Supplying the World's Energy Needs with Light and Water
A leading chemist says that a better understanding of photosynthesis could lead to cheap ways to store solar energy as chemical fuel.While researchers and technologists around the world scramble to...
View ArticleSynthetic Tree Hauls Water
A new microfluidic system offers a different way to move water.A tree can transport water an amazing distance–from its roots, through a trunk up to 85 meters tall, and finally to its leaves, where the...
View ArticleSun + Water = Fuel
With catalysts created by an MIT chemist, sunlight can turn water into hydrogen. If the process can scale up, it could make solar power a dominant source of energy.“I’m going to show you something I...
View ArticleNew Ways to Make Renewable Diesel Fuel
DOE plans to fund research into organisms that make fuel without photosynthesis.When the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) requested proposals for its first round of funding, it...
View ArticleA Greener 'Artificial Leaf'
New device offers distinct advantages over previous attempts to improve upon natural photosynthesis.Photosynthesis, nature’s way of converting sunlight to fuel, happens all around us, from leaves on a...
View ArticleTurbocharging Photosynthesis to Feed the World
A faster enzyme for turning CO2 into sugar is a key step toward much higher crop yields.Two down, one to go. Researchers have completed the second of three major steps needed to turbocharge...
View ArticleArtificial Photosynthesis Takes a Step Forward
Researchers have demonstrated a long-lasting device for making hydrogen from sunlight and water—but funding is running out.A U.S. government-backed research effort has taken an important step toward...
View ArticleThe Ideal Fuel
A nanomaterials chemist has figured out a good way to mimic leaves and turn water and carbon dioxide into things we need.On a sunny day on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, the...
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