“We think we have provided a path forward to better harness the sun’s energy.” An image of a back-reflector surface used by the researchers to test perovskite performance. Each quadrant is a different surface material – gold, titanium, palladium or a silica compound – upon which the perovskite material would be deposited for experiments. And…
Repairs injured tissue, restores function of aging tissue, organs, blood vessels, nerve cells Written by Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, August 18, 2017: Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Ohio State’s College of Engineering have developed a new technology, Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT), that can generate any cell type of…
Microfluidic device generates passive hydraulic power Engineers have designed a microfluidic device they call a “tree-on-a-chip,” which mimics the pumping mechanism of trees and other plants. Image: news.mit.edu Requires no moving parts or external pumps, able to pump water and sugars through chip at steady flow rate for days March 20, 2017: Trees and other…
Researchers design one of the strongest, lightest materials known 3-D-printed gyroid models such as this one were used to test the strength and mechanical properties of a new lightweight material. Photo: Melanie Gonick/MIT Porous, 3-D forms of graphene developed at MIT bring the strength of 2-D materials and the power of material architecture design together…
To produce bio-pharmaceuticals on demand, just add water Researchers at MIT and other institutions have created tiny freeze-dried pellets that include all of the molecular machinery needed to translate DNA into proteins, which could form the basis for on-demand production of drugs and vaccines. Image: Christine Daniloff/MIT. Antimicrobial peptide illustration by Ymahn/Wikimedia Commons. Freeze-dried cellular…
‘Artificial leaf’ converts atmospheric CO2 directly into syngas Simulated sunlight powers a solar cell that converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into syngas. Image: news.uic.edu Breakthrough solar cell captures CO2 and sunlight, produces burnable fuel Bill Burton, July 28, 2016: Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have engineered a potentially game-changing solar cell that…
System converts solar heat into usable light, increasing device’s overall efficiency MIT researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, an STPV device that has a higher solar-to-electrical conversion efficiency compared to that of the underlying PV cell. Photo: courtesy of the researchers. David L. Chandler, MIT News Office, May 23, 2016: A team of MIT…
Hyperloop One forms new partnerships with global infrastructure giants Welcome to the future. High energy efficiency coupled with electric propulsion yield an energy elegant, carbon free mode of transportation. And to enable on-demand transport, Hyperloop pods are much smaller than most planes and trains and are designed to depart as often as every 10 seconds. Image:…
MIT develops nontoxic way of generating portable power; Battery substitutes produce current by burning fuel-coated carbon nanotubes like a fuse March 14, 2016: The batteries that power the ubiquitous devices of modern life, from smartphones and computers to electric cars, are mostly made of toxic materials such as lithium that can be difficult to dispose…
UNC-Chapel Hill cracks 50-year-old nuclear waste problem, making storage safer Americium, 95Am Researchers figure out how to remove americium from nuclear waste pools, opening the door for expanding the use of one of the cleanest and most efficient energy sources on the planet March 16, 2016: Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel…
The Sunshine Express 