Lifeboat Foundation

While scientists have hoped that rechargeable zinc-manganese dioxide batteries could be developed into a viable alternative for grid storage applications, engineers at the University of Illinois Chicago and their colleagues identified the reasons these zinc-based fuel systems fail.

The scientists reached this conclusion after leveraging advanced electron microscopy, electrochemical experiments and theoretical calculations to look closer at how the zinc anode works with the manganese cathode in the battery system.

Their findings are reported today in Nature Sustainability.

A new study says that changing guidelines for forever chemicals have made rainwater all around the world unsafe to drink.

Rainwater is an important part of our planet’s ecosystem, and it helps fuel access to drinking water in many places. However, a new study suggests that rainwater is now unsafe to drink. The study says that “forever chemicals” have reached unsafe levels. These forever chemicals are scientifically known as per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and they don’t break down in the environment.

You can find PFAS chemicals in non-stick and stain-repellent properties. As such, they’re found in a lot of household food packages, electronics, and even cosmetics and cookware. However, it seems that these chemicals are now mixing with our rainwater. As a result, it has made rainwater unsafe to drink. And researchers say they can’t tie this issue to just one location. It’s everywhere in the world, even in Antarctica.

Continue reading “New study says rainwater is now unsafe to drink” »

Circa 2021 Basically this article details cannabinoids that have been successfully synthesized which can lead to even greater psychiatric medicine aswell as many of other types of uses.

Abstract Cannabis has been integral to Eurasian civilization for millennia, but a century of prohibition has limited investigation. With spreading legalization, science is pivoting to study the pharmacopeia of the cannabinoids, and a thorough understanding of their biosynthesis is required to engineer strains with specific cannabinoid profiles. This review surveys the biosynthesis and biochemistry of cannabinoids. The pathways and the enzymes’ mechanisms of action are discussed as is the non-enzymatic decarboxylation of the cannabinoic acids. There are still many gaps in our knowledge about the biosynthesis of the cannabinoids, especially for the minor components, and this review highlights the tools and approaches that will be applied to generate an improved understanding and consequent access to these potentially biomedically-relevant materials. Graphical abstract.

A team of researchers in the Faculty of Engineering of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has developed a coin-sized system that can read weak electrochemical signals and can be used for personalized health monitoring and the measurement of such conditions as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mental health. The discovery was featured on the cover of Analytical Chemistry.

The PERfECT System—an acronym for Personalized Electronic Reader for Electrochemical Transistors—is the world’s smallest system of its kind, measuring 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm x 0.2 cm and weighing only 0.4 gram. It is easily wearable, for instance integrated with a smartwatch or as a patch, to allow for continuous monitoring of biosignals such as glucose levels and antibody concentrations in blood and even sweat.

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PFAS are nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they last so long without breaking down. That’s made them pervasive in rainwater and soils.

Gene therapy pioneer — dr. katherine high, MD — president, therapeutics, askbio.

Dr. Katherine High, MD, is President, Therapeutics, at Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio — https://www.askbio.com/), where she is also member of the AskBio Board of Directors, and has responsibility for driving the strategic direction and execution of pre-clinical and clinical programs of the company.

Continue reading “Dr. Katherine High, MD — Gene Therapy Pioneer — President, Therapeutics, Asklepios BioPharmaceutical” »

The world is highly dependent on fossil fuels to power its industry and transportation. These fossil fuels lead to excessive carbon dioxide emission, which contributes to global warming and ocean acidification. One way to reduce this excessive carbon dioxide emission that is harmful to the environment is through the electroreduction of carbon dioxide into value-added fuels or chemicals using renewable energy. The idea of using this technology to produce methane has attracted wide interest. However, researchers have had limited success in developing efficient catalysts for methane.

A Soochow University research team has now developed a simple strategy for creating cobalt copper alloy catalysts that deliver outstanding methane activity and selectivity in electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction. Their research is published in Nano Research.

Over the past 10 years, scientists have made notable progress in advancing their understanding of catalysts and applying the knowledge to their fabrication. But the catalysts that have been developed have not been satisfactory for use with methane, in terms of selectivity or current density. Despite the great insights scientists have gained, the strategies they have attempted in creating catalysts for methane are just too costly to be useful in practical applications.

Sustained space exploration will require infrastructure that doesn’t currently exist: buildings, housing, rocket landing pads.

So, where do you turn for construction materials when they are too big to fit in your carry-on and there’s no Home Depot in outer space?

“If we’re going to live and work on another planet like Mars or the moon, we need to make concrete. But we can’t take bags of concrete with us—we need to use local resources,” said Norman Wagner, Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware.

The unusual chemistry of the lava burbling to the island’s surface has raised many questions about what’s churning deep below.