A team of researchers has discovered how algae that survive in very low levels of light are able to switch on-and-off a quantum phenomenon known as coherence. The function of coherence in the algae remains a mystery, but the researchers think it could help the organisms harvest energy from the Sun much more efficiently. The […]
Putting together the chemical reactions that make photosynthesis happen has proven harder than scientists initially thought, but in a new paper in Nature Chemistry, Arizona State University (ASU) researchers describe the breakthroughs they have made toward perfecting a functional artificial leaf. The researchers hope their work will one day allow the inexpensive production of hydrogen […]
A new study reveals that humans and other primates burn 50 percent fewer calories each day than other mammals. Interestingly, the study also reports that primates in zoos expend as much energy as those in the wild, suggesting that physical activity may have less of an impact on daily energy expenditure than previously thought. The […]
Despite our preoccupation with all things gastronomic, surprising little is known about how food preparation affects the energy it supplies to our bodies. Now, for the first time, Harvard researchers have shown that cooked food yields more energy than raw, leading them to speculate that cooking played a key role in driving the evolution of […]
Based on a simple assembly of granular crystals that transmit sound vibrations, Caltech researchers have created the first tunable acoustic diode that allows sound to travel only in one direction. “We exploited a physical mechanism that causes a sharp transition between transmitting and non-transmitting states of the diode,” explained Chiara Daraio, lead author of the […]
Georgia Tech scientists using a novel printable ultra-wideband antenna have shown that the ambient electromagnetic waves from TV stations, radio stations, satellites and cell phones can be harvested and used to power a range of electronic devices. “There is a large amount of electromagnetic energy all around us, but nobody has been able to tap […]
The amount of electricity required to run today’s computers, data centers and mobile devices is increasing rapidly and this growing hunger for power makes the digital world a significant greenhouse gas contributor. Most energy saving projects so far have focused on more efficient cooling systems or energy-saving power modes, but researchers from the University of […]
Using pressures similar to those found deep in the Earth, researchers from Washington State University have created a compact, never-before-seen material that lead researcher Choong-Shik Yoo (pictured center) says is the most condensed form of energy storage outside of nuclear energy. The researchers created the material in a diamond anvil cell, a small, two-inch by […]
The force that creates whirlpools and hurricanes could soon be used to boost the output of traditional hydroelectric power stations by 27 percent, says Australian Paul Kouris, inventor of a new turbine that he says harnesses the vortex effect created by the rotation of the Earth. Using the Coriolis force, the turbine is designed to […]
Seven years ago, two research groups turned the field of cosmology on its head with their announcements that the expansion of the universe was accelerating. Their theories were based on the red-shift of light from distant supernovae, and their findings suggested that the expansion of the universe was actually accelerating, not decelerating. The mysterious force […]
