February 3, 2020: Scientists from the University of Bristol and Université Paris-Saclay have discovered a new class of material—non-sticky gels. Until now gels have been made of particles that stick to one another to form a network. The research team, whose findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, have now shown that networks can from and persist without the particles sticking to one another if the particles behave as liquid crystals.
February 3, 2020: A new electrode design may lead to more powerful batteries. New research by engineers at MIT and elsewhere could lead to batteries that can pack more power per pound and last longer, based on the long-sought goal of using pure lithium metal as one of the battery's two electrodes, the anode. The new electrode concept comes from the laboratory of Ju Li, the Battelle Energy Alliance Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering and professor of materials science and engineering.
February 4, 2020: University of Chicago scientists have created a tough material able to stretch, heal and defend itself – a synthetic tissue that can much more closely mimic biological skin and tissue than existing technology can.
February 5, 2020: 3-D printers working in the millimeter range and larger are increasingly used in industrial production processes. Many applications, however, require precise printing on the micrometer scale at a far higher speed. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a system to print highly precise, centimeter-sized objects with submicrometer details at a so far unmatched speed.
February 5, 2020: In Massachusetts, a scientist is preparing to take tricorders to Mars. Star Trek’s Tricorder technology may have been a fantasy in the 1960s, but the instruments used to analyze, identify and record data have been manufactured for commercial use since the 1980s. Mount Holyoke College Kennedy-Schelkunoff Professor of Astronomy Darby Dyar wants to perfect how those instruments identify materials in outer space.
February 7, 2020: A new reaction system can detect X-rays at the highest sensitivity ever recorded by using organic molecules. The system, developed by researchers at Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Ikoma, Japan; and Centre National de la Recherche Scientfique (CNRS), Toulouse, France, involves the cycloreversion of terarylene, causing the molecule to switch reversibly between colorless and blue isoforms in the presence or absence of X-rays.
February 7, 2020: Employing X-ray tomography at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, international team of researchers were able to use neutrons and X-rays to analyze the aging of lithium batteries and detect deformations and discontinuities that develop during the charging cycles.
February 10, 2020: Rutgers biomedical engineers have developed a "bio-ink" for 3-D printed materials that could serve as scaffolds for growing human tissues to repair or replace damaged ones in the body.
February 7, 2020: Researchers Find New Way to Analyze Chemistry of Lunar Soil. An international team of planetary scientists and geochemists from the United States and Switzerland has demonstrated that a technique called atom probe tomography can be successfully used to characterize the composition and texture of single grains of lunar dust at near-atomic resolution.
February 10, 2020: Biomedical engineers from Rutgers University have developed a 3D printing system would print gel scaffolds, or support structures, for growing human tissues to repair or replace damaged ones in the body.
February 13, 2020: The fastest way to heat certain materials may be to cool them first. A theoretical study suggests the counterintuitive idea that the fastest way to heat specific types of materials may be by cooling them first. The idea parallels the Mpemba effect, in which hot water sometimes freezes faster than cold
February 13, 2020: A new process for preserving lumber could offer advantages over pressure treating. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new method, using atomic layer deposition, that could one day replace conventional pressure treating of wood as a way to make lumber not only fungal-resistant but also nearly impervious to water—and more thermally insulating.
February 14, 2020: Quantum interference observed in real time: Extreme UV-light spectroscopy technique. A team from the Institute of Physics at the University of Freiburg has succeeded in observing in real-time ultrafast quantum interferences—in other words the oscillation patterns—of electrons which are found in the atomic shells of rare gas atoms.
February 18, 2020: Researchers report on helical soft-X-ray beams. In a paper published on Friday, 14 February, Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL) researchers Lars Loetgering and Stefan Witte, together with colleagues from Germany and the U.S., reported on a method that enables the generation of soft X-ray beams with controlled orbital angular momentum (OAM).
February 19, 2020: Synthesizing useful organic compounds has now been made easier and cheaper. The Suzuki-Miyaura reaction is a well-known chemical process in which a reaction between organic boronic acids and aryl halides leads to the synthesis of "biaryl" compounds, which are important components of various drugs and chemical products. In a new study published in ACS Catalysts, a team of scientists from Japan, has shown how this reaction can be made more efficient.
February 14, 2020: Quantum interference was observed in real time using an extreme UV-light spectroscopy technique. A team from the Institute of Physics at the University of Freiburg has succeeded in observing in real-time ultrafast quantum interferences—in other words the oscillation patterns—of electrons which are found in the atomic shells of rare gas atoms.
February 18, 2020: Researchers recently developed a technique that can be used to build carbon-nanotube-based fibers by creating chemical crosslinks; the technique improves the electrical and mechanical properties of these materials.
February 18, 2020: A Researcher's use of crystal X-ray diffraction could change wastewater treatment. Concordia graduate student Victor Quezada aims to dramatically reduce our exposure to contaminants like pharmaceuticals and personal-care products. His research focuses on metal-organic frameworks that, with proper synthesis, could act as absorbents that remove the low-level contaminants missed by traditional treatment programs.
February 19, 2020: A real-world experiment achieved quantum entanglement across 52-mile fiber network. Scientists from Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago entangled photons across a 52-mile network in the Chicago suburbs, an important step in developing a national quantum internet.
February 20, 2020: A team of researchers in Sweden has developed a new bioplastic that, unlike traditional carbon-based plastics or other bioplastics, provides protection from the ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The researchers developed a biomass-based copolymer whose bisfuran structure was found to effectively prevent UV radiation from passing through a film made from the material.
February 20, 2020: The US FDA is considering whether to extend the reporting of asbestos in talc to all elongate mineral particles (EMP) with the same composition and crystal structure, according to a document currently undergoing public review. The report was written by the Interagency Working Group on Asbestos in Consumer Products (IWGACP) and published by the FDA.
February 21, 2020: Japanese space agency JAXA is gearing up for an ambitious unmanned space expedition to explore Phobos, one of the two moons that orbit Mars. A probe will orbit and survey both of Mars's moons, while a rover tasked with collecting samples alongside other scientific experiments will land on Phobos. If all goes well, the spacecraft will return to Earth in with the soil samples.
February 21, 2020: In manufacturing, controlling the three-dimensional shapes of macrocycles is critical. In a newly published study, a University of Montreal team led by chemistry professor Shawn Collins reports that they have succeeded in using a natural process called biocatalysis to control the shapes of macrocycles, which is said could be a boon for the making of pharmaceuticals and electronics.
