New sensor detects rare metals used in smartphones

A more efficient and cost-effective way to detect lanthanides, the rare earth metals used in smartphones and other technologies, could be possible with a new protein-based sensor that changes its fluorescence when it binds ...

Electric cars can clean up the mining industry – here's how

Growing demand for electric vehicles is important to help cut transport emissions, but it will also lead to new mining. Without a careful approach, we could create new environmental damage while trying to solve an environmental ...

The complicated future of offshore wind power in the US

Over the past decade, wind power production in the U.S. has tripled, becoming the largest source of renewable energy in the country, the American Wind Energy Association has reported. There are more than 56,800 wind turbines ...

Rare-earth elements in mining industry's waste piles

If rare-earth metals can be extracted from previously quarried ore, the environmental hazards of new mines and mining waste can be mitigated. In his doctoral research, Wenzhong Zhang from the Department of Chemistry at the ...

Shortening the rare-earth supply chain via recycling

Modern technology depends on a set of 17 elements at the foot of the periodic table. Known as rare earths (REs), many of these metals are highly magnetic, and find use in computing, green power and other technologies. However, ...

Rare earth orthoferrite LnFeO3 nanoparticles for bioimaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as one of the most powerful clinical imaging tools because of its superb spatial resolution and soft tissue contrast, especially when using contrast agents. In the European Journal ...

Predicting the magnetic properties of materials

Permanent magnets used in electric cars and wind turbines currently contain rare earth metals. Reducing the amount of these elements in magnets is important, as mining them is harmful both to health and the environment. Researchers ...

New research explains why some molecules have irregular forms

There's always a reason for the way molecules form and how they are shaped. Once researchers understand the bonds in molecules, they figure out ways to use the materials they form to the best advantage, unlocking new innovations ...

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