In the quest to design the next generation of materials for modern devices – ones that are lightweight, flexible and excellent at dissipating heat – a team of researchers led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst made a discovery: imperfection has its upsides.

Lipid bilayers in mammalian membranes can have a more asymmetric composition than previously thought, new research shows. This lipid abundance asymmetry is enabled by the unique properties of cholesterol and endows biomembranes with specific properties and physiological roles.

Scientists from Heriot-Watt University have secured new funding to investigate the thermodynamic behaviour of typical carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) fluids. This research is critical for the safe and efficient processing, transportation, and storage of these fluids. Jointly funded by TotalEnergies and Equinor, the new research project builds on Heriot-Watt University’s long-standing expertise in CCUS research. 

The two-year project aims to improve thermodynamic models to predict the phase behaviour of CO2 rich mixtures, specifically focusing on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as the impurities.  The project outcomes will be pivotal in establishing optimum operational conditions throughout the CCUS chain as well as environmental compliance and proper CO2 storage. 

Researchers from chemistry, biology, and medicine are increasingly turning to AI models to develop new hypotheses. However, it is often unclear on which basis the algorithms come to their conclusions and to what extent they can be generalized. A publication by the University of Bonn now warns of misunderstandings in handling artificial intelligence. At the same time, it highlights the conditions under which researchers can most likely have confidence in the models. The study has now been published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science. 

Storm forecasting is traditionally based on studying atmospheric conditions but ground-breaking research that also looks at land surface conditions is set to transform early warning systems in tropical regions. This will enable communities to better adapt to the destructive impacts of climate change.

The new study led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) has shown that a large contrast in soil moisture levels over a range of hundreds of kilometres results in atmospheric changes that increase rainfall area and amount in several megastorm hotspots globally. This increase ranges from 10 to 30% depending on the region and size of the storm.

A team of researchers led by a physics graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently made the surprising discovery of what they call a “shape-recovering liquid,” which defies some long-held expectations derived from the laws of thermodynamics. The research, published in Nature Physics, details a mixture of oil, water and magnetized particles that, when shaken, always quickly separates into what looks like the classically curvaceous lines of a Grecian urn.

University of Warwick astronomers have discovered an extremely rare, high mass, compact binary star system only ~150 light years away. These two stars are on a collision course to explode as a type 1a supernova, appearing 10 times brighter than the moon