Leveraging electrochemistry to beat diabetes This year’s World Health Day focuses on diabetes and reducing the burden of a disease that affects over 420 million people worldwide. To put that in perspective, that number rested at 180 million in 1980. It is expected to more than double within the next 20 years. So how can we beat diabetes? Well, electrochemistry has the potential to play a rather large role in halting the rise of this disease that kills 1.5 million…
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Wild mushrooms have recently made a surprising (but not unwelcome) foray into the battery realm. In a new study, researchers from Purdue University derived promising carbon fibers from a wild mushroom and modified them with nanoparticles to cook up new battery anodes that outperform conventional graphite electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. (READ: “Wild Fungus Derived Carbon Fibers and Hybrids as Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries“) Outperforming traditional anodes “Current state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries must be improved in both energy density and power output…
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Edward Goodrich Acheson (1856-1931), one of the charter members of ECS, is best known for having invented and commercialized carborundum, an artificial graphite. Biography Acheson was born in southwestern Pennsylvania and raised its coal fields. At the age of 16, after his father died, he left school to help support his family. Nevertheless, Acheson devoted his nights to the scientific endeavors, especially electrical experiments. In 1880, Acheson attempted to sell a battery of his own invention to Thomas Edison, who ended up…
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Christian Amatore has given a new direction to electrochemistry and has had a pioneering role in the development of ultramicroelectrodes worldwide. He is currently the Director of Research at CNRS and will be giving the ECS Lecture at the 229th ECS Meeting in San Diego, CA, May 29-June 2, 2016. His talk is titled, “Seeing, Measuring and Understanding Vesicular Exocytosis of Neurotransmitters.” Listen to the podcast and download this episode and others for free through the iTunes Store, SoundCloud, or…
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Experience the wonders of Argonne National Laboratory at this year’s Chicago Section Spring Event! Featuring a laboratory tour, a dinner buffet, and a talk by distinguished speaker Dr. Deyang Qu, this event is not to be missed! This event will take place on Tuesday, April 5th and begin at 3:30 p.m. Register now! Argonne National Laboratory Spanning 1,500 acres, Argonne National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Midwest. Argonne serves as a center for government and corporate research and development, as well…
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The science of lead pipe corrosion The complexities of the water crisis in Flint, MI run deeper than the infrastructure that carried the tainted water to the city’s residents. Clouded by years of political discourse, the events taking place in Flint have been a culmination of many issues, but overall boil down to the degradation of the city’s infrastructure. There’s one constant at the core of these problems that has been part of the cause, but also has the potential...
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With a robust career in academia, Daniel Scherson has touched many aspects of science and worked with many notable pillars of electrochemistry. From his work on nonlinear, non-equilibrium thermodynamics with Joel Keizer to his work with Heniz Gerischer and Dieter Kolb at the Fritz Haber Institute — Scherson’s career has been shaped by some of the leaders in the field. He joined Case Western Reserve University in 1983, where his research focuses on bettering device such a fuel cells, batteries,…
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Looking to save on electricity? Why not use bioluminescent bacteria to light the way? Innovative start-up Glowee is looking to do just that to illuminate the streets of Paris. By using bacteria found in squid, Glowee is producing lights that consist of transparent gases filled with a gel containing the bioluminescent bacteria alongside the sugars and oxygen they need to survive. The bio-lights will allow cities to cut back on energy and avoid light pollution. With lower electricity consumption comes…
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What happens when corrosion meets energy? For researchers at Stanford University, the marriage of those two uniquely electrochemical topics could yield an answer to large-scale solar power storage. The question of how to store solar power when the sun goes down has been on the forefront of scientific discussion. While electrochemical energy storage devices exist, they are typically either too expensive to work on a large-scale or not efficient enough. Building a solar-powered battery New research shows that metal oxides,…
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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been fighting the good fight on many fronts over the years, including poverty, women’s equality, and of course, energy. In their 2016 annual letter, the private foundation looked at the issue of access to energy. According to Bill Gates, 1.3 billion people – or 18 percent of the world’s population – live without electricity to light their homes. Energy crisis Many energy trouble areas exist in sub-Saharan Africa, where 7 out of 10…
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