henry) Li/Berkeley Lab

Society’s growing demand for high-voltage electrical technologies – including pulsed power systems, cars and electrified aircraft, and renewable energy applications – requires a new generation of capacitors that store and deliver large amounts of energy under intense thermal and electrical conditions. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Scripps Research have now developed a new polymer-based device that efficiently handles record amounts of energy while withstanding extreme temperatures and electric fields. The device is composed of materials synthesized via a next-generation version of the chemical reaction for which three scientists won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Polymer film capacitors are electrical components that store and release energy within an electric field using a thin plastic layer as the insulating layer. They make up 50% of the global high voltage capacitor market and offer advantages including light weight, low cost, mechanical flexibility, and robust cyclability. But state-of-the-art polymer film capacitors decrease dramatically in performance with increasing temperature and voltages. Developing new materials with improved tolerance for heat and electric fields is paramount; and creating polymers with near-perfect chemistry offers a way to do so.

Climate Change Could Cause Mass Exodus of Tropical Plankton

Plankton under a microscope. Researchers at UT Austin say that tropical plankton like this may vanish as the climate warms.
Photo Credit: Tracy Aze.

The tropical oceans are home to the most diverse plankton populations on Earth, where they form the base of marine food chains. Modern plankton biodiversity in the tropics is a surprisingly recent development and the result of 8 million years of global cooling, according to a study led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.

The finding raises concerns that rapid ocean warming could force the plankton to move away from the tropics, which would negatively affect ocean ecosystems, including those of important fish such as tuna and billfish, and coastal communities that depend on them. The research was published in the journal Nature.

Using microfossils to track the history of a group of zooplankton called Foraminifera, the researchers found that the last time Earth was this warm – just before global cooling began 8 million years ago – tropical plankton populations lived in waters more than 2,000 miles from where they are today. The natural cooling of the past 8 million years that allowed the plankton to flourish in the tropics has been reversed by climate change during the past century.

Genetic test can detect deadly bleeding disorder in dogs

Jenna, a Scottish deerhound owned by Laura Studer, has a DNA sample taken from her in Gig Harbor.
 Photos Credit: WSU College of Veterinary Medicine/Ted S. Warren.

A new genetic test can identify dogs at risk of a potentially deadly disorder resulting in excessive bleeding and bruising in the hours and days following surgical procedures.

A team led by Washington State University researchers developed the DEPOHGEN (TM) test following a study in which they examined Scottish deerhounds and identified a gene associated with the condition known as delayed postoperative hemorrhage or DEPOH. Animals with a mutation in the DEPOH gene are significantly more likely to experience the condition. The study was published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

“Dogs with the DEPOH mutation have a much higher risk than other dogs of developing this after undergoing surgery,” said Dr. Michael Court, the study’s corresponding author. “The DEPOHGEN test will allow us to prevent delayed postoperative hemorrhage by administering antifibrinolytic drugs to dogs that test positive for the gene before any surgery.”

Delayed postoperative hemorrhage was first recorded in greyhounds, but it has also been noted in other sighthound breeds, like Scottish deerhounds and Irish wolfhounds. Following the identification of the DEPOH gene, the team examined samples from WSU’s pet DNA bank and discovered the mutation in additional sighthounds, like Italian greyhounds and salukis, as well as in some other popular breeds, such as golden retrievers and border collies.

Engineers discover a new way to control atomic nuclei as “qubits”

Diagram illustrates the way two laser beams of slightly different wavelengths can affect the electric fields surrounding an atomic nucleus, pushing against this field in a way that nudges the spin of the nucleus in a particular direction, as indicated by the arrow.
Illustration Credit: Courtesy of the researchers | MIT
Creative Commons

In principle, quantum-based devices such as computers and sensors could vastly outperform conventional digital technologies for carrying out many complex tasks. But developing such devices in practice has been a challenging problem despite great investments by tech companies as well as academic and government labs.

