Category: Archive

Very thin film could help manage heat flow in future devices

Purdue University researchers have demonstrated the ability of a thin film to conduct heat on just its surfaces, identifying a potential solution to overheating in electronic devices such as phones and computers.

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Purdue researcher helps classify new means of renewable light energy

Purdue professor Jeff Miller worked with researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles to characterize extremely small titanium dioxide that could help convert visible light into renewable energy.

On its own, titanium dioxide captures ultraviolet light but not visible light, leaving out half of the solar spectrum. UCLA researchers discovered that adding boron oxide to titanium dioxide resulted in nanoparticles capable of absorbing a wider range of light to be transformed for electricity and other energy uses.

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Origami folds of insect wing can help improve machine functions

The way that an earwig insect folds its wings could be applied to how engineers preprogram technology to perform certain tasks, according to research published on March 23 in the journal Science.

The earwig insect has more folds in its wings than any other organism in the animal kingdom but uses minimal energy to move. Through simulations and creating a 4-D replica of these folds, researchers from ETH Zürich in Switzerland and Purdue University have likened the wing to self-folding origami that could inform how to make machines be more adaptable and responsive with less energy used.

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Wasting food may be safe, reasonable decision for some, study says

About 21 percent of the American food supply goes to waste, with much at the consumer level in restaurants and homes. But the choice to throw out leftovers may often be a rational one based on time and food safety, according to research from Purdue University economist Jayson Lusk.

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Mutating Ebola’s key protein may stop replication

Researchers may be able to stop the replication of Ebola virus by mutating its most important protein, according to a paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Researchers were able to mutate Viral Protein 40 (VP40) in a way that changed the residues of the protein, blocking the budding and replication of Ebola virus in a model system.

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Purdue study uses telehealth to help identify autism markers for babies and young toddlers

A long-distance telehealth study at Purdue University could help researchers identify autism symptoms in infancy, which could ultimately help children receive targeted therapy earlier.

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Purdue researchers show concrete infused with wood nanocrystals is stronger, plan to use it in California bridge

Purdue University researchers studying whether concrete is made stronger by infusing it with microscopic-sized nanocrystals from wood are moving from the laboratory to the real world with a bridge that will be built in California this spring.

The researchers have been working with cellulose nanocrystals, byproducts generated by the paper, bioenergy, agriculture and pulp industries, to find the best mixture to strengthen concrete, the most common man-made material in the world.

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Atomically thin building blocks could make optoelectrical devices more efficient

Researchers at Purdue University have developed new heterostructures that could make optoelectrical devices, such as solar panels and sensors, more efficient.

Heterostructures are made by stacking layers of two-dimensional materials. The researchers stacked two very thin materials, tungsten disulfide and graphene, to see if they would work together to create electricity.

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Researchers validate several fluctuation theorems for first time

Researchers at Purdue University have performed the first experimental tests of several fundamental theorems in thermodynamics, verifying the relationship between them and providing a better understanding of how nanoparticles behave under fluctuation.

As a system gets smaller, fluctuations away from equilibrium begin to dominate its behavior. This makes the data from experiments in small systems, such as biological molecular motors and nanoscale magnets, messy and difficult to make sense of. Fluctuation theorems help researchers make sense of the fluctuations in these systems.

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EVPRP establishes Stacy L. Brown Outstanding Performance Award

Amy Wright, assistant director of financial affairs for the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships (EVPRP) Office, and Donna Brown, assistant director of financial affairs for Discovery Park, are the inaugural recipients of the Stacy L. Brown Outstanding Performance Award.

The award was established last year by the EVPRP in memory of Brown, who served as the office’s director of financial affairs until her death in 2017.

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