Japan, Korea develop prototype nuclear batteries

The uranium battery concept (Image: JAEA)The Japan Atomic Energy Agency has developed what it says is the world's first "uranium rechargeable battery" and that tests have verified its performance in charging and discharging. Meanwhile, South Korean researchers have developed a prototype betavoltaic battery powered by the carbon-14 isotope.The uranium storage battery utilises depleted uranium (DU) as the negative electrode active material and iron as the positive one, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) said. The single-cell voltage of the prototype uranium rechargeable battery is 1.3 volts, which is close to that of a common alkaline battery (1.5 volts).The battery was charged and discharged 10 times, and the performance of the battery was almost unchanged, indicating relatively stable cycling characteristics."To utilise DU as a new resource, the concept of rechargeable batteries using uranium as an active material was proposed in the early 2000s," JAEA noted. "However, no studies were reporting the specific performance of the assembled uranium rechargeable batteries."It added: "If uranium rechargeable batteries are increased in capacity and put to practical use, the large amount of DU stored in Japan will become a new resource for output controls in the electricity supply grid derived from renewable energy, thereby contributing...

Read More........→June 20, 2025

Public Perceives AI Scientists As Less Prudent Than Climate Scientists

Credit: iStockA new study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania has found that people in the United States view artificial intelligence (AI) science and scientists more negatively than climate scientists or scientists in general. The findings are based on a national survey exploring how AI compares to other scientific fields across key indicators of trustworthiness.The research, published in PNAS Nexus, assessed perceptions using the Factors Assessing Science’s Self-Presentation (FASS) framework. This rubric evaluates credibility, prudence, bias, self-correction and perceived benefits. Compared to general science and climate science, AI fared poorly, particularly in the domain of prudence. Respondents expressed concern that AI researchers are insufficiently cautious, especially when it comes to preventing unintended consequences.No improvement in AI perceptions over timeTo determine whether public skepticism stemmed from unfamiliarity with the technology, the researchers examined changes in perception between 2024 and 2025. Despite AI becoming more visible in daily life during this period, attitudes remained largely unchanged. The persistence of negative views suggests that familiarity alone does not necessarily lead to greater public acceptance.Climate science remains politically polarized;...

Read More........→June 18, 2025

Probiotics May Improve Mood Via Gut–Brain Axis

There is growing interest in the possibility that probiotics improve not only gut health but also mental health.Probiotics are "good" bacteria in the form of drinks or tablets that you can buy in the supermarket and are also found in foods like yogurts, fermented cheese and sauerkraut. There is growing interest in the possibility that probiotics improve not only gut health but also mental health. "The gut–brain connection provides various routes through which bacteria in the gut can influence how we feel and behave, including via the vagus nerve, immune system and hormones", says Johnson.Daily mood reportsWhile animal studies have previously found promising effects of probiotics on the brain and behaviour, human studies have yielded inconsistent results. Johnson and Steenbergen therefore used a combination of methods to capture how probiotics might influence the ability to regulate our emotions and affect our moods. These included psychological questionnaires, daily mood reports and computer tasks testing how people process emotions. The study was conducted in young, healthy adults who took a probiotic (containing bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) daily for a month.This is the first study to use daily mood reports to assess the effects of probiotics. It clearly shows that probiotics can reduce negative feelings...

Read More........→June 16, 2025

First-Known Sighting of a 'Massive' Antarctic Squid is Caught on Camera During Nat Geo Expedition

First-known sighting of living Antarctic squid Gonatus antarcticus, spotted by researchers on the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Expedition in the Southern Ocean – Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean InstituteResearchers have recorded a video sighting of a three-foot-long deep-sea squid species that’s never been filmed nor seen alive.Gonatus antarcticus squid, an elusive squid found only in the frigid waters around Antarctica, was discovered on Christmas Day by the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel, the R/V Falkor (too), in a surprise moment caught on camera via the research vessel’s remotely operated vehicle, SuBastian.Prior to the astonishing discovery, the species was only known from carcasses in fishing nets or when the squids’ beaks were found in the stomach of fished marine animals.Footage of the squid shows the animal with scratches on its arms and fresh-looking sucker marks on its mantle but otherwise shows it is in good shape. Spotted at a depth of approximately 2,152 meters—below 6,000 feet—in the Weddell Sea, researchers have not been able to confirm the squid’s sex from the footage, nor age, but the discovery is a reminder of how much more there is to learn about the relatively unexplored polar regions of our world’s ocean.Undertaken through the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet...

