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2+ hour ago (260+ words) Most commercial adhesives are made to stay permanently set once bonded, so electronics or other goods that are assembled using them are quite difficult to take apart for recycling. With that problem in mind, scientists have developed "smart" adhesives that can be switched back and forth between bonding and non-bonding states. Unfortunately, many of those substances have still tended to be made of petroleum byproducts, the extraction and refining of which are notoriously environmentally unfriendly. That's why Prof. Kwang-Un Jeong, PhD Student Mintaek Oh and colleagues from Korea's Jeonbuk National University looked to a tetrahydrogeraniol methacrylate monomer (TGMM). Derived from rose oil, the monomer was already known for being flexible, mechanically stable, and biodegradable. The resulting "T/A adhesive" copolymer is made up of 95% TGMM and just 5% AAMM. When exposed to ultraviolet light, it takes on a liquid form, allowing…...

3+ hour, 15+ min ago (231+ words) Q: What drew you to research microbes in extreme environments, and what are the challenges in studying them?" Q: Given how diverse microbes are and how little we understand about them, how can studying microbes in silico, using genomic language modeling, advance our understanding of the microbial genome?" Previously, we've been thinking about proteins as a standalone entity " that gets us to a decent degree of information because proteins are related by homology, and therefore things that are evolutionarily related might have a similar function." What I want to do is incorporate more of that genomic context in the way that we search for and annotate proteins and understand protein function, so that we can go beyond sequence or structural similarity to add contextual information to how we understand proteins and hypothesize about their functions." Q: How can your research be applied to…...

3+ hour, 15+ min ago (640+ words) For electrical engineers working in almost any part of the wired or wireless spectrum, the spectrum analyzer is a critical test and measurement tool. For optical engineering, the equivalent tool is the spectrometer, and it's increasingly becoming a needed tool for EEs as electronics and optics interface, merge, and overlap. New developments in materials are redefining that situation. Researchers at North Carolina State University successfully demonstrated a spectrometer that's orders of magnitude smaller than current technologies and can accurately measure light from ultraviolet to the near-infrared wavelengths. This technology makes it possible to create handheld spectroscopy devices and holds promise for the development of devices that incorporate an array of new sensors to serve as next-generation imaging spectrometers. In addition to detailing their work as expected, the researchers thoughtfully provided an overview of the issues surrounding alternative approaches to tiny…...

4+ hour, 4+ min ago (1223+ words) Researchers have significantly improved the accuracy and scale of simulating molecular energy using quantum annealing, achieving solutions for molecules with substantially more atoms than previously possible and demonstrating a key step towards practical applications of this technology in the near future. https://quantumzeitgeist.com/wp-content/uploads/Capture-647.jpg Determining the ground-state energy of molecules represents a fundamental challenge in computational chemistry, with traditional methods quickly becoming impractical as molecular size increases. Stefano Bruni and Enrico Prati, both from Universit`a degli Studi di Milano, alongside their colleagues, now demonstrate a significant advance in tackling this problem using quantum annealing. Their work maps molecular energy calculations onto a form suitable for quantum computers, offering a potentially cheaper and more scalable approach. By employing an improved mapping technique and leveraging the capabilities of modern quantum hardware, the team achieves a more than doubled probability of finding accurate solutions…...

4+ hour, 29+ min ago (619+ words) For renewable energy technologies like fuel cell and electrolyzers, scientists are looking for cost effective proton carriers. A new physical model developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) helps improve predictions of proton mobility across a wide range of metal oxides. This can help develop new materials and technologies powered by protons as charge carriers, rather than relying on lithium, which is widely used now." The recent surge in lithium use for energy storage in electric vehicles and renewable energy plants has driven its price up as well. In addition to its higher cost, lithium also raises safety and environmental concerns, prompting scientists to seek much safer, cost-effective charge carriers." Advances in fuel cell and electrolyzer technology have brought the focus to protons as key charge carriers. Consisting of just a hydrogen atom nucleus and no electrons,…...

