Wireless communication breaks through water-air barrier

Summary: In a novel system, underwater sonar signals cause vibrations that can be decoded by an airborne receiver. MIT Media Lab researchers have designed a system that allows underwater and airborne sensors to directly share data. An underwater transmitter directs a sonar signal to the water’s surface, causing tiny vibrations that correspond to the 1s […]

How a particle accelerator helped recover tarnished 19th century images

The technique could aid restoration efforts By Katherine Bourzac BIG REVEAL To the naked eye, the woman in the damaged daguerreotype (left) looks ghostly. A synchrotron helped researchers restore her portrait (right). With the aid of a particle accelerator, scientists are bringing back ghosts from the past, revealing portraits hidden underneath the tarnished surface of […]

A filter that turns saltwater into freshwater just got an upgrade

Making the material smoother prevents it from getting gunked up quickly By Maria Temming SMOOTH MOVE Hundreds of millions of people rely on desalinated water from plants like this one in Dubai. A new-and-improved salt-filtering material could help make freshwater production more affordable. Smoothing out the rough patches of a material widely used to filter […]

Scientists create a mineral in the lab that captures carbon dioxide

A new technique might one day help combat global warming By Carolyn Gramling FAST TRACK  It takes thousands of years for this mineral to form naturally. Now researchers have found a way to make magnesite, or magnesium carbonate, in the lab in just a few months. Aleksandr Pobedimskiy/Shutterstock A new technique speeds up the formation […]

Asbestos

By Ben Valsler How the ‘world’s most wonderful mineral’ became one of the world’s biggest health hazards I fondly remember being taught DIY and woodworking techniques by my grandfather. He had a workshop in his Kent garden, where he showed his grandchildren how different tools were used. When he first built it, he topped that […]

NeuNMR set to enhance understanding of heterogeneous catalysis

By Hannah Dunckley Integrated neutron-scattering and NMR method proves much more powerful than the sum of its parts Source: © Royal Society of Chemistry Scientists have devised an integrated total neutron scattering–NMR approach for studying heterogeneous catalysis Scientists in the UK have combined NMR with total neutron scattering techniques to gain greater insight into liquid-phase […]