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ABC News
12-07-2025
- Science
- ABC News
New process turns wheat straw and oat husks into sustainable clothing
The grains behind some of your favourite breakfast cereals could become a part of your future wardrobe, according to new research out of Europe. Researchers at Chalmers University in Sweden have discovered a process to turn wheat straw and oat husks, left behind after harvest and milling, into textiles. They hope it will eventually lead to new sources of sustainable fabric, reducing the world's reliance on synthetics made from non-renewable sources. While farmers in Australia will need to be convinced, those working on the frontier of new materials say there are compelling reasons to explore going from high fibre to high fashion. The quest for new sources of textiles is not a new one. Before the advent of synthetics like polyester and manufactured fibres such as rayon, textiles made from cotton, wool and silk are woven through human history. But humanity's demand for affordable fashion is a challenge for sustainability. The researchers at Chalmers University's department of chemistry and chemical engineering are searching for new sources of cellulose, the structural component of plant cell walls that allows them to stand upright. Cellulose has been used in manufactured textiles since the 1880s. "We looked into what Sweden would have for side-streams [from farms] that contain cellulose and which would also be available for the whole year round," Associate Professor Diana Bernin, who co-authored the study, said. Early uses of cellulose include artificial silk and carbon fibres for light bulbs, but these days it is most commonly sourced from wood and made into rayon, also known as viscose. Dr Bernin said the process, which involves creating a pulp similar to that used to make paper, is difficult, energy-intensive, uses toxic chemicals and has been linked to deforestation. Published in the Royal Society of Chemistry Sustainability journal, the study tested wheat straw, oat husks, potato and sugar beet pulp — all by-products produced on Swedish farms. "We figured out that potato and sugar beet are very difficult because they might contain a lot of soil," Dr Bernin said. "But it worked very well for the oat husks and wheat straw." Through a method called soda pulping, the plant material was able to be dissolved, washed and spun into a fibre, producing a final product "very similar" to cotton. "Chemistry-wise, it's the same molecule inside," Dr Bernin said. At Deakin University's Institute for Frontier Materials in Geelong, Associate Professor Chris Hurren is also working to reduce the environmental impact of fabric. He said cotton made up about a quarter of the world's textile supply, wool accounted for about 2 per cent, with the remaining 65 to 70 per cent comprised of oil-based polyester. If the oat husks and wheat straw could provide a high-purity source of cellulose then they had huge potential, he said. "Research could occur in Australia to understand what is the ability for Australian materials to go down this path," he said. But while the researchers were looking to add value to what European farmers considered to be waste, growers like Bradley Misfud in central Queensland already see it as valuable. On his Kilcummin farm, south-west of Mackay, rain is sporadic and the wheat straw is "one of the biggest assets of the crop". "Because we don't have big, strong, long winters, our wheat crops and yields aren't anywhere near what they get further south. "We don't really have a big bulk density of straw to begin with, which is why we're pretty cautious about looking after and leaving what we have where it is." Mr Misfud said he commonly left about 30 to 40 centimetres of wheat straw in the ground to help prevent erosion and retain soil moisture, compared to the 10-15 centimetres left behind in Sweden. But Queensland is Australia's smallest wheat region, with the bulk of the crop grown in Western Australia, NSW, Victoria and South Australia — where, Mr Misfud said, there could be some application. "I just feel that this particular strategy may not work in our area. "We've all learnt with minimum till practices … capturing moisture is king, and that's what we're all trying to do day in, day out." Beyond the climates where wheat and oats were grown, Dr Hurren said people all over the world were looking for alternative sources of cellulose. He said seaweed, food waste, algae, banana, pineapple, kenaf, bamboo, hemp, coconut, linseed and blended textiles were all being investigated. "We need to look at some new sources of fibres to fill the void," he said. But he said strategies to reduce demand also needed to be explored. "Australia is the world leader in the number of garments we buy per person … and something like 40 per cent of the garments coming into Australia don't get sold," he said.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Researchers make groundbreaking discovery with major implications for next-gen energy source: 'The picture has really changed'
