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Hands On: Sharge's Disk Pro 2 Ultra is a compact, magnetic DIY SSD dock with active cooling, 80W passthrough charging, and HDMI 2.1 that supports up to 8TB drives

11 September 2026 at 12:05

With its built-in USB / HDMI hub and a small fan to keep temperatures in check, Sharge's Disk Pro SSD is one of the more interesting (and generally useful) external storage drives in recent memory, easily earning a spot on our Best External SSD list. And the company is following that success up with a more DIY-focused Disk Pro 2, which lets you install your own M.2 drive (supporting 2230, 2242, and 2280 sizes and capacities up to 8TB), while adding greater fan flexibility, media card slots, and an HDMI port that's capable of more bandwidth – depending on the model you choose.

Sharge is offering the Disk Pro 2 in two varieties. There's the Lite model, with HDMI 2.0 (4K@60 Hz) and a 5W minimum operating power, and the Disk Pro Ultra (which we have in for testing) with HDMI 2.1 (4K@144 Hz or 8K@30 Hz), a lower 1.5W minimum power draw, and a faster card reader. Below is the full list of differences, according to the product page. The company even lists the internal chips, some of which you can see through its transparent top.

Disk Pro Ultra

Disk Pro Lite

HDMI

HDMI 2.1, 4K@144 Hz, 8K@30 Hz

HDMI 2.0, 4K@60 Hz

Minimum Operating power

1.5W

5W

Chips

VL822, VL605, RTL9210, SM2705

GVS2201S, VL822, GL3231, RTL9201

SD speed

Read 180 MB/s, Write 120 MB/s

Read 100 MB/s, Write 90 MB/s

Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The Ultra model is likely to appeal more to professionals and gamers, offering faster card transfers and higher monitor refresh rates. But the main limitation here is the overall bandwidth, as both models are capped at a 10 Gbps interface, just like the original Disk Pro. That makes either model better as kind of a travel-friendly Swiss Army hub than something you'd want to use as your primary hub / dock all the time. Because any modern M.2 drive can saturate all available throughput by itself, before you connect any video or USB devices. But there's no denying the utility of carrying around a pocket-friendly SSD that also lets you connect to a monitor or TV, plug in a couple extra peripherals, and empty your SD cards without an extra hub, adapters, or cables.

Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

At 3.65 x 2.33 x 0.531 inches (92.6 Γ— 59.2 Γ— 13.5 mm) without the cable, the Disk Pro 2 is slightly thicker and longer than the original Disk Pro, but still smaller than some standalone drives. Again, with its size and transparent top, it reminds me of an old-school cassette tape.

Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

One thing that has definitely improved over the original Disk Pro is that Sharge has made the USB-C cable removable. This is good in part because you don't have to worry about the cable breaking over years of use. But also, particularly if you're going to use the drive's hub capabilities, you might want something longer than the included cable's sub-nine-inch length. And when necessary, you might want to plug the drive into a USB-A port. So having the option of using different cables is a big plus.

The cable is also designed to function as a lanyard, which can be handy. But it's held in place solely by the USB-C connection, so I wouldn't trust it for much more than hanging the hub up somewhere at home, so you know where it is when you need it.

Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

In terms of ports, starting from the bottom edge, you get the main USB-C port, capable of passing through up to 80W of power, a full-size HDMI port (2.1 on the Ultra model we're testing or 2.0 on the lite model), a USB 3.0 Type-A port, and a 10 Gbps USB-C port that can handle up to 100W of power input (and pass through up to 80W for charging a laptop or other device). The previous Disk Pro included a second USB-A 2.0 port here as well, but it's been ditched in favor of the removable USB-C cable, which I think is well worth the sacrifice.

Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

On the opposite (top) edge, Sharge has added an SD card slot and a microSD card slot. These are capabilities the original Disk Pro didn't have, which make the newer model a lot more versatile for content creators. Just remember the Ultra model offers up faster read and write speeds for the card slots.

Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Around back, there's not a lot to see save for the fan intake, but the back is also magnetic, letting you snap the drive onto smartphones that support MagSafe devices or Qi2 magnetic peripherals β€” it's just a physical mount, though, not receiving power. I've also found this feature handy for sticking the drive to a refrigerator or other iron surface so I always know where it is when I need it.

Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

It's also worth pointing out that the fan in the Disk Pro 2 is smaller than on the Disk Pro. But there are larger cutouts for air intake on the sides for when the hub is lying on a table or desk, and the Pro offers a three-mode switch (off, on, and turbo), whereas the original's switch had two settings (auto and on). I appreciate the active cooling, and it will certainly be helpful if you're using most of the hub's ports and the SSD at the same time. But if you're mostly using the Disk Pro 2 solely for basic, bursty storage tasks, the 10 Gbps interface and an efficient SSD aren't likely to get warm enough to require active cooling. Of course, that will heavily depend on which drive you install in the enclosure, as well.

Testing with Lexar's 710 SSD

Sharge sent along its Disk Pro 2 Ultra with a Lexar 710 M.2 SSD (a PCIe 4.0 drive that's capable of about 5x the bandwidth of the hub itself), and installing it is about as straightforward as you'd expect. Use the small included screwdriver to remove a tiny screw on the side, and the SSD cover lifts off. Loosen the drive anchor post, install the SSD, tighten the post, put the cover back on, and reinstall the cover anchor screw on the side.

You can, of course, install your SSD of choice, and below the 10 Gbps interface cap, your performance will vary by drive. Still, since the company sent along the Lexar drive, we ran a couple of our external storage benchmarks, and the Disk Pro 2 Ultra performed well for an SSD in this class, just like the original Disk Pro.

Trace Testing - PCMark 10 Storage Benchmark

PCMark 10 is a trace-based benchmark that uses a wide-ranging set of real-world traces from popular applications and everyday tasks to measure the performance of storage devices.

Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra does exceptionally well here, beating everything save for Corsair's USB4-based EX400U. Impressively, the 10 Gbps drive even beat the 10 Gbps X10 Pro on this test, proving available bandwidth isn't everything when it comes to drive responsiveness.

Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

In this real-world bulk transfer test, Sharge's Disk Pro 2 Ultra lands in a comfortable fourth place, behind 40 Gbps and 20 Gbps drives, and one spot behind the 10 Gbps Crucial X9 Pro drive on reads. But on writes, Sharge's enclosure, running the Lexar SSD, again beats everything in this chart save for Corsair's USB4 drive.

Synthetic Testing CrystalDiskMark

CrystalDiskMark (CDM) is a free and easy-to-run storage benchmarking tool that SSD companies commonly use to assign product performance specifications. It gives us insight into how each device handles different file sizes. We run this test at its default settings

Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Lastly, in this best-case-scenario synthetic test, the Disk Pro 2 lands in fifth place when it comes to reads, but fourth place on writes.

Again, the Disk Pro 2's performance on benchmarks will depend largely on what drive you put inside it. But it's clear that the SSD enclosure is capable of performing well, despite its 10 Gbps bandwidth limitations.

Pricing and Bottom Line

Sharge Disk Pro 2 Ultra

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

If all you really care about is dropping in a drive and moving some files around, there are plenty of cheap 10 Gbps enclosures, often on sale for $20 or less. But if you travel a lot with tech and like the idea of a drive enclosure that includes a data and video hub with PD power passthrough, the Disk Pro 2 offers a lot to like, with the Ultra version we tested capable of handling video output bandwidth as high as 8K at 30 Hz (or 4K at 144 Hz). And the inclusion of card reader slots makes the enclosure even more useful for creators on the go.

It's far from cheap, at $109 for the Ultra version we tested or $79 for the Lite version, which is still capable of 4K video at 60 Hz, but won't play as well with phones, due to a higher minimum power draw. But Sharge's devices often go on sale, and when this was written, the Late model was selling for $66.51 and $80.91, directly from the company. This is technically a pre-order price, as the enclosures are expected to start shipping on October 15th.

There are also enclosure / hub combos on Amazon and Newegg that promise similar functionality for less. But the ones I saw have generally poor reviews, are larger than the Disk Pro 2, and none of them look as pleasing or are as feature-packed as Sharge's design, with its transparent cover, active cooling, and MagSafe-compatible back. For those looking for portable connectivity and up to 8TB of storage in one device on the go, the Sharge Disk Pro 2 is in a class of its own, and easily earns a spot on our best SSD and hard drive enclosure list.

3D imaging techniques reveal hidden damage in soybean seeds

11 September 2026 at 11:50

Scientists in Brazil have demonstrated that a combination of three non-destructive imaging techniques, visible-spectrum (RGB) photography, X-ray radiography, and three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), can detect and characterize hidden damage in soybean seeds that conventional quality tests frequently miss. The study, published in Smart Agricultural Technology, comes at a critical moment: Brazil is the world’s largest soybean producer and exporter, with an estimated harvest of 166 million tons for the 2024/2025 growing season, and seed quality is increasingly under threat from the very climate extremes that help drive the country’s agricultural productivity.

The research, led by Rafael Mateus Alves and colleagues at institutions including the Seed Technology Center of Embrapa Soybean and the University of SΓ£o Paulo, was funded by the SΓ£o Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). Its central premise is deceptively simple: because seed quality is largely determined in the field, before harvest even begins, researchers and seed companies need tools that can look inside a seed without killing it. Destructive assays such as the tetrazolium viability test, which stains metabolically active tissue red, are the industry standard, but they end the life of the sample. That is a particular problem for breeding programs, where each seed represents a unique genetic combination that must survive analysis if it is to be planted.

The seed itself is a small miracle of engineering. A protective coat, derived from the ovule integuments and marked by a scar called the hilum, regulates water uptake and shields the embryo within. The embryo contains the plumule, which gives rise to the plant’s first true leaves; the apical meristem, precursor of the aerial plant; and the hypocotyl–radicle axis, which breaks through the soil and forms the primary root. Flanking this axis are the cotyledons, storage organs packed with macromolecules that are metabolized and shipped to the growing axis during germination. Damage to any of these structures, from insects, fungi, drought, heat, or rough handling during harvest, can silently reduce a seed lot’s vigor, the capacity for rapid, uniform germination that underpins successful crop establishment.

To interrogate this architecture non-invasively, the team assembled ten representative seeds from production fields, commercial lots, and storage samples, each embodying a distinct damage category: stink bug injury, purple seed stain caused by fungi, green seeds from incomplete maturation, wrinkled seeds from heat and drought stress, weathering-related coat ruptures, severe structural failure, mechanical harvest damage, and internal galleries bored by the cigarette beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) during storage. Every seed was imaged sequentially with each of the three modalities and then subjected to the tetrazolium test as a qualitative reference standard.

The technical pipeline was meticulously standardized. For visible-light imaging, seeds were mounted on acetate sheets and photographed with a Leica DMLB microscope equipped with a DFC 310FX digital camera, oriented in four standardized positions with the hilum consistently to the right. X-ray radiographs were acquired on a Faxitron MX-20 DC-12 system operating at 34 kilovolts, with a nine-second exposure and an object-to-source distance of 11.4 centimeters; uniform contrast settings were applied to all images to make damaged tissues directly comparable. The MRI work used a horizontal 2 Tesla superconducting magnet coupled to a Bruker Avance III spectrometer operating at 85.24 megahertz for proton nuclei. Before scanning, seeds were conditioned to raise their moisture content from roughly 8–10 percent (wet basis) by incubation on moistened germination paper for three hours at 25 Β°C, a step that ensured sufficient hydrogen signal for imaging. A three-dimensional FLASH pulse sequence, with a 3-millisecond echo time and 75-millisecond repetition time, collected data on a 128Γ—128Γ—128 matrix over a 12.8-millimeter field of view, yielding isotropic voxels of 100 micrometers per side. Datasets were zero-padded to 256Β³ before Fourier transformation and rendered in three dimensions using ImageJ with the 3Dscript plugin.

