Real Clever Science

"Come with me as we binge-watch the future." My name is Ari Einbinder This is the journal of my travels into the realms of science, education, reality, and imagination.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Laser treatment reshapes MOF pores, boosting CO₂ capture by up to 75%

A research team led by Hee-jung Lee, senior researcher at Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), in collaboration with Professor Sunghwan Park of Kyungpook National University and Professor Mingyu Kim of Yeungnam University, has developed a technology that enhances CO₂ adsorption performance in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) by up to 75% through precise laser-based control of their internal structure. The study, published in the journal Small, demonstrates a new approach to improving material performance through laser post-treatment, offering an efficient alternative to conventional complex chemical processing methods. Why better gas separation is crucial The separation of mixed gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) is essential for applications such as natural gas purification and improving energy efficiency, and is considered a key technology for achieving carbon neutrality.

Read more.

[realcleverscience]

AI solving longstanding math problems

[solarpunkbusiness]

Ugandan duo wins top innovation prizes in Europe for breakthrough fruit preservation technology

The sachet, placed inside fruit packaging, emits a blend of plant-based volatile organic compounds derived from cloves, lemongrass, eucalyp

Ugandan entrepreneurs Sandra Namboozo (26) and Samuel Muyita (28) have scooped both the People’s Choice and Community Healers awards at the prestigious 2025 Young Inventors Prize, organised by the European Patent Office (EPO). The duo was recognised for their groundbreaking innovation, Karpolax—a biodegradable sachet that preserves fruit freshness without refrigeration. The invention impressed both the public and an independent jury. The sachet, placed inside fruit packaging, emits a blend of plant-based volatile organic compounds derived from cloves, lemongrass, eucalyptus, and wintergreen. These compounds suppress ethylene emissions to slow ripening and protect against mould, fungi, and bacteria.

In pilot trials conducted with the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), Karpolax extended the shelf life of mangoes from 11 to 33 days. The technology has also been tested successfully on bananas, apples, and oranges.

The innovation offers a critical solution for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, where cold storage facilities are often unavailable or unaffordable.

Since its launch in 2020, Karpolax has supported over 100 farmers, 20 exporters, and 250 vendors, helping prevent the spoilage of more than one million tonnes of fruit. The sachets are now being adapted for use with pineapples, capsicum, and berries.

“One sachet can preserve a five-kilogram box of fruit for up to 30 days, after which its active ingredients are used up,” Namboozo explained.

[hope-for-the-planet]

Thanks to @hope-and-hopepunk for tagging me in this story!

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Carbon nanotubes are closing the gap on copper conductivity

Carbon nanotubes are one technology that many observers believe hasn't quite lived up to the extreme hype that surrounded them when they first appeared on the scene in the late 1990s. At that time, much was made of their extraordinary electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties, with predictions that they would revolutionize materials science, electronics, and daily life. But could we be closer to realizing some of that promise? In a paper published in the journal Science, researchers describe a method for adding a chemical to carbon nanotube bundles that brings them closer to copper's ability to conduct electricity.

Read more.

[realcleverscience]

Robotics is really advancing

I'm sure this video is exaggerating how well it does these... but every robotics demo does that, and this one genuinely seems to be making advances working on complex tasks. The dexterity it shows is itself quite impressive. I'm curious how much it relies on vision vs recipes to determine when food is ready.

[depsidase]

[realcleverscience]

Even crazier, we're using around 5 times as much land just to grow corn for ethanol, and meanwhile solar is also around 75x more energy resourceful than corn for the same amount of land. In other words, with just 1.5% of all the land used for corn-ethanol, we could produce the same amount of energy from solar.

[emergentfutures]

I Am a Transplant Surgeon and I Think Genetically Modified Pigs Are About to End the Organ Shortage Forever

Animal-to-human organ transplants promise a future where survival no longer depends on another person’s death.

[realcleverscience]

This is great news.

Also, consider this: Driverless cars are predicted to reduce traffic fatalities by up to 90%. This is a weird thing to think about, but that means a huge decline in organ donors. Being able to find non-human donors will be a huge deal, esp bc we don't really have enough organs already.

