News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Organs soon run out of energy while they are between donor and recipient, but an electric field could keep them running and improve survival Health 9 March 2022 By Clare Wilson Microscope images showing tissue damage in human donor kidneys without electrical treatment (top left and right) and less damage with treatment (bottom left and … Read more
Having never evolved wings, many species of spider instead evolved an uncanny ability to take to the skies using nothing more than a few short threads of gossamer dangling from their dainty butts. Just how this invertebrate answer to paragliding works has never been entirely clear, though historically biologists have assumed it probably has … Read more
Of the many “firsts” from NASA’s Apollo program of lunar exploration, one often overlooked is that the Apollo missions included the first—and so far only—times that humans have driven on another world. Presaging today’s eco-conscious market for carbon-neutral transportation, Apollo’s battery-powered lunar roving vehicles were all-electric as well. Astronaut David Scott, who was the first … Read more
As chemists scramble to find ways to reclaim valuable metals from industrial waste and discarded electronics, one team has found a solution that sounds a little like magic: Zap the trash with flashes of electric heat. Rare earth elements (REEs) present an environmental paradox. On one hand, these dozen or so metals, such as yttrium … Read more
The Biden administration will roll out a $5 billion program today to help states build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations by decade’s end. The newly dubbed National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program was established by President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law, which Congress passed last November. The administration announced the program … Read more
Higher temperatures with climate change will push up demand for air conditioning significantly in some states, potentially taxing electric grids, a new analysis said. Demand in some parts of the United States could rise more than 13 percent, according to the studypublished in Earth’s Future, the American Geophysical Union’s journal. “We know that when it … Read more
Electric fields have previously been shown to speed up wound healing, so researchers have created a dressing powered by static electricity Technology 26 January 2022 By Chris Stokel-Walker An ordinary wound dressing Shutterstock / Impact Photography An electric wound dressing can help heal injuries faster than existing methods, according to tests in rats. Previous research … Read more
A study suggests that a small device powered by wind and rain can boost crop yield, but other researchers have cast doubt on the findings Life 13 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan Pea plants growing in a greenhouse Andreeshcheva Katerina/Shutterstock A team of researchers claims to have shown that a high-voltage electric field generated using … Read more
A device that delivers electric current to the knees could help combat osteoarthritis, a painful condition caused by worn cartilage, after successful tests in rabbits Health 12 January 2022 By Clare Wilson Coloured X-ray of the knees of an 87-year old man with severe osteoarthritis SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Knee implants that generate a tiny electrical … Read more
Researchers have imagined a lightweight, flying saucer-style rover that can float across the surface of the Moon and other airless planetary surfaces such as asteroids. The ‘flying saucer’ would be powered by the electric field that builds up due to direct exposure to the Sun and its surrounding plasma. In the absence of an atmosphere, this … Read more