The resulting image galleries are striking. On seeds punctured by stink bugs, the dominant pest of Brazilian soybean fields, RGB images revealed darkened patches on the cotyledons and near the plumule, the visible legacy of insect feeding that lacerates tissue and injects yeasts that degrade it from within. X-ray images flagged zones of reduced radiation absorption in the same darkened regions, while MRI cross-sections exposed the depth of tissue destruction with unusual clarity, precisely because degraded tissue no longer absorbs water and therefore produces no magnetic resonance signal. The tetrazolium test confirmed that these zones lacked respiratory activity, meaning they were metabolically dead.

Not every symptom tells the same story, however, and the multimodal approach proved especially powerful at distinguishing superficial from structural damage. Seeds with purple seed stain, caused by Cercospora fungi that secrete the toxin cercosporin, showed internal structures that appeared entirely normal in both X-ray and MRI. Yet the tetrazolium test produced an unusually intense red coloration at the stained coat, indicating that fungal activity had compromised the seed coat’s ability to regulate water uptake, allowing the staining solution to penetrate more deeply into the embryo. Similarly, green seeds, which retain chlorophyll because heat and drought interrupted maturation, showed no structural anomalies under X-ray or MRI, but their membranes proved unusually permeable to the tetrazolium solution, hinting at the physiological deterioration typical of immature tissue.

Where MRI truly distinguished itself was in detecting damage invisible to every other method. One seed that appeared flawless in visible light and radiographically normal in X-ray images revealed, in its three-dimensional MRI reconstruction, internal ruptures running through the central cotyledons, the likely consequence of rapid, uneven drying that forces differential cellular expansion and eventual tissue collapse. In mechanically damaged seeds, the X-ray images showed a crack in the hypocotyl–radicle axis that the camera could not see, but MRI went further, revealing the full extent of the fissure and the displacement of the axis relative to the cotyledons. The team also documented a dramatic structural failure nicknamed the β€œpopcorn effect,” in which alternating wetting and rapid drying cycles tear the seed coat and force the cotyledons apart, a phenomenon increasingly reported in Brazilian seed lots as late-season weather grows more erratic.

To move beyond qualitative observation, the researchers extracted grayscale histograms from each X-ray image, normalizing pixel frequencies across the full 0–255 intensity range. Two statistical descriptors, mean gray level and Shannon entropy, were then compared across damage categories using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s honest significance test. The analysis yielded clear separation: undamaged seeds showed the narrowest distributions with peaks at high grayscale values, while beetle-infested seeds and wrinkled seeds displayed the broadest distributions with heavy weight in the lower gray ranges, reflecting hollowed-out tissues and sparse, deformed structures. Mean gray level differed significantly across categories, peaking in undamaged seeds and bottoming out in wrinkled ones, while Shannon entropy, a measure of histogram complexity, was highest in beetle-damaged seeds and lowest in healthy ones. Because each damage category produced a characteristic radiographic fingerprint, the authors suggest these histogram metrics could support automated, quantitative screening in commercial seed laboratories.

Each modality, the authors stress, occupies a distinct niche. RGB imaging is fast, cheap, and ideal for surface screening but blind to anything beneath the coat. X-ray radiography, already a mainstay of seed testing labs, reveals internal voids, malformations, and cavities rapidly and non-destructively, though it cannot report on metabolic viability and demands careful standardization. MRI, with its superb soft-tissue contrast and genuine three-dimensional resolution, excels at detecting subtle physiological and structural alterations, latent mechanical injury, hydration-induced ruptures, and moisture redistribution, but its cost and acquisition time currently confine it to research settings. The tetrazolium test remains valuable as a reference but is destructive and subject to interpreter bias.

The authors argue the techniques should be viewed as complementary rather than competing, and they sketch a future in which RGB and X-ray screening handle high-throughput commercial quality control while MRI resolves ambiguous or high-stakes cases, such as breeding lines and seed physiology studies. Advances in imaging hardware, automation, and artificial intelligence-based analysis, they note, could eventually fuse these modalities into scalable phenotyping workflows. For now, the message is clear: in an era when a single season of heat, drought, and hungry insects can undermine an entire seed lot, the ability to see damage in all three dimensions, without sacrificing the seed itself, may prove as transformative for agriculture as it has been for medicine.

Subject of Research: Non-destructive multimodal imaging (RGB, X-ray, and MRI) for detecting abiotic- and biotic-stress-induced damage in soybean seeds

Article Title: When damage goes deep: a multi-technique approach including 3D for soybean seed damage assessment

Article References: Alves, R. M., Teixeira, J. M., Marassi, A. G., Henning, F. A., Umburanas, R. C., Gomes-Junior, F. G., & TannΓΊs, A. (2026). When damage goes deep: a multi-technique approach including 3D for soybean seed damage assessment. Smart Agricultural Technology, 15, Article 102523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atech.2026.102523

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1016/j.atech.2026.102523

Keywords: soybean seeds, seed quality, MRI, X-ray imaging, RGB imaging, seed vigor, multimodal imaging, stink bug damage, tetrazolium test, non-destructive testing, seed coat rupture, cigarette beetle

IONOS Plus : une base web simple pour publier un portfolio ou une page projet

11 September 2026 at 11:50
Publier un portfolio professionnel ou une page dΓ©diΓ©e Γ  un projet personnel ne devrait pas transformer la soirΓ©e en sΓ©ance de bricolage technique. C'est justement l'angle choisi par IONOS avec sa formule Plus : une base web pensΓ©e pour ceux qui dΓ©passent le simple site vitrine, sans pour autant...

