Most metals found in nature are actually in their oxide forms. To extract those metals to use in critical applications — ranging from infrastructure such as bridges and buildings to advanced technologies like airplanes, semiconductors or even quantum materials — those oxides must be reduced with gases. A new study from Binghamton University and Brookhaven Laboratory illuminating how different gases can affect oxide reduction, however, has the potential to revamp scientific understandings and current industrial practices. 

For the first time, astrophysicists detected a supernova embedded in a wind rich with silicon, sulfur and argon. Observations suggest the massive star lost its outer hydrogen and helium layers long before exploding. Discovery offers direct evidence of the long-theorized inner shell structure of massive stars.

In a groundbreaking study, University of Utah researchers found strong evidence that exposure to industrial pollutionduring pregnancy can shape a grandchild’s neurodevelopment. A child has a higher risk of an intellectual disability if their grandmothers lived near industrial facilities while pregnant with a parent, especially the mother. Higher density of industrial facilities corresponded to higher risk for the grandchild.

A team of scientists from Korea and Japan has discovered a new type of crystal that can "breathe"—releasing and absorbing oxygen repeatedly at relatively low temperatures. This unique ability could transform the way we develop clean energy technologies, including fuel cells, energy-saving windows, and smart thermal devices.

An international team of scientists led by researchers from Germany has observed the earliest steps of charge separation in a complex dye molecule. As the researchers report in the journal Nature Chemistry, high-frequency vibrations of atomic nuclei within the molecule play a central role in this light-induced charge transfer. Their experiments showed that the forces that these vibrations exert on electrons initiate charge transport, whereas processes in the surrounding solvent, which were previously assumed to initiate charge transfer, begin only at a later stage.