A research team from Chalmers University of Technology recently explored the process of nuclear fission in 100 nuclei and published its findings in Nature. With a thorough study that investigated areas of nuclear fission research never fully explored before, the scientists aimed to understand how and why the fission — or splitting — of certain nuclei resulted in an uneven weight distribution between the two fragments. "Since this study has given us access to fission data of many more nuclei, the picture has really changed, and we have now a better understanding of how nuclear shells influence nuclear fission," explained the team's Andreas Heinz. Fission-based power is still a work in progress, and while the splitting of a heavy atomic nucleus releases massive amounts of energy, the breadth of our nuclear energy research remains relatively limited. According to the university report, the Chalmers researchers sought to contribute one more piece of the puzzle: the fact that the shell structures of various nuclei seemed to link to the uneven output of the fission process. To establish the pattern, they tested a wide series of "exotic nuclei," or nuclei with unusually large proton-neutron differences. "Our dataset will help constrain the fission models used to estimate the fission properties of nuclei with extreme neutron-to-proton ratios for which experimental data are unavailable," the team noted in its study. Finding new ways to manipulate and harness the energy released from the splitting of atoms can provide a clean power source that doesn't rely on the planet-warming combustion of fossil fuels. While other renewable energy sources have made massive strides scientifically and commercially, sources such as wind and solar can't compare to the vast amounts of energy that nuclear power promises. If advancements continue to develop, nuclear power may prove to be a competitive energy source in the long run, driving prices down with its high efficiency and consistency. With more and more ever-improving alternatives to fossil fuels emerging, we can hope to reduce our global carbon pollution and its corresponding impact on our weather, basic needs, and health. Should we be digging miles beneath Earth's surface? No way Definitely Depends what it's for Depends where we do it Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Brain's Memory Center Never Stops Making Neurons, Study Confirms
Though it's now clear humans continue to grow new brain cells throughout their entire lives, debate persists over whether this applies to specific areas involved with memory. Previous studies have made the case for and against the existence of neurogenesis in hippocampus beyond childhood. A new study now offers some of the clearest evidence yet that this crucial memory-forming region does form fresh neurons well into adulthood. The study is the work of researchers from the Karolinska Institute and the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, and looks specifically at the dentate gyrus section of the hippocampus, the part of the brain that acts as a key control center for emotions, learning, and storing episodic memories. Related: "This gives us an important piece of the puzzle in understanding how the human brain works and changes during life," says molecular biologist Jonas Frisén. Confirmation that humans can form new neurons in the hippocampus through life (as several other animals can) would inform a whole host of other scientific investigations, from how adults learn new skills to what happens to the brain as it deteriorates in old age. The team used RNA analysis to identify functions of brain cells in samples collected from people up to age 78, finding that some neurons were geared to function as neural progenitor cells (NPCs), which generate new nerve cells. The researchers also found similarities between human NPCs and those in mice, pigs, and monkeys. Through a process of machine learning, the researchers could also group cells according to their development, from their initial 'blank slate' stem cell characterization to being an immature neuron in the process of dividing. The results address questions raised by earlier studies (including one from some of the same researchers), which determined that new neurons were present in the human brain without being able to confirm exactly how they'd got there. "We have now been able to identify these cells of origin, which confirms that there is an ongoing formation of neurons in the hippocampus of the adult brain," says Frisén. By studying such a wide range of ages, the researchers confirmed neurogenesis keeps happening in the hippocampus throughout our adult lives – albeit at a slower rate, generally speaking, as we get older. It's also important to note that the analysis revealed different rates of neurogenesis in different people. That might point to differences in brain plasticity that affect learning, personality, and disease risk, but that's something that future studies will need to look at. One hypothesis is that certain brain conditions might be affected by how quickly fresh new neurons can be produced – some of the subjects in this study had a history of psychiatric or neurological diseases – but again this wasn't something that the researchers looked at directly, so follow-up studies will be needed. "Our research may also have implications for the development of regenerative treatments that stimulate neurogenesis in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders," says Frisén. The research has been published in Science. Pomegranates Could Limit Risks From Controversial Sports Supplement OCD's Origins Might Not Lie in The Brain Like We Thought The News Cycle Is a Stress Monster. But There's a Healthy Way to Stay Informed.