Eco-friendly mechanochemical route yields antioxidant thiazolyl-hydrazone phenolic compounds

11 September 2026 at 11:43

In a finding that could reshape how medicinal chemists produce antioxidant compounds, a team of Italian researchers has developed a rapid, solvent-minimized ball-milling method for synthesizing thiazolyl–hydrazone derivatives β€” molecules that in laboratory tests proved to be more potent radical scavengers than vitamin C. The work, published in Results in Chemistry, combines green chemistry principles with computational modeling to deliver a class of compounds with significant promise for combating oxidative stress, the destructive process implicated in aging, cancer, and chronic disease.

The research, led by Roberto Scipione, Sebastiano Masuri, Ester Sedda, Tiziana Pivetta, Andrea Porcheddu, Maria Grazia Cabiddu, and Andrea Citarella at the University of Cagliari, tackles a long-standing challenge in synthetic chemistry: how to produce polyphenolic thiazolyl–hydrazones efficiently without drowning the process in solvents and energy. Traditional approaches require hours of refluxing in hot ethanol, consuming large volumes of solvent and generating substantial waste. The new protocol accomplishes the same transformation in two hours at room temperature using less than half a milliliter of ethanol.

The molecules at the heart of the study belong to a family of organic compounds that chemists prize for their antioxidant potential. Thiazole-containing heterocycles β€” five-membered rings containing both sulfur and nitrogen β€” are known to facilitate the decomposition of hydroperoxides and to chelate metal ions that would otherwise catalyze damaging reactions. Hydrazone linkers add a further dimension of reactivity: their nitrogen-hydrogen bonds can donate hydrogen atoms to neutralize free radicals, and the resulting radical species are stabilized through electron delocalization. When researchers attach catechol or guaiacol phenolic groups β€” structural motifs found in celebrated antioxidants like the polyphenols of olive oil and green tea β€” the molecules become even more effective at scavenging radicals, because the phenoxy radicals formed after hydrogen donation are exceptionally stable.

Oxidative stress arises when reactive oxygen and nitrogen species overwhelm the body’s endogenous antioxidant defenses. The resulting damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA is a hallmark of chronic inflammation, cancer progression, and aging. Designing small molecules that can intercept these reactive species has therefore been a major goal of medicinal chemistry for decades. The thiazolyl–hydrazone framework synthesized by the Cagliari team combines several radical-scavenging architectural elements in a single molecule, creating compounds whose potency in standardized assays exceeded that of ascorbic acid, the benchmark reference compound.

The synthetic breakthrough lies in mechanochemistry β€” the use of mechanical force, delivered by grinding balls in a laboratory mill, to drive chemical reactions without bulk solvent. The researchers used a Retsch MM500 mixer mill operating at 30 Hz with zirconia jars and balls, running the entire two-step sequence in a single jar without ever isolating an intermediate. In the first step, an aldehyde condenses with thiosemicarbazide to form a thiosemicarbazone; in the second, that intermediate cyclizes with a phenacyl bromide to close the thiazole ring. A catalytic amount of acetic acid and a tiny quantity of ethanol β€” a technique called liquid-assisted grinding, or LAG β€” proved essential: without any liquid additive, conversion was a dismal 10 percent, but adding ethanol at a ratio of one microliter per milligram of solid reagents pushed yields to around 85 percent.

The full telescoped protocol β€” both steps performed consecutively in the same jar β€” delivered the target compound in 80 percent yield, matching or beating the conventional two-step route that requires 12 hours of reflux at 80 Β°C in 25 mL of ethanol. When the team scaled the reaction up to 20 mmol using a 50 mL jar, the protocol held up remarkably well, affording a 71 percent yield with an even smaller amount of grinding liquid, simply reduced to a quarter of the original ratio. Product isolation required nothing more than adding ethanol and filtering β€” no column chromatography.

Green metrics quantified just how dramatic the improvement is. For the representative compound ES3, the mechanochemical route reduced solvent consumption by 99 percent, from 40.8 mL per gram of product to 0.38. The Process Mass Intensity, a measure of total material used per unit of product, plummeted from 35.3 to 2.05 β€” a seventeenfold improvement. The E-factor, which captures waste generation, fell from 34.3 to 1.05, roughly a thirty-threefold reduction. Reaction Mass Efficiency nearly doubled, rising from 32.3 to 57.1 percent, while overall yield climbed from 42 percent to 80 percent. These are not incremental gains; they represent a fundamental shift in the resource profile of the synthesis.

The antioxidant activity of the fifteen compounds in the series was assessed using two well-validated assays: DPPH and ABTS, both of which measure the ability of a molecule to neutralize stable free radicals. Every compound showed activity in the micromolar range, and several outperformed ascorbic acid in both assays. The standouts were those bearing the 3,4-dihydroxy (catechol) motif: compound ES26 recorded an EC50 of 8.4 ΞΌM in the DPPH assay and an extraordinary 2.59 ΞΌM in the ABTS assay, compared with 18.6 and 12.2 ΞΌM for ascorbic acid, respectively. Compounds ES27 and ES28 performed nearly as well, while several methoxy-substituted derivatives β€” ES9, ES16, and ES17 β€” also beat the vitamin C benchmark.

