Bactderia 1024x577

Genes point to how some bacteria can gobble up electricity

biology, For Kids, Recent Work, Tech /

Bacteria can have superpowers. Some flourish in almost any environment. Others can transform toxic materials into harmless sludge. A bacterium called Shewanella oneidensis can do both. But this microbe also has a much rarer superpower: It absorbs and produces electricity. In fact, new research suggests, these bacteria may be able to use energy collected from wind or […]

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Ammonia

Green ammonia could produce climate-friendly ways to store energy and fertilize farms

Agriculture, energy, Physics, Recent Work /

Curbing climate change goes hand-in-hand with decarbonizing energy production. But how can communities continue to meet the global demand for electricity without releasing more CO2? A cadre of chemists says one solution may be hiding in an unlikely source: ammonia—the pungent, clear, nitrogen-rich gas, or liquid, that’s most often used as an agricultural fertilizer. Most

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Network 1024x576

How Big Data Carried Graph Theory Into New Dimensions

complexity, Features, network theory /

Graph theory isn’t enough. The mathematical language for talking about connections, which usually depends on networks — vertices (dots) and edges (lines connecting them) — has been an invaluable way to model real-world phenomena since at least the 18th century. But a few decades ago, the emergence of giant data sets forced researchers to expand

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Conductor

Astronomer-turned-filmmaker strives to ignite an interest in space

Recent Work, space /

For scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, the night of January 3, 2004 entailed six minutes of nerve-wracking terror. Around 8:30 PM Pacific Time, the Spirit rover began its plunge to the Martian surface, as an audience of engineers and others—temporarily unable to receive any communication from the craft—waited anxiously to get

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Pig 1024x576

How to poison a feral pig

Features /

EARLY ONE WINTER MORNING in 2020, Kurt VerCauteren discovered a cluster of dead birds in a barren field in northwest Texas. They were small birds, mostly dark-eyed juncos, but also a smattering of white-crowned sparrows. VerCauteren’s team had poisoned them, inadvertently. The clues were clear, the death uncomplicated: The birds had flown in before dawn to

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