Science

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First SpaceDataHighway laser relay in orbit

The European Data Relay System’s first laser terminal has reached space aboard its host satellite and is now under way to its final operating position.

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Herbal Extracts Applied to Synthesize Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles

Environmental preservation is today one of the greatest concerns of scientists in all scientific aspects.

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Nanostructural Changes in Solar Cells to Increase Their Efficiency

Iranian and Singaporean researchers applied an industrial, cost-effective and simple method to boost the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells to convert solar energy into electrical one by creating nanometric changes in cell structures.

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Monstrous Cloud Boomerangs Back to Our Galaxy

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The 100-million-year-long trajectory of the Smith Cloud as it arcs out of the plane of our Milky Way galaxy and then returns like a boomerang. Hubble Space Telescope measurements show that the cloud, because of its chemical composition, came out of a region near the edge of the galaxy's disk of stars 70 million years ago. The cloud is now stretched into the shape of a comet by gravity and gas pressure. Following a ballistic path, the cloud will fall back into the disk and trigger new star formation 30 million years from now.

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An alternative to platinum: Iron-nitrogen compounds as catalysts in graphene

Fuel cells convert the chemical energy stored in hydrogen (H2) into electrical energy by electrochemically "combusting" hydrogen gas with oxygen (O2) from the air into water (H2O), thereby generating electricity. As a result, future electric automobiles might be operated quite well with fuel cells instead of with heavy batteries. But for "cold" combustion of hydrogen and oxygen to function well, the anode and cathode of the fuel cell must be coated with extremely active catalysts. The problem is that the platinum-based catalysts employed for this contribute about 25 per cent of the total fuel-cell costs.

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Nano-island of graphene in which iron-nitrogen complexes are embedded. The FeN4 complexes (shown in orange) are catalytically active.

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Researchers from the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA have created a new technique that greatly enhances digital microscopy images

The development is significant because digital imagery has led to many advances in microscopy, but digital microscopic imaging can sometimes result in blurry, pixelated images.

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The image sensor of the wavelength scanning super-resolution apparatus collects a “stack” of images of the sample.

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Designing a pop-up future: Simple origami fold may hold the key to designing pop-up furniture, medical devices and scientific tools

What if you could make any object out of a flat sheet of paper?

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This image shows various shapes made from Miura-ori pattern.

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Theorists Propose a New Method to Probe the Beginning of the Universe

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Microscopic drug 'depots' boost efficacy against tumors in animal model

Biomedical engineering researchers have developed a technique for creating microscopic "depots" for trapping drugs inside cancer tumors. In an animal model, these drug depots were 10 times more effective at shrinking tumors than the use of the same drugs without the depots.

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Biomedical engineering researchers have developed a technique for creating microscopic "depots" for trapping drugs inside cancer tumors. In an animal model, these drug depots were 10 times more effective at shrinking tumors than the use of the same drugs without the depots.

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Highly efficient heavy metal ions filter

In November 2015, Brazil experienced an unparalleled environmental disaster. When two dams broke at an iron ore mine, a poisonous cocktail of heavy metals was sent pouring into the Rio Doce, reaching the Atlantic some days later. The consequences were devastating for nature and humans alike: countless fish, birds and animals died, and a quarter of a million people were left without drinking water.

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In November 2015, Brazil experienced an unparalleled environmental disaster. When two dams broke at an iron ore mine, a poisonous cocktail of heavy metals was sent pouring into the Rio Doce, reaching the Atlantic some days later. The consequences were devastating for nature and humans alike: countless fish, birds and animals died, and a quarter of a million people were left without drinking water.The contaminated water (colored water in vials) is drawn through the hybrid membrane by negative pressure; the heavy metal ions (red spheres) bind to the protein fibers in the process. The filtered water is of drinking quality.