Density Functional Theory calculations provided mechanistic insight into why the catechol-bearing compounds are so effective. By computing bond dissociation enthalpies, ionization potentials, proton affinities, and related thermochemical descriptors, the team mapped the three canonical antioxidant pathways: hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), single-electron transfer followed by proton transfer (SET-PT), and sequential proton loss electron transfer (SPLET). The results indicate that in the gas phase, HAT is the thermodynamically preferred route, with the hydrazone NH group serving as the primary hydrogen donor in the simpler benzaldehyde-derived compounds. In vanillin-based molecules, hydrogen abstraction from the phenolic OH becomes competitive; in the catechol derivatives, abstraction from the 4-OH position is decisively favored, owing to the additional stabilization of the phenoxy radical by an intramolecular hydrogen bond with the adjacent hydroxyl group. In solution, the SPLET pathway gains relevance, as solvation stabilizes the anionic intermediates that form upon proton loss.

The structure–activity relationships that emerged are consistent with established antioxidant chemistry. Electron-releasing groups such as methoxy substituents on the thiazole ring enhance radical-scavenging activity, whereas electron-withdrawing bromine substituents diminish it β€” a trend that can be mitigated when a catechol group is present elsewhere in the molecule. The computational analysis of frontier molecular orbitals confirmed extensive Ο€-conjugation across the molecules and showed how substituents tune the HOMO–LUMO gap in ways that correlate with observed reactivity. The authors note that the slightly reduced coplanarity in the dimethoxy-substituted ES26, evidenced by a dihedral angle of 172.9 degrees versus 176.95 degrees in its monomethoxy counterpart, subtly alters the electronic landscape of the frontier orbitals.

What distinguishes this study is the marriage of two agendas that are often pursued separately: the design of biologically active antioxidant scaffolds and the radical greening of the synthesis itself. Mechanochemistry has been gaining momentum across organic synthesis as a way to slash solvent use and energy input, but demonstrations that combine solvent-minimized one-pot telescoping with preparative scale-up and rigorous green-metrics accounting remain relatively rare. The Cagliari team has shown that a complex, multicomponent heterocyclic synthesis β€” involving condensation, cyclization, and the construction of a sulfur-nitrogen heterocycle β€” can be executed cleanly in a single milling jar without heating.

The implications extend beyond the laboratory bench. Antioxidant scaffolds like the thiazolyl–hydrazones synthesized here are candidates for further biological evaluation, and the authors indicate that future work will probe mechanistic aspects and explore preliminary biological evaluations to define the translational potential of these molecules. If the exceptional radical-scavenging activity observed in vitro carries through to cellular or in vivo contexts, the compounds could serve as leads for agents targeting oxidative-stress-related pathologies. And because the synthetic route is scalable, solvent-lean, and operationally simple, the barrier to producing gram quantities of these candidates for further testing is substantially lower than it would be with conventional methodology.

The study also underscores a broader lesson for the pharmaceutical and fine-chemical industries: green metrics such as PMI and E-factor are not abstract sustainability scores but concrete indicators of process quality β€” lower waste, lower cost, higher yield, and simpler workflows all at once. By demonstrating a sixfold reduction in reaction time, a near-total elimination of solvent, and improved yields in the same breath, the researchers have provided a compelling case study for how mechanochemistry can move from academic curiosity to practical synthetic platform.

As the search for effective antioxidant therapeutics continues, this work offers a template: design molecules around well-understood radical-stabilizing motifs, synthesize them with minimal environmental footprint, and validate their activity with rigorous in vitro and computational analysis. The thiazolyl–hydrazones that emerged from the zirconia jars in Cagliari β€” particularly the catechol-bearing champions ES26, ES27, and ES28 β€” now stand as both chemical achievements and potential starting points for the next generation of radical-scavenging agents.

Subject of Research: Green mechanochemical synthesis of thiazolyl–hydrazone phenolic derivatives and evaluation of their antioxidant activity

Article Title: Green mechanochemical synthesis of thiazolyl–hydrazone phenolic derivatives and evaluation of their antioxidant activity

Article References: Scipione, R., Masuri, S., Sedda, E., Pivetta, T., Porcheddu, A., Cabiddu, M. G., & Citarella, A. (2026). Green mechanochemical synthesis of thiazolyl–hydrazone phenolic derivatives and evaluation of their antioxidant activity. Results in Chemistry, 30, Article 103794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rechem.2026.103794

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1016/j.rechem.2026.103794

Keywords: mechanochemistry, ball milling, green chemistry, thiazolyl–hydrazone, antioxidant activity, DPPH assay, ABTS assay, catechol, liquid-assisted grinding, DFT calculations, E-factor, radical scavenging

New Electrochemical Method Boosts Ocean Alkalinity to Capture Carbon

11 September 2026 at 11:26

The ocean has quietly absorbed billions of tons of humanity’s carbon emissions over the past two centuries, but scientists and companies racing to supercharge that natural service have long been hampered by a stubborn and costly engineering problem. Now researchers at Stony Brook University, working with the Research Foundation for the State University of New York, have unveiled a method for electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement that they say can dramatically lower the cost of ocean-based carbon dioxide removal by eliminating one of the most expensive steps in the entire process: the pretreatment of seawater before it enters an electrochemical reactor. The innovation, now available for licensing through SUNY TechConnect, promises high-quality carbon offsets at a substantially reduced cost while simultaneously helping to counteract the acidification that threatens marine ecosystems worldwide.

At the heart of the challenge is a delicate chemical balancing act. As atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves into seawater, it forms carbonic acid, which lowers the ocean’s pH and erodes the carbonate chemistry that corals, shellfish and other calcifying organisms depend upon. Ocean carbon dioxide capture exploits a simple principle: if the ocean becomes more alkaline, it can absorb more CO2 from the air and lock it away safely as bicarbonate, one of the most stable and abundant forms of inorganic carbon on Earth. This process, known as ocean alkalinity enhancement, effectively turns the surface ocean into a vast, distributed carbon sink. But adding alkalinity to seawater is not trivial, and doing it in a way that is energy-efficient, scalable and safe has become one of the central engineering puzzles of the emerging carbon removal industry.

