Science News

An extendable robot began on Tuesday a two-week mission to retrieve the first sample of melted fuel debris from inside one of three damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) have become the most widely used rechargeable batteries worldwide. Energy researchers and material scientists have been trying to identify alternative materials that could serve as LIB components, potentially leading to improvements in battery performance and efficiency without significantly increasing fabrication costs.

A long robot entered a damaged reactor at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant on Tuesday, beginning a two-week, high-stakes mission to retrieve for the first time a tiny amount of melted fuel debris from the bottom.

Doctors say they're amazed by how well a veteran has recovered more than a year after a whole-eye transplant surgery. Aaron James lost most of his face after touching a live wire.

High-precision positioning in urban areas faces obstacles such as frequent signal blockages and interference from buildings, which compromise the performance of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) systems. These conditions lead to reduced accuracy and reliability, making it difficult for traditional solutions to meet precision demands.

Researchers from McGill University have developed a more efficient way to assess how likely a bridge is to be damaged in an earthquake. The information could help authorities prioritize infrastructure for upgrading and improve emergency response plans.

The summer of 2024 has been another scorcher, with the highest temperature ever recorded by NASA on July 22 and the city of Phoenix reaching a milestone of 100 straight days of 100 degrees.

Scientists say they have designed a propeller system that can replace electrical and diesel-operated engines currently used to drive ferries plowing through the seas on pre-determined routes.

Low and middle-income countries generally lack access to renewable energy and rely excessively on traditional fuels like firewood and charcoal. In these countries, 2.6 billion people depend mainly on polluting fossil fuels (for electricity) and traditional biomass fuels (such as wood or charcoal for cooking) to meet their daily energy needs. In sub-Saharan Africa, about 67% of households depend primarily on traditional biomass fuels.

A new, cheap, easily manufactured device could lead to improved satellite communication, high speed data transmission, and remote sensing, scientists say.

Inventors and researchers have been developing robots for almost 70 years. To date, all the machines they have built—whether for factories or elsewhere—have had one thing in common: They are powered by motors, a technology that is already 200 years old. Even walking robots feature arms and legs that are powered by motors, not by muscles as in humans and animals. This in part suggests why they lack the mobility and adaptability of living creatures.

The troubled Boeing Starliner capsule successfully cruised back down to Earth from the International Space Station Friday evening — but no one was onboard.

Mr. Greedy -- an African penguin at the Maryland Zoo -- has died at 33 ... after fathering more than 200 descendants during his lifetime.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting materials have distinct optoelectronic properties that could be advantageous for the development of ultra-thin and tunable electronic components. Despite their potential advantages over bulk semiconductors, optimally interfacing these materials with gate dielectrics has so far proved challenging, often resulting in interfacial traps that rapidly degrade the performance of transistors.

Protective gloves, such as those used for work, sport or household gardening, retrieve their protective function from a special coating. This coating provides abrasion resistance, makes the material waterproof and resistant to chemicals or oil, and even protects against cuts and punctures. Until now, coatings made of oil-based polymers, nitrile rubber or latex have been the main materials used.

The average temperature from June to August was 104.5 degrees, breaking previous records of 104.2 degrees, set in 2021 and 2018.

In a significant advance for climate change mitigation efforts, we have developed a new material that could revolutionize carbon dioxide capture. Our study, published in Advanced Materials, introduces porous polymeric electrodes (PPEs) that dramatically enhance the efficiency of removing CO2 from low-concentration sources.

Scientists from Swansea University have developed a new tool to help identify optimal photovoltaic (PV) materials capable of maximizing crop growth while generating solar power.

Officials gathered at the Sequim campus of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to dedicate DOE's first hybrid-electric research vessel, RV Resilience.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the invention of X-ray imaging provided a leap of knowledge in medical science. Since then, we can see how our body's bones work, bringing numerous new treatments to light.