2018

Common Bricks Can Be Used to Detect Past Presence of Uranium, Plutonium

Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a technique that can determine whether bricks – the common building material – have ever been near a radiological source, and identify the specific type of source, such as high enriched uranium or plutonium.

Astronomers Reveal Secrets of Most Distant Supernova Ever Detected

An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, has confirmed the discovery of the most distant supernova ever detected, a huge cosmic explosion that took place 10.5 billion years ago when the universe was only a quarter of its current age.

Chemists Create Tinted Windows that also Generate Electricity

A new discovery by Berkeley researchers may soon bring us windows that automatically tint on a sunny day to block the heat while also generating electricity.

Turning Heat into Electricity

MIT researchers, looking for ways to turn heat into electricity, find efficient possibilities in certain topological materials.

Chasing Dark Matter with the Oldest Stars in the Milky Way

An international team of astrophysicists has identified a link between dark matter and the oldest stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Curcumin Improves Memory and Mood, New UCLA Study Says

Lovers of Indian food, give yourselves a second helping: Daily consumption of a certain form of curcumin — the substance that gives Indian curry its bright color — improved memory and mood in people with mild, age-related memory loss, according to the results of a study conducted by UCLA researchers.

Scientists Get Better Numbers on What Happens When Electrons Get Wet

A new study from researchers at the University of Chicago, Argonne and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, and the University of California-San Diego paints a more accurate picture of how electrons behave after striking water, and how quickly they’re snatched up in chemical reactions.

UA Researchers Observe Electrons Zipping Around in Crystals

For the first time, scientists have tracked electrons moving through exotic materials that may make up the next generation of computing hardware, revealing intriguing properties not found in conventional, silicon-based semiconductors.

UMBC Physicist Sebastian Deffner Lays Groundwork to Better Understand Birth of the Universe

Sebastian Deffner and co-author Anthony Bartolotta are extending thermodynamics, a fundamental pillar of physics, into uncharted territory by developing a way to describe microscopic systems with extremely high energy—just like the universe at the start of the Big Bang—for the first time.