Browse Articles

In this study, the authors were interested in developing a hydrophobic surface that will extend the lifespan of metals by reducing water exposure and other damage. The used a zinc coating on steel to pursue this effort.

Cosmic rays are high-energy astronomical particles originating from various sources across the universe. Here, The authors sought to understand how surface-level cosmic-ray muon flux is affected by atmospheric attenuation by measuring the variation in relative muon-flux rate relative to zenith angle, testing the hypothesis that muons follow an exponential attenuation model. The attenuation model predicts an attenuation length of 6.3 km. This result implies that only a maximum of 24% of muons can reach the Earth’s surface, due to both decay and atmospheric interactions.

In this study, the authors investigate the effects that flagella have on E. coli's ability to adhere to glass surfaces.

The authors assessed the atmospheric and oceanic parameters necessary for tidally-locked exoplanets to be habitable.

The surface of the unicellular eukaryote, Tetrahymena pyriformis, is covered with thousands of hair-like cilia. These cilia are very similar to cilia of the human olfactory and respiratory tracts making them model organisms for studying cilia function and pathology. The authors of this study investigated the effect of voltage on T. pyriformis galvanotaxis, the movement towards an electrical stimulus. They observed galvanotaxis towards the cathode at voltages over 4V which plateau, indicating opening of voltage gated-ion channels to trigger movement.

In this article the authors look at the ability of spices to reduce microbial load on a cutting surface by comparing growth of bacteria cultured before and after cleaning with various spice mixtures.

In a common high school experiment to measure friction coefficients, a weighted mass attached to a spring scale is dragged across a surface at a constant velocity. While the constant velocity is necessary for an accurate measurement, it can be difficult to maintain and this can lead to large errors. Here, the authors designed a new experiment to measure friction coefficients in the classroom using only static force and show that their method has a lower standard deviation than the traditional experiment.

This paper looks at the antibacterial and toxic effects of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on Escherichia coli bacteria and Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies. They modified the AgNPs size, concentration, and surface coating to determine the effects on each of the organisms. For both organisms, increased AgNP concentration demonstrated increased toxicity but particle size and surface coating had opposing effects.

In this study, the authors investigate the crystallization kinetics of vanillin thin films from a solution or a melt, as well as how a silane coating on the glass surface affects these properties.

Semiconductors are the center of the fourth industrial revolution as they are key components for all electronics. Exposed wafers made of silicon (Si), which can easily oxidize, convert to silicon dioxide (SiO₂). The surface of SiO₂ wafers consists of many Si-OH bonds, allowing them to easily bond with water, resulting in a “wet” or hydrophilic condition. We sought to determine a way to modify the surface of SiO₂ wafers to become hydrophobic to ensure safe wet cleaning.