International Young Scientist Awards

Magnetic fields are everywhere in our solar system. They originate from the Sun, planets, and moons, and are carried throughout interplanetary space by solar wind. This is precisely why magnetometers—devices used to measure magnetic fields—are flown on almost all missions in space to benefit the Earth, Planetary, and Heliophysics science communities, and ultimately enrich knowledge for all humankind. These instruments can remotely probe the interior of a planetary body to provide insight into its internal composition, structure, dynamics, and even evolution based on the magnetic history frozen into the body’s crustal rock layers. Magnetometers can even discover hidden oceans within our solar system and help determine their salinity, thereby providing insight into the potential habitability of these icy worlds. Fluxgates are the most widely used magnetometers for missions in space due to their proven performance and simplicity. However, the conventional size, weight, and power (SWaP)

Do you want your Rust code to run everywhere — from large servers to web pages, robots, and even watches? In this final article of a three-part series [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], we’ll see how to use Rust to run on embedded devices using no_std. Porting your Rust project to a no_std environment allows you to target microcontrollers and deeply embedded systems, creating highly efficient software for constrained environments. For example, I used the upcoming version of range-set-blaze to create an LED animation sequencer and compositor that runs on a Raspberry Pi Pico: Running Rust without the standard library presents unique challenges. Without operating system support, features like file I/O, networking, and sometimes even dynamic memory allocation are unavailable. In this article, we’ll look at practical strategies to overcome these limitations. Porting Rust to no_std requires careful steps and choices, and missing any step can lead to failure. We’ll simplify the process by following these nine

  New research takes a revolutionary approach to robotics, suggesting that plants could provide the muscle power driving future machines. While the idea of moving plants may sound like something straight out of John Wyndham’s Day of the Triffids, these motile plants would serve Earth and humanity rather than threaten them, functioning as eco-friendly robotic systems. Instead of the menacing Triffids from that post-apocalyptic tale, future humans could even consume these plant-based robots after their work is done. A new take on robotics Humanity’s growing reliance on robots is set to continue, fueling the demand for sustainable robots that reduce resource consumption and can harmlessly break down in nature without leaving behind any mechanical remains. According to a paper published in the journal Advanced Science, plants could meet both these needs. “We humans can move by muscles,” said Jun Shintake, an assistant professor at the University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo and one

The Nobel committees seem to have an unfortunate habit of overlooking women and Black people when it comes to science – this must change, says Alexandra Thompson It is that time of year when congratulations are in order, as some of the best minds in science are awarded a Nobel prize. The latest winners have a few things in common: they undoubtedly have an impressive body of work – and they are all men, they live in high-income countries and none of them is Black. Gary Ruvkun and Victor Ambros won the prize for physiology or medicine for their discovery of microRNAs and the role they play in controlling genes, which could help treat cancer. A string of papers led to this discovery, many of which list Rosalind Lee – Ambros’s wife – as an author. The Nobel committee for physiology or medicine was keen to recognise Lee on social media , but didn’t go as far as awarding her a medal. Maybe it thinks that one per household is good enough. Lee’s omission may seem familiar. In 1962, James Wats

Electrocatalytic hydrogenation is a cutting-edge technique in sustainable chemistry that allows for the efficient conversion of various organic compounds using electrical energy. One such promising application is the hydrogenation of pyridines to piperidines, vital intermediates in pharmaceutical , agrochemical, and fine chemical industries. This transformation is traditionally carried out using metal catalysts under high pressure and temperature, which can be energy-intensive and generate unwanted by-products. However, anion-exchange membrane (AEM) reactors offer a more environmentally friendly alternative through the use of electrochemical methods, simplifying the process and reducing energy consumption. In an AEM reactor, the core component is the membrane, which selectively allows the passage of anions while separating the two chambers of the reactor. The membrane facilitates the movement of negatively charged ions from the cathode to the anode, while the electrochemical reacti

Clostridioides difficile is a notoriously nasty intestinal bug, with few effective treatments and no approved vaccines. But the same technology that enabled the first COVID-19 vaccines has shown early promise, in mouse experiments, against this deadly infection, which kills 30,000 people in the United States each year. An mRNA vaccine designed to target C. difficile and the toxins it produces protected mice from severe disease and death after exposure to lethal levels of the bacterial pathogen, researchers report in the Oct. 4 Science. While it will take much more research to see whether the vaccine is safe and effective for humans, the results hint that an mRNA vaccine might succeed where more conventional vaccines have failed. C. difficile is an opportunistic pathogen that often wreaks intestinal havoc after a course of antibiotics clears out healthy gut bacteria (SN: 10/24/18). The bacterium infects around 500,000 people in the United States each year , and the toxins it secretes

Earlence Fernandes is a computer science professor at UC San Diego. He’s also a cycling geek. He stands next to his bike at UCSD ’s computer science building and tells how he commutes to work on his bike and rides for recreation. “I mostly get into it because it’s an incredibly calming experience,” he said. “When you’re out in the mountains it makes me feel incredibly good.” He also follows professional cycling, though he knows it has a terrible problem with corruption and cheating. Performance enhancing drugs have been a problem for decades, and it doesn’t end with that. This year he realized another way to cheat is hacking into someone’s wireless shifter. He said he does not race but he uses an electronic shifter on one of his bikes. He explained how buttons on his handlebar send a signal to his derailleur on the rear hub to change the position of the chain, in a way that is very precise. “I used to use mechanical systems all the time. I did not know how good electronic shifting was