Nuclear power is considered one of the ways to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but how to deal with nuclear waste products is among the issues surrounding it. Radioactive waste products can be turned into more stable elements, but this process is not yet viable at scale. New research led by physicists from the University … Read more
A dipole magnetic field, created by a ring current, is the most fundamental type of magnetic field that is found both in laboratories and in space. Planetary magnetospheres, such as Jupiter’s, effectively confine plasma. The RT-1 project aims to learn from nature and create a magnetosphere-type high-performance plasma to realize advanced fusion energy. Simultaneously, the … Read more
For a long time, our understanding of the universe’s first galaxies leaned heavily on theory. The light from that age only reached us after traveling for billions of years, and on the way, it was obscured and stretched into the infrared. Clues about the first galaxies are hidden in that messy light. Now that we … Read more
A new antibiotic created by Harvard researchers overcomes antimicrobial resistance mechanisms that have rendered many modern drugs ineffective and are driving a global public health crisis. A team led by Andrew Myers, Amory Houghton Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, reports in Science that their synthetic compound, cresomycin, kills many strains of drug-resistant bacteria, including … Read more
Amid growing global concern over climate change and plastic pollution, researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University are making great strides in the sustainable production of fumaric acid—a component of biodegradable plastics such as polybutylene succinate, which is commonly used for food packaging. The researchers have managed to efficiently produce fumaric acid, which is traditionally derived from … Read more
Using nonstick cookware to fry your bacon and eggs can make your life easier at that moment, but scientists believe there may be long-term consequences because the chemicals used to make it nonstick are so difficult to destroy. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances—commonly known as PFAS and often called forever chemicals—are everywhere. PFAS, a suite of … Read more