Study on battery recycling shows China is in 1st place
From University of Münster 17/12/23 With the increase in the production of batteries for electric vehicles, demand is also rising for the necessary raw materials. In view of risks to the supply chain, environmental problems and precarious working conditions which are all associated with the mining and transportation of these materials, the recycling of battery […]
MIT engineers design a robotic replica of the heart’s right chamber
From Massachusetts Institute of Technology 17/12/23 MIT engineers have developed a robotic replica of the heart’s right ventricle, which mimics the beating and blood-pumping action of live hearts. The robo-ventricle combines real heart tissue with synthetic, balloon-like artificial muscles that enable scientists to control the ventricle’s contractions while observing how its natural valves and other […]
New genes can arise from nothing
From University of Helsinki 16/12/23 The complexity of living organisms is encoded within their genes, but where do these genes come from? Researchers at the University of Helsinki resolved outstanding questions around the origin of small regulatory genes, and described a mechanism that creates their DNA palindromes. Under suitable circumstances, these palindromes evolve into microRNA […]
Biopesticide is harmless to mammals but can wipe out colonies of wasps that benefit plants
From Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo 16/12/23 Some wasps and bees are able to recognize sick nestmates by smell and can prevent their entry into the nest to avert infection of the entire colony, assuring its survival and that of the species in the long run. A study supported by […]
Mind-bending concentric pyramid art installation in Abu Dhabi
From Superinnovators 15/12/23 US artist Jim Denevan’s Self Similar art installation in Fahid Island, Abu Dhabi, consists of 448 three-sided pyramids and mounds, and 1000 lanterns, arranged in concentric circles. The sand installation opened on 21st Nov and is part of Public Art Abu Dhabi’s light art exhibition Manar Abu Dhabi which will run until […]
Veins of bacteria could form a self-healing system for concrete infrastructure
From Drexel University 15/12/23 In hopes of producing concrete structures that can repair their cracks, researchers from Drexel University’s College of Engineering are putting a new twist on an old trick for improving the durability of concrete. Fiber reinforcement has been around since the first masons were mixing horsehair into their mud. But the Drexel […]
Finding the most heat-resistant substances ever made
From University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science 15/12/23 The most durable, heat-resistant materials ever made could be hiding in plain sight. The U.S. Department of Defense wants to know if minerals and rocks found on Earth and in space hold the secrets of next-generation high-temperature materials. To find out, the DOD awarded […]
Major breakthrough for severe asthma treatment
From King’s College London 15/12/23 A landmark study has shown that severe asthma can be controlled using biologic therapies, without the addition of regular high-dose inhaled steroids which can have significant side effects. The findings from the multinational SHAMAL study, published in The Lancet, demonstrated that 92% of patients using the biologic therapy benralizumab could […]
Snow removal machine for trucks and buses
From Superinnovators 14/12/23 US company Scraper Systems designs and manufactures a patented FleetPlow system that removes snow and ice from the tops of trucks and buses using a variable height plow. First conceived in 1997, today there are over 2,000 machines installed across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, with the top model able to remove […]
What happens when the brain loses a hub?
From University of Iowa Health Care 14/12/23 A University of Iowa-led team of international neuroscientists has obtained the first direct recordings of the human brain in the minutes before and after a brain hub crucial for language meaning was surgically disconnected. The results reveal the importance of brain hubs in neural networks and the remarkable […]