World’s first full-cell dual-cation battery developed in Ireland

World's first full-cell dual-cation battery developed at University of Limerick, Ireland
Postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Syed Abdul Ahad and Associate Professor Hugh Geaney of UL’s Department of Chemical Sciences and Bernal Institute. Credit: Alan Place/UL

Researchers at University of Limerick (UL) have developed a battery that could reshape the future of electric vehicles and portable electronics. Their breakthrough in energy storage technology has seen the development of the world’s first full-cell dual-cation battery.

This innovative system combines lithium and sodium ions to significantly enhance both battery capacity and stability, marking a new frontier in sustainable energy research.

The work, published in Nano Energy, was led by Hugh Geaney, Associate Professor of Chemistry at UL’s Department of Chemical Sciences and Principal Investigator at UL’s Bernal Institute, ...

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First-ever detection of ‘heavy water’ in a planet-forming disk

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of heavy water molecules (H2O, HDO, and D2O) as they have been observed in giant molecular clouds, a planet forming-disk, and comets—before they eventually may have made their way to Earth.
Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/P. Vosteen, B. Saxton

The discovery of ancient water in a planet-forming disk reveals that some of the water found in comets—and maybe even Earth—is older than the disk’s star itself, offering breakthrough insights into the history of water in our solar system.

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have made a first-ever detection of doubly deuterated water (D₂O, or “heavy water”) in a planet-forming disk around V883 Ori, a young star...

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MIT’s “stealth” immune cells could change cancer treatment forever

MIT’s Stealth Immune Cells Destroy Cancer
A new study identifies genetic modifications that make “natural killer” more effective at destroying cancer cells. Credit: NIAID

Engineered “stealth” immune cells from MIT and Harvard show promise for fast, safe, and powerful cancer treatment. Scientists have created a new and more advanced form of immune-based cancer therapy using engineered cells known as CAR-NK (natural killer) cells. Like CAR-T cells, these modified immune cells can be programmed to recognize and attack cancer, but they rely on a different type of immune cell that naturally targets abnormal or infected cells.

A team from MIT and Harvard Medical School has now developed a more effective way to engineer CAR-NK cells that dramatically reduces the chance of the body’s immune system rejecting them...

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Quantum simulations that once needed supercomputers now run on laptops

Conceptual illustration of quantum entanglement.
A new method developed by University at Buffalo physicists will allow qunatum dnyamics, like the interaction between two atoms, to be simulated more easily on consumer laptops. 

UB physicists have upgraded an old quantum shortcut, allowing ordinary laptops to solve problems that once needed supercomputers. A team at the University at Buffalo has made it possible to simulate complex quantum systems without needing a supercomputer. By expanding the truncated Wigner approximation, they’ve created an accessible, efficient way to model real-world quantum behavior. Their method translates dense equations into a ready-to-use format that runs on ordinary computers. It could transform how physicists explore quantum phenomena.

Picture diving deep into the quantum realm, where unimaginably ...

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