For the first time, researchers have found a cost-effective and convenient way to apply a silver-based antimicrobial clear coating to new or existing textiles. Their method uses polyphenols, commonly found in food items notorious for staining clothes such as wine and chocolate. A range of textile types can be treated by the researchers’ method, and…

A new technological advancement uses an electric field to achieve efficient and low-cost ammonia removal from wastewater. Ammonia is one of many pollutants present in wastewater and can be toxic for marine and terrestrial life. Therefore, in a process called air stripping, it is removed from wastewater and later used as a fertilizer or fuel.…

A combined experimental and computational study shows promising results for a new class of catalysts producing ammonia under mild conditions. There are several means of producing ammonia, but the Haber-Bosch process remains the most prevalent, accounting for about 90 % of total production. In any case, Haber-Bosch and the other processes involved in industrial-scale production…

Scientists are now able to produce a wide range of sulfated aromatic compounds such as antifouling eelgrass acid, resveratrol and vanillic acid derivatives using microbial production hosts. This pioneering work could lead to new environmentally friendly anti-fouling paint for ships, as well as improved and sustainable nutraceuticals and medicine. «The perspectives are far-reaching since sulfation…

A new study by physicists mimicked solar winds in the lab, confirming how they develop and providing an Earth-bound model for the future study of solar physics. A new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison physicists mimicked solar winds in the lab, confirming how they develop and providing an Earth-bound model for the future study of…

Cybersecurity researchers have developed an automated program aimed at foiling smart meter hacking and boosting security in the smart grid. Cybersecurity researcher Karthik Pattabiraman, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at UBC, recently developed an automated program aimed at improving the security of these devices and boosting security in the smart grid. «Our…

A beautiful landscape painting, a beautiful piano sonata — art and music are almost exclusively described in terms of aesthetics, but what about math? Beyond useful or brilliant, can an abstract idea be considered beautiful? Yes, actually — and not just by mathematicians, reports a new study in Cognition. Coauthored by a Yale mathematician and…

A new optical resonator has unprecedented in resonance enhancement. A resonator is a device that traps waves and enhances or echoes them by reflecting them from wall to wall in a process called resonant enhancement. Today, there are complex and sophisticated resonators of various kinds throughout the world, as well as simple resonators familiar to…

A new computational method, based on neural networks, can simulate open quantum systems with unprecedented versatility. In order to study quantum systems made of many particles, physicists must first be able to simulate them. This can be done by solving the equations describing their inner workings on supercomputers. But while Moore’s Law predicts that the…

Scientists have long tried to use graphene, which is composed of carbon, as a kind of sieve. But this material doesn’t have any pores. Now, a team has found an alternative material which comes with pores from the outset. Researchers from Bielefeld, Bochum and Yale have succeeded in producing a layer of two-dimensional (2D) silicon…