Today's batteries cannot take in all of a wind farm's energy on a blustery night and hold it until it is needed the next day. A promising option is to create a higher capacity battery by replacing the negative electrode in conventional batteries with one made of lithium metal. The problem? Dendrites-deposits that form on electrode surfaces during the charging process-cause the batteries to short circuit, leading to serious safety hazards. Recently, scientists discovered how to prevent dendrite formation. For the first time, a team including experts at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory grew protective films around the anodes that prevented dendrites from forming.

Despite improvements in the past few decades with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, a predictably curative treatment for glioma does not yet exist. New insights into specific gene mutations that arise in this often deadly form of brain cancer have pointed to the potential of gene therapy, but it's very difficult to effectively deliver toxic or missing genes to cancer cells in the brain. Now, Johns Hopkins researchers report they have used nanoparticles to successfully deliver a new therapy to glioma cells in the brains of rats, prolonging their lives. A draft of the study appeared this week on the website of the journal ACS Nano.

For the first time, a German-American research team has determined the three-dimensional shape of free-flying silver nanoparticles, using DESY's X-ray laser FLASH. The tiny particles, hundreds of times smaller than the width of a human hair, were found to exhibit an unexpected variety of shapes, as the physicists from the Technical University (TU) Berlin, the University of Rostock, the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the United States and from DESY report in the scientific journal Nature Communications. Besides this surprise, the results open up new scientific routes, such as direct observation of rapid changes in nanoparticles.

A straightforward and effective process for coating silver, gold and platinum nanoparticles with functionalized silica shells at room temperature has been developed by A*STAR . Crucially, unlike conventional methods for producing silica-coated metal nanoparticles, this process is based on water and does not employ alcohol, making it both cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

For years, treating scratches and burns to the eyes has usually involved dropping medicine onto the eyes several times a day, sometimes for weeks—a treatment that lends itself to missed doses and other side effects. But scientists are now reporting in the journal ACS Nano a novel, drug-releasing wafer that patients can put directly on their affected eyes just once a day. The team says the device works better than drops and could help patients recover faster.

Eve, an artificially-intelligent 'robot scientist' could make drug discovery faster and much cheaper, say researchers writing in the Royal Society journal Interface. The team has demonstrated the success of the approach as Eve discovered that a compound shown to have anti-cancer properties might also be used in the fight against malaria.

Farmers have long noted a correlation between rainstorms and disease outbreaks among plants. Fungal parasites known as "rust" can grow particularly rampant following rain events, eating away at the leaves of wheat and potentially depleting crop harvests.

Echoing US online retailer Amazon, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on Wednesday tested a drone delivery service, promising to whisk ginger tea to customers within an hour despite close controls on airspace.

How about cooling a room with a 3D-printed ceramic "Cool Brick" using only water? This is an example of how 3D printing technology can take advantage of a known approach called evaporative cooling, which, long before refrigeration came on the scene, was used.

It's a balloon that lifts a wind turbine. That's the easiest way to describe the technology being developed by Altaeros Energies, led by Ben Glass, inventor and CEO of the young company. Glass has reimagined the possibilities of balloon and airship technology to lift a wind turbine.

The top US telecom regulator proposed Wednesday to regulate broadband Internet service providers as "public utility" carriers, in a renewed effort to enforce "net neutrality" rules.

The makers of a sleek-looking white box called Eero are pointing out that this is no router—it's a Wi-Fi system with features that are capable of blanketing every inch of your home with speedy coverage. With Eero, you create a network easily. "Pick up your phone, type in your name and password, you're done," said its promotional video. An Eero comes with built-in Bluetooth, which allows the Eero app to connect with your first Eero for setup. A set of three Eeros covers a typical home. They connect to create a mesh network for a home with reliable Wi-Fi. After you plug your first Eero into your existing cable or DSL modem; additional ones just need power from a standard outlet. The app helps place them for optimal Wi-Fi coverage. The team said the setup takes under 60 seconds with "no Ethernet wiring or IT degree required." The distinctive aspect of Eero is that the Eeros work together to form a mesh network, a technology familia! r in enterprise settings.

China announced Wednesday that users of blogs and chat rooms will be required to register their names with operators and promise in writing to avoid challenging the Communist political system, further tightening control over Internet use.

