Efforts to address chronic malnutrition in billions of people have taken a step forward with Australian researchers defining processing conditions that boost the nutritional value of white rice -- the staple food of more than a third of the world's population.
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Boulder, Colo., USA: Every day, all around the world, millions of people contemplate a very simple question with a very complex answer: which wine? In this month's issue of GSA Today, Gregory Retallack (University of Oregon) and Scott Burns (Portland State University) examine the link between the taste of wine and soil properties.
A new process using light to reduce dinitrogen into ammonia, the main ingredient in chemical fertilizers could inspire development of new, more sustainable processes that eliminate the energy-intensive, lengthier processes now commonly in use. According to researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), photochemical (photon) energy can serve as a substitute for the adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP)-dependent electron transfer mechanism typically used in biology to drive nitrogenase to reduce dinitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3).
Researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have uncovered a way to overcome a principal obstacle in using two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors in electronic and optoelectronic devices.
PULLMAN, Wash. - The modern challenge of nuclear waste storage and disposal has researchers at Washington State University looking back at ancient materials from around the world.
They report on their work studying ancient glass and rock defense walls in a paper published in the May issue of American Ceramic Society Bulletin.
New research from The University of Texas at Arlington demonstrates that groundwater quality changes alongside the expansion of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing but also suggests that some potentially hazardous effects may dissipate over time.
Whether it's self-driving cars, automated package delivery systems, or Barbie dolls that converse with children, the ways in which humans and robots interact is a rapidly growing field. Movies such as Star Wars, Wall-E, and Ex-Machina reveal how society is fascinated by both the positive and negative implications.
In his newly published scan of the literature, expert Thomas B. Sheridan concludes that the time is ripe for human factors researchers to contribute scientific insights that can tackle the many challenges of human-robot interaction.
Psychedelic drugs may help curb domestic violence committed by men with substance abuse problems, according to a new UBC study.
The UBC Okanagan study found that 42 per cent of U.S. adult male inmates who did not take psychedelic drugs were arrested within six years for domestic battery after their release, compared to a rate of 27 per cent for those who had taken drugs such as LSD, psilocybin (commonly known as magic mushrooms) and MDMA (ecstasy).
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Thin films of crystalline materials called perovskites provide a promising new way of making inexpensive and efficient solar cells. Now, an international team of researchers has shown a way of flipping a chemical switch that converts one type of perovskite into another -- a type that has better thermal stability and is a better light absorber.
A team of researchers led by scientists from the American Museum of Natural History has found that catsharks are not only able to see the bright green biofluorescence they produce, but that they increase contrast of their glowing pattern when deep underwater. The study, conducted with a custom-built "shark-eye" camera that simulates how the shark sees underwater, shows that fluorescence makes catsharks more visible to neighbors of the same species at the depths that they live and may aid in communication between one another.
ANN ARBOR--Changing climate conditions--including warmer temperatures and an increased frequency of heavy rainstorms--represent "an emerging threat to public health in Michigan," according to a new report from university researchers and state health officials.
Tokyo, April 25, 2016 - A thermoelectric (TE) device*1 using cutting edge thermoelectric conversion technology has been created by a team comprising NEC Corporation, NEC TOKIN Corporation and Tohoku University.
The new technology, known as the spin Seebeck effect *2, has conversion efficiency 10 times higher than the conventional method *3.
While infrared waves are available in short, mid, and long lengths, most detection devices are unable to harness all three at the same time.
Now Northwestern University's Manijeh Razeghi and her team have developed a new approach in device design to realize a three-color, shortwave-midwave-longwave infrared photodetector. With the new design, the devices can detect different infrared wavebands by simply varying the applied bias voltage. This could open up a range of potential applications, including infrared color televisions and three-color infrared imaging.
A switch to propane from diesel by a major Midwest bakery fleet showed promising results, including a significant displacement of petroleum, a drop in greenhouse gases and a fuel cost savings of seven cents per mile, according to a study recently completed by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory.
The secret to making the best energy storage materials is growing them with as much surface area as possible. Like baking, it requires just the right mixture of ingredients prepared in a specific amount and order at just the right temperature to produce a thin sheet of material with the perfect chemical consistency to be useful for storing energy.