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Thanks to a new multidisciplinary approach, a team from the University of Geneva and the CNRS has traced the dietary practices of a Senegalese village. This method will be used for other archaeological digs. Food is more than just a biological need. A veritable marker of culture and identity, it encompasses a wide range of practices that allow us to "read" a region, a country or a social group.

University of Illinois Chicago engineers have helped design a new method to make hydrogen gas from water using only solar power and agricultural waste, such as manure or husks. The method reduces the energy needed to extract hydrogen from water by 600%, creating new opportunities for sustainable, climate-friendly chemical production.

Study says 'biodegradable' teabags don't readily degrade in the environment and can harm earthworms Researchers say labelling should be improved to make clear teabags shouldn't be thrown away in domestic compost heaps. Some teabags manufactured using plastic alternatives do not degrade in soil and have the potential to harm terrestrial species, a new study has shown.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed the most sensitive method yet for detecting and profiling a single molecule - unlocking a new tool that holds potential for better understanding how the building blocks of matter interact with each other. The new method could have implications for pursuits as varied as drug discovery and the development of advanced materials.

Recently, a team of chemists, mathematicians, physicists and nano-engineers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands developed the ultimate device to control the emission of photons with unprecedented precision. This technology could lead to more efficient miniature light sources, sensitive sensors, and stable quantum bits for quantum computing.

They are popping up on roofs and car parks all'over the world: photovoltaic panels are becoming increasingly important in the race for renewable energy. This technology, based on the conversion of solar energy - photons - into electrical energy, sees a fast development of its performance. A postdoctoral researcher at the Uni intends to further improve them with a revolutionary structure dedicated to thin-film solar cells.

Researchers at the University of Würzburg, led by Caroline Kisker in cooperation with Claudia Höbartner, discovered how the protein XPD detects a severe DNA damage and controls its repair. The XPD protein is a central component of our body's own 'DNA repair team', known as nucleotide excision repair (NER).

Ammonia is the starting point for the fertilizers that have secured the world's food supply for the last century. It's also a main component of cleaning products, and is even considered as a future carbon-free replacement for fossil fuels in vehicles. But synthesizing ammonia from molecular nitrogen is an energy-intensive industrial process, due to the high temperatures and pressures at which the standard reaction proceeds.

McGill researchers unlock game-changing alternatives for electric vehicle batteries, potentially reducing manufacturing costs by 20 per cent The global shift to electric vehicles is gaining momentum, yet the extraction of battery materials has a significant environmental footprint that comes with high costs.

Chemists have developed breakthrough porous materials that could be used for the future of energy, including in the nuclear industry or for storing hydrogen. The discovery was made by experts from the universities of Southampton and Liverpool. The new materials, which have sponge-like holes, were developed using powerful computer simulations.

A study from Bochum describes a mammal-specific domain of the prion protein and offers new approaches for research into neurodegenerative diseases. At first, they cause memory deficits and difficulties in walking, finally they inhibit elementary motor skills and destroy basic brain functions: Prion diseases are progressive and invariably fatal neurodegenerative diseases.

University of Michigan physicists have devised a way to manipulate active fluids, a type of fluid composed of individual units that can propel themselves independently, by taking advantage of topological defects in the fluids. The researchers showed that they could use tweezers similar to optical tweezers-highly focused lasers that can be used to nudge around atoms and other microscopic and submicroscopic materials-to manipulate the fluids' topological defects and control how these active fluids flow.

A team of researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) has developed hybrid membranes based on a functional porous nanomaterial and a polymer, capable of effectively degrading emerging contaminants present in water. The work, published in the journal Nanoscale , promises to significantly improve water quality and contribute to the development of sustainable treatment methods.

Researchers in Carnegie Mellon University's  Department of Chemistry  have developed a nucleic-acid-based photocatalyst that can precisely control atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), a popular method used to generate a wide range of materials with highly specific, tailored functionalities. The novel approach took something old - fluorescent dyes that bind to nucleic acids - and turned it into something new - a versatile photocatalyst that allows for precise control over the polymerization reaction.

Scientists introduce ChemCrow, a large language model-based AI system that revolutionizes chemistry by integrating 18 advanced tools for tasks like organic synthesis and drug discovery. ChemCrow streamlines complex processes in chemical research, making it more efficient for experts and novices alike.

An EPFL research project has developed a method based on machine-learning to quickly and accurately search large databases, leading to the discovery of 14 new materials for solar cells. As we integrate solar energy into our daily lives, it has become important to find materials that efficiently convert sunlight into electricity.

Two Yale-led studies indicate the promise of finding hybrid approaches to developing alternative solar fuels. The CHASE is on to develop a new generation of liquid fuels that are activated by sunlight, and Yale researchers are helping to lead the way. Over the past decade, basic research aimed at creating sustainable, solar-powered liquid fuel has reached a crossroads.

The material could be made as a thin coating to analyze air quality in industrial or home settings over time. Most systems used to detect toxic gases in industrial or domestic settings can be used only once, or at best a few times. Now, researchers at MIT have developed a detector that could provide continuous monitoring for the presence of these gases, at low cost.

A team of chemists at the University of Münster has developed a synthesis method for the site-selective integration of the biologically relevant difluoromethyl group into pyridines The difluoromethyl group often determines the properties of bioactive molecules and is therefore particularly interesting for drug research.

In a novel study , researchers of the University of Twente have made significant strides in understanding the behaviour of microand nanobubbles on electrodes during water electrolysis. This process is crucial for (green) hydrogen production. These tiny bubbles form on the electrodes, blocking the flow of electricity and reducing the efficiency of the reaction.