[hope-for-the-planet]

Clean energy pushes fossil-fuel power into reverse for ‘first time ever’ - Carbon Brief

Renewable energy has overtaken coal to become the world's largest source of electricity in 2025, according to thinktank Ember.

From the article:

Renewable energy has overtaken coal to become the world’s largest source of electricity in 2025, according to thinktank Ember. The growth of solar and wind meant that, for the first time since 1919, the share of coal power was lower than that of renewables.  Fossil-fuel generation fell by 0.2% in 2025, the thinktank’s latest annual review says, with wind and solar alone meeting 99% of the growth in electricity demand last year. While generation from fossil fuels has occasionally fallen year-on-year in the past, Ember says this is the first time it has happened due to the structural shift towards clean power, rather than due to economic crises or other one-off events

[rjzimmerman]

In a First for the U.S., Renewables Generate More Power Than Natural Gas

Excerpt from this story from Yale Environment 360:

In a first last month, renewables supplied more power to the U.S. than natural gas, a milestone in the shift to clean energy. However, rising power demand is complicating the transition away from fossil fuels by extending the lives of many aging coal power plants.

Together, renewables — including solar, wind, hydropower, and bioenergy — were the biggest source of U.S. electricity in March, according to data from the think tank Ember. Along with nuclear power, they supplied more than half of U.S. power.

The new high watermark for renewables is a reflection both of the rapid buildout of wind and solar and the seasonal drop in power demand. Mild spring weather usually blunts the need for both heating and cooling, and as demand for electricity drops, coal and gas power ramp down. Last month, fossil fuels generated less electricity than in any March going back at least 25 years, while renewables generated more, according to Ember.

Solar, wind, and batteries will account for 93 percent of power capacity added to the grid this year, according to the Energy Information Administration, but rapidly rising power demand is giving a lifeline to fossil fuels. Tech companies are installing natural gas generators at new data centers, while grid operators are delaying the retirements of aging coal power plants.

[realcleverscience]

Crude Oil

I got to hold a vial of crude oil yesterday. As I picked it up I realized that this may have been the first time I've ever seen, let alone, held the stuff. Which is really weird when you consider that modern civilization entirely depends on it. I've seen gold and diamonds and other rare treasures, and yet this strange goo that powers the planet always seems to be hidden away. Just kinda interesting.

[ateazure]

"and the universe said i love you."

[emergentfutures]

An Entire Book Was Written in DNA—and You Can Buy It for $60

What may be the first commercially available book saved in DNA is the latest example of how consumers might use molecular data storage.

[realcleverscience]

maybe don't buy any books about the genetics of infectious diseases

[realcleverscience]

Software job openings surge this year, defying AI fears

There are more than 67,000 open software engineering roles at tech companies, up about 30% so far this year, according to TrueUp data.

I've been thinking a lot lately about something called Jevon's Paradox - which is that as things get cheaper, we end up using more. For instance, as coal got cheaper during the industrial revolution, coal use exploded.

We're seeing the same thing right now with AI: As the cost of intelligence services falls, more people are now taking on projects that were too expensive before. The plus side of this is that it means more products and services; the potential down side is that it *could* mean less pay for workers.

Whether that happens depends on a number of factors, including the number of people in the field. Right now there are a lot for two reasons: 1) new grads, 2) people switching jobs - e.g. perhaps they used to work on a team of 20 people that got downsized to 10 people bc of ai. They might move to a diff team in the same workplace or may have to find a new job.

This is good news for the economy as a whole - perhaps AI will expand jobs?

But the question remains: Does Jevon's Paradox have limits? It does. For instance, we may reach peak demand of a service. E.g. If plumbing costs drop by 90% it's not clear that we'll need 10x more services. (Or consider that tech made farming easier. This caused a rise in the number of farmers in the early 1900s but eventually the economics caught up and now farm workers are like 2% of the population. With upcoming ag-robots, that number is likely to fall even more.)

