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A new hollow nanoreactor inspired by the way living cells organize chemical reactions could provide a cleaner and more efficient route for producing hydrogen peroxide using visible light. The innovative material combines a light-trapping inner cavity with a proton-shuttling outer shell, allowing chemical reactions to occur in a highly controlled nanoscale environment. The research was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society . It was led by Prof. Li Can at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with Prof. Jian Liu's team at Inner Mongolia University. The researchers developed a hollow CdS@polydopamine nanoreactor that imitates two important characteristics of living cells: controlled compartmentalization and efficient movement of chemical species. Their work demonstrates how principles found in biology can be incorporated into artificial nanomaterials for applications in clean chemistry and artifi...

Astronomers have discovered what could be the fastest known star in the Milky Way. Named S301 , the star is racing around Sagittarius A* , the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, at an astonishing speed of about 25,000 kilometers per second . That is more than 8% of the speed of light and roughly 100,000 times faster than a commercial aircraft. But S301 is remarkable for another reason: it passes closer to Sagittarius A* than any other star observed so far. Its extreme orbit could give scientists a rare opportunity to measure the rotation, or spin, of the black hole and test Einstein’s theory of general relativity in one of the most extreme environments in the Universe. A Star on an Extraordinary Orbit Sagittarius A* contains the mass of roughly four million Suns and lies at the center of the Milky Way. For decades, astronomers have carefully tracked stars moving around it to understand how gravity behaves near such an enormous object. S301 has now emerged as an esp...

For decades, scientists have largely viewed the ovary as a passive storage system containing a limited supply of eggs that gradually disappears with age. A new study published in Nature Aging challenges that idea. Researchers from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and Radboud University Medical Center have discovered that mouse ovaries appear to actively regulate how many dormant eggs begin growing at any given time. Surprisingly, even as the total egg reserve falls dramatically with age, the proportion of eggs entering the growth phase remains almost exactly the same—about 14% . According to senior author Dr. Elvan Böke, this suggests that the ovary may somehow sense the size of its remaining egg reserve and adjust egg activation accordingly. The mechanism responsible for this control is still unknown, but the finding reveals a previously unrecognized form of ovarian biology. The Ovary May Be Monitoring Its Own Egg Supply Female mammals are born with a limited number of immatur...

A tiny screw-shaped robot has taken an important step toward a new way of treating difficult-to-reach brain conditions—without the need to open the skull. Researchers from the University of Twente (UT) and Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc) have successfully steered a miniature magnetic robot through real brain tissue using only a magnet positioned outside the body. The experiments were performed using sheep brain tissue in the laboratory. The team has also developed a mathematical model that can predict when the robot will lose control. This could become an important tool for safely guiding tiny robots through delicate tissues in future medical procedures. The study has been published in the journal Advanced Science . A New Way to Reach Difficult Areas of the Brain Some brain conditions are extremely difficult to treat because the affected area may be located deep inside the brain. These include blood clots caused by stroke, deep-seated tumors, brain lesions and vascular m...

As humanity prepares for future missions to Mars, scientists are studying a danger that may seem small but could become a major health challenge: Martian dust . NASA has proposed an initial health standard for the amount of fine Martian dust astronauts should be exposed to inside their habitats. The recommended limit is 0.1 milligram of fine Martian dust per cubic meter of air, averaged over 24 hours, for exposure periods of up to 30 days . Although astronauts may not walk on Mars for several years, NASA needs safety standards today. Spacecraft, spacesuits, airlocks and habitats take many years to design, build and test. Engineers need clear health targets so they can develop systems that protect astronauts from dust before a mission ever leaves Earth. Why Is Martian Dust a Concern? Mars is covered by a layer of loose material called regolith , which includes dust, sand and broken rocks. Martian dust is extremely fine and can easily become airborne. The problem becomes even more seriou...

Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos. While Phobos is larger and heavily covered with impact marks, Deimos looks much smoother and dustier. Now, a new international study suggests that a single asteroid impact may explain why Deimos looks the way it does today. The research, led by Dr. Sabina Raducan, shows that an asteroid about 320 meters (1,050 feet) wide could have struck Deimos at an angle of around 45 degrees . The impact may have created the large depression near the moon’s south pole and spread a thick layer of dust and broken rock across much of its surface. The findings, published in Nature Astronomy , provide a new explanation for two major mysteries about Deimos: its southern depression and its unusual layer of loose surface material. Deimos: A Small and Mysterious Moon Deimos is the smaller and more distant of Mars’ two moons. It is roughly oval-shaped and only about 15 kilometers across. Unlike Earth’s Moon, Deimos does not have a solid, smooth surface. Instead, i...

A new breakthrough from researchers in Singapore could bring bright, flexible and low-power displays to applications ranging from wearable health monitors to underwater communication. Imagine a small skin patch that changes color when your blood sugar level becomes abnormal, a flexible display wrapped around a diver's arm that remains readable underwater, or a soft robot that uses glowing signals to communicate when it touches an object or detects damage. These technologies require displays that are thin, flexible, energy-efficient and durable . Yet existing display technologies often struggle to deliver all of these properties at the same time. Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) , working with scientists from the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) and the Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) under Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), have now developed a much brighter and more durable type of ...