An integrated dual-function energy device for both electrochemical energy storage and catalytic oxygen evolution has been proposed. The integrated device, based on the earth-abundant Ni-Co-Fe layered double hydroxide, provides a novel platform for the development of low-cost and highly efficient dual-functional standalone energy materials.

2-in-1 device also uses supercapacitor to store energy that could power computers and smartphones. UCLA researchers have designed a device that can use solar energy to inexpensively and efficiently create and store energy, which could be used to power electronic devices, and to create hydrogen fuel for eco-friendly cars...

This HiRISE image cutout shows Recurring Slope Lineae in Tivat crater on Mars in enhanced color. The narrow, dark flows descend downhill (towards the upper left). Analysis shows that the flows all end at approximately the same slope, which is similar to the angle of repose for sand. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/USGS

Planet appears to have water-restricted environment. Dark features previously proposed as evidence for significant liquid water flowing on Mars have now been identified as granular flows, where sand and dust move rather than liquid water, according to a new article published in Nature Geoscience by the U.S. Geological Survey. These new findings indicate that present-day Mars may not have a significant volume of liquid water...

Space dust collisions as a planetary escape mechanism. arxiv.org/abs/1711.01895

Life on our planet might have originated from biological particles brought to Earth in streams of space dust, a study suggests. Fast-moving flows of interplanetary dust that continually bombard our planet’s atmosphere could deliver tiny organisms from far-off worlds, or send Earth-based organisms to other planets, according to the research. The dust streams could collide with biological particles in Earth’s atmosphere with enough energy to knock them into space, a scientist has suggested.

Such an event could enable bacteria and other forms of life to make their way from one planet in the solar system to another and perhaps beyond...

Highlights •Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is vulnerable to stresses imposed by excess cholesterol •Nrf1 binds and senses excess cholesterol in ER membrane to protect from such stress •Nrf1-deficient liver massively accumulates cholesterol, resulting in liver disease •Nrf1 protects liver by suppressing inflammation and promoting cholesterol excretion

Harvard researchers have illuminated a critical player in cholesterol metabolism that acts as a molecular guardian in cells to help maintain cholesterol levels within a safe, narrow range. Nrf1 senses and responds to excess cholesterol, and could represent a potential new therapeutic target in a multitude of diseases where cholesterol metabolism is disrupted.

It has been accepted for decades that high cholesterol in the blood can set the s...