UC Riverside chemical engineers have designed a fuel that ignites only with the application of electric current. Since it doesn’t react to flames and cannot start accidental fires during storage or transport, it is a “safe” liquid fuel.

“The fuel we’re normally using is not very safe. It evaporates and could ignite, and it’s difficult to stop that,” said Yujie Wang, UCR chemical engineering doctoral student and co-author of a new paper about the fuel. “It is much easier to control the flammability of our fuel and stop it from burning when we remove voltage.”

The Journal of the American Chemical Society paper describes how the team created the fuel, and additional technical details are also included i...

In 1960, while preparing for the first meeting on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), legendary astronomer and SETI pioneer Dr. Frank Drake unveiled his probabilistic equation for estimating the number of possible civilizations in our galaxy—aka The Drake Equation. A key parameter in this equation was ne, the number of planets in our galaxy capable of supporting life—aka “habitable.” At the time, astronomers were not yet certain other stars had systems of planets. But thanks to missions like Kepler, 5,523 exoplanets have been confirmed, and another 9,867 await confirmation.

Based on this data, astronomers have produced various estimates for the number of habitable planets in our galaxy—at least 100 billion, according to one estimate...

Researchers have established the protein p53 as critical for regulating sociability, repetitive behavior, and hippocampus-related learning and memory in mice, illuminating the relationship between the protein-coding gene TP53 and neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders like ...

Small mobile robots carrying sensors could perform tasks like catching gas leaks or tracking warehouse inventory. But moving robots demands a lot of energy, and batteries, the typical power source, limit lifetime and raise environmental concerns. Researchers have explored various alternatives: affixing sensors to insects, keeping charging mats nearby, or powering the robots with lasers. Each has drawbacks: Insects roam, chargers limit range, and lasers can burn people’s eyes.

Researchers at the University of Washington ...