Ingrid Fadelli

Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs), which charge and discharge by moving lithium ions between two electrodes known as the cathode and anode, remain the most widely used rechargeable batteries worldwide. Over the past decades, however, energy engineers have been assessing the potential of alternative rechargeable batteries based on different materials and ions.

When humans are making decisions, they are known not to rely solely on their own considerations and the evidence available to them. Past behavioral science and psychology studies have shown that people are often also influenced by the choices and opinions of others.

Adolescence, the developmental phase between childhood and adulthood, is marked by substantial mental, emotional and social changes. Past psychological studies suggest that during this stage, humans gradually acquire greater control over their thoughts and actions, learn to better regulate their emotions and further develop their social skills.

Superconductors are materials that conduct electricity without electrical resistance when cooled below a specific critical temperature. These materials have proved promising for the development of various technologies, including medical imaging instruments, particle accelerators, ultrasensitive detectors and quantum processors.

Sometimes, even a single experience can be highly impactful, prompting humans and other animals to change their behavior or influencing their future choices. The formation of influential memories from a single, brief experience is also known as one-shot learning.

Electronic voting, the use of electronic systems to cast, record or count votes, could potentially simplify the process of electing new political leaders or other representatives. While some countries have already started using internet-connected devices or electronic voting machines at polling stations, the trustworthiness, security and anonymity of electronic voting systems are still widely debated.

Humanoid robots, robotic systems with limbs and body structures that resemble those of humans, could tackle various manual tasks in homes, workspaces and other settings. Yet teaching these robots to reliably perform different humanlike movements is typically challenging and time-consuming.

Humanoid robots, robotic systems with body shapes and limbs resembling those of humans, could potentially assist people with manual tasks in various real-world settings. So far, however, most of these robots can reliably perform only a limited set of movements.

Superconductors are materials that carry electricity with zero resistance below specific temperatures. Many of these materials become superconducting at very low temperatures, yet some enter superconducting phases at higher temperatures.

About 252 million years ago, at the end of the Permian Period, a large proportion of species on Earth rapidly became extinct. After this mass extinction, many groups of organisms began to recover, while reptiles known as archosauromorphs—the group that includes dinosaurs and crocodiles—proliferated.