Lifeboat Foundation

If realized using solar energy or other renewable energy, water splitting could be a promising way of sustainably producing hydrogen (H₂) on a large-scale. Most photoelectrochemical water splitting systems proposed so far, however, have been found to be either inefficient, unstable, or difficult to implement on a large-scale.

Researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) recently set out to develop a scalable and efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) system to produce green hydrogen. Their proposed system, outlined in Nature Energy, is based on an innovative formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI₃) perovskite-based photoanode, encapsulated by an Ni foil/NiFeOOH electrocatalyst.

“Our group has thoroughly studied the challenges associated with practical solar hydrogen production,” Jae Sung Lee, Professor of Energy & Chemical Engineering at UNIST and co-author of the paper, told Tech Xplore. “As summarized in our most recent review paper, minimum 10% of solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency is required to develop viable practical PEC system, for which selecting an efficient material is the first criteria.”

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have unveiled a revolutionary method to study the microscopic structures of the human brain. The study, led by Benjamin Creekmore in the labs of Yi-Wei Chang and Edward Lee, promises to enhance our understanding of various brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis.

Cryo-electron tomography takes center stage

Traditionally, scientists have utilized electron microscopy to explore and comprehend the intricate details of cellular structures within the brain. However, this method has been fraught with challenges, such as the alteration of cell structures due to the addition of chemicals and physical tissue cutting.

Highly reducing or oxidizing photocatalysts are a fundamental challenge in photochemistry. Only a few transition metal complexes with Earth-abundant metal ions have so far advanced to excited state oxidants, including chromium, iron, and cobalt. All these photocatalysts require high energy light for excitation and their oxidizing power has not yet been fully exploited. Furthermore, precious and hence expensive metals are the decisive ingredients in most cases.

A team of researchers headed by Professor Katja Heinze of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has now developed a new molecular system based on the element manganese. Manganese, as opposed to precious metals, is the third most abundant metal after iron and titanium and hence widely available and very cheap. The study is published in the journal Nature Chemistry.

Nobel laureate details new applications at Kuh Distinguished Lecture.

Jennifer Doudna, Nobel laureate and Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair and Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and of Molecular and Cell Biology, presented this year’s Ernest S. Kuh Distinguished Lecture, “Delivering the Future of CRISPR-Based Genome Editing,” on February 2 at UC Berkeley. The sold-out event — produced by Berkeley Engineering in collaboration with the Society of Women Engineers — marks the 11th talk in the lecture series, which features scientists and engineers tackling the world’s most pressing problems.

Doudna is known for developing CRISPR-Cas9, a groundbreaking technology that some call “genetic scissors.” With it, scientists can snip and edit DNA — the genetic code of life — unlocking remarkable possibilities in biology, including treatments for thousands of intractable diseases. This work has changed the course of genomics research, allowing scientists to rewrite DNA with unprecedented precision, and won Doudna and collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

A new stool test appears to detect colorectal cancer precursors better than the current fecal immunochemical test. This could further reduce the number of new colorectal cancer cases as well as the number of people dying from the disease. A study led by the Netherlands Cancer Institute compared both tests.

Their results are published in The Lancet Oncology.

Each year worldwide, approximately 1.9 million people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and 935,000 people lose their lives as a result of the condition. If detected early, colorectal cancer is curable. However, by the time symptoms such as weight loss or blood in the stool appear, it is often too late. That is why many countries have introduced population-based screening programs. In The Netherlands, for example, people between the ages of 55 and 75 are invited to be tested every two years.

A new study claims that low-frequency ultrasound can reverse aspects of replicative and chemically induced senescence in vitro [1].

The age-related increase in senescent cell burden is thought to contribute to many processes of aging. Most of the attempts to deal with it involve senolytics: drugs that eliminate senescent cells.

However, it may be possible to re-educate them instead. Senomorphics are compounds that change senescent cells in a way that renders them benign, but they are much less common. The authors of this new pre-print study (it has not yet been peer-reviewed) claim to have found an even more impressive way to solve the senescent cell problem: by rejuvenating them with ultrasound.

The ability to distinguish between left-and right-handed molecules using mass spectrometry could streamline a laborious part of drug discovery.

Immunotherapy has rapidly advanced the field of medicine and has saved countless lives. The approach is much different than using an external chemical, such as in the case of chemotherapy. Immunotherapy leverages the body’s own immune system to recognize and attack foreign pathogens, specifically cancer. While there are many versions of immunotherapy, one rising star among them is known as Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. This therapy (usually) takes a patient’s own cells in the blood to generate engineered immune or T cells to fight the tumor. T cells are a critical immune cell population responsible for killing or lysing infected cells. In the case of CAR T cell therapy, the T cells from the patient are engineered to recognize receptors on the tumor. The CAR T-cells are then triggered to release different proteins and lyse the tumor cells. This type of therapy has revolutionized the way we treat patients with hematopoietic malignancies or blood cancers.

Jenniskens’ collaborators at the Museum für Naturkunde officially announced that the first examinations of one of these pieces with an electron beam microprobe prove the typical mineralogy and chemical composition of an achondrite of the aubrite type.

The official classification now aligns with what many suspected from merely looking at the images of the strange meteorites that fell near Berlin on January 21, 2024. They belong to a rare group called “aubrites.”

“They were devilishly difficult to find because, from a distance, they look like other rocks on Earth,” said SETI Institute meteor astronomer Dr. Peter Jenniskens. “Close up, not so much.”