Thermochemical technology shows promising path for heating indoor spaces

Energy stored in thermochemical materials can effectively heat indoor spaces, particularly in humid regions, according to researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Working with industry representatives and researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the scientists determined a realistic configuration for integrating thermochemical materials (TCMs) into a building’s HVAC system. Salt-hydrate […]

Google Docs adding Imagen 3 image generation

Following Help me visualize in Slides, Google is adding Gemini image generation to Docs on the web for Workspace users. From the Insert menu > Image, select Help me create an image and describe what you want. You can select an aspect ratio (Square, Wide, and Tall) and style: Photography, Vector art, Sketch, Watercolor, Cyberpunk, […]

New Tools in the Fight Against Cross-Border APP Fraud

As cross-border payments fuel an increasingly globalized economy, concerns about fraud in these transactions have also grown. Although cross-border payments make up just 11% of total card payment transactions, they account for 63% of card-related fraud. This issue is particularly acute in the UK, where losses due to authorized push payment (APP) scams reached £239 million in the […]

Recycling batteries with citric acid: Research introduces highly efficient process for NCM lithium-ion batteries

A simple, highly efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly process could provide a viable pathway for the sustainable recycling of depleted lithium-ion batteries (LIBs): No chemicals beyond citric acid need to be added to leach out and separate over 99% of the lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese metals contained in NCM batteries. The resulting recycled material […]

Novel electro-biodiesel offers a more efficient, cleaner alternative to existing options

Vehicles fueled by diesel lead to substantial carbon emissions that are challenging to decarbonize. In 2022, diesel fuel use made up about one-fourth of total U.S. transportation carbon dioxide emissions and about one-tenth of total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Joshua Yuan, the Lucy & Stanley Lopata Professor and […]

People are fleeing Elon Musk’s X for Threads and Bluesky. Welcome to the era of social media fragmentation

The deluge of goodbye messages from people leaving X began shortly after Donald Trump’s election victory last week. In explaining their decision, many in the exodus cited the same thing: The huge support Elon Musk, the social media service’s owner, gave the Republican candidate during the campaign and the increasing nastiness on his site. Jody […]

Novel electrochemical reactor can extract lithium from brine to address growing demand

A team of Rice University researchers has developed an innovative electrochemical reactor to extract lithium from natural brine solutions, offering a promising approach to address the growing demand for lithium used in rechargeable batteries. This breakthrough, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , holds significant potential for renewable energy storage and […]

Microsoft patches Windows zero-day exploited in attacks on Ukraine

Suspected Russian hackers were caught exploiting a recently patched Windows vulnerability as a zero-day in ongoing attacks targeting Ukrainian entities. The security flaw (CVE-2024-43451) is an NTLM Hash Disclosure spoofing vulnerability reported by ClearSky security researchers, which can be exploited to steal the logged-in user’s NTLMv2 hash by forcing connections to a remote attacker-controlled server. […]