Read More........→June 14, 2025

Shingles vaccine can protect heart health up to 8 years: Study

New Delhi, (IANS) People who are given a vaccine for shingles -- zoster vaccine -- have a 23 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular events, including stroke, heart failure, and coronary heart disease, according to a study of more than a million people.The live zoster vaccine contains a weakened form of the varicella-zoster virus that causes shingles.Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. It has also been linked to a higher risk of heart problems.The condition can lead to serious complications, especially in older adults and those with weak immune systems.The study showed that protective effect of the vaccine lasts for up to eight years and is particularly pronounced for men, people under the age of 60, and those with unhealthy lifestyles, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, and being inactive."Our study suggests that the shingles vaccine may help lower the risk of heart disease, even in people without known risk factors. This means that vaccination could offer health benefits beyond preventing shingles," said Professor Dong Keon Yon from the Kyung Hee University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea.The study included 1,271,922 people aged 50 or older living in South Korea.The findings showed that among people who received the vaccine, there was a 23 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular events overall, with...

Read More........→June 09, 2025

This Common Fungus Found on Human Skin Wipes Out Deadly Superbug Staph Infections

University of Oregon researchers have uncovered a molecule produced by yeast living on human skin that showed potent antimicrobial properties against a pathogen responsible for a half-million hospitalizations annually in the US.It’s a unique approach to tackling the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. With the global threat of drug-resistant infections, fungi inhabiting human skin are an untapped resource for identifying new antibiotics, said Caitlin Kowalski, a postdoctoral researcher at the UO who led the study.Described in a paper published last month in Current Biology, the common skin fungus Malassezia gobbles up oil and fats on human skin to produce fatty acids that selectively eliminate Staphylococcus aureus.One out of every three people have Staphylococcus aureus harmlessly dwelling in their nose, but the bacteria are a risk factor for serious infections when given the opportunity: open wounds, abrasions and cuts. They’re the primary cause of skin and soft tissue infections known as staph infections.Staphylococcus aureus is also a hospital superbug notorious for being resistant to current antibiotics, elevating the pressing need for new medicines.There are lots of studies that identify new antibiotic structures, Kowalski said, “but what was fun and interesting about ours is that we identified (a compound) that...

Read More........→June 06, 2025

Australian researchers use a quantum computer to simulate how real molecules behave

Ivan Kassal, University of Sydney and Tingrei Tan, University of SydneyWhen a molecule absorbs light, it undergoes a whirlwind of quantum-mechanical transformations. Electrons jump between energy levels, atoms vibrate, and chemical bonds shift — all within millionths of a billionth of a second. These processes underpin everything from photosynthesis in plants and DNA damage from sunlight, to the operation of solar cells and light-powered cancer therapies. Yet despite their importance, chemical processes driven by light are difficult to simulate accurately. Traditional computers struggle, because it takes vast computational power to simulate this quantum behaviour. Quantum computers, by contrast, are themselves quantum systems — so quantum behaviour comes naturally. This makes quantum computers natural candidates for simulating chemistry. Until now, quantum devices have only been able to calculate unchanging things, such as the energies of molecules. Our study, published this week in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, demonstrates we can also model how those molecules change over time. We experimentally simulated how specific real molecules behave after absorbing light. Simulating reality with a single ion We used what is called a trapped-ion quantum computer. This works by manipulating individual atoms in a vacuum...

Read More........→May 24, 2025

Hummingbirds Live an Extreme Lifestyle Thriving on All-Sugar Diet That Would Put Us in a Coma

Anna’s hummingbird/Becky Matsubara, CC license(Originally published by Knowable Magazine—Written by Bob Holmes)Everyone loves to watch hummingbirds—tiny, brightly colored blurs that dart about, hovering at flowers and pugnaciously defending their ownership of a feeder.But to the scientists who study them, hummingbirds offer much more than an entertaining spectacle. Their small size and blazing metabolism mean they live life on a knife-edge, sometimes needing to shut down their bodies almost completely just to conserve enough energy to survive the night—or to migrate thousands of miles, at times across open ocean.Their nectar-rich diet leads to blood sugar levels that would put a person in a coma. And their zipping, zooming flight sometimes generates g-forces high enough to make a fighter pilot black out. The more researchers look, the more surprises lurk within those tiny bodies, the smallest in the avian world.“They’re the only bird in the world that can fly upside down and backwards,” says Holly Ernest, a conservation ecologist with the University of Wyoming. “They drink pure sugar and don’t die of diabetes.”Ernest is one of a small number of researchers studying how hummingbirds cope with the extreme demands of their lifestyles. Here’s some of what scientists have learned about the unique adaptations of hummingbirds.Put in the...

