Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energies Argonne National Laboratory have been working with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to develop a new particle-level cathode coating for lithium-ion batteries meant to increase their life and safety. The new coating the team created is called PEDOT.
Lincoln's luxury SUVs have proven to be quite popular with buyers, and the automaker has announced that the Monochromatic Package that debuted with the Navigator last fall is now available for other luxury SUVs in its line. Luxury SUV buyers looking at the Corsair, Nautilus, and Aviator can choose to add the Monochromatic Package to their vehicles.
Researchers studying 3D maps of the universe and have discovered one of the biggest cosmic structures ever. The structure is a vast wall that stretches 1.4 billion light-years across and contains hundreds of thousands of galaxies. It has been dubbed the South Pole Wall and has been hiding in plain sight.
Researchers from the University of Liverpool have built what they call an intelligent mobile robot scientist that's able to work continuously nearly 24 hours a day and carry out experiments on its own. The robotic scientists is said to be the first of its kind and can make its own decisions about what chemistry experiments to perform next. The robot has already discovered a new catalyst.
Kia has announced that it has begun production of the European-specification Sorento Hybrid at its production facility in Korea. The start of production represents the first application of an electrified powertrain in the Kia flagship SUV. The automaker notes that the SUV is enabled by a new platform and intelligently packaged powertrain.
Few countries have ever successfully landed on the surface of the moon, and one of the countries to do so was China with the Yutu-2 rover. That rover found something interesting on the surface of the moon that has puzzled scientists, and the mystery has finally been solved. Inside a small impact crater on the far side of the moon, Yutu-2 discovered a strange and shiny gel-like substance.
NASA has announced that its Psyche mission has passed a critical milestone that brings it closer to the official launch date of August 2022. NASA says that the mission is moving from planning and design to manufacturing of the spacecraft hardware. The goal of the Psyche mission is to explore a metal-rock asteroid of the same name.
For some well-to-do people, they don't want cars that they drive. Instead, they want cars that are comfortable in the rear seats so they can be driven. For many successful business people, being driven by someone else while they relax in the rear seats gives a more opportunity to work. Mercedes says that it recognizes some owners prefer to sit in the back seats of the S-Class, and it has designed a new edition of the flagship model with the rear-seat occupant in mind.
The summer NASA plans to launch the Mars Perseverance Rover to Mars as part of the Mars 2020 Mission. Perseverance is packed with equipment intended to search for signs of life on Mars at some point in the distant past. One of the tools on the rover is called the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminance for Organics & Chemicals or SHERLOC. That instrument will search for chemicals on the Martian surface linked to life.
Researchers have discovered a tiny relative to the dinosaur near Madagascar that lived about 237 million years ago. The tiny dinosaur relative is a newly described species called Kongonaphon kely, translating to "tiny bug slayer." The small dinosaur relative would have been only about four-inches tall.
A new rumor has surfaced out of Australia that claims the highly desired Ford Ranger Raptor that was previously only available in Europe and Australia will be coming to the United States. According to the report, the Ranger Raptor is confirmed for the US, and it and the Bronco will feature turbo V6 engines. Presumably, those will be EcoBoost V6 power plants.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a new cell "membrane on-chip" that they say allows the continuous monitoring of how drugs and infectious agents interact with human cells. The scientists believe that the new human cell membrane on a chip will soon be used to test potential drug candidates to fight COVID-19. Scientists behind the project say that testing of this sort is typically done by the pharmaceutical industry using live cells, but their device offers an easier alternative.