Biochar’s secret power could change clean water forever

Scientists found that biochar doesn’t just capture pollutants, it actively destroys them using direct electron transfer. This newly recognized ability accounts for up to 40% of its cleaning power and remains effective through repeated use. The discovery opens the door to cheaper, greener, and more efficient water treatment methods worldwide.

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America is throwing away the minerals that could power its future

America already mines all the critical minerals it needs for energy, defense, and technology, but most are being wasted as mine tailings. Researchers discovered that minerals like cobalt, germanium, and rare earths are discarded in massive amounts, even though recovering just a fraction could eliminate U.S. dependence on imports.

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Scientists enhance color and texture of cultured meat

Researchers are exploring the development of cultured meat found that the addition of the iron-carrying protein myoglobin improves the growth, texture and color of bovine muscle grown from cells in culture. This development is a step toward the ultimate goal of growing meat from livestock animal cells for human consumption.

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Calcium batteries: New electrolytes, enhanced properties

Calcium-based batteries promise to reach a high energy density at low manufacturing costs. This lab-scale technology has the potential for replacing lithium-ion technology in future energy storage systems. Using the electrolytes available, however, it has been impossible so far to charge calcium batteries at room temperature. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT ) now present a promising electrolyte class, with which this will be possible.

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Inside the fuel cell: Imaging method promises industrial insight

Hydrogen-containing substances are important for many industries, but scientists have struggled to obtain detailed images to understand the element's behavior. Researchers now demonstrate the quantification of hydrogen for different states of water — i.e., liquid, frozen and supercooled — for applications to eco-friendly fuel cells.

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Scientists pinpoint cause of harmful dendrites and whiskers in lithium batteries

Scientists have uncovered a root cause of the growth of needle-like structures — known as dendrites and whiskers — that plague lithium batteries, sometimes causing a short circuit, failure, or even a fire. Such defects are a major factor holding back the batteries from even more widespread use and further improvement.

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The nano-guitar string that plays itself

Scientists have created a nano-electronic circuit which vibrates without any external force. Just as a guitar string vibrates when plucked, the wire — 100,000 times thinner than a guitar string — vibrates when forced into motion by an oscillating voltage. The surprise came when they repeated the experiment without the forcing voltage. Under the right conditions, the wire oscillated of its own accord. The nano-guitar string was playing itself.

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