Fast Company
20-06-2025
- Automotive
- Fast Company
You're not imagining it: Silly sounds make EVs hard to hear coming down the street
Over the past several years, electric vehicles have garnered something of a reputation for their unusual sounds on the road. Otherworldly EV warning sounds have been compared to ' a celestial choir,' a ' flying saucer hum,' and, in one TikTok with 23.5 million views, the song that might play just before ascending to heaven. But the angelic warble that's come to characterize EV acoustics might have a few drawbacks for pedestrians. A new study conducted by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and published in March examined how well the average person could locate three common types of warning sounds from hybrid and electric vehicles at low speeds. It found that all three of the sounds were significantly harder for pedestrians to locate than the sound of a standard internal combustion engine. Given that they have no combustion engine, EVs are naturally almost silent. That can be a benefit when it comes to urban noise pollution, but it's not ideal for pedestrian safety. For the past six years, all EVs in the U.S. have been legally required to emit some kind of low-level noise— a prompt that automakers have chosen to interpret in a range of creative ways. But it might be time for some automakers to take another crack at their proprietary EV acoustics. What do Hanz Zimmer, a didgeridoo, and fighter jets have in common? Starting in 2019, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ruled that all hybrid and electric cars have to be fitted with an external speaker that must 'make audible noise when traveling in reverse or forward at speeds up to 30 kilometers per hour (about 19 miles per hour).' While the law sets expectations for when these noises need to play, it largely leaves the contents of the noise itself up to automakers. That's resulted in a variety of EV sounds on the road, from a Cadillac alert made using a didgeridoo to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N's fighter-jet-inspired sound and BMW's portfolio of i4 electric sedan noises by composer Hans Zimmer. This unusual symphony hitting the roads has inspired quippy commentary on social media. Under a TikTok sharing the BMX iX 50's reverse sound, one user wrote, 'is this ribs by lorde?' And in a video poking fun at Tesla's reverse audio, another commenter joked, 'Every time our neighbour pulls onto the drive with their electric car my husband says 'the spaceship has landed.'' Beyond sounding a bit silly, though, there are a few key shortcomings to the sounds that many automakers are selecting for their EVs. Why are EVs so hard (and annoying) to hear? Chalmers researchers examined three of the main categories of EV sounds, also known as acoustic vehicle alerting systems (AVAS): two-tone, multitone, and narrowband noise (a noise concentrated within a small band of audible frequencies, often perceived as a hissing sound). To compare these sounds to that of an internal combustion engine, researchers studied the reactions of 52 test subjects inside a soundproof chamber. Each subject was surrounded by 24 loudspeakers and given a laser pointer fashioned out of a toy gun. When one of the speakers played a simulated vehicle sound designed to mimic the noise of an EV at a low speed, the subjects were to point the laser toward the sound as quickly as possible. The tests demonstrated that all the AVAS categories were harder for subjects to locate than the sound of an internal combustion engine. And, according to Leon Müller, a PhD student at Chalmers and one of the paper's authors, one of the sounds was more problematic than the others. '[The two-tone AVAS] is significantly harder to localize than other types of warning sounds, as well as combustion noise,' Müller says, noting that in a situation with just one vehicle present, these localization errors are relatively small and not particularly concerning for traffic safety. When there are two or three EVs present, though, the situation can get a bit stickier. 'In that case, the participants had much more [difficulty] localizing the cars, up to a point where most participants failed to even detect all presented EVs within an appropriate time,' Müller says. There are a few reasons why pedestrians might have trouble locating EV sounds. First, Müller explains, combustion noise is a very broadband signal—meaning it contains a lot of frequencies, 'and hence more information for our hearing system to work with.' Second, humans have had substantially more time to acclimate to combustion sounds than artificial EV sounds. 'We humans have learned over the last 100 years or so that cars sound in a particular way and how driving behavior, such as acceleration, is reflected in this combustion noise,' Müller says. 'This potential learning effect might also contribute to differences in localization, especially when we need to 'decode' multiple sounds at the same time. One could expect that we would then also get used to EV sounds within a few years. The only problem is that they currently all sound different.' A new sound In the meantime, Müller believes there are two potential avenues to make EV sounds safer. Currently, U.S. and EU regulations are limited to minimum sound levels in a specified number of frequency bands, which he argues 'allows the warning signals to be anything between a futuristic spaceship sound or a racing car engine.' In the U.S., he adds, regulations don't require a velocity pitch shift, meaning that a car might sound the same going 60 mph as it does at 25 mph. To address these problems, Müller says the regulations should 'make more clear demands on the sound characteristics.' On the automaker side of the equation, the Chalmers study indicates that a more broadband AVAS signal, similar to the noise radiated by tires when driving faster, is preferable to a two-tone or multitone AVAS. '[This sound] is potentially less annoying than tonal sounds and has the advantage that we already have 'learned' to interpret this noise since we hear it every day,' Müller says. In the long term, he adds that adaptive AVAS solutions—like pedestrian detection technology—could help EVs radiate a more advanced warning sound directly in the direction of the pedestrian, thus improving safety and reducing noise pollution. 'One important bottom line here is that we are not saying EVs are bad or dangerous. With the right type of warning signal, they are not,' Müller says. 'On the contrary, they have the potential of reduced noise pollution since the warning sound can be controlled, while the combustion noise in [internal combustion engine vehicles] is always there.'
