Scientists at Aalto University have demonstrated results that show a huge improvement in the light absorption and the surface passivation of silicon nanostructures. This has been achieved by applying atomic layer coating. The results advance the development of devices that require high-sensitivity light response such as high-efficiency solar cells. This method provides extremely good surface passivation. Simultaneously, it reduces the reflectance further at all wavelengths. These results are very promising considering the use of black silicon (b-Si) surfaces on solar cells to increase the efficiency to completely new levels, tells research scientist Päivikki Repo....

So far in 2021, British Columbia has already seen dangerous wildfires and heat. More than 40 wildfires were burning across the Canadian province by the end of June 2021, including a cluster of substantial blazes located about 200 kilometers northeast of Vancouver. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-20 satellite acquired this image (above) around 2 p.m. local time (21:00 Universal Time) on June 30, 2021. By the morning of July 1, the McKay Creek fire (left) and the Sparks Lake fire (right) had burned an estimated 150 and 200 square kilometers (60 and 75 square miles), respectively....

Scientists have discovered that “rogue” antibodies found circulating in the blood of COVID-19 patients have the potential to cause cells to lose their resistance to clotting. Researchers at Michigan Medicine and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute studied the blood samples of nearly 250 patients hospitalized for COVID-19. They found higher-than-expected levels of antiphospholipid autoantibodies, which can trigger blood clots in the arteries and veins of patients with autoimmune disorders, including lupus and antiphospholipid syndrome....

This technique allowed scientists to learn how to decode what you are dreaming about while you sleep. The researchers presented their findings at the Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans, Louisiana, last week. They scanned three patients as they slept and recorded their brain activity using electroencephalography. Whenever the scientists detected the pattern of brain waves associated with sleep onset, they woke the participants and asked them about their dreams....

It appears that college students, and the general public, have one less sexually transmitted health issue to worry about. Recent reports indicate that pubic lice, the crab-shaped insects that dwell in the human groin area, are on the decline. Scientists have noted that the recent trend in pubic hair removal, such as Brazilian bikini waxing, may play a major role in this decline. Citing surveys and research by other scholars, scientists at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, reported in a 2011 study that a majority of college men and women in the U....

Following a planned trajectory correction maneuver on September 8, CAPSTONE suffered an issue that put the spacecraft in safe mode. It was soon discovered that the spacecraft was spinning beyond the capacity of the onboard reaction wheels to control and counter. According to data from the spacecraft, the most likely cause was a valve-related issue in one of the spacecraft’s eight thrusters. The partially open valve meant the faulty thruster generated thrust whenever the propulsion system was pressurized....

This newly released image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shows Saturn’s rings and the shadows they cast on the planet. Saturn’s rings cast shadows on the planet, but the shadows appear to be inside out! The edge of Saturn’s outermost A ring can be seen at the top left corner of the image. Moving towards the bottom of the page, one can see the faint Cassini Division, the opaque B ring and the innermost C ring, which contains several ringlets that appear dark against Saturn in this geometry....

The catalytic reactor developed by the Rice University lab of chemical and biomolecular engineer Haotian Wang uses carbon dioxide as its feedstock and, in its latest prototype, produces highly purified and high concentrations of formic acid. Formic acid produced by traditional carbon dioxide devices needs costly and energy-intensive purification steps, Wang said. The direct production of pure formic acid solutions will help to promote commercial carbon dioxide conversion technologies. The method is detailed in Nature Energy....

A clear change in salinity has been detected in the world’s oceans, signaling shifts and acceleration in the global rainfall and evaporation cycle tied directly to climate change. In a paper published Friday (April 27) in the journal Science, Australian scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reported changing patterns of salinity in the global ocean during the past 50 years, marking a clear symptom of climate change....

Materials known as halide perovskites have been proposed as affordable alternatives to existing thermoelectric materials, however, so far research into their suitability for thermoelectric applications has been limited. In this study, published in Nature Communications, scientists conducted a series of experiments on thin films of the halide perovskite, cesium tin iodide, to test its ability to create electrical current from heat. The researchers found they were able to improve the materials’ thermoelectric properties through a combination of methods, which involved partial oxidation and the introduction of additional elements into the material....

Statins are a recommended and common intervention for preventing cardiovascular events by reducing levels of lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood. During the pandemic, it has been debated whether statins influence the risk of death from COVID-19. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have now conducted the largest population study to date in the field. The study, which is published in PLOS Medicine, indicates that statin treatment slightly lowers COVID-19 mortality....

A new paper in the Journal of the European Economic Association, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that distrust generated by a 2011 CIA-led vaccination campaign ruse designed to catch Osama Bin Laden resulted in a significant vaccination rate decline in Pakistan. Using a local doctor, the US Central Intelligence Organization planned an immunization plan in Pakistan to obtain DNA samples of children living in a compound in Abbottabad where American authorities suspected Bin Laden was hiding in order to obtain proof of Bin Laden’s location (because the presence of close relatives would be a likely indication of Bin Laden’s presence)....

The first trial participant is an American who was repatriated after being quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that docked in Yokohama, Japan and volunteered to participate in the study. The study can be adapted to evaluate additional investigative treatments and to enroll participants at other sites in the U.S. and worldwide. There are no specific therapeutics approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat people with COVID-19, the disease caused by the newly emergent SARS-CoV-2 virus (formerly known as 2019-nCoV)....

Michael Waters, director of the Center for the Study of the First Americans and colleagues from the University of Oxford and Stafford Research of Colorado have had their work published in the current issue of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). The main focus of the team’s research centered on properly dating the Anzick site which is named after the family who own the land. The site was discovered in 1968 by construction workers, who found the human remains and stone tools which include Clovis spear points and antler tools....

Upon a vaccination or a real infection, it takes several weeks before the immunity develops antibodies that can selectively bind to these spike proteins. Such antibody-labeled viruses are neutralized by the natural killer and T cells operated by the human immunity. An alternative approach to train the immunity response is offered by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago and California State University at Sacramento who have developed a novel strategy that redirects antibodies for other diseases existing in humans to the spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2....

Along with producing anxiety in the mice who consumed aspartame, the effects extended up to two generations from the males exposed to the sweetener. The study was published on December 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “What this study is showing is we need to look back at the environmental factors, because what we see today is not only what’s happening today, but what happened two generations ago and maybe even longer,” said co-author Pradeep Bhide, the Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair of Developmental Neuroscience in the Department of Biomedical Sciences....

As the world grapples with the public health crises and myriad disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, many efforts to address its impact are underway. Several of those initiatives are being led by companies that were founded by MIT alumni, professors, students, and researchers. These companies’ efforts are as wide-ranging and complex as the challenges brought on by COVID-19. They leverage expertise in biological engineering, mobile technology, data analytics, community engagement, and other fields MIT has long focused on....

Professor Frederic Meunier from the Queensland Brain Institute said the team had identified new active compounds from the mushroom, Hericium erinaceus. This type of edible mushroom, commonly known as the Lion’s Mane Mushroom, is native to North America, Europe, and Asia. It is commonly sought after for its unique flavor and texture, and it is also used in traditional Chinese medicine to boost the immune system and improve digestive health....

“When most people think of cyanide, they think of spy movies – a guy swallowing a pill, foaming at the mouth and dying, but cyanide was probably an essential compound for building molecules necessary for life,” explained Dr. Karen Smith, senior research scientist at Boise State University, Boise, Idaho. Cyanide, a carbon atom bound to a nitrogen atom, is thought to be crucial for the origin of life, as it is involved in the non-biological synthesis of organic compounds like amino acids and nucleobases, which are the building blocks of proteins and nucleic acids used by all known forms of life....