Science

Polyelectrolytes with varying degrees of intrinsic screening form compleximers upon mixing in solution.Four investigated polyelectrolytes consist of a polystyrene backbone with ionic liquid-inspired side chains. The alkyl and fluoroalkyl tail lengths are varied to modify the interaction strength. (A) Non-screened (NS) compleximer has relatively accessible ionic groups, allowing for strong ionic bonding, similar to traditional … Read more

Credit: Analytical Chemistry (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c01015 One way that cells communicate with one another is through the secretion and uptake of extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs convey a multitude of cargoes, including proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. Their uptake affects the function of recipient cells by influencing signaling processes and gene expression. However, despite extensive study … Read more

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a payload including two lunar rovers from Japan and the United Arab Emirates, lifts off from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Dec. 11, 2022. But later in April 2023, the spacecraft from a Japanese company apparently crashed while attempting … Read more

In this Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019 photo, chef Amir Ilan prepares a lab-grown steak during a presentation by the company Aleph Farms, in Jaffa, Israel. On Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, Aleph Farms received the green light from Israeli health officials to produce and sell the world’s first steaks made from cultivated beef cells, not the … Read more

Light traveling through an optical fiber sitting on top of a conventional electronic circuit board. Credit: Heriot-Watt University Scientists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, have found a powerful new way to program optical circuits that are critical to the delivery of future technologies such as unhackable communications networks and ultrafast quantum computers. “Light can … Read more

Astrobotic posted on social media a photograph taken by its spaceship on its final day, revealing the Earth’s crescent as the Peregrine lander positioned itself between the Sun and our planet. A crippled American spaceship has been lost over a remote region of the South Pacific, probably burning up in the atmosphere in a fiery … Read more

Diphasiastrum complanatum, Schwäbisch-Fränkische Waldberge, Germany. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 An international team of researchers has uncovered a remarkable genetic phenomenon in lycophytes, which are similar to ferns and among the oldest land plants. Their study, recently published in the journal PNAS, reveals that these plants have maintained a consistent genetic structure for over … Read more

Credit: Eco-Environment & Health (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.eehl.2023.11.001 In a study published in the journal Eco-Environment & Health, researchers from Zhejiang University revealed the crucial role of epidermal microorganisms in influencing earthworm toxicity under environmental stress, notably in conditions of nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) and tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) co-contaminated soil. They compared intestinal and epidermal … Read more