Sony Corp. trimmed its forecast of losses and gave a figure for damages from the Sony Pictures hack, but said it would suffer no significant harm from the cyberattack in the long run.

Want to make a bit of extra cash driving strangers around in your car, taking care of someone's dog, renting your apartment or cooking a meal?

Coal companies working with the government on the long-planned $1.65 billion FutureGen clean-coal project said Tuesday they have no choice but to shut it down after the Department of Energy suspended the majority of its funding.

With cellular-data plans, unlimited doesn't really mean unlimited. Some carriers threaten to slow down speeds after heavy use or curb how much you can stray from their own networks.

Some Entrepreneurs looking for startup funding got a wad of money near the end of last year, but there are concerns the boom may not last.

In December, Yahoo replaced Google as the default search engine on the Firefox browser. The result: Yahoo's highest market share numbers in more than five years.

Consumers will soon have the option to power their radios, remote controls and other devices with AA and AAA batteries made from recycled battery materials, an industry first that Energizer Holdings says will pave the way for all its batteries to be made with recycled material.

The Chinese maker of a drone that a hobbyist crashed at the White House says it is taking steps to ensure that cannot happen again.

Digital technology and pervasive access to the internet have reshaped many industries, and banking is no exception: Hampden and Co is the latest in a short but growing list of digital-only banks built not of bricks and mortar, safes and strongboxes, but which instead operate entirely virtually in the realm of cloud computing.

As many places in the U.S. and Europe increasingly turn to biomass rather than fossil fuels for power and heat, scientists are focusing on what this trend might mean for air quality—and people's health. One such study on wood-chip burners' particulate emissions, which can cause heart and lung problems, appears in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels. The scientists say the findings could help manufacturers reduce the negative impact of this fuel in the future.

What's the best way to counter an unwelcome drone: a bigger, faster drone, laser guns, sky-high netting or devices that block remote controls?

It sounds like something from a science fiction plot: So-called three-dimensional printers are being used to fashion prosthetic arms and hands, jaw bones, spinal-cord implants - and one day perhaps even living human body parts.

Satya Nadella's first year at the helm of Microsoft is in the books.

Just about everyone knows about PCs that have Intel inside. But you may actually own more devices now that have ARM inside.

It wasn't long ago that everybody wondered whether Apple Inc. could effectively compete against a tough bunch of homegrown smartphone makers in China.

I really like the idea of Sling TV - and a lot of other folks might appreciate a twenty-buck pay TV bill as well - but right now, Dish's new low-cost TV service requires too many compromises for me and probably for you, too.

A San Francisco man was swiftly convicted Wednesday of creating and operating an underground website that prosecutors said enabled drug dealers around the world to reach customers they would never find on the street.

After being swamped with heated opinions on both sides of the issue, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has finally released a proposal to overhaul Internet regulation in an effort to ensure everyone has equal access to all legal content available online.

Sony Corp. trimmed its forecast of losses and estimates the Sony Pictures hack cost it about $15 million, but expects no significant harm from the cyberattack in the long run.

The United States is about to begin destroying its largest remaining stockpile of chemical-laden artillery shells, marking a milestone in the global campaign to eradicate a debilitating weapon that still creeps into modern wars.

A Japanese hacker who hijacked computers in order to issue death threats, leading to the arrest of several innocent people, was jailed on Wednesday for his high-stakes games of cat and mouse with police.

Prosecutors say a San Francisco man enabled drug dealers worldwide to reach customers they would never find on the street through the underground website Silk Road, but a defense lawyer says the 30-year-old was set up by manipulated evidence.

A sprawling showcase of tech startups expects to draw more than 5,500 people in June to its first Los Angeles event.

At next week's SPIE Photonics West 2015, imec will present a new set of snapshot hyperspectral CMOS image sensors featuring spectral filter structures in a mosaic layout, processed per-pixel on 4x4 and 5x5 'Bayer-like' arrays.

A simulation software from Siemens can analyze people's behavior in emergency situations. The software known as "Crowd Control" calculates how individuals or crowds will behave and move in emergencies. The program allows experts to observe and optimize evacuation and rescue measures in advance and in real time. Making such improvements is one of the most complex tasks that security officers have to perform.

