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Faster recharging lithium batteries could be developed after scientists figured out why adding charged metal atoms to tunnel structures within batteries improves their performance. Rechargeable lithium batteries have helped power the 'portable revolution' in mobile phones, laptops and tablet computers, and new generations of lithium batteries are being developed for electric vehicles and to store energy from wind and solar power.

Viruses may be stealthy invaders, but a study at the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals a new, chatty side of some: For the first time, viruses have been found communicating with one another. This communication - short 'posts' left for kin and descendants - helps the viruses reading them to decide how to proceed with the process of infection.

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a method that makes it possible to see how individual molecules from solvents in skin creams, medicated ointments and cleaning products affect and interact with the skin's own molecules. In the study, the researchers have examined how molecules added to the skin through various liquids and creams affect the skin, and how the same molecules are affected by being inside the skin.

Humans make rational choices - though perhaps not all the time. But does the ability for rational decision-making extend to other members of the animal kingdom? If so, how far are they from the human lineage? The answer, according to researchers from the University of Washington, is pretty far. In a paper published Jan.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Geneva have succeeded for the first time in using a laboratory X-ray source to demonstrate how two highly fluorinated molecules change within a few quadrillionths of a second, or femtoseconds. In nature, some processes occur so quickly that even the blink of an eye is very slow in comparison.

Messenger RNAs bearing the genetic information for the synthesis of proteins are delivered to defined sites in the cell cytoplasm by molecular motors. LMU researchers have elucidated how the motors recognize their mRNA freight. Messenger RNAs carry the information for the assembly of proteins from the DNA in the cell nucleus to the sites of protein synthesis in the cytoplasm, and are crucial for cell function.

Diffraction-based analytical methods are widely used in laboratories, but they struggle to study samples that are smaller than a micrometer in size. Researchers from the Laboratoire de cristallographie et sciences des matériaux (CNRS/Ensicaen/Unicaen), the Laboratoire catalyse et spectrochimie (CNRS/Ensicaen/Unicaen) 1 , and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic have nevertheless been successful in using electron diffraction to reveal the structure of nanocrystals 2 .

Three-dimensional printing technology makes it possible to rapidly manufacture objects by depositing layer upon layer of polymers in a precisely determined pattern. Once these objects are completed, the polymers that form the material are 'dead' - that is, they cannot be extended to form new polymer chains.

ETH microbiologists have succeeded in showing that nature produces one of the most complex known bioactive natural products in a staggeringly simple way.

Nuclear spin tomography is an application in (human) medicine known from medical institutions. The patient absorbs and re-emits electromagnetic radiation in all directions in space. They are detected and 3D images or 2D slice images are reconstructed from that data. Set in the framework of a fundamental science laboratory, the patient is replaced by a quantum object and the electromagnetic radiation by quantum measurement.

Chemical reactions that release oxygen in the presence of a catalyst, known as oxygen-evolution reactions, are a crucial part of chemical energy storage processes, including water splitting, electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction, and ammonia production. The kinetics of this type of reaction are generally slow, but compounds called metal oxides can have catalytic activities that vary over several orders of magnitude, with some exhibiting the highest such rates reported to date.

To paint quickly while creating exceptional texture and volume effects, J. M. W. Turner and other English artists of his generation relied on the development of innovative gels. All the rage in the 19th century—and still in use today—these compounds alter the properties of the oil paints they are combined with.

University of Queensland scientists have solved a riddle that has puzzled beach-goers and collectors around the world - why are conch shell colours and patterns so diverse? The researchers examined the molecular underpinnings behind the array of shell patterns. UQ School of Biological Sciences researcher Professor Bernie Degnan said the team investigated the complex gene networks that controlled the secretions of chemicals and proteins in molluscs to create shells.

University of Queensland scientists have solved a riddle that has puzzled beach-goers and collectors around the world - why are conch shell colours and patterns so diverse? The researchers examined the molecular underpinnings behind the array of shell patterns. UQ School of Biological Sciences researcher Professor Bernie Degnan said the team investigated the complex gene networks that controlled the secretions of chemicals and proteins in molluscs to create shells.

A team of researchers at MIT has designed one of the strongest lightweight materials known, by compressing and fusing flakes of graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon. The new material, a sponge-like configuration with a density of just 5 percent, can have a strength 10 times that of steel. In its two-dimensional form, graphene is thought to be the strongest of all known materials.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Delicate fossil remains of tomatillos found in Patagonia, Argentina, show that this branch of the economically important family that also includes potatoes, peppers, tobacco, petunias and tomatoes existed 52 million years ago, long before the dates previously ascribed to these species, according to an international team of scientists.

Eighty percent of all products of the chemical industry are manufactured with catalytic processes. Catalysis is also indispensable in energy conversion and treatment of exhaust gases. It is important for these processes to run as quickly and efficiently as possible; that protects the environment while also saving time and conserving resources.

Molecules 10,000 times narrower than the width of a human hair could hold the key to making possible wooden skyscrapers and more energy-efficient paper production, according to research published . The study, led by a father and son team at the Universities of Warwick and Cambridge, solves a long-standing mystery of how key sugars in cells bind to form strong, indigestible materials.

Single-Cell-Based Analysis Highlights a Surge in Cell-to-Cell Molecular Variability Preceding Irreversible Commitment in a Differentiation Process Abstract In some recent studies, a view emerged that stochastic dynamics governing the switching of cells from one differentiation state to another could be characterized by a peak in gene expression variability at the point of fate commitment.

Findings of Study by Scientists from Freie Universität Berlin and Utrecht University Published in "Nature Geoscience" ' 444/2016 from Dec 29, 2016 Earth scientists from among others Utrecht University and Freie Universität Berlin have found new clues how water moves inside the Earth's deep subsurface layers and ultimately back to the surface through volcanic activity.