Read More........→May 15, 2025

Antarctica has a huge, completely hidden mountain range. New data reveals its birth over 500 million years ago

Jacqueline Halpin, University of Tasmania and Nathan R. Daczko, Macquarie UniversityHave you ever imagined what Antarctica looks like beneath its thick blanket of ice? Hidden below are rugged mountains, valleys, hills and plains. Some peaks, like the towering Transantarctic Mountains, rise above the ice. But others, like the mysterious and ancient Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains in the middle of East Antarctica, are completely buried. The Gamburtsev Mountains are similar in scale and shape to the European Alps. But we can’t see them because the high alpine peaks and deep glacial valleys are entombed beneath kilometres of ice. How did they come to be? Typically, a mountain range will rise in places where two tectonic plates clash with each other. But East Antarctica has been tectonically stable for millions of years. Our new study, published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, reveals how this hidden mountain chain emerged more than 500 million years ago when the supercontinent Gondwana formed from colliding tectonic plates. Our findings offer fresh insight into how mountains and continents evolve over geological time. They also help explain why Antarctica’s interior has remained remarkably stable for hundreds of millions of years. A radar image showing the Gamburtsev mountain range under layers of ice. Creyts et al.,...

Read More........→May 14, 2025

AI Tool Could Accelerate Discovery of Advanced Superconductors

Credit: iStock.Original story from Emory University, Using artificial intelligence shortens the time needed to identify complex phases in quantum materials.Using artificial intelligence shortens the time to identify complex quantum phases in materials from months to minutes, finds a new study published in Newton. The breakthrough could significantly speed up research into quantum materials, particularly low-dimensional superconductors.The study was led by theorists at Emory University and experimentalists at Yale University. Senior authors include Fang Liu and Yao Wang, assistant professors in Emory’s Department of Chemistry, and Yu He, assistant professor in Yale’s Department of Applied Physics.The team applied machine-learning techniques to detect clear spectral signals that indicate phase transitions in quantum materials — systems where electrons are strongly entangled. These materials are notoriously difficult to model with traditional physics because of their unpredictable fluctuations.“Our method gives a fast and accurate snapshot of a very complex phase transition, at virtually no cost,” says Xu Chen, the study’s first author and an Emory PhD student in chemistry. “We hope this can dramatically speed up discoveries in the field of superconductivity.”One of the challenges in applying machine learning to quantum materials is...

Read More........→May 12, 2025

This Wearable Device Monitors Health by Sensing the Gases Passing Through Your Skin

Credit: John A. Rogers / Northwestern University.Your skin is breathing. This wearable gas sensor can measure it.Northwestern University researchers have developed the first wearable device for measuring gases emitted from and absorbed by the skin.By analyzing these gases, the device offers an entirely new way to assess skin health, including monitoring wounds, detecting skin infections, tracking hydration levels, quantifying exposure to harmful environmental chemicals and more.The new technology comprises a collection of sensors that precisely measure changes in temperature, water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which each give valuable insight into various skin conditions and overall health. These gases flow into a small chamber within the device that hovers above the skin without actually touching it. This no-contact design is particularly useful for gathering information about fragile skin without disturbing delicate tissues.“This device is a natural evolution of our lab’s wearable electronic devices that collect and analyze sweat,” said Northwestern’s John A. Rogers, who co-led the study. “In that case, we were analyzing sweat to learn about the wearer’s overall health. While useful, that method requires pharmacological stimulation of sweat glands or exposure to a hot, humid environment. We...

Read More........→May 05, 2025

Researchers Discover New Mechanism for Rapid Liver Regeneration to Restore Damaged Livers

Getty Images for Unsplash+Researchers at the National Cancer Research Centre in Spain (CNIO) have discovered a mechanism that is triggered just minutes after acute liver damage occurs—and it could lead to treatments for those with severe liver problems.The avenues for future treatments of liver damage include a diet enriched with the amino acid glutamate.“Glutamate supplementation can promote liver regeneration and benefit patients in recovery following hepatectomy or awaiting a transplant,” wrote the authors in a paper published in ‘Nature’.The liver is a vital organ, crucial to digestion, metabolism, and the elimination of toxins. It has a unique ability to regenerate, which allows it to replace liver cells damaged by the very toxins that these cells eliminate.However, the liver stops regenerating in cases of diseases that involve chronic liver damage–such as cirrhosis—and such diseases are becoming increasingly prevalent, associated with poor dietary habits or alcohol consumption. So activating liver regeneration is key to treating the disease.Learning to activate liver regeneration is therefore a priority today, to benefit patients with liver damage and also those who’ve had part of their liver cut out to remove a tumor.The research has discovered in animal models this previously unknown mechanism of liver regeneration. It is...

Read More........→April 17, 2025