Researchers have succeeded in identifying a technique that makes cadmium, selenium and telluride (CdSeTe) solar cells more efficient than silicon cells. But silicon cell modules are little more than 20% efficient in converting sunlight into electricity, and their production is relatively expensive and complicated. Efforts to lower technology costs relative to yield therefore include different…

With the insertion of a little math, researchers have shown that neuromorphic computers, which synthetically replicate the brain’s logic, can solve more complex problems than those posed by artificial intelligence and may even earn a place in high-performance computing. Neuromorphic simulations employing random walks can track X-rays passing through bone and soft tissue, disease passing…

When hurricanes strike, electricity loss ranks as one of the top concerns. New work looks to develop a strategy for how floating devices that harness the energy of ocean waves might be able to provide this much needed aid. Researchers are studying a new approach to supplying electricity that potentially provides a way of optimizing…

Scientists discovered in 1996 that sunquakes are linked to solar flares. Now, using helioseismic holography, scientists have analyzed a 2011 flare and shown that the impulsive source that generated the sunquake, and the refracted acoustic waves that later rippled the solar surface, was submerged 1,000 kilometers below the photosphere and flare. Further sunquake study could…

Synthetic biologists have developed a low-cost, easy-to-use, hand-held device that can let users know — within mere minutes — if their water is safe to drink. The new device works by using powerful and programmable genetic networks, which mimic electronic circuits, to perform a range of logic functions. The new device works by using powerful…

New area of application for gene scissors: Optimized proteins for biomedical research. In the directed evolution of proteins, vast numbers of slightly altered variants of a starting protein are produced. This creates a large pool of potential candidates for later use in biomedical research. In a second step, researchers select the protein variants with improved,…

The analysis of fireball observations in large datasets can be made much quicker with the help of a neat mathematical formula. There is not enough time for more close study of all fireballs observed in the sky. The observation of a bright phenomenon reveals that a meteoroid has entered the atmosphere from space, but does…

Researchers have demonstrated that placing cells on a plasmonic metasurface of self-assembled gold nanoparticle can improve the resolution of images of living cells taken in real-time under a widefield fluorescence microscope. The metasurface effectively confines light emission from parts of the cell near the metasurface to a nano-thickness plane, providing a simple method to improving…

Satellites are almost always illuminated by the sun, apart from short transitions to Earth’s shadow. The light that a satellite reflects can help reveal the solution to a structural malfunction. Carolin Frueh is among only a handful of researchers who have persisted in using a complex technique that can diagnose a problem from thousands of…

A team of scientists has developed a ‘smart’ food packaging material that is biodegradable, sustainable and kills microbes that are harmful to humans. It could also extend the shelf-life of fresh fruit by two to three days. The waterproof food packaging is made from a type of corn protein called zein, starch and other naturally…