Scalable semitransparent organic PV modules could turn windows into power generators

Semi-transparent PV Modules Developed Using an Industry-ready Manufacturing Process
As part of the “See-Through PV” project, the research team also manufactured flexible, organic PV modules on film. Credit: Fraunhofer ISE

Organic solar modules score points for their flexibility, transparency, and a particularly good environmental footprint. Wavelength-dependent transparency, in particular, is a major strength of organic photovoltaics. Researchers at the University of Freiburg and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have now succeeded in building 14.5 by 14.5- centimeter organic PV modules with an average transparency of 43.2% and an efficiency of up to 9.26%. To achieve this, they used a combination of sputtering and slot-die coating—both processes that are industrially proven and highly scalable to large module areas.

“Scaling up to larger area...

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Mars Curiosity rover discovers massive field of polygons

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this close-up view, revealing the distinct honeycomb texture of these polygon fractures. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this close-up view, revealing the distinct honeycomb texture of these polygon fractures. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

The surface of Mars is home to some of the most breathtaking and awe-inspiring landscapes in the solar system. This is primarily because the Red Planet lacks several resurfacing processes that Earth possesses, including plate tectonics, volcanism and flowing water.

While Mars does have dust storms, these have done little to reshape the planet’s surface, which has remained largely undisturbed for billions of years. However, this near-pristine landscape has enabled scientists to look back in time while slowly piecing together what Mars was like long ago.

Now, NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover recently beamed back images of a lands...

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Intermittent fasting reveals gut-brain pathway that may reduce chronic pain

Intermittent fasting alters gut bacteria and reduces pain sensitivity in mice
Key findings of the current study. Credit: Dr. Xin Ding

Chronic pain, pain that persists or returns for more than three months, can affect people’s emotional well-being and is often accompanied by difficulty concentrating or remembering things. While they can be effective for some patients, available treatments for chronic pain do not always relieve all the other symptoms associated with it.

Some medical researchers have been exploring the potential of dietary interventions to relieve chronic pain and other connected symptoms. One of these is intermittent fasting, which entails alternating set periods of eating with periods during which people drink only water or unsweetened tea and coffee.

Researchers at Zhengzhou University and its First Affiliated Hospital recently conducted a...

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New study reveals how space rocks become meteorites

A stony meteorite in NASA Ames Research Center’s Arcjet Interaction Heating Facility. A thin black line outlines the holder that supports the stone (left). Air flow is from left to right. Melt flows from the meteorite surface and a thin shock wave is visible in front of the stone. Credit: Photo: NASA Ames/SETI Institute, courtesy of Zev Hoover and Ron Dantowitz, Dexter Southfield Schools/MARS Scientific.

What happens to a space rock as it falls through Earth’s atmosphere and becomes a meteorite? By studying 75 meteorite falls captured on video and in photographs, researchers identified seven distinct phases in the journey from space rock to meteorite...

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