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Category: sustainability

Forget solar panels in summer: Here’s why winter Is the best time to switch your home to solar

Regardless of which U.S. state you live in, we can all agree that electricity in the U.S. is quite expensive. Of course, prices may vary depending on where you live, but in general, investing in clean energy has never been more desirable than it is now. But with so many options to choose from, when are solar panels, for example, your best option? Well, if you live in a region with colder weather, your best option may be to invest in solar energy, as a PV expert believes that solar panels are more efficient in cold weather.

Investing in clean energy: Your options

The majority of Americans most likely got quite the fright when they opened their last utility bill, and things may not look up just yet this month. Beyond the fact that one’s heating and thus electricity bill skyrockets during the winter due to increased usage, other factors also play a significant role in driving up electricity prices.

Overcoming symmetry limits in photovoltaics through surface engineering

A recent study carried out by researchers from EHU, the Materials Physics Center, nanoGUNE, and DIPC introduces a novel approach to solar energy conversion and spintronics. The work tackles a long-standing limitation in the bulk photovoltaic effect—the need for non-centrosymmetric crystals—by demonstrating that even perfectly symmetric materials can generate significant photocurrents through engineered surface electronic states. This discovery opens new pathways for designing efficient light-to-electricity conversion systems and ultrafast spintronic devices.

The work is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Conventional solar cells rely on carefully engineered interfaces, such as p–n junctions, to turn light into electricity. A more exotic mechanism—the bulk photovoltaic effect —can generate electrical current directly in a material without such junctions, but only if its crystal structure lacks inversion symmetry. This strict requirement has long restricted the search for practical materials.

Exploring metabolic noise opens new paths to better biomanufacturing

Much like humans, microbial organisms can be fickle in their productivity. One moment they’re cranking out useful chemicals in vast fermentation tanks, metabolizing feed to make products from pharmaceuticals and supplements to biodegradable plastics or fuels, and the next, they inexplicably go on strike.

Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have found the source of the fluctuating metabolic activity in microorganisms and developed tools to keep every microbial cell at peak productivity during biomanufacturing.

The work, published in Nature Communications, tracks hundreds of E. coli cells as they produce a yellow food pigment—betaxanthin—while growing, dividing and carrying out normal metabolic activities.

The ocean absorbed a stunning amount of heat in 2025

Earth’s oceans reached their highest heat levels on record in 2025, absorbing vast amounts of excess energy from the atmosphere. This steady buildup has accelerated since the 1990s and is now driving stronger storms, heavier rainfall, and rising sea levels. While surface temperatures fluctuate year to year, the ocean’s long-term warming trend shows no sign of slowing.

EXLUMINA Founder: SpaceX Already Controls the Future of Space AI

SpaceX is well-positioned to dominate the future of space AI due to its innovative technologies, scalable satellite production, and strategic partnerships, which will enable it to efficiently deploy and operate a massive network of satellites with advanced computing capabilities ## ## Questions to inspire discussion.

Launch Economics & Infrastructure.

🚀 Q: Why is Starship essential for space AI data centers? A: Starship enables 100-1000x more satellites than Falcon 9, making orbital AI economically viable through massive scaling and lower launch costs, while Falcon 9 remains too expensive for commercial viability at scale.

🛰️ Q: What is SpaceX’s deployment plan for AI satellites? A: SpaceX plans Starlink version 3 satellites with 100 Nvidia chips each, deploying 5,000 satellites via 100 Starship launches at 50 satellites per flight to create a gigawatt-scale AI constellation by early 2030s.

📈 Q: What launch cadence gives SpaceX its advantage? A: SpaceX plans 10,000 annual launches and produces satellites at 10-100x the level of competitors, creating a monopoly on launch and manufacturing that positions them as the gatekeeper to space AI success.

Energy & Power Systems.

Continue reading “EXLUMINA Founder: SpaceX Already Controls the Future of Space AI” | >

Quantum simulator reveals how vibrations steer energy flow in molecules

Researchers led by Rice University’s Guido Pagano used a specialized quantum device to simulate a vibrating molecule and track how energy moves within it. The work, published Dec. 5 in Nature Communications, could improve understanding of basic mechanisms behind phenomena such as photosynthesis and solar energy conversion.

The researchers modeled a simple two-site molecule with one part supplying energy and the other receiving it, both shaped by vibrations and their environment. By tuning the system, they could directly observe energy moving from donor to acceptor and study how vibrations and energy loss influence that transfer, providing a controlled way to test theories of energy flow in complex materials.

