Researchers demonstrate technique for Recycling Nanowires in Electronics

Researchers demonstrate technique for recycling nanowires in electronics
This image shows how the new recycling approach can take silver nanowires from a finished product (such as the flexible sensor patch in the top left) through the entire life cycle of the technology until it has been broken down for re-use (bottom left). Credit: Yong Zhu, North Carolina State University

Researchers at North Carolina State University have demonstrated a low-cost technique for retrieving nanowires from electronic devices that have reached the end of their utility, and then using those nanowires in new devices. The work is a step toward more sustainable electronics.

“There is a lot of interest in recycling electronic materials because we want to both reduce electronic waste and maximize the use we get out of rare or costly materials,” says Yuxuan Liu, first author of a ...

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Hubble finds first evidence of Water Vapor on Jupiter’s Moon Ganymede

Artist’s Impression of a Sublimated Water Atmosphere on Ganymede
Artist’s Impression of a Sublimated Water Atmosphere on Ganymede

For the first time, astronomers have uncovered evidence of water vapor in the atmosphere of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede. This water vapor forms when ice from the moon’s surface sublimates—that is, turns from solid to gas.

Scientists used new and archival datasets from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to make the discovery, published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Previous research has offered circumstantial evidence that Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, contains more water than all of Earth’s oceans. However, temperatures there are so cold that water on the surface is frozen solid...

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A Novel Method for the Rapid Repair of Peripheral Nerve Injuries

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Researchers have developed nerve guidance conduits filled with smart gel that accelerate regeneration of torn nerve fibers. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide suffer from peripheral nerve injuries, which often leave them with long-term disabilities. The peripheral nervous system is analogous to the circulatory system; a network of vessels that reaches all parts of the body, but instead of blood flowing through vessels, electrical signals propagate information through thin fibers called axons, which are engulfed within nerve trunks. These nerve trunks are the communication network relaying information from all parts of the body to the brain, coordinating activity, and generating motor and sensory function...

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Soft Skin Patch could provide early warning for Strokes, Heart Attacks

Two fingers press down on a soft, electronic patch against the skin.
This soft, stretchy skin patch uses ultrasound to monitor blood flow to organs like the heart and brain. This image was selected as the cover image for the July 2021 issue of Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a soft and stretchy ultrasound patch that can be worn on the skin to monitor blood flow through major arteries and veins deep inside a person’s body.

Knowing how fast and how much blood flows through a patient’s blood vessels is important because it can help clinicians diagnose various cardiovascular conditions, including blood clots; heart valve problems; poor circulation in the limbs; or blockages in the arteries that could lead to strokes or heart attacks.

The new ultrasound patch developed at UC San Diego can con...

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