Science Highlights

Researchers are evaluating the use of organic semi-conductive polymers instead of inorganic semiconductors for use in solar cells. Polymer semiconductors are more flexible and more easily applied, which could allow for more uses and lower production costs.

Rare earth magnetic materials have many applications, such as MRI scanners, Maglev trains, and electric vehicles. Scientists are researching improvements to these magnets through optimizing the component materials.

In materials science, the creation of composites by mixing of materials with different properties can lead to a new set of properties.

The continuing development of better lithium-ion batteries, which are common in consumer electronics, depends on improvements in the batteries’ chemical materials. Over the charge/discharge cycle of the battery, the electrochemistry and morphology of the material change, which can cause steric stresses and defects, leading to decreased battery performance.

Giant magnetic resistance  (GMR) is a quantum mechanical phenomenon observed in thin structures made of alternating metal layers having differing ferromagnetic properties. When the adjacent ferromagnetic layers of these multilayer materials are magnetized in parallel, there is little electrical resistance, but when magnetization is antiparallel, there is higher resistance.

The nucleus, which contains the DNA in eukaryotic cells, has pores in the surrounding double membrane that actively transport biologically important molecules in and out. Controlling these processes is done by a macromolecular protein machine called the nuclear pore complex (NPC).

Most portable electronic devices depend on lithium ion batteries for energy storage. The current capabilities of lithium ion batteries are insufficient for the requirements of emerging and growing industries, like electric cars and renewable energy storage. These industries require batteries that are longer-lived, smaller, lighter, and cheaper.

Many bacteria, including many colonizing our own gut biomes, produce hair-like pili structures on their surfaces. There are various types of pili used for different purposes, like exchanging genetic information (conjugation), movement, and adhesion. A bacterium builds pilus through oligomerization of protein subunits.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is used to coat optoelectronic technology, which includes components that create and/or detect light, x-rays, infrared, or other forms of radiation. When ZnO properly crystallizes, it creates a transparent conducting film. The performance of the film is compromised when there is disruption in nucleation and growth of ZnO.

Protein enzymes can contain specific sites to bind copper atoms for a variety of purposes. Depending on the environment and role of the enzyme, different amino acid residues are employed to bind Cu(I).  Oxygenase enzymes employing Cu(I) often use both methionine (Met) and histidine (His) amino acids, while membrane transport proteins often use Met and not His.