material

One of the most extreme stars in the Milky Way just got even more wack.Scientists have measured the mass of a neutron star named PSR J0952-0607, and found that it's the most massive neutron star discovered yet, clocking in at a whopping 2.35 times the mass of the Sun.  If true, this is very close to the theorized upper mass limit of around 2.3 solar masses for neutron stars, representing an excellent laboratory for studying these ultra-dense stars at what we think is the brink of collapse, in the hope of better…

Japan's Panasonic Holdings Corp, which supplies batteries to Tesla, posted a 39 percent drop in first-quarter earnings as China's COVID-19 lockdowns and rising material costs disrupted production and squeezed profitability. A two-month lockdown in Shanghai this spring kept people at home and forced factories to curtail output, exacerbating shortages of components including semiconductors. At the same time, rising material costs caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have eroded profits. The Japanese conglomerate, however,…

Google is rolling out a set of design changes for Gmail, including a Material You design that was announced earlier this year. The redesigned email interface features a sidebar that allows users to switch between all four of Google's services — Mail, Chat, Spaces and Meet. Meanwhile, users will receive bubble notifications for new Chat and Spaces messages. Users are currently offered the ability to revert to the old Gmail layout. Gmail is also reportedly planning to bring additional changes to the email and communication…

If you feel like you’ve seen a lot of “Gmail redesign roll out” posts in the last few months, it’s not just you: Google has been teasing and testing features for new, integrated-view quick access to apps like Chat and Meet since the start of the year. Last month, it also introduced a new look for Gmail based on the Material You design philosophy. Now, all of this is finally rolling out in one update to all users in the coming weeks. Gmail’s new Material You look Image Credits: Google Let’s make a few things clear.…

Google’s remodeled inbox. Image: Florence Ion / GizmodoGoogle’s finally delivering on the new Gmail layout it’s been teasing since February. The company announced that Gmail’s new Material Design 3-inspired layout is now available to all. The revamped look will include immediate Meet, Chat, and Spaces integration without clogging up the page. Google even threw in a promise of enhancements specific for tablet users, along with numerous other improvements, though not until later this year.How to get or opt out of Gmail re…

General Motors needs a lot of cathode active materials (CAM) if it’s to reach its goal of making enough electric vehicles to become a completely carbon neutral company by 2040. How much is enough? How about 950,000 tons of the stuff. GM now says it’s reached a deal with LG Chem, one of South Korea’s premier battery making firms, to lock down a supply of CAM starting later this year. CAM is basically what makes a battery a battery, consisting of components like processed nickel, lithium and other materials, and…

The COVID-19 pandemic is by no means over, but as time goes on, scientists are learning more and more about the virus – and the various ways that we can protect against it, including new and improved face masks.  A new membrane-based respiratory mask developed by researchers can capture and deactivate SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins as it comes into contact with them. These spike proteins are what allow the virus to enter host cells once they're in the body.As per tests, almost 99 percent of targeted airborne particles can be…

While studying diamonds inside an ancient meteorite, scientists have found a strange, interwoven microscopic structure that has never been seen before.The structure, an interlocking form of graphite and diamond, has unique properties that could one day be used to develop super-fast charging or new types of electronics, researchers say.   The diamond structures were locked inside the Canyon Diablo meteorite, which slammed into Earth 50,000 years ago and was first discovered in Arizona in 1891. The diamonds in this…

Have you heard of LU Camelopardalis, QZ Serpentis, V1007 Herculis, and BK Lyncis? No, they're not members of a boy band in ancient Rome. They're Cataclysmic Variables, binary stars that are so close together one star draws material from its sibling. This causes the pair to vary wildly in brightness.  Can planets exist in this chaotic environment? Can we spot them? A new study answers yes to both.Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) undergo large increases in brightness. All stars vary in brightness to some degree, even our own…

Damage to the ends of your chromosomes can create "zombie cells" that are still alive but can't function, according to our recently published study in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.  When cells prepare to divide, their DNA is tightly wound around proteins to form chromosomes that provide structure and support for genetic material. At the ends of these chromosomes are repetitive stretches of DNA called telomeres that form a protective cap to prevent damage to the genetic material.However, telomeres shorten each…