Additionally, the threat of automation from ai/robotics still remains: right now the jobs are growing bc ai is still not able to fully close the loop on its work. In this sense, it's still a tool for a developer - which means it requires developers. But as AI improves, it could reach a point where the developer layer is no longer needed. This will expand the role of managers - but again, it's unclear how many managers we'll need, or how long till AI can take over that layer as well.

So the picture for jobs in the near term is mixed. I suspect some industries will still suffer greatly as entire "layers" of work are fully, or nearly fully automated, or as they hit peak demand, but it may still mean a few years where most people find their skills (and therefore jobs) in even greater demand.

[realcleverscience]

Department of Energy Unleashes AI to Reduce Reactor Licensing Timelines

Milestone test case shows the potential role AI can play in improving the efficiency and accuracy of nuclear technology licensing applicatio

Ok, so the DOE is using AI to speed up the permitting process for nuclear sites.

On the one hand, I absolutely LOVE the idea of using technology to speed up permitting and related paperwork. Because while those parts are important - I don't advocate for removing those regulations - they can be extremely drawn out processes that take a lot of time and add significant cost bc of that time. This creates all sorts of obstacles to everything from major energy projects to something as small as modifying your home or getting a name change. Anything we can do to speed this up without reducing the quality of the work will be a huge boon.

On the other hand - why are they starting this with nuclear sites?! How about we automate the tax system or improve permitting for social housing projects? This just seems like a weird area to start with. Esp when we know that AI systems are still far from perfect... but I guess that's what the human oversight part is for. still... weird...

[realcleverscience]

invention

it's a weird feeling when you discover a wild idea you've had is already a well developed invention.

i've had this happen a few times: when I was young, I had an idea for a smoke alarm with a snooze button (primarily for kitchens) but then found out they exist. Some time ago when LED lights were first getting popular, I had an idea to make one that uses diff colors to change the hue and intensity. we all know those are common these days. well, the past few years I had been toying with an idea for a passive solar tracker that uses the sun to heat containers, creating pressure that moves the panels. Just found out again that these have existed for decades and are a well developed technology called thermal actuators. (I still think they're a cool option for solar tracking.)

it's hard to be original. also, most inventions rarely are. one thing I'm learning in my tech history research is that everyone builds on the work of others, and usually there are multiple people approaching the same idea at any given time. The person who "wins" these tech races usually are the ones who have or connect with those who have the needed business and manufacture skills - as well as a heap of luck and/or capital.

and while it sucks to face such obstacles to originality and contribution, it's still vindicating and complimentary to find that your wild idea was actually good enough for others to think of and develop.

[realcleverscience]

2028

Right now there's a lot of focus on changing the admin but I want to hear more discussion of what our goals should be. For me, focusing on science and tech, I really want to see:

UBI - AI is coming for jobs

Massive investment in clean energy technologies. Like a war-level effort to transition to electrification both in the US and helping abroad as well.

Demand data centers pay for installation of sustainable energy and water for their needs, and pay for any increase they might cause in electricity costs.

Carbon tax. Start small, send a signal to businesses that it'll grow and they need to stat transitioning. Use proceeds to return money to consumers and invest in green tech.

Massive rebuilding of science institutions that have been dismantled, along with more laws about scientific honesty and transparency.

[mindblowingscience]

Oysters play unexpected role in protecting blue crabs from disease

Oysters famously filter their surrounding water, but it turns out they are removing more than algae and excess nutrients. New research from

Oysters famously filter their surrounding water, but it turns out they are removing more than algae and excess nutrients. New research from William & Mary's Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS shows they can also reduce the spread of disease in nearby marine species, including Chesapeake Bay's prized blue crabs. Recently published in the journal Ecology, the study found that oyster filter feeding significantly reduced the transmission of Hematodinium perezi, a deadly parasite that commonly infects juvenile blue crabs in high-salinity coastal waters. In field experiments conducted on Virginia's Eastern Shore, juvenile crabs placed near live oysters were about one-third less likely to become infected than crabs deployed without oysters.

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