Gene editing for the development of new treatments, and for studying disease as well as normal function in humans and other organisms, may advance more quickly with a new tool for cutting larger pieces of DNA out of a cell’s genome, according to a new study. Publication of the UCSF study on Oct. 19, 2020…

Researchers have developed a method to stabilize a promising material known as perovskite for cheap solar cells, without compromising its near-perfect performance. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, used an organic molecule as a ‘template’ to guide perovskite films into the desired phase as they form. Their results are reported in the journal Science.…

The building blocks of life-saving therapeutics could be developed in days instead of years thanks to new software that simulates evolution. Proseeker is the name of a new computational tool that mimics the processes of natural selection, producing proteins that can be used for a range of medicinal and household uses. Proseeker is the name…

Poisonous heavy metals contaminating thousands of sites nationwide threaten to enter the food chain, and there’s been no easy way to remove them. An experimental chemical bath and electrochemical filter could now extract heavy metals from the soil and leave fields safe. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, heavy metals have been found at thousands…

Sustainable energy storage is in great demand. Researchers have therefore developed an all-organic proton battery that can be charged in a matter of seconds. The battery can be charged and discharged over 500 times without any significant loss of capacity. The researchers have been able to demonstrate that their battery can be easily charged using…

A study on the role of microscopic particles in virus transmission suggests pollen is nothing to sneeze at. In a new study, researchers investigate how pollen facilitates the spread of an RNA virus like the COVID-19 virus. The study draws on cutting-edge computational approaches for analyzing fluid dynamics to mimic the pollen movement from a…

Scientists reveal a way to make ammonia from its constituent molecules of nitrogen and hydrogen at ambient pressure. The new study, published on Feb. 2 in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C, demonstrates a process with potential for use in renewable energy storage and transfer, which relies on a dispersed and fluctuating network of resources,…

Researchers have used magnetism to determine, for the first time, when asteroids that are rich in water and amino acids first arrived in the inner solar system. The research also gives scientists data that can be applied to the discovery of new exoplanets. «There is special interest in defining this history — in reference to…

Simulations have led to the fabrication of a polymer-DNA gel that could be used in tissue regeneration and robotics. Scientists in Japan have made a tuneable, elastic and temperature-sensitive gel by using complementary DNA strands to connect star-shaped polymer molecules together. The gel, and the method used to develop it, could lead to advances in…

Hydrogen is a promising clean energy source with great potential to replace greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels. While total water (H2O) splitting is the easiest way to obtain hydrogen (H2), this reaction is slow and not yet commercially feasible. Now, scientists have developed a novel electrocatalyst that significantly improves hydrogen production from water splitting in an…