3D printing researchers develop fast-curing, environmentally-friendly concrete substitute

3D printing researchers develop fast-curing, environmentally friendly concrete substitute
3D printed polymer-based concrete structures. Credit: Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s42114-025-01456-1

Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a quick-setting, environmentally friendly alternative to concrete they hope can one day be used to rapidly 3D print homes and infrastructure.

Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing is already being used to help solve construction challenges such as the global housing crisis that’s emerged as Earth’s population approaches 8.5 billion.

But cement, the binding agent in concrete, accounts for about 8% of the planet’s carbon dioxide emissions, and concrete’s curing time—which can be multiple days—and required structural supports can inhibit progress on construction projects.

How ...

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Scientists may have found the planet that made the Moon

Artist’s impression of the collision between the early Earth and Theia. Since Theia originated in the inner Solar System, in this perspective the Sun can be seen in the background. Credit: MPS / Mark A. Garlick

Researchers have traced chemical clues in rocks from Earth and the Moon to uncover the origins of Theia, the body that struck Earth billions of years ago. About 4.5 billion years ago, a colossal impact between the young Earth and a mysterious planetary body called Theia changed everything—reshaping Earth, forming the Moon, and scattering clues across space rocks. By examining subtle isotopic fingerprints in Earth and Moon samples, scientists have reconstructed Theia’s possible composition and birthplace.

Reconstructing Theia’s makeup: A new study in Science identifies t...

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Epigenetic changes regulate gene expression, but what regulates epigenetics?

A chromosome pulled from the flowers of Arabidopsis thaliana (green and white) unspools to reveal DNA (blue) coiled around packaging-proteins called histones (purple). The direction of epigenetic changes by genetic features begins as the RIM transcription factor (pink) docks on a corresponding DNA sequence (pink). Once docked, the RIM transcription factor directs methylation machinery to tack methyl groups (orange) onto specific nearby cytosines (orange).
Click here for a high-resolution image.
Credit: Salk Institute

All the cells in an organism have the exact same genetic sequence. What differs across cell types is their epigenetics—meticulously placed chemical tags that influence which genes are expressed in each cell...

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Scientists track recent solar flare disruptions in Earth’s ionosphere

auroras
Credit: Pexels User from Pexels

As this month’s string of powerful X-class solar flares sparked brilliant auroras that lit up skies across an unusually wide swath of the globe—from northern Europe to Florida—researchers at NJIT’s Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (CSTR) captured a less visible, but crucial, record of the storm’s impact on Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Recent measurements recorded by NJIT’s new network of radio telescopes show how a rare sequence of intense flares from Nov. 9–14, including an X5.1 event marking 2025’s strongest flare so far, jolted the ionosphere—the plasma-filled atmospheric layer essential for radio signals, GPS accuracy and satellite orbits.

The flares triggered R3 (strong) radio blackouts across Africa and Europe, with several coronal ...

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