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Northwestern University

This is an electron microscopy image of fibers from engineered spider silk

New study: Stretching spider silk makes it stronger

New study finds the amount of stretching determines the fibers’ properties.

Plastic and plastic bag

A simple method to break down plastic using air moisture

Plastic recycling gets a breath of fresh air.

An image of a black hole in space generative ai

Milky Way’s central black hole constantly bubbles with light

James Webb Space Telescope reveals ongoing, rapid-fire light show.

Northwestern researchers have transformed an organic industrial-scale waste product into an efficient storage agent for sustainable energy solutions that can one day be applied at much larger scales. Above, Emily Mahoney, a Ph.D. candidate in the Malapit lab and the new paper’s first author, in the lab. Photo courtesy Malapit Lab

Scientists turn organic waste into powerful battery solution

A team of researchers at Northwestern University has made a sustainable innovation by converting organic industrial waste products into an efficient storage agent. While...

quantum teleportation

Quantum teleportation becomes reality: Over busy Internet cables

Advance opens door for secure quantum applications.

A cloud of cold, trapped strontium atoms hovers inside the atom interferometer.

New tool boosts atomic signals by 1,000 times

Probing the unsolved mystery of dark matter!

Human brain

How have humans evolved to become so skilled at thinking?

Overthinking what you said? It’s your ‘lizard brain’ talking to newer, advanced parts of your brain.

Old shower head

Showerheads and toothbrushes are teeming with viruses

There's a jungle of 'untapped biodiversity' in the bathroom, a new study finds.

A new study finds that a common bacterium can break down plastic for food, opening new possibilities for bacteria-based engineering solutions to help clean up plastic waste.

A common bacterium can break down plastic for food

This opens new possibilities for bacteria-based engineering solutions to help clean up plastic waste.

man petting cat

Researchers uncover how rubbing a surface creates electrical current

Why petting your cat leads to static electricity?

3D Render of Viruses Attacking Nerve Cells

Spike mutations allow SARS-CoV-2 to enter the brain

A mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 virus helps it infect the brain, which could explain neurological issues like ‘long COVID.

An artistic illustration of how electricity can strength the sand along ocean coastlines. The inset shows a microscopy image of a "natural cement" (in blue) formed among grains of sand.

Mild electricity can help fight coastal erosion

A mild zap of electricity can strengthen a marine coastline for generations.

Beautiful woman in black protective masks sitting on the couch at home Quarantine

Illinois youth’s mental health crises declined after COVID

Outpatient ER visits for depression and anxiety dropped and in-patient hospitalization rate stayed the same, indicating mental health crisis.

Unrecognisable person with severe knee pain

Cartilage repair via ‘Dancing Molecules

A new synthetic nanofiber therapy mimics a protein vital for cartilage formation and maintenance. Intensified molecular motion within the nanofibers boosts cartilage regeneration. Within four...

Delve into the mysteries of the deep sea trenches generative ai

Ocean depths produce ‘Dark Oxygen’

Researchers find oxygen production 13,000 feet below the ocean's surface, challenging the idea that only photosynthetic organisms make Earth's oxygen. Minerals at the deep...

water

New method could make green hydrogen production feasible

Less carbon-intensive production methods could help hydrogen fuel the global energy transition.

Illustration of phosphorus cleavage from different biomolecules on the surface of natural iron oxide particles.

New research finds a missing piece of Earth’s puzzling phosphorus cycle

Minerals play a newly discovered role in Earth's phosphorus cycle.

Close-up of plant

Soil bacteria breathe out more CO2

CO2 release in bacterial metabolism.

While the researchers have only tested their new algorithm on simulated robots, they built NoodleBot for future testing in the real world.

New algorithm helps robots rapidly and reliably learn complex skills

The new AI platform consistently outperforms state-of-the-art systems.

doctor measuring patient's abdomen

Technology alone can’t replace human coaching in obesity treatment

Technology alone resulted in worse weight loss compared to tech and a telehealth coach.

Happy female athlete wiping her sweat while taking a break and listening music over earphones.

Monitoring diseases through sweat becomes accessible to everyone

Clinical trials on pediatric patients with cystic fibrosis have shown success using a flexible device that can stimulate sweat glands and simultaneously monitor biosignals....

cancer cell in sick human body micro word tumor cellular particles inside macrophage oncology diagno.

Harnessing cancer’s power to fight it

Enhanced T cell therapies via natural mutations.

Scanning electron microscopy of smectite clay (montmorillonite) common in organic matter trapping in soils

Study explains how soil traps carbon

New findings explain how soil sequesters plant-based carbon from the atmosphere.

Image showing The dark spots in the dishes mark areas where the viruses burst out of the bacteria, effectively killing them.

Creating viruses to eliminate harmful germs

Engineering pseudomonas aeruginosa phages using synthetic biology for clinical relevance.

Human brain tree with flowers self care

New cause of neuron death in Alzheimer’s discovered

Short, toxic RNAs kill brain cells and may allow Alzheimer’s to develop.

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