Science Highlights

An ongoing quest to engineer superconducting materials that work at near ambient temperature and pressure continues.

In the Pocket: RNA Binding Discovery Supports ‘RNA World’ Theory of Early Life on Earth

Increasing the power density of reusable batteries will allow electric vehicles to travel farther and cell phones and portable electronics to be used longer on a single charge. Scientists are interested in using higher power density lithium alloy materials as the battery anode instead of the commonly used graphite.

Gasoline cars are able to travel further between fill-ups than electric cars before recharge, which is a limiting factor for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles and utilization of renewable energy sources for transportation. Improving the energy density of the batteries could solve this problem, so researchers are developing lithium metal batteries to replace lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium ion batteries (LIBs), which are widely used in consumer electronics ranging from mobile phones to electric cars, have enabled our electronics to become smaller and last longer on a charge. However, their functionality is limited by environmental conditions.

Enzymes’ ability to speed biochemical reaction rates is the core of life processes, and much of molecular life science research involves understanding how an enzyme’s structure (often found through x-ray crystallography or NMR) is related to its function (biochemical analyses of the reaction).

Cytokines are small proteins that communicate messages between cells of our immune systems. Secreted from one cell and recognized by other cells through membrane receptors, cytokines carry information about pathogens, cancers, or other problems that concern the immune system.

The biosynthesis of methane is significant because this molecule is both a good source of energy and a greenhouse gas. Despite its importance, the processes by which methane is made is not well understood. Methane is synthesized by methanogens, archaea found in anaerobic conditions like bogs and the guts of mammals.

Uranium contamination in our environment is a serious threat to public health. Successfully managing the problem to mitigate health impacts requires an understanding of how environments affect the different forms of uranium, the chemical reactions at work, and the molecular species that are created over time.

Made of a repeated structure of proteins and fats, myelin insulates our nerve cells, allowing signals to travel quickly and efficiently. If myelin is damaged, nervous system signals will not transmit as well. The degree of myelination could be an important diagnostic for brain health because it is disrupted in almost all known brain diseases.