Science

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Application of Nanocomposite Membranes in Fuel Cells to Produce Green Energy

The application of fuel cells increases every day in various industries due to the importance of using sustainable and green energy sources.

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Plasma Focus Device Applied to Produce Zinc Oxide Nanofilms

A group of Iranian researchers used a new method to produce nanostructured films in a short period of time at room temperature.

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Ultra-short X-ray pulses could shed new light on the fastest events in physics

If you've ever been captivated by slow-motion footage on a wildlife documentary, or you've shuddered when similar technology is used to replay highlights from a boxing match, you'll know how impressive advancements in ultra-fast science can be.

Researchers from the Department of Physics at Oxford University (with colleagues at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the University of Strathclyde) have demonstrated, for the first time, that it is possible to generate ultra-short x-ray pulses using existing technology - and it could open up a huge range of scientific applications.

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New nanoscopic tools to study ligand-binding of receptors

Signalling processes in organisms are governed by specific extracellular and intracellular interactions and involve hundreds of different functionally highly versatile receptors situated in cell membranes. For scientists wishing to understand signalling processes the situation is made more complex by the receptors not only being unevenly distributed and often able to bind more than one ligand but also by the same type of receptor being able to bind a ligand strongly, weakly or not at all. New methods that allow precise quantifications of such complex interactions are urgently required.

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Researchers design and patent graphene biosensors: The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology is patenting biosensor chips based on graphene, graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes that will improve the analysis of biochemical reactions and accelerate th

Graphene is the first truly two-dimensional crystal, which was obtained experimentally and investigated regarding its unique chemical and physical properties. In 2010, two MIPT alumni, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for ground-breaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene". There has now been a considerable increase in the number of research studies aimed at finding commercial applications for graphene and other two-dimensional materials. One of the most promising applications for graphene is thought to be biomedical technologies, which is what researchers from the Laboratory of Nanooptics and Plasmonics at the MIPT's Center of Excellence for Nanoscale Optoelectronics are currently investigating.

Label-free biosensors are relatively new in biochemical and pharmaceutical laboratories, and have made work much easier. The sensors enable researchers to detect low concentrations of biologically significant molecular substances (RNA, DNA, proteins, including antibodies and antigens, viruses and bacteria) and study their chemical properties.

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Imitating synapses of the human brain could lead to smarter electronics

Making a computer that learns and remembers like a human brain is a daunting challenge. The complex organ has 86 billion neurons and trillions of connections -- or synapses -- that can grow stronger or weaker over time. But now scientists report in the development of a first-of-its-kind synthetic synapse that mimics the plasticity of the real thing, bringing us one step closer to human-like artificial intelligence.

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Connections, or synapses, between neurons are inspiring scientists to create artificial versions that could lead to smarter electronics.

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Quantum Dots Have Good News about Higher Efficiency in Solar Cells

Iranian researchers studied the effect of using quantum dots in the structure of solar cells on the efficiency of the equipment.

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NASA's RapidScat Sees OLYMPEX Winds

A low pressure system in the Pacific Ocean south of Alaska has moved far enough eastward that it is bringing rain and strong winds to the Pacific Northwest where the OLYMPEX field campaign is under way. NASA's RapidScat instrument analyzed those strong coastal winds from space.

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As Earth Warms, NASA Targets ‘Other Half’ of Carbon, Climate Equation

During a noon EST media teleconference on November 13, NASA and university scientists will discuss new insights, tools and agency research into key carbon and climate change questions, as the agency ramps up its efforts to understand how Earth’s ocean, forest, and land ecosystems absorb nearly half of emitted carbon dioxide today.

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Strong odour challenge of mercaptans

NHC Catalytic system, developed in the Ananikov laboratory, targeted on alternative technology of chemical utilization of organic sulfur species from crude oil (DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.5b01815).

Mercaptans or thiols are a special class of organic compounds that contains sulfur functional group, RSH. Various sulfur compounds are highly demanded in the formation of new materials in photonics, optics, pharmaceutical industry, organic chemistry, and nanotechnology.