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Six years ago, Jiaxing Huang discovered crumpled graphene balls — novel ultrafine particles that resemble crumpled paper balls. Credit: Jiaxing Huang

Approach avoids lithium dendrite growth. “In current batteries, lithium is usually atomically distributed in another material such as graphite or silicon in the anode,” explains Northwestern University’s Jiaxing Huang. “But using an additional material ‘dilutes’ the battery’s performance. Lithium is already a metal, so why not use lithium by itself?” The answer is a challenge scientists have spent years trying to overcome. As lithium gets charged and discharged in a battery, it starts to grow dendrites and filaments, “which causes a number of problems,” Huang said. “At best, it leads to rapid degradation of the battery’s performance...

This image shows a visual representation of one of the highest-energy neutrino detections superimposed on a view of the IceCube Lab at the South Pole. Credit: IceCube Collaboration

For the first time, a science experiment has measured Earth’s ability to absorb neutrinos – the smaller-than-an-atom particles that zoom throughout space and through us by the trillions every second at nearly the speed of light. The experiment was achieved with the IceCube detector, an array of 5,160 basketball-sized sensors frozen deep within a cubic kilometer of very clear ice near the South Pole.

“This achievement is important because it shows, for the first time, that very-high-energy neutrinos can be absorbed by something – in this case, the Earth,” said Doug Cowen, professor of physics and astronomy & as...

A Planet Inflated By Its Host Star. Upper left: Schematic of the K2-132 system on the main sequence. Lower left: Schematic of the K2-132 system now. The host star has become redder and larger, irradiating the planet more and thus causing it to expand. Sizes not to scale. Main panel: Gas giant planet K2-132b expands as its host star evolves into a red giant. The energy from the host star is transferred from the planet’s surface to its deep interior, causing turbulence and deep mixing in the planetary atmosphere. The planet orbits its star every 9 days and is located about 2000 light years away from us in the constellation Virgo. Credit: Karen Teramura, UH IfA

Since astronomers first measured the size of an extrasolar planet 17 years ago, they have struggled to answer the question: how did t...

Cinnamaldehyde induces fat cell-autonomous thermogenesis and metabolic reprogramming. Metabolism, 2017; 77: 58 DOI: 10.1016/j.metabol.2017.08.006

New research from the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute has determined how cinnamon might be enlisted in the fight against obesity. Scientists had previously observed that cinnamaldehyde, an essential oil that gives cinnamon its flavor, appeared to protect mice against obesity and hyperglycemia. But the mechanisms underlying the effect were not well understood.

Researchers in the lab of Jun Wu, research assistant professor at the LSI, wanted to better understand cinnamaldehyde’s action and determine whether it might be protective in humans, too...