One of the most promising approaches relies on electrochemistry, specifically a technique called bipolar membrane electrodialysis. In this system, ion-selective membranes are stacked between two end electrodes, and the arrangement allows operators to split ordinary saltwater into its constituent acid and base. When brine containing sodium chloride flows through the stack, the process generates hydrochloric acid on one side and sodium hydroxide, a strong base, on the other. The elegance of the scheme lies in its product handling: if the hydrochloric acid is kept on land, where it can be stored, neutralized or put to industrial use, and only the sodium hydroxide along with the treated seawater is returned to the ocean, the receiving waters gain a net infusion of alkalinity. That added alkalinity shifts the carbonate equilibrium, allowing the ocean to draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into dissolved bicarbonate that remains stable for millennia.

This electrochemical pathway has attracted serious commercial interest precisely because it produces what carbon markets call negative emissions, meaning carbon dioxide is durably removed from the atmosphere rather than merely avoided. Companies pursuing net-zero targets increasingly rely on such carbon removal credits to offset their residual emissions, and ocean alkalinity enhancement is widely regarded as one of the largest-capacity avenues available, given the sheer scale of the world’s oceans. Yet the technology has been held back by a deceptively mundane problem: what flows into the reactor matters just as much as what flows out.

Seawater, and many other brine streams that might feed these systems, contains divalent cations, most notably calcium and magnesium ions, alongside the sodium and chloride that the process is designed to split. When these divalent ions encounter the high-pH conditions created at the base-producing side of a bipolar membrane stack, they precipitate as solid calcium and magnesium compounds that coat the membranes in a crust known as scale. The consequences are cascading. Scaled membranes lose their ion-selective efficiency, forcing the system to push harder and consume more electricity to achieve the same output. Over time, the deposits shorten membrane lifetime, increasing maintenance frequency and replacement costs. The conventional answer has been water softening pretreatment, in which the incoming seawater is stripped of calcium and magnesium before it ever reaches the electrodialysis unit. While effective, such pretreatment adds significant capital and operating expense, undermining the economic case for the entire carbon removal operation and eroding the value proposition of the resulting carbon credits.

The Stony Brook researchers behind the new method have essentially designed around this bottleneck. Their technology enables electrochemical enhancement of ocean alkalinity without any pretreatment of the incoming seawater at all. By rethinking how the electrochemical system handles brine streams laden with divalent cations, the researchers have created a process that tolerates raw seawater directly, sidestepping the water softening infrastructure that previous designs demanded. According to the announcement from the Research Foundation for SUNY, the result is a system that produces negative emission carbon offsets of very high quality at a substantially reduced cost, simply because the most expensive upstream step has been engineered out of existence. The advantages claimed for the approach are straightforward and commercially significant: it is cheaper, more energy efficient, and requires no expensive water softening pretreatment.

The implications ripple across both the carbon markets and the broader climate technology landscape. Carbon offset buyers, including corporations striving to meet net-zero commitments, place a premium on removal credits that are durable, verifiable and cost-competitive. Ocean alkalinity enhancement already offers exceptional permanence, since bicarbonate dissolved in seawater represents one of the most long-lived forms of carbon storage known. By cutting costs at the front end, the Stony Brook method could help push the price of these high-quality ocean-based offsets toward levels that make them viable at gigatonne scale, a threshold that analysts consider essential if carbon removal is to play a meaningful role in stabilizing the global climate. Cheaper alkalinity generation also strengthens the second major application of the technology: mitigating ocean acidification directly, without necessarily framing it as a carbon market product at all.

Ocean acidification itself is a mounting crisis. Since the industrial revolution, the average surface ocean pH has dropped measurably as the sea has absorbed roughly a quarter to a third of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The consequences have been documented across coral reefs, oyster hatcheries, pteropods and other calcifying organisms whose shells and skeletons become harder to build in increasingly acidic waters. A technology that adds alkalinity to coastal waters and open ocean regions simultaneously addresses this chemical stress and harvests the carbon removal benefit, a dual function that distinguishes ocean alkalinity enhancement from many other carbon removal approaches. In regions where fisheries, aquaculture and reef ecosystems are economically vital, localized deployment of alkalinity-enhancing electrochemical systems could offer both environmental resilience and revenue through carbon credit sales.

The scientific pedigree of the work reflects the growing maturity of the carbon removal field. Stony Brook University, a flagship research institution within the SUNY system, has become an active hub for climate and energy innovation, and the new method is protected under intellectual property identified in the licensing announcement. The Research Foundation for the State University of New York, the nation’s largest research foundation supporting the nation’s largest public university system, is actively seeking development partners, commercial partners and licensees to translate the laboratory advance into deployed systems. The foundation describes a broad portfolio of SUNY-led research spanning artificial intelligence for the public good, quantum technologies, next-generation semiconductors, biotechnology and medicine, and energy and climate solutions, with system-wide research expenditures approaching 1.5 billion dollars in fiscal year 2025.

For the carbon removal industry, the timing of the announcement is notable. As voluntary and compliance carbon markets mature, buyers are demanding higher fidelity in the offsets they purchase, favoring durable removal over avoidance-based credits. Electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement, with its well-understood chemistry and measurable inputs and outputs, is well positioned to meet rigorous monitoring, reporting and verification standards. The obstacle has always been cost, and the pretreatment bottleneck has been a substantial contributor. If the Stony Brook design performs as described at industrial scale, it could remove one of the largest cost wedges standing between laboratory demonstration and commercial deployment, accelerating a technology class that many climate analysts view as indispensable to achieving deep decarbonization.

