Matrix stones are an unusual type of soft kidney stone closely associated with the presence of bacteria from unchecked urinary tract infections. Researchers conducted a comprehensive study of surgically extracted matrix stones, work that highlights how host defense mechanisms against microbes can simultaneously encourage harmful stone formation. Read more »
Science Briefs
Improving Carbon Retention in Grassland Soil from Point Reyes
Soil organic carbon directly influences the life-supporting services provided by soils, including the production of food and the regulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide. To better understand how minerals such as calcium affect carbon accumulation in soil, researchers studied soils collected from Point Reyes National Seashore. Read more »
A Deep-Learning Analysis of Lithium-Plating Dynamics in Batteries
Lithium-metal solid-state batteries are a promising technology, but the deposition (plating) of lithium metal on electrode surfaces remains a significant technical hurdle. Here, researchers used micro-computed tomography data to train an artificial intelligence model to identify characteristics vital to improving battery performance. Read more »
An Organic Transistor That Can Sense, Process, and Remember
Traditional AI hardware employs physically separated information sensing, processing, and memory architecture, a configuration that suffers from large energy and time overhead. Now, researchers have fabricated an organic transistor device that can simultaneously act as the sensor and processing core of a streamlined AI hardware system. Read more »
Capturing the Spin Dynamics of a Complex Magnetic Material
Magnetic iron oxides (ferrites) are complex materials with broad electronic applications that are often driven by microwaves. Here, researchers have precisely measured the spin behavior of several distinct cations in a ferrite material under an applied microwave field, validating a longstanding assumption about magnetic oxide dynamics. Read more »
Keeping Water-Treatment Membranes from Fouling Out
When you use a membrane for water treatment, junk builds up on the membrane surface—a process called fouling—which makes the treatment less efficient. In this work, researchers studied how membranes are fouled by interactions between natural organic matter and positively charged ions commonly found in water. Read more »
Excitons Dance the Two-Step in a 2D Material
Excitonic insulators are a rare form of macroscopic quantum state that can be realized at a high temperature, which can be useful for quantum information science. At the ALS, researchers found that in a 2D material, a novel two-step “folding” behavior in the ARPES data signals the existence of an intermediate exciton gas state. Read more »
New Pathway for SO2 Breakup Sheds Light on Earth’s Oxygenation
While calibrating a new scientific apparatus at the ALS, researchers discovered that ultraviolet light can break up sulfur dioxide (SO2) in a new way, with molecular oxygen (O2) as an unexpected product. The discovery sheds light on Earth’s Great Oxygenation Event 2.4 billion years ago, when atmospheric oxygen levels first began to rise. Read more »
In Fruit-Fly Gut, Bacterial Niche Gets Remodeled for New Arrivals
Researchers found that fruit flies have a specialized niche in their digestive tracts that selects, maintains, and controls bacteria that benefit the fly. Colonization by one type of bacteria physically remodels the niche, promoting secondary colonization by unrelated bacteria. The results will help dissect the mechanisms of host-microbe symbiosis. Read more »
Synergistic Effect Could Boost Production of Green Hydrogen
Researchers developed a composite material of earth-abundant elements that catalyzes the production of green hydrogen much more effectively than similar homogeneous compounds. The composite could potentially be used for efficient hydrogen generation without the need for rare and precious metals like platinum. Read more »
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