“We can now observe how energy moves in a synthetic molecule while independently adjusting each variable to see what truly matters,” said Pagano, assistant professor of physics and astronomy.

New global standard set for testing graphene’s single-atom thickness

Graphene could transform everything from electric cars to smartphones, but only if we can guarantee its quality. The University of Manchester has led the world’s largest study to set a new global benchmark for testing graphene’s single-atom thickness. Working with the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and 15 leading research institutes worldwide, the team has developed a reliable method using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that will underpin future industrial standards.

Researchers at the University of Manchester, working with the UK’s National Physical Laboratory and 15 international partners, have developed a robust protocol using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results, published in 2D Materials, will underpin a new ISO technical specification for graphene.

“To incorporate graphene and other 2D materials into industrial applications, from light-weight vehicles to sports equipment, touch screens, sensors and electronics, you need to know you’re working with the right material. This study sets a global benchmark that industry can trust,” said Dr. William Thornley, who worked on the research during his Ph.D.

Europa’s ocean may lack energy needed to support life

“If we could explore that ocean with a remote-control submarine, we predict we wouldn’t see any new fractures, active volcanoes or plumes of hot water on the seafloor,” said Dr. Paul Byrne.

Does Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, contain the conditions for life as we know it? This is what a recent study published in Nature Communications hopes to address as a team of scientists from the United States and Canada investigated the likelihood of Europa’s subsurface ocean having the right conditions for life to exist. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the necessary conditions for where life could exist, along with developing the methods for understanding them.

For the study, the researchers used a series of computer models to simulate potential tectonic activity on the seafloor of Europa’s subsurface ocean. The reason for studying tectonic activity on Europa is because this geological process is a key driver of life both existing and thriving on Earth. This is because plate tectonics are responsible for recycling nutrients to and from the Earth’s interior as it recycles materials like rocks and dust. This also enables the flow of water from the Earth’s interior to the seafloor. The researchers examined a myriad of mechanisms, including tidal forces, mantle convection, global contraction, and water-rock interactions (serpentinization).

In the end, the researchers found that Europa potentially does not exhibit these mechanisms to enable plate tectonics to be produced on Europa. They conclude that the liquid water making its way to the seafloor only occurs in the first few hundred feet, whereas plate tectonics occur over hundreds of miles. Finally, they conclude that is Europa does have life, they plate tectonics isn’t responsible for it.

This is how I’m preparing for AI (and you can too)

As AI replaces traditional wage labor, individuals should prepare for an automated future by adapting their skills, investments, and lifestyle to focus on economic stability, personal growth, and self-directed living ## ## Questions to inspire discussion.

Capital Economy Participation.

A: Invest in dividend-producing ETFs for a hands-off approach to wealth building, as AI and robotics reduce labor demand and shift wealth distribution toward capital ownership rather than wages.

🏢 Q: What ownership structures should I explore beyond traditional employment?

A: Consider Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) to become a part-owner of companies, but approach Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) cautiously due to their high-risk nature despite offering ownership opportunities.

⚠️ Q: Should I rely on Bitcoin for income generation?

Continue reading “This is how I’m preparing for AI (and you can too)” | >

From Nano to Nobel: National Lab Researchers Use MOFs to Solve Big Problems

Building on the foundational Nobel Prize-winning work, researchers at Berkeley Lab and its DOE user facilities continue to push MOF technology to address major global challenges.

For example, at the ALS, a team led by Yaghi traced how MOFs absorb water and engineered new versions to harvest water from the air more efficiently – an important step in designing MOFs that could help ease water shortages in the future. Yaghi is launching this technology through the company Waha, Inc, and working with scientists from the Energy Technologies Area to apply water-absorbing MOFs for in-building technologies and industrial applications.

Another team, led by joint Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley scientist Jeffrey Long, used the ALS to study how flexible MOFs hold natural gas, with potential to boost the driving range of an adsorbed-natural-gas car – an alternative to today’s vehicles. An international team of scientists used the ALS to study the performance of a MOF that traps toxic sulfur dioxide gas at record concentrations; sulfur dioxide is typically emitted by industrial facilities, power plants, and trains and ships, and is harmful to human health and the environment. Others have used the facility to design luminous MOFs, or LMOFs, glowing crystals that can capture mercury and lead to clean contaminated drinking water.

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