Separated by an ocean and more than a decade, innovative experiments with 31 tin isotopes having either a surplus or shortage of neutrons show how neutrons influence nuclear stability and element formation. The experiments, conducted between 2002 and 2012 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and more recently at CERN, provide knowledge that impacts nuclear energy and national security applications.

Researchers discover a key clock protein that directly regulates pH gradients across different tissues.

 

These gradients control electric and sugar flows that precisely coordinate shoot growth with root development.

 

The discovery offers a new perspective on plant productivity and could help develop crops that allocate resources more efficiently under challenging conditions.

The University of Delaware's Juan Perilla is part of an international team that discovered a previously unknown role for the viral protein integrase, which helps HIV insert itself into human DNA. Reported in Nature, the discovery provides a new frontier for drug development to combat the virus.

America’s research program on the use of liquid metals in fusion energy systems took shape on Jan. 22 at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, a world leader in such research. More than 75 fusion leaders from the public and private sectors discussed the infrastructure needed to pursue a fusion program that would use liquid metals to protect the inner components of fusion vessels from the intense heat of plasma and improve their performance.

Radioactive cesium ions, due to their high-water solubility, pose a serious threat to human health and the environment. Conventional adsorbents such as Prussian blue (PB), although effective for cesium removal, often involve complex fabrication and high operational costs. Researchers have now developed an innovative electrochemical electrode by depositing PB onto chemically treated carbon cloth, achieving high cesium adsorption capacity and excellent reusability, with strong potential for practical wastewater treatment applications.

Among the enduring challenges of storing energy—for wind or solar farms, or backup storage for the energy grid or data centers—is batteries that can hold large amounts of electricity for a long time. In addition to having a large capacity—potentially enough to power a neighborhood or small city for days or weeks—ideally these batteries would be safe, affordable and environmentally harmless. With an eye toward meeting those benchmarks, researchers at Case Western Reserve University are developing novel electrolytes—fluids that can conduct ions—for rechargeable flow batteries.