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MIT Chemical Engineers Are Cracking the Carbon Removal Challenge

Lead Image: First developed at MIT, the technology enabled by Verdox enables a flow of air or flue gas (blue) containing carbon dioxide (red) to enter the system from the left. As it passes between thin battery electrode plates, carbon dioxide attaches to the charged plates while the cleaned airstream passes on through and exits at the right. Credit: Image courtesy of the Hatton Lab Verdox, founded by MIT chemical engineers and winner of an XPRIZE Carbon Removal milestone award, is working to move the needle on climate change. By most benchmarks, MIT chemical engineering spinoff Verdox has been enjoying…

“Something Strange Is Going On” – Physicists Answer a Decades-Old Question

Lead Image: Physicists have answered a longstanding question concerning interacting quantum particles in a disordered system. A Different Type of Chaos Physicists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of Maryland, and the University of Washington have solved a long-standing physics puzzle: how do interparticle interactions impact dynamical localization? “It’s a really old question inherited from condensed matter physics,” said David Weld, an experimental physicist at UCSB with specialties in ultracold atomic physics and quantum simulation. The question falls into the category of ‘many-body’ physics, which interrogates the physical properties of a quantum system with multiple interacting parts.…

Diets High in Processed Fiber May Increase Cancer Risk

The results highlight both the need for routine blood bile acid level testing as well as caution when individuals with high bile acid levels consume fiber. The study found that men who had high fiber intake and high blood bile acid levels had a 40% higher risk of liver cancer. Fiber-enriched foods are often consumed by many individuals to promote weight loss and fend against chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes. Consuming highly refined fiber, however, may raise the risk of liver cancer in certain people, especially those with a silent vascular deformity, according to a recent study from The University…

New Discoveries Could Reveal the Nature of Dark Matter

Lead Image: The gravitational lenses might also let us “see” the invisible dark matter that makes up most of the Universe. The dozens of newly identified gravitational lenses could also reveal ancient galaxies. Earlier this year, a machine learning algorithm detected up to 5,000 possible gravitational lenses, which could transform our ability to chart the evolution of galaxies since the Big Bang. Kim-Vy Tran of ASTRO 3D and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and colleagues have now evaluated 77 of the lenses using the Keck Observatory in Hawaii and the Very Large Telescope in Chile. Her international team verified…

Food Insecurity Has Long-Term Effects on the Brain and Behavior

Lead Image: The study found that feeding history affects synapses on dopamine neurons as well as dopamine release. The findings imply that young individuals may suffer long-term consequences, particularly in terms of cognitive flexibility. Few studies have examined the impact that feast or famine has on the developing brain in isolation from other variables that contribute to adversity, despite the fact that food insecurity is an issue for a rising proportion of the American population, made much worse by the coronavirus pandemic. University of California, Berkeley researchers have simulated the impacts of food insecurity on young mice and discovered long-lasting…