A perovskite-CIGS solar cell developed by UCLA Samueli researchers converts 22.4 percent of incoming energy from the sun, a record for this type of cell.
Credit: UCLA Samueli Engineering

Materials scientists from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have developed a highly efficient thin-film solar cell that generates more energy from sunlight than typical solar panels, thanks to its double-layer design. The device is made by spraying a thin layer of perovskite – an inexpensive compound of lead and iodine that has been shown to be very efficient at capturing energy from sunlight – onto a commercially available solar cell. The solar cell that forms the bottom layer of the device is made of a compound of copper, indium, gallium and selenide, or CIGS.

The team’s new cell converts 22...

This graphic illustrates how eating within a 10-hour window protects mice from metabolic disease regardless of whether their bodies have functional circadian clocks.
Credit: Salk Institute

Periods of fasting can protect against obesity and diabetes. Scientists at the Salk Institute found that mice lacking the biological clocks thought to be necessary for a healthy metabolism could still be protected against obesity and metabolic diseases by having their daily access to food restricted to a 10-hour window.

The work, which appeared in the journal Cell Metabolism on August 30, 2018, suggests that the health problems associated with disruptions to animals’ 24-hour rhythms of activity and rest – which in humans is linked to eating for most of the day or doing shift work – can be corrected by eat...

Different configurations change the adhesive effect of the silicone material, whose surface has been given a mushroom-like structure. The adhesion is best when bent concave (right).
Credit: © Emre Kizilkan

A research team has succeeded in boosting the adhesive effect of a silicone material significantly inspired by the structure of beetle feet. In addition, they found out that the adhesiveness of the structured material changes drastically, if it is bent to varying degrees. Their results could be interesting for the development of tiny robots and gripping devices.

Geckos, spiders and beetles have shown us how to do it: thanks to special adhesive elements on their feet, they can easily run along ceilings or walls...

An image from NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite that shows an example of a commonly believed Slinky-like shaped coronal mass ejection (CME) — in this case a long filament of solar material hovering in the sun’s atmosphere, or corona. This CME traveled 900 miles per second connecting with Earth’s magnetic environment and causing aurora to appear four days later on Sept. 3, 2012.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

As the saying goes, everything old is new again. While the common phrase often refers to fashion, design, or technology, scientists at the University of New Hampshire have found there is some truth to this mantra even when it comes to research...