Siemens is investigating entirely new concepts for X-ray systems. The aim is to achieve a radical increase in imaging resolution and to enable phase-contrast X-ray imaging. This entirely new technique helps, for instance, in the identification of tumors. Moreover, examinations involving cardiovascular diseases can be carried out without contrast agents. Nearly one out of ten patients suffer from allergic reactions to these substances. A multi-year R&D project, which is scheduled to run until 2017, brings together experts from Siemens Healthcare und Corporate Technology and includes external partners. An article on this subject is now available on the online magazine Pictures of the Future.

What had started off as a handful of enthusiasts' bid to build the first open digital cinema, camera, AXIOM, from scratch has now become a platform for film-makers, creative industry professionals, artists and enthusiasts – and they have just received good news.

Unlike slow and steady batteries, supercapacitors gulp up energy rapidly and deliver it in fast, powerful jolts. A growing array of consumer products is benefiting from these energy-storage devices, reports Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, with cars and trucks—and their drivers—poised to be major beneficiaries.

Chinese and Argentine leaders on Wednesday signed a batch of agreements, including collaboration on two new nuclear power plants, as Beijing is strengthening its relations with the South American country.

Glu Mobile, the developer of the popular "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" game, said it will develop a new mobile game with singer Katy Perry.

A team of Caltech chemists has discovered a method for producing a group of silicon-containing organic chemicals without relying on expensive precious metal catalysts. Instead, the new technique uses as a catalyst a cheap, abundant chemical that is commonly found in chemistry labs around the world—potassium tert-butoxide—to help create a host of products ranging from new medicines to advanced materials. And it turns out that the potassium salt is more effective than state-of-the-art precious metal complexes at running very challenging chemical reactions.

Northwestern University scientists are the first to develop a catalyst that can perform a remarkable feat found only in nature: take nitrogen from the air and turn it into ammonia under natural conditions. No high temperatures or pressure required.

Researchers at Columbia University have made a significant step toward visualizing complex protein metabolism in living systems with high resolution and minimum disturbance, a longstanding goal in the scientific community. In a recent study published in ACS Chemical Biology, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Wei Min's research team has reported a light microscopy method to image where the new proteins are produced and where the old proteins are degraded inside living tissues and animals.

Sulfites are sulfurous substances that occur naturally. They are poisonous for many life forms even at small concentrations. Sulfites and sulfur dioxide are also added to wine and dried fruit as preservatives that inhibit the growth of unwanted microorganisms, increasing the shelf-life of these products. The biochemists Prof. Dr. Oliver Einsle and Dr. Bianca Hermann from the University of Freiburg have teamed up with researchers from the Technische Universität Darmstadt for a project in which they characterised a bacterial enzyme that reduces sulfite up to one hundred times faster than any other known enzyme.

The New York World's Fair of 1939-40 was one of the greatest expos the world had ever seen. Visitors to Flushing Meadow Park in Queens were invited to see the "world of tomorrow" giving them a first glimpse of wonders such as the television, the videophone and the Ford Mustang.

A 'one-step' coating that blocks protein growth and kills surface-bound bacteria on silicone may significantly reduce infections from medical devices such as catheters, finds a study led by A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology researchers. Yi Yan Yang and international co-workers accomplished this with a synthetic technique that combines biomimetic surface adhesion and antimicrobial capabilities into a brush-like polymer film.

New selective membranes in the form of thin hollow straws can improve water purification. This emerges from research by Joris de Gooth from UT's MESA+ research institute. The membranes that De Grooth jointly developed make it possible to purify water in a single process step, while preliminary treatment is always required in existing water treatment plants. The most important benefits of the new membranes are that they can make the provision of drinking water easier and therefore cheaper and can improve the removal of micropollutants such as pharmaceutical residues. De Gooth will be awarded a doctorate for his research on 4 February at the University of Twente.

Many people imagine robots today as clunky, metal versions of humans, but scientists are forging new territory in the field of 'soft robotics.' One of the latest advances is a flexible, microscopic hand-like gripper. The development could help doctors perform remotely guided surgical procedures or perform biopsies. The materials also could someday deliver therapeutic drugs to hard-to-reach places. The report appears in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.