The broader lesson of the advance may be as important as the technology itself. In the race to scale carbon removal, progress often comes not from exotic new chemistry but from eliminating the hidden costs and fragilities that make promising concepts uneconomic in practice. Water softening pretreatment is exactly the kind of unglamorous engineering detail that determines whether a climate technology remains a paper exercise or becomes infrastructure. By designing a bipolar membrane electrodialysis system that thrives on untreated seawater, the Stony Brook researchers have addressed one of those decisive details. The ocean, meanwhile, stands ready. Every unit of alkalinity added is an invitation for the sea to take up more carbon dioxide and, in doing so, to heal a little of the acidification that a warming world has inflicted upon it. What remains now is the work of scaling, partnering and commercializing, and the SUNY licensing announcement signals that the researchers and their institution intend to see this chemistry leave the laboratory and reach the sea.

Subject of Research: Electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement for carbon dioxide removal and ocean acidification mitigation

Article Title: Method for electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement

Article References: Method for electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement. Research Foundation for the State University of New York, via EurekAlert! News by Subject: Tech & Engineering. Available at: SUNY TechConnect (https://suny.technologypublisher.com/) Original publication

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: ocean alkalinity enhancement, carbon dioxide removal, bipolar membrane electrodialysis, ocean acidification mitigation, carbon offsets, Stony Brook University, negative emissions, seawater pretreatment, net-zero goals, electrochemistry, Research Foundation for SUNY

Why Did Only Some Birds Survive the Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs? The Answer May Be Hiding in a Feather Found in T. Rex’s Poop

11 September 2026 at 11:24
In 2016, paleontologist David DeMar Jr. was crawling across a rocky outcrop in northeastern Montana, hunting for fish fossils, when he spotted a dark, reddish-brown nodule about half the size of a golf ball. He picked it up and looked at it through his hand lens. On its surface was something he didn’t expect: a […]

Remise massive + deux codes promo : Cdiscount propulse ce rameur d'appartement sous les 215 €

11 September 2026 at 11:00
Cdiscount fait fondre le prix du rameur MERACH R15 pendant les French Days. DΓ©jΓ  en chute libre Γ  239,99 €, il tombe Γ  seulement 214,99 € grΓ’ce au cumul de deux codes promo. Le cardio chauffe, le budget beaucoup moins !

Quels sont les 4 meilleurs nettoyeurs vapeur ?

11 September 2026 at 09:30
Le nettoyeur vapeur a bien Γ©voluΓ© et ne se contente plus de laver les sols. Plus maniables et polyvalents, les modΓ¨les rΓ©cents peuvent s’attaquer aux joints, aux vitres, aux tapis ou Γ  certaines surfaces textiles grΓ’ce Γ  leurs nombreux accessoires. Temps de chauffe rΓ©duit, dΓ©bit de vapeur...

UK economy unexpectedly grows 0.4% in July boosted by AI

Welcome boost for chancellor with unexpected rise put down to rapid growth of AI in services sector outweighing Iran war fallout

The UK economy grew in July as the rapid expansion of AI appeared to outweigh the economic damage from the Iran war, in a welcome boost for John Healey.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a surprise 0.4% increase in gross domestic product (GDP), compared with 0.3% growth in June. City economists had forecast zero growth.

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Β© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Β© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Β© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Here's your first look at the upcoming Samsung Galaxy open-ear earbuds

What you need to know

  • Samsung is reportedly working on Galaxy Buds On, a new pair of open-ear earbuds with a clip-on design.
  • Leaked renders show two rounded sections connected by a silicone loop, with black and white color options expected.
  • Galaxy Buds On could offer Auto Volume, head gestures for controls, and automatic pausing when you fall asleep.

It looks like Samsung is cooking up a pair of open-ear Galaxy Buds, and they could launch fairly soon.

While the best wireless earbuds still offer features like ANC and superior sound quality, open-ear earbuds have suddenly started taking over. We recently checked out the Huawei FreeClip 2, which we called one of the most comfortable open-ear earbuds we've tried, and now it looks like Samsung is preparing to challenge the throne.

As reported by SammyGuru, Samsung appears to be working on a pair of open-ear earbuds called the Galaxy Buds On. The publication has shared what appear to be product renders of the device, giving us an early look at the earbuds.

Leaked images of the Galaxy Buds On

(Image credit: SammyGuru)

According to the leak, the Galaxy Buds On will feature a fairly standard open-ear design, with two rounded sections connected by a flexible silicone loop. One side will presumably sit closer to the user's ear, while the flatter section will remain on the outside and likely provide an area for touch controls and gestures.

The leaked renders show the Galaxy Buds On in black, although a white color option also appears to be in the works.

The publication was also able to extract illustrations showing how the Galaxy Buds On will clip around the user's ears. The report claims the earbuds will feature Auto Volume, which will automatically adjust the volume depending on your surroundings, alongside head gestures like nodding and shaking.

Leaked images of the Galaxy Buds On

(Image credit: SammyGuru)

Another interesting feature will reportedly detect when the wearer has fallen asleep and automatically pause whatever is playing.

There's still no word on exactly when Samsung plans to launch the Galaxy Buds On. However, the company now has several products rumored to be waiting in the pipeline, including the long-awaited Galaxy Glasses and Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra, so we could be hearing much more about Samsung's upcoming hardware fairly soon.

AirPods 5 just pulled off the impossible for Apple β€” more features, lower price

11 September 2026 at 04:36

While the major headlines from Apple’s September event were understandably on the iPhone Duo foldable, one of the standout announcements for me concerns the AirPods 5.

Apple’s non-Pro series of earbuds are once again available in two flavours, with a few, admittedly useful, features separating the two. Perhaps the biggest shock, however, is that both the AirPods 5 and AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case (that name will eventually become annoying to type out) cost less than the previous AirPods 4 with ANC.

