Harvard engineering researchers have developed carbon capture systems that use molecules called quinones, dissolved in water, as their capturing compounds. A new study in Nature Chemical Engineering provides critical insights into the mechanisms of carbon capture in these safer, gentler, water-based electrochemical systems, paving the way for their further refinement. 

Leo P, a small galaxy and a distant neighbor of the Milky Way, is lighting the way for astronomers to better understand star formation and how a galaxy grows.

In a study published in the Astrophysical Journal, a team of researchers led by Kristen McQuinn, a scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute and an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Rutgers University-New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences, has reported finding that Leo P “reignited,” reactivating during a significant period on the timeline of the universe, producing stars when many other small galaxies didn’t. 

Researchers have developed an adhesive polymer that is stronger than current commercially available options while also being biodegradable, tunable, and reusable. The findings – described in Science – show how the common, naturally occurring polymer P3HB can be chemically re-engineered for use as a strong yet sustainable bonding agent. 

Resembling the interlocking links in chainmail, novel nanoscale material is incredibly strong and flexible. The interlocked material contains 100 trillion mechanical bonds per 1 square centimeter — the highest density of mechanical bonds ever achieved. Small amounts of the mechanically interlocked polymer added to Ultem fibers increased the high-performance material's toughness.

The National Institute of Mental Health has awarded a significant grant of $1.5 million to Jianyang Du, PhD, of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, for a research study aimed at uncovering the cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to neurological disorders caused by long COVID-19.

A research team from the University of Göttingen and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) has discovered another piece in the puzzle of the formation of the Moon and water on Earth. The prevailing theory was that the Moon was the result of a collision between the early Earth and the protoplanet Theia. New measurements indicate that the Moon formed from material ejected from the Earth's mantle with little contribution from Theia. In addition, the findings support the idea that water could have reached the Earth early in its development and may not have been added by late impacts. The results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).