Month: April 2019

From computer hard discs to smart phones, magnets are at the forefront of technology. Magnets containing rare-earth elements are among the most powerful available, but these elements can be difficult to obtain. Now, scientists have identified magnets based on more readily obtainable rare earths, as well as some promising magnets that don’t contain these materials at all.

Hundreds of everyday items, from furniture to cell phones to floor wax, contain organophosphate ester (OPE) flame retardants and plasticizers. Some of these compounds make their way into the air, onto surfaces and even inside our bodies, with uncertain health effects. Today, researchers report that hands play a central role in transferring OPEs throughout the indoor environment.

The dramatic loss of ice in the Arctic is influencing sea-ice transport across the Arctic Ocean. Today only 20 percent of the sea ice that forms in the shallow Russian marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean actually reaches the Central Arctic, where it joins the Transpolar Drift; the remaining 80 percent of the young ice melts before it has a chance to leave its ‘nursery.’

Just as controlled-release medications slowly dole out their cargo after they experience a pH change in the body, implanted ‘artificial muscles’ could someday flex and relax in response to light illuminating the skin. Scientists have developed a new material that expands and contracts, lifting a weight merely by shining a light on it.

Researchers have demonstrated a causal link between the gut microbiome and the immune system’s ability to fight cancer.

Under one pessimistic climate change forecast, mosquitoes could expand their range all the way to the Arctic, redefining what we mean by ‘tropical’ diseases.

New York will become the first US city to impose fees on driving in busy parts of town to raise money for its ailing subway system. But setting the right price won’t be easy.