Microbiologists have shed light on the structure of an enzyme that produces formic acid from molecular hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The enzyme of the bacterium Thermoanaerobacter kivui was discovered a few years previously by microbiologists, and the scientists have recently presented its potential for liquid hydrogen storage. The filamentous structure of the enzyme, now described at atomic level for the first time, acts like a nanowire and is evidently responsible for the extremely efficient conversion rates of the two gases.

Direct air capture technology removes carbon dioxide from the air and compresses it for sequestration or utilization and promises to help us meet net-zero emissions goals. However, the process of direct air capture can be energy and land intensive and expensive. To design a direct air capture process that uses less energy and less land, a multi-disciplinary team outlines a plan to retrofit train cars to remove carbon from the air at a much lower than average cost per ton.

A new theory explains how every process depends on temperature. This theory could help researchers make accurate predictions in a range of areas, including biological responses to climate change, the spread of infectious diseases, and food production.

In an important step toward bringing transparent solar cells to home windows, researchers have developed a way to manufacture their highly efficient and semitransparent solar cells.

New research has overcome a major challenge to isolating and detecting molecules at the same time and at the same location in a microdevice. The work demonstrates an important advance in using graphene for electrokinetic biosample processing and analysis and could allow lab-on-a-chip devices to become smaller and achieve results faster.

Passive day cooling is a promising technology for the sustainable reduction of energy consumption. Researchers have now created a test system with which the materials used for passive cooling can be reliably characterized and compared -- regardless of weather conditions and environmental conditions.

Fuel cells often fall short when it comes to operating at temperatures beyond 100 degrees Celsius owing to their dependence on water as a proton conduction medium. To overcome this issue, a team of researchers designed a new hydrogen-bonded starburst-shaped metal complex consisting of ruthenium (III) ion and six imidazole-imidazolate groups. The resulting single molecular crystal shows excellent proton conductivity even at temperatures as high as 180°C and as low as --70 °C.

To save the world's fish stocks and oceans, scientists are racing to find better and sustainable ways to make healthy nutritional products such as Omega-3 fatty acids, biodiesel, aquaculture and livestock food from fast-growing microalgae. New research has discovered a simple, low-cost and effective way to extract high-value bioactives from single-cell algae oil -- using waste sulfur from industries such as petrochemical production.

Scientists add artificial components to bacteria for better control and an extra therapeutic effect in seeking and destroying tumor cells.

From airplanes to apartments, most spaces are now designed with sound-absorbing materials that help dampen the droning, echoing and murmuring sounds of everyday life. But most of the acoustic materials that can cancel out human voices, traffic and music are made from plastic foams that aren't easily recycled or degraded. Now, researchers have created a biodegradable seaweed-derived film that effectively absorbs sounds in this range.