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Category: sustainability – Page 11

Protein condensate sequesters synaptic vesicles at the release site

Message transfer from brain cell to brain cell is key to information processing, learning and forming memories. The bubbles, synaptic vesicles, are housed within the synapse — the connection point where brain cells communicate. In typical synapses within the brains of mammals, 300 synaptic vesicles are clustered together in the intersection between any two brain cells, but only a few of these vesicles are used for such message transfer, researchers say. Pinpointing how a synapse knows which vesicles to use has long been a target of research by those who study the biology and chemistry of thought.

In an effort to better understand the operation of these synaptic vesicles, the team designed a study that first focused on endocytosis, a process in which brain cells recycle synaptic vesicles after they are used for neuronal communication.

Already aware of intersectin’s general role in endocytosis and neuronal communication, the scientists genetically engineered mice to lack the gene that codes for intersectin. However, and somewhat to their surprise, the lead says removing the protein did not appear to halt endocytosis in brain cells.

The research team refocused their experiments, taking a closer look at the synaptic vesicles themselves.

Using a high-resolution fluorescence microscope to observe where intersectin is in a synapse, the researchers found it in between vesicles that are used for neuronal communication and those that are not, as if they are physically separating the two.

To further understand the role of intersectin at this location, they used an electron microscope to visualize synaptic vesicles in action across one billionth of a meter. In all the nerve cells from mice lacking this protein, the scientists say synaptic vesicles close to the membrane were absent from the release zone of the synapse, the place where the bubbles would discharge to nearby neurons.

“This suggested that intersectin regulates release, rather than recycling, of these vesicles at this location of the synapse,” says the author.

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AI tools identify promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries for energy storage

Researchers from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have used artificial intelligence to tackle a critical problem facing the future of energy storage: finding affordable, sustainable alternatives to lithium-ion batteries.

In research published in Cell Reports Physical Science, the NJIT team led by Professor Dibakar Datta successfully applied generative AI techniques to rapidly discover new porous materials capable of revolutionizing multivalent-ion batteries. These batteries, using abundant elements like magnesium, calcium, aluminum and zinc, offer a promising, cost-effective alternative to , which face global supply challenges and sustainability issues.

Unlike traditional lithium-ion batteries, which rely on lithium ions that carry just a single positive charge, multivalent-ion batteries use elements whose ions carry two or even three positive charges. This means multivalent-ion batteries can potentially store significantly more energy, making them highly attractive for future energy storage solutions.

Improved slime mold algorithm boosts efficiency in e-commerce cloud data migration

As e-commerce platforms grow ever more reliant on cloud computing, efficiency and sustainability have come to the fore as urgent pressures on development. A study published in the International Journal of Reasoning-based Intelligent Systems has introduced an innovative approach to the problem based on a slime mold algorithm (SMA). The work could improve both performance and energy efficiency for e-commerce systems.

At the core of the work is the development of BOSMA—the Balanced Optimization Slime Mold Algorithm. The SMA is a heuristic optimization technique inspired by the natural behavior of slime molds.

Slime molds are useful models for algorithms because they excel at finding efficient paths through complex environments and adapting to changing conditions. Moreover, they do so without any central control system. They can explore their surroundings by sending out multiple tendrils, pseudopodia, in different directions, adjusting their shape and connections in response to feedback such as nutrient availability or obstacles.

New cooling technology raises power and longevity of solar cells

A team of international researchers led by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and including researchers from King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) has developed a new composite material that enhances the performance of solar cells. Solar cells with the material functioning for weeks in the Saudi Arabia desert showed higher power output and a longer operation time than solar cells without. Additionally, the material is cheap to fabricate and reduces the cost of maintaining solar cells. The study can be read in Materials Science and Engineering.

Composite material keeps solar cells cool using air moisture and no electricity to extend solar cell lifetime more than 200%.

Climate-protecting carbon sinks of EU forests are declining

Forests cover about 40% of the EU’s land area. Between 1990 and 2022, they absorbed around 10% of the continent’s man-made carbon emissions. However, the carbon dioxide absorption capacity of forests, also known as carbon sinks, is becoming increasingly weaker.

This is shown by calculations of multi-year carbon budgets by an international team of researchers in a recent Nature study. The continuous decline in the carbon sink of our forests jeopardizes the EU’s climate targets. To halt or reverse the trend, the authors recommend practical measures in research and forest management.

Forests absorb (CO₂) from the atmosphere, which they use for their metabolism and convert into biomass. Healthy and growing forests therefore act as carbon sinks, storing climate-damaging CO₂ from the atmosphere in the long term.

Scientists create first programmable single-atom catalyst that adapts chemical activity

A research team at the Politecnico di Milano has developed an innovative single-atom catalyst capable of selectively adapting its chemical activity. This is a crucial step forward in sustainable chemistry and the design of more efficient and programmable industrial processes.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

This achievement is novel in the field of single-atom catalysts. For the first time, scientists have demonstrated the possibility of designing a material that can selectively change its catalytic function depending on the chemical environment. It involves a sort of “molecular switch” that allows complex reactions to be performed more cleanly and efficiently, using less energy than conventional processes.

New imaging method reveals how light and heat generate electricity in nanomaterials

UC Riverside researchers have unveiled a powerful new imaging technique that exposes how cutting-edge materials used in solar panels and light sensors convert light into electricity—offering a path to better, faster, and more efficient devices.

The breakthrough, published in the journal Science Advances, could lead to improvements in solar energy systems and optical communications technology. The study title is “Deciphering photocurrent mechanisms at the nanoscale in van der Waals interfaces for enhanced optoelectronic applications.”

The research team, led by associate professors Ming Liu and Ruoxue Yan of UCR’s Bourns College of Engineering, developed a three-dimensional imaging method that distinguishes between two fundamental processes by which light is transformed into electric current in quantum materials.

Ateneo scientists make aluminum transparent by using tiny acid droplets

Transparent aluminum oxide (TAlOx), a real material despite its sci-fi name, is incredibly hard and resistant to scratches, making it perfect for protective coatings on electronics, optical sensors, and solar panels. On the sci-fi show Star Trek, it is even used for starship windows and spacefaring aquariums.

Current methods of making TAlOx are expensive and complicated, requiring high-powered lasers, vacuum chambers, or large vats of dangerous acids. That may change thanks to research co-authored by Filipino scientists from Ateneo de Manila University.

Instead of immersing entire sheets of metal into acidic solutions, the researchers applied microdroplets of acidic solution onto small aluminum surfaces and applied an electric current. Just two volts of electricity—barely more than what’s found in a single AA household flashlight battery—was all that was needed to transform the metal into glass-like TAlOx.

Google DeepMind says its new AI can map the entire planet with unprecedented accuracy

Google DeepMind unveils AlphaEarth Foundations, an AI system that processes satellite data 16x more efficiently to create detailed Earth maps for tracking deforestation, climate change, and environmental shifts.

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