Dec 01 What does the salty sea air put in our clouds? By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Scientists are trying to find out how the ocean's chemistry changes clouds. It could even affect climate change. Continue reading
Nov 03 If soil-dwelling fungi could dance, this is what they'd look like By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy In a scene from Uma Nagendra’s winning “Dance Your Ph.D.” performance, dancers in brown leotards slither on the floor, reaching for trapeze artists in green leggings dangling above them. The brown dancers are dangerous soil-dwelling fungi, trying to infect the… Continue reading
Oct 23 New computer chip 'recipe' makes electronics greener, cheaper, faster By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy The computer chip is getting a makeover from the Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry at Oregon State University, making it leaner, faster and greener. Continue reading
Sep 18 How did life on Earth begin? By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy It's one of the biggest unanswered questions in science: How did life on Earth begin? Biochemists are breaking apart early Earth molecules to find out how RNA and DNA formed. Continue reading
Sep 04 What happens to a marsh when sea levels rise? By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy What happens to a 2,000 year-old marsh when sea levels rise? Scientists have been studying the Plum Island Estuary to find out. Continue reading
Jul 24 Making a cheaper, cleaner diesel fuel to do industry's heavy lifting By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Diesel can be made from just about any carbon-based source, but the process can be expensive and wasteful. Chemists are working on new methods to fix that. Continue reading
May 14 Poking cells, solving mysteries and other reasons scientists love basic research By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Scientists and engineers frequently seek solutions to specific problems. But the goal -- and challenge -- of basic research is to tackle broad questions without an immediate application in mind. As part of our ongoing series on the subject, PBS… Continue reading
May 13 Watch NewsHour asks: why do you choose basic research? By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Continue watching
Apr 24 The 'Commanding General of the Solar Army' wants to make fuel from sunlight By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy The "Commanding General of the Solar Army" wants you -- to know how the sun can make cheap fuel for your car. Continue reading
Mar 18 Watch atoms as they 'hula hoop' inside a molecule By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Have you ever seen molecules bond, break or hula hoop? Chemist Ara Apkarian has. He and his team at the University of California Irvine are developing the chemiscope, a laser-powered device to record images at a molecular level. The lasers… Continue reading