American Society for Science and Technology

Chemically defined cytokine-free expansion of human haematopoietic stem cells

Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are a rare cell type that reconstitute the entire blood and immune systems after transplantation and can be used as a curative cell therapy for a variety of haematological diseases1,2. Read more

Secrets of Earth’s inner core revealed by large quakes

The reverberations from earthquakes as they bounce back and forth through the centre of Earth have revealed new details about the structure of the planet’s inner core, according to a study published in Nature Communications this week. Read more

Big data driven perovskite solar cell stability analysis

During the last decade lead halide perovskites have shown great potential for photovoltaic applications. However, the stability of perovskite solar cells still restricts commercialization, and lack of properly implemented unified stability testing and disseminating standards makes it difficult to compare historical stability data for evaluating promising routes towards better device stability. Read more

Daily briefing: ‘I’m in love with you’ — Bing’s AI chatbot gets weird

In the last few weeks, the United States shot down several flying objects that they suspected to be spy balloons — although most of them were probably benign. Balloons have roles in science, too: some that are used to test high-altitude instruments can expand to become bigger than a football stadium and can carry up to three tonnes. Read more