Skoltech scientists conducted a study that advances research on future batteries. Their paper, published in Small, sheds light on recent advances in designing multilayered structures of alkali metals, such as lithium, sodium, and potassium, within carbon anode materials.

This technology has the potential to transform the energy storage market, enabling electric vehicles to charge in minutes and providing green energy with stable, safe, and affordable storage systems.

How multilayered structures improve batteries
For years, ions were believed to form only single-atom layers in a battery’s carbon materials, such as graphite...

Uranus and Neptune may not be the icy worlds we’ve long imagined. A new Swiss-led study uses innovative hybrid modeling to reveal that these planets could just as easily be dominated by rock as by water-rich ices. The findings also help explain their bizarre, multi-poled magnetic fields and open the door to a wider range of possible interior structures. But major uncertainties remain, and only future space missions will The Solar System is commonly grouped by planetary composition: four rocky terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars), two massive gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn), and a pair of ice giants (Uranus and Neptune)...

Reducing calorie intake helps cancer-fighting immune cells do their jobs more effectively, reports a study by Van Andel Institute scientists and collaborators. The findings lay the groundwork for developing dietary strategies to boost the effects of a powerful class of cancer immunotherapies.

“Growing evidence suggests dietary restriction has anti-cancer effects but the ‘why and how’ are not well understood. Our new study reveals one way this relationship may work: by providing T cells, the soldiers of the immune system, with the right mix of nutrients to more effectively fight cancer,” said Russell Jones, Ph.D., chair of VAI’s Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming and corresponding author of the study.

“Additional research is need...