Model Suggests Spewing Metal Nanorods into Mars’ Atmosphere could Warm the Planet by 30K

Model suggests spewing metal nanorods into Mars' atmosphere could warm planet by 30 K
The proposed nanoparticle warming method. Credit: Aaron M. Geller, Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics.

A small team of engineers and geophysicists from Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Central Florida has found, via modeling, that creating millions of metal nanorods from material on the Martian surface and then blasting them into the atmosphere would be a more efficient way to heat the planet than generating greenhouse gases. Their paper is published in the journal Science Advances.

Science fiction writers have for many years envisioned a future when Mars is made habitable through terraforming techniques, allowing humans to survive without the need for special buildings and spacesuits...

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Short, Intense Bursts of Exercise more Effective after Stroke than Steady, Moderate Exercise

treadmill
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

One-minute, short bursts of high-intensity interval training for 19 minutes may be more effective for improving fitness among people six months or more after a stroke than traditional, 20–30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise sessions, according to research published today in the journal Stroke.

“This study shows that people with stroke can also benefit from high-intensity interval training,” said Kevin Moncion, Ph.D., a physiotherapist who led this study as part of his doctoral studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. “With the right support and guidance, stroke survivors can safely and effectively engage in high-intensity interval training, significantly improving their overall health and recovery.”

The multi-site tria...

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New, more Sustainable Method for Manufacturing Microchips and other Nanoscale Devices

A colorful sheet of fabricated semiconductors. A new water-based method for  manufacturing semiconductors could replace use of toxic chemicals and open the door for hybrid electronic-biological devices
“This opens up a huge opportunity in device fabrication,” said Fiorenzo Omenetto. “Not only can one deposit water-soluble materials and metals on silicon, but on all sorts of polymers.” Photo: Shutterstock

Putting 50 billion transistors into a microchip the size of a fingernail is a feat that requires manufacturing methods of nanometer level precision—layering of thin films, then etching, depositing, or using photolithography to create the patterns of semiconductor, insulator, metal, and other materials that make up the tiny working devices within the chip.

The process relies heavily on solvents that carry and deposit materials in each layer—solvents that can be difficult to handle and toxic to the environment.

Now researchers led by Fiorenzo Omenetto, Frank C...

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Newly-discovered Star could provide New Insights into the Evolution of Stars

An artist's rendering of a yellow-orange star against the background of space
With far more lithium than expected, the star raises questions about how stars change over time

A new study published in The Astrophysical Journal, led by Assistant Professor of Astronomy Rana Ezzeddine and UF alumnus Jeremy Kowkabany, with collaborators, reports the discovery of a star that challenges astronomers’ understanding of star evolution and formation of chemical elements, and could suggest a new stage in their growth cycle.

It is widely accepted that as stars burn, they lose lighter elements like lithium in exchange for heavier elements like carbon and oxygen, but an analysis of this new star revealed that not only was its lithium content high for its age, but was higher than the normal level for any star at any age.

This star, named J0524-0336 based on its coordinates ...

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