The two-year-old model launched at AU$299. The new AirPods 5 models can be yours for AU$219 and AU$249. Given the fact that Apple has been no stranger to price hikes in recent times, it’s quite remarkable that the popular AirPods got a price cut.

More impressive still, both models introduce notable upgrades over their predecessors. Apple is claiming industry-leading ANC for an open-ear design, alongside a richer, more detailed sound, with support for Personalised Spatial Audio. Apple also claims they’re more durable than before, and you also gain access to Live Translation (previously a Pro-only feature), Adaptive EQ and up to five hours of playtime with ANC on.

The AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case not only get a wireless charging case (shock) but also on-stem volume control. Take it from me as an AirPods Pro 3 user, this feature alone is worth its weight in gold β€” it’s so intuitive to use!

The Apple AirPods 5 and AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case (yep, still annoying to type) will be available from September 18, and you can preorder them today from the following retailers. Amazon would be my top choice, as you can save a couple of dollars on RRP.

AirPods 5 deals in Australia

AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case deals in Australia

While the pricing of the AirPods 5 is commendable, I also have to bring your attention to the AirPods Pro 3, which are available for AU$347 at the time of writing at Amazon.

AirPods Pro 3: was $429 now $347
They did drop to a low of AU$299 during Prime Day, but this is still a great price on Apple’s flagship earbuds. They deliver best-in-class noise cancellation and a rich, full-bodied sound. While the AirPods 5 now also get the same Live Translation, the Pro 3s also rock a heart-rate sensor and longer battery life of up to 10 hours. View Deal

NASA Invites Media to Djibouti Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony

10 September 2026 at 22:11
NASA insignia.
Credit: NASA

The Republic of Djibouti will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 11 a.m. EDT, Monday, Sept. 14, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, becoming the 72nd country signatory.

NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson will host Ambassador of Djibouti to the United States Mohamed Siad Douale for the ceremony, together with U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Frank Garcia.

This event is in person only. Media interested in attending must RSVP no later than 8 a.m. on Sept. 14 to:Β hq-media@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’sΒ media accreditation policyΒ is online.

In 2020, during the first Trump Administration, the United States, led by NASA and the State Department, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies.

The accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety, transparency, and coordination of civil space exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords

-end-

Camille Gallo / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
camille.m.gallo@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov

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Last Updated
Sep 10, 2026
Editor
Jessica Taveau

The post NASA Invites Media to Djibouti Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony appeared first on NASA Science.

NASA Invites Media to Djibouti Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony

10 September 2026 at 22:11
NASA insignia.
Credit: NASA

The Republic of Djibouti will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 11 a.m. EDT, Monday, Sept. 14, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, becoming the 72nd country signatory.

NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson will host Ambassador of Djibouti to the United States Mohamed Siad Douale for the ceremony, together with U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Frank Garcia.

This event is in person only. Media interested in attending must RSVP no later than 8 a.m. on Sept. 14 to:Β hq-media@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’sΒ media accreditation policyΒ is online.

In 2020, during the first Trump Administration, the United States, led by NASA and the State Department, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies.

The accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety, transparency, and coordination of civil space exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords

-end-

Camille Gallo / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
camille.m.gallo@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov

Share

Details

Last Updated
Sep 10, 2026
Editor
Jessica Taveau

Android can now securely migrate your logins between password managers

10 September 2026 at 19:41

As longer, more complex passwords have become a necessity, remembering all those strings of numbers, letters, and special characters has become nearly impossible. Password managers can solve that problem, but what happens when you want to move to a different login organizer? Sure, you could manually type all your logins into a new app, but now Android can do that for you without the tedium.

Google designed the new login transfer process to happen entirely on your phone, so you need the corresponding apps installed with your credentials synced. To start the move, you'll have to find the import option in the app you want to use. The location of that feature will vary, but in Google Password Manager (built into Android), it's near the top under the settings tab.

The import option in Google Password Manager will plug in to the new migration system, while export still just creates an unencrypted CSV with your passwords that can be dumped into any app. It will be similar in other apps, so make sure to start the process in the app you want to use. Currently, this works in Google's app, 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane.

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Android can now securely migrate your logins between password managers

10 September 2026 at 19:41

As longer, more complex passwords have become a necessity, remembering all those strings of numbers, letters, and special characters has become nearly impossible. Password managers can solve that problem, but what happens when you want to move to a different login organizer? Sure, you could manually type all your logins into a new app, but now Android can do that for you without the tedium.

Google designed the new login transfer process to happen entirely on your phone, so you need the corresponding apps installed with your credentials synced. To start the move, you'll have to find the import option in the app you want to use. The location of that feature will vary, but in Google Password Manager (built into Android), it's near the top under the settings tab.

The import option in Google Password Manager will plug in to the new migration system, while export still just creates an unencrypted CSV with your passwords that can be dumped into any app. It will be similar in other apps, so make sure to start the process in the app you want to use. Currently, this works in Google's app, 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane.

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Β© Google

China’s drone supremacy shows in airlifting bodies and food after Nepal flood disaster

10 September 2026 at 17:53

Chinese-made drones are flying out the bodies of flood victims and delivering food to survivors in the aftermath of devastating flash floods on the border of Nepal and China’s Tibetan region.

Nepal’s army has been using four DJI FlyCart 100 drones donated from China to make 10 to 16 aid deliveries each day, according to Reuters. This comes after a partial glacier collapse in the Himalayan mountains unleashed a sudden surge of water, mud, and debris that swept through border crossings, valley communities, and hydropower projects on August 26.

The DJI Flycart 100 Drones come with a 98-foot rope and winch system for picking up and dropping off heavy loads. The website of Chinese drone company DJI describes the drones as being able to carry between 187 and 220 pounds, depending on the battery configuration.

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Β© PRABIN RANABHAT / AFP via Getty Images

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