Stefan Freunberger, beneficiary of an ERC grant at TU Graz, investigates ageing processes in non-aqueous batteries. Credit: © Lunghammer – TU Graz

It has been known in biology for a long time that the excited oxygen molecule singlet oxygen is the main cause of aging in cells. To counter this, nature uses an enzyme called superoxide dismutase to eliminate superoxide as a free radical. Superoxide also occurs in cell respiration for energy production and is the preliminary stage and thus source of singlet oxygen. TU Graz’s Stefan Freunberger has now stumbled upon astonishing parallels of oxygen chemistry in battery systems.

He investigates aging processes in non-aqueous batteries, such as oxygen batteries, ie, battery systems in which oxygen reacts with lithium, sodium magnesium, for example...

This computer-generated model shows the spherical core of the quantum dot nanoparticle (in red) along with the ‘flying saucer’ shape of the outer shell (in yellow). The tension in the core induced by the shell affects the electronic states and lowers the energy threshold required to trigger the laser. Credit: Alex Voznyy

Research team ‘squashes’ the shape of nanoparticles, enabling inexpensive lasers that continuously emit light in a customized rainbow of colors. Fresh insights into living cells, brighter video projectors and more accurate medical tests are just 3 of the innovations that could result from a new way of fabricating lasers...

This digital-image mosaic of Mars’ Tharsis plateau shows the extinct volcano Arsia Mons. It was assembled from images that the Viking 1 Orbiter took during its 1976-1980 working life at Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL/USGS

New NASA research reveals that the giant Martian shield volcano Arsia Mons produced one new lava flow at its summit every 1 to 3 million years during the final peak of activity. The last volcanic activity there ceased about 50 million years ago—around the time of Earth’s Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, when large numbers of our planet’s plant and animal species (including dinosaurs) went extinct.

Located just south of Mars’ equator, Arsia Mons is the southernmost member of a trio of broad, gently sloping shield volcanoes collectively known as Tharsis Montes...

This image from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) shows a section of NGC 1448, a spiral galaxy located about 50 million light-years from Earth in the little-known constellation of Horologium (The Pendulum Clock). Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Hubble caught a cross-section of NGC 1448, a spiral galaxy located about 50 million light-years from Earth. This image from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) shows a section of NGC 1448, a spiral galaxy located about 50 million light-years from Earth in the little-known constellation of Horologium (The Pendulum Clock). We tend to think of spiral galaxies as massive and roughly circular celestial bodies, so this glittering oval does not immediately appear to fit the visual bill. What’s going on?

Imagine a spiral galaxy as a circular frisbee spinning ge...