Newly developed sensors visually illustrate how nicotine affects cells from the inside out. When a person takes a puff on a cigarette, nicotine floods into the brain, latching onto receptors on the surface of neurons and producing feelings of happiness. But nicotine does not simply stay on the surface of cells – the drug actually permeates into neural cells and alters them from the inside out. Now, a team of scientists has developed a protein sensor that glows in the presence of nicotine, allowing the researchers to observe nicotine’s movements in cells and reveal more about the nature of nicotine addiction.

The work was led by Henry...

Researchers have reported new findings about perovskite solar cells that could lead the way to devices that perform better. There’s a lot to like about perovskite-based solar cells. They are simple and cheap to produce, offer flexibility that could unlock a wide new range of installation methods and places, and in recent years have reached energy efficiencies approaching those of traditional silicon-based cells.

But figuring out how to produce perovskite-based energy devices that last longer than a couple of months has been a challenge...

New research undertaken at Northumbria University, Newcastle shows that the Sun’s magnetic waves behave differently than currently believed. After examining data gathered over a 10-year period, the team from Northumbria’s Department of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering found that magnetic waves in the Sun’s corona – its outermost layer of atmosphere – react to sound waves escaping from the inside of the Sun.

These magnetic waves, known as Alfvénic waves, play a crucial role in transporting energy around the Sun and the solar system...

Researchers have engineered a new fabric from synthetic yarn with a carbon nanotube coating that is activated by temperature and humidity, releasing heat in warm humid conditions and trapping heat when conditions are cool and dry. Under hot, humid conditions, the strands of yarn compact and activate the coating, which changes the way the fabric interacts with infrared radiation. They refer to the action as “gating” of infrared radiation, which acts as a tunable blind to transmit or block heat.

“This is the first technology that allows us to dyn...