Small scale, big improvements
Methods to improve water purification or build better batteries are problems that have challenged scientists for decades. Advances have inched forward, but rising demand moves the finish line further and further away.
Methods to improve water purification or build better batteries are problems that have challenged scientists for decades. Advances have inched forward, but rising demand moves the finish line further and further away.
Materials Science
Jun 13, 2017
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3
Purdue University researchers have developed tough, flexible, biodegradable films from cellulose, the main component of plant cell walls. The films could be used for products such as food packaging, agricultural groundcovers, ...
Polymers
Jun 8, 2016
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28
Some biochemistry laboratories fashion proteins into complex shapes, constructing the DNA nanotechnological equivalent of Baroque or Rococo architecture. Yamuna Krishnan, however, prefers structurally minimalist devices.
Bio & Medicine
Mar 25, 2016
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32
The technology that charges batteries for electronic devices could provide fresh water from salty seas, says a new study by University of Illinois engineers. Electricity running through a salt water-filled battery draws the ...
Energy & Green Tech
Feb 4, 2016
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879
Research by a team at the University of Bristol has taken the first steps towards new treatments for inherited diseases such as cystic fibrosis; one form of Bartter's syndrome (severe salt loss from the kidney); and two forms ...
Biochemistry
Nov 6, 2015
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89
Chemical engineers and biologists at MIT have found a simple way to make yeast produce more ethanol from sugars: Spike the mixture they're growing on with two common chemicals. Adding potassium and an acidity-reducing compound ...
Biotechnology
Jul 13, 2015
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37
Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and five other institutions have created a molecule that can cause cancer cells to self-destruct by ferrying sodium and chloride ions into the cancer cells.
Biochemistry
Aug 11, 2014
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0
Modern technology makes extensive use of ion exchangers. For example, they are commonly used to decalcify water by binding calcium ions and releasing sodium ions in return. Good exchangers tend to be ...
Materials Science
Feb 28, 2014
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3
(Phys.org) —A new method for the desalination of sea water has been reported by a team of American and German researchers in the journal Angewandte Chemie. In contrast to conventional methods, this technique consumes little ...
Materials Science
Jun 27, 2013
7
2
(Phys.org)—Researchers with Institut Lumière Matière, at the University of Lyon have found that soap film channels can be tuned using an electric charge to cause them to grow thicker or thinner on demand. In their paper ...