4+ hour, 36+ min ago (817+ words) Scientists demonstrate that carefully tuning light within a nanoscale cavity can control chemical reactions at electrode surfaces, suppressing specific molecular vibrations and efficiently removing energy to potentially enhance reaction control and cooling. https://quantumzeitgeist.com/wp-content/uploads/Capture-646.jpg The interplay between light and chemical reactions receives significant attention, and recent work by Yaling Ke and colleagues explores how confined light fields influence reactions at a molecular level. Researchers are now demonstrating control over chemical processes by manipulating the electromagnetic environment around molecules, and this study investigates voltage-driven reactions occurring between molecules and electrodes. The team's approach utilises a confined light field to observe and ultimately control the breaking and forming of chemical bonds, revealing resonant suppression of reaction rates when the light's frequency matches specific molecular vibrations. This achievement represents a step towards designing molecular junctions that operate more efficiently and remain stable under high…...

5+ hour, 1+ min ago (536+ words) The study reveals why tin oxide ozone catalysts fail under high-voltage operation. US scientists have taken a major step towards supplying hospitals and treatment facilities with safer chlorine-free water disinfection by identifying why promising ozone-generating catalysts degrade over time. The University of Pittsburgh researchers collaborated with colleagues from Drexel University and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to uncover key design principles for catalysts that generate ozone, a disinfectant, on demand. Using quantum chemistry, the team found how microscopic defects on catalyst surfaces simultaneously enable ozone production and trigger the corrosion that shuts it down. The findings showed them how to design longer-lasting, chlorine-free water treatment systems. "This work is a testament to how fundamental science and engineering come together to answer long-standing questions and concoct new routes to improved water and sanitation technologies," John Keith, R.K. Mellon Faculty Fellow at the University…...

5+ hour, 21+ min ago (819+ words) University of Oklahoma researcher Mike Banad has received Department of Defense funding to develop advanced, energy-efficient materials for electronics and photonics. His project utilizes artificial intelligence and inverse design techniques to accelerate materials creation, targeting specific properties for applications in computing, sensing, and defense. https://quantumzeitgeist.com/wp-content/uploads/beads.jpg AI-Driven Material Discovery and Design The PMD" framework uses AI models trained on existing MIT materials to identify candidates with optimized qualities'reliable state-switching and low energy use. Simulations check for structural stability under harsh conditions, such as high temperatures. This process significantly reduces trial and error, saving time and resources. The AI also predicts successful fabrication procedures, guiding the selection of chemicals and temperatures. The project is expected to run from September 2025 to September 2028. This AI-driven methodology isn't limited to MIT chalcogenides; it's a scalable framework applicable to other material classes. Banad aims to continue…...

5+ hour, 27+ min ago (694+ words) Indoor rooms often contain far more chemicals than most people realize. Air moves slowly inside enclosed spaces, so chemicals released from everyday products linger instead of drifting away. Dust settles on furniture, sticky films form on toys, and fumes rise from cleaners, sprays, and cosmetics. All of these sources add to indoor pollution. Scientists now express real concern because people breathe and touch these chemicals every day in places designed to feel comfortable and safe. Many everyday items release chemicals into indoor air. Shampoos, lotions, and nail products emit substances that can affect hormones. Plastic objects shed tiny plastic pieces during normal use. Carpets, paints, and furniture coatings release compounds that stay in rooms for a long time. Cooking creates nitrosamines, which add to indoor pollution. Daycare mats and toys slowly release flame retardants. Computers, cables, and other office equipment…...

5+ hour, 30+ min ago (502+ words) RNA Might Have Formed Naturally on Early Earth, Seeding Life New experiments show how RNA might form not just on Earth but on other rocky planets, too By Jonathan O'Callaghan edited by Lee Billings An artist's impression of a single strand of ribonucleic acid, or RNA, a molecule thought to be an important precursor for life's origins on Earth. How life begins remains an unsolved question. One key component might be RNA, a molecular cousin of DNA found in every form of life on Earth, and now scientists say they have shown how it could have formed on our planet eons ago. But not everyone is convinced, and RNA is possibly just one of many molecules that could give rise to life on different worlds. In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA,…...