182 articles from THURSDAY 30.3.2023
Revealing the pattern between frontal polymerization and natural convection
A self-propagating chemical reaction can transform a liquid monomer into a solid polymer, and the interaction between the propagating front and the reaction's natural convection leads to patterns in the resulting solid polymeric material. New University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign work has shown how the coupling between natural convection and frontal polymerization leads to those observed...
Exploiting dark autoionizing states for enhancing extreme ultraviolet lasers
An international research team led by Professors Tsuneyuki Ozaki and François Légaré at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), has developed a unique method to enhance the power of a laser source emitting extreme ultraviolet light pulses. The underlying mechanism of the newly observed phenomenon involves the unique role of dark-autoionizing states through coupling with other...
Removing cancer-causing heavy metals from wastewater with photocatalysts
Toxic heavy metals found in wastewater have health and safety ramifications for communities affected by pollution. Hexavalent chromium is a dangerous, cancer-causing byproduct of industrial processes that is known to cause birth defects, severe diarrhea, and is linked to kidney, bladder, and liver cancers. Famously, it was the center of the lawsuit dramatized in the film "Erin Brockovich."
Breaking the barrier: Low-temp ammonia synthesis with iron catalysts and barium hydride
The Haber-Bosch (HB) process is one of the most important industrial chemical reactions. It combines nitrogen and hydrogen gases in the presence of an iron-based catalyst at high temperatures and pressures to produce ammonia fertilizer which helps provide food for over five billion people.
Fast radio bursts used as 'searchlights' to detect gas in Milky Way
University of Toronto researcher Amanda Cook has found a way to use bright signals coming from across the universe to weigh the atmosphere of the Milky Way galaxy.
Trust hardly makes us careless and complacent in crisis situations, says study
A new study highlights the importance of mutual trust between citizens and authorities when society is facing a crisis. Moreover, data from the COVID-19 crisis indicates that general trust in our fellow citizens is unlikely to make us less compliant with restrictions.
Review: Iridium-based catalysts look set to boost efficiency of green hydrogen production
Hydrogen production powered by wind and solar energy is still too expensive if it is to play a role in the clean transition via energy storage and to help decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors. Much effort in reducing its cost focuses on enhancing production efficiency by improving the performance of iridium-based catalysts that can speed up the oxygen-related part of the electrochemical reaction...
The value of human choice in HR decisions
Human resources managers are frequently turning to artificial intelligence to help make employment decisions, leaning on recommendations from algorithms to decide who to interview and who to hire. Traditional interviews can be costly and prior behavioral research suggests humans are poor predictors of performance and fit.
New method of monitoring shore ice could improve public safety
Specialized portable radar could serve as an early warning system to reduce risk for humans working on shorefast sea ice, according to a recently published study.
Lolita the orca is returning home to Puget Sound after more than 50 years in captivity
Lolita the orca will soon be swimming in her home waters of Puget Sound in Washington state after more than half a century in...
New research reveals COVID lessons for employers to better support working parents
With more than a third of UK workers saying they'd quit if their job demanded a full-time return to the office, and working parents facing the third-most expensive childcare system in the world when juggling career with family, research published today by Queen Mary University of London details how flexible working lessons from the pandemic can foster more family-friendly work practices.
Australia will have a carbon price for industry, and it may infuse greater climate action across the economy
Australia is about to take a big, constructive step on climate change policy: we will have a carbon price for the industry sector, under the safeguard mechanism.
Three reasons you should never view or share videos showing children being assaulted
Australians have been shocked by an incident on the Sunshine Coast this month in which a 13-year-old girl was imprisoned, assaulted and tortured over many hours, allegedly by three girls aged 12, 13 and 14.
Whether you're a snorkeler or CEO, you can help save our vital kelp forests
What if we told you the world has forests harboring creatures with three hearts and where the canopy can grow by a foot a day? What if we told you it was silently disappearing? What if we told you we now have the chance to bring it back?
How branding can show people's love for a place and also help to highlight local challenges
The I ♥ NY logo was launched in the 1970s when New York City was at its grittiest and most dangerous. Since then graphic designer Milton Glaser's creation has been emblazoned on every kind of souvenir imaginable, not to mention inspiring movies, clothing, graffiti and even food.
Data show there were fewer mass shooting deaths during an earlier 10-year assault weapons prohibition
The shooting deaths of three children and three adults inside a Nashville school has put further pressure on Congress to look at imposing a ban on so-called assault weapons. Such a prohibition would be designed cover the types of guns that the suspect legally purchased and used during the March 27, 2023, attack.
Viewpoint: Climate change is accelerating, and the UK government is 'strikingly unprepared'
Read successive progress reports by the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK government's statutory advisor on climate change, and you sense the growing frustration. Over the years, the CCC's assessments of the government's response to the climate crisis have become more critical, its recommendations more explicit and the tone more direct.
Sex education review: Controversial UK proposals risk failing young people
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has brought forward a planned review into sex education in English schools.
Researcher studies control of the radiative heat transfer in a pair of rotating nanostructures
Hot bodies emit heat in the form of electromagnetic radiation. Lightbulbs and night vision cameras are examples of technologies based on this physical phenomenon. Our daily experience tells us that heat is always directed from hot bodies to colder ones.
The philosophy of deepfakes: Has the camera always lied?
Fake footage is a centuries-old problem that began long before digital technology, according to a Leeds academic.
Researchers solve the cell structure responsible for traveler's diarrhea
According to the World Health Organization, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) bacteria cause the largest number of recorded community-acquired cases of childhood diarrhea in the developing world and is the most common culprit in traveler's diarrhea. While in healthy adults this is merely an unpleasant inconvenience, in infants and young children this can lead to chronic malnutrition, stunted...
T. rex had lips, new study suggests
Jurassic Park
may be about to get a makeover. A new study finds that
Tyrannosaurus rex
and its relatives did not look like crocodiles, with teeth jutting from their maws in all their full, razor-sharp glory. Instead, these dinosaurs covered their chompers with lips, more like today’s lizards.
“This is a nice, concise answer to a question that has...