Today’s biggest quantum computers still only have a few hundred “qubits,” the quantum equivalents of digital bits.

Now, researchers at MIT have proposed a new approach to making qubits and controlling them to read and write data. The method, which is theoretical at this stage, is based on measuring and controlling the spins of atomic nuclei, using beams of light from two lasers of slightly different colors. The findings are described in a paper published Tuesday in the journal Physical Review X, written by MIT doctoral student Haowei Xu, professors Ju Li and Paola Cappellaro, and four others.

Nuclear spins have long been recognized as potential building blocks for quantum-based information processing and communications systems, and so have photons, the elementary particles that are discreet packets, or “quanta,” of electromagnetic radiation. But coaxing these two quantum objects to work together was difficult because atomic nuclei and photons barely interact, and their natural frequencies differ by six to nine orders of magnitude.

Two-dimensional oxides open door for high-speed electronics

Furkan Turker, graduate student in the Department of Materials Sciences, works on a silicon carbide chip in the laboratory 
Photo Credit: Pennsylvania State University
 Creative Commons

Advances in computing power over the decades have come thanks in part to our ability to make smaller and smaller transistors, a building block of electronic devices, but we are nearing the limit of the silicon materials typically used. A new technique for creating 2D oxide materials may pave the way for future high-speed electronics, according to an international team of scientists.

“One way we can make our transistors, our electronic devices, work faster is to shrink the distance electrons have to travel between point A and B,” said Joshua Robinson, professor of materials science and engineering at Penn State. “You can only go so far with 3D materials like silicon — once you shrink it down to a nanometer, its properties change. So, there’s been a massive push looking at new materials, one of which are 2D materials.”

The team, led by Furkan Turker, graduate student in the Department of Materials Sciences, used a technique called confinement hetroepitaxy, or CHet, to create 2D oxides, materials with special properties that can serve as an atomically thin insulating layer between layers of electrically conducting materials.

“Now we can create essentially the world’s thinnest oxides — just a few atoms thick,” Turker said. “That allows you to bring conducting layers closer together than ever without letting them touch. This enables the formation of an ultrathin barrier between conducting layers, which is essential for the fabrication of next-generation electronic devices, such as diodes or transistors.”

World’s oldest European hedgehog

European hedgehog
Photo Credit: Monicore

The world’s oldest scientifically-confirmed European hedgehog has been found in Denmark by a citizen science project involving hundreds of volunteers. The male hedgehog, called Thorvald, lived for 16 years, 7 years longer than the previous record holder.

"I vividly remember the day when I counted 16 growth rings in the microscope. I was completely overwhelmed and even shed a tear of joy! Because if a hedgehog can reach an age of 16 years, there is still hope for the population."

Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Biology, University of Oxford.

The European hedgehog is one of our most beloved mammals but populations have declined dramatically in recent years. In the UK, studies indicate that urban populations have fallen by up to 30% and rural populations by at least 50% since the turn of the century. To combat this, researchers and conservationists have launched various projects to monitor hedgehog populations, to inform initiatives to protect hedgehogs in the wild. These include “The Danish Hedgehog Project”, a citizen science project led by Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen (aka ‘Dr Hedgehog’) of Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, WildCRU, part of the Department of Biology.

During 2016, The Danish Hedgehog Project asked Danish citizens to collect any dead hedgehogs they found to better understand how long individual Danish hedgehogs typically live for. Over 400 volunteers collected an astonishing 697 dead hedgehogs originating from all over Denmark, with a roughly 50/50 split from urban and rural areas.

Climate Change Portends Wider Malaria Risk as Mosquitos Spread South and to Higher Elevations in Africa

Anopheles funestus, one of the common mosquito species that transmit malaria in Africa.
Photo Credit: Oberholster Venita

Based on data that span the past 120 years, scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have found that the mosquitoes responsible for transmitting malaria in Africa are spreading deeper into southern Africa and to higher elevations than previously recorded. The researchers estimate that Anopheles mosquito populations in sub-Saharan Africa have gained an average of 6.5 meters (21 feet) of elevation per year, and the southern limits of their ranges moved south of the equator by 4.7 kilometers (nearly 3 miles) per year.

The study appeared February 15, 2023, in Biology Letters.

“This is exactly what we would expect to see if climate change is helping these species reach colder parts of the continent,” says Colin Carlson, PhD, an assistant research professor at the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University Medical Center and lead author of the study. “If mosquitoes are spreading into these areas for the first time, it might help explain some recent changes in malaria transmission that have otherwise been hard to trace back to climate.”

AI with infrared imaging enables precise colon cancer diagnostics

Klaus Gerwert, Stephanie Schörner and Frederik Großerüschkamp (from left) want to improve the diagnosis of colon cancer with the help of artificial intelligence.
Photo Credit: © RUB, Marquard

Artificial intelligence and infrared imaging automatically classify tumors and are faster than previous methods.

The immense progress in the area of therapy options over the past few years has significantly improved the chances of recovery for patients with colon cancer. However, these new approaches, such as immunotherapy, require a precise diagnosis so that they can be tailored to the respective person. Researchers at the Center for Protein Diagnostics PRODI at the Ruhr University Bochum use artificial intelligence in combination with infrared imaging to optimally coordinate the therapy of colon cancer with the individual patient. The label-free and automatable method can complement existing pathological analyzes. The team around Prof. Dr. Klaus Gerwert reports in the journal "European Journal of Cancer" on January 28, 2023.

Deep insights into human tissue within an hour

The PRODI team has been developing a new method of digital imaging for several years: The so-called label-free infrared (IR) imaging measures the genomic and proteomic composition of the tissue examined, i.e. provides molecular information based on the infrared spectra. This information is decoded using artificial intelligence and displayed as false color images. For this purpose, the researchers use image analysis methods from the field of deep learning.

Pesticides in Capsules Are Less Toxic and More Effective at Killing Pests

Pesticides are taken up by the roots of plants when they germinate, and move up the food chain into the human body.
Photo Credit: Elizaveta Veretennikova

Pesticides in capsules are less toxic and more effective in killing pests. This was discovered by a group of chemists from China and Russia, including scientists from the Ural Federal University. The researchers proposed the use of β-cyclodextrins as capsule shells, which weaken the toxic effect of pesticides. Reducing toxicity in the long term will reduce the amount of pesticides not only in plants, but also in the human body. Humans can absorb them by eating plant foods and animal flesh. An article with the results of the research has been published in the journal Advanced Agrochem.

"Pesticides are used to kill pests and plant pathogens. They are also used to control various parasites, weeds, pests of grain and grain products, and wood. They are among the most toxic pollutants. They are very difficult to remove from the soil and are slow to decompose. As a result, they are absorbed into the roots of plants during germination and move up the food chain to enter the human body. Pesticides also tend to accumulate, especially in fatty tissues, which poses a serious threat to humans. In addition, in hot weather they can become gaseous and pollute the air," says Elena Kovaleva, Professor of the Department of Technology of Organic Synthesis at the Ural Fereral University.

Researchers find thermal limits of advanced nanomaterials

Boron nitride nanotube material in a crucible for heating at Florida State University's High-Performance Materials Institute.
Photo Credit: Mark Wallheiser/FAMU-FSU Engineering

A team of FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers at the High-Performance Materials Institute is exploring the thermal limits of advanced nanomaterials, work that could have a direct impact on medicine delivery systems, electronics, space travel and other applications.

The research team, led by Assistant Professor in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Rebekah Sweat, completed the first-ever study on how purified boron nitride nanotubes remain stable in extreme temperatures in inert environments.

Their work was published in the journal Applied Nano Materials.

Boron nitride nanotubes, or BNNTs, are stronger and more resistant to high temperatures than carbon nanotubes. Like their carbon cousins, they are structures measured by the nanometer